Shepard dropped the glass of water on the floor, thick glass shards flying in all different directions. Someone was inside the house. The kitchen was an open plan, so it faced out into the living room. Shepard ducked behind the island, as if that would protect him from the intruder. His palms were cold and sweaty. His heart was racing.

“Shepard? I saw you through the window. I know you’re in here.”

Shepard couldn’t believe it. That voice… it was Rick. The man had officially lost it. What the fuck was he thinking? Shepard stood from behind the island, his pocket a little heavier as he got up. He knew there was no use hiding. Rick had seen him. He knew he was inside the house. He was going to confront this and end it once and for all.

When he was standing he saw the gun; its cold, dark barrel raised and aimed squarely at Shepard’s chest. He could feel it as though it were pressed up against his bare skin. If he closed his eyes, Shepard was sure he could trace a circle around the spot where the bullet would shred through him. He could see its trajectory as though someone drew it with chalk in the air.

It was a weird feeling, getting a gun pointed at you by a man wearing a sinister smile. Death felt so close, a piece of Shepard was almost welcoming it in like an old friend, one he hadn’t seen in years. The other part of Shepard was rocketed into high gear. His blood pressure, his senses, his anxiety. Everything was soaring through the roof. Scents and sights became sharper. Colors more clear. Shepard’s thoughts were far from clear, though. It was like someone had pressed play on seven different sound systems. Should he run? Stay frozen? Grab a pan? Beg for his life? Bargain with him?

“What… what, Rick, what are you doing here?” Shepard felt like he had to pull the words out of quick sand.

Rick didn’t look disheveled or as drugged out as he looked last time he randomly showed up, but there was still something unsettling about his appearance. Shepard couldn’t quite place it. Was it the gun that he held in a steady hand? Or the twisted smile that looked plastered on his face? Maybe it was because he looked more gaunt than usual? His cheekbones were way more prominent than they had been before, giving his face a slightly more hallowed look. “How did you know I was even here?”

“I went to your place, first. I spotted your neighbor. I asked him, very kindly, if he knew where you were. He told me he had no idea. So I pulled my toy out and asked him to think harder. That’s when he remembered you mentioning that you’ve been hanging out with your boyfriend a lot more.”

“Jesus, Rick.”

“I already knew where your doctor in shining armor lived. I should have just come here in the first place, but eh, we all make mistakes.” He took a few steps forward. “Also, about the whole ‘Rick thing’. I guess I should probably fill you in. My name isn’t Rick. It’s Gabriel Del Valle. I had it good, traveling and shedding identities from place to place. Until you had to call the cops on me. You had to get that restraining order. What else did you tell them, huh? Because what it was ended up fucking me over. Is that what you wanted?”

Shepard couldn’t speak. Any words that would come to him were completely swallowed by the fear. This man was crazy, and he was blaming Shepard for losing it all.

“You’re the reason the police have my apartment building surrounded. If it weren’t for you, I’d be fine. But no, you had to go to the cops.”

Shepard felt a lump of acidic bile rise to his throat. “No,” Shepard squeaked out. “I didn’t do anything.” He brought his hands up, they were shaking. “I swear.”

“You did, though. You could have just opened the door for me when I showed up at your place. I was only going to apologize. Instead, you call the police. You did this. You ruined it all.”

Now Rick—no, Gabriel— now Gabriel’s hand was shaking. His eyes darted from Shepard to the wooden block holding a set of knives on the counter. “This way. Come this way.” Gabriel motioned toward the living room with the gun. Shepard wasn’t sure if he could get his feet to move. Thankfully, they did. His knees shook as he walked. He could feel the gun pointed at him the entire time.

“You don’t want to do this.”

