Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Hey, isn’t that…” Dressler narrowed his eyes, watching a figure checking his phone on the sidewalk across the street. The man was wearing a huge wool cardigan with what appeared to be knitted foxes and glasses that slipped up when he rubbed his nose. Did he seriously think that it was a good disguise? His whole face was visible, and Tom would recognize that face anywhere. He’s hated that face for years.

“Grab him.” Tom smiled smugly. That damn idiot. He was really going to enjoy this.

He grinned widely as he watched his men drag the stuntman into the van while the guy started kicking and flailing his arms around with less grace than a newborn worm. God, it was hilarious.

Got Colt. He texted his manager.

What the hell are you talking about? He’s right here. Attached to Gail's message was a photo of Jody who, for some reason, was a director now. She had her hands on her hips in a very angry pose and also had a very disappointed look. Right in front of her, Colt fucking Seavers. He was wearing a dirty ripped t-shirt along with a stupid expression, and his damn dog by his side. Hello? That was HIS dog! What the hell?

Tom looked again at the picture and then turned to look at the person in the back of the truck, who now had a bag over his head and seemed to be hyperventilating.

What was going on?

--.--

Grace’s day started off pretty well. He woke up at 6:30 to get ready for school so he could arrive a little early to prepare his materials for today’s class. They were going to learn about different types of clouds and what they predict for the weather. He had some incredible images taken from all over the world and was really excited to show the kids some mammatus clouds that looked very apocalyptic in the evening light.

As he expected, it was a hit. Regina was especially interested because her mother was a meteorologist, so she knew a little more. It was very nice to hear her talk more than in any other class.

His other classes went just as well, it was a little cloudy and, besides, it was Friday! It was a very good day.

Then he decided to check Colt’s location.

It was something he hadn’t yielded on, and the only way Colt had managed to get him to leave him relatively alone.

“If you turn your location off, I’m moving in with you.” Grace has threatened him months ago. Was he being annoying and overprotective? Yes, but could anyone blame him? Colt wasn’t doing very well, and not just physically.

“Whatever, fine.” His brother has answered and even since then, Colt’s location has always been on. Grace watched him go to work at that restaurant and go home, to work, back home. Every day it was the same thing except Sundays when he just stayed home.

That’s why, when he searched in Los Angeles and didn’t see his brother's profile picture anywhere, he sighed wearily. Suddenly, his finger did something strange and zoomed out, showing him the entire globe, and there was Colt’s photo. Well, actually he had removed it a long time ago, and now only a gray faceless man appeared, but there it was.

In Sydney.

WHERE ARE YOU?
COLT??????
COLT!!

It wasn’t until hours later that he received a reply.

if you already know, why are you asking
im fine

Yeah, that didn't reassure Grace at all.

He went to Sydney? He’s barely responded to any of his messages over the past 18 months, and suddenly he’s off to Australia? If this wasn’t a cry for help, Grace didn’t know what was.

After his accident, Grace accompanied him to every therapy session, even when Colt clearly didn’t want him there. He invited him to live with him while he recovered and didn’t take offence when his brother said he would prefer to live in a motel and fend for himself. On their birthday, he didn't blame Colt for saying that he wanted to be alone, even though they had no one else to spend it with now and they always got together every year no matter what. He accepted the cold, empty ‘Happy birthday, Ry’ that came in the afternoon and tried not to cry as he sat in front of the TV, thinking about the big cake he had bought and the little gift bag he had prepared. At Christmas, despite what Colt had said, he went to his new apartment anyway and, just like every time he had visited, he knocked on the door until he was exhausted. No one opened the door. He spent Christmas outside his brother’s apartment, clutching the birthday and the Christmas presents in his hands, trying to block out the cold. New Year was no different.

And now he was leaving the country, the continent, without even telling him?

Grace wasn’t proud of what he did next, and he probably should have thought about it a little more, because suddenly he found himself landing in Sydney after a fifteen-hour flight for which he’d packed nothing but a backpack.

He had never been to Sydney before. He had no idea how public transportation worked, and on top of that, he only had American dollars, and none of the taxi drivers took his money in exchange for taking him to Colt’s location. So there he was, walking the streets of an unfamiliar city, trying to fight off sleep because he had never been able to sleep on planes and now he was feeling like he was about to pass out.

Then, the most terrifying thing of his life happened. As he was checking his phone for directions, someone put a black bag over his head and dragged him to a vehicle that sped off immediately. He tried to fight back but he couldn’t see where to hit, and when he did, he felt like he was hitting walls of muscle, which wasn’t good news either. Was he being kidnapped?

Oh God, he was being kidnapped!

They would try to demand money, but only Colt was there to pay it, and by the time he answered the ransom call, it would be too late because Colt never answered his phone, especially calls from unknown numbers. The kidnappers would surely have gotten frustrated at getting no response and then Grace would die in a foreign land.

“I think he’s dying.” He heard someone say from far away, as if they were underwater. Or was he underwater? Were they going to torture him or something?

“You’re not so tough now, are you?” Said another person.

Oh God, he’s about to get killed.

--.--

Tom looked at not-Colt from the passenger seat with a troubled expression. He was having a rough time, that was for sure. His white cardigan trembled with him, and his hands, now bound with zip ties, were clenched so tightly in his lap that they had turned white.

He looked again at the photo Gail had sent him, and then at the stranger they had kidnapped. But, he couldn’t have been wrong, could he? It was Colt, he saw it with his own eyes.

When they parked, he ordered his men to take not-Colt to his apartment.

It was a mess. What the hell had happened here! Everything was a disaster! Glass scattered all over the floor, his couch wrecked, and, wait, had someone been rummaging through his closet?

It wasn’t until he saw a prop sword stuck in the wall that he got his answer.

Iggy.

Crazy, maniacal Iggy.

Gail and her manager had agreed that they would date while filming Metalstorm, but there wasn’t a single clause in the contract stating she could break into his apartment and wreck it! What had gotten into her now? Was she still mad because he didn’t show up for the date they had agreed on three days ago? Three days had already passed. She needed to get over it!

“Leave him there.” Tom pointed to a chair as he walked wearily over the broken glass. Iggy would have to pay for this, and for those cushions too.

