A quick recap
(REMEMBER - this is all fiction)
Brad Scholastic represents the state of Ohio in the US Senate. He's married to Savannah and they have twin daughters, Gail and Gina. Brad is believed to be on his way to the White House and his picture perfect family is more than willing to overlook his flaws as long as he takes them with him. Peter and Samuel are two of Brad's bodyguards. Samuel will do anything and anyone to please his boss, while Peter will ignore everything - - - or so that is what Brad thinks.
Peter and his sister, Carolyn are working together by gathering up dirt on Brad, because of the pain he caused them in their past. Carolyn runs an escort service, one that Brad uses often. She provides Brad with willing males whenever Brad makes a request. If none are available... Brad finds one, any way he has to.
Mitch and Anthony. . .two new men on the scene, but have nothing to do with each other. One is Savannah's new secret lover, the other is Brad's.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Three months later. . . Cincinnati, Ohio
Peter crumbled the florists card in his fist and tossed it toward the trash can. The flowers he picked up and threw against the wall. Stumbling to his chair he reached for the bottle and lifted it high, draining its contents and loving the burn the melted into his chest. His sister had just been laid to rest and the flowers brought back to his home, where he had gone through who had sent them. He had every intention of sending thank you notes out to all that had taken the time to not only attend Carolyn's funeral, but also the ones who'd sent flowers too, all except the one he'd thrown. That particular man would only get a manilla envelope full of glossy prints.
He'd been called from Brad's side a week ago. A faceless man told him his sister had been killed in a car accident, it wasn't until later that Peter learned it was a drunk driver that had taken not only Carolyn's life, but also a young woman's; both of them had known her during their younger days. He pushed himself up from the chair and picked up the phone, called a cab, not trusting himself behind the wheel and waited for the driver to arrive. Once he had, Peter tucked himself in the backseat and took the short ride to his sister's office.
"Hello Mister Hansen," the timid voice of Carolyn's Secretary reached into Peter's foggy subconscious.
"Danny," he said, lifting his hand to the pretty redhead, whom he normally took time to make blush.
Danielle smiled softly, though her eyes spoke volumes of words missed to Peter. She pressed the button under her desk that unlocked Carolyn's office door and watched Peter slip inside. Peter had felt her eyes on him and he knew she too was hurting. If it had been anyone else, he'd been able to offer the woman some comfort, a strong shoulder to lean on, a kind ear to listen, but it was Carolyn, his sister and her friend, the pain too raw to share.
Peter leaned against the office door and took a deep breath. She was still with him. He could feel it. She wouldn't rest until their plan was done. It was time. Peter knew it was sooner than both of them wanted, but it was just him now and he wanted out. He wanted Brad to pay and he wanted to reclaim his life, though he was no longer sure what it was he wanted out of it. He thought of Gail and Gina. The twins would be hurt, but they were young, kids really. They were just eighteen. Their birthdays were coming up and they'd bounce back. People like the Scholastics were always bouncing back, but not Brad. Peter was going to bury him.
He moved from the door to the desk and sat down in front of his sister's computer. Soon he was elbow deep in her files, digging up the dirt they had cataloged concerning Brad's fetish for young, virgin males. Some had been minors, those names were withheld and Brad would only dredge them up if Brad didn't take the threat seriously. Peter didn't want to hurt the ones that didn't have a choice. He didn't want other young men to take their lives like his brother had done. He just wanted justice.
Hours passed as Peter collected pictures, videos, tape recordings. He remembered each one that he'd collected and was grossly rewarded with ones that he'd not yet seen, but knew of. When he left he passed Danielle pausing briefly to tell her to close down the office for two weeks. After that he'd be back to settle all the accounts. Again he felt her eyes on him and he sighed.
"Another time," he told himself, wondering if perhaps Danielle could be a part of his new life.
Peter lifted his hand and a cab came to a stop in front of him. The briefcase he'd nabbed from Carolyn's office was full of everything his sister had on Scholastic and his secret life. He returned home and selected a few choice photos, one video and one audio clip. These were slipped into an envelope and addressed to Brad. When he was finished he picked up a second envelope, this one smaller than the first and placed a flash disk of his night with the twins along with two 5 x 7 shots of one of their many nights together. These he addressed to Savannah. He'd use it if he had too, but he hoped Brad would come clean without his wife's involvement.
