Preying Eyes Chapter 11
May. 15th, 2017 10:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asphaltcowgrrlTitle: Preying Eyes Chapter 11
Fandom: I really need to figure this shit out soon.
Pairing: Adrien Lupei/Elliot Deacon
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4,239
Summary: After a long drive home, all Adrien wants is to cuddle up with Elliot and sleep for two days. He’s not so lucky…
Author’s Note: This is a bit anti-climactic, but I’m not very good with this kind of thing. Hopefully it’s still brings the tension that I hoped for. Should only be one more chapter before this is done.
Continued from here.
Lunch with his uncle had stretched into an early dinner. Despite the excellent company and amazing food, Adrien still managed to get out onto the road by six o’clock. He’d wind up back in Tucker later than he expected, but it worked out in the end. In the interim between lunch and the inevitable dinner with his uncle, Adrien had gotten a text from Elliot saying that he and Damon were stuck working late. They were finally closing in on someone who looked good for the double homicide they’d been working. At least Elliot wouldn’t be at home wondering and waiting on Adrien to arrive.
Adrien pulled into his driveway and rubbed the back of his aching neck while the garage door opened. He was still feeling the after effects of allowing Dante to fix their drinks the night before. It wasn’t his brightest moment, but Adrien hadn’t been able to resist his uncle’s giant smile. Besides, he almost never let go like that and if you’re going to get stupid, why not do it with family, right? And Dante was always a fun one to get stupid with.
Shutting off the engine, Adrien rested his head against the seat, closing his eyes for a moment. It had been a long couple of days, even without the two hour drive. His mother would be expecting a call letting her know he was home, so that was first on his list. Knowing Dante, he’d let Aleja know the moment Adrien had left, so if he didn’t call his mother, she’d be calling him soon enough. Adrien was bordering on being too tired to bother, but the idea of incurring his mother’s wrath after the last couple days wasn’t high on his list of priorities. Deciding to meet in the middle, he pulled out his phone and sent her a quick text. She wouldn’t like it, but it would keep her satisfied until he got some shuteye.
I’m home, and I’m exhausted. I’ll call you in the morning.
He was about to put his phone into his pocket when she texted back.
Dante said you had dinner together. You’re probably more hung over than anything. Drink a big glass of water and get some sleep. I’ll talk to you later.
Smiling at his mother’s ability to always get to the heart of the matter, he slipped his phone into his pocket and dragged himself out of the car. He opened the door into the little laundry room that led into the house proper, frowning at the lack of light. Adrien always left the light on when he was going to be away. Maybe Kelley had forgotten to leave it on when he came to check on the kittens that morning. Shrugging it off, Adrien reached for the light switch.
Adrien’s foot hit something solid and he fell forward, arms out in front of him, praying he hadn’t kicked one of his cats. The lack of a hissed response was the last thing he remembered noticing before he hit the tile in the dark room.
**
“Oh god,” Adrien groaned, rolling onto his side and attempting to sit up. He must’ve smacked his head pretty hard when he fell because the back of his skull smarted something fierce. Gently touching the sore spot, Adrien looked around his living room. How’d he wind up here? Hadn’t he tripped in the laundry?
From a distance, he could hear the sad meows of the kittens coming from someplace deep inside the house. They must’ve gotten locked in one of the bedrooms by accident, he thought. Attempting to push to his feet, Adrien wobbled halfway to standing and fell back to the floor.
“Damn. How hard did I hit my head,” he muttered. Adrien put one foot under him again, rising more slowly than the first time.
“Not hard enough, apparently,” a voice said.
Adrien turned in time to see a large hand grip his shoulder and forced him face down onto the carpet. Digging his fingers into the soft weave, he took a moment to steady his breath. The world was indistinct around him, his vision unsteady. He turned to look at his assailant and got nothing more than a blurry form a few feet away from him. “Who are you?”
“I think you know exactly who I am, Austen,” the voice said, right before something solid collided with the back of his head, propelling him back into oblivion for a second time that night. “Or maybe I should call you Adrien?”
**
Elliot looked at his watch and sighed. It was nearly eight o’clock and it seemed like the interview wasn’t ever going to end. All they needed was a confession, they knew they had the right guy. But he wasn’t budging.
“I don’t think he’s going to break,” Elliot said to Damon outside of the interview room.
Damon smoothed back a wayward lock of Elliot’s hair and shrugged. “He will or he won’t, but we’ve got enough evidence to convict him either way. Now, keep your hands out of your hair. You’re starting to look a little psychotic and I just got word that the D. A. is on his way over here.”
“Crap,” Elliot muttered, using his phone as a makeshift mirror. “Okay. Let’s go give it one more shot. Maybe he’s as exhausted as we are and is willing to give up so he can get some sleep.”
Slapping him on the back, Damon laughed. “From your lips to god’s ears, Deac.”
**
He might be mistaken, but Adrien was beginning to think that his head wasn’t nearly as hard as Kelley claimed. The urge to rub the throbbing bump on the back of his skull was great, but seeing as he couldn’t sit up fully, Adrien knew that even thinking about touching the backside of his noggin was a bad idea. So, he half propped himself against one of the living room chairs and stared at the man now acting as his captor. “I swear I have no idea who you are.”
