They had been working their asses off during the last two weeks, getting things in place for the prototype productions and doing damage control from Sean’s article. Drayton had enough on his plate with that level of stress. He certainly didn’t need another morning phone call from his mother.

He stood in line, waiting for his name to be called, still wondering what had possessed him to storm out of his morning meeting to make this visit. He pinched the bridge of his nose and blew out a heavy breath. Deep down, he knew why. He had had enough. He was tired of the nagging. Tired of the constant interference and dark cloud each call brought into his life. He wanted to end this, and he didn’t know how to do that other than facing it head on.

“Drayton Delereux.”

He walked over to the guard holding the clipboard. “It’s Drayton Shaw.”

The guard frowned as he flipped to the next page on his board then returned to the first. “I saw you listed as her son, so I assumed…”

“Honest mistake, but a bad assumption.”

The uniformed man’s gaze slowly slid up from the clipboard to meet Drayton’s eyes.

Why had he said that? Why had he been deliberately rude to this man who was simply doing his job? He kept his gaze steady. He knew exactly why. He wanted to be booted out of there, banned from visits so he wouldn’t have to ever take another call from his mother or request for a visit.

“You obviously have her smart mouth. She’s…”

“I’m sure I can come up with far more creative words than you can.” He sighed. “Sorry, I was an ass.”

The guard scoffed and left the clipboard with the other officer sitting at the entryway desk. “Follow me.”

Drayton followed the guard as he pushed through a heavy metal door and walked down a hallway. He shoved his hands in his pockets to stave off the sudden chill traveling through his body. His focus bounced back and forth between the gray, stained metal doors, the sterile, plain walls, and the flickering fluorescent light above. He frowned as a dull ache spread in his chest, wondering how Vann had managed to survive a decade surrounded by a place like this and still manage to keep that inner spark of his in the midst of all this coldness.

“I’ve got a question, if you don’t mind.”

“Shoot.” The guard looked over his shoulder, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “I meant…ask your question.”

He couldn’t muster the strength to smile in return. “Are all prisons the same?”

The guard stopped and turned to face him.

“Do they all look like this?” Drayton couldn’t help repeatedly scanning the room.

“No. It depends on the level. Your mom—”

“You mean Ms. Delereux.”

The guard sighed. Drayton couldn’t blame the man for wanting to ignore the family drama. It was exactly what he had tried to do for the better part of his life. He swallowed his frustrations and glanced at the officer’s name badge.

“Sorry about that, Officer Malone. It’s a touchy subject.”

“I picked up on that.” Malone crossed his beefy arms. “Ms. Delereux is in for a white collar crime. Even with the length of her term, she wouldn’t be in a place like this. She’d have more liberties than what she’s receiving here. But they’re overpopulated right now, so she’s here until she’s transferred out. That should happen before the end of the year.”

Drayton scanned his surroundings again for the umpteenth time. This wasn’t the same prison, but he wondered how similar the structure and style was to where Vann had stayed. “Is this maximum security?”

“No.” The guard dropped his arms, hooking his thumbs on his belt.

Drayton frowned. He had so many damn questions and being inside the prison didn’t compare to his online research.

“Do you know someone in maximum security?” the guard asked, cocking his head.

“He was.”

“How long?”

“Ten years.” Drayton frowned. “He shouldn’t have been there in the first place. I can thank Ms. Delereux for her…influence.”

“Ah. So I assume you’re not heartbroken she’s temporarily staying here. Taste of her own medicine and all.” Officer Malone pulled down on the handle and opened the heavy metal door. He gestured for Drayton to enter and led him to a chair in a vacant room filled with a row of matching cubicles. “Have a seat here. She’ll be in in a few minutes. You can use the phone to communicate.”

“Thanks.”

The officer turned to walk out, pausing at the door. “Your friend… How’s he adjusting?”

“He’s resilient and strong.”

Officer Malone pursed his lips. “He’d have to be after a decade in there.” He departed with a quick nod, leaving Drayton alone in the room.

