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Matthew's giggle interrupted the quiet. The sound filled the room and eased my soul.

“What's funny?” Richard asked, his voice filled with contentment.

“The water's all cummy.” Matthew giggled again.

“Oh, that sounds good,” Richard said. “God, I love your laugh.”

“Me too,” I said.

Whether it was a genuine reaction, or if he did it to please us, Matthew laughed again.

I sighed, and a blissful smile emerged. I buried my face against Richard's neck. I never wanted to leave the bathtub or the men in it.

If life could only be as simple as when we were fucking.

A half hour later, we admitted the water was far too cold to tolerate, got out, and dried off. Matthew adjusted the towels until they hung over the rack in an obsessive-compulsive alignment. I understood his delay. I didn't want to leave the refuge of the bathroom either.

Richard sighed. “Bed. We need to talk, and I want to sit down.”

We left our clothes on the bathroom floor and moved into the bedroom. Richard climbed into the bed and sat with his back to the headboard. Matthew crawled to his side, and Richard reached his arm out for me. “C'mere, Luke. We're in this together.”

I eased onto the bed and into his outstretched arm.

Matthew outlined my cheek and jaw with the back of his hand. “We're in this together.”

I shifted out of the embrace, and Matthew followed suit until we all faced one another.

“What do we do now?” Matthew asked. When no one spoke, he lowered his voice. “Maybe we should leave. Move away from him.”

Richard cleared his throat. “I've been thinking about that ever since I saw that fucking knife against your skin. Nothing is more important to me than you two. Let's get out of this city, sell the house and my real estate holdings, take what money I have left, and go. If we don't live near him, maybe he'll back off.”

The despair built again. It didn't cancel out the anger of earlier; it blended with it, mixing my emotions into a constricting knot. Matthew had signed up for classes, and he had his mom. Richard had his reputation to think of, and his home. I couldn't ask them to leave and hide out somewhere.

“You're gonna lose everything because of me.”

“We are not,” Richard said. “We're not losing each other or you. That's all we need. We're your family now. Nothing he does to us can change that. But I won't let him harm us. Even if we go to the police, and they investigate, we aren't safe from him. He'd be screwing himself to try something then, but he might do it.”

“He'll find us anyway. The minute he said he was running for president, I knew there was nowhere to hide. And even if there was, we are not running away. He's pushed me around my entire life. I have to stop this, once and for all.”

Matthew's large eyes lifted. “What're we gonna do?”

“We could play his game,” Richard said. “Blackmail him. Walter probably has video of your dad's indiscretions.”

“No,” I said. “We have done nothing wrong. I'm not going to let either of you get into trouble. We're not sinking to his level.” I got on my knees. “We have to turn him in. They'll know it's him if he tries anything. He won't get away with it. Not once we have the police involved. Not once everyone knows he stole all that money for his campaign. Once they know what he did to Danny Conner.”

“You think he knows you were looking into that?” Richard asked.

“I'm guessing that's part of why he's doing this.”

“Why wouldn't Fowler have said that?”

“'Cause that would mean admitting my father had something to do with the kid's death.”

Matthew shifted closer to me. “But so far Walter hasn't been able to find anything.”

“Maybe we can't prove what he did to Conner thirty-five years ago, but maybe we can prove he stole that money, that he threatened your lives.”

“You don't think he'll want revenge?” Matthew asked.

I sank back onto my heels. “He might. It wouldn't surprise me. But he won't have anyone left to follow his orders. Fowler's going to be in trouble for this too.” I shook my head. “I can't live my life afraid of him. I can't run anymore.”

“I think we should do whatever you want to do,” Matthew said. “Part of me wants to run, but part of me wants him to pay for what he's done to you, to Richard, to us. I'll stand by you if you want to go to the police. I'll stand by you if you want us to leave and never come back.”

Richard kissed Matthew and then reached for my hand. “I think if turning him in is what you feel strongly about, then we should do it. Or else you'll regret it later. I can't say I won't be nervous about something happening to either of you, but I'm not one to back away from a fight. And if we fight your father, we're not going to lose.” A smile emerged on his face and triggered one on mine.

Relief washed over me. “Thank you.”

“But what proof do we have?” Richard asked. “All we know is what that man downstairs confessed to us. It will be our word against theirs.”

I stood, working through what I'd tell the police and how it would sound. I went to the dresser and grabbed a pair of jeans. “I'm going to call Walter. He'll know who we should talk to. I want to get this over with.”

Matthew and Richard clambered off the bed and searched for clothes.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Richard pulled a T-shirt over his head. “You're not doing this alone. You're not going to plan this out without us. We have statements to make to the police too.” He walked across the room and kissed me. “Family's in this kind of shit together.”

Chapter Thirty-eight

“No fucking way, Luke. You are not doing