“Actually, I do. I haven’t done this in a while. I just wish I had more control of the situation. Like I had with my two boys in Ohio.” Gabriel licked his lips. His eyes briefly took on a reminiscent gaze, as though he were remembering a birthday or a reunion. Something pleasant. Except Shepard felt like whatever Gabriel was recalling was far from pleasant. “No, no. I’ve had to give up the control. I’m giving up a lot, tonight. It was either you or that fat guy from church. I thought the church would be a good cover story this time. It was fun, I guess. The guy could fuck, probably because of all that pent up hate and religious guilt. I wasn’t sure who I wanted to take with me tonight. But you and I, well, we have more history. You were the first guy I found when I came to LA. And besides, you’re part of the reason why I’m in this mess. It’s only fair, really.”

Shepard started realizing that Gabriel wasn’t expecting either of them to walk out of this alive. He was going to kill Shepard and then himself, knowing that the cops were already hot on his tail. He had nowhere to run. A cornered, rabid dog had only one option, seeing as death was already a certainty.

“You don’t have to do this,” Shepard began pleading. “You can leave and never come back. Take my wallet. My phone. Whatever you need, just take it and go.”

“You think I’m that stupid, Shepard? You’ll call the cops as soon as I turn my back. No, no, it’s over. I had a good run. I fooled enough people. But the end of the road is here.”

That’s when Shepard thought of Nick. He was going to get home after losing his daughter, only to find a murdered lover. It was enough to steady Shepard’s knees. He was filled with a new sense of strength. He could think clearer now. The fear was still there, but he wasn’t controlled by it anymore. He had to find a way out of this. Not only for himself, but also for Nick. He loved that man with all his heart, and he knew their story wasn’t done. No way. It wasn’t going to end like this.

“Like you said, we have a history. We’ve shared a bed, memories, laughs.” Shepard was trying to appeal to Gabriel’s human side, although he doubted if Gabriel even had one. He switched to focusing on Gabriel’s innate drive for survival. He was going to need to lie. Something he had trouble doing, and with the pressure of a gun barrel added to the mix, it was nearly impossible. “Maybe there’s something I can do to help. I have connections. Maybe I can help get you to Mexico.” He was formulating it all in his head as he spoke. “One of my patients, I’ve overhead him talk about knowing where a tunnel was located. I can reach him. I can talk to him. I saved his daughter’s life, I think he’d help me.”

Gabriel was skeptical. It wasn’t a great lie, but Shepard was selling it as best he could. “Let me call him. You can get out of the country. This doesn’t have to be the end. You’re twenty-eight, if you didn’t lie to me about your age, too. We’re young. We’ve got so much left.”

Gabriel’s face cracked, the twisted smile faltering for a moment. Something was landing. “You remembered how old I am.” Gabriel’s eyebrows came together. “No one ever even remembers my birthday.”

“October Fourteenth. Libra.” Shepard didn’t actually care about Gabriel’s birthday, he just had a photographic memory, but he wasn’t about to tell that to the psycho holding the gun.

“Wow,” Gabriel said, sounding impressed. “And it’s been so long since we dated… you really cared about me?”

“Yes.” Shepard’s voice wavered, but he kept his posture strong. He had to sell it. Gabriel had to believe him.

“Really?”

Shepard nodded. “Yes,” he said, his voice steadier. “Now, let me help you.”

The hand holding the gun wavered for a moment, losing its laser focus on Shepard’s chest. “Where’s Nick?” Gabriel asked. “I didn’t see his car outside.”

“He’s at the hospital,” Shepard said. He was getting better at spitting lies at a rapid rate. “Working all night. We’ve got time to do this.”

“How do I know you’re not lying.”

“Come on, let me call the guy.” Shepard looked at the gun. “But put the gun down. I won’t do anything crazy. Trust me.”

Gabriel put the gun down.

Holy shit, it’s working.

There was another piece to this place. Shepard had to get Gabriel next to him. He reached a hand into his pocket, being careful to only pull his phone out. “Wait, wait!” Gabriel shouted, putting the gun back up. Shepard immediately dropped his phone. It bounced on a corner and fell flat at Shepard’s feet, the cover protecting it from any real damage.

“What?”

“Let me do it,” Gabriel said. “I don’t want you calling the cops.”