The guy grunted. “Figures. I never should have relied on your mother to give you any kind of proper education.” He shook his head and paced the length of the living room. There was something in his hand, but Adrien couldn’t quite make it out in the dim light. “I don’t doubt your two uncles ever mentioned me either. That would be just like them, too, you know. Emilio and Dante are nothing but a bunch of egotistical assholes. Worthless.”
Emilio he could believe that out of, but then, Em had busted his ass to put himself through law school and had managed to become one of the most successful attorneys in Nashville. If anyone deserved a bit of ego, it was him. Hell, honestly he had to have an ego in order to survive in that cutthroat profession. Dante, on the other hand, was the opposite of egotistical. Well, until you got a little alcohol into him, but that was another story. Sober, he was the most deferential and humble man Adrien had ever met. “Are we talking about the same people because that does not describe either of the men who helped raise me. Because of them, I am who I am.”
A disgusted grunt echoed through the room. “Yeah, not so much when I knew them,” he said, stalking across the living room, turning and storming right back at Adrien. When the stranger knelt down to eye level, Adrien saw that the object he’d been carrying was a knife.
“What do you want,” Adrien asked, blood pounding in his ears. “Why are you here in my home?”
It occurred to him that this very well could be his stalker. On the other hand, it was as likely that he was some random crazy passing through Tucker on his way to bigger and better places. But he knows my family, Adrien thought. Maybe it was the knock to the head speaking, but he was completely confused. The intruder turned the knife over so that the blade caught the moonlight. Adrien flinched, muscles tense.
“Why am I in your home,” the stranger asked. “Now that’s the first good question you’ve asked since I got here, Austen. I’m in your home because I belong here and because you owe me.”
“I – I what?” Adrien gave his head a slow shake, trying to find a shred of focus, wincing as a bolt of pain struck him. “Why on earth do I owe you? I don’t even know you?”
“Oh, but you do,” he said, caressing the side of Adrien’s face with the hand not gripping the knife. “You see, I’m your father and you’ve been making your living off my talent. Now, it’s time for you to pay your dues.”
**
“God, that took long enough,” Elliot grumbled. Shooting a glance at his watch, he noted the time and blew out a harsh breath. It was already after nine. Adrien was probably curled up on the couch, napping at this point. “Fuck.”
Damon’s mouth fought not to smile. “Go, Deac,” he said. “Get out of here and go see your sweetheart.”
“I don’t want to wake him up,” Elliot said. “He had a long drive back from Nashville and he left late.”
“I doubt he’s sleeping,” Damon said, tossing his pen onto the folder he’d just closed. “He’s been waiting two days to see you, my bet’s on him waiting for your call.”
“You think?” Elliot scrunched his face up, studying his partner.
“I know,” he said, making a shooing motion with his hand. “I know my wife would be.”
“Okay,” Elliot said, rising to his feet. He wasn’t certain that Damon was right, but the man had been married a long time so he was willing to trust the guy’s advice. “Thanks.”
“Anytime,” Damon chuckled.
Elliot hustled out of the station, dialing Adrien’s number as he walked. Three rings, no answer. Hell, maybe he had fallen asleep? “Stop it,” he told himself. “He could be in the shower. Or in the garage. Or something.”
Shaking off his cop’s instinct, Elliot climbed into his car and headed towards Adrien’s place, desperate for a kiss and a little quiet time.
**
“You’re my – you’re my father?” Adrien’s head was throbbing and he couldn’t hold onto his thoughts for very long, but this, this was sticking with him. “There’s no way. My mother would have let me know you were nearby.”
Adrien felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and forced himself not to reach for it. Please let it be Elliot, he begged. And dear god, please let Elliot worry when Adrien didn’t answer. It was the only chance he had at the moment. If Adrien knew Elliot was on his way, he could hold off this crazy man, could still have some hope at getting out of this mess. But not for long, Adrien was tired and scared. Never mind the fact that confrontation hadn’t ever been his strong point.
“Oh, that’s what you think, my dear boy, but it’s not the truth.” He adjusted his footing and pressed the flat of the blade against the side of Adrien’s cheek. “It is kind of funny though that you trust that conniving bitch so much. How you wound up being raised by her and not me, I’ll never understand. It’s no doubt that I would have been a much better parent.”
“Do not talk about my mother that way,” Adrien snarled. He could take all the verbal abuse in the world when it was hurled directly at him, he’d had years of practice. But you did not insult those that he loved ever. Bringing his hands up quickly, he planted both palms on his father’s chest and shoved.
Stumbling, the intruder caught himself before he could fall. Regaining his balance, he came at Adrien, knife flashing. Trapped between his crazed father and the chair behind him, Adrien threw his arms up, blocking the imminent attack. The blade of the knife sliced into his forearm, stinging as it split Adrien’s skin.
“Ah,” the intruder said. “Now you’ll see things my way, eh?” He shook his head as he leaned away from Adrien.
“I don’t owe you a damn thing,” Adrien growled. “You abandoned me and my mother. Left us to struggle.”
“Is that what she told you?” He reached out and patted Adrien on the shoulder. “She lied to you. We Fultons don’t abandon people. You see, we’re loyal and dedicated to our families. Your mother drove me away!”
Fulton, Adrien thought. After twenty-three years, he finally had a name. “I’m beginning to understand why she did exactly that,” Adrien said. “She’s a damn good judge of character and must have realized you’d go off the deep end one day.”
His father leaned in and pressed the knife to Adrien’s throat. “Don’t you dare, Austen. Don’t you even think you can speak to me like this. I’ll cut you and take what I want.”
