Page 92 of Shot For Mercy

Nikolay winks. “Love.”

Giovanni coughs and laughs. “Oh, fuck. This is too good.”

“My sweet, sweet husband will fall in love with me.” Nikolay sighs, cupping Alex’s face with both hands. And Alex lets him. Oh, shit. “I’ll be manifesting it.”

“Like witchcraft?” Alessandro asks, clearly worried.

“Just like that, husband.” Nikolay grins, pulling Alessandro down and kissing him soundly. Alex stiffens, ripping Nikolay away from him. Sweet Nik isn’t deterred in the slightest, not even missing a beat. He just grins again. “I’ll be casting spells on you. I’ll have you know I have an altar.”

“Of course you do.” Alex frowns, prying Nikolay’s hands from his face finger by finger. “Fucking hippie.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Nikolay pats Alessandro’s face condescendingly.

“And I don’t want to.” Alex rolls his eyes. “I think I’ll just let you live in the condo by yourself. I’ll live in a hotel for all I care.”

Nikolay pouts, clearly put out. “No way. I need dick every single day, and we’ll be monogamous.”

Alex sighs, looking heavenward. “Please, God. I’ve never asked for anything before. But now I’m begging for mercy.”

“You’ll be begging me too.” Nikolay winks.

We all laugh again, and Cole squeezes my thigh under the table. When I look at him, he seems…happy. His eyes are sparkling, and he has a wide smile on his face. It’s the first time in a long time since I’ve seen him this way. He has been sad ever since we brought him back from that basement, and I’ve hated every second of it. He has nightmares now, too. Not every night, but often enough that I’m worried about him. I’ve recommended my therapist to him, but he’s refused. I need him to get better, though. I’ll definitely be pestering him until he gives in.

It’s then that the little bell by the front door chimes, signaling Matteo’s arrival. Cole tenses beside me, looking away. But not before I see the pain on his face. Nikolay seems to notice it too, because he frowns for the first time. The seat across from us has an empty space for Matteo, and I fear Cole won’t be able to handle seeing him. He schools his features though, but everyone looks at him, anyway.

All the air seems to be sucked out of the room as soon as Matteo comes into view… with a man beside him. A man who looks older than my son by at least five years, and I narrow my eyes. Matteo looks at me and smiles, though, a genuine smile, and I’m forced to relax. Mostly because he hasn’t smiled at me in months.

“Hi, everyone. I need to make space for one more.” Matteo smiles, not daring to look at Cole. I can tell it’s on purpose. Doesn’t even acknowledge him. I look down to see Cole’s hands fisted in his lap.

My brothers all shift their seats and silverware, making space for one more. Matteo just grabs a chair from another table, placing it next to his chair, and they sit down. The man has dirty blond hair and green eyes, and I can’t deny he’s attractive. He has this sophisticated look about him. He’s wearing a black turtleneck shirt with black dress pants and a tan wool coat that reaches past his knees. He looks at Matteo with star-struck eyes. As he should. My son is a catch.

Matteo turns his face and whispers something in the guy’s ear, and the man blushes a crimson shade. Everyone has fallen silent, waiting expectantly for introductions, and I clear my throat. At this, my son looks back at me and grins.

“Everyone, this is Hudson.” He looks at Hudson once more, and the man looks at me. “My husband.”

I choke on my spit, then raise an eyebrow at him. But he just smiles. “Husband?”

Cole clears his throat and asks, “Since when?”

“Since almost two months ago.” He smiles softly at Cole, but there’s a flash of something in his eyes. I can’t tell what it is. But it feels a lot like he’s being vengeful. As if he married this poor fucking man to spite Cole. “Sorry, I didn’t tell you all. It was a quick thing.”

“I can tell,” I say slowly. “Where did you get married?”

“Vegas.” He shrugs, as if that’s the most normal thing to say. Was he fucking drunk when he got married? “Don’t worry, Dad. I had my wits about me.”

“Just how quick was this?” I ask with a frown. “Matteo?”

“We met when I moved out. Got married right before Cole—” He stops himself. “Had that…accident.”

“Before the Christmas party?” Cole asks tightly, and Matteo nods slowly. “Hmmm.” Cole hums, but this time he doesn’t look broken up about it.

“So tell me, Hudson.” I smile. “How old are you?”

“Thirty-two.” Hudson smiles back, placing his hand palm up on the table. Matteo holds it, his wedding band glinting in the low lighting.

I freeze. My son just turned twenty-one about a week ago, not that he spent it with us. Fuck. He didn’t even bring up Hudson in therapy. I should feel offended, and maybe I do, to a certain degree, but I also understand.

“And what do you do?” I ask him. “Do you have a career?”

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