Page 78 of Go Deep

“Gabe,” Lucas hisses. “They’re talking about you on fucking CNN.”

I click the play button on the video.

Senator Michael Castro Suffers Another Health Episode and Is Rushed to Good Sam in Cinncinatti.

Shit. He must’ve gotten word about the video from his bastard of a business partner. Hell, for all I know, the senator might have even put Bob up to it to scare me away from fucking with the campaign. Definitely worked for Vince. It was enough to send him running and screaming away from me, so his twisted plan obviously worked.

I hold the phone up to my ear, but the club is too loud, and with all the questioning stares, I’m feeling more and more exposed. My pulse throbs, my heart beat thumping like crazy as I search for a way out of the club. But the entire VIP lounge is packed with guys. I feel like Indiana Jones in that scene where he’s in the Temple of Doom and the spiked ceiling is closing in on him. If he doesn’t get out, he’s gonna take a spike to the skull, and that’s how I feel right about now.

Eyebrows knit together, I peer at the alert ribbon across the bottom of the screen when Vince’s face appears. My breath hitches as it always does when I stare into his deep, soulful eyes.

The last time I saw them, they were iced over.

Now they’re relieved and transparent with nothing to hide.

Panic clutches my throat like an invisible hand.

I can’t hear a damn word he says, and the closed captioning is off.

What the hell is he saying? Is he talking about his dad? Is his dad even alive?

“Is it true?” Lucas grabs my arm. “That video of you guys together…are you and Vince Castro?—?”

I shake off his arm. “Is the senator okay? Did they say?”

Lucas shakes his head. “They haven’t said.”

I jump up from the couch. “I need to watch this. I’ll be back.”

It’s bad. Really bad. A video of me and a former NFL superstar who happens to be the son of a known homophobe and presidential hopeful, no less. I get a lot of dirty looks as I sweep past the groups of guys frotting in the hallway that leads to the bathroom.

Shit, what are my fans going to say about it?

The bathroom is pretty much empty. I hear some moans in one of the stalls, but I can at least hear something other than the electronica that was ringing in my ears. I hold my phone to my ear, and Vince’s voice hums against it.

“We appreciate everyone’s concern for my father’s condition. He was rushed to the hospital when the episode hit, and he underwent a lot of tests to find out the underlying cause.”

Then the anchor asks the question that makes my heart stutter. “Was it because of the video of you and Gabe Kelly that leaked? Did that bring on an attack?”

“Actually, no. The video didn’t have anything to do with it. My father has gallstones, which have symptoms that can appear similar to a heart attack, and with recent events, we were all nervous it might be a reoccurrence.”

Vince pauses for a beat. “It’s hard to keep a guy like my father down for too long. He’ll need to have the gallstones removed, and then he’ll be right back on the trail. WhenSenator Michael Castro wants something, he usually gets it. And he wants the White House.”

“Well, we’re very relieved to hear that prognosis.” The anchor smiles. “And can you comment on the video? Is it true that you and Gabe Kelly are…involved?”

“Well,” Vince says with a chuckle. “I’d like to say ‘no comment,’ but I think the video speaks for itself. We had a fight. And then we had another fight earlier today. So to answer your question, I’m not really sure what our status is.”

My jaw drops. I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at it. Did he just…out us?

The anchor’s eyes light up. She looks shocked as hell that she got him to answer, and like a dog with a bone, she presses him because he’s Vince Castro and he just admitted to being gay without officially admitting it. I turn up the speaker as loud as it can go.

“Are you saying that you’re—?” She pauses, barely able to contain the huge smile spreading across her face.

He folds his hands on the table in front of him. I can’t tell where he is, but maybe it’s a private room at the hospital. My mouth dries up like it’s being stuffed full of cotton.

“Actually, what I’m saying is that I’m in love with Gabe Kelly.”

The door to the bathroom flies open and knocks me into the wall facing the stalls.

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