Dressler roughly shoved not-Colt into the chair and, with Lia’s help, tied him up with a rope. Which was nice, because Tom hadn’t thought of that. That’s why he hired them.

“Where’s the phone?” Eddie asked, barely able to hold his shotgun properly with that thing around his neck.

“What?” Not-Colt asked in a high-pitched voice. “You guys took it from me!”

“Not your phone, idiot.” Dressler grabbed him by the shoulders from behind, intimidating him, causing not-Colt to shiver. “The phone you took from us.”

“Me?” Not-Colt shook his head. “You’ve got the wrong person. I just landed here a few hours ago, I’ve never stolen anything!”

“Cut the crap, Colt.” Eddie was furious. Tom would probably be furious too if Colt Seavers made him wear a neck brace.

“Colt?” Not-Colt stopped shaking so violently as his hands opened and closed repeatedly. “Uh…”

Eddie pulled the bag off his head. “I’m going to punch a hole in your foot if you don’t tell me where the phone is right now.”

Tom saw a man who was definitely not Seavers.

He had his face, his eyebrows, and his cheekbones, but he wasn’t him. Not that Tom paid any attention to his damn stuntman, but he’d seen his nose get broken several times, and, on the inside, he was thrilled that it was now a little crooked. The man in front of them had a perfect nose, and his glasses were now hanging from his ears because of the bag’s movement, making him squint as if he really couldn’t see anything without them.

No one seemed to have noticed. They were all waiting for him to answer, but then Lia stepped forward.

“Hold on.” She leaned in front of not-Colt, placing her hands on his knees. “This isn’t Seavers.”

Tom has come to that conclusion first, thank you very much.

“What are you talking about?” Eddie raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not Seavers. Look at him, he’s… kind of cute.” Lia cleared her throat.

“Oh, so now you think Seavers is cute? What the fuck, Lia?” Eddie said with distaste. “Now you’re touching him!”

Lia kept touching not-Colt’s arms until Eddie roughly pushed her away.

“What’s wrong with you?” Lia took a step toward him.

“What’s wrong with you?” Eddie also stepped closer until their chests touched. “Now I can see how much you care about our relationship, huh.”

“Here we go again.” Dressler exhaled in exasperation.

“Don’t act like a baby.” Lia crossed her arms and looked at Tom. “He doesn’t have Colt’s muscles.”

“Now you know how Seavers’ muscles feel like?” Eddie gasped in disbelief.

“I have eyes, yes.” Lia leaned over not-Colt again. “Who are you?”

Not-Colt remained silent, staring at them all with narrowed eyes.

Tom still wasn’t quite sure what to do. He should call Gail, right?

“She asked you a question.” Dressler tapped not-Colt on the shoulder with the stock of his shotgun.

“I’m Colt,” said not-Colt after a long breath, trying to convince himself too.

“No, you’re not,” Tom said immediately.

“Yes, I am.” Not-Colt smiled stiffly. “Colt Seavers, that’s me.”

“No, you’re not,” Tom repeated. Now that he looked closely, he could see what Lia was talking about. Underneath that cardigan weren’t Seavers’ grotesque muscles. Also, he could see his collarbones through the open buttons of his shirt, and they didn’t look that bad.

Seavers had always inspired revulsion in him, so this definitely wasn’t him.

Lia, in a strange act of kindness, adjusted his glasses, earning a hateful glare from Eddie.

Tom didn’t even know they were dating.

Not-Colt first looked at Lia, standing in front of him, then glanced at Eddie beside her.

“Oh my God, that’s a shotgun. It’s a shotgun,” he said, closing his eyes.

“Yeah, and I’m going to shoot you with it if you don’t tell us who you are. I might just do it for the hell of it.” Eddie smiled without a shred of kindness.

Not-Colt pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I’m Colt Seavers.”

“Cut the bullshit.” Dressler walked around him and stood on the other side, also showing him his shotgun. “Either you’re incredibly unlucky to look 99% like that guy, or you’re one of his relatives. I’m betting on the latter. I’ve seen Colt up close, and he has a scar right here,” he said, placing his finger against not-Colt’s neck, making him flinch. “You don’t have anything.”

Not-Colt looked at the two shotguns but, stubborn as Colt himself, insisted. “I’m Colt.”

Tom stepped forward, causing Lia to step aside while Dressler and Eddie took a step back. He loved having that effect on people.

“Trust me, you don’t want to take Colt’s place in this,” he said with his lethal smile, his secret weapon.

Not-Colt stared at him. Yes, let him stare at a face carved by the gods themselves. Tom even straightened up a little more to show off his stunning six-pack in all their glory.

“Tom Ryder,” said not-Colt in the most bitter tone Tom had ever heard directed at him.

Tom snapped his fingers, and Eddie pulled out a chair for him in front of not-Colt. “The one and only, sweetheart.”

“Don’t ever call me like that, ever.” Not-Colt dared to look at him with disgust. “What’s this all about?”

Of all people, he decided to direct that question at Lia.

Tom waved his hand before Lia could succumb to his man’s charms. “Wait a second, you haven’t told us your name.”

“Colt Seavers.” This time, not-Colt gave him a smug grin, ha!

“Colt doesn’t even come close to you, honey. Looks like you got all the good genes in the family.” Tom flashed his perfect set of teeth, but all he got in return was a look of deep revulsion.

“Look, why don’t you tell us where Colt is? I’m sure you know.” Lia gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Eddie was practical fuming. “Then you can leave. It’s that simple.”

Not-Colt didn’t even consider it. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m Colt.”

Lia sighed and shook her head, laughing. “We just want to talk to him, that’s all.”

“You kidnapped me, and you have guns.” Not-Colt glanced sideways at Eddie. “Sorry if I don’t believe you.”

"Surely you have more important places to be than pretending to be Seavers just to save his ass.” Dressler rubbed his eyebrow. “It’s not worth it, believe me.”

“That’s for me to decide.” Not-Colt replied sharply.

Tom leaned forward without losing his smile. “Colt has done some pretty bad things. He killed a man. Did you know that?”

