Chapter 15
15
I n the hallway, several feet away from the open door to the twins’ bedroom, Cole hit the answer button.
He already guessed why Drake was calling him.
“Doctor?”
“Where are you? Have you forgotten about your appointment? My contact has been waiting for you. He can’t wait much longer.”
Drake sounded utterly pissed off.
“Apologies. I totally got turned around in traffic with all these one-way streets. I’m only three blocks away now. Three minutes tops.”
“Fine, I’ll let him know. Just don’t make him wait any longer. He’s a busy man, and this might be your only chance to speak to him.”
“I appreciate it. I’ll be there in three minutes.”
He shoved the cell phone into his pants pocket and walked back to the open door.
Vanessa was rocking one of the twins in her arms. The sight made a warm feeling spread in his belly, while a completely unreasonable wish rose inside him: to see this woman rocking his child in her arms. He had to shake off the image, and instead lifted his hand to get Vanessa’s attention.
She cast him a quizzical look.
“Sorry, I have to leave. Can we talk tomorrow?”
“Of course. Everything okay?”
“Yes, no worries. I simply forgot something I needed to do.” He smiled. “Talk tomorrow.”
He rushed down the stairs, snatched his jacket from the railing, and left the house. Seconds later, he sat in his Aston Martin, the engine roaring as he drove down the street. He took the next left turn. He could already see Anza Alta Park and was looking for the stairs that led from the sidewalk up to the highest point of the park. Another right turn, and he spotted the stairs on the south side of the square. He brought his car to a stop right in front of them, killed the engine, and hopped out, his eyes already searching the stairs.
He saw nobody. Had Drake’s contact already left?
He hurried closer, walking up a few steps, while he let his gaze roam. All of a sudden, he heard footfalls. His heart pounding rapidly, Cole whirled his head in the direction of the sound.
A dark figure with a long leather coat emerged from the shadow beneath a tree and walked toward him. When he was able to see the man’s face, Cole instinctively reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, his fingers wrapping around the wooden stake.
The man was as tall as Cole, muscular, with long dark hair that reached to his shoulders. But none of these attributes sent fear into his bones. No, it was his face that made adrenaline spike in his body, demanding he make a decision between fight and flight, because one side of the man’s face was marred with a large, ugly scar that reached from his ear to his chin. It made him look like an enforcer for the Mafia, or for the Chinese Triad, though he was Caucasian and not Asian.
The stranger calmly walked toward him. “You must be Cole Whitlock.”
Swallowing the fear he’d felt only a moment earlier, he nodded. “Yes, Mr…? Dr. Drake didn’t mention your name.”
“I’m Gabriel.” He offered his hand and Cole shook it.
“Apologies for being late, Gabriel. Please call me Cole.”
Given the intimate nature their conversation would take inevitably, he preferred an informal address so he could at least imagine that he was talking to a friend.
“It’s nice meeting you, Cole. Shall we walk?” He motioned to a path that wrapped around the park after the first set of steps.
As they walked, Cole noticed that Gabriel had chosen to walk next to him with his good side exposed to him. Cole felt foolish having stared so overtly at Gabriel’s scar.
“Drake believes you may have the same problem as I do,” Gabriel started. “Tell me about it so I can be sure.”
Cole took a steadying breath. This wouldn’t be easy. “I’m not sure how to start, so here it goes. I have a large growth on my groin, right above my penis. According to all the doctors I’ve seen, it’s not cancerous. The biopsies came back negative.”
“Hmm. Have you tried removing the growth through surgical means?”
“Yes, several times. But it always grows back. I even tried radiation therapy, but nothing will get rid of it.”
“Did you know your father?” Gabriel’s question was unexpected.
“My father? Yes, of course.”
“Did he have the same growth?”
“Yes.” Sadness crept into his voice. “He had it all his life.”
“Even after he met your mother?”
“Yes, that was the whole reason she didn’t want to be with him. They had a one-night stand, and nine months later, she handed me to him. She didn’t want to be a mother to a freak. My father could never find love, and he spiraled down into a deep depression.”
He hadn’t spoken about this to anyone, and it felt like a relief to get it off his chest. “He committed suicide when I was a junior in college.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss. If only he could have held on. But I’m glad you’ve found me. At least you won’t have to deal with the same pain.”
Cole felt hope rise. “Are you saying there’s a cure?” He stopped walking and turned to face Gabriel.
“Not a cure, per se,” Gabriel hedged.
