Page 125 of He's the One

“We both lost our parents early,” said Col’s mother. “And as heartbreaking as that was, we’re glad they didn’t see the effects of that government legislation. But it’s ongoing. People aren’t getting the help they need.”

“I’ll talk to my father,” Theo said. “Maybe he can add his voice to the protests.”

“I didn’t tell you so you’d do that.” Col’s mother looked horrified.

“I know.” Theo smiled. “But maybe he’ll be impressed that I’m widening my interests.”

By the time they’d eaten, made their excuses and escaped to his room, Col was tired. Though not too tired. He stripped off, helped Theo get naked and pulled him into bed.

“Noooo!” Theo whispered. “A door, a strip of carpet in the hall and another door is not enough to disguise what we’re doing. Your mum might think I’m killing you and rush in to stop me. Or vice versa.”

“We won’t make any noise if we’ve both got our mouths full.”

Theo widened his eyes, then blinked. “Full of what? More jerk chicken? Yes please.”

Col laughed. “We’ll just cuddle then.”

But as he pulled Theo back against him, Col’s phone rang. Theo grabbed it from the bedside table and handed it to him. Another unknown number but Col answered. “Hello?”

“You piece of shit,” Robert hissed. “Don’t you dare cut me off.”

“What do you want?” Col put the phone on speaker and activated the app to record the call.

“That harassment notice was served at work. AT MY FUCKING PLACE OF WORK! You fucking arsehole.”

“That’s not my fault.”

“Of course it’s your fucking fault.”

“It’s not. Take it up with the police if they weren’t careful enough.”

“It’s too late. The damage has been done. You think you can do this to me and walk away?”

“I’ve done nothing.” Col made an effort not to snap. “I left you when I found out you were married, and you stalked and attacked me. I ended up in hospital. All I want is for you to leave me alone.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not coming near you again, you toxic piece of shit, but I don’t need to be near you to fuck up your life. You think that dicking around with the son of a marquess is a good idea? Do his parents know?”

Theo pressed harder against him.

“And do they know who you are? Who you really are?” Robert sniggered.

Col felt chilled. “What are you talking about?”

“It took some digging but I worked it out. Not telling me anything about your childhood prior to being fostered was too intriguing. Not Collier but Billy Hammond. Brother of a psychopath. How long will you last with Theo Wetherby when that’s revealed?”

There was no point in denial. “Have you told the press?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

“I wonder how quickly the police will react when I replay this conversation to them. I’m under protected status.” That wasn’t true, but…

There was a short silence before Robert chuckled. “Nice one. You’re pretending.”

“Am I? Shall I send you a snippet of this call?”

“You’re not allowed to record a private conversation without my permission and you don’t have my permission. Even if you did record it, you can’t share it with third parties and it’s not admissible in a court of law.”

Thank you, you arsehole of a fucking lawyer.“But you already have a harassment warning. And this is further harassment, particularly of someone whose identity is protected. Do you want the police to hear what you said?”

---