Besides, Luc and Rafe’s recent scuffle that had been caught on camera already had the rumor mills churning about the family and how they were coping after Harrison’s accident. It had taken some effort to pull the plug on the photos and video circulating on the internet.
“You’d really resort to blackmail?” Thom asked, his lips pressed together.
Gabe nodded, suddenly bored with the whole conversation. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to ensure the family is protected. Maintaining anonymity ensures their protection. If you force me out of the closet—figuratively speaking,” Gabe said calmly, “I’ll do the same.” He took a long breath and glanced backward briefly. Inside the restaurant, the party was going on without them. Gabe could hear music and Elana’s bubbly laughter and the clinking of glasses. He needed to keep it together. While Harrison was out of action, Gabe needed to be the glue that kept everyone together and the family afloat. He knew what the truth about Thom would do to the family. He knew Elana would be hurt and Thom’s parents, Samuel and Caroline Scott, would be outraged. It was better that everything remained a secret. Hidden. Off the grid. As it had been for so long.
Gabe took another deep breath and spoke again. “And since it will not only upset Elana, but also ruin the relationship with your parents that you clearly want to protect, you should think hard before you open your mouth to the family...or the press.”
“Is that a threat?”
Gabe shrugged loosely. “Take it as you like. I get things done. Things that other people don’t want to do.”
“As Harrison’s hired thug, you mean?”
“As someone who will do whatever needs to be done to protect the people in that room,” he replied, hooking a thumb in the direction of the party. “You’d do well to remember that since you’re soon to become part of this family.”
Thom ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. “This is seriously fucked-up.”
“This is real life,” Gabe said harshly. “Get used to it.”
“I thought we were friends.”
Friends. Gabe wondered how long it had been since he’d considered anyone a friend. Luc, maybe, a long time ago. When they were kids, before Harrison’s eldest son started resenting Gabe for his close relationship with the older man. And he’d never really been friends with Thom. He liked him well enough, but he would forget him in a heartbeat if he needed to.
“There are no friends in business,” Gabe said coolly and saw Thom’s eyes flash. “But if you want to keep this friendly, then keep your mouth shut. Do that, and the photos will stay hidden and no one will know the truth about you.”
Thom took a couple of steps closer to the edge of the balcony. The crashing waves of the Pacific were at odds with the uneasy quiet around them, and even the music from inside the restaurant seemed to have dropped in volume. There was a long drop to the rocks below, and as Gabe watched, the other man stared down into the darkness. For a moment, he wondered if Thom felt so cornered and out of control that he would end things and jump. Of course, Gabe would stop him. He wasn’t totally without compassion. Thom was okay, even if he believed the upcoming wedding was complete farce. But it wasn’t Gabe’s place or his job to get involved. He didn’t do involvement. He stayed on the sidelines, working, watching everyone else screw up so he could fix things.
“I do love Elana,” Thom said quietly. “Despite what you think.”
“I don’t think anything,” Gabe replied.
Thom shrugged loosely and spun around. “I’m not gay.”
Gabe met his gaze head-on and tapped his coat pocket. “Really? I’ve known you a long time. And I know everything about you.”
Thom visibly swallowed, clearly unhappy. “They don’t prove anything.”
Gabe raised a brow. “Maybe not. They don’t really have to prove anything. They exist...that’s enough for it to become a problem.”
“It wasn’t how it looked. Nothing happened.”
Gabe almost laughed. “Doesn’t matter. But your secret is safe, Thom. Make sure you don’t do anything to change that.”
“Or else?”
Gabe took a long breath, his hands thrust in his pockets. “Or else.”
“You don’t scare me.”
Gabe was pretty sure he did, but a part of him admired the other man’s resilience. “That’s not my intention. Just making sure we’re on the same page.”
“The same page?” Thom echoed incredulously. “Are you kidding me?”
“I never kid. I act. I respond. You’d do well to remember that, Thom.”
“You really are a fucking devious bastard,” Thom said and shook his head.
Irritation coursed up Gabe’s spine. He was tired of the conversation. Tired of Thom’s voice. Maybe he should punch Thom in the face. Maybe he just needed a long workout at the gym or to get laid to ease the tension cramping his entire body. It had been too long since he’d screwed his brains out to forget things for a few mindless hours.
The music suddenly got louder, and they both turned toward the patio entrance. Mariella came through the door, and some of the tension constricting Gabe’s chest disappeared. His aunt always calmed him. Maybe it was a DNA thing, a blood tie that couldn’t be denied. She’d been more of a mother to him than his own ever had, that was for sure.
“What are you two doing out here?” she inquired, arms now crossed, tapping long nails on her elbows.
Gabe knew his aunt well and sensed her disappointment in Thom’s quick departure from the restaurant and his aborted speech. “Nothing, Tía,” he assured her. “Just guy talk.”
“I’ve been looking for you, Thom,” she said quietly, her voice a little sterner than usual. “Elana is concerned that you—”
“I’m fine,” Thom said in a rush. “I just needed some air, like I said.”
“What happened in there?”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t—”
“Couldn’t what?” she pressed. “Manage a short speech to celebrate your engagement to my daughter?”
Thom nodded. “I know. As I said right after it happened, I’m truly sorry...”
“It’s just cold feet, Tía,” Gabe said and tapped Thom on the shoulder. “Typical prewedding jitters. Nothing to worry about. I was just telling Thom how every groom feels that way.”
The other man flashed him a how-the-hell-would-you-know kind of look. Which made sense, since Gabe had never been married, engaged, or trapped in any kind of long-term, committed relationship. Commitment meant laying a heart on the line, and that was out of the question. Romantic love was for fools. Sex was all he allowed himself. Hot, meaningless sex with faceless women. One night, maybe two. Nothing serious. Nothing that could lead to rejection or heartbreak. For a moment, and against his better judgment, he allowed himself to remember a