Drayton pulled out the chair and sat. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to settle the tension stiffening his body. He craned his neck to see six other small cubicles identical to the one where he sat. The plastic chair was uncomfortable, but he imagined comfort wasn’t the top priority. A short wall served as a divider between cubicles, bookending him into a small space about three-feet wide with a little bit of table space and a phone mounted on the side. It reminded him of those old landline phones few people used nowadays.

He looked ahead, through the scuffed acrylic glass, wondering how his visits would have been with Vann. He imagined Vann sitting across from him in standard-issue prison wear. Being so close, yet somehow, so far away.

Movement from the outside hallway caught his attention. He saw the opening and closing of the door above the wall divider moments before his mother stood behind the chair in the cubicle area across from him. She pulled out the chair and sat, never breaking eye contact with him.

Was he really here? Visiting the woman he swore he would never see again?

Hell must have frozen over.

He stared at his mother, but his mind wandered, imagining Vann sitting across from him, unable to hear the subtle inhale and exhale of his breath.

He cleared his mind, needing his focus on the woman now sitting across from him.

The woman who’d given birth to him. The woman who had disowned him and thrown him out of their family home. All conveniently before his twenty-fifth birthday when the trust fund would declare him the heir of the Delereux fortune.

He couldn’t recall ever seeing her face without the mask of makeup. As a child, he’d imagined she slept sitting upright to avoid disheveling a single strand of hair. She’d always looked polished, refined, and emitted an aura of entitlement.

Margaret Delereux, former senator, now sat before him wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. A color she swore she would never wear because it made her skin look blotchy. A truth now evident without the benefit of her expensive makeup facade.

This stranger wore her sixty-three years in every tiny crack and crease of her skin. Her hair, heavily streaked with gray, was tied low in a ponytail at the nape of her neck.

Margaret Delereux didn’t do ponytails.

Hell was officially registering record low freezing temperatures, and the skies were now filled with pigs in flight.

She tapped a short, unpolished nail against the glass divider, then pointed to the phone hanging on the wall.

Drayton picked up the receiver and waited.

“Hello, son.”

Drayton returned the phone to the cradle on the wall and crossed his arms on the cubicle table.

Ms. Delereux’s expression hardened. She gestured toward the phone.

Drayton uncrossed his arms and picked up the phone again.

“Was that necessary?”

“You chose to disown me. Was that necessary?”

She stared at him, her lips thinned to a straight line. She remained quiet for a few moments. He imagined she was strategizing, as she always did. It was how she’d clawed her way through social circles and up the political arena.

“You have to get me out of here.”

Drayton scoffed. “Why would I do that?”

“I’m your mother.”

“Do you want me to hang up again?”

She sighed. “I’m not made for this place.”

“And Vann was?”

She inhaled sharply, obviously trying to rein in her temper. “You did everything in your power to get him out.”

“And you pulled every string you could to keep him inside. And I wouldn’t be surprised if you used your contacts so that his time in prison was much more difficult. Why? Why did you do that to him?”

“He’s not good enough for you.”

Drayton let out a sardonic laugh. “Says the woman who disowned me.” He shook his head and blew out a heavy breath. He might not be able to decipher every element of human behavior, but he recognized his mother’s bullshit and how she avoided answering a direct question, especially when she wanted something in return.

“His father is a lazy, disgusting drunk.”

His focus snapped back to her. He gritted his teeth, biting down the rage threatening to break free. “He’s not his father.”

She stared at him intently, never wavering from his equally intense gaze. “All he wants is money.”

Drayton burst into laughter. This woman obviously didn’t have a clue what was and wasn’t important to Vann.

“He’s the bottom of the barrel, Drayton. I don’t know how you fell into his trap.”

His grip on the phone tightened. He took deep breaths, timing each inhale and exhale, hoping to control the anger ready to boil over. “My father hated me and spent my entire life reminding me of how I’d never be like him and how I embarrassed him because I didn’t think like him. And you were right there at his side, letting me know of all the ways I would fail because I refused to follow your social rules. And when my father had had enough of me and tried to end things, Vann was the one who stood up for me. He was the one who saved me and went to prison because of that. And what did you do?” He sat back in the chair. “You expected me to lie under oath and claim he was the one who had attacked me. Why would I betray the one person who actually cared about me?”

