Gabe nodded, closing his eyes. “He… it started off small. Intimidate this person, beat that guy up.” He grimaced. “Remember, I used to be decked.”
“Yeah,” Grace rasped. Gabe had spent hours working out, and Grace had, once upon a time, appreciated the bulging muscles, the badass persona. Hunter exuded that—so apparently, Grace had a type. But Hunter could take down a full-grown man without taking a deep breath and leave him unharmed. And he could touch Grace tenderly without expecting anything other than that Grace would touch him back.
Grace had also learned.
“I… the hepatitis,” Gabriel said. “It’s bad. It’s in remission now, but my liver. It’s not so great.”
Grace gasped a little. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know.”
“How could you?” Gabe asked. His face tightened. “Dad…. Mom had already left, but Dad found me in a shooting gallery in the South Side. I was pretty far gone. By the time I recovered, Sergei had put some pressure on Dad. I… I don’t know what it is Dad agreed to, but he’s been in his workshop almost nonstop for the last two years. I…. Well, Dad put me through rehab, and I finished school. I….” He rubbed at his face with the palm of his hand. “He’s been great. I wish he’d been there when I was younger, but I’m too old to blame Daddy for my problems, you know?”
Grace grunted. “Yeah. Done that.”
Gabe nodded, and for a moment Grace felt the thing that had bound them years ago, but it was thin and tenuous now. A remembered thing, not a real one.
“Josh won’t be cruel,” Grace said softly. “If that’s what you’re worried about. We just need information. We know someone else who’s getting pressured by Kadjic, and we would like very much to make it stop.”
Gabe wiped his face again, but this time with his fingers, under his eyes. “It would be great if Dad could relax a little. He’s so scared right now. Has been for the last two years. I… the things I did—”
Grace held up a hand, because he genuinely didn’t want to know. “I’m not your confessor, Gabriel,” he said softly. “I’m sure you have one.”
Gabe nodded. “My sponsor. Yeah.”
“Good. He needs to know these things. I’m an old boyfriend, and that’s all.”
“I almost killed you.”
The naked truth sat between them for a few moments, and Grace took a breath and let it go. “You called Josh,” he said. “Why? Why not an ambulance?”
Gabe’s voice was broken, but he answered the question. “Because I couldn’t leave you alone, Dylan. I had to know you were with someone who cared.”
And something in Grace’s heart softened. Gabe had been young and stupid and lost—but not beyond all decency. “It was a good move,” he said. “Josh apparently called 9-1-1 while he was running to my house with his parents right behind. His mom and dad stayed with me at the hospital. I was never alone. It was close, but when I woke up, I moved to their house. I… I could have followed you, you know? I could have been found in a shooting gallery on the South Side too. Because I didn’t realize that family is family sometimes. So that’s okay.”
Gabe wiped under his eyes again, and at that point, a stout blond middle-aged woman wearing black slacks and a white shirt and apron walked in with her arms laden with dishes.
“Chicken breast on pretzel rolls, with greens on the side,” she said, setting plates down at each setting. “And homemade fries. Do you think that will be enough?”
“We’ve got a friend in the car,” Grace said. “Could you put one in a to-go bag?”
Gabe’s eyes went wide, but the cook smiled at him, her face going slack and sort of sweet, like Julia’s had when Grace had dropped porkchops on her carpet. “It would be my pleasure, sir,” she said. “I have homemade cookies for afterwards. I’ll be sure to make you a tin.”
“Wow! He’ll be excited about that.” Grace grinned at her. “Thank you so much!” And now Chuck couldn’t say Grace had never done anything for him.
At that moment, a very sober Laslo Hu walked in the door. To Grace’s surprise, Gabriel stood up and went to take his father’s hands in his. He leaned over and said something soft to Laslo, who nodded when he answered.
“You’re right. They’re kind people. Don’t worry, Gabriel. They haven’t asked for anything we can’t give.” He smiled weakly at everyone. “And now we should sit down. It looks like Helen’s made chicken sandwiches. You should really eat. Her marinade is amazing.”
Josh smiled greenly, but they sat down and had surprisingly pleasant lunch conversation revolving around the Art Institute and Grace’s career as a dancer.
“You’re performing in two weeks?” Laslo said, his smile reaching his eyes. “That’s amazing. We should go, shouldn’t we, Gabriel?”
“We can get you tickets,” Josh said, but he sent Grace a quick glance, and Grace read his mind because that’s what they did.
“But not to opening night,” Grace said. “It’s going to be a disaster. Come the week after. I have it on good authority the dancers will really be hitting their stride by then.”
Laslo nodded. “I have a big project due two days before you open. I usually need a few days to rest after that, anyway. But yes, I’d love some tickets. Thank you.”
“We’ll send three,” Grace said, picking up his sandwich. “Helen can come too.”
Laslo and Gabriel looked surprised, but screw ’em. Grace figured that anyone who would send Chuck cookies on Grace’s say-so alone deserved a ticket to the ballet.
Between the Bars
HUNTER KEPT the SUV at the same speed on the way out of the compound so Chuck could join them right before he hit the gate.
As soon as they were past the driveway, free and clear, he stepped on the accelerator and let Josh run the show.
They had a lot to talk about.
“Okay, then.” Josh took a deep, shaky breath, and Hunter frowned. He hadn’t looked great after lunch—apparently, he really had eaten too much. “Here’s the deal. Laslo pretty much mortgaged his soul to Sergei Kadjic. Gabriel was in deep for drugs, did some bad shit, and if Sergei turns over some nasty photographs of Gabriel beating the shit out of people who owe Sergei Kadjic money, Gabe’s going to jail for a really long time.”
“He’s sick,” Grace said, sounding a little concerned.
Hunter heard the next words in the time it took for Josh to say them. “He’s dying, Grace. If they can’t find him a new liver in a couple of years, it’ll be over for him. So yeah—Laslo will do anything to keep Gabe from going to jail.”
Next to him, Grace made a gruff sound. “I told him not to tell me,” Grace said. “He didn’t kill anybody, right?”
“No,” Hunter told him, glad he could say this, at least. “And he was mostly just hired muscle—he roughed people up. But Sergei got him on tape, and Gabriel’s in no position to fight it.”
“We don’t need to out him,” Josh said from the back of the car. He sounded shaky, like that really decent and healthy chicken sandwich had been too much for him. “We just needed to get information from Laslo, and bless him, he gave it to us.”