Chapter 21: Dom

"Do you really think Rory is involved?" G asks, looking over to me.

Its been a few days since the detectives came by to see me, and it's a question that has been rattling around in my brain. It makes no sense at all. Rory is Danil's best friend. The person that has been there for him through all of this. But there is also a very loud voice telling me that when everything started to go wrong with me and Danil, it was Rory that was there.

"No idea," I tell him.

"Isn't he Danil's friend? I remember Danil saying that Rory was going to help look after you," G adds.

"He is. He's Danil's best friend," I reply.

"Do you think they could be more?" G asks, and pain lances my heart. Could the person that Danil was cheating on me with be Rory?

"If they were a couple, why keep it secret?" Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Why did we keep our relationship a secret?

"Suppose that is a good point, but Danil did only come out to Feliks recently. Maybe he thought introducing a boyfriend would seem a little much."

I want to tell G to shut up. To stop talking about Danil being in a relationship with someone that isn't me, because it is incredibly painful to hear, but I cannot say anything. Instead, I have to sit there and endure it. Keeping up my brave fa?ade.

"G, do you mind if we change the subject?. I don't really want to think about the accident or Danil."

"Yeah of course," G says, and I am thankful that he doesn't probe about why I don't want to think about Danil.

"Where's Frank?" I ask.

G bites his lips for a moment, and I think he is worried about telling me where Frank is, but he takes a deep breath.

"Danil called," G states. "Said that he needed to see Feliks. According to Feliks he sounded strange."

"Strange?" I ask suddenly, feeling worried, and so much for trying to stop thinking about Danil. He is always there, but with him being Franks son, it is always going to be an issue. I am never going to be able to fully escape him. Not until I can get away from this apartment.

"Feliks didn't say, but I think he was worried. He has been in protective mode since the accident."

"It's good that he looks out for you," I tell him, because even though some people question the age difference, you only have to see G and Frank together to know how much they love each other. It's a love anyone would be jealous of. It's a love I thought I might have with Danil.

"He looks out for everyone," G tells me.

We don't say anything more to each other, and I am hoping that it means this conversation is finally over, because I'm ready to move on and try and focus on something else.

"So, how was the hospital today?" G eventually asks over to me.

"It was good," I tell him.

"I really wish you would let us come with you. You are usually so exhausted, but you do look okay today."

"Today was an easier day. They're getting me standing," I tell him. "Hoping it means that I am going to be able to take some steps soon. Means I will be able to get out of your way then."

"Dom, we keep telling you, you are not in our way."

"I am never going to stop thinking that I am. You're running a restaurant, planning a wedding, and now looking after me. That is a lot," I tell him.

"Matt has the restaurant under control when I am not there. I forgot how good he was in the office. The wedding planning is something I am able to do at home. And we aren't really looking after you. You're just staying here till you are back up on your feet, literally," G replies, giving me a smirk.

"Anyway. Hopefully in a few weeks, I will be able to get back home."

"You want to go back to Momma and Papa's?" G asks, and I can hear the surprise in my voice.

"I am all they have now," I say.

"Which is their choice. They are the ones that decided to cut us out of their lives," G says, and there is no mistaking that he is still bitter about everything that happened. "All we did was fall in love. It just happened to be with men."

I open my mouth to tell him that I don't know how long I am going to be in their lives. That I am guessing they will disown me if I ever come out to them. They have only just lost Alessia, I don't want them to have to deal with losing me too. Plus, I'm not so sure if I'm going to date a man anytime soon.

"I know that it was their choice, but they didn't choose to lose Alessia," I tell him. "So, I do feel like I need to go home."

"Dom, please, don't let them rule your life. You have no obligation to go home. You don't owe them anything."

"I know, and we have both seen firsthand what happens when Papa and Momma try to control our lives, but it is still my home, and they still need me."

"Dom, you have a very big heart," G tells me, giving me a smile.

"I learned it from my brothers," I state, giving him a smile that turns into a yawn.

"I think the hospital is catching up with you," G starts. "Want a nap?"

"Actually, a nap does sound appealing." Suddenly feeling drained.

G comes behind my chair and pushes me into the bedroom, and I decide to show him what I managed to do in the hospital today, once G has put my chair next to the bed. Making sure that the brakes are on, I call G to stand in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I place my hand on the handrail and stand up slowly.

The look on Gs face is priceless. His eyes go wide, but not as wide as the smile that stretches across his face.

"Dom, that is amazing," G gushes.

" Give me your hands," I demand, and G quickly complies, and with his hands in mine, I twist so that I'm able to sit on the edge of the bed. Standing takes a lot of my energy and I cannot do it for long.

"Do you want me to call in a couple hours?" G asks as he heads out of the bedroom.

"Please," I reply as I use my hands to lift up my legs and place them on the bed. My leg strength is getting better, but I am not able to lift them up onto the bed.

