Chapter 3
This was not how the night was supposed to go. What kind of man asks a hook-up that? Fernando thought, fighting manic laughter. He closed his eyes and felt everything bubbling up. It wanted out. He tried so hard to keep it in, but he couldn’t anymore. Why not spill it all to the fine ass marine?
“I haven’t really talked about it a lot.” Fernando swallowed hard and rubbed his face. “Are you sure you want to hear about it? It’s really messed up. Their death was all over the news and shit, so my friends know what happened. Hell, after it all came out, I didn’t have many friends left anyway.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Walker said, voice softening. The alpha slowly, almost hesitantly, put his arm around Fernando’s shoulder. The sympathy on his face made Fernando want to cry. “If you do, though, remember, we won’t see each other again. There’s no pressure or judgment here.”
“Well, you did share with me,” Fernando said, taking a deep breath. “Okay, so my uncle, Diego, had my parents murdered because my dad found out he was molesting kids.”
Walker’s mouth dropped open, face frozen in shock. “What?”
“Dark, right?” Fernando sighed. “You weren’t expecting all that, were you?
It was a convoluted mess worthy of being on one of my mom’s telenovelas.
Our family lawyer even told us they plan to make an episode about it for Dateline.
Diego was the mayor in our very small town, so it was big news for a long time. Still is, really.”
“Shit,” Walker said, voice barely above a whisper. “He’s in jail now, right?”
“Yeah,” Fernando said, shrugging. He waited for Walker’s arm to move, but the alpha pulled him closer.
“He killed your parents to hide it?” Walker’s thumb rubbed circles on Fernando’s arm, and he welcomed the warmth the man’s touch gave him.
“When Dad found out, he didn’t react right away.” Fernando leaned his head on Walker’s shoulder. “I don’t know why. Maybe it was because it was his brother. Anyway, eventually Dad told Diego to stop, or he’d send pictures to the police.”
“Instead, your uncle killed them.” Walker’s lips brushed against the top of his head. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah,” Fernando said softly. “My youngest sister, Valentina, was just twelve. I’m just happy she wasn’t with them when it happened.”
“Fuck, that’s young.”
“It is. Plus, at first, we didn’t know it was Diego who killed them,” Fernando said, words quivering. “We all thought it was a mugging, so he was someone we leaned on for support.”
“That fucking asshole.” Walker practically growled. “How could he do that? You lost your parents and an uncle in the worst way.”
“Right?” Fernando’s voice broke. “We loved and trusted him.” So many people blamed them for that. They thought he and his sisters should have somehow known what their uncle was doing and put a stop to it.
“You have your family, though, right? You said you had siblings.”
Fernando huffed angrily. His uncle’s actions were horrible enough, but Fernando had his own sins.
“I do now, but I almost lost them because I was an idiot. In the aftermath, Diego manipulated me into thinking my older brother was a greedy, backstabbing asshole. Instead, I was the asshole. I treated Mateo like shit and completely ignored Valentina. Our uncle isolated us from one another, just so he could continue to hide his own actions. Instead of seeing all that, I just worried about myself like a selfish jerk.”
“Hey, now,” Walker said, voice stern. “You had just lost your parents, too. I’ve seen people grieving, and it’s hard to think straight when your emotions are all over the place. Someone so cold-blooded as your uncle would probably find it easy to use you and the others.”
“Doesn’t change my actions.” Fernando watched the shadows dance across Walker’s face. “I told you it was convoluted, right? You don’t hear this kind of thing all the time.”
“Hey, we’ve already told each other about the worst times of our lives. Next thing you know, we’ll be married,” Walker said, smiling for a moment before turning serious again. “Do you regret having a family? Sometimes being alone seems appealing.”
“No,” Fernando said, shaking his head. His thoughts were strangely settled for the first time in months. “Having family and friends outweighs the pain in losing them,” he said, looking right into the alpha’s eyes. “I promise.”
Walker stroked his face. “That’s a brave thing for you to say after all you’ve been through.”
Fernando swallowed hard. “Once Diego’s crimes were discovered, my family and two friends were all that stood by me, but without them…”
“You’d be me.” Walker linked his fingers with Fernando’s.
They were quiet for a moment, and Fernando closed his eyes, enjoying the strength in the arm around him. Restless energy filled him as the music got louder and the crowd larger. He was hyperaware that something was happening. Something important.
Walker cleared his throat. “Do you want to dance?”
“Yes.” Fernando jumped up. “Enough serious talk, marine. What the hell do you think you’re supposed to do the day before deployment? Listen to a stranger’s heavy family drama? I don’t think so.”