Chapter 9

Avery

The coroner determines that the cause of death of Luca Myer is heart failure, no foul play is suspected. They release the body and Troy makes the arrangements for his funeral as his dad has outlined. The reading of the Will is scheduled to immediately follow the services. Troy's father chose to be cremated and wanted his ashes to be placed in an ornate urn and set up in a glass case inside the lobby of the casino. What an arrogant asshole, but I keep that opinion to myself. The Myer family is a large Sicilian family, the members of which have come out of the woodwork to see who will amass Luca Myer's fortune. In keeping with the family's Catholic traditions, the funeral includes rituals such as the last rites, a prayer vigil, the funeral liturgy and Catholic Mass. Wayne, Rick, Leo and I are joined by some of the other family as pallbearers, which seems pointless to me since there isn't a casket to be carried. The funeral procession is to meet at the casino, with the urn being dedicated to the fancy display case that now adorns the lobby. There is a small service in the lobby as part of the dedication, then family and friends are asked to stay for the reading of the Will. I feel like this is rather boastful, but no one stands to leave. The family lawyer stands at the podium, shifting through papers as the crowd silences. He clears his throat and begins to read the Will.

"I, Luca Myer, a lifelong resident of Tucson, Arizona, being of sound mind, do hereby make, publish and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all prior Wills at any time heretofore made by me. I leave the family home and my casino business to my son, Troy Myer, who I have every confidence in. I leave the restaurant, A la Carte, to Wayne Taylor, the head chef, who shared this dream with me. I leave my bank accounts to my son, Troy Myer, with the hope that the money will be used for the care and maintenance of the casino and the businesses and jobs that help make up the casino, as well as the care and maintenance of the family home. I leave all tangible property, such as cars, furniture, artwork, jewelry, and any other physical objects owned by me at the time of my death to my son, Troy Myer. All intangible personal property, such as stocks, bonds, copyrights, etc., owned by me at the time of my death, I leave to my son, Troy Myer." The lawyer goes over the remaining legal jargon, and the family is dismissed, among some grumbling by those who feel they have somehow been shortchanged by the late, great Luca Myer. The lobby slowly clears of those in attendance, and Troy and Wayne meet with the lawyer in private to go over things in more detail.

I look over at a withdrawn Katie, who quietly endured the day with me. We had arranged for someone to babysit Adrian, and I know she is likely ready to get back to our son. I excuse myself, letting her know that I need to go out for a bit of air, and she nods at me in understanding, but doesn't stand to join me. I know she is trying to give me space to grieve but I am suddenly unsure how I feel about it, this space between us seems to continue to grow. I go outside and collect my thoughts, and when I return to the lobby, I see Katie conversing with Leo, and she is laughing. This feeling erupts inside me that I am not at all familiar with. Jealousy, and it is raising its ugly head in full force. How long has it been since I heard Katie laugh? It is my favorite sound in the world, aside from Adrian's cute little coos, and I can't honestly answer when the last time was that I heard her laugh. I didn't realize how much I had missed it until this moment. I didn't realize how much I missed what our relationship had been until now. I am suddenly filled with an overwhelming desire to claim her. To remind her and everyone else here who she belongs to.

Without thinking, driven by a desperate force, I interrupt their conversation, asking Katie if I could borrow her for a second. She looks over at Leo apologetically, as I grab her hand and lead her away from him. I am walking briskly, pulling her behind me, out of the lobby, down the corridor, and into Troy's office. Once we are inside, I turn and lock the door, pushing Katie up against it. My mouth claims hers, in a way that I haven't in quite some time. She moans into my mouth, returning my kiss as I lower my hands and run them along the back of her legs. I lift her dress up slowly as I am lightly stroking the back of her legs until I reach her panties. I snatch them off, ripping them, and she gasps, her eyes meeting mine. Her eyes darken, and she swiftly reaches down and unfastens my pants, lowering the zipper. She reaches into my pants, pulling out my hardened cock, as I lift her legs and wrap them around my waist. I enter her quickly, both of us moaning, as I set a rather brisk pace, suddenly desperate for this intimacy, even if it is a quick fuck in my friend's office. I pull her hair, pulling her head backward, kissing her along her neck, speaking between each kiss. "You. Are. Mine."

"I am yours." She whispers, and I feel her tightening around me. She tilts her head back, and let's go, as I follow quickly behind her. As we stand there, trying to catch our breath, I open my eyes looking deeply into hers. She smiles, a genuine smile that reaches her eyes, something that hasn't been directed at me since Adrian's birth. I lower her legs, helping to balance her on her feet. I smile back at her, feeling like the darkness that has been overshadowing my life has lifted just a little. "Wow." She giggles under her breath, straightening her dress.

"Wow." I breath, tracing the contour of her face from her ear to her chin with my thumb, then running it along her bottom lip. I kiss her again, this kiss different from the passionate kissing from earlier. This one full of longing, conveying how much I have missed this, missed her, missed us. She sighs and I feel her body relax against mine. I end our kiss, placing my forehead on hers, closing my eyes. As much as I don't want this moment between us to end, I know we need to get back to reality. After indicating Troy's private bathroom for her to enter and clean up, I lean down and pick up her discarded, destroyed panties and stuff them into my pants pocket. Then, I take her hand in mine, kiss her knuckles, then lead her from the room.