Lying back onto my pillows, I close my eyes, but I am instantly bombarded with images of Danil naked. Sweat glistening on his chest. His head thrown back in pleasure as he rides my dick. I open my eyes to rid myself of these thoughts, but they linger. Grabbing the pillow next to me, I place it over my face and then the tears flow. I thought that my pain would have eased by now. We broke up over a week ago, time is supposed to heal all wounds, but this wound still feels just as fresh.

"Dom," Gs gentle voice sounds, and I feel my body shaking, as G pushes me slightly to wake me.

"Hey," I reply, slowly opening my eyes.

"You've been asleep for two hours. We're making some food. Do you want some, or do you want to sleep some more?" G asks.

"Food would be good," I told him.

Sitting up, G helps me into my wheelchair and pushes me into the living room, where I am hit with smells of food cooking.

"What is that smell?" I ask, my mouth watering.

"Feliks is cooking a Russian beef stew, he has made it a few times and it is so good," G tells me.

"It's an old family recipe," Frank states, coming into the living room. "We have a while yet."

Frank goes over to the couch and sits down, but doesn't stop looking at me. There is a question on the tip of his tongue, but he is hesitant to ask it.

"How was Danil?" I ask him instead, hoping this will prompt Frank to start talking.

"He was troubled," Frank replies. "I did actually want to ask you something?"

"Oh?" And I have a strange feeling that Rory is going to be central to this conversation again.

"How well do you know Rory?" Frank asks, and bingo, I was right.

"Not well. He was more Danil's friend than mine. But he always seemed friendly. He's very supportive of Danil. Why?" Even now, I don't want to voice my wariness of Rory to Frank. What if he went back to Danil and it caused Danil to hate me even more?

"It looks like Rory lied to Danil and the cops," Frank tells me, and I can hear the edge to his voice. Frank is worried. That is painfully clear, and if Frank is worried, that is not a good sign.

"How?" Because I cannot see any situation in which Rory would lie to Danil.

"Rory told the cops that on the day of the accident he was there the entire time with Danil…" Frank starts.

"And he wasn't?"

"No, he wasn't. There is a twenty-to-thirty-minute gap, where he just vanishes," Frank explains.

"And he was probably making his way home, heard the accident and dashed back." Not sure why I am suddenly defending Rory. But he is still Danil's friend, and I don't want him in more pain. If he is in as much pain as me, that is.

"Not according to Danil," Frank replies. "He had been so sure that Rory was with him the entire time that he called and spoke to Remy, even visited the doctor who was on the scene."

"Danil went to Remy?" Needing confirmation on what I heard.

"Yeah. He was with you that day, right?"

"Yeah. Him and Ambrose," I confirm, but all I can think about at the moment is Danil. He must be devastated and confused as to what is going on. The urge to call him or text him grows, but I know I won't. Instead I ask Frank, "How is he?"

"Very confused. I think the main question is why Rory would lie about where he was."

"Is he going to tell the police?" They need to know this information if only to rule Rory out.

"He is, but he has also asked me to do some digging. I am going to reach out to some old… lets call them colleagues," Frank replies, and I don't like how he uses the term colleagues.

"Feliks, is that wise?" G asks.

"Gio, this is my son we are talking about. I will be careful, but I have to protect him." And I don't think I have ever heard Frank be so forceful with G. Its kinda impressive and scary at the same time.

"I know. Just, you haven't connected with your old life for a while now. Will these people even help, and what are they going to ask of you in return?"

"I am just going to call in some favors. I made sure to make people aware that I could and would one day come calling, and that day has arrived."

Shit. This is a side of Frank that I have never witnessed. Its almost cold and ruthless. I know that he worked for my uncle before working with Lorenzo. Was this who he was under Uncle Alfredo's control? Because if it is, thank God for G.

"Frank, you're kinda scary," I say to him.

"Oh, this is him mellowed out," G replies.

"Mellowed out. Is it wrong to feel sorry for whoever he is going to talk to?" I ask.

"I wouldn't. He won't be talking to the nicest people in society."

"But Rory doesn't mix with them. How will they help?" There is no way that Rory is going to be mixed up with anything sinister.

"It's probably better that you don't ask. The less everyone knows the better," Frank replies.

"But..." I start.

"No, Dom. Please, leave this to me. We have lost too much already and I cannot risk anything happening to Danil or you." He pauses for a moment. "But any information I find, we'll discuss as a family what to do with it."

There is a defiant look on Franks face that stops any further arguments from me and G, but I dont miss the worried glances that G gives Frank. Frank either doesn't notice them or decides to ignore them.

A few hours later, both G and I are sitting on the couch, and I know both of us are trying not to clock watch. Frank left soon after we ate, and we haven't heard anything since. I've caught G looking at his cell several times before pulling a face, which I assume means there's been no message from Frank.

"Do you think he's okay?" G finally asks, breaking the silence in the room.

"Frank is going to be fine. I'm sure he can look after himself," I tell him, but I think that I am trying to reassure myself as much as G. Then finally, we hear the key in the lock.

G is on his feet and pulling Frank into a hug the moment he appears in the living room, but Frank looks pale. Dark circles have appeared under his eyes that weren't there when he left.

