Chapter 11

“CALM DOWN. He said he was coming,” Fillian’s mom said from behind him. “You must really like him if you’re this nervous.”

“Mom, don’t go there,” Fillian said, letting the curtains fall back into place.

“What?” she asked gently. “You are nervous, and I know you. You like Gregory, and there’s nothing wrong with it, so why are you acting like you’re some sort of emotionally repressed idiot? You weren’t raised that way.”

“True, but Gregory was. You know who his parents were, and his mother is still a real piece of work.”

His mom put her hand on his shoulder. “That only means that it’s more important for him to hear how you feel than for most people. If I’d had that woman for a parent, I think I’d have grown up to be some kind of affection sponge, soaking it up wherever I could get it.”

“Then you get it. What if I scare him off?”

His mother shook her head. “I’d say being honest about your feelings is the best way to go. His mother was all about playing games. She’d ask for what she wanted, then use reason, guilt, you name it. Games were a way of life when he was growing up, so don’t play them.” She went to the window. “They’re here.”

He turned in time to see the truck pulling to a stop. “How do you do that?”

She just smiled and shrugged. “I’m a mother.” As if that explained why she always knew someone was arriving before they actually got there. He had always thought his mother had great hearing, but the fact that her doctors were talking about hearing aids blew that theory out of the water. “Do you have your gear? Practice starts in twenty minutes, and you’re going to need to get over there to warm up.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mom.” He grabbed his gear and opened the door as Gregory and the kids hurried up the walk.

“Come on in,” she said to the kids after Gregory gave his mother and Fillian each a hug. “I made you pasta for dinner, as well as a pan of brownies.” She sure knew how to win them over. They hurried inside without looking back.

“I take it Mom is a hit,” Fillian said with a smile.

“Of course she is,” Gregory said. “Let’s get to practice.” He returned to the car and they drove the few blocks to the park, where the rest of the team was gathering. “I appreciate you letting me know about Lawrence.” He took Fillian’s hand. “He showed up at one of my jobs today, and my client was none too happy. I think it was her complaint that finally got the police to pick him up.”

“They couldn’t find him,” Fillian said. “After he packed up, there was no known address. We kept watch because they put out a notice, but he never returned to the property where you first encountered him. They got lucky that he decided to sit outside your building.”

Gregory groaned. “So does it take luck for the police to do their jobs?” he snapped. “The guy has been stalking me for weeks and he set fire to shit in my building and no one does anything. I sit up all night just to listen in case someone comes back, and everyone else is just sitting around doing nothing.” His voice grew higher, and Fillian felt his defenses rise.

“No, we aren’t, but we can’t perform miracles,” he snapped back, but then he calmed himself. “I know you’re scared, but he’s in custody, and it’s likely he’ll stay there until his trial now. It’s up to the judge, but I honestly don’t see them letting him out if this is how he behaves. I’m sorry you had to go through all of this, but hopefully it’s over, and after….” He was about to say his trial , but he trailed off because Gregory would have to testify, and that wasn’t going to be a great experience for him either.

“I know,” he said.

“And if you’re frustrated, then take it out in the practice. That’s what these guys are for.” He lightly kissed the back of Gregory’s knuckles.

“Somehow I don’t think the guys are going to thank me for wanting to rip the head off anyone who gets in my way,” Gregory told him.

“Then take a minute and relax. Everything is going to be okay.” Fillian was grateful that the past few weeks had come to some sort of resolution. Having Lawrence still out there, free and able to bother Gregory, had started to get to him, building up more tension and worry until the guy would explode, and that wasn’t going to help him or the kids. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Gregory shrugged. “How can you stop it? How can any of us? The guy lit a fire in the building, and all we could do was put it out and run outside. What if he gets out and does it again, only this time we don’t get to it in time?”

Fillian didn’t correct Gregory. He thought it likely that Lawrence had started the fire to freak him out, but there wasn’t any proof that it was him. Logic said Lawrence did it, but they didn’t have any evidence. “Hey.” He gently held Gregory’s hands. He’d known the blowup was going to come eventually. All this drama had taken a toll on Gregory, and it seemed that it was all coming to a head. At least it wasn’t in front of the kids. “I don’t know what to tell you other than you aren’t alone.”

Gregory sighed and nodded. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Just let it go if you can. The comedown is always the hardest.”

Gregory tilted his head slightly.

