Well, he wasn’t going to win this time. Dominic would endure his sick show. He would make sure that Colton knew he didn’t blame him for their mother’s death, and he would apologize his ass off that he hadn’t been there when he had needed him most. There was nothing either of them could have done to bring her back, and even though he should have been there, even though his presence might have meant she wouldn’t have died an early death, she hadn’t really been there to begin with. Sarah Grayson had been dead to them the minute Drake D’Mon set his sights on her. She was doomed from the very beginning. But he and Colton didn’t have to suffer the same fate.
“You could stop me, you know.” Drake’s words were silent to Colton. “A little zip-zap, and I’m out of here.”
Dominic glared at him, but he refused to take the bait.
“No?” Drake shrugged. “Well, I guess you leave me no choice then.”
He placed his hand over Colton’s face and closed his eyes. His lips moved rapidly, forming words that were undecipherable, a sacred language that Dominic couldn’t translate. But then again, a translation wasn’t necessary to know that whatever he was saying, it didn’t bode well for his little brother.
“What are you doing!?”
Dominic lunged toward the place where his father held his brother captive on the floor, but Drake put his hand up and an invisible wall stopped him in his tracks. He pushed and punched, and even kicked at the barrier, but it would not give.
An eerie light spilled from the orifices of Colton’s face and disappeared into the palm of Drake’s hands. His little brother’s head fell backward, and his mouth gaped open to gasp for air. His cheeks hollowed and dark rings formed under his eyes as his body went limp.
“You’re killing him! Wake up, Colton! Wake up!”
Drake turned his menacing gaze upon him. The whites of his eyes were completely gone, replaced by a solid black sheet of wickedness. “Now, wouldn’t it be stupid of me to drain him completely? He’s my meal ticket for now, boy. A couple of days, and he’ll be back to his old self, ready to feed my hunger again. Don’t worry, he might recall his dreams with perfect clarity, but he never remembers this part.”
“You’re a soul-sucking leach!”
“I do what I must to survive. Besides, this is all your fault. If you’d only do your duty to protect your family, this wouldn’t have to happen. Give me what I want and all of this goes away. He will eventually die if you don’t. Do you really want both your mother and your brother’s deaths on your hands? Can you handle that amount of guilt? Better yet, will she ever look at you the same way again, knowing you could have stopped it all?”
Without even a nanosecond of a chance to contemplate his actions, rage pinballed through Dominic and the white energy was released through his chest once again. It took aim on his intended target, but before he was blasted from the dream, Drake’s satisfied laughter resounded through the black space around him.
Dominic watched as Colton slumped to the floor beside their mother, but he wouldn’t have the chance to go to him.
He was shaken from his dream to find a very concerned Kerrigan hovering over him. Her lips moved to form his name, but the sound of her voice was muted. The picture of her face blurred and faded as he tried to bring her into focus. Then he felt the pressure of her hand on his shoulder, and heat surged through his veins like liquid fire.
He shot straight up in bed, wide awake, his senses on high alert. “Colton!”
“What?” Kerrigan sat up, confused.
“He’s taking energy from Colton. That’s why he’s been so tired.”
“Oh... God...” The expression on her face mirrored the fear and panic he held for his little brother.
He yanked the cover from his body and jumped out of the bed. Sprinting for the second floor, he barely registered his feet touching the steps. He had just made it to the door at the bottom when Kerrigan called out for him.
“I don’t have time, Querida. I have to get to him.”
“Without pants?” She held up his discarded jeans so he could see them.
Dominic looked down at himself. Apparently, his heightened state of emotion and sense of urgency had afforded him enough energy to remain in solid form—for the time being—but they must have had the opposite effect on his simple awareness because he hadn’t realized he was still nude. “Shit!” He ran back up the stairs and took his pants from her, shoving his legs inside them as quickly as he could. Without bothering with the buttons, he rushed back down the stairs with Kerrigan hot on his heels.
