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Tyler glanced at Holden and Finn noticed. “Brandon went to Dominic’s house, after he’d killed him,” he said by way of explanation. “He wanted to…I don’t know what he wanted to do. But he found me starring in some movies Dom had made. I bet he wishes he hadn’t gone there now. How can he ever unsee that? Then he went back and burned the place to the ground. He thinks I don’t know, but I do.”
“God,” Holden said.
“If he finds out I’m on the fucking internet too, it’ll break him.”
“No, it won’t. He’s the strongest man I’ve ever met,” Holden said. “And it’s not about him, it’s about you. And you’re just as strong.”
Tyler looked at him in admiration. Holden gave a great pep talk. Tears had dewed Finn’s eyes again and he swiped them away. “I don’t feel strong,” he said in a wavering voice. “I feel like that man Dom beat and abused until I couldn’t get any further down at the bottom, and he’s still having the last word.”
Holden shook his head. “He’s dead. You’re not. The last word will be yours. In your book.”
Maybe it was Holden’s age that made him so wise. Tyler liked his sure, steady manner and his firm belief in what was right. He came with baggage, but he was a good man, that much was clear. Holden glanced at him when Tyler stared at him for too long. Tyler smiled and Holden reached over and squeezed his hand.
“Do you want me to come home with you?” Holden asked Finn. “Speak to Brandon? I realize I’m not his favorite person after yesterday.” He blushed and Tyler tried not to grin.
“Why don’t we both come?” Tyler suggested. “Make a plan to deal with it.”
“Yeah,” Holden said. “I can engage a lawyer.”
Finn stared at him wide-eyed. “You can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because…because then they’ll know too.”
“They won’t bat an eyelid, Finn. I’ll hire someone with experience in this kind of thing.”
“What kind of thing? Revenge porn from beyond the grave?” Finn started to laugh, a kind of hiccupping sob, but still a laugh. Tyler joined in because it was kind of funny. Holden gave him a look but Finn was laughing harder now and didn’t seem to mind that Tyler was too. Holden smiled, still looking unsure.
The three of them were sitting at the kitchen table when Brandon arrived. He let himself in and took off his shoes before he padded down the hall, stopping short in the doorway and looking from Tyler to Holden. “What’s with the welcoming committee?” he asked, reserving the hardest look for Holden. Finn had called him ten minutes ago and asked him to come home. Tyler was impressed at how long it took Brandon to arrive when summoned.
“Sit down, babe,” Finn said in a small voice with his pain etched on his face.
Brandon studied him for a moment. Then he bent and pressed a kiss to the top of Finn’s head before he took a seat next to him, reaching for his hand.
Tyler had suggested in the car on the way over that Holden or he could tell Brandon, so Finn didn’t have to put it into words. Finn had moaned and muttered and not come up with a reply. Then Tyler had suggested that Finn didn’t even need to be there, that he and Holden could meet with Brandon privately and talk about the video. Finn had vetoed that idea, even though he sat now looking like he was going to a firing squad.
“What’s going on, sweets?” Brandon asked Finn, stroking his thumb with his own. Tyler saw the concern and love on his face. He saw the stiffness of his body language, the tense line of his jaw and wondered how low this man had been brought by dealing with all Finn’s demons. He guessed all the support had always been for Finn and he wondered if anyone ever went out of their way to ask Brandon how he was feeling. He suspected the sheriff kept his feelings inside just fine and got on with it. He was a stronger man than Tyler would ever be and he envied Finn. Glancing at Holden, he wondered if dealing with Tyler’s nightmares, pain and flashbacks would be something he would end up getting tired of when he had his own shit consuming him.
Finn looked from Tyler to Holden with something approaching terror. Brandon glanced at them too. He must know, Tyler thought. Surely he’s always thought Finn would be on the internet after he’d seen the DVDs.
Brandon sighed. “Any of you guys want to enlighten me? You all look like someone just died.” He didn’t smile.
Tyler licked his lips and glanced at Holden before he said. “There’s a video of Finn on a website.”
Brandon paled. He clenched his jaw so a muscle in it ticked, then he tightened his hand on Finn’s and looked at him. “It’s okay,” he said. He was probably ruing the day Finn got tangled up with someone like Holden, a porn connoisseur who, if the video was going to be found, would find it. Maybe he and Finn would never have been the wiser about the video being online were it not for Holden.
Finn bowed his head. Tears slid out from under his lashes and he wiped his hand roughly over his face.
Tyler baulked at this intimate moment. “We want to help take it down from however many sites it’s on,” he said.
Brandon was so still and pale that for a moment Tyler braced himself for an explosion of blame and recrimination and for him and Holden to be thrown out of the house. Instead, Brandon cupped Finn’s head in a gentle hand and eased it down against his shoulder. “Thanks,” he said and with that one word, they were dismissed. Tyler and Holden stood and left the kitchen. Glancing back at the door, Tyler saw Finn clinging to Brandon and Brandon stroking his head, murmuring words too quiet to hear.
They walked away from the house together, circling the lake in silence. As they approached Holden’s house, Tyler took a breath and said, “I’m ready to tell you about losing my leg now.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tyler
