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They left the clinic and walked to Wander’s car. As Wander drove back, they were both silent. Thank god his brother allowed him time to decompress and process his thoughts.
“I’m not crazy, then,” he finally said.
“I never thought you were.”
No, he hadn’t. From the moment Roman told him, Wander had been convinced someone played mind tricks on him, a deliberately cruel attempt to make Roman question his sanity.
“It’s all connected, then. The threats, the break-in, the stuff with my secretary, the car accident, everything.”
“Did you honestly doubt that?”
“You have no idea what it’s like to get a call from your insurance company about a car accident you have no memory of being in. I thought I was losing my mind.”
Wander shot a look sideways, face carved from stone, eyes hard. “It’s classic gaslighting. A mind game, designed to twist your reality, make you question your sanity.”
Roman’s gut clenched. He knew the term, had thrown it around in courtrooms, but to be a victim of it? That was something else. Fear coiled tighter in his chest.
“Do you know where the term gaslighting originates?” Wander asked.
Roman shook his head.
“It’s from an old black-and-white movie from the forties called Gas Light. It’s about a husband who dims and brightens their gas-powered lighting but denies doing it to his wife, so she thinks she’s imagining things and going insane. He wants her to think that so he can steal her money. But the whole concept is someone fucking with your mind to make you and others question your sanity and believe you’re imagining things.”
“Goal accomplished.”
“But now we know the truth, yeah? There’s nothing wrong with your head other than that you’re a stubborn SOB who should’ve come to me about this months ago. What the fuck, Ro? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Apparently, Wander had saved his anger for when he knew Roman was medically cleared. How thoughtful and so typical Wander. “I thought I could handle it.”
“Even if you did, it doesn’t mean you should have to face this alone. And let me tell you. If shit had gone south and you’d ended up dead, I would’ve been seriously pissed off with you for not allowing me to protect you. This is what I do, Ro. This is literally my job.”
His professional pride was hurt along with his brotherly. Roman could understand that, and he respected Wander for it. “Sorry. I should have told you sooner.”
“Yeah, and thanks for acknowledging that.”
“We good?”
Wander reached out and squeezed Roman’s thigh, his touch grounding, solid. “Always. I got your back.”
“Thank you.”
A last squeeze and Wander let go. “Let’s focus on finding these bastards and putting an end to their games.” His voice was a blade, sharp and sure.
“Where do we start?”
“My team is already on it. I need you to take the rest of the day to relax. Catch up on sleep, maybe go another round with Caleb, and then we’ll start fresh in the morning.”
Another round with Caleb. Wander said it so easily. For him, it probably was. He’d never made a secret of his sexual identity and his preferences. He’d been a Dom his whole life and had never felt embarrassed about it. How Roman envied him for that. In all fairness, Wander didn’t have a job where it was a liability like Roman did, but still.
“I don’t know if I can. With Caleb, I mean.”
“What’s the problem? And I don’t mean to sound flippant. I’m serious. What are you worried about?”
Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? “Is ‘everything’ too dramatic?”
Wander snorted. “A little.”
“I don’t even know where to begin, but maybe the biggest concern is that I’ll get used to it again, that once I allow myself to indulge in this, in the kind of sex I love, I won’t be able to stop wanting it. And I can’t, Wander. I can’t. My job doesn’t afford me the luxury of engaging in these pleasures.”
