Chapter 28
They sat like that in the library for a long while, Colin’s eyes locked with Hernán’s. The way he defended me to them… No one’s ever done that. Finally, aware of the passing time, he exhaled roughly.
“I’d better go apologize. We always had a family rule about not going to bed angry.” His phone trilled in his pocket, and he said, “That’s probably Mom, wondering where in the house we’re hiding out.” He decided to ignore it in favor of a few more minutes of quiet with Hernán, but in seconds it trilled again. Then Hernán’s chimed in his pants pocket.
Sharing a frown, they each got out their phones. Colin had to pull on his glasses to read the text message. Hernán looked down at his screen, and almost immediately his face turned pale.
The message was from David James:
Sofia just saw the attached in online version of The Washington Post.
Below the text was an image, apparently from that newspaper. It took Colin a moment to recognize himself in profile, a hand intimately spread against Hernán’s back. Hernán’s handsome face appeared clearly in the photo. They both wore their running clothes, and Colin’s mind flashed to the day before. They had turned to walk away, and as Colin had glanced back, Ethan was just putting away his phone.
He didn’t!
He clicked through the link to open the article David forwarded, from a gossip column called The Reliable Source. With the photo was a short block of copy:
Socialite and activist Colin Felton, son of financial powerhouse Jim Felton, is squiring around this hot and handsome hunk of a Latin lover. Word is that Hernán (last name unknown—so far!) is seeking asylum. With looks like those, we’re sure plenty of people would line up to give Hernán a place to stay!
Colin looked up to find Hernán staring at him, aghast. Heat rushed through his body at the despair he saw in Hernán’s eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said immediately, sweat dampening the nape of his neck. “I know how this looks but it’s just nasty gossip. I don’t usually get much of this since I stay out of the limelight. Griffin gets hit with it all the time.”
Hernán shook his head slowly. “It isn’t that.” He swallowed hard and looked at his phone’s screen again. “That’s my name and my picture. And it puts me in Washington. With you.” His strangled voice and sick expression finally made sense.
With horror in his tone, Hernán added one word. “Cuernos.”
As quickly as he could, Colin dialed David’s number. He could see the dread in Hernán’s face, and that almost superstitious fear instilled by his uncle and by growing up in El Salvador, where Cuernos was a lethal, daily presence.
“Hello?” he heard David’s urgent baritone.
“It’s Colin. I’m in New Jersey with Hernán. We just saw your message.”
“I have no idea where the story came from, Colin. You know neither I nor Sofia would say anything about Hernán’s legal situation—”
“I know,” he cut David off. “I think it was Ethan. We ran into him on the street yesterday and Hernán mentioned I was heading to the Hill to lobby about asylum. Ethan made a lucky guess.” Beside him, Hernán moaned. Still on his knees, he leaned forward with his face in his hands, and Colin rubbed circles on his back.
“That little shit,” David fumed.
“I know. We can deal with him later. Hernán’s afraid that members of Cuernos may see the picture and put together where he’s hiding.”
“I get that,” David said. “I wish I could say it was unlikely, but with the reach of the internet it’s possible this could spread. Hold on.” The line was silent for a moment, and then David spoke again. “I’ve conferenced in Sofia. We need to either kill the story or get ahead of any fallout.”
Sofia said, “I just saw it on Twitter. With Hernán’s looks and the reference to Colin’s father, people are retweeting it like crazy. I had no idea you were one of those Feltons.”
“Shit,” Colin sighed. His phone began to chime with incoming messages, but he refused to look. “Any ideas? I’m kind of in shock here.”
David spoke up. “One of my partners at the law firm is good friends with the managing editor at the Post. With Hernán’s permission, I’d like to call her, explain the situation and ask her to make an appeal to pull the article because of the risk to Hernán.” Colin muttered the plan quietly to Hernán, and he nodded.
“Go ahead, David. It won’t stop what’s being retweeted but maybe it will keep the story from growing.”