Tom watched as the color drained from the man’s face. He’d never seen that in real life. He’d thought it was something screenwriters wrote and makeup artists had to make happen because it looked good on screen, but now he was seeing it in real life and, damn, even like that this kitten still looked good.

“No, he didn’t,” he said firmly.

“So you finally admit you’re not him.” Dressler smiled.

Not-Colt looked down. Even his lips had turned pale.

“Yeah, Henry. He was the one who replaced him when he had that accident.” Eddie shrugged. “Looks like it was jealousy or something.”

“He didn’t do it,” said not-Colt without losing his confidence, or maybe it was just blind faith.

“We have a video,” Lia said patiently. “It’s on camera.”

“Exactly, but he stole the phone with the evidence. We just want justice for Henry.” Tom leaned back in his chair. “You don’t want to be his accomplice, do you, sweetheart?”

”I told you not to call me that.” Not-Colt looked at him with something very close to contempt, then smiled again with that beautiful smile of his. “And you don’t get it. I know he didn’t do it, but even if he had, I still wouldn’t tell you anything.”

Tom was captivated by that look so much that he couldn’t respond. Why had Colt kept this beauty hidden from him this whole time?

All right, we don’t have time for this. However, I don’t want to hit you yet.” Dressler set his shotgun aside and pulled out a phone. “Eddie, hold him.”

Not-Colt tried to resist, but Eddie already disliked him, so he held not-Colt as tightly as he could, and Dressler was able to unlock the screen with his thumbprint.

“Give it to me.” Tom held out his hand, taking the phone immediately.

There were a few cracks in the screen protector, and a small fox keychain dangled from the case. Tom ignored the hateful glare from the person whose privacy he was about to invade, and went into the messages. He wanted to know what was there, who he talked to, you know, just curiosity.

He didn’t have many contacts.

Marissa, with whom he seemed to have a somewhat distant friendship, although they spoke every Thursday to confirm they’d meet at a place called Murphy’s.

And that seemed to be his only friend because the other people were listed with courtesy titles. Principal Hill, Teacher Elena, Teacher Oliver, Teacher Rhys, Vice Principal Cooper, and he only spoke to them about specific matters.

Ryland, he got from a conversation with teacher Elena, who reminded him that he was supposed to attend the next parent-teacher meeting.

Grace, Tom got from a conversation with the vice principal, who reminded him that he was invited to the quarterly teachers’ retreat.

“Ryland Grace, that’s a cute name, dear,” Tom said delightedly. “So you are a teacher, huh? What do you teach at Grover Cleveland Middle School?” Tom read the invitation to the retreat.

“That’s in New Jersey,” Lia said with her phone in hand.

Ryland, and he loved being able to put a name to that pretty face, remained silent.

“You two have different last names?” Dressler narrowed his eyes, looking at the phone too. “So you are not close relatives, right? The genetics in your family must be crazy, dude. You look exactly the same.”

Ryland stayed silent, and Tom shamelessly continued scrolling through his chats.

At the top of the list was a pinned chat.

Colt.

The conversation only confirmed what Tom already knew. Seavers was a jerk.

He swiped up a couple of times and let the conversation stop at a random point. He realized it must have been a few weeks after the accident.

You have PT at 13:00
so I’ll pick you up at 12:30.

I’ll go on my own.

12:00 then
We can stop by and get a muffin.

And that message was left on read.

He scrolled down a little further.

The offer still stands.
We can put a bed in the study.
I know it’s full of books
but it would fit perfectly.
It would work!

forget it ry

Or you can come stay on the weekends.
There are a lot of places you haven’t seen here.

grace
im not staying with you so stop it

It would only be for a little while.
Until you get better.
The doctor said you couldn’t overexert yourself
and knowing you
you’re going to do it on purpose.
Just for a little while, okay?
Let me take care of you.

Marked as read again.

Further down there was a worse one.

I bought a cake with blackberry jam!
Do you think the cream will be fine?
The lady said yes, but I don’t know.
When I made one, it was a little sour the next day
do you remember?
Well, I improvised a bit so maybe that’s why.
But this one will be fine!

about that
dont come tomorrow
ill be busy

Busy with what?

stuff

But it’s our birthday!
Surely that stuff can wait a little?
Or is it something important?
I can go with you.

no its fine
just dont come
and return the cake
you dont even like blackberries

But you do.
And that’s not true!
I kind of like them.
Mmmm blackberries…
So I can save it for Tuesday.

ill be busy too
return the cake ry

What about Wednesday?

Left on read again.

Wait, ‘our birthday’?

“Are you guys twins?” Tom asked incredulously. Seavers had a twin? Since when! Well, since birth, that was obvious, but what? Unbelievable.

“Those are private conversations,” Ryland said, trying to untie himself, but it was impossible. “Don’t read them.”

Tom continued.

Ryland always started the conversation and Seavers would reply with a brief ‘yeah, im fine’ or ‘no nothing hurts,’ and then he would leave his twin brother on read. Every single time.

Colt
I’m outside

No response.

It’s a little cold out here
and your neighbors already come out to see who was knocking so much
They gave me really weird looks!
Probably because they think I’m you
and who would knock on their own door
right?
Can you let me in?

Nothing.

I saw the light on when I got here, Colt.
I know you turned it off when you heard me.
I’m not leaving.

Nothing at all.

I brought a pumpkin pie.
I didn’t bake it because I don’t want us to end up in the ICU.
Again…
So it’s safe.
It’s freezing too.

Ten minutes passed.

Are you seriously going to leave me out in the cold on Christmas?

Read.

“Do you really want to keep pretending to be Seavers?” Tom showed him the screen. “He’s a jerk, sweetheart. If I had your number, I’d never leave you on read.”

Ryland didn’t reply. Apparently it ran in the family then.

“Did you come looking for him?” Tom read the latest messages between the brothers.

WHERE ARE YOU?
COLT??????
COLT!!

Seavers replied three hours later.

if you already know, why are you asking
im fine

ON ANOTHER CONTINENT?
WHAT?
WHY?
ARE YOU OKAY?

On read again.

Ryland moved his hands and wiggled his nose, as if he wanted to adjust his glasses. Too bad he was tied up like that. Tom would like to see him tied up under different circumstances.