She stared at him through the scuffed acrylic divider, refusing to utter a single word.

He didn’t know why he had bothered with the visit; he had never been able to have a conversation with her. But there was something he needed to know. One more answer had eluded him for almost a decade…an answer he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Why did you disown me? Was I really that horrible of a son?”

She straightened in her plastic chair. Even without her head-to-toe disguise, she still managed to taint the air with a sense of arrogance and superiority. “You chose that vile delinquent instead of your family. You obviously had no desire to retain the integrity of your family name, so there was no reason for you to reap the rewards of your inheritance. You made your decision. You chose him. I simply followed the legal processes to grant you your wish.”

Integrity? Drayton absently shook his head. She certainly had no clue what integrity actually meant. It shouldn’t surprise him that she would find a way to twist what had happened to her benefit and take ownership of the inheritance his paternal grandfather had left for him to claim on his twenty-fifth birthday. Disowning him severed the limb on the family tree and gave her the sole right to generations of fortune. A right only hers by marriage and by the death of her husband.

Money and social status had always been her top priorities. The answer should have been clear to him. All she had cared about was snatching the opportunity to steal his inheritance—money that would offer the stepping-stone to reach the higher echelons of her social circles. And she had used Vann and her son as a means to her end. She didn’t care about Drayton, what he thought, or how he felt. She had tossed him aside just as she had everything else that didn’t help her achieve her goal.

To her, he was an obstacle.

He was irrelevant. And so was Vann.

He now had his answer to both questions. She wanted the money and didn’t care about her son. But she had also indirectly given him the answer that had plagued him for a decade. Why Vann? Why had she done this to him? The money, her need for power, and her influence had given her the means. But the motives were now clear…because he had chosen Vann over her. She had kept Vann away from him out of spite. And she had ensured a decade of hardship in Vann’s life.

Because of Drayton and his choice.

He swallowed heavily, ignoring the pain ripping through his heart. “I will always choose him over you,” he whispered into the phone, tightening his fingers around the handset. Vann was the one person in his life who never made him feel irrelevant. The one person who always put him first, regardless of the consequences.

But his decision had set things in motion.

His decision had caused a decade of pain in Vann’s life.

“He ruined you!”

Drayton’s focus snapped to her face. “No,” he yelled, his voice echoing in the vacant room. “I’m the one who ruined his life. I’m the one who’s not good enough for him.”

He stilled and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heartbeat triggered by voicing the one thought that had always tickled the back of his mind but he had never had the courage to admit. Shit. The last thing he wanted was to let her know she’d gotten to him.

Her sigh echoed through the line. “And you wonder why I disowned you.”

His fingers numbed from the tight grip, the pain replaced with a burning fury stirring in the pit of his stomach. “No, I wonder why you’d bother to ask anything of me.” The last ten years of pain, struggle, and loneliness were attributed to her and her selfish, elitist efforts to keep them apart and find every way to hurt Vann. Hell would have to freeze over a dozen times before he ever considered extending her a helping hand.

He refused to waste another second of his life on someone who didn’t care about him or Vann.

He leaned forward and waited until he had her undivided attention. “You tried so hard to keep him away from me that it’s only fair you know he now keeps my bed warm every night.”

A look of disgust twisted her features. “I’ve had enough.”

“I agree.” He paused, staring into pale gray eyes that mirrored his own. “Don’t call me again. Have a nice life, Ms. Delereux.”

He hung the handset back on the wall and rose from the chair, refusing to spare a glance back at the woman he once called “Mom.”

 

 

∞ ♥ ∞

 

 

After his visit to the production plant in the morning, Vann had gotten a late start with his checklist. He stepped into the elevator and crossed off another item from the lengthy list of to-dos. He couldn’t have imagined all the details that went into play with a model launch. Thankfully, they had a staff of knowledgeable, talented people who had been itching to work with something new in the line and were happy to dive into whatever task was at hand.