They made a beeline to her old bedroom directly below theirs, and barged through the door without knocking. Dominic heard a thud and looked back to make sure Kerrigan was okay. She seemed perfectly fine, so he turned his attention back to his little brother.
Colton sat straight up in bed looking like a deer caught in headlights. “What are you doing in here? What’s going on?” Dark rings circled his eyes like shadows lurking at the edge of a forest waiting for the sun to set.
Dominic breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to the bed. “Are you okay?”
“Stop! Don’t come over here. I’m... I’m naked.” Colton pulled the corner of the blanket up to his chest. “I’m still sleeping. Get out!”
“Colton, you need to calm down. I know about your dreams. I saw the one you just had, in fact.” Dominic cautiously approached his little brother. It was obvious by the way he looked around nervously that he was ashamed of what his brother had seen.
“How? What are you talking about?” He tugged at the blanket some more.
“Drake. He’s still coming to you in your dreams. He did some kind of bullshit magic stuff last night and pulled me into it.” Dominic sat on the corner of the bed. “You dreamed about Mom dying last night. Didn’t you?”
Colton reared his head back. “How did you know?”
“I told you. Drake... he somehow pulled me into your dream. Look, man, we need to talk about what happened that day Mom died. I need to tell you...” His was cut off when movement from the floor on the other side of the bed caught his attention. The cover was pulled out of Colton’s grasp, and Dominic turned toward the source of the tugging.
“Do you have someone in here with you?” He stood and walked over to the other side of the room to see who it was.
“No! Don’t go over there! Just... get out!” Colton tried frantically to stop him to no avail.
“There’s someone over here, Colton, and I’m not leaving until I find out who it is. You can’t just bring a total stran... ger...” His words trailed off when he reached the other side of the bed. Gabe sat up on his knees, his face aligned with Dominic’s midsection.
Kerrigan’s mouth fell open.
Gabe turned toward her and smacked his lips while rolling his eyes. “Bitch, why is you agape? I’m just over here looking for my earring.”
Their very gay housemate looked up at Dominic and giggled nervously before looking back at the crotch in front of his face. “Peek-a-boo, I see you, too...” He pointed at the opening in Dominic’s fly. It might have been a better idea if he had buttoned his pants before he left their bedroom to find his girlfriend’s gay best friend in his little brother’s bedroom.
“What... the fuck?”
Colton flipped his legs over the side of the bed and grabbed his shorts, putting them on in a hurry. “Bro... I can explain.”
Dominic shook his head and put his hand up to stop him. “I just can’t even deal with this right now.” He turned and stalked out the door, slamming it on his way out and causing everyone to flinch.
The forced smile on Kerrigan’s face was half apologetic, half understanding. “I’ll go talk to him.” She backed up toward the same door Dominic had just slammed.
Colton stopped her. “No. He’s my brother, and this discussion has been a long time coming. I’ll do it. Will you please stay here with Gabe?”
“I think I should come with you.” Gabe had never looked so guilty and ashamed. Until t
hen, Kerrigan was convinced the two emotions didn’t even exist inside of him.
Colton cupped Gabe’s cheek. A blind man would be able to feel the adoration he held for her best friend.
“You’re sitting this one out, Princess. Because if he even so much as gives you a dirty look...” Colton’s shoulders heaved with a sigh. “It’s just been me and my brother for as long as I can remember, and I don’t want to lose him. Let me handle this. Okay?”
Gabe nodded and accepted the quick kiss Colton offered before he turned and walked out of the room. No sooner had he shut the door than Kerrigan turned on her best friend. Even though there were obvious ripples in the water, she couldn’t keep her excitement contained.
“I knew it!” She ran over to her very happy friend, taking his hand in hers before they jumped up and down like a couple of dorm roommates who had just been asked out by the most popular guys on campus.