Sofia chimed in. “I’m worried this might draw ICE attention earlier than we’d hoped. I was pretty close to wrapping up Hernán’s asylum application anyway but I think we should expedite that and get it on file as soon as possible. I’ll head back to the office now and see if I can get a draft ready for you by morning, David.”
“Thanks, Sofia. I’m sorry to ruin your weekend but I agree we should do that. Colin, you said you’re in New Jersey?”
“Yes. We came up to visit my parents.”
“I don’t want to sound paranoid, but that’s probably good. On the off chance that someone in Cuernos sees the article, you’re not hard to locate in DC.”
“You look intimate in the photo,” Sofia agreed. “And they name you. It wouldn’t be a stretch to see Hernán means something to you and track you down for information.”
Colin sucked in a breath. “Holy shit. I never even thought of that.”
Hernán seemed to pick up the gist of the conversation. His eyes shimmered. “I’m sorry. I’ve brought my darkness to you. It’s what I was always afraid of.”
“No, Hernán. Stop,” Colin ordered. “Don’t think that way. We’ll figure this out together and we’ll be fine.”
“You don’t know that,” Hernán moaned. “In my country Cuernos are everywhere. I’ve seen the news articles. They’re here in the States as well. We’ll never be safe.”
David could apparently hear Hernán’s words. “Look, Colin, I don’t want either of you to take any risks. Until things are more clear, you should stay out of DC.”
Colin thought rapidly. “We could remain in Saddle River indefinitely, I suppose. No, shit, the paper used Dad’s name too. It would probably be easy to locate us here. Oh fuck! I have to warn them.” The magnitude of what Ethan had potentially unleashed began to hit finally. Hernán had seen it right away, but Colin was only putting the pieces together.
Authoritatively, David said, “We have enough to get started on damage control. Colin, you talk to your family. Sofia will work on the application. I’m going to see what I can do about the story. Let’s regroup in an hour and see where we are.”
Hernán looked so miserable as the call disconnected that Colin slipped to the floor next to him and pulled him close. Hernán trembled in his arms.
After a few moments, he made Hernán rise to sit in one of the library chairs. His own phone pinged relentlessly with messages and notifications. Nothing like that onslaught had ever happened to Colin. “Do you want to stay here, or come with me to talk to my parents?”
“May I stay here? I’m already ashamed of what I said to them earlier, and with this horror I’ve created…”
Colin kissed him firmly. “Angelito, you have nothing to be sorry about. All you did earlier was defend me, and you didn’t stir up this trouble. Ethan did. But okay. You stay here and I’ll come get you in a little while.”
He left the library door open and went in search of his parents. Descending the main staircase, he met Dad coming up, cell phone in his hand.
“My public relations people saw as soon as the article hit the web. What the hell is going on, Son?”
“Can we talk downstairs?”
Dad guided them toward a small sitting room on the first floor. He called down the hall, “Margaret? I found him. Come join us if you want.”
“Where’s Katherine?” Colin asked.
“She went home after that scene. What you said—”
“Can it wait, Dad? I know I owe you an apology but we need to talk about this news item. There may be danger.”
Mom stepped into the sitting room just then and sank gracefully onto an upholstered settee, confusion and concern mixed in her face. She tugged her husband’s hand until he sat next to her, and then gestured for Colin to speak.
Colin took a deep breath. “The news item is accurate. I just never expected it to come out this way. Hernán is living with me in DC while he seeks asylum.”
“That means he’s in the country illegally, I suppose. What have you gotten yourself into?” The disapproval in Dad’s gruff voice mixed with concern for his son and doubt that Colin knew what he was doing. It was the same thing he’d heard for years.
“This isn’t the time, Dad,” Colin said firmly. “We have reason to believe Hernán may be in physical danger as a result of this article. His lawyer is working to suppress it but given the story is already on Twitter I doubt we have much chance of that.”