Idly he tapped the files he collected and copied on Savannah's lover before giving them to her. He knew Mitch Waters wasn't perfect, but he'd be a good man for the Senator's wife. He hoped Mitch would stay by her side once all this public and Brad was suffering.
Peter closed his eyes and pictured his brother. He tried to concentrate on the happy youth he'd always been, but the memory was rudely invaded by the bloody images that were the paving for Peter's revenge. He then flashed to Carolyn. He'd not seen her in months, but he'd spoken to her several times as Brad's one night stands lessened and his relationship with young Anthony Edwards grew. That was when they had decided to step up the date of their revealing.
His cell phone vibrated against his hip, followed by its knowing chirp. He grabbed it and growled low as he read the text message from Brad. Peter sighed and took a calming breath and called back his employer. "Sorry Sir, was in the john," he said.
"No worries, Son. Just wondering how you're doing," Brad's voice came over the air waves.
"I'm doing well, Sir. Thank you for the flowers," he replied.
"It's the least I could do. I'd like to do more. What was your sister's favorite charity? Besides myself," Brad said with a hearty laugh. "She was always good at providing me with sweet pieces of ass. I'd like to make a contribution to a worthwhile cause in her name."
Brad cringed. He wanted nothing from Brad, least of all anything attached to Carolyn's name publicly. "Sir, I appreciate the offer, but given the services she provided for you, I think it would be wise just to make a donation to the local children's hospital she was fond of, but not in her name. I'd hate to see your good image dirtied if the press dug up Carolyn's side business. What she did for you and others was done under the . . ."
"Sheets," Brad chuckled. Peter could almost see him wink at his pun.
"Yes, Sir. So if you'd like to donate funds to the hospital, just do so and you and I will know who the money is in honor for. . .that is all that matters isn't it?" Peter asked.
He waited, knowing Brad was struggling with the decision. Would the press look into Carolyn's life if Brad donated money in her name? Hell yes, Peter told himself. He knew they would and he wanted to protect Carolyn.
"I see you're still thinking of me, Son. Good plan you got there. I'll do that, it'll be our secret. You take your time coming back to us, though I'll admit the temporary agent that is filling in for you is a nice piece of eye candy. I'm thinking Anthony and I will have to invite him into the fold . . . if you know what I mean," Brad laughed.
Peter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Sir. I understand." He informed Brad he'd be back by the end of the following week and to not let the new guy get too comfy as a bodyguard. Brad made another joke and called him Son, sending fury through Peter. When he hung up the phone he thought of how lucky he was that Brad was just his boss and not a relative.
The weeks moved slowly for Peter. He went through his sister's belongings, pulling out photos of the past. Old black and whites of his parents, two people that had been taken from him and his siblings early in life. Peter's shoulders slumped as he realized for the hundredth time since receiving the devastating news, that he was now alone. A woman's face appeared in his grief stricken mind and he stood up from the dusty photos and negatives that surrounded him. He opened Carolyn's address book and found Danielle's name and number. Two hours later he was taking her hand in his and leading her to a table bathed in candlelight and a chilled bottle of wine.
"How are you?" Danielle asked after he'd poured them both a glass of the ruby liquid.
Peter shrugged his shoulders. "I'm getting by. Though it will be nice to have supper with a friendly face. How are you?" he asked, honestly wondering how the young woman was doing.
Danielle repeated the same shrug and sipped her beverage. "Same I guess. I'd worked with Carrie for years. I never thought about what I'd do if she weren't around. Now I seem a little lost."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. We were working on this project and now. . ."
"The one about your brother right?" Danielle asked.
Peter's eyes grew wide. "You know?"
Danielle reached over and took Peter's hand. "I was cleaning her office one night, something I did, because she didn't want the help in there snooping. She was a private person."
"She had reasons to be," Peter said, pulling his hand away. "She obviously was trusting the wrong person."
"Hey," Danielle answered back, tucking her hand in her lap. "She'd been shredding the photos just moments before stepping out of the office and I was still on the clock and on the grounds, so she wasn't too worried was she. I was emptying the garbage when I saw a partial photo jammed in the shredder. I dislodged it and saw a smudged picture of our famous Senator. So hell yeah I was curious. She walked in, claiming to have forgotten something, but you know what. . .looking back I don't think that was the case. I think she wanted to talk. I think she needed it. You weren't around. She needed. . ."