“Wait a second. How did you know he was here? He didn’t even tell you that.” Tom scratched his chin.

“We share a credit card. He bought an airline ticket and I called to ask about it,” he replied awkwardly.

“Now that’s a lie.” Tom smiled. “Nice try, but my manager bought him that ticket.”

Ryland closed his eyes.

“Ryland, honey.” Tom leaned forward. “I really don’t understand how you can be related to Seavers, not to mention that you are brothers, twins!”

“It’s a huge shock, honestly.” Lia nodded in agreement without taking her eyes off her phone.

“And he might be a jerk, and might have left you out in the cold on Christmas, but he must still care about you a little bit, right?” Tom wanted to adjust Ryland’s glasses, but he pulled away before he could even touch him.

“Dude, on Christmas?” Eddie asked.

“Wow.” Dressler said, perplexed.

"I don’t think we’ll have to worry about finding him anymore, guys.” Tom opened Ryland’s phone camera and took a picture of him. Ry looked perfect, by the way.

Internally, he was really suffering for having to do this to the only person who’d caught his attention in a long time. Would Ryland be willing to give him a chance after his brother “committed suicide”? Well, Colt was the asshole of the year, and surely Ryland resented him at least a little for all those times he tried to get close only to be ignored. Besides, Tom was filthy rich! People liked financial stability, right? Not to mention he was incredibly hot.

He sent the photo to Seavers while trying to figure out the right words to get Ryland to go out with him.

The phone for your brother
Don’t try anything or Dressler will get creative

“Alright. Want something to drink?” Tom put Ryland’s phone in his pocket. “Or to eat? Airplane food is awful. Eddie, go get him something.”

“Why me?” Eddie snorted.

“Because Dressler’s keeping an eye on him and Lia’s busy.”

“She’s just on her phone!” Eddie glanced at his girlfriend.

Tom raised an eyebrow without a hint of humor and smiled to himself as Eddie gave up and headed to the kitchen, albeit very reluctantly.

“Wait, is this you?” Lia held her phone up to Ryland’s face.

Tom watched up close as the pale skin of the handsome man in front of him turned pink, and quickly turned into a furious red. Ryland closed his eyes and sighed.

“No way.” Lia laughed heartily. “Dude, what? God, this is gold. Can we keep him?” She asked Tom.

“Sure,” Tom replied with a grin. “What did you find?”

Lia tried to say it but ended up laughing again. Dressler snatched her phone from her hands and read what was on it, raising an eyebrow as the corners of his mouth twitched.

“At a UNESCO conference?” He asked, snorting.

Lia burst out laughing again. “No, wait, disconnect my headphones. You have to hear this.”

Ryland looked like he wanted to disappear. He was red all the way up to his ears, and Tom just wanted to eat him up.

“...don’t even try it. I read the damn paper you published two weeks ago, and all of you are so fucking busy pampering each other that you’re blind to the possibilities. The universe is immense! We haven’t even discovered 1% of it, and none of you can conceive of another basis of life? You’re egomaniacal idiots, that’s what you are. Especially you! You are a staggering waste of carbon. You haven’t eve-”

“Doctor Grace.” A woman’s surprised voice rang out, accompanied by a poorly concealed snort from someone and some murmurs. “I’m going to ask you to leave, please.”

“No, you are not asking me to leave. I’m leaving on my own.”

Lia was laughing openly, and Dressler could no longer hide a smile.

Tom demanded the phone immediately and watched the conference clip again. It was filmed from the side to show the moderators up front and a crowd of people in rows. Grace was standing as he spoke. He seemed to be accusing one person in particular at first but then he addressed everyone. That was it. Tom was in love.

The video was in an article in a scientific journal, or maybe a scientific gossip magazine? Did such a thing even exist?

Dr. Grace expelled from Denmark’s conference (with his career ruined)

It was a sensationalist headline. Tom knew all about those.

The subheading wasn’t any better.

Dr. Ryland Grace, molecular biologist and author of the thesis “An analysis of water-based assumptions and recalibrations of expectations for evolutionary models,” has just lost his temper in front of his colleagues at UNESCO and has been expelled from the academy.”

“A molecular biologist? You?” Tom asked incredulously.

Ryland stopped staring at the floor and looked at him full of contempt. “Yes. Why?”

Tom blushed a little, wow. He cleared his throat. “It’s just that you are, I don’t know, you could be a model, you know?”

Ryland gave him a disgusted look.

“I just wanted to see if you were on Instagram and I came across that. You really got fired for that?” Lia asked, taking her phone back.

Ryland nodded. “But I don’t regret it. I’d say it again.”

“I bet you would.” Lia smiled, going back to browsing the web. “A staggering waste of carbon! That’s hilarious. I’ll tell that to my brother the next time I see him.”

“What?” Eddie returned with a bag of chips and a can of soda. “Don’t you have someone to keep you fed? There’s nothing but alcohol in your fridge.” He said to Tom as he carelessly threw the items on Ryland’s lap.

“You missed it.” Lia waved her hand, still smiling. “You had to be here.”

While Lia and Eddie were arguing, Ryland’s phone vibrated. Tom smiled when he saw who it was.

WHT?
RYDER IF YU HURT MY BRTHER IM GONN KILL YOU

Then hurry
Come alone

Tom put the phone away, meeting Ryland’s eyes when he looked up.

“Do you like what you see, sweetheart?” He asked, winking.

“No,” Ryland answered with such honesty that Tom almost believed him. Almost. “Was that Colt?”

“He’s on his way. Ready to see him?” Tom rested his hands on his tights, leaning near his angel full of grace. Ha! See what he did there?

“And then what?” Ryland licked his lips, making Tom do the same because, damn.

Tom fell silent. Yeah, then what?

Lia scratched the back of her neck with a complicated expression. “Uh…”

What were they going to do with Ryland?

Eddie picked up the bag of chips from his lap and opened it, starting to eat them.

Should they get rid of Ryland? Tom hated that idea, seriously, it was almost, almost, as bad as the idea of going to jail.

Did you know Seavers has a brother? He texted Gail from Dressler’s phone.

He immediately got a call.