“But then, if there’s no cure—”
Gabriel lifted his hand, interrupting. “You don’t need a cure. The growth you describe, the growth you’ve had since your birth is the same growth that I grew up with. It’s a genetic mutation, and it’s hereditary. My two sons have it too. It never skips a generation.”
“You have sons?”
Gabriel smiled, and for a moment, Cole didn’t see the scar but only the face of the man beneath it.
“Yes, and a daughter, and a happy wife. There is love for all of us. You’ll see.”
“But how?” He gestured to his groin. “How can any woman love this?”
Gabriel hesitated. “What I’ll tell you now might sound fantastical, but it’s the truth, and I’m the living proof of it.”
“What are you saying?”
“The growth I had from birth and carried with me for so many years isn’t there anymore.”
“It’s gone?”
“Not gone, because it cannot be removed, no matter what you try. It’s transformed.” Gabriel looked away for a moment. “Listen, I’m not used to talking to strangers about sex organs, but here’s the gist of it. After you sleep with the woman who’s meant for you, the growth you have now will turn into a second penis.”
Cole nearly choked on his own saliva. “A second dick?” He shook his head. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Gabriel smirked. “I’m not. My wife would probably suggest that I show you my two cocks to make you believe, but then my wife is a doctor and not squeamish. I’m a little more reserved.”
Cole let the words sink in. “How is that possible?”
Gabriel shrugged. “There’s lore around this medical phenomenon. My wife will tell you that it’s all science, but every piece of lore is rooted in some reality. What they call men like you and me, and the women who make us sprout our second cock—so to speak—is satyr.”
“Like a minotaur?”
“Sort of, but without the hooves and all. And while my legs are hairy, they aren’t more than any other man’s.”
“Are you saying we’re descendants from some sort of mythical creature?”
“In a manner of speaking, though you are human. You just have this extra bit.” Gabriel shrugged.
“And your wife? She accepts you like that?”
Gabriel chuckled unexpectedly. “She wouldn’t have it any other way.” There was a sparkle in his brown eyes that now looked like they had a golden rim around the irises.
“But why would you need two—” Cole stopped himself, meeting Gabriel’s eyes.
Gabriel didn’t speak, but held his gaze, until something in Cole’s mind clicked. He suddenly realized what the second cock was for.
“I believe you just answered your own question,” Gabriel said. “I knew you were a smart man.”
A quiet ringing sound came from Gabriel’s pocket. “Excuse me.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and took a step away. “Yeah?”
There was a brief pause. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” He disconnected the call and turned back to Cole. “I have to get back to work.”
In the middle of the night? Maybe he really was an enforcer for the Mafia. But it was best not to ask any questions. Gabriel had taken the time to explain to him what his condition really meant, and he was grateful, though he now had even more questions.
“Thank you, Gabriel,” Cole said. “I wish we could talk longer.”
“Let’s exchange numbers,” Gabriel offered. “I would love to introduce you to my family. As I said, my wife’s a doctor, and my youngest son deals with the same issue as you right now. But my oldest son, he’s found his mate, and he’s gotten his second cock.”
“You have adult sons? You don’t look old enough for that.” In fact, the man looked the same age as Cole.
“Good genes. And you should meet my daughter. She hasn’t found her mate yet.”
“Uhm…” Cole didn’t know what to say. He was only interested in Vanessa, even if it was stupid to have feelings for a prostitute.
Gabriel suddenly put his hand on Cole’s forearm. “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you. Let me give you my number, and when you’re ready to learn more about satyrs, or want to meet my sons to talk about what they’re going through, just call me.”
He pulled a card from his pocket, and Cole took it.
“I really appreciate it. Everything…” He nodded. “It’s given me lots to think about.”
A moment later, Gabriel left. His head spinning, Cole slowly walked back to his car. He got inside and locked the doors, and then just sat there, staring into the distance.
Had Gabriel spoken the truth? Might the grotesque growth really one day turn into a second cock? And if that was the case, would the woman who caused this change in him really want him and everything that it entailed? And would he want her?
But what if Gabriel had lied to him? What if all this was just one big fat April Fool’s joke? Or worse, some sort of scam.
Fuck!
He didn’t know what to think, how to feel, whether to be happy or angry, frustrated or hopeful, confused or relieved. Or maybe everything at the same time.
To say he was overwhelmed and a little more than just skeptical when it came to the information the scarred stranger had imparted on him was the understatement of the century.
Didn’t the revelation that he was a satyr only underscore the very fact that he was a freak of nature?
He needed to think. Maybe sleep on it. Perhaps tomorrow he could figure out what this news meant for his future.