Second Nature (His Chance 2)

He asked, “Does everyone know I disappeared last night?”

“Yeah. All your local friends were calling around and trying to find you. I even spoke to Beck, in case you’d gone back to Catalina. Sawyer and Roger are going to let everyone know you’ve been found.” I glanced at him and added, “By the way, all anyone knows is that you didn’t go back to the apartment last night. It’s totally up to you how much you want to keep private. For all they know, you had a credit card with you and used it to spend the night in a hotel.”

“I definitely want my closest friends to know the truth, like Zachary and TJ, and Sawyer and Alastair. They’ve been a part of my recovery from the start, and they’ll understand that I’m still struggling.” He thought about that, and then he said, “Actually, I’m fine with everyone knowing. There’s no reason to treat this like a dirty little secret. I made a mistake. My friends will understand that.”

“You’re right, they will. Your friends are all pretty amazing.” I glanced at him and asked, “Are you sure you want to leave San Francisco when I finish my job here? I know you had your reasons for leaving, but you also have an absolutely fantastic support network in this city.”

“I’ve been thinking about that over the last few weeks. I’d love to stay, but your job is going to keep you in Southern California, and I want to be wherever you are.”

“I could try to find a job here. There are special effects makeup studios in most major cities, including San Francisco. There are a lot more of them in L.A., since it’s the hub of the entertainment industry, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find work in my field somewhere else.” After a moment, I added, “Although you did have some concerns about coming back here.”

“You’re right. I was worried spending time in this city might trigger a relapse, but what happened last night wasn’t because I was in San Francisco, it was because of me. I have a lot of work to do, not just with my recovery but in terms of learning to manage my stress and anxiety. That stuff goes with me no matter where I am, and being here hasn’t actually made it worse.” Then he said, “So really, there’s only one reason why we shouldn’t stay in San Francisco.”

“If you mean Mason Simeck, he’s not a threat anymore. You know that long story about the Dombrusos that I promised to tell you later? It actually involves him.”

He blurted, “Did Simeck find you?”

“Yeah, last night, after he spotted that giant poster of you on Castro Street. Don’t worry, he didn’t hurt me. We just had a conversation, and then he left. I spent the night on Emory’s couch, and around noon today, I found out you never made it back to the apartment. I was terrified Simeck had abducted you, so I went to his house to confront him.”

Gabriel asked, “By yourself?”

“I planned to go alone, but I was intercepted by some of your friends.” I asked with a grin, “Did you know the Dombrusos are big-time gangsters?”

“I’d heard they had roots in organized crime going back generations, but I thought this generation had gone legit.”

I shrugged and said, “Maybe they have, but either way, their reputation certainly precedes them. Dante and Vincent and some of their…support staff went with me to see Simeck, and he almost pissed himself. Dante told him you and I are under his protection and ordered him to leave town, and Simeck swore he’d leave us alone. He was terrified of the Dombrusos, Dante in particular, so I know he won’t do anything to cross them.”

Gabriel muttered, “I can’t believe all of that happened in the last twenty-four hours. I also can’t believe you were waiting to tell me about it!”

“We had more pressing things to deal with. By the way, Dante said you should have come to him sooner to get Simeck off your back.”

“It never even occurred to me. First of all, who knew Simeck was terrified of Dante? But also, I wouldn’t have expected the Dombrusos to stick their necks out for us.”

“Dante considers you family.” I grinned and added, “Speaking of which, he told Simeck I’m his cousin. You should have seen Simeck’s face.”

Gabriel pushed his hair back and exhaled slowly. After a minute, he said, “This is a lot to process.”

“I know. That’s why I was waiting to tell you.”

“I want every detail of your conversation with Simeck,” he said, “but you’re right that it should probably wait until I’ve gotten some sleep. I’m pretty overwhelmed right now.”

“I’ll definitely tell you everything. I also plan to grovel and apologize a million times for going behind your back and asking Roger for help when you told me not to. In case you’re wondering, I met with him about a week and a half ago to ask for some contacts in the manufacturing industry, and that somehow turned into him leasing a storefront.”