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I sigh and lean back in the chair I’m sitting in. “What do you think, Abel?”
Slowly, he says, “I don’t think you’d be this bent out of shape if it were anyone else. I also think you would have killed anyone else who recognized you so you could protect Savage, even though you don’t work for him anymore. Which leads me to believe … Damon means something to you. Am I close?”
“Spot-on, actually,” I tell him with a strained chuckle. Why is everyone around me so perceptive? “I need to know what you want me to do. How should I handle it? Damon is your friend.”
“I’m not sure, Michael. Is there any way you can talk to him? Let him know I miss him?”
“He thinks you’re dead Abel. How would I tell him that?”
His eyes light up. “Oh! That could be it! He probably thinks you have something to do with me being dead. Tell him I’m not. Tell him—”
“Abel, I can’t just walk into his job and tell him you’re not dead. BecauseI’msupposed to be dead.”
He deflates. “Oh, yeah. Forgot about that. Well, if you find a way to get to him, that could be what you need to make him stop being afraid. And, I don’t know, maybe you two can … talk?”
That would be ideal—to talk to Damon. Get to know him and have him look at me with any expression other than fear. “Maybe. I just … I don’t know, Abel.”
Abel’s smile softens. “Do you remember when I asked if you wanted me to hook you up with him all those years ago? Why didn’t you say yes? He could have come with us.”
I bark a genuine laugh. “I wasn’t ready then, Abel. But I’m ready for something real now. If it’s with Damon, all the better. If not, I at least want to ease his mind and have him know you’re okay.”
“I wish I could see him,” Abel says wistfully. “Maybe one day. If you tell him I’m alive, maybe he’ll want to visit? I can ask Savage, but I don’t think Damon would tell our secret. I trust him.” He stops talking and is thoughtful for a moment. “Well, his stepfather and stepbrothers are assholes and will give him shit, but I think it would be okay.”
“He lives with them? At home?” I’m not sure why it’s a shock. Plenty of adults live at home with their family to save money. Rent and mortgages are insane in this state.
Abel nods. “It’s not my story to tell, but yeah. Maybe if you can talk to him, he can tell you. But man … I wish I could have taken him with me.”
That makes me wonder more about Damon. If there’s a story, I want to know it. “Okay. I’ll try to get to him. What can I tell him that will make him believe you’re really alive?”
“Here.” He pauses for a moment, then I get a text. A picture of Abel, Savage, and Pogo pops up. A noticeably bigger Pogo. So much bigger than he was the one and only time Damon saw him. If I can get close enough to him, this will definitely convince him.
“Can’t he just call you?” I ask the obvious question.
“It might take too long to get me on the line and I like this photo of my family. Look how cute Pogo is in his little sweater.”
I groan and roll my eyes. Pogo is a spoiled English bulldog that has more clothes than I do. “Yeah, he’s adorable,” I chuckle, then sober quickly. “Thanks for this, Abel. I’m not sure what will happen, but thanks for trying.”
“You’re welcome. Please tell my friend I love him and I miss him. And if he’d like to visit, I’d love to have him. Maybe he can even move here,” he quips, winking at me.
With a roll of my eyes, I hang up and shake my head. Well, I know what I have to do to get Damon to believe me. Now how do I get him to talk to me?
Chapter 5
Damon
Ican’tconcentrateatwork the following Monday. All I can think about is seeing Michael at the ball. Even though his hair is longer, and his body is wider and more stacked, it was him. But how?
When I got home, I scoured the internet, checking the various articles that were posted in the weeks and months following the explosion. And in every article, the names of the deceased were mentioned. Michael Prince—though I didn’t know his last name at the time—was listed as being identified by DNA and dental records.
My mind drifts back to Abel telling me Michael thought I was good looking during one of our classes. I remember my face heating and thinking Abel was being his usual crazy self. That didn’t stop me from fantasizing about him. Seeing us doing things like date nights and holding hands, even just talking. I never got the courage to actually speak to him. I even stopped walking Abel to his car, too afraid that I would make a fool of myself in front of such a handsome man. Now he’s back from the dead, probably a murderer who killed the best friend I’ve ever had.
I swipe under my eyes quickly, getting rid of the stray tear that escaped without my permission. While I’ve been at work, I’ve held it together, even though I have to think about the name of the company and who used to own it every day. I only met Savage once, but he treated Abel so well and my best friend’s face used to light up every time he spoke of him. He was absolutely smitten, and it broke my heart that they couldn’t explore that love. Maybe they’re together beyond the grave.
I’m saved from spiraling down the rabbit hole of thinking about Abel by an email notification on my computer. When I open it, I’m puzzled when I see that there is a meeting in conference room ten in five minutes. I’m very meticulous about keeping my calendar updated, so this is a shock. There are a few people leaving their desks, so I figure they’re heading to the meeting as well.
I’m even more puzzled because of where the meeting is being held. That room is only used for VIPs and incoming hires that upper management is trying to impress. I wonder who it is they’re trying to secure.
I ride the elevator up to the fourteenth floor, wondering why no other software developers have gotten on with me. A few left my section from our group of offices on the fifth floor. Why they weren’t invited to this meeting is beyond me, but that’s not my concern.