“When I’m in the middle of a situation, I’m on. Last year there was a man who had taken two kids and was holding them at gunpoint. Everyone was calm and collected during the entire thing. I was sent around to the back to see if there was any other way into the house. I got in through the outside basement entrance and then came up through the house. I was able to get the kids and take them back through the basement and out of the house before the perpetrator knew they were missing. After that, they took him into custody. It was easy… until it was over, and then I fell to pieces as soon as I got back to Mom’s. I was fine while all of it was going on, but after it was over….” He sighed. “That’s what you’re going through right now. All the possibilities are running through your head and scaring the hell out of you. But none of them happened. You got the kids out of the building, and they’re fine. Right now they’re at my mother’s filling up on her pasta, brownies, and milk. And after that, Mom has games and other things for them to do. She may even bake cookies with them.”

“They’ll come home….”

“In a sugar coma and happy as anything. Mom knows what kids like, and she’s been dying for grandchildren.” Fillian leaned over the seat. “There’s nothing for you to worry about except the fact that Coach is going to have a fit if we don’t get out there and join the others.”

Gregory chuckled. “And none of us wants to piss him off.”

“Nope.” He kissed Gregory and then opened the door to get out.

“If you two are done making out, do you think we can get on with the practice?” Coach called, his hands on his hips.

“We’re ready to go.” Fillian jogged to the sidelines and began stretching, watching Gregory as he did the same, unable to take his gaze off him. Not that he wanted to. Gregory was stunning, and the more time they spent together, the more Gregory felt like his—like he was meant for him. The problem was that Gregory had a lot on his plate.

“Fillian,” one of the guys called, pulling him out of his daydream. “Get your butt over here. We need to practice the scrum, and for that we need you.”

Fillian finished his stretch and jogged out to where the others were waiting with Gregory behind him.

“Let’s do this. We need to beat Shippensburg if we want to have a shot to make the league playoffs,” Fillian told the guys. “And I wanna win. After all, then we get to drink more beer.” A cheer went up, and they got to it.

“MR. FILLIAN!” Weston called as he raced across his mother’s living room. Fillian caught him and lifted him into the air. “I found them, look.” He pointed to the pile of Legos on the floor. “Your mom said if I looked I would find them, and I did.”

Fillian set him down.

“Those were mine when I was your age.” He remembered building everything from houses to airplanes with them. He got some most Christmases, and it wasn’t until years later that he realized his mother had scoured garage sales and Goodwill stores to find them. They were only loose bricks. The other kids in school got whole building sets, but that didn’t matter so much.

“Grammy says that I can play with them whenever I come here,” Weston said, looking at Gregory, who seemed confused. “She said we could call her that.”

“Of course you can,” Gregory said with a smile. It had taken most of the practice, but Gregory seemed in better spirits. It was good to have a chance to run off tension and worry. “Where’s Marnie?”

“In the kitchen.” Weston pointed before settling back on the floor to play. Gregory went on through, while Fillian sat on the sofa watching Weston play and Gregory greet Marnie with laughter. That was an amazing sound to hear.

“You wanna see what they’ve been doing?” he asked Weston, who nodded. Then Fillian stood, and Weston raced into the kitchen with Fillian following. His mom and Marnie had baked and iced cutout sugar cookies. There was icing all over the counter, Marnie’s fingers, her apron, and even her face, because his mom’s cookies were just too good not to eat.

“We were having fun and got a little carried away,” his mother explained as she began wiping up the mess and putting the dishes in the sink.

“It looks like you both had fun,” Gregory said with a smile. He looked different, his smile brighter, his shoulders a little straighter.

“We did,” Marnie said. “She and I did it together.”

Gregory nodded. “Your mom used to love to bake. She made the best carrot cake.” He swallowed hard.

“She did?” Marnie asked.

“Yeah. She also used to love to cook for the holidays. We used to have Christmas brunch at her and your dad’s house because her cooking was so good.” Gregory hugged Marnie, and Fillian could tell he was far away at that moment.

“Do you think I’ll be able to cook like her someday?” Marnie asked, so seriously.

“I’d say so,” Fillian’s mom said. “It takes a little time to learn, but you have the makings of a real baker.” She continued cleaning up, and Fillian began loading the dishwasher for her. Once it was full, he started it.

“Thanks,” he said softly while Gregory got the kids to gather their things. “This was really nice of you to do for them.”

“I didn’t do it just for them,” she said softly, her gaze going to Gregory and then back to him. One thing about his mom, she wasn’t particularly subtle.

