RAW Deception (Round 2 in the RAW Instinct Series)

Shane

"I saw pure hatred in his eyes, Shane," Gregory said at supper. "And I just couldn't compete with that."

I had learned, whilst on this life journey, that it takes all kinds to make the world go round. People discriminate. Haters will hate. Religions will try and tear down any kind of rebellion. Politicians will seek out only those who support their ideology. General Miyani was part of a culture that viewed the world through blinkers. Uneducated and illogical. His fault entirely. Gay society wasn't the problem. Miyani was the problem.

"I'm sorry, Shane, I wanted to tell him. I really did. I promised you I would."

I gazed at Gregory thinking how I would have done the same thing. "You did nothing wrong, Greg. This Miyani sounds like a dick head."

"He certainly showed that today. Are you angry?"

"I can never be angry with you. Miyani is so ignorant. Anyway I've been thinking. Why tell him at all? Why tell anyone at all?"

Gregory frowned. "I don't understand. At the cottage you went on about how important it is to come out. Why this sudden turnabout?"

I reached for his hand across the table. "Because, my love, you don't owe your peers anything. They can find out by opening their eyes and if they don't like what they see, that's their problem, not yours. It's none of their business that we're gay. The only business they should be having with you right now is planning for that award. Nothing more. Two weeks is cutting it fine."

Gregory kissed my hand. "Thank you. Thank you."

"I've done nothing to deserve your gratitude, Greg. I understand the fear you have lived with all these years. Live your life. Don't worry about them. Don't worry about anyone else, well, except me."

Honestly, I thought I had shown Gregory that he is bigger than the sum of his private universe. It really was the other way around. If he hadn't come into my life, I would still be of the belief that one needed a label. I'm gay. You're straight. She's pansexual. He's metrosexual. None of us needs permission to be who we really are. Does a fish seek permission to be in water? Does a bee require permission to produce honey? Society casts a set of rules to protect itself against marauders and avatars that are seen to oppose the family unit, at the same time side-lining minority groups. Power.

My cell phone rang and I answered immediately without checking the caller. My blood drained from my face when I heard Joe's voice.

"I should have killed you when I had the opportunity. As long as I'm around you'll always be watching over your shoulder."

I dropped the phone onto the table as though it had turned into a venomous snake. I couldn't speak. Tongue heavy in my mouth. My skin crawled at the sound of him.

"What the fuck, Shane!" Gregory leaped up and, rushing to my side, grabbed me in a tight embrace. "What, Shane? Who was that? Joe?"

I nodded.

"What did he say? What did he say, babe?"

I couldn't speak. I felt nauseous. I buried my face in his chest while my body trembled.

You might be thinking, what the fuck? Here's this macho detective; one who has brought down many a gangster; one who has seen violence beyond anything you can imagine, now trembling from fear. What I have done in my life and the criminals I had apprehended can never compare to what Joe had done.

Gregory gave me a sleeping tablet and as I dozed off, I heard him speaking to someone on his cell phone and then fell into a deep sleep.

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