“He doesn’t, and even if he did, so what?” said Gail without even saying hello. Rude.

“Yeah, he does, a twin.” Tom didn’t even bother going into another room. He didn’t want to take his eyes off Ryland. “They have the same face and everything, though his twin is a thousand times more handsome.” He winked at Ryland, who pursed his lips in disgust.

“A twin? Now you’re pulling my leg.” Gail sighed. “Are you popping pills again?”

“No!” Tom shook his head at Ryland. “I don’t do that stuff anymore. I’m a healthy man. Anyway, he does. And the twin’s here.”

Gail was silent for a few seconds. “By ‘here,’ do you mean here in Sydney or here with you?”

“We might have mistaken him for Seavers and kidnapped him.” Tom shrugged. “You know, same face.”

He heard Gail take a deep breath. “You’re telling me you kidnapped Colt’s brother by accident and now, what?, you’ve got him in a dark room with a bag over his head just waiting?”

“No, actually he’s right here in front of me. Gail, seriously, I might have found your next star. You have to see his face.”

“See his-! Damn it, what the hell?” Gail hissed. “You’ve acted in crime movies! How is it possible that none of that stuck with you? You’ve got a hostage in there listening to everything? Please tell me he hasn’t seen your face.”

Tom fell silent, glancing at Dressler, who blinked, Eddie stopped eating his chips, and Lia sucked in a breath through her teeth.

Gail sounded like she was banging on something on the other end of the line.

“We thought it was Seavers!” Tom protested. “Now what?”

“Now what?” Gail yelled at him for a second before taking a deep breath, again, and calming down, or pretending to. “Well, after realizing what he’d done, Colt called his brother to help him cover up Henry’s murder, then killed him so there’d be no witnesses, and then he killed himself. Right? Now get your phone back and capture Colt too before I’m forced to pull out a gun myself. I hate guns, Tom, you know that.”

“Can we, I don’t know, kidnap him forever or something?” He asked, imagining Ryland sunbathing in front of the pool at his Hamptons mansion.

More banging on the other end of the line. “Tom, dear, no. You don’t want to end up in jail, do you? That’s why we’re doing all this. So catch Colt and burn him down. Let his brother drown or something.”

Ryland turned pale again. Right, he was on speaker.

Tom sighed, puffing out his cheeks. “I’m hanging up.”

“Wait, To-”

He handed the phone to Dressler and looked at Ryland. “It’s nothing personal, not with you, sweetheart. But I really, really hate your brother.”

Ryland frowned briefly, pushing his glasses down a little. “But… I have class on Monday.” He said, puzzled, as if the idea hadn’t quite sunk in yet. Either that, or he was trying to flirt with Tom again.

“I don’t think so, man,” Eddie said, popping another chip into his mouth.

“You must be a science teacher, right?” Lia asked. “Look, I hated my science teacher, that crazy bitch, and she hated me too, but I’m sure you’re better than her and I feel like we have a connection, Grace.” Lia ignored the way Eddie was looking at her. “You know, we bonded over the fact that your brother is a jerk, mine is too. You lost your job and now you have to work with kids, me too.” She said, gesturing at them. I’m sorry? Tom looked at her, offended. “And you could be doing something way more fun on a Saturday night, just like me, so don’t worry, I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt a bit, okay?” Lia patted him on the shoulder.

“Hey, you have Eddie! Why the hell are you flirting with Ryland?” Tom threw the only thing he had on hand, one of the cushions Iggy had torn to shreds. “He’s mine.”

“I think I’m going to throw up.” Ryland leaned forward, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “Yeah, I’m going to throw up.”

“Not near me.” Dressler stepped back.

“Can I… bathroom. Bathroom?” Ryland tried to get up, and since he was only tied at the chest, he managed to stand up with the chair, dropping the soda can. He took a few steps but tripped over his own feet and fell onto the rug, groaning in a way that made Tom run his hand over his face. It had to be on purpose, right? It had to be.

They all stood there, just staring at Ryland Grace on the floor, muttering things Tom wasn’t sure he wanted to hear because when he sat down next to him and tried to touch his back, Ryland almost bit him.

He was flirting, he was sure of it now.

He didn’t know how many minutes they stayed like that; Dressler and Eddie keeping watch, Lia on her phone, Ryland on the floor trying to bite him, and Tom playing along. That’s how all love stories began, at least the good ones.

Until, at some point, Dressler silenced Eddie and looked at the rest of them. “Did you hear tha-”

At that moment, the window shattered and Colt fucking Seavers burst in with a bat in his hands. “Grace!” He shouted.

Ryland barely turned around, his glasses askew. Tom couldn’t figure out how he’d managed not to break them when he fell. “Colt?” he said, still looking sick, then he tried to sit up abruptly. “Colt, what the heck, get out of here!”

Yeah, it clearly wasn’t the smartest idea to come to a gun fight with a baseball bat, or whatever the saying goes. Dressler had him in his sight on one side and Eddie on the other, while Lia was still on her phone, unbothered.

“Shit, I told you I would kill you if you did anything to him!” Seavers glared at Tom with pure hatred, which was fine because Tom hated him even more. The irony was that he hadn’t done anything to Ryland. He’d tripped on his own.

“Drop the bat!” Dressler pointed at him, but then changed tactics and pointed at Ryland, who had somehow managed to sit down on the rug with the chair almost in his lap. “Or I’ll shoot your brother.”

Seavers dropped the bat so fast that Lia jumped, looking up.

“Leave him alone.” He raised his hands. “Ry, are you okay?”

“I told you to leave. Why don’t you ever listen to me?” Ryland complained.

“What? Oh, sorry for trying to save your life!” Colt shrugged, rolling his eyes.

“You always do the same thing.” Ryland used that tone again, and Tom had to close his eyes. It was on purpose, he’d already decided that.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Seavers asked as Eddie tied his hands with zip ties.

“What am I-” Ryland took a breath. “Was it so hard to say you came here for work? A text, I didn’t even want a call, just a text. ‘Hi, Grace, I’m back to work heading to Sydney to film, I love you.’ The last part wasn’t even necessary. I thought you were going to join a cult!”