“I get it, Mom,” he said with a smile. “Are you all ready to go?” he asked as she scurried to pack up some cookies for the kids and gave them each a hug. Then they got everyone loaded into the car and truck and headed back to Gregory’s. Fillian parked and followed Gregory and the kids up the stairs, where everyone came to a halt outside their door.

“What the hell?” Gregory turned to Fillian.

A note was stuck onto the door with tape: I’m watching you.

“Don’t touch it,” Fillian said as Marnie reached for it. “Unlock the door and let me go inside first to make sure no one is there.”

Gregory unlocked the door with a shaky hand, and Fillian went inside, listening carefully.

He heard nothing but checked from room to room before looking out back to the fire escape. Nothing seemed to have been disturbed. A pile of Legos lay on the coffee table, and the bedrooms hadn’t been touched. Nothing inside the apartment seemed to have been disturbed.

“It’s okay, guys. No one is here. Check your rooms and let me know if anything is missing.” Fillian pulled out his phone. He called Carter, who verified that Lawrence was still in jail and had been since he was picked up. “So what the hell is going on?” He explained to Carter what they found when they got back.

“I’m on my way. Don’t let anyone touch anything if its not too late.”

Fillian rolled his eyes, even though Carter couldn’t see him. “It’s probably too late. I’ll see you in a few.” He ended the call and found Gregory in Marnie’s room, both kids on the bed, with Gregory holding them.

“I’m scared,” Marnie whispered. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Mr. Carter is going to come over, and then we’re all going to go to my house, so get your jammies and things together.”

“Can we take our sleeping bags?” Weston asked.

“Yes. If you want, you can camp out in the living room,” Fillian said. “Mr. Carter will be here soon, and then we’ll go once he’s done.” Gregory seemed out of it, but at least the kids got excited. They gathered their things, and finally Gregory stood and went to his room.

Fillian answered the door when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Carter pulled on gloves, took down the note, and placed it into an evidence bag. He also examined the door and the area around where the note was taped. “I don’t know what sort of fingerprints we can get, but the note itself might tell us something.”

“I thought so. If you need resources, let me know,” Fillian said. “With Little in jail, I thought this crap was over.” But it seemed that the situation was more complicated than he originally thought. “And now we’re all wondering who else could have a grudge against Gregory.” It felt like they were right back at square one. “I’m taking him and the kids to my house. They’re scared and upset, especially after the fire and now both of them seeing the note.”

“Good idea. I’ll get on this as soon as I get to the station,” Carter said.

“The most frustrating thing about all this is that I can’t do much about it. I want to dig in and investigate who the hell could do this, but….”

Carter nodded. “You have to go by the rules, especially since you’re involved. Besides, your job is to take care of this family. That’s where you’re needed. I can check out this note, and I’ll look more closely into the fire to see if there’s a connection. I really thought we had our man with that one, but if there’s someone else out there, then we need to look at everything once more.” Fillian was thinking the exact same thing. “Did anyone get into the apartment?”

“I don’t think so. The door was still locked, and they haven’t found anything out of place. If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was just a trick someone was playing to try to scare them. I mean, there was no real harm done other than entering the building. They taped a note to the door meant to intimidate and then they went no further.”

Carter shrugged. “Both of us have seen weirder things. Is there any value in having me speak to them?”

“I don’t know. Gregory was with me at practice all evening, and the kids were at my mother’s.” He couldn’t help smiling when Carter smirked.

“So not only have they met your parents, but your mom is babysitting. That’s quite the step.” Carter chuckled when Fillian scowled at him. “Okay, I know you don’t want to jinx it. Let me get to work on this and I’ll be in touch.” He held up the evidence bag before descending the stairs.

Fillian returned inside. The kids sat on the sofa with their BB8 and Ariel suitcases, along with their sleeping bags.

“Where’s your dad?” Fillian asked. Both kids pointed to his bedroom. Fillian nodded and went inside to where Gregory sat on the side of the bed.

“What if I’m putting them in danger?” he asked softly. “Whoever is doing this is after me, and what if they hurt the kids?” His voice cracked.

Fillian sat next to him. “This isn’t your fault. It’s the asshole doing this shit, and you are not allowed to feel guilty. You can worry all you want, but guilt is not allowed. I swear I will figure out who’s doing this and rip their nuts off. But this is their fault, and there is nothing you’ve done to bring this on.” He hugged Gregory tightly.

“But what if something happens to the kids?” Gregory asked.

“You’re a good parent, and nothing is going to happen to them.” Fillian hated that someone was making Gregory doubt himself. “Remember that whatever happens is not your fault.” He held Gregory tightly for a while. “Now you should get packed. The kids are out there waiting for you with sleeping bags and everything.”