Shepard just shook his head, shaken from the outburst but forcing himself to stay cool. What he was about to do next was incredibly risky and crazy dangerous.

“Alright, let me get the phone.” Gabriel put the gun down at his side again, not sensing a threat from Shepard. He walked toward the phone, keeping his eyes on Shepard the entire time. Shepard held his hands loosely at his sides, even though he was feeling extremely tense.

Gabriel got to Shepard. He smiled and surprised Shepard with a quick kiss. It was revolting. Shepard wanted to gag on the spot but stopped himself. His breath smelled like rotten eggs and old coffee. Shepard’s expression didn’t so much as twitch. He had to be strong. “I always knew you were someone special,” Gabriel said. “That you’d save me someday.”

Gabriel bent down to pick up the phone.

It all happened in a flash. Shepard reached into his pocket and closed his grip around the shard of glass he had picked up from the floor. He didn’t even feel it cutting into his palm. He pulled it out and, with all the force in his body, plunged the sharp edge down into Gabriel’s exposed neck. The effect was immediate. Shepard knew his anatomy. He knew where to stab. And he did it. The glass sank in and sliced through stretchy tendons and thin veins and one vital artery.

Gabriel didn’t know what hit him. Two minutes later, and he would be dead. Slumped faced down into a growing puddle of his own blood.

Shepard was hyperventilating. He stumbled backward and tripped over nothing, his ass falling hard on the floor. He gripped at his shirt, as if it were choking him. He had to get it off. He just killed someone. Self-defense, he kept telling himself. Self-defense. He had to do it. There was no other option. He had to stay alive. He had to do it for—

“Holy shit!” Nick yelled. He froze in the open doorway for a moment before bursting into action, running right to Shepard, around the pool of blood. He was already calling the police, telling them they had to be there as fast as they could be.

“Shepard, Shep, baby, are you ok?! What happened? Holy shit, Shep.” Nick was holding Shepard, who was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

“He broke in,” Shepard said, his throat tight, tears flowing down his cheeks. “He had a gun. Wanted to kill me for calling the police on him.”

“Oh, Shepard, you’re ok now. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” Nick’s voice was like a lighthouse shining through a typhoon, leading Shepard’s ship back to shore. “Can you stand? You’re not hurt are you?”

“No, I’m ok,” Shepard said. He couldn’t feel the deep gash that across the center of his palm, spilling blood onto the floor.

“Shit,” Nick said, seeing the wound. He shot up and ran to the linen closet, where he grabbed a clean towel. He ran back and wrapped it around Shepard’s hand, applying pressure so that the bleeding would stop. He helped Shepard get up onto his feet. Shepard still wasn’t feeling the pain from the cut, but he was thankful he was standing. He wanted to get out of the room that held the dead body.

“Let’s go out. Let’s get some air.” Nick looped an arm around Shepard and walked him out into the backyard, a direction that took them away from the corpse in his living room. Once outside, Shepard felt like he could breath properly again. He took a few deep breaths and let his head fall into Nick’s chest. He wrapped an arm around Nick and held him tight, keeping his bleeding hand held out. The pain was starting to appear, but it was nothing compared to the relief he felt of being able to hold onto Nick.

“I love you, Nick. I love you so damn much. I didn’t want to die because I thought there was still so much left to do with you. To experience.”

“And there is,” Nick assured him. He put two fingers under Shepard’s chin and lifted his face. Their eyes met, the romantic moonlight drawing a bit of contrast with the amped-up atmosphere. “I love you, too, Shepard. And from this point on, it’s you, me and Emma against the world. We’re a team, and no one’s going to ruin that for us anymore.”

“Zane found something?” Shepard said, not knowing what exactly had happened.

Police sirens started to echo through the nearby hills. “I’ll fill you in,” Nick said. He leaned in and kissed Shepard. It didn’t erase everything that just happened, nothing probably ever would, but it immediately calmed Shepard’s racing heart. He was with the man he loved, soon to be holding the little girl he loved.

Everything was going to be alright.