Page 57 of Romeo vs Romeo

“He has bribed, bullied, and forged his way to obtaining this permit, and I have recordings of the secret meetings between the two men,” I said at last.

The officers halted, murmurs passing between them, and Layla Zahran quickly consulted with her team. In the moment of stunned silence, with Roman’s hand rubbing the small of my back soothingly and Mama Viv holding me steady, I faced Harold Langley.

“Are you out of your mind, boy? You would betray your own family?” he demanded.

My throat tightened. My family? No. Never. “You said it yourself,” I said. “I’m not your son.”

The lieutenant, who had been issuing orders for her force to move in and prepare to disperse the crowd, quickly stepped in, crossing the ground and marching toward me. She had a hard, no-nonsense face when she walked up to us. “Mr. Langley, what nature of evidence do you possess to support these claims?”

“Audio recordings,” I said. “They clearly show my father and Robert Jacobs from Urban Planning plotting to take over this place by any means necessary.”

“If what you are saying is true, I will need you to hand over this evidence,” the lieutenant said.

I produced my phone, and an officer scurried over to take it from me. “I have been present in my father’s meetings. I can provide you with a detailed account of the dealings between them.”

“You are willing to give a statement?” the lieutenant asked, and I confirmed.

Layla stepped in and said she would be present for that. It crossed my mind that I couldn’t exactly lean on my family’s legal team for any of it anymore. If she would represent me, I would rest a little more easily.

The lieutenant walked away to consult with some higher authority as my father stood in shock, looking around at the chaos that was erupting around us. The crowd booed him while others cheered me on, and two officers began collecting all the documents from my father’s lawyers despite protests. Another officer stood beside my father, partly looking like he was a bodyguard, partly like he was on the verge of making an arrest.

Minutes passed, and each felt like a year.

My father, wearing his long coat and black gloves, turned left and right almost as if it were in slow motion. He was lost now. The twist of fate had caught him unexpectedly, only provinghow comfortable he had been after getting away with this sort of thing for years.

When the lieutenant returned, she didn’t come to me. Instead, she spoke to my father with cold distance and command in her tone. She offered him to accompany her to the precinct without any further drama. It was the friendliest offer he was going to get today.

A flurry of activity happened around the people on my father’s team. They argued it out quickly, some advocating that Harold Langley had committed no crimes and was free to return to his office, while others urged him to give a statement at the precinct.

He measured these arguments with haziness in his eyes and confusion on his face. The minutes that had gone by had added ten years to his appearance. Not once did he look at me again. And when I thought he would pack up and go home, he nodded.

An arrangement was made quickly for police to escort his car to the precinct, and the remaining officers began to clear the area, directing the press and pedestrians to move off the street. The bulldozers were the last to leave, and only when they roared and pulled away did I realize my ears had been ringing and my face burning all this time.

I turned to Roman as Mama Viv and Layla Zahran pulled away from us.

“I told you I would love you after it was done,” I said quietly, taking his hands in mine. “But I’m broke now. Homeless, I imagine. I have nothing to give you, Rome. I have nothing to offer, nothing to contribute.”

Roman’s expression softened from serious to slightly mischievous. “You’re a drama queen, and it entertains me.”

I chuckled, surprised to hear myself do it. “I’m not known for my sense of humor.”

“No, but you’re still all I want, Everett,” Roman said softly. “And I love you more than I ever did.”

I kissed him there in front of everyone, never once wondering if my father might have caught a glimpse of it from his car as it left in a column of police cars. I kissed Roman as deeply and freely as my heart desired. And I vowed to love him until my last breath.

Whatever came next, it was easier with Roman by my side.

And when we joined the elated crowd a few feet away, Mama Viv made a pointed remark that I would never be homeless on her watch.

Epilogue

Days, Weeks, and Months Later

Everett

The partin my honor sounded like a deeply pretentious thing to brag about, yet I couldn’t shut up about it for the entire week since the fateful events of last Friday. Everyone who came to Neon Nights had heard about it, and many wondered if the party would be my drag debut. It wouldn’t, but not for the lack of will. My hips simply could not catch the beat of the music, so I was a fairly useless queen.

Mama Viv had put me in her spare bedroom, saying pompously that it had been good enough for the Prince of Verdumont.

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