**
Elliot turned the corner and pulled into Adrien’s drive. All the lights were out in the house, minus one shining from somewhere near the kitchen. Maybe he’d crashed the minute he’d gotten home, Elliot thought. Hadn’t even bothered to turn on the lights?
He shut off his car and sat for a moment. Elliot tried calling Adrien again and still no answer. A prickly sensation started at the base of his neck. Idly, he reached to scratch it when he realized that something had to be wrong. Adrien would have texted if he was going to bed instead of waiting up and he hadn’t had a word from his boyfriend since he’d left Nashville. Scratching harder, he made a choice. If nothing was up, he could apologize later. But if something was wrong, he had to act. Grateful that Adrien had given him the code to the garage and the security system, he let himself into the house.
Drawing his gun, Elliot gave himself a mental eye roll at his dramatics. Better to be dramatic and startle Adrien a bit than be unprepared, he thought. He was banking on the former because if he needed his gun, it was not going to be pleasant. A basket of clothes had been overturned in the laundry, giving Elliot pause. Adrien was meticulous when it came to keeping things in order, he’d never leave a basket of clothes strewn across the floor. Stepping past the mess, he raised his gun and moved cautiously into the living room. He saw a shadow moving in the darkness, barely lit by the night light Adrien kept on in the kitchen.
“Adrien,” he called out, “are you okay? Kind of concerned I didn’t get bum rushed by your furry companions.”
“Elliot,” he heard Adrien say, but the word was cut off abruptly.
The sound had come from the direction of Adrien’s favorite chair, but he wasn’t in it. Elliot saw the shadow move again and knew at once that it wasn’t Adrien. The person, whoever it was, lacked Adrien’s natural grace and ease. Training his gun on the shadow, he began inching over towards where he’d heard his boyfriend’s voice. “I don’t know who you are,” he said to the shadow, feeling his leg bump into something solid. A soft ‘oof’ let him know he’d found Adrien. “But I am with the Tucker Police Department and I have backup on the way.”
“Bullshit,” the shadow said.
Granted, he was right about the backup, but not the rest. Elliot knelt down beside Adrien, gun still pointed in the direction of the shadow. “Are you okay?”
“Elliot, he’s insane,” Adrien whispered.
“Yeah, I was kind of thinking that he had to be,” Elliot said. Elliot slid his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Adrien. “Text Damon,” he whispered. “Text him I – N – Y – I and nothing else. He knows where I am. I think I can keep this guy distracted long enough that he won’t notice.”
He felt more than saw Adrien nod. Standing, Elliot watched the shadow move around the room. “I don’t know who you are, but you’d damn well better identify yourself,” he said, moving away from Adrien and into the center of the living room.
“Aw,” the guy crooned. “So you don’t know either? How sad.”
“Look, I can safely say that I’m in no mood for games. It’s been a long day and I’m cranky.” He moved his body in front of Adrien’s hoping to block any light from his cell.
“Austen my son,” Fulton chuckled, “you really need better friends. This one has no sense of humor.”
“Can you blame him,” Adrien spat.
That the asshole had called Adrien by his stage name was a red flag. “Oh, I think I know who you are now,” Elliot said. “You’re the piece of shit that’s been stalking him, aren’t you? Scaring the crap out of a kid for your own twisted purposes.”
“Now, now,” Fulton said. “No need to be so theatrical. This isn’t some cop drama now, is it?” He chuckled and Elliot’s skin crawled.
“He says he’s my father,” Adrien offered from behind.
From the sounds of it, he’d managed to get into the chair. Elliot wished he’d stayed on the floor, he was safer and not in the line of fire that way. “Do you believe him?”
“Not sure,” Adrien said, voice getting steadier with every word. “He knows my mother, my uncles. I – I just don’t know.”
“But you are the one that has been terrorizing him, aren’t you?”
“Terrorize is such a harsh word,” Fulton said, moving towards Elliot. “I prefer convincing him to see my side of the story.”
“By trashing his hotel rooms and dismembering stuffed animals?”
“You can blame that on his mother,” Fulton said, still moving towards Elliot. “She’s the one who forced me to destroy that first bear twenty-three years ago.”
“What do you mean,” Adrien asked. His mother was a devout animal lover, even seeing a damaged stuffed critter hurt her heart.
“She wouldn’t let me see you after she brought you home,” he said, waving the knife in the air. “When I came to the house that asshole Dante answered the door. He tried to make me leave. I refused until your mother came to see me. She rejected me and my offers of love. I was so pissed – you’re mine, mine! – that I threw the flowers I’d brought her to the ground and ripped that damn bear limb from limb! Fucking Dante called the police and your mother got a restraining order. But you’re an adult now, aren’t you, Austen? You can take care of your old pop now that you’re rich and famous.”
“Put the weapon down, Daniel,” Damon Garces said from the laundry room doorway. “I’m not fucking with you now any more than I did that day twenty-three years ago.”
“I’m still not afraid of you, you pig,” Fulton spat back.
“You should be,” Damon said, making his way into the living room. Elliot took his cue and moved into position behind the intruder. “You’ve got two guns trained on your ass.”
Elliot holstered his gun and crept up behind Daniel. While he was fully distracted by Damon, Elliot grabbed the hand holding the knife. “Drop it, asshole. You’re not in control any longer.”