“What!” Seavers shouted as Dressler sat him down in another chair and Eddie helped Ryland up from the floor.

“You just disappear from the country without saying a word! What else was I supposed to think?”

“Literally anything else!”

It was so surreal to see the two of them together. Tom glanced for a second at Seavers and then at Ryland, who seemed to glow next to his grimy brother. God, why did they have to be related?

“Anything else? You’re so naive, Colt. Remember that woman outside the hospital who asked if you were interested in living in a rural community while you recovered?”

“Francesca? She was looking for workers for her farm. They paid well! You didn’t let me go.”

“Yeah, because it was a cult!” Ryland tried to kick him. “It was literally the most obvious cult in history!”

“Bullshit! And what about fourth grade and the guy who offered to let you see his dog’s puppies in the back of his truck, and you almost went? Huh?”

“I was nine!” Ryland somehow managed to get close enough and stepped on Colt’s foot. “You were 32!”

“Don’t step on me! What the hell is wrong with you?” Colt stepped on him right back.

“This is so weird,” Eddie said as they watched the brothers fight.

“I ran all the way here because I thought you were in danger. I’m not even sure I have enough money to go back!” Ryland tried to step on him again. “And then I get here, and they kidnap me thinking I’m you. And now they’re going to kill us!”

“Nobody asked you to come!” Colt struggled, trying to dodge Grace’s feet.

“You don’t have to ask, I’m your brother!” Ryland managed to stomp on him again. “I would come even if I knew I was going to die.”

Seavers huffed and stopped fighting, letting Ryland stomp on him one last time before he stopped too.

Neither of them looked at the other, both staring in opposite directions.

“Sorry,” Seavers blurted out quickly.

Ryland glanced at him sideways. “Did I step on you too hard?”

“Oh my God, they’re adorable.” Lia complained.

“Enough of this. Dressly, hit him a little.” Tom stood up from his own chair. “Seavers, not Ry, of course."

Dressler seemed to enjoy punching Seavers in the face, and, honestly, if it didn’t leave marks on his knuckles, Tom would want to do it too.

“Hey, hey, what? What was that about?” Ryland looked at Dressler with utter bewilderment.

Dressler shrugged. “He’s an asshole.”

“Colt? Are you okay?” Ryland leaned toward his brother as far as the rope would allow him.

“Hi to you too, Dressler.” Colt clenched his jaw and hissed. “I’m fine, Ry.”

“Hey, pay attention here.” Tom snapped his fingers. “I’m gonna need the phone. Where is it? It’s a matter of urgency. I need to know.”

Colt spat blood onto his floor.

Yeah, this wasn’t going to work. The disaster Iggy left was already enough, and he wasn’t going to let Seavers’ blood to dry up on HIS floor.

“Take them downstairs, to the yacht. Careful with Ryland.” Tom looked at him. “Did I tell you that I have a yacht?”

Ryland pretended not to be impressed.

Eddie and Dressler lifted Colt, and Lia pulled out a gun as she walked toward Ryland.

“Don’t make any sudden moves or I’ll have to shoot you, okay? Come on, Ry.”

“Don’t call him like that.” Colt turned to look at her, but Dressler pushed him forward. He would have loved it if they had thrown Seavers from there down to the first floor, but Lia went first and she led Ryland down the stairs, and Eddie unconsciously followed her, so the two of them made it safely downstairs.

On his yacht, more of his men were ready and waiting for orders, but when they saw them arrive, they looked at the twins in bewilderment.

“There are two of them?” asked someone. Tom had no idea what his name was.

They brought in more chairs, sat them down, and tied them up again, even though there were plenty of weapons to keep them from doing anything stupid.

“All right, now that you can’t mess up my apartment’s floor anymore, where’s the phone?” Tom asked.

“What the hell do you have on that phone? Everyone’s accusing me of killing Henry, but he was in your hotel room.” Tom couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Colt derided him. “That’s right, I saw him there in the bathtub, you idiot. What? Did you record yourself killing him?”

Tom cleared his throat.

“Is that a yes? And you want that phone?” Colt grinned. “Yeah, no. I’m gonna hold on to that. Seems like it’s the only thing keeping us alive right now.”

Tom sighed, dragging another chair over to sit between the twins. It would be paradise if Colt weren’t breathing the same air as them. “What went wrong? Huh?”

“What went wrong? Well, as I look at it, you’re torturing me outside your superyacht like a Bond villain, and you kidnapped my little brother… dipshit! What went wrong? What went right?” Colt yelled, getting too close.

Tom sighed. “You’ve changed.” Colt looked away in exasperation. “Yeah, we used to be like brothers, you and me.” Colt shook his head, denying his words. “Entered by the sacred bond of actor and stuntman, man.”

“Oh, God.” Colt sighed.

“Yeah. Well, we might end up being brothers-in-law one day, huh?” Tom turned to look at Ryland, who had the same look of disgust as Colt. He tried not to think about how bizarre that was. “Someday.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Colt’s left eye was twitching.

“Just ignore him.” Ryland rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, eventually.” Tom looked back at Colt. “How many movies have we done, huh?”

“No, no, let’s go back to that brother-in-law thing. What was that about?” Colt gave him a stiff smile.

“I’ll figure it out, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Ry.” Tom patted him on the back. “Too many to count, right?”

“Shut up.” Colt looked at him for a second before turning to his brother a little further away. “Grace, tell me right now you’re not into this asshole.”

“Of course not. I think I'd rather be dead,” Ryland replied immediately.

“That hurt, sweetheart.” Tom turned to look at him. “Why?”

“Because, you’re an arrogant piece of work and made my brother’s life miserable for over six years?” Ryland looked at him without even blinking.

“Ry, you should remember that I’m the only thing keeping you safe from Lia suffocating you to death with a pillow. I can hide you at one of my properties.” Tom leaned toward him.

“Lia, make it two pillows, please.” Ryland looked over at Lia, who nodded without taking her eyes off her phone.

“He’ll come around.” Tom turned to look at Colt. “I put you in the contract, Seavers, didn’t I? I put you there, right there. I had the assistant, the makeup, the hair, the trainer, and then boom! Ryder’s number one stuntman, Colt Seavers. That was me, I did that. I did that for you. What are you going to do for me, huh?”

