You see the way Jase looks at me and you’re sick with jealousy.”

Jase’s head jerked back, as if this was news to him.

“That’s not true.” He turned to Luis. “I never said anything like that to him, Luis. I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

Luis said, “I know, Jase. I’ve never been jealous of him. I went to Roland’s and Josh’s house this morning and they showed me a videotape of Darius destroying the proposal.” Luis tipped his head toward Darius. “Roland and Josh have hidden cameras all over the house, including the bathrooms, and they recently viewed this particular video from the day of the party and thought I’d like to see it. That was why Roland wanted me to come over there last night.

That’s why he insisted he had to talk to us, Jase. And that wasn’t all Darius did in the bathroom. After he viciously destroyed Roland’s proposal for no apparent reason, he dropped his pants, lifted his pretty blond legs, and let Josh fuck him like nothing had ever happened.”

Jase’s face turned a pale shade of gray. He walked over to where Luis was standing and took the iron poker out of Luis’s hands. Then he turned and faced Darius. “Is all this true?”

Darius squared his shoulders and lowered his tone. He squinted and said, “Josh is a good fuck, Luis. You should try him out sometime. I know how much you like big dick. Remember, I’ve seen you in action. You’re nothing but a little slut.”

“Why would you destroy the proposal?” Jase asked.

“And why on Earth would you have a photo of Leck Schneider under your bed?”

“Because Darius Denby was Leck’s partner for ten years,” Luis said. “After I found the photo under his mattress, I did a few online searches and I found photos of him doing porn films at sixteen years old, photos of him with Leck, and even a photo of him at Leck’s funeral. It’s all there. You just have to know what you’re looking for. There’s no use pretending anymore, Darius. It’s time to leave.”

Jase stood there gaping at Darius. “We trusted you and treated you like family. Why would you do this?”

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Darius’s lost control. His arm went across the counter, knocking the coffee pot and canisters across the room with a loud crash. He leaned forward and clenched his fists. “I wanted revenge.” He pointed to Luis. “He killed Leck. He shot him dead as if he’d pulled the trigger himself. The slut ruined my life, took everything I had, and left me in the streets. I wanted to get even. I wanted him to know what it was like to lose everything he’d ever loved in a matter of minutes, to have his life come crashing down around him.”

“I can’t believe we trusted you with our son,” Luis said.

Darius smiled. “I was going to take him for a very long ride this afternoon.”

“Get out of this house,” Jase said. His face tightened and the veins in his neck started to bulge. “Get out of here before I kill you with my bare hands.”

Darius relaxed his shoulders. “I’ll pack my things.”

“No,” Luis said. “Get out now. We’ll pack your things and send them to you.” He pointed to the door. “I’m not fucking around. Just get into your truck and go.”

“You filthy little slut,” Darius said. “You’ve ruined my life twice now. I’ll slit your throat.”

Then Darius lunged across the room, landed on top of Luis, and pushed him down to the floor. While he grabbed the top of Luis’s head with one hand and Luis’s neck with the other, Camp barked and growled upstairs in the master bedroom. He squeezed Luis’s throat so hard Luis lost his breath and he almost blacked out. Darius was much stronger than Luis had imagined. He tried pushing him off but he wouldn’t budge.

Jase dropped the iron poker and grabbed the back of Darius’s neck. He lifted him off Luis’s body, dragged him away from the fireplace, and with one quick swing his fist met Darius’s jaw. Darius went sailing to the other side of the room.

He landed on his back. He seemed to be out cold, so Jase reached for Luis’s hand and he helped him to his feet. He put his arms around Luis and held him tightly. “Are you okay?”

Luis struggled for a breath. His neck burned and his heart pounded so fast he felt lightheaded. “I’m fine. Just get him out of here. Call the police now. There’s no use trying to be nice to him.” Then he looked over and saw Darius wasn’t on the floor anymore.

By the time Jase turned, Darius appeared in the doorway, with blood dripping down his chin, between the kitchen and the hall that led to his bedroom. He was holding a gun, pointing it in Luis’s direction. He must have had the gun hidden somewhere in his room and Luis had missed it.

Luis felt his knees go weak. He’d been in dangerous situations before but no one had ever pointed a gun at him.

His life didn’t pass by, but his chest caved in and a calm, serene feeling entered his body. He couldn’t speak; he couldn’t move.

Jase reached out with both hands and shouted, “No.”

“I want him to pay for what he did to Leck,” Darius said, aiming the pistol at Luis’s head. “I want him dead.”

Jase shouted again. This time it sounded more as if he was pleading. “Please. No.”

At the exact moment Darius pulled the trigger, Jase lunged at him. The gun went off with a loud bang and Jase pummeled him to the floor. “You want to see revenge, you fucking lunatic?” Jase shoved his knee into Darius’s stomach hard and he looked back to check on Luis. Luis was on the floor by then. Jase turned and said, “I’ll show you what real revenge is now for what you’ve done.”

Then Jase pushed Darius’s arms back over his head, pinning him to the floor with his knee wedged in his groin.

Jase ripped the gun from his hand and held both wrists at the same time. With the back of the gun, Jase knocked him in the jaw and split his lip. Then Jase shoved the gun into his mouth and said, “You could have left quietly. You didn’t have to shoot him.”

But as Jase was about to pull the trigger, Luis spoke in a weak voice. “I’m okay, Jase. He didn’t shoot me. He missed.

My legs buckled and he shot the wall behind me. Don’t do it, Jase.”

Luis knew Jase was defending him. He knew Darius deserved anything Jase did to him. But he didn’t want Jase to live with something like this for the rest of his life.

Jase didn’t move. He held the gun in Darius’s mouth and said, “But he could have killed you. This bastard has no respect for life. And now I want to teach him all about revenge.” He looked into Darius’s bulging eyes. “You screwed around with the wrong people this time, Darius.”




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