Startled, Daniel jerked his arm, but Elliot held tight. Kicking a foot into the back of Daniel’s knee, the stalker crumpled to the ground. Stunned by the unexpected attack, he dropped the knife. Elliot kicked it towards Damon before pulling out his handcuffs. It was a good damned thing he’d come straight from work or he’d have been unarmed and without his cuffs. “You want me to read him his rights,” Elliot asked, finding a light switch and illuminating the living room.
“No,” Damon said, holstering his weapon. He gave a quick glance to the intruder lying face first on the floor. “I requested a unit after you texted. They should be here soon.”
“How’d you get here so fast anyway,” Elliot asked, kneeling down in front of Adrien.
Damon laughed. “I was ordering dinner at Mickey’s, so I was just down the road.”
“Lucky us,” Adrien said. “Thank you. Thank you both.”
Elliot beamed and continued to check over Adrien’s wounds. “He got you on the arm, but it’s not too deep. Looks like it’s already stopped bleeding.”
“There’s a first aid kit under the bathroom sink,” Damon said.
Elliot made a face. “How on earth do you know that?”
He shrugged. “It’s where Aleja always kept hers so I assumed that’s where he’d keep his.”
“Okay,” Elliot said, confused by how his partner would know any of this. “I’ll be right back.”
Elliot returned quickly and started tending Adrien’s wounds. The uniforms arrived and hauled Daniel Fulton off giving them all a reason to relax a little finally. When Adrien was clean and bandaged, Elliot returned the first aid kit to where it belonged.
“How did you know that man,” Adrien said. “He says he’s my father.”
Damon massaged the back of his neck. “I’ve lived in this town all my life, Adrien. And like I said, I was the one who responded to your Uncle Dante’s call the day your mother confronted him.”
“But?”
“But, we’d known each other a long time. All of us – your mom, Dante, Emilo, Daniel and I. We went to school and Daniel’s always been a little unstable.”
“Is he really Adrien’s father though,” Elliot asked, collapsing on the couch.
“No,” Damon said, sitting down beside Elliot. “He’s not. Daniel wasn’t very well liked when we were kids. He was a little off so all the other kids made fun of him. Two bigger kids were beating the crap out of him one day in seventh grade and your mother stepped in.
Adrien grinned. That was his mother, always standing up for the little guy.
“She threatened to kick all their asses if they didn’t stop picking on someone so much smaller than they were and they scattered. Daniel became obsessed with Aleja because of it.”
“Damn,” Elliot sighed. “That’s some crazy shit. So, because he was obsessed, he assumed Adrien was his child?”
“Pretty much,” Damon said. He looked at Adrien. “He wanted Adrien to be anyway. How are you doing, kid? Do I need to call a medic?”
Adrien shook his head. “No, I’m okay. More shaken up than anything else.”
“Should I call your mother?”
“No,” Adrien gasped. “Please, no. Let me get some sleep before I am forced to tell her about this.”
Chuckling, Damon nodded. “You’ve got it. I’ll stop by and see her in the morning and talk to her first, so you don’t have to go through the whole story again. Sound good?”
“Sounds amazing,” Adrien said.
“Great. Now, I’ll leave the two of you alone since I’m assuming you’re staying?” Damon raised both eyebrows in question.
“If he wants me to, I will,” Elliot said, looking at Adrien.
“Of course I do,” Adrien said. “I don’t think I would get any sleep if you left me here alone.”
“It’s settled then,” Damon said, rising to his feet. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Deacon. You’ll need to get that report done ASAP.”
Elliot nodded, dreading any report he had to write, but this one more than anything.
“Wait,” Adrien said, leaping out of his chair. “Can you answer one more thing for me before you leave?”
Damon looked at Adrien, waiting. “Fire away.”
“If he isn’t my father, then who is? My mother has always been so tight-lipped about it, I don’t even know his name.”
An unidentifiable emotion crossed Damon’s face. “That’s not my information to share, kid. You need to ask your mother.”
“She won’t tell me,” he said, voice small.
“I’m sure she has her reasons,” Damon said, resting a hand on Adrien’s shoulder.
“But you do know,” Elliot asked.
“I do,” Damon agreed. “However it’s not my place to tell him.”
“Thank you,” Adrien said, giving Damon a huge hug. “For everything, not just saving our asses tonight.”
“Anytime, Adrien,” Damon said. He nodded at Elliot. “Don’t forget to show up tomorrow. By noon if you can drag yourself out of bed by then.”
Elliot narrowed his eyes at his partner and laughed when Damon winked. “I think I can manage that,” he said.
“Something just occurred to me,” Adrien said as Damon climbed into his car.
“What’s that,” he asked.
“I never got notification that any of the alarms had been tripped. How did he get inside?”
Damon frowned. “Daniel Fulton is insanely smart,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew how to bypass your system. Or even know what your code might be. Check with your security company and find out if someone accessed your place before you got home.”
“I’ll make sure he calls in the morning,” Elliot said. “Right now, I think we’re both too dead on our feet to be bothered.”
“Sounds good to me. Lock up and keep him safe, okay?” Damon motioned towards Adrien with his chin. “This kid is the town’s national treasure.”
Elliot couldn’t dispute that one bit. “Thanks again, Damon.”
They watched Damon disappear down the road before returning inside. “Bed?”
“Oh definitely,” Elliot agreed, pulling Adrien into his arms. “And maybe I’ll even let you sleep.”