He explained as succinctly as he could about how Cuernos had stalked and nearly killed Hernán, how the police officer who tried to help had been murdered, how Hernán’s uncle had told him he was in danger and should get out of El Salvador.
“Look, this all just blew up today so I have no idea whether Hernán’s fear is valid or overblown. Given what’s reported about Cuernos, I think it’s dangerous to dismiss his fears. It’ll be easy for the people who may, emphasis on may, be after Hernán to track him to my condo in Washington. If they’re sufficiently motivated, I can imagine them tracking you both down here. Maybe even Katherine and Griff.”
“Jesus, Son.” His father exhaled heavily when Colin finished. “Okay, I agree. This isn’t the time. I’ll alert my private security firm to make sure everyone is under guard.” He looked at his wife in silent communion, and then back at Colin. His voice when he spoke was lower and full of concern. “What about you though? Are you safe?”
That was the father he loved, ready to use every tool at his disposal to keep his family protected and comfortable. It was why they lived in a fairy-tale castle with every whim granted. Jim Felton wanted them all to be happy, even when he didn’t know what to think about his middle child.
It had seemed cloying when Colin was young, but he knew his father had his back. That meant the world.
“We were planning to return to DC Monday morning,” he answered, “but that doesn’t seem like a good idea anymore. I also don’t like the idea of staying here, but I don’t have a better plan.”
“What about the house in Nantucket?” Mom asked. “It’s somewhat hard to get to, especially off season.”
Colin thought about it. “I don’t know. You’ve had the house so long and we’ve all been photographed for various events. A simple Google search would probably turn that up.”
“I wonder if we’re overreacting,” Dad said. “Let me talk to my security guys to get their input.”
“We need to make sure the team keeps a very low profile though,” Colin said. “You’re right, Hernán is in the country illegally. We think we have excellent grounds to get him asylum, but in the meantime we want to stay off the ICE radar if we possibly can. I’m worried we’ll get a security group that wants to go overboard by posting men at everybody’s door and harassing people. That could end up drawing even more attention.”
“Oh boy,” Dad said with a sigh. “Okay. I’ll make sure the detail head knows we want them to watch discreetly and from a distance only.” There was a pause, and then his father asked in a softer tone. “Is this worth it, Son? Is this Hernán fellow who you choose?”
Colin’s voice was thick as he answered, “Yes, Dad. He is. Maybe you don’t see it after the dinner table—”
Mom cut him off. “Actually, that’s why I do see it. Perhaps we’ve made mistakes as parents, and we can talk about that calmly when this matter is resolved. At dinner, however, I saw a shy man out of his depth, who nonetheless jumped to defend and praise you when he felt you were wronged.” She smiled. “Your eyes shine when you look at him, and his do as well. He loves you very much, and he’ll fight if he thinks you’ve been attacked. What mother wouldn’t want someone like that for her son?”
Colin’s throat grew tight, and he blinked back tears.
Dad only made it worse. “I like Hernán too. You go on back and take care of him. I imagine he’s pretty scared right about now.”
“Thank you,” he whispered. With a kiss on his mother’s cheek and a hand on his father’s shoulder, he left and returned to the library.
Hernán hadn’t moved from the chair where Colin deposited him. Colin filled him in about the security precautions his father would begin to put in place right away.
Hernán moaned. “I’m so sorry, Colin. I hoped I’d never put you in danger this way.”
Colin dropped to his haunches and took one of Hernán’s cold and trembling hands. “We don’t know for sure we’re in danger, mi ángel. We’re just being smart and taking precautions. It’s one of the hazards of being wealthy. When I was a kid we actually had drills on what to do if one of us was kidnapped.” He kissed Hernán’s fingers. “My parents have always been overprotective and right now that’s a good thing. They have resources you wouldn’t believe.” He forced a chuckle and almost made it convincing. “Since you and I are together now, you get the full Felton treatment as well.”
His phone rang again. When David’s name appeared on the display, he answered on speaker.
