Chapter 4

TC didn’t know what stunned him more, seeing Julian outside his door or the man’s hands around his neck squeezing the very life from his body. Momentarily out of sorts, he struggled to gain the upper hand. This was the person responsible for what happened tonight. Everything he had, everything he ever wanted, Julian needed to take. He took his tennis career, his father’s life, and his wife’s body. His Crane self-importance to have whatever his heart desired, regardless of who it hurt, had now destroyed his family and made him into someone he hated, someone who could….
He didn’t think it possible to hate Julian more than he already did, but this instant proved that false. Fueled on adrenaline driven by total rage, TC clamped his hands around Julian’s neck, propelling them both backward and onto the cool cement of the walkway. They rolled round and around on the ground; each trying mightily to snatch the last breath from the other’s lungs.

Galloping footsteps approached. “TC! Julian?! What the hell is going on here?” Sam rushed over, attempting to break the two mean apart. “Damn it, TC, get a hold of yourself!”

The men wouldn’t let go. Julian wouldn’t give an inch, and TC wouldn’t be happy until he could do a jig on Julian’s grave.

Unable to speak coherently, the men continued to growl and groan as they literally killed each other.

“Julian, I swear, if you don’t let him go right now I will arrest you on the spot!” Sam shouted.

Sam’s warning had no effect. Julian’s grip got tighter still. TC’s head swirled, his limbs tingled. Both men gurgled, struggling to cling to the fleeting breaths that slipped from their bodies one by one.

A gunshot rang out. The men broke apart, both falling to the ground clutching their nearly crushed throats.

“The next time I won’t aim for the sky!” Sam vowed, glaring at Julian before rushing to TC’s aid. “What the hell is going on out here?”

Julian gasped for breath. “Ask your best friend, Chief Bennett,” he replied, his voice raspy. “Ask that maniac son of bitch what he did to Eve!” His body shook visibly as he struggled to stand. “How could you?! And you say you love her?”

TC shook off Sam’s offer of help. “I do love Eve,” he countered, managing to stand on his own but certain he would fall back down at any moment. He leaned against the doorframe for some much needed support.

“You have no concept of the word!”

He narrowed his eyes. “And you do? Screwing my wife on her office couch is love?”

Julian’s eyes widened. “He did what?” Sam said, his voice barely above a whisper. “TC?”

“Not now, Sam,” TC remarked, his eyes still trained on Julian. “That’s right, Crane. I saw the two of you.” The image of Eve, his wife, writhing from the pleasure she derived from Julian Crane, the man he hated most in this world. Red flashed before his eyes. “I saw you…you piece of -- ”

Sam grabbed him before he could lunge at Julian. “Calm yourself down,” he advised, as Julian stormed toward them. “Julian, stay back!”

“So, you saw us. You saw two people in love together. And that was what, too much for your male pride?” Julian swiped at the tears that poured from his eyes. “To make yourself feel like a man you had to….” He shook his head. “I can’t even say the words. Damn you! How could you hurt Eve?! You crazy a*$h*le!!” He raced over to TC, ramming his head into his midsection. They stumbled into the house, falling to the floor. “I’m gonna rip your fu***ng heart out and shove it down your throat. You lousy bastard!”

“Enough!!” Sam managed to pull the kicking and swinging Julian off. “Julian, you leave right now or I will place you under arrest.”

“He’s the one you should be arresting! He’s the one --”A sob broke his words. “How could you? How could you?!”
 

TC’s body shook. He wanted to attack Julian, to shut him up, but he couldn’t. The man’s words had too much truth attached to them, and he couldn’t fight them, but he couldn’t listen to another word. “Get him out of here, Sam.”

“Julian, you have five seconds.” Sam walked over to him. “I don’t know what happened between you two or with you and Eve, but I do know you need to leave here right now.”

“Why would I expect you to do the right thing?” Julian shook his head in disbelief. “Fine, I’ll dispense my own brand of my justice, Chief Bennett. Your friend is going to pay for what he did. And he’s going to pay mightily.” Julian shook Sam’s hand off. His eyes, midnight with vengeance, met with TC’s. “You’re a marked man,” he said, his voice was barely audible, but the threat rang loud and clear.

As many run-ins as he’s had with Julian, TC never saw him this way. Clearly, the man had spoken with Eve this evening. Just what was behind what he walked in on in her office? Was Julian Crane really in love with his wife, his Eve? The sound of the door slamming jolted him.

“Okay, Julian’s gone now, you wanna tell me what I walked in on?” Sam asked, searching TC’s face for some sort of understanding. “Why did you call me over here sounding so frantic? What is Julian so all fired incensed about, and what the hell is this about you walking in on him and Eve in her office?”

TC scooped Eve’s blouse from the floor and walked over to the couch and sat. Sam joined him. “Something happened tonight, Sammy. I did something I won’t ever be able to forgive myself for.”