Gabe stopped abruptly and put his hand to his chest, looking at the door. “Dom’s going to kill him, isn’t he? Oh, Kerr Bear... we’ve got to do something. I just got him. I can’t lose him. We’d better get down there.”
“Stop, sweetie.” Kerrigan grabbed his shoulders and forced him to focus on her. “Everything is going to be okay. We’ve just got to let them work this out. Colton is far too important to Dominic to inflict bodily harm on him, let alone kill him. Now, you, on the other hand...”
“Me, what?”
“You should be worried about what I’m going to do to you. You lied to me!” She smacked him on the arm.
Gabe gave her a sheepish grin.
“When did this happen?”
He sat on the bed and hugged Colton’s pillow to his chest. With a dignified look, he simply replied, “What happens at Panama Hattie’s stays at Panama Hattie’s.”
“Oh... you!” She snatched the pillow away and hit him with it, then sat on the bed facing him with her legs crossed. “He called you Princess! Tell me everything!”
Colton found Dominic sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair smoking a cigarette. His knee bounced up and down so fast his whole body shook with the vibration. His head was tilted back with his eyes closed to the early morning sun and one hand was fisted around a half-empty beer bottle. So much for sobriety.
“Dom?”
“Yeah?” He kept his eyes closed and took a puff of his cigarette.
“I think we need to talk about what just happened up there, don’t you?”
Dominic guffawed, but opened his eyes and raised his head to look straight ahead. “That’s the understatement of the year, don’t you think?” He took a swig of his beer, giving no indication as to whether he was willing to have the conversation right then.
Colton took a chance and sat in the rocking chair next to him. “Look, you’re pissed off that I’m gay. I get that, but you need to know that it isn’t Gabe’s fault. He never once came on to me. I’m the one who came on to him. He tried to get me to come clean to you, but with everything you’ve got going on... I just couldn’t put one more burden on your shoulders.”
“First of all, let’s get one thing perfectly clear here.” Dominic leaned forward and flicked his cigarette out into the yard. “Gabe and I might go tit for tat verbally, but that’s just who we are. I happen to consider him a really good friend in his own quirky way. You could do far worse.” He turned and looked at him. “And second of all, I’m not pissed that you’re gay. I’m upset because I’ve had my head shoved so far up my own ass that I couldn’t see it for myself. And what’s worse is that you didn’t feel like you could tell me. I’m supposed to be there for you, Colt. You should feel like you can tell me anything, but you didn’t feel like you could tell me this? I have seriously failed you, little brother.”
Colton shook his head and focused on his lap. “No, I’m the one who failed you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When you barged into my room... you said that our father pulled you into my dream.”
Dominic cut him off. “That bastard is not our father, Colt.”
“Okay, whatever. I don’t care,” he said dismissively. “You were in my dream, so you saw what happened the day Mom died.”
Dominic knew exactly where he was going with it, and why Colton thought he had failed him. His voice was soft, almost inaudible. “You didn’t fail me that day. I failed you.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did. I should have been there.”
“And I should have been able to save her.”
“You were just a kid.”
“And so were you.”
“Yeah, but if I hadn’t been—”
“Hey, you two!” Kerrigan interrupted.
“Oh, thank God! He’s still alive and drop-dead gorgeous.” Gabe fast-walked over to Colton to check his face for damage.
“Christ.” Dominic sighed and sat his beer down, then he clapped his hands together and turned to face the newest couple in the house. Kerrigan placed her hand on his shoulder, lightly grazing their twin mark. “I’m good, Querida. I’m just trying to contemplate who to be the big brother for here.”
Kerrigan laughed. “Oh, this should be good.” She leaned against the back of the rocking chair.
“Okay, so I guess I have to say it like this.” Dominic’s eyes were pinned on Gabe and Colton. “If either one of you hurts the other, I’m going to kick your ass. Fair enough?”
Colton chuckled. “Fair enough, man.” He did another one of those manly handshakes with this brother.