Concludes here.
Fandom: I really need to figure this shit out soon.
Pairing: Adrien Lupei/Elliot Deacon
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4,239
Summary: After a long drive home, all Adrien wants is to cuddle up with Elliot and sleep for two days. He’s not so lucky…
Author’s Note: This is a bit anti-climactic, but I’m not very good with this kind of thing. Hopefully it’s still brings the tension that I hoped for. Should only be one more chapter before this is done.
Continued from here.
Lunch with his uncle had stretched into an early dinner. Despite the excellent company and amazing food, Adrien still managed to get out onto the road by six o’clock. He’d wind up back in Tucker later than he expected, but it worked out in the end. In the interim between lunch and the inevitable dinner with his uncle, Adrien had gotten a text from Elliot saying that he and Damon were stuck working late. They were finally closing in on someone who looked good for the double homicide they’d been working. At least Elliot wouldn’t be at home wondering and waiting on Adrien to arrive.
Adrien pulled into his driveway and rubbed the back of his aching neck while the garage door opened. He was still feeling the after effects of allowing Dante to fix their drinks the night before. It wasn’t his brightest moment, but Adrien hadn’t been able to resist his uncle’s giant smile. Besides, he almost never let go like that and if you’re going to get stupid, why not do it with family, right? And Dante was always a fun one to get stupid with.
Shutting off the engine, Adrien rested his head against the seat, closing his eyes for a moment. It had been a long couple of days, even without the two hour drive. His mother would be expecting a call letting her know he was home, so that was first on his list. Knowing Dante, he’d let Aleja know the moment Adrien had left, so if he didn’t call his mother, she’d be calling him soon enough. Adrien was bordering on being too tired to bother, but the idea of incurring his mother’s wrath after the last couple days wasn’t high on his list of priorities. Deciding to meet in the middle, he pulled out his phone and sent her a quick text. She wouldn’t like it, but it would keep her satisfied until he got some shuteye.
I’m home, and I’m exhausted. I’ll call you in the morning.
He was about to put his phone into his pocket when she texted back.
Dante said you had dinner together. You’re probably more hung over than anything. Drink a big glass of water and get some sleep. I’ll talk to you later.
Smiling at his mother’s ability to always get to the heart of the matter, he slipped his phone into his pocket and dragged himself out of the car. He opened the door into the little laundry room that led into the house proper, frowning at the lack of light. Adrien always left the light on when he was going to be away. Maybe Kelley had forgotten to leave it on when he came to check on the kittens that morning. Shrugging it off, Adrien reached for the light switch.
Adrien’s foot hit something solid and he fell forward, arms out in front of him, praying he hadn’t kicked one of his cats. The lack of a hissed response was the last thing he remembered noticing before he hit the tile in the dark room.
**
“Oh god,” Adrien groaned, rolling onto his side and attempting to sit up. He must’ve smacked his head pretty hard when he fell because the back of his skull smarted something fierce. Gently touching the sore spot, Adrien looked around his living room. How’d he wind up here? Hadn’t he tripped in the laundry?
From a distance, he could hear the sad meows of the kittens coming from someplace deep inside the house. They must’ve gotten locked in one of the bedrooms by accident, he thought. Attempting to push to his feet, Adrien wobbled halfway to standing and fell back to the floor.
“Damn. How hard did I hit my head,” he muttered. Adrien put one foot under him again, rising more slowly than the first time.
“Not hard enough, apparently,” a voice said.
Adrien turned in time to see a large hand grip his shoulder and forced him face down onto the carpet. Digging his fingers into the soft weave, he took a moment to steady his breath. The world was indistinct around him, his vision unsteady. He turned to look at his assailant and got nothing more than a blurry form a few feet away from him. “Who are you?”
“I think you know exactly who I am, Austen,” the voice said, right before something solid collided with the back of his head, propelling him back into oblivion for a second time that night. “Or maybe I should call you Adrien?”
**
Elliot looked at his watch and sighed. It was nearly eight o’clock and it seemed like the interview wasn’t ever going to end. All they needed was a confession, they knew they had the right guy. But he wasn’t budging.
“I don’t think he’s going to break,” Elliot said to Damon outside of the interview room.
Damon smoothed back a wayward lock of Elliot’s hair and shrugged. “He will or he won’t, but we’ve got enough evidence to convict him either way. Now, keep your hands out of your hair. You’re starting to look a little psychotic and I just got word that the D. A. is on his way over here.”
“Crap,” Elliot muttered, using his phone as a makeshift mirror. “Okay. Let’s go give it one more shot. Maybe he’s as exhausted as we are and is willing to give up so he can get some sleep.”
Slapping him on the back, Damon laughed. “From your lips to god’s ears, Deac.”
**
He might be mistaken, but Adrien was beginning to think that his head wasn’t nearly as hard as Kelley claimed. The urge to rub the throbbing bump on the back of his skull was great, but seeing as he couldn’t sit up fully, Adrien knew that even thinking about touching the backside of his noggin was a bad idea. So, he half propped himself against one of the living room chairs and stared at the man now acting as his captor. “I swear I have no idea who you are.”
The guy grunted. “Figures. I never should have relied on your mother to give you any kind of proper education.” He shook his head and paced the length of the living room. There was something in his hand, but Adrien couldn’t quite make it out in the dim light. “I don’t doubt your two uncles ever mentioned me either. That would be just like them, too, you know. Emilio and Dante are nothing but a bunch of egotistical assholes. Worthless.”