“They love camping,” Gregory said.

“Me too. Maybe before the summer is over, we could take them. I have a tent big enough for all of us,” Fillian offered. “And maybe you and I could sit out under the stars after the kids have gone to bed.” He felt Gregory shiver against him. “Now get packed. And just so you know, you won’t need a sleeping bag. I have a king-size bed, and there is plenty of room in it for you.”

He left Gregory to pack and checked on the kids, who were still sitting on the sofa, Weston holding the container of cookies from Fillian’s mother, looking at them and licking his lips.

“Those are for later,” Fillian said. “And didn’t you fill up on cookies and dinner at Mom’s?”

“Weston ate lots,” Marnie said.

“But I’m still hungry,” he added.

Fillian sat down across from them. “It’s okay. I remember when I was your age and I was always hungry too. Especially for cookies.”

“And did Grammy make you cookies and stuff… all the time?” Weston asked, his eyes wide, like Mom had the oven on a conveyor belt. “You were really lucky.”

“And so are you, because she sent some home.” He ruffled Weston’s hair as Gregory joined them. Fillian got up and helped the kids with their gear. Then they trudged out of the apartment. Gregory locked it, and then down the stairs and into the cars they went.

Fillian checked to make sure no one was watching before leading Gregory and the kids around the alley to his house. He had Gregory park in the garage, and he pulled up just outside. Once parked, he led the way into the backyard along the garden path to his back door.

“Do you do the cloak-and-dagger thing much?” Gregory teased as he let them all inside.

“Normally I don’t have to. I’m a cop, and people are usually respectful. But you never know.” He closed and locked the door. “Go in the living room, and you can lay out your sleeping bags where you want them,” he told the kids. He took the container of cookies and set it on the counter. He had no illusion that they would last very long in Weston’s hands.

They rushed through and staked out their sleeping areas. Fillian turned on the television. “Whose turn is it to pick?” he asked.

“Marnie’s,” Weston said, his expression falling. “Not Mulan again.”

Marnie thought for a few seconds, a finger at her lips. “ Cars ?” she asked. “I like Lightning McQueen.” Weston whooped, and Fillian located the movie and put it on.

Fillian took Gregory up to his room so he could get settled in. Then he returned to the kitchen and made a big bowl of popcorn. This was a family who loved the stuff, and at a time like this, comfort food was called for. At least that was what his mother would do, and who was he to argue with her? He brought in bowls and gave each of them one, then made up one for Gregory, who joined him on the sofa.

“How long will it take before Carter has anything?” Gregory asked quietly as the movie played.

“It might take a day or so. I want to check tomorrow to see if I can get permission to speak to Lawrence. I really think we need to know why he was acting the way he was.” Something wasn’t right, and Fillian hated a mystery with a passion. After all, Lawrence’s behavior made no sense, especially since it got him thrown back in jail with revocation of his bail. People weren’t always rational, but they usually didn’t behave so counter to their own interests. If Lawrence had kept his head down, he would have been better off.

“Do you think you’ll be allowed to?” Gregory asked.

“I don’t know. It will be up to the chief of police. I’ll ask Carter tomorrow and see what he thinks. It isn’t going to do any harm to speak to him, and anyway, there is the possibility that Lawrence could refuse to talk.” That had happened before, and he would be fully within his rights.

“So what else? Me and the kids can’t stay here forever.”

“Maybe not, but you can for a few days. They can stay out of sight, and you can all feel safe.” It would be supremely stupid for anyone to try anything at this point. But then, stranger things had happened. He slipped an arm around Gregory and drew him close, inhaling his rich scent. “Just try to relax and enjoy the time with the kids. Everything else will work its way out.”

“Do you really believe that?” Gregory asked.

“Yes. We’ll figure things out. There’s something going on that neither of us understands, but now we know to look for something else. Part of what we thought was Lawrence was someone else.” He leaned closer. “I have to ask, is there anyone you’ve really pissed off lately?”

Gregory shook his head. “Who would want to treat me this way? I really don’t know of anyone. I mean, they broke into the building just to leave a note on my door.”

“And that doesn’t sound like anyone you know? Someone who would go to any length to get what they wanted?” Fillian met Gregory’s gaze, watching as his eyes widened, and the idea that had niggled at the back of Fillian’s mind for a couple of hours got picked up by Gregory, who kept shaking his head slowly.