He needed the names and numbers of a few of the third-party contacts Drayton preferred to use for finishing touches. Who better than Mia to give him the list.

He glanced up when the elevator dinged. He shoved the sheets of paper back into the folder and squeezed out through the doors opening to the executive floor. He greeted a few of the employees on his way over to Connor’s office to set up a quick meeting to discuss the model features. Even though Vann was going to be completely hands-off with the presentation elements of the launch for the show, Connor wanted to have a discussion with him to get a better handle on the models in order to tailor each reveal.

Vann left Connor’s office after scheduling a meeting and crossed off another item from his list. He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping to lessen the knotting tension. It was no wonder Sean always looked chilled out, the fucker never really did anything.

He needed a break, and what better relaxer than squeezing in a little Dray-time. He casually strolled over to Mia’s desk, hiding a smile. Maybe he could steal Drayton away for a quick lunch. They did need to eat after all. And between all the prototype prep work and Drayton’s meetings with attorneys, vendors, and distributors, they barely had time to see each other during the day.

“Hi, Mia,” he said with a big grin. “That dress is an amazing shade of blue.”

She slowly raised an eyebrow. “You can be very charming when you want something.”

He reached into his folder and withdrew a sheet with a few listed items. “I need to know who Drayton prefers to use for each of these. Especially the paint and mods.”

“That’s an easy one. He prefers Calloway’s.”

“Is that Ty Calloway’s shop?”

Mia nodded. “They handled all the modifications for the last release and the soft launches of items since then. And his partner, Cole, did all the test track runs.”

He nodded and made a quick note in his file.

“I’ll add notes to each name so you have a little background. I know how you prefer to get a handle on things before reaching out to a business contact.”

“Thanks.” He gestured toward Drayton’s door. “Is he in?”

Mia’s lips thinned. “He came in a little while ago and asked to not be disturbed.”

Something didn’t seem right in Mia’s expression. “What’s up?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. But I know him well enough to give him some space right now.”

And Vann knew Drayton well enough to know he always felt better after relieving whatever burden weighed on him. “I’m going to check on him. Don’t let anyone—”

“I’m not supposed to let anyone disturb him.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Are you really going to stop me?”

Mia rolled her eyes. “Fine. But I’m telling him I fought you.”

He tucked the folder under his arm and smiled. “I really do like that shade of blue. It might work well for the prototype. Can you add a photo of that dress to the file?”

“You’re weird sometimes.” Mia shooed him away with a grin.

He knocked on Drayton’s door, then decided to push it open when he didn’t get a response.

He immediately spotted Drayton standing by the window with his hands in his pockets, looking off into the distance. With his suit jacket off and his shirt sleeves rolled up, he probably looked relaxed to most people. But Vann could see the tension in his shoulders and tight jaw.

“I asked to not be disturbed,” he said in a distant tone without turning around.

“Even by me?” Vann asked.

Drayton’s shoulders sagged and he lowered his head. “Vann,” he whispered.

That tone pushed Vann forward. He pitched the folder on the table in the sitting area and was at Drayton’s side in a few quick steps.

He ran his hand down Drayton’s back. “What happened?” He stiffened when Drayton quickly turned and buried his face at the crook of his neck. Vann closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, needing to calm the jolt of freak-out that had twitched inside. Rapid movements in his proximity still made him jittery, but the need to calm the tension in Drayton’s body overpowered everything.

He eased into the embrace, wrapping his arms around Drayton’s shoulders. “What happened?”

The arms around his waist tightened. “I think I should probably go home.”

“Now you’re really worrying me.” Vann stroked his fingers over the nape of Drayton’s neck. “If you go home now, I’m going with you. I’m not leaving you like this.” He pressed a kiss to Drayton’s cheek and held him closer.

“I went to see her. I probably shouldn’t have. But she kept calling and…shit. I shouldn’t have gone,” he finished quietly.