"G, will you put Frank down and go get him something to drink? By the looks of him he doesn't need water."

G steps back, and I watch as he takes a close look at Frank before placing a hand on his cheek and leaning in to give him a kiss, before whispering, "you okay?" to him. Frank nods his head, but I think that he is far from okay.

Frank comes over and sits next to me on the couch, but I am really the wrong person to be sitting next to him, plus, if all three of us are on the couch we won't be able to talk. Pulling my wheelchair over, I transfer myself over and turn it slightly to have a better angle.

G comes back over to us carrying a glass tumbler in his hand, filled with a deep amber liquid that I am guessing is whiskey. He hands it over to Frank, who takes a sip.

"Feliks, what did you find?" G asks, as he sits next to Frank, placing a hand on his knee.

"I thought it would take them a while to find stuff. My aim for tonight was to go out, give them all the information I thought they might need, and wait. That wasn't the case. They had heard of his name before," Frank explains.

"How?" G demands. "Is he involved in drugs or trafficking? What?"

"No, nothing like that," Frank starts.

"Then what?" G asks, trying to sound calmer but failing.

"Looks like Rory is known in some parts of the gay scene as someone to stay away from. Turns out that some of my colleagues arent as straight as I thought, and knew about me too. Anyway, it turns out that my contact knew someone who went out on a couple dates with Rory, and it ended messy."

"How do you mean messy?" Because this does not sound good.

"From what I was told, the guy thought Rory was nice but that was it. So, he ended it. Felt it was wrong to string Rory along when nothing would develop. Thought they were better off as friends," Frank explains.

A shiver runs down my spine as I listen, this story has echoes of a story that I have heard before. It was just that story was much closer to home.

"Well, that doesn't sound messy," G says over to Frank.

"At first it wasn't, but then from the sound of it, Rory became obsessed with the guy. Whenever he went to a club, Rory was there. Not doing anything. Just there watching him. But then he was spotted outside the guys work and even his apartment," Frank goes on to say, which makes me feel better as I never saw Rory outside Danil's apartment when I was there.

"Feliks that's more than obsessed, that sounds like stalker behavior," G says.

"That's what I said," Frank tells him.

"Did Rory send the guy any gifts?" The question falling from my mouth without thinking.

"Yeah," Frank confirms.

"Roses and sugar cookies?" I say to him.

"How did you know?" Frank asks, raising one eyebrow at me.

"Danil was sent the same, while I was there. Delivered while he was at work," I say. "But that couldn't have been Rory as he was with me. It was on days that Danil had to go into the office."

"Were cards delivered with them?" Frank asks, and I can see that he is getting more and more anxious.

"Yeah."

"Do you remember what they said?" Frank demands.

I go silent for a moment because the words on the cards are ingrained in my brain. They are the cards that started to unravel me and Danil. They are the words that quite literally destroyed us.

"Yeah," I mumble quietly. "One said ‘Danil, love you always' and the other said ‘Danil, Thanks for today. Was great to see you. My love always, X'. But they weren't in Rorys handwriting. There is no way that these were sent by him."

"Dom, I am so sorry to ask you, but do you think Danil is seeing anyone?" Frank asks as he shifts to the edge of the couch.

I want to shout, yes, he was seeing me. We were going out, but instead, I lie. "Not that I was aware of, Danil never mentioned anyone, and the only other person to come to the house was Rory."

"Thank fuck for that," Frank replies, heaving out a breath.

"Why?" I ask, but I have a feeling that I am not going to like the answer that Frank gives.

"Well, the guy Rory was stalking," Frank starts, looking over to G to give him a smile. "He started seeing someone. Rory found out. Tried to cause trouble between them and when that didn't work he took matters into his own hands."

"How?" And I wrap my hands together to try and stop my physical shaking from being witnessed.

"He followed the guy one night and stabbed him," Frank replies. "Thankfully not fatally. The guy made a full recovery. But he got spooked. So, the pair of them moved from New York. I think that my contact was ready to give them new identities and everything. Instead, they just got new cells and prayed Rory wouldn't come looking for them.

"Why didn't they go to the police?" G asks.

"They did, but Rory had covered his tracks. There was zero evidence linking Rory to the stabbing. The guy couldn't identify Rory. The attacker made sure his face was covered and he got an ironclad alibi."

Nausea slams into me. Both Danil and I have to have been manipulated by Rory. His MO is just too similar. Rory has to be in love or think himself in love with Danil, but, unlike last time, has weaseled his way in. Learning from previous mistakes. Did he decide to up his crime this time, knowing that stabbing hadn't worked? Did he try to kill me in the accident, but when that failed ,and losing Alessia didn't break us apart he sowed the seeds of doubt – and won?

I want to call Danil. I want to tell him everything. I pull out my cell and scroll to his number, not caring that I am sitting with G and Frank. But I dont call him. Something Frank said suddenly hits home. The other couple realized it. They were strong enough to see through Rorys lies. Danil and I didn't see it. We weren't strong. We deserve everything that we got.