Emilio he could believe that out of, but then, Em had busted his ass to put himself through law school and had managed to become one of the most successful attorneys in Nashville. If anyone deserved a bit of ego, it was him. Hell, honestly he had to have an ego in order to survive in that cutthroat profession. Dante, on the other hand, was the opposite of egotistical. Well, until you got a little alcohol into him, but that was another story. Sober, he was the most deferential and humble man Adrien had ever met. “Are we talking about the same people because that does not describe either of the men who helped raise me. Because of them, I am who I am.”
A disgusted grunt echoed through the room. “Yeah, not so much when I knew them,” he said, stalking across the living room, turning and storming right back at Adrien. When the stranger knelt down to eye level, Adrien saw that the object he’d been carrying was a knife.
“What do you want,” Adrien asked, blood pounding in his ears. “Why are you here in my home?”
It occurred to him that this very well could be his stalker. On the other hand, it was as likely that he was some random crazy passing through Tucker on his way to bigger and better places. But he knows my family, Adrien thought. Maybe it was the knock to the head speaking, but he was completely confused. The intruder turned the knife over so that the blade caught the moonlight. Adrien flinched, muscles tense.
“Why am I in your home,” the stranger asked. “Now that’s the first good question you’ve asked since I got here, Austen. I’m in your home because I belong here and because you owe me.”
“I – I what?” Adrien gave his head a slow shake, trying to find a shred of focus, wincing as a bolt of pain struck him. “Why on earth do I owe you? I don’t even know you?”
“Oh, but you do,” he said, caressing the side of Adrien’s face with the hand not gripping the knife. “You see, I’m your father and you’ve been making your living off my talent. Now, it’s time for you to pay your dues.”
**
“God, that took long enough,” Elliot grumbled. Shooting a glance at his watch, he noted the time and blew out a harsh breath. It was already after nine. Adrien was probably curled up on the couch, napping at this point. “Fuck.”
Damon’s mouth fought not to smile. “Go, Deac,” he said. “Get out of here and go see your sweetheart.”
“I don’t want to wake him up,” Elliot said. “He had a long drive back from Nashville and he left late.”
“I doubt he’s sleeping,” Damon said, tossing his pen onto the folder he’d just closed. “He’s been waiting two days to see you, my bet’s on him waiting for your call.”
“You think?” Elliot scrunched his face up, studying his partner.
“I know,” he said, making a shooing motion with his hand. “I know my wife would be.”
“Okay,” Elliot said, rising to his feet. He wasn’t certain that Damon was right, but the man had been married a long time so he was willing to trust the guy’s advice. “Thanks.”
“Anytime,” Damon chuckled.
Elliot hustled out of the station, dialing Adrien’s number as he walked. Three rings, no answer. Hell, maybe he had fallen asleep? “Stop it,” he told himself. “He could be in the shower. Or in the garage. Or something.”
Shaking off his cop’s instinct, Elliot climbed into his car and headed towards Adrien’s place, desperate for a kiss and a little quiet time.
**
“You’re my – you’re my father?” Adrien’s head was throbbing and he couldn’t hold onto his thoughts for very long, but this, this was sticking with him. “There’s no way. My mother would have let me know you were nearby.”
Adrien felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and forced himself not to reach for it. Please let it be Elliot, he begged. And dear god, please let Elliot worry when Adrien didn’t answer. It was the only chance he had at the moment. If Adrien knew Elliot was on his way, he could hold off this crazy man, could still have some hope at getting out of this mess. But not for long, Adrien was tired and scared. Never mind the fact that confrontation hadn’t ever been his strong point.
“Oh, that’s what you think, my dear boy, but it’s not the truth.” He adjusted his footing and pressed the flat of the blade against the side of Adrien’s cheek. “It is kind of funny though that you trust that conniving bitch so much. How you wound up being raised by her and not me, I’ll never understand. It’s no doubt that I would have been a much better parent.”
“Do not talk about my mother that way,” Adrien snarled. He could take all the verbal abuse in the world when it was hurled directly at him, he’d had years of practice. But you did not insult those that he loved ever. Bringing his hands up quickly, he planted both palms on his father’s chest and shoved.
Stumbling, the intruder caught himself before he could fall. Regaining his balance, he came at Adrien, knife flashing. Trapped between his crazed father and the chair behind him, Adrien threw his arms up, blocking the imminent attack. The blade of the knife sliced into his forearm, stinging as it split Adrien’s skin.
“Ah,” the intruder said. “Now you’ll see things my way, eh?” He shook his head as he leaned away from Adrien.
“I don’t owe you a damn thing,” Adrien growled. “You abandoned me and my mother. Left us to struggle.”
“Is that what she told you?” He reached out and patted Adrien on the shoulder. “She lied to you. We Fultons don’t abandon people. You see, we’re loyal and dedicated to our families. Your mother drove me away!”
Fulton, Adrien thought. After twenty-three years, he finally had a name. “I’m beginning to understand why she did exactly that,” Adrien said. “She’s a damn good judge of character and must have realized you’d go off the deep end one day.”
His father leaned in and pressed the knife to Adrien’s throat. “Don’t you dare, Austen. Don’t you even think you can speak to me like this. I’ll cut you and take what I want.”
