Raw Vengeance (The Rich Fordham Series) (5 page)

“
What about security? I thought children of politicians get their own entourage.”

“
I do, but I told them to back off. I don’t need a couple of middle-aged men snooping on me while I try to have a normal life.”

Dan nodded his approval.

For the next hour they talked about everything but homework. For the first time since switching schools, Tyler felt a connection with someone. Dan listened well and seemed genuinely interested in Tyler’s life and drama at home.

At the top of the hour, Dan turned in his seat and put his hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “Let’s get out of here. There’s a juice joint down the road that makes these fabulous shakes and smoothies. My favorite is banana-strawberry with ginseng extracts.”

“
Oo, that does sound good,” Tyler said as his mouth began to salivate. “You want to drive, or you want me to?”

“
You’ve got the tricked-out Escalade; mine’s a piece-of-shit Honda.”

A minute later, they ambled down the hallway toward their cars, talking like they’d known each other their whole lives. Tyler felt an immediate connection and wondered why it had taken so long for them to meet.

They drove off with Tyler at the wheel of his Escalade, while Dan browsed his C.D. collection and put in Chris Brown. They moved their heads in unison to the beat as they made their way to the juice bar.

Mid-song, Dan stopped dancing. “Can I ask you something?”

“
Shoot,” Tyler replied, wondering why Dan was acting coy.

“
Can I touch your hair? I know the girls probably ask you all the time, but I’ve always been curious what a black guy’s hair feels like.”

Tyler shrugged as if he couldn’t care less. Dan reached behind his neck and slowly brought his hand up the base of Tyler’s head, then worked forward toward his forehead. The move caught Tyler off-guard, as he had expected a split-second rub, not a lingering massage, and he nearly lost control of the vehicle. It was the first time he’d ever been touched by someone in a sexual way; he’d had fantasies, but had never experienced the real thing. As hard as he tried to come up with a conversation piece, his mind became numb and the world around him began to spin. After the massage, Dan removed his hand, and they sat in silence, listening to the music until they reached their destination.

The neon-green Zoomie Juice sign came into view as they turned the corner into the cookie-cutter strip mall. The business was filled with mostly students like themselves—looking for a sugar high and the opportunity to mingle with friends. Tyler found a spot near the rear and double-parked.

It neared eight p.m. and the sun had already set, creating a rainbow of soft colors through the cloud layers. Cooler air replaced the hot summer air of the day as they made their way to the store.

As they walked, Dan asked, “So, how’s dating working out?”

The question freaked out Tyler. The drama between him and Deon had preoccupied his mind for so long, he didn’t know how to answer. “Umm, I don’t date a whole lot. I’ve got a lot of shit going on, so I don’t have the time.”

“
I don’t buy it,” said Dan, disbelieving. “You’re a handsome guy. I’m sure the girls give you all sorts of time and affection.”

Tyler swung open the glass doors and became transfixed by the assortment of flavors. They stood side-by-side as the juice virgin struggled to make a decision. “I have no idea what to get,” Tyler said, giving up.

To help him out, Dan reached over and put his left arm around Tyler’s shoulders and his hand on his other shoulder and then pointed at the selections. “They all taste good, especially the darker berries, like blueberry.” And there it is, Tyler finally admitted to himself; a guy hit on him for the first time—and he liked it.
Could he be any more obvious he likes me?

CHAPTER 7

He needed action and he didn’t care how he got it. Deon and his gang were bored and looking to make trouble. They lounged in his dilapidated Chevy Caprice with the windows open and Snoop Dog blaring. His buddy Labron passed him a doobie, and he took another hit. He let the smoke slowly exhale as his mind became numb from the weed. As if on command, an idea presented itself in the form of a tricked-out Cadillac Escalade pulling into a space on the opposite side of the parking lot.

“
Yo, guys, look what mother-fucker dropped by,” Deon said as Labron and the two in back strained to see what got his attention.

“
Dat chocolate?” asked Labron. “We should go fuck his shit up. Little faggot fuck thinks he can go anywhere.”