Katie

Wow! I don't know what that was, but I am so glad that it happened! It has been too long since there has been any intimacy between us, and I have been craving it like crazy. I let Avery lead me from the office, hand in hand, with a huge smile on my face. I feel like a giddy teenager who is finally holding hands with her high school crush. I am hit with a sudden twinge of guilt for having sex at Troy's father's funeral, but quickly dismiss it thinking that Luca Myer would expect nothing less. I chuckle to myself at this thought. It is funny how I have always envisioned Troy's father as some type of mafia boss.

We return to the lobby as Troy and Wayne finish their meeting with the lawyer. We join them in the center of the room, along with Leo. Avery asks them how they are holding up. Troy surprises me, for someone who seemed so elusive and emotional when I first met him, he seems to be holding himself together rather well. He is standing taller, more composed, more like….his father. That thought saddens me. Wayne seems sullen over the fact that he inherited the restaurant rather than Troy, but Troy reassures him that he is fine with it. They discuss among themselves reopening the next day, and surprisingly, Troy offers Leo a full-time position as head of security at the casino. Leo is surprised by the offer, looking over at Avery, explaining to Troy that he needs to think about it. After offering our final condolences, Avery and I excuse ourselves.

The ride home is silent, but Avery does hold my hand in his lap the entire trip. I know he has a lot on his mind, and I am trying to allow him the opportunity to process his thoughts. I am sure the job offered to Leo and the possibility of losing his new partner is front and foremost in his mind. After paying the sitter and sending her on her way, we check in on Adrian together. Avery stands behind me and wraps his arms around me. He places his head on my shoulder, and we just stand there watching Adrian. After a few moments, Avery kisses me on my cheek, and turns to leave the room. I follow him out, hoping for the opportunity to talk. He takes a seat on the couch and reaches out for me. He pulls me into his lap and holds me again, his head buried in my shoulder. "How are you holding up?" I ask, hoping to encourage a conversation.

"I'm not sure." He sighs, and lifts his head, tilting it back to rest on the couch. "I have spent so much time worrying about Troy, and the affect his father has had on him. Then when his father died, I was not sure how Troy would manage. I guess I am just really confused by how well he is taking this, and how focused he seems to be. This is a far cry from how I am used to seeing him."

I nod my understanding. "I know what you mean. My mind even entertained the thought of how much he reminds me of his father."

"Yeah, then he offered Leo that job. Hell, the police department can't compete with what I am sure Troy can offer him. I won't blame him when he takes the job, guess I just didn't expect to lose him so soon. It's funny, I was so upset when I was assigned a partner, now I hate the idea of losing him."

"I know you do." I take a good look at Avery and see how much the stress has been weighing in on him. He lifts his head up from the back of the couch, his eyes searching mine, for what, I'm not sure. He suddenly looks so young and unsure, and my heart goes out to him. I press my lips against his in a chaste kiss. "You know I'm here for you." I whisper against his mouth.

"I know." He closes his eyes.

Our reverie is interrupted by the ringing of Avery's cell phone. He takes in a deep breath, and looks down at the caller ID. I can see that it is Leo calling, and I climb off his lap and head into the kitchen, allowing him time to speak with his partner and friend. I try to keep myself busy so that I am not tempted to listen in to the conversation. I pull out items from the fridge to make us both a sandwich. After the emotional day we have had, I don't feel like eating anything heavy. I can't help but smile when I think back to our time in Troy's office. It was so unexpected, yet so amazing. I am deep in thought, holding on to the edge of the counter, when Avery comes up behind me, encircling me with his arms. I can sense his disappointment and know immediately what the subject of the phone conversation must have been. I turn to look over my shoulder at him, and he explains to me that Leo has agreed to take Troy's job offer. I know he was expecting the news regarding Leo, however he was not expecting to be offered a position in security at the casino as well, as Leo's next in command.

"So, how do you feel about the offer?" I turn to face him and can tell by the look on his face that he is torn over this.

"I don't know. I have always wanted to work in law enforcement. Hell, it has been my dream since high school. But the pay and benefits that are being offered by Leo are hard to ignore. Maybe, considering everything, it is time for a change. Maybe it would ease my guilt." Avery is looking down at his hands, and my heart aches for him. I knew he was struggling with his feelings of guilt, and I don't know how to help him.

"Avery, I have forgiven you. I don't know what else you need; shouldn't my forgiveness be enough? "

"I understand you have forgiven me. But there is that part of me that feels like I have gotten away with committing a crime. I feel like I am shirking my obligation as a law enforcement officer."

"Avery, it was an accident. You had the consent of the person you thought you were encountering in that alley. I unknowingly took that away from you. I know you never would have gone through with it if you had known it wasn't Vanessa in that alley. You must stop beating yourself up. We were both victims, it is time for us both to heal. And if taking this job will help you heal, then I will support your decision. But do not feel like you need take this job out of obligation to me. If your dream has changed, take the job, but if it hasn't, don't throw it away because of what happened."

I can tell Avery is really struggling with this decision. There is a part of me that does wonder if the career change may bring him a little peace. He is obviously feeling like he is failing at his job because he feels like he is neglecting his responsibilities as a law enforcement officer in my case. I turn and face him, taking his hands into mine. "Avery, take time and think about it, don't rush into a decision. I also want you to think about something. Our relationship is so much more than what happened that night, so stop allowing it to minimize what we have." His eyes widen at my statement, then soften when we hear the impatient whimpers coming from the nursery. I give Avery an empathetic smile and leave him with his thoughts.