“Okay,” David began. “I came down to meet Sofia. We’re here together in my office. I’ve made the request about pulling the article but it will take some time yet to hear back. Even if it’s pulled, we’re all over social media.”
Sofia spoke up. “Between the mention of Colin’s father and Hernán in running shorts, the story is going viral. What I’m seeing is everything from comments on Hernán’s looks, to Colin’s looks, to comparisons to Prince William marrying Kate Middleton. There’s some ugly homophobic and racist stuff too, though not much. Is there a risk people who know your family will comment and leak word out where you are?”
Colin sighed. “I don’t think so. The staff have all been around a long time, I think. I’d say they’re pretty loyal.”
“Staff?” David asked.
“I mean people who work for my dad. At his company,” Colin rushed to cover his error, but realized the barn door flapped in the wind, horses long gone, since he’d been so publicly identified as Jim Felton’s son. He sighed.
“Anyway, my brother Griffin has had a few run-ins with the paps before. I don’t recall that any leak was ever traced back to staff. My father is lining up security for the whole family right now. He even suggested Hernán and I hide out at their place in Nantucket. I don’t think that makes sense, though. Too easy to link me to the house, and a lot of people know me there.”
David snapped his fingers. “Nantucket is out, but what about Provincetown? You could stay in my house. Did you fly your plane up to New Jersey?”
Colin looked at Hernán, who had turned ashen and whispered, “Provincetown. I didn’t even think about it. Rudy might be in danger.”
Colin said, “Why don’t you step into our bedroom and give him a call, just to warn him?” Hernán pulled out his phone and closed the door to the library behind himself.
Continuing his own call, he said, “P-town does seem like a good choice. I don’t have obvious connections there. It’s reasonably remote. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be clear so I could get there VFR.”
Sofia asked, “What does that mean?”
“It means I’d be flying under visual flight rules, so I don’t have to file a flight plan. If anyone knows the tail number of my plane and I have a plan on file, they can do a simple internet search and see where I’m heading.”
“So Provincetown it is,” David said. “I’ll ask Jane or Sara to meet you at the airport tomorrow when you have a sense of when you’ll be landing, and one of them can give you a key.”
Hernán returned to the room and said, “Rudy is in Boston overnight but he knows to be careful.”
Colin gestured for Hernán to join him again, and pulled him close. “Good. We’ll see him soon in Provincetown.”
Sofia spoke up. “I think we’ll have a draft of your immigration papers ready for you to review by tomorrow evening, Hernán.”
“I leave a laptop and basic office equipment in the P-town house,” David added. “Jane can give you the password and what you need to access and print the documents.”
There didn’t seem to be anything else they could address together, so they ended the call with commitments to text at any significant development.
Colin escorted a nervous Hernán back to the first floor to tell his parents about the plan to head to Provincetown in the morning. They were still in the sitting room; Dad hung up just as Colin brought Hernán in.
“Okay,” Dad said, sounding tense but in control. “The security firm is sending a team to watch the house right away, one to Katherine’s and Griff’s places, and another to your condo in DC. They know to be unobtrusive and they’ll give me a call as soon as they’re in position. Watkins will get you to the airport tomorrow. I’ve texted you the detail head’s cell number so you can talk to him about arranging security on the Cape.”
Hernán said, “Mr. and Mrs. Felton, I want to apologize for the trouble I’ve caused, as well as for my rudeness at dinner.”
Mom stood and folded her hands. “Please, no apology is necessary. All you did was support my son when you felt we were being unfair.” She glanced at her husband and back as she said, “I actually must thank you, for pointing out blunt truths. Sometimes a newcomer sees dynamics that we’ve always taken for granted. You’ve given us a lot to consider.”
Mom’s gaze took in Colin as well. Her comments weren’t exactly warm, but Colin felt her sincerity. Only time would tell if his outburst and Hernán’s comments had gotten through to his parents.