Again he needed a few moments to realize where he was, but not because the sheets felt so soft and the bed was so comfortable, this time. Quite the contrary. The bed felt like a wooden board and the sheets…whoever was responsible for the laundry had clearly missed the invention of fabric softener. When he opened his eyes, he immediately came face to face with the huge wooden cross and he would have jumped up if his muscles had allowed any sudden movement.
They didn’t, so he lay back and looked around. Although he felt completely disoriented – had he been drugged? – he knew exactly were he was. It made him close his eyes. He also recognized the symbols of his new accommodation. He had made trouble for Luke by informing a priest and now here he was…in a monastery. And by the soft murmur outside his window he could pinpoint his whereabouts even more precisely. He was in an Italian monastery.
He pulled the sheets up and shivered, realizing he was in big trouble.
***
“You put him where?” Luke tried very hard to ignore Reid’s amused smug and focused on his father in front of him.
“You heard me,” Damian felt encouraged by Reid’s response and calmly drank his coffee.
“But why? Grandmother had already made clear he had to leave Oakdale.”
“I didn’t know that,” Damian shrugged, “but even if I had, I would have done the same. He put you and your beautiful family through hell, Luciano. Letting him leave without any punishment…” he shook his head, “You can hate me for it, but I’m sorry…that’s just not who I am. I just couldn’t let him get away with it. At least I’ve given up on the idea of actual torture, so that’s a plus, isn’t it?”
Luke felt outnumbered, seeing his father and partner grinning at each other. When Damian noticed his son’s discomfort, he became serious.
“Listen son, he belongs behind bars and now he is, but at the same time he’s at a place where he might learn a thing or two about taking responsibility and connection. Maybe this is what he needs to get his life back on track.”
“So this is not a permanent thing?” Luke looked surprised.
“That depends on Noah,” Damian was completely honest as he smiled at Luke. “As long as he shows no signs of remorse or progress, he’ll stay there.”
Luke turned to Reid who was still smiling.
“So you agree?”
“I agree with Damian on the belonging behind bars thing. I don’t agree on the method, mainly because it’s kidnapping,” Reid rolled his eyes at Damian, “but putting him in jail wouldn’t get Noah the help he obviously desperately needs right now.”
Luke nodded. “But it’s still illegal.”
“Yes and no,” Damian grinned. “Noah personally signed a paper stating he needed help and giving permission to keep him confined until he had learned right from wrong.”
“Maybe you should take a refresher course on that one too. I’m pretty sure Noah didn’t sign that with a clear head.” Luke snorted and they all chuckled.
“Maybe,” Damian was willing to agree, “although it feels very right to me. It’s justice.”
“You’re not a judge,” Luke reminded him, “None of us are.”
“So tell me what you want me to do, Luciano. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’ve been telling you all this. You have a choice. If you don’t want me to go through with it, I’ll make sure he returns to the US. In one piece, including that disturbed brain of his.”
Again Luke turned to Reid, but this time his man wasn’t smiling.
“It’s your choice to make, Looker. I’m okay with whatever you do. We’ve decided some time ago that Noah is your department, so it’s really up to you.”
“I know,” Luke whispered, with a deep sigh. A part of him didn’t want Noah let off the hook either. A lot of the pain he’d caused had been unintentional, but informing Zoë’s uncle had been a deliberate attempt to stir up trouble. Big trouble. The signs were clear. Noah was spinning out of control and needed to be stopped. But he also knew that you couldn’t help someone if he or she wasn’t ready to change. Was Noah ready? Maybe it was worth a shot.
“Okay, let’s review this in a few weeks. I don’t want to keep him against his will too long, but let’s see if he’s open for change. Who knows… maybe he chooses to stay longer, because it’s helping…”
“Who knows,” Damian’s tone was telling. He didn’t have much hope. “But we’ll give it a month, okay? I’ll keep you updated and next month you decide how to go from there.”
“Fair enough,” Luke smiled. He still didn’t feel comfortable being part of something illegal – what if someone found out and took away the kids? – but a month…
“And no one will know that you know anything about this. I swear. I don’t expect this to backfire, because I was extremely thorough in covering my tracks, but if it does, this will not blow up in your face. Just don’t ever call me, text me or email me about this.”
“God, now I really feel like a criminal,” Luke moaned and doubted his own decision already. When he saw Reid’s expression, he focused on him.
“You’re having second thoughts about this?”
“It’s a double standard and I’m not used to those,” Reid said in thought. “I’m not into the whole the-end-justifies-the-means stuff, but on the other hand…in this case… I kinda am. In my head I’m selling this to myself as some sort of intervention…and I think I can keep that up for a month.”
Luke nestled close, relieved to hear Reid’s approach on all of this.
“Yeah, I can live with that too, for a month. An intervention.”
“Good.”
Damian watched both men for a few minutes. He loved how they formed this united, solid front. At least Noah hadn’t been capable of harming that. But he had put this family through hell and if his son and his man wanted to call it an intervention, that was fine by him. Personally it felt like revenge to him and he would enjoy all updates on Noah’s suffering. He had stayed in this monastery himself, when he was losing his grip on life. He knew the discipline. He knew the work schedules. He knew the effect of seclusion. Of loneliness. Of complete silence. Even for someone who volunteered, it had been extremely rough. He wished he could see Noah squirm right now, but the Abbot had denied Damian’s request for cameras in Noah’s room. They did agree on some cameras in an office where they would have their daily talks with Noah.
Damian grinned. He couldn’t wait to watch those. Intervention. Right. He liked revenge a lot better.