“Die, I guess?” Colt stared at him and then turned to look at Dressler. “Die, huh? Is that the plan? And I don’t think there’ll be any pillows for me.”

“It’s nothing personal, well, kind of.” Tom stood up, briefly touching Ryland on the shoulder, but he pulled away so abruptly he almost fell.

“Don’t touch my brother. And I’m taking it personal.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Tom touched the tip of Ryland’s nose and smiled when he wrinkled it, leaning back.

“The torture, the drugging. I said stop touching my brother.” Colt spoke though gritted teeth.

“It’s just business.” Tom ignored the rest of the sentence and kept doing it.

“Did you just say drugging?” Ryland turned to look at his brother, trying to avoid Tom’s hand as if he was swatting a fly.

“The taser, the beatings,” Colt continued, probably wanting to kill him with his gaze. “It’s all personal.”

“Tom Ryder is a global brand. I literally move markets.” Tom turned and made sure to open his robe. “Look at all this, Ry. Of course I move markets, look at this abs. If I go down, the freaking Dow goes down.”

“God, this is disgusting.” Colt faked a gag while Ryland took a deep breath.

“But if you break your back, I replace you like this. Boom!” He snapped his fingers. “You know, if you’d just stuck to your job instead of trying to hog the spotlight, this wouldn’t have happened. I mean, Henry wouldn’t be on the scene, his accident wouldn’t have happened, your accident… freaky little fall because you just push my buttons, man!”

“Wait a second, what?” Colt and Ryland said at the same time. Terrifying.

“What?” Tom turned to look at them.

“What did you say about my accident?”

“What did you say about his accident?” They asked at the same time again.

Tom shrugged. “Well, you know, you pushed me over the edge. You literally pushed a button. I mean, you didn’t- I mean, I pushed the button.” Ryland's stare was making him nervous. “I had to crank it up a notch. You made me so angry, you can’t imagine… I had to do it. I had to stop you.”

“It was you?” Colt asked, alone this time, thank God.

“Yeah.” Tom smiled. “I had to teach you a lesson, didn’t I? Got a little too big for your boots, didn’t you? Henry was no different, Colt. Asking me if I make my own stunts in front of all those people, it was humiliating. And yeah, I’m gonna kick you into next week.”

Ryland stared at Colt, being very rude toward Tom because, while Ryland only had eyes for his brother, Tom was trying so hard to show him everything he had under that robe, only to be completely ignored.

Seavers nodded slightly, watching his twin.

“But then Gail, do you remember Gail, right?” Tom continued, placing his arms on his waist and pulling the robe further away from his body.

“I’ve known her for fifteen years,” Colt replied.

“Oh, yeah, I forget because you’ve been out of the game so long and-”

“I introduced the two of you,” Colt said wearily.

“Well, she calls me up and says it doesn’t look good. Bad for the marketing and renting, blah, blah, blah, and murder and I don’t know what else. She told me not to worry. All I had to do was lay low and she’d handle everything.”

“Colt,” Ryland said softly, but Colt shook his head, pushing his cheek with his tongue.

“The plan was simple. We were gonna put Henry’s body on ice so it doesn’t decompose, and we’d pull you out from that rock you crawled under.”

“My life, yeah.”

“You know, scan your face. Dressly is gonna stick you on the murder video, drug you and drive you and Henry’s body off the Sydney Harbor Bridge in your car. Boom! You got murder, suicide. Cut!” Tom clapped. “Check the gate. Move on, beautiful. You end up wherever they drop you in a coffin, and I’d eventually meet Ry formally at the funeral Gail would force me to attend. Now, things happened a little different, but the main plan is still on.”

“I’d seriously rather be dead,” Ryland chimed in, but Tom ignored him, affectionately.

“I think we have different ideas of what ‘simple’ is.” Colt shook his head.

“But you didn’t stay down, did you? You had to create a big scene like Colt Seavers does, but you know what? It can still work, because we’ve got the murder and we just need the suicide.” Tom sighed. “Sad.”

“It’s plot heavy.” Colt denied. “We’re getting tangled up in the exposition. Lose the last part, the suicide. You lose the audience if there’s too much. And Grace wouldn’t even look at you twice at my funeral.”

“Colt, where’s the phone?” Tom ignored the last part. Of course Ryland would look at him.

“And honestly, who’s going to believe the suicide story? Do you think Jody’s going to buy it? No way,” Colt continued as if he didn’t hear the question.

“Colt, you fell, you’re the fall guy.” Tom smiled. “You say no one would believe it? You haven’t been well in these past few months. Your brother took a last-minute flight to another continent because he thought you were losing your mind. I think everyone would believe it. Where’s the phone? I mean, you can keep taking hits all night, but you know what? I can think of a few other people who can’t. We could bring Dan up here, maybe Jody, perhaps. I mean, I like Jody, seriously, but you know.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Colt snorted a laugh.

“I wouldn’t believe it,” Ryland said seriously. “The suicide. You know that, right?”

“I know.” Colt smiled at him warmly. “Don’t worry, Ry, I’m going to get us out of here.”

“Don’t promise something you can’t deliver.” Tom sat down in front of them. “You know, what if instead of beating you until your face turns purple, I force you to watch me kiss your brother so hard his lips turn purple?”

“I do not consent to that.” Ryland refused to do it. He was pretending to reject him, of course.

“Try it and I’ll have to cut out your tongue.” Colt looked at him blankly.

“Oh, so you’re implying there’ll be tongue?” Tom smiled coquettishly, leaning forward to Grace.

Colt leaned back and grinned. “You really are an idiot, Tom Ryder.”

“And why’s that? I see I’ve got everything under control here.” Tom looked around. His men had their weapons ready, and even Lia had her gun in hand.

“You know, if you had given me a couple more hours, you would’ve had a disaster here.” Colt hissed through clenched teeth. “This is some family lore that I don’t think you’d care about, but years ago I had a falling-out with my whole family. I won’t tell you why, but my cousins and uncles hate me to death. And Grace, silly little Grace, decided to take my side.” Colt sighed. “Now, they wouldn’t lift a finger for me, but for Grace? Tom, you have no idea how crazy those guys are.” Colt rustled. “But I didn’t have much to work with, so I had to work with what I had.”