Deon put his hand up to silence his friend. As much as he liked his Labron, sometimes he talked too much. “Whoa, check it out; dude’s with a white guy. Think they’re fucking each other in the ass?”

“
I thought that’s what you was into, Deon,” Jamal teased from the back seat. Without replying, Deon reached around and clocked him on the shoulder as hard as he could.

“
What the fuck was that for?” asked Jamal as he winced in pain.

Without answering, Deon sprung from the car in pursuit of action. The other three followed and sprinted to catch up. Fifteen seconds later, Deon made his way inside the juice bar and laid eyes on his two targets.

Like a cat stalking its prey, Deon went unnoticed as he stepped through the doors. The scene before him was all the ammunition in the world he needed to make Tyler’s life hell. With a wry smile, he watched as Dan placed his arm around Tyler in a show of affection.
Motherfuckers really are a bunch of faggots
, he thought as he strutted toward the two. A moment later, Deon swung his hands around the outside of both of their shoulders. “What brings you two hoes in here? I didn’t know they let faggots inside school,” he mocked as Dan withdrew his arm to his side and turned. Labron and the others surrounded them and snickered as they traded fist bumps.

Labron stood behind Dan and sniffed him. “Smells like faggot, too,” he said.

The manager noticed the imminent fight and commanded, “You boys take your shit outside before I call the cops.”

“
Mind your own fucking business, old man,” said Deon in defense.

Seeing the situation disintegrating, Dan knew he needed to act swiftly to avoid being hurt. The only way to gain an upper hand in a situation like that was through surprise. He also knew the thugs wouldn’t expect a pretty blond kid to fight a black one, much less them.

With a lightning-fast move, instincts took over as Dan swung his right palm into Labron’s chin, sending him sprawling to the floor. The impact rendered him unconscious, but was light enough not to break his jaw. Deon reacted a second late as Dan made a vicious chopping motion with the side of his right hand into the base of his neck, an area packed with nerve endings. Two thugs down, two to go. Sixteen-year-old Jamal reached into his jean pocket for a knife, but Dan released a blow to his kidney. Jamal’s knife dropped to the ground as he doubled over in pain.

Jadyn, Labron’s younger brother at sixteen and the omega of the group, never had a chance to react. Instead of fighting, he put his hands up in a show of surrender just as Dan was about to unleash hell on him.

“
Hey, assholes,” the manager broke in, “cops are coming for your asses.” Jadyn flew out the door.

The three boys were writhing and moaning in pain, but Dan didn’t give a damn. He looked over to see Tyler’s mouth hanging wide open in a state of shock. “Come on, man,” he said as he waved Tyler to follow. “Cops will be here in less than two minutes. Time’s a-wasting.”

Tyler prepared to deliver a savage kick to Deon’s ribcage when Dan stopped him. “Hey! This isn’t the time, man; we’ve got to go,” he ordered as he pulled him by the arm. Tyler put up a fuss at the realization his tormenters could be overtaken so easily. The two ran at breakneck speed until they were inside of the Escalade. Tyler took the wheel again and sped off like a bat out of hell.

“
Where’d you learn to fight?” Tyler asked in between breaths.

Dan smiled. “It was nothing. Remember I said my dad found work out here? He was a cop back in Seattle and was laid off due to budget cuts. Chicago is the only place where he could start his own security consulting firm. He taught me those moves when I was five, and he insisted I practice after I came out.”

“
How’d that go?”

“
What—coming out or learning how to defend myself?”

“
Both.”

“
I know some jiu-jitsu, basic grappling techniques, and how to subdue a threat in as short a time as possible. Coming out was much more difficult. When I finally told my parents about five years ago, they said they already knew. I have two older brothers, and we all play football, and I play tight end or wherever the coach wants me. The toughest part is not telling any of the guys I play with. I’m sure they have no idea. I’m one of the biggest guys on the team, and I don’t act like the stereotypical gay. I don’t have a lisp, and I’m not into drama,” Dan said nonchalantly.

