Page 91 of See My Words

Chris gave a surprised snort, choking on his coffee.

Rylan patted his back until he stopped coughing. “It’s true. Now he’s telling me he wants to deal with his shit his way. Fuck it, Chris, I don’t want to leave him, but if I don’t, I won’t be able to give him the space he needs. I know myself well enough to know that.” He swallowed. “I’ve told him before…he’s stronger than I’ll ever be, but I haven’t given him the chance to prove that to himself, not since I came back into his life like a giant wrecking ball.”

Rylan sat up straight and summoned a smile. “So I’m in for Uganda, Chris. It’s a good career move, and Scott doesn’t need me to hang around acting like his goddamn savior riding to the rescue. He knows I love him, and now I need to show him I trust him, too.”

Chris wrapped his arm around Rylan’s shoulders in a tight, encouraging hug. “It’ll be okay, Ry. You’re both strong, amazing guys. And for what it’s worth, I think it’s the right decision.” He cast Rylan a sheepish look. “Wow, that sounds really selfish since I’m the one benefiting from it, but I swear I don’t mean it like that.”

Rylan put his hand on Chris’s knee. “I know you don’t. And it is the right decision. For a lot of reasons.”

At that, Chris gave a little whoop. “Let’s start making our plans, then, ’cause it’s gonna be fantastic!”

Rylan was surprised when the next couple of hours flew by, his exhaustion taking a backseat to the cautious excitement beginning to burble through him at the thought of the upcoming adventure. Chris helped him apply online for his Ugandan entry visa, walking him through it.

“If we end up having to push our departure date back a little, no big deal,” Chris reassured him, “but when I applied, the visa took about two and a half weeks, so you might get lucky.”

Rylan was relieved to discover the required immunizations weren’t numerous, and that he should be able to take care of those easily. Chris called the magazine and put the request for Rylan’s travel documents in motion, and before Rylan knew it, it was midafternoon. He noticed Chris sneaking glances at his watch, and Rylan finally insisted he leave.

“Apparently you have a beautiful man keeping your side of the bed warm,” he teased, delighted to see Chris flush a dull red. “Don’t keep him waiting any longer, or he’s liable to show up here.” He grimaced. “And I don’t think I can take seeing your lurve all up in my face right now.”

Chris hugged him. “Understandable,” he said softly. “Just know that we’re here for you, Ry. Okay? If you need to talk, or just don’t want to be alone—”

Rylan snorted. “Minh’s solution to my loneliness will probably be to seduce me,” he said drily, “and while a hot threesome is always a good way to pass the time, you as the third? Not a good idea considering the circumstances. No offense.”

Chris laughed outright. “Fair enough,” he said, gathering up his things. “If you change your mind—” He waggled his eyebrows, reaching out to grope Rylan’s ass playfully, and Rylan swatted him on the arm.

“I won’t. Now go take that friskiness out on your boyfriend.” Rylan paused before pulling Chris’s head down to kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks for everything. You’re a good friend.”

Chris gave him a tight squeeze. “Back atcha, hon,” he said softly, letting him go and disappearing out the door with a wave.

The silence he left behind was oppressive, but Rylan still didn’t think he could sleep. He put his earbuds in and turned on his favorite playlist while he puttered around, unpacking the duffles Scott had brought over. He put everything away carefully, trying not to think about it.

A loud knocking on the door cut through the music, and Rylan jogged to open it, his heart in his throat. Disappointment flooded through him when he saw it wasn’t Scott, but the two detectives handling Scott’s assault case. He invited them in, showing them into the shabby living room.

“Byron Schilling, age twenty-seven, confessed to attacking you last night,” the woman said without preamble. “He also confessed to assaulting Scott Ashworth back in April.”

“Jesus,” Rylan breathed. “Did he give any kind of motive?”

“He claims to be sexually involved with Mr. Ashworth, and that they have an on-and-off relationship. He said on both occasions he caught Ashworth ‘cheating’ on him with you.”

Rylan cast his mind back to the night of Scott’s attack, wincing as he remembered making out with him up in VIP after their impromptu photo session. Apparently Jerry the bouncer wasn’t the only one who’d gotten an eyeful.

The male detective flipped through his notebook. “According to Schilling, he didn’t mean to hit Ashworth so hard. He only wanted to stun him and then be the one to ‘find him’ and render aid, hoping to endear himself.”

Rylan gaped. “Seriously? Jesus. He could have killed him!”

“When he realized how badly Ashworth was injured, he panicked and ran.” The man consulted his notes again. “Last night Schilling saw the two of you in an intimate circumstance, and when the opportunity presented itself to assault you, he took it. He claims to have been intoxicated and didn’t fully realize the consequences of his actions. Do you remember seeing him? Hearing him say anything?”

Rylan shook his head. “I didn’t see or hear a thing, unfortunately. As for the rest of it, Scott told me about his—involvement with Schilling only recently, and from what I understand, it was one isolated incident that happened months ago. The guy is fucked-up if he thinks they had any sort of relationship beyond that of celebrity and fan.”

The detectives asked several more questions, and at last, they stood to leave. “Thank you, Mr. Mahoney,” the woman said. “We’ll keep you posted on the status of the case, but we anticipate Schilling will be charged with two counts of aggravated assault.”

Rylan told them he was planning to leave the country for several months, and she nodded. “As long as we have good contact information for you, that shouldn’t be a problem. If the DA or public defender need to speak with you for any reason, they should be able set up a video or teleconference from your location.”

“Anything I can do to help put him away, you can count on me. He should pay for what he did to Scott.”

The woman smiled. “Mr. Ashworth said the same thing about you. Only he said it in much, er, stronger language.”

Rylan laughed, his bruised heart warmed by the thought. “I can only imagine.”