There weren’t many people who drained Drayton and ripped through his defenses. Only one. Vann wished he had known she’d been hounding him. But she was Drayton’s mother. And he had every right to decide how he wanted to handle that relationship.

“What did she want?”

“She wanted me to help her get out of there.”

“What did you say?” Vann clenched his jaw, biting back the anger ready to spill. That she-devil had the audacity to disown Dray then demand his help? He closed his eyes and focused on the man in his arms—the one person who mattered most to him in this world. If Drayton wanted to help his mother, he’d stand by his side. If he decided to decline, then Vann would be right there to hold him together to avoid him falling apart. Drayton could put up one hell of a front for everyone else, but Vann knew he had always craved the approval of his parents and peers.

“I told her not to call me anymore.”

Vann nuzzled Drayton, hoping the closeness would soothe him.

“I hate her. I hate what she did to you…what she did to me.”

“I know.”

“Then why the fuck does this sting so much?”

“Because you care.” He pressed a kiss to the side of Drayton’s head. “Isn’t that what you told me once?”

“Don’t throw my words back at me right now.”

A small smile tugged at Vann’s lips. “They’re good words. I throw them back out at random moments to make it sound like I know what I’m talking about.”

Drayton inched back from the embrace, fighting a hint of a smile. “Stop it. I’m supposed to be upset.”

Vann reached out and brushed the back of his fingers along Drayton’s cheek. “And I hate to see you hurting, so I’m not stopping until I know you’re going to be okay.”

“I’m sorry,” Drayton whispered. “She did this to you because of me. I don’t—”

Vann silenced him with a kiss. “Are you sorry you fell in love with me?”

“What?” Drayton said in a shocked whisper. “Never.”

“Then what the hell are you apologizing for? You did nothing wrong other than fall in love with a guy she didn’t like. You didn’t put me in prison. In fact, you did everything you could to try to get me out of there. You wrote to me every week and kept me sane in there. You never gave up on me, even when everyone else did, and even after I was released, you still never gave up on clearing my name. None of this is your fault. None of it. So don’t you dare ever apologize for anything that happened.”

Vann hoped his words reached Drayton’s heart, but Dray loved deeply and felt the sting of pain sharper than people could imagine. The pain, the guilt…Vann saw it all swimming in the gut-twisting plea in those pale gray eyes.

“She said I was ruined.”

Pain sliced through Vann. He hated seeing his strong Drayton cracking. “My father called me a stain. And stupid and a waste of air. Is he right?”

Drayton shook his head.

“They ran out of the cool parents when it was our turn in line. Shit luck I guess. But we hit the ‘awesome partner’ lottery.”

“We did.” Drayton finally smiled and leaned in for a kiss. He looked down and played with the top button of Vann’s shirt, avoiding eye contact as he spoke. “While I was there, I kept thinking about you. What it was like for you inside. What it would have been like to see you in there.” He finally glanced up, his pale gray eyes filled with a wealth of emotions.

Vann cupped Drayton’s face, drawing his focus. “I was an asshole for keeping you away.”

“Don’t…call yourself that.” He closed his eyes and swallowed heavily. “I saw what it did to her. I wouldn’t have been able to stomach seeing that much of a change in you.”

Vann reached behind Drayton’s neck and guided him to rest his head on Vann’s shoulder. He didn’t want to remember his time in prison, and he sure as shit didn’t want to remember how painful it was keeping Drayton away. “Can I do anything to make you feel better?”

“This,” Drayton said on a sigh. “Just this.”

Vann held him tighter. “Then we’ll be like this for however long you need.” He’d hold Drayton until his arms shriveled up and fell off if that helped ease Drayton’s pain.

He stroked Drayton’s back in random patterns, thankful when the tension finally eased from his shoulders. Vann pressed a kiss to Drayton’s cheek, then his hair. He closed his eyes and leaned into Drayton, knowing he’d do everything and anything in his power to let this man never question how much he was cherished and appreciated.