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He wasn’t entirely surprised to see Aksel and Knox with Roman, and Aksel rose, hurrying over as Raphael closed the door behind him. “I heard you broke your hand on that shithead’s face.”
Raphael didn’t bother to hide a tiny grin as Aksel took his hand off the crutch to prod at the bruise. “Fitz seemed pretty sure it wasn’t broken,” he said, “but it would have been worth it if it was.”
“I have a lot to say, but none of it is safe for Knox’s delicate ears,” Aksel said.
Knox, who was sitting on a computer at the second desk, poked his head around the screen and rolled his eyes. “Shut the fuck up. Is everything okay with Dmitri?”
Raphael felt his stomach sink again. “I was hoping he was here with you. I’ve tried to text him, and we’ve asked around, but no one’s seen him.”
Roman pulled a face. “He called this morning and asked if I had work for him, but I told him to take a couple days off. I didn’t see him leave last night, and I’ve been worried, but he sounded mostly okay.”
Raphael took his hand back and rubbed at his eye. “I just don’t know where to begin looking. I’ve tried everything usual, but this is very unprecedented.”
“You could try the roof of the firehouse,” Knox said, and everyone turned to look at him, making him blush. “Uh. We had a nice chat there. I told him I go up there to clear my head sometimes. Maybe he took my advice?”
Raphael would have never considered it, but he realized immediately where Dmitri would have gone. Something in his gut told him the old church parking lot was the only place he should look. “I need to go.”
“Text me, okay?” Roman asked, half-rising. “If you see him. Just let me know.”
Raphael promised, then walked out and found Luca leaning against the hood of his car. “I think he’s at the old church.”
Luca frowned, but he did as Raphael asked, and he was able to read the situation enough that he didn’t say anything for the rest of the drive. Raphael’s phoned remained tragically silent, but he had a feeling he was right.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Luca asked when he pulled in and they both spotted Dmitri’s car parked under trees.
Raphael shook his head, wishing he had his power chair, but he’d gone farther than this for people who were a lot less important.
“I’ll let you know if I need anything,” Raphael said, his one concession. He gripped his crutches tight, then didn’t look back at Luca as he made his way down the pavement and toward the car. He could see Dmitri there, lounging on the hood, and with the noise his crutches made, there was no way Dmitri didn’t know he was there.
“You do realize how much I care for you, right?” he said, out of breath when he finally got to the side of the car. “I feel like I just hiked ten miles.”
Dmitri laughed very softly and finally offered a gloved hand out. The hood of the car was cold beneath his jeans, and Raphael grimaced as he settled down on his back and let his knee bump into the younger man’s.
“How’d you know I was here?”
“Where else would you go?” Raphael said with a shrug.
Dmitri offered a bitter laugh. “It was the only place I could think of where I could work it all out. Fucking Paxton…he just…I…”
“What exactly did he do?” Raphael pressed as gently as he could.
Dmitri’s cheek hollowed inward like he was biting it, and he breathed a sigh out through his nose. “I think he was drunk—or close to it. It’s not an excuse, but he smelled like booze. He said he wanted to talk, and then he said he was jealous of the way that people were looking at me since I’d dressed so sexy.”
Raphael’s brows furrowed, but he said nothing.
“I told him I was just trying to look nice for the party, and he laughed and said he knew what I was doing, then he kissed me.” Dmitri’s eyes shut, and he let out a trembling breath. “I shoved him off, and he laughed. It’s kind of a blur after that. He just kept saying shit like how all I needed was for him to show me that sex could feel good.” Dmitri licked his lips. “When I told him no, he got…angry. Said I was trying to work him up, give him blue balls.”
“I should have knocked him out,” Raphael started, but his words died when Dmitri touched his hand. It was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and his heart started racing.
“I know what he said was full of shit…” He trailed off with a sharp laugh. “It was fucked up, but I didn’t believe him. I was just scared. He was stronger than me, and I couldn’t get him to let go.”
Raphael turned his hand and laced their fingers together, keeping his own as loose as he could manage so Dmitri could pull away if he wanted. He felt like a fool—he felt a sort of gut-wrenching guilt with it, because if he hadn’t been so damn busy avoiding Dmitri, and so damn busy trying to selfishly protect his heart, it wouldn’t have happened.
“I’m sorry.”
Dmitri shrugged. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not fine. But he got fired, and Talia punched him again, so that was pretty nice.” A faint grin tugged at the corners of his lips. “I think he tried to call the Sheriff on her, but no one showed up.”
Raphael couldn’t imagine that Paxton would stick around after all that. For Paxton, the incident would never be forgotten, and Raphael was grateful for it.