Tom raised his eyebrows indifferently. “Okay? You were right, I don’t care.”

“Silly little?” asked Ryland.

“In an affectionate way.” Colt smiled at him.

Ryland cleared his throat. “Colt, if we’re going to die here,” Ryland ignored his brother’s ‘we’re not going to die, Ry,’ and continued speaking “there’s something you need to know.”

Everyone on the yacht fell silent, intrigued by what Grace was about to say. Dressler even stopped, inches away from starting to hit Seavers again.

“I’m the oldest,” Ryland blurted out.

Someone gasped.

“No, you’re not.” Colt denied it confidently.

Ryland smiled, and Tom felt like an arrow had pierced his heart. “Yes, I am. By fourteen minutes.”

“Dad said I was the oldest.” Colt swung his head back and forth, still in denial. Tom snorted a laugh.

“Yeah, he said that because it’s what you wanted to hear, and I didn’t really care, to be honest, so we let you believe you were born first.”

“All right, now you’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“Sure, but the truth is, you are actually lying right now.”

“I’m sorry, Colt. I’m the oldest.” Ryland shrugged, still smiling. “Silly little me.”

“Damn it, what?” Colt slumped. Tom was a little offended that he seemed more devastated by that affirmation than about the whole future suicide thing.

“Couldn’t you even be born first?” Dressler sneered.

“Oh, shut up, man.” Colt groaned. “Now I’m going to have to live with that for the rest of my life.”

“Uh…” Tom looked at his watch. “The next few minutes, for sure. I’ll let you say goodbye to your brother, that’s how nice I am.”

“Ah, what I was going to tell you before my life fell apart right before my eyes.” Colt sat up straight. “I told Jody everything, and she put a mic on me. Remember that real detective they called in to make sure everything looked real in ‘Bad Cop, Good Dog’ and to teach you how to hold the gun properly because you were holding it with butterfingers? Yeah, well, we called him. He’s dating the head makeup artist! Did you know that? Jody knew, so she knew he came with her to Sydney. Jody called him and he worked it out with the cops here, a crazy thing. They’ve been listening to everything.”

Lia even looked up from her phone.

“That’s not true.” Tom laughed, though it sounded too much like a nervous laugh.

“And do you remember the code word you, yourself, used to catch the criminal in the movie?”

Tom looked around nervously. “Don’t mess with me, Seavers. I’ve got your brother right here, and Eddie doesn’t like him.”

“Yeah, the word- wait. Why doesn’t Eddie like him?” Colt glared at the man as if he had personally offended him.

“Lia touched your brother’s muscles,” Tom answered, still looking around.

“And Eddie and Lia are dating,” Dressler added.

“Wow, Grace.” Colt turned to his brother. “You’ve been busy, huh? Ryder and Lia? How long have you been in Australia? An hour and a half?”

“Shut up, I didn’t do anything. Aren’t we going to talk about the fact that you are talking with Jody again?” Ryland smiled innocently. “Did she forgive you for being a bit of an ass to her?”

“First, don’t say that, she’s listening and I don't want her to remember about it. Second, I think so.” Colt stopped looking at Ryland and looked at Tom with a conceited expression. “Third, groundhog.”

Tom watched as everything crumbled around him. Worse yet, he was making a fool of himself in front of Ryland Grace.

“Hands up!”

And then his men started shooting, and those damn Australian cops started shooting too. Colt and Ryland ran, still tied to their chairs, heads down, trying to stay out of sight and dodge the bullets, and Tom wanted to follow them because he hadn’t even been able to hold Ryland’s waist, but then a woman in uniform tackled him and scrapped his face against the concrete.

His face!

“I’m going to call my agent. I’m going to get my agent involved!” He shouted, watching from the ground as the police arrested his men.

Jody appeared out of nowhere and threw herself into Colt’s arms right after a cop cut the zip ties. Then she hugged Ryland! No way. Did he have to see this?

“We’re sending a unit after Gail Mayer,” said a man with a ridiculous beard. Could someone pick him up, please?

Truth be told, he’d rather stay down. When the woman who had knocked him down helped him up, he had to watch Jody making out with Colt right in front of him. How disgusting. Ah, but Ryland was coming toward him! Okay, he could handle getting thrown into a filthy patrol car if he got a kiss like that. Then his legal team would bail him out and everything would be fine. He’d find Ryland and take him on a proper date, without his brother involved.

He closed his eyes, making sure to stretch enough so his robe stayed open just wide enough. Soon he’d receive Ryland’s grace. Just a little longer…

A punch knocked him down again.

It snatched him from the officer's grasp and threw him to the ground!

“What!” he shouted incredulously at Ryland.

Ryland, standing in front of him, shook his fist trying to ward off the pain. The audacity! It hurt him much more!

“What was that for?” he yelled from the ground in what might have looked like a tantrum to the untrained eye.

Ryland crouched down, getting on his knees, and getting close to his left ear. It gave him chills in a way he would have to think about later. “For what you did to my brother. You’re lucky you are not dead, Ryder.” Then he stood up and smiled at the stunned officer standing nearby. “Sorry.”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing.” The woman cleared her throat, and started to blush! “Are you okay, sir?”

Tom shut his mouth when he realized she wasn’t talking to him.

“Yeah, thanks.” Ryland rubbed his fist again.

Was it wrong that Tom wanted him to speak to him in that tone of voice again? He could slap him again if he wanted. Degraded him, even.

Tom saw Colt hugging his brother, and a completely rational anger filled him. Why could he hug Ryland like that after literally ignoring him on his birthday and Christmas? Christmas! Tom would have taken Ryland to the Caribbean for Christmas! He wouldn’t have left him freezing with a pumpkin pie outside some goddamn motel!

Ryland snuggles against Colt’s chest like a little kid and let him hug him as much as he wanted, damn it! He was so fucking jealous.

The last thing he saw before getting into the patrol car, not without a struggle, was Colt giving him the finger and grinning widely while Ryland leaned on his shoulder.

Life was so fucking unfair!