**
Elliot turned the corner and pulled into Adrien’s drive. All the lights were out in the house, minus one shining from somewhere near the kitchen. Maybe he’d crashed the minute he’d gotten home, Elliot thought. Hadn’t even bothered to turn on the lights?
He shut off his car and sat for a moment. Elliot tried calling Adrien again and still no answer. A prickly sensation started at the base of his neck. Idly, he reached to scratch it when he realized that something had to be wrong. Adrien would have texted if he was going to bed instead of waiting up and he hadn’t had a word from his boyfriend since he’d left Nashville. Scratching harder, he made a choice. If nothing was up, he could apologize later. But if something was wrong, he had to act. Grateful that Adrien had given him the code to the garage and the security system, he let himself into the house.
Drawing his gun, Elliot gave himself a mental eye roll at his dramatics. Better to be dramatic and startle Adrien a bit than be unprepared, he thought. He was banking on the former because if he needed his gun, it was not going to be pleasant. A basket of clothes had been overturned in the laundry, giving Elliot pause. Adrien was meticulous when it came to keeping things in order, he’d never leave a basket of clothes strewn across the floor. Stepping past the mess, he raised his gun and moved cautiously into the living room. He saw a shadow moving in the darkness, barely lit by the night light Adrien kept on in the kitchen.
“Adrien,” he called out, “are you okay? Kind of concerned I didn’t get bum rushed by your furry companions.”
“Elliot,” he heard Adrien say, but the word was cut off abruptly.
The sound had come from the direction of Adrien’s favorite chair, but he wasn’t in it. Elliot saw the shadow move again and knew at once that it wasn’t Adrien. The person, whoever it was, lacked Adrien’s natural grace and ease. Training his gun on the shadow, he began inching over towards where he’d heard his boyfriend’s voice. “I don’t know who you are,” he said to the shadow, feeling his leg bump into something solid. A soft ‘oof’ let him know he’d found Adrien. “But I am with the Tucker Police Department and I have backup on the way.”
“Bullshit,” the shadow said.
Granted, he was right about the backup, but not the rest. Elliot knelt down beside Adrien, gun still pointed in the direction of the shadow. “Are you okay?”
“Elliot, he’s insane,” Adrien whispered.
“Yeah, I was kind of thinking that he had to be,” Elliot said. Elliot slid his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Adrien. “Text Damon,” he whispered. “Text him I – N – Y – I and nothing else. He knows where I am. I think I can keep this guy distracted long enough that he won’t notice.”
He felt more than saw Adrien nod. Standing, Elliot watched the shadow move around the room. “I don’t know who you are, but you’d damn well better identify yourself,” he said, moving away from Adrien and into the center of the living room.
“Aw,” the guy crooned. “So you don’t know either? How sad.”
“Look, I can safely say that I’m in no mood for games. It’s been a long day and I’m cranky.” He moved his body in front of Adrien’s hoping to block any light from his cell.
“Austen my son,” Fulton chuckled, “you really need better friends. This one has no sense of humor.”
“Can you blame him,” Adrien spat.
That the asshole had called Adrien by his stage name was a red flag. “Oh, I think I know who you are now,” Elliot said. “You’re the piece of shit that’s been stalking him, aren’t you? Scaring the crap out of a kid for your own twisted purposes.”
“Now, now,” Fulton said. “No need to be so theatrical. This isn’t some cop drama now, is it?” He chuckled and Elliot’s skin crawled.
“He says he’s my father,” Adrien offered from behind.
From the sounds of it, he’d managed to get into the chair. Elliot wished he’d stayed on the floor, he was safer and not in the line of fire that way. “Do you believe him?”
“Not sure,” Adrien said, voice getting steadier with every word. “He knows my mother, my uncles. I – I just don’t know.”
“But you are the one that has been terrorizing him, aren’t you?”
“Terrorize is such a harsh word,” Fulton said, moving towards Elliot. “I prefer convincing him to see my side of the story.”
“By trashing his hotel rooms and dismembering stuffed animals?”
“You can blame that on his mother,” Fulton said, still moving towards Elliot. “She’s the one who forced me to destroy that first bear twenty-three years ago.”
“What do you mean,” Adrien asked. His mother was a devout animal lover, even seeing a damaged stuffed critter hurt her heart.
“She wouldn’t let me see you after she brought you home,” he said, waving the knife in the air. “When I came to the house that asshole Dante answered the door. He tried to make me leave. I refused until your mother came to see me. She rejected me and my offers of love. I was so pissed – you’re mine, mine! – that I threw the flowers I’d brought her to the ground and ripped that damn bear limb from limb! Fucking Dante called the police and your mother got a restraining order. But you’re an adult now, aren’t you, Austen? You can take care of your old pop now that you’re rich and famous.”
“Put the weapon down, Daniel,” Damon Garces said from the laundry room doorway. “I’m not fucking with you now any more than I did that day twenty-three years ago.”
“I’m still not afraid of you, you pig,” Fulton spat back.
“You should be,” Damon said, making his way into the living room. Elliot took his cue and moved into position behind the intruder. “You’ve got two guns trained on your ass.”
Elliot holstered his gun and crept up behind Daniel. While he was fully distracted by Damon, Elliot grabbed the hand holding the knife. “Drop it, asshole. You’re not in control any longer.”
