I'm the Last One That You'll Ever Remember

Chapter 163: Let Off Some Steam

That very night Gerard had just received the best news anyone could give him that even went as far to surpass his own of getting his first job, his phone went off around midnight. Not knowing who on earth would call him this time of night, he swiped the phone off of his side of the nightstand with a faint curse and growled down the mouthpiece. “What!?”

“Wrong time to call, I take it?” Michael snickered on his end from where he sat in one of their victim’s home offices his team broke into, his boots propped up on the desk. He hadn’t considered the time when he picked up his phone to call him.

“Yes!” Gerard hissed, sitting up in his bed, the comforter falling down his body to pool on his naked lap. Glancing beside him, he felt his racing heart lessen down a little at the sight of Frank still sleeping deeply beside him. He hadn’t yet woken him or Milo with his phone call. “What the hell do you think you are calling me this time of night!?”

“Kobra, the leader of the Killjoy.” Michael reminded with a grin. He missed aggravating his big brother and hadn’t realized how much until the man moved out to start a new life of his own. A life no Killjoy was ever allowed to have. There was no second chance, no recovery back into society for any of them. You become a Killjoy, you die a Killjoy. Gerard was the only one to have broken that rule and lived to tell the tale. And Michael let him get away with it because the man was his brother, his only family left.

“And!?” Gerard countered, keeping his voice low. He didn’t want to wake his boyfriend or son up.

“And I have news for you. Something you’ve been waiting for.” Michael lured him. “You know, taking matters into your own hands kind of thing. Come you, you know you want to know.”

Gerard stilled in bed, his light brown eyes widening with anticipation. Did Michael secure the whereabouts of the person sending his family death threats? Sparing a glance back at Frank, Gerard grumbled. “Hold on a second.”

“Gotcha.” Michael sighed, rolling his eyes impatiently. He imagined his brother’s beloved Black Opal was too close for his comforts and was needing to slither out of the bedroom to speak with him.

While he waited for his brother’s return, Masika entered his office and shut the door behind her. “Mikey, what are you doing on the phone this late? I thought you were gonna meet me upstairs to try out that king size bed of theirs. One of their kids also has a water bed I want to try right after.”

“In a minute.” Michael promised her, placing his hand over the mouthpiece so his brother wouldn’t eavesdrop on their conversation. “I’m talking to Gerard.”

“About what?” Masika inquired, her eyes widening with interest as she helped herself to one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Holy shit, did you find out who sent those letters to him and his lover?”

Michael shook his head, rebuffing her presumption. “No, and I don’t think I ever will. Whoever it is is covering their tracks pretty damn good.”

“Fuck.” Masika pouted, having hoped they’d put an end to that so Gerard could rest easy. “Then why are you on the phone wi-”

“Shh!” Michael shushed her as he picked up the sound of shuffling on the other end of the call, placing a finger to his lips.

Having put on his pajama bottoms and left the bedroom to seek refuge in the corner of his dark living room, Gerard whispered down the phone. “Alright, now talk! What you got on this motherfucker?”

“Nothing. I haven’t found anything on your stalker.” Michael hurried on to get that part out of the way.

“WHAT!? You have nothing!?” Gerard snapped, breaking him off. “Then why the fuck are you calling me instead of looking for him, Mikey!?”

“Calm the fuck down and let me finish, will ya!?” Michael snapped back. When there was nothing but a growl on the other end, he went on. “I don’t have the guy you’re looking for, but IF it’s one of our little Killjoys fucking around with us then this is your lucky day.”

“Oh yeah?” Gerard sighed as he took a seat on the hardwood floor beside the back door to stare out into his backyard and all his children’s toys strewn around in the grass. “And why is that?”

“Because tonight you’re gonna stop by and hang out with the family.” Michael ordered him with a mischievous grin on his face. “They’ve been dying to see you and give you what for for abandoning them for your prized Black Opal. Perhaps you all need to let off some steam. Perhaps you need to teach them a lesson for sending those vile letters to your family and disrespecting them. The sender might be one of them for all we know.”

“Are you sure you’re not luring me in to kill me once and for all for quitting the Killjoy?” Gerard asked him after a momentary pause.

“And what if I were?” Michael inquired right back. “Would you expect less of me? I am Kobra, the leader of the Killjoys, Gerard. If you walk into that house and find yourself being snipped into tiny pieces by our family then it is nothing more than what you deserve for being a deserter, ain’t that right?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Gerard nodded to himself in understanding. His brother was indeed right. It would be expected for the others to try and slaughter him. He had forsaken them after all, and no Killjoy forsaken the family. “Text me the address and I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

“Can’t wait to see you, big brother.” Michael chuckled before ending the call.

Hanging up, Gerard set his phone down beside him and drew his legs up to his chest. His eyes traced the shapes of his kids’s playground set and assorted outdoor toys. Tonight he will be attending a life-threatening showdown wherever the Killjoys lair was, and he might not come back home to his family ever again.

Oh, who was he kidding? Of course he’ll come back home to his family!

With a menacing smirk, Gerard jumped to his feet and strode into one of the guest rooms. When Frank and his family were unpacking boxes downstairs when they moved in, he had managed to creep down the hall to stash all of his Killjoy items in one of the guest room closets. While the new house mutated into their fully furnished home, Gerard had been working on the floorboards within that same room to stash his memorabilia under. Tonight, he was prying those boards up and reclaiming his uniform and weapons.

Unfortunately, he was delayed when Milo let out a cry from upstairs. Cursing, Gerard tossed the black duffle bag with his weapons onto the living room couch and sprinted upstairs to tend to the baby. Entering the bedroom, he sighted Frank struggling to sit up in bed. Holding up a hand to halt him, Gerard gathered Milo up with one arm and rocked the crying baby. “I got it, baby, go back to sleep.”

“Mmm, cool.” Frank mumbled incoherently before collapsing back onto the bed.

Scurrying downstairs, he got a bottle for Milo ready. Drinking it down, the baby was all the way done when he decided to soil his diapers next. Scrunching his nose from the ghastly smell, Gerard went back upstairs to change the baby in the bathroom. After, he rocked his son until he started to loll off. Taking this opportunity, Gerard meticulously tucked the baby back into his crib, got dressed and tried to make his way back downstairs so he could face his Killjoy family and possibly the person responsible for all these letters. He was in such a rush to get there he hadn’t expected to nearly run into Jovani who was sluggishly roaming the hall aimlessly. “Jesus, Jovani! You scared me!” Gerard hissed before dropping to a crouch and catching his son by his shoulders. “What are you doing out here wandering around?”

“Mommy!” Jovani whimpered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Understanding he must have had a nightmare, Gerard hoisted him up and carried him into the bedroom where he settled him down on his side of the bed that was still warm from his body heat. Staying by his side for only a minute until those big eyes fell shut, Gerard kissed his forehead and finally reached his destination! Snatching the duffle bag up, he was out the door in a flash and was making his way through the dark gated neighborhood on foot.

Fishing his phone out of his back pocket, he memorized the Killjoy address texted to him and dialed up a local taxi service for a ride to that location. If his former family thought he was gonna find it hilarious that they were messing with his family then they had another thing coming.