“My mother? You have to be kidding me. You think my mother would do this?” Gregory snickered. “My mother would never get her hands dirty like that.” He paled, and his eyes went even wider. “You don’t think she somehow got in touch with Lawrence?” He shook his head hard. “No way. I’m going off the deep end. I know my mother likes to get her own way, but for her to hire a criminal to harass me is just too much to be believed.”

Fillian chuckled, because it seemed farfetched to him as well. But if it made Gregory laugh, then it was worth it. He was pleased to see Gregory smile, but Fillian also made a mental note to try to rule that woman out. He knew more than most that sometimes people did things no one could imagine.

“Do you really think… my mother?”

Fillian shrugged. “I’m going to try to rule her out. At least then there isn’t any doubt.” It was kind of sick that Gregory could suspect that sort of thing of his own mother. Though knowing her from his time as a kid as well as the few times he’d met her in the past few weeks, Fillian was going to need convincing that she wasn’t behind all this.

By the time the movie had ended, the kids had settled down and were quiet. Fillian put on Planes as a follow-up, and they watched and eventually fell asleep. He turned out the lights and lowered the volume. Then he and Gregory watched the rest of the movie before tucking in each of the kids and leaving the room, with the light on in the kitchen in case they woke up.

“Are you sure you’re okay with leaving them down here?” Fillian asked.

“Yeah. Neither of them is likely to wake up before morning, and I have to be up early because I have a busy day. I’ll take them to the Y on the way.”

“I have a shift as well. But you need to keep an eye out tomorrow and call me right away if you see anything unusual.” He held Gregory’s hand, leading him up the stairs. “I just found you, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He swallowed hard, realizing just how important Gregory and the kids had become to him.

Fillian let Gregory use the bathroom first and then cleaned up. He returned to a dark room with Gregory under the covers.

“I love this bed. It’s so comfortable.”

“Me too.” Fillian slipped under the covers and right up against Gregory, loving the heat washing off him. “But you know what I like more? You in it.” He ran his hand over Gregory’s belly. “I like having you right here with me. Especially with the house quiet like this. I love the kids—they’re pretty amazing—but I love our time like this too. Just you and me.” He slipped closer to Gregory, kissing him gently at first but with quickly growing ardor.

Gregory returned his passion, holding him tightly. “I feel like I’m going to break apart sometimes.”

Fillian understood. He ran his hands down Gregory’s back and over his firm ass. “I know. But you’re safe, and so are the kids.” He held still before pulling back a little. “I know you’ve been through a lot lately, and we don’t have to do anything tonight. I didn’t invite you and the kids over here so we could have sex.” Fillian grinned as he leaned over Gregory. “Well, not just so we could have sex.”

“That’s better,” Gregory teased.

“You’re here because I want to keep you safe, more than anything else. The rest is….” He closed the distance between them. “You have to know that you drive me crazy sometimes. I see you, I watch you, and all I want is to pull you aside, let the kids fend for themselves, and have you all alone.”

“I see,” Gregory said with a smile. “My dad bod really does it for you, huh?”

Fillian patted Gregory’s belly. “This is no dad bod. And let me tell you, you do it for me. But I never know how to behave in front of the kids.” He snickered when Gregory snorted. “I don’t mean that. I mean, I want to be affectionate, but I don’t know if I should in front of them.”

Gregory paused. “I think it’s good for them to see that we care for each other. Stephanie and Arthur were affectionate to each other. It was clear that they loved each other deeply, and I think kids need to know that kind of deep affection is possible. Lord knows I never got that kind of example from my parents. Can you imagine my mother being all lovey-dovey under any circumstances?”

“No, but I can see your mother breathing on flowers and her breath coating them in ice. Or maybe we could hire her out to the international community as the cure for climate change.” The last thing he wanted was to talk about her again, but Gregory had brought her up. “Sorry.”

“I wish I could argue with you, but I can’t. I had everything growing up except affectionate parents. They were definitely more interested in themselves and their own wants than they were in anything or anyone else.” Gregory sat up. “I always thought that maybe the divorce could be good for both of them. It was for Dad. He’s remarried, but to a very different kind of person from Mom. She’s nice and takes good care of him. They’re truly happy.” He sighed. “God, why am I such a complete downer?”

“Because you have a lot on your mind.” Fillian put his arm around him and rested his head against Gregory’s shoulder.

“But I don’t want it. I keep hoping for you to take it all away,” Gregory said.

Fillian grinned and leaned closer, capturing Gregory’s lips. “Then let me do just that.”