A flood of emotions overwhelmed Tyler. Confronting the thugs had scared the hell out of him, but on the other hand, he felt high from actually doing something about it. The lights and siren of a lone cop car blazed past them in the opposite direction. One look in the rearview mirror, and he could tell they weren’t being followed.

“
What about you? You’ve come out, right?”

Tyler heaved a heavy sigh before answering. “My mother is a bitch, plain and simple. She’s a self-promoting, self-righteous, egotistical sadistic bitch.”

“
So you’re saying things could be worse,” Dan said sarcastically.

As an only child, Tyler had never been afforded the opportunity to openly discuss his sourness toward his mother or his treatment for being gay. “Several years ago she sent me off to ‘gay camp’ where they tell you how God wants you to act and be. How am I supposed to change me? Why am I supposed to conform to what everyone wants? Why do they give a damn? People like my mother are so obsessed about two boys kissing that they forget I’m a person. They talk to me like I’m not real, like I’m some sort of aberration. I do well in school, don’t do drugs, I don’t hurt anybody, and as Mr. Johnson says, I’m a good kid. But no, they get hung up on how gay I am. I don’t visit gay clubs or dress weird or talk funny. These people and my mother are the biggest bigots and hypocrites.” He paused to gather his thoughts. “Aw, fuck it, I don’t want to talk about her anymore. She hasn’t told me she loves me since my coming out, and that was four years ago.”

They sat in silence for the next fifteen minutes. Tyler was caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, oblivious to the hand resting on his thigh ever since they passed the cop car. “Hey, I’m sorry for venting. I’m sure you didn’t need to hear my sad story.”

“
Don’t worry about it.” Dan gave Tyler’s thigh a quick squeeze.

“
I just realized I have no idea where I’m going. Do you want me to drop you off at school or your house?”

“
School is fine.”

“
I hate to ask, but do you think we’ll get in trouble?”

Dan had to think for a second about what he meant. “Oh, your home-boys back there? If they get caught—which I doubt—they won’t say anything. There’s honor amongst thieves, so they won’t rat you out even if they get arrested. When you see them in school, ignore them because they’ll know I’ve got your back.”

The statement almost brought a tear to Tyler’s eyes. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” he said as they made eye contact.

Tyler swung the wheel, and the Escalade rounded the corner into the Loring High School parking lot. The area was vacant except for a lone Honda. The SUV came to a stop, and Tyler shoved the gear into park. A pair of headlights appeared in the rearview mirror, getting larger as the vehicle pulled up behind them. “Someone’s following us,” Tyler said nervously.

Once the sedan came to a stop, a man got out with a device in his hand. He walked up to Tyler’s window, knocked on it with a large metal flashlight, and pointed the light at Tyler.

It took a second to figure out who it was. “Pete, what are you doing here?” he asked his bodyguard.

“
I was just about to ask you the same thing. You mind telling me what’s going on? We watched your friend here pummel those boys back at the juice bar and then we followed— “

Dan cut in, “Don’t worry about us. We’re okay, but thanks for looking out for Tyler.”

Peter Raines flicked the light over to Dan, looked him over. “You boys stay out of trouble,” he said sincerely, “but don’t let pride prevent you from asking for help.” Then he turned, disappeared into his car, and drove off.

Dan said, “I’ve got to go.” He smiled and they hugged, and then he gave Tyler a quick peck on the lips.

A second later, Dan jumped out the door and sped off.

CHAPTER 8

The wait killed him as he looked at his watch for the fifth time since the top of the evening hour. “Damn it, it’s 9:14 already,” Rich muttered to himself, just low enough so no one around him could hear. Being stood up by a date wasn’t something he wanted to get used to. All he knew about his date was her name—Shanna. They had met in line at a coffee shop, talked for an hour and exchanged phone numbers, then agreed on a future date.

The trendy, bohemian-style restaurant was packed with yuppies and single folks like him, trying to get laid. It was the kind of place where people had to talk loud enough to hear over all the other patrons. Each table featured white linen tablecloths, and the entrees were served in portions large enough to feed a family. The aroma of garlic wafted from the kitchen across the room, making his mouth water.