Startled, Daniel jerked his arm, but Elliot held tight. Kicking a foot into the back of Daniel’s knee, the stalker crumpled to the ground. Stunned by the unexpected attack, he dropped the knife. Elliot kicked it towards Damon before pulling out his handcuffs. It was a good damned thing he’d come straight from work or he’d have been unarmed and without his cuffs. “You want me to read him his rights,” Elliot asked, finding a light switch and illuminating the living room.
“No,” Damon said, holstering his weapon. He gave a quick glance to the intruder lying face first on the floor. “I requested a unit after you texted. They should be here soon.”
“How’d you get here so fast anyway,” Elliot asked, kneeling down in front of Adrien.
Damon laughed. “I was ordering dinner at Mickey’s, so I was just down the road.”
“Lucky us,” Adrien said. “Thank you. Thank you both.”
Elliot beamed and continued to check over Adrien’s wounds. “He got you on the arm, but it’s not too deep. Looks like it’s already stopped bleeding.”
“There’s a first aid kit under the bathroom sink,” Damon said.
Elliot made a face. “How on earth do you know that?”
He shrugged. “It’s where Aleja always kept hers so I assumed that’s where he’d keep his.”
“Okay,” Elliot said, confused by how his partner would know any of this. “I’ll be right back.”
Elliot returned quickly and started tending Adrien’s wounds. The uniforms arrived and hauled Daniel Fulton off giving them all a reason to relax a little finally. When Adrien was clean and bandaged, Elliot returned the first aid kit to where it belonged.
“How did you know that man,” Adrien said. “He says he’s my father.”
Damon massaged the back of his neck. “I’ve lived in this town all my life, Adrien. And like I said, I was the one who responded to your Uncle Dante’s call the day your mother confronted him.”
“But?”
“But, we’d known each other a long time. All of us – your mom, Dante, Emilo, Daniel and I. We went to school and Daniel’s always been a little unstable.”
“Is he really Adrien’s father though,” Elliot asked, collapsing on the couch.
“No,” Damon said, sitting down beside Elliot. “He’s not. Daniel wasn’t very well liked when we were kids. He was a little off so all the other kids made fun of him. Two bigger kids were beating the crap out of him one day in seventh grade and your mother stepped in.
Adrien grinned. That was his mother, always standing up for the little guy.
“She threatened to kick all their asses if they didn’t stop picking on someone so much smaller than they were and they scattered. Daniel became obsessed with Aleja because of it.”
“Damn,” Elliot sighed. “That’s some crazy shit. So, because he was obsessed, he assumed Adrien was his child?”
“Pretty much,” Damon said. He looked at Adrien. “He wanted Adrien to be anyway. How are you doing, kid? Do I need to call a medic?”
Adrien shook his head. “No, I’m okay. More shaken up than anything else.”
“Should I call your mother?”
“No,” Adrien gasped. “Please, no. Let me get some sleep before I am forced to tell her about this.”
Chuckling, Damon nodded. “You’ve got it. I’ll stop by and see her in the morning and talk to her first, so you don’t have to go through the whole story again. Sound good?”
“Sounds amazing,” Adrien said.
“Great. Now, I’ll leave the two of you alone since I’m assuming you’re staying?” Damon raised both eyebrows in question.
“If he wants me to, I will,” Elliot said, looking at Adrien.
“Of course I do,” Adrien said. “I don’t think I would get any sleep if you left me here alone.”
“It’s settled then,” Damon said, rising to his feet. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Deacon. You’ll need to get that report done ASAP.”
Elliot nodded, dreading any report he had to write, but this one more than anything.
“Wait,” Adrien said, leaping out of his chair. “Can you answer one more thing for me before you leave?”
Damon looked at Adrien, waiting. “Fire away.”
“If he isn’t my father, then who is? My mother has always been so tight-lipped about it, I don’t even know his name.”
An unidentifiable emotion crossed Damon’s face. “That’s not my information to share, kid. You need to ask your mother.”
“She won’t tell me,” he said, voice small.
“I’m sure she has her reasons,” Damon said, resting a hand on Adrien’s shoulder.
“But you do know,” Elliot asked.
“I do,” Damon agreed. “However it’s not my place to tell him.”
“Thank you,” Adrien said, giving Damon a huge hug. “For everything, not just saving our asses tonight.”
“Anytime, Adrien,” Damon said. He nodded at Elliot. “Don’t forget to show up tomorrow. By noon if you can drag yourself out of bed by then.”
Elliot narrowed his eyes at his partner and laughed when Damon winked. “I think I can manage that,” he said.
“Something just occurred to me,” Adrien said as Damon climbed into his car.
“What’s that,” he asked.
“I never got notification that any of the alarms had been tripped. How did he get inside?”
Damon frowned. “Daniel Fulton is insanely smart,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew how to bypass your system. Or even know what your code might be. Check with your security company and find out if someone accessed your place before you got home.”
“I’ll make sure he calls in the morning,” Elliot said. “Right now, I think we’re both too dead on our feet to be bothered.”
“Sounds good to me. Lock up and keep him safe, okay?” Damon motioned towards Adrien with his chin. “This kid is the town’s national treasure.”
Elliot couldn’t dispute that one bit. “Thanks again, Damon.”
They watched Damon disappear down the road before returning inside. “Bed?”
“Oh definitely,” Elliot agreed, pulling Adrien into his arms. “And maybe I’ll even let you sleep.”
Concludes here.
