“Hey, wee one.”
Grayson scooted away.
Finley moved with him. “Is it okay if I talk to you?”
Grayson scooted away again.
Finley followed. “Why aren’t you wearing your dinosaur costume?”
“I’m too big for that.”
Finley fought the urge to rub his chest in an attempt at soothing his heart. “I miss you.”
Grayson stood and walked to the edge of the playpen, where Kage waited. Kage stared at Finley with cold eyes, as if daring him to make a move. He lifted Grayson up and over the edge of the playpen before setting him on his feet on the other side. Benji’s lawyer, Max, materialized from nowhere. He put his arm around Grayson and steered him away. Frustration roiled in Finley’s gut. He knew he didn’t deserve Grayson’s time, but he was fucking furious. Grayson shouldn’t have given up on the things he loved because of someone like Finley. Finley wasn’t worth that. He hated himself and Jacob and everyone else. No one deserved happiness as much as Grayson and the entire world needed to burn for making Grayson feel like he was unlovable as himself. Finley was enraged and had nowhere to go with it. He didn’t know how to fix anything.
Silas scooted closer, pulling Finley from his inner meltdown. “I’ve never had anyone gate crash at one of my parties. You’ll have to tell me how you did it, so I can make sure it never happens again.”
Finley fought not to look Benji’s way and give away Benji’s part in things. “I’m very good.”
Silas didn’t as much as blink. Finley expected he would get tossed from the house now. “Well, you’ve seen the damage you’ve caused. What do you plan to do next?”
Rage seethed beneath his skin. Most of it was directed at himself, but it had no outlet. Not only would Grayson never forgive him, which was fair, Grayson was no longer living his truth. All the happiness was gone from his beautiful wee one. While it was mostly Finley’s fault, Jacob had a huge hand in things too. He needed to pay.
Finley clenched his fists, causing his knuckles to pop. “I want to beat the shit out of Jacob.”
Silas nodded, as if he understood Finley’s need for payback. “I’ve already made sure he was held without bail, so he won’t see the outside of a cell for a long time for what he did to Grayson. He was also let go from his sitcom and he’ll never work again, if I have anything to say about it, and I do.”
“Not good enough.” Even Finley heard the seething in his voice.
Without looking Benji’s way, Silas spoke to his husband. “Benji, go find Max and stay with Grayson and him until I get back.”
To Finley’s surprise, Benji didn’t argue. He stood, and Kage lifted him up and over the pen.
Silas moved to his feet. “Kage, are you in?”
A cruel smile twisted Kage’s lips. “Absolutely.”
Silas nodded, and they headed out. There was no going back now. Finley had nothing left to lose. Jacob needed to pay. Finley planned to collect.
Max pushed Grayson on the swing of Benji’s new jungle gym. He was gentle since Grayson could only hold on with one hand, but it didn’t matter. Grayson couldn’t feel anything anymore. He had gone numb at the sight of Finley. Grayson honestly thought he would never see Finley again. Silas had assured him Finley would no longer be welcomed at any of his events. Every time Grayson thought he couldn’t be gutted again, life found a new way.
His arm ached tonight, and he wanted to go to bed. Then again, he couldn’t go back to his empty room. He hadn’t wanted to come to tonight’s party, but there was nothing to do in his room since he had thrown away all his toys. Then he had gotten downstairs and still he sat with the Littles because he didn’t know anyone or fit in. It had been hard to resist coloring and playing with the blocks, but it was time for him to leave all that behind. Being a weak baby had cost him everything. Grayson had nothing left to give.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Grayson shook his head.
Max filled the swing beside him. “Do you want to get fucked up instead?”
A smile snapped to Grayson’s lips. He wasn’t used to people treating him as an adult. “I’m not twenty-one yet.”
A sexy-sounding snort escaped Max. “First off, I’m from England. The drinking age isn’t the same there. Second,” Max pulled a bag of pills from inside his jacket pocket, “you don’t have to be twenty-one to do drugs. That’s illegal for everyone equally in this state.”
Grayson had never been offered drugs. It was actually a bit funny. School had made it seem as if people would offer him drugs on every corner, but this was new. The bag had several different-colored pills inside. Grayson’s interest was caught. He liked bright colors. “What are those?”
Max shook the bag and peered inside. “A little of everything. Uppers. Downers. Something to make you happy. Others will make you sleep.”
“Is there anything that’ll make me not care?”
A bright smile lit Max’s face. “I’ve got you.” He dug three pills from the bag and passed them Grayson’s way. “Take these at the same time. You won’t care about anything for at least twelve hours.”
Benji appeared around the corner.
Grayson froze, feeling like a naughty child busted doing something wrong.
Benji glanced between them. “Oh. Are we getting fucked up?” He pulled a bottle of wine from inside his teddy bear pajamas. “If so, I have wine.”
A smile exploded across Grayson’s face. He accepted the wine to wash down the pills before passing the bottle to Max. They each took turns drinking. Benji chose a blue pill to go with his wine—like they were pairing desserts.
“I do believe I might be the bad influence,” Max said after swallowing his pills.
Grayson’s head already spun. “That makes you the best of all of us in my book.” He set his swing into motion. Grayson liked the way the cool air felt against his skin. He didn’t go too fast so he wouldn’t fall, but everything felt faster with the drugs and alcohol mixing in his empty stomach. He couldn’t recall the last time he had eaten anything. There came a point when he no longer cared. He almost hoped he would just wither away.
“It’s true,” Benji said, keeping the conversation going about Max. “I’ve seen the way men fight for your company. Is that because you do all the bad things?”
A dark and naughty-sounding laugh rumbled from Max. “Not at all. It’s because I do some bad things really, really well. In fact,” he leveled a stare at Grayson, “I could make you forget the Scotsman. Just tell me all your kinks and I’ll bring mine too. It could be one hell of a night. You’ll never look at any other man again.”
Grayson took another drink of the wine before responding. “I think I might be boring. If I have kinks, I don’t know what they are.”
“Mhmm, a blank slate. Love it.”
Grayson blushed at the naughtiness in Max’s voice.
Benji looked thoughtful. “What are your kinks, Max? I like learning new things.”
Max shook his head. “Nope. You’re married to Silas. He might have me killed if he learns I soiled his baby’s ears.”