“Um, not that I plan on hurting him or anything, but... could you maybe promise me a spanking instead?” Gabe asked.
“Hey!” Colton protested.
“I’m just kidding, boo-boo. You’re the only man I want spanking my ass.”
“Aaaand that’s my exit cue.” Dominic stood. “I might be cool with this and all, but it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still squick me out.”
“Squick me out?” Colton repeated with a come-again expression on his face.
Gabe leaned over and mock whispered into his ear. “I’m rubbing off on him. I mean, I’m not literally rubbing myself on him, but... ah, fuck a duck! You know what I mean.”
Colton cocked an eyebrow. “So which is it, Princess? Are you rubbing off on my brother, or are you fucking a duck? Because this is something I seriously need to know about.”
Narrowing his eyes at Colton, Gabe put a hand on his hip and rolled his head on his shoulders. “Do you really want to mince words with me, Colton Tyler Grayson?”
“If anyone can, I think it would be me. Am I right, Gabriel Robert Baxter?”
Kerrigan gasped and took a step backward while taking Dominic’s hand and urging him to do the same.
Gabe closed his eyes and started to count to ten, but before he reached three, his eyes popped opened. His voice was deep, his teeth clenched. “Don’t you ever call me that again!”
“Why, Bob?”
Colton was sorely pushing his limits. Gabe couldn’t stand the middle name his biological parents had given him. It was too hetero for his liking. “I was drunk when I shared that with you. In private, I might add. And I swear to all that has been touched by the hands of Oprah herself that if you ever call me that again, I will cut you!”
Before Kerrigan could warn Colton not to, he stepped toward Gabe and reached for his hand in a move that could only be labeled as one of the bravest things she had ever seen. “Aw, don’t be that way, Princess.”
Gabe pulled his hand away and crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to look at him. “It’s not going to work. You’re going to have to do a lot more groveling than that to win my affection. Diamonds might be a good start.”
Colton took his face in his hands and turned his delicate chin to look at him. “I love you, Gabriel Baxter.”
Those words were more powerful than laying all the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London at his perfectly pedicured feet.
“You love me?” he asked, tearing up.
/> Colton nodded. “Yes, Princess, I love you.”
“Oh, Daddy!” Gabe wrapped his arms around him and unleashed the tears. “No one’s ever said that to me before.”
“I’ll say it to you every day for the rest of our lives, because it’s true.” Colton pulled back and looked at him with his bottom lip caught between his teeth and suggestion in his eyes. “I think that was our first fight. What do you say we go back upstairs and do a little making up?”
Kerrigan elbowed Dominic before he could say anything to ruin his brother’s and her best friend’s moment. It wasn’t until after they were gone that they finally sat back down, not a bit interested in going inside to listen to whatever sounds might come out of Kerrigan’s old bedroom.
“All I’m going to say is thank God they can’t have children.” Dominic reclined back in his rocking chair and picked up his tepid beer to finish it off.
She fought the urge to touch her belly. By her calculations, it was still too early in her pregnancy to show, which was a good thing. Still, she really needed to make an appointment with an obstetrician for an official diagnosis. Since Dominic had brought it up, it seemed like a good time to take a look inside his head.
“Have you ever thought about having children?”
Dominic nearly choked on the gulp of beer he had just taken but managed to swallow it down. He looked over at her to read her expression. Whatever she felt about the topic, she kept it well hidden. Images from his dream-turned-nightmare flashed through his mind. Did she know about his dream? Had he talked in his sleep?
He deflected the question by answering with a question of his own. “Is that something you think about?”
She shrugged and looked out over the front yard. “I don’t know. I mean, I’m still pretty young, so it hasn’t exactly come up a lot before now. I never planned to be with Jackson long enough to think about having children.”
“And now?”
She looked at him. “And now, to quote Grammy, everything happens for a reason. I see myself spending the rest of my life with you, so if somewhere along the way the stork decides to pay us a visit, I’d be okay with that.”