Iron Rose Ch. 04

Miguel knew that to some extent, what Brandon was telling him was the truth. But he didn't wanna accept it.

"I am sorry."

They got talking and Brandon told him that he had already handled the situation with the death of Gabby and Jack. According to him, Miguel and Gabriel were talking about business when a crazy ex-husband of Gabriel came to end the life of his husband. Miguel was just an innocent man in unfavorable circumstances. No one was gonna question him plus Brandon had made sure the two corpses were buried. As they were talking, Mark came inside the room and locked the door. Miguel had called for him because he needed to find out something.

"It's good that both of you are here." He started, staring at them both. "I wanted to find out who had called the police to come to that house. They arrived at the last moment and shot Jack dead. You are the only men I trust completely right now."

"Yeah," Mark said in a deep manly voice. "We've been keeping an eye on Daniel just like you had instructed and we've been tracking him as well. Though he hadn't met with anyone, we found out that he had been talking to someone on the phone. Their talk was always dragon business and that same day your incident happened, we found out that Daniel was shouting at someone."

"Shouting?" Miguel was confused.

"Yeah," Brandon agreed. "It seems these guys have figured out that you're somehow connected to them and the guy Daniel was shouting at had probably something to do with what had happened."

Miguel visited the past and remembered something.

"Someone warned me about you, Miguel." He remembered Jack's words. "Unfortunately, I was warned late."

"Yeah!" Miguel gasped, looking at the two men. "Jack told me that someone had warned him."

"The fifth dragon!" Both Brandon and Mark gasped. "He's got to be."

"Yeah!" Miguel knew that a fifth dragon was there but who? He was really confused. "And where's Daniel? We need answers."

"That won't be a problem." Brandon gave an evil laugh. "We found out that the one that made the call to the police was Daniel. When we found out what was going on, we tried to call you but we couldn't reach you so we came to the house but the police had already reached there. We couldn't interfere but guess who was also at that house?"

"Daniel!" Miguel couldn't miss that answer.

"Yes!" Mark nodded. "We abducted him and right now as we speak, he's somewhere tied up."

"What do we do with him?" Brandon asked, dying to kill the guy because he had already beaten him up before tying him.

"I don't wanna hurt him." Miguel couldn't bear to kill the man. "He's saved me twice now and I don't want him to die. I want the name of the fifth dragon."

They continued talking about what Miguel was gonna do once he got out. It was when they were talking that they received some pretty bad news that Alejandro's son was found dead in the highway on the outskirts of town. It seemed he was knocked off of his bike and died on spot. It was really bad and Brandon left to go see and comfort his friend and business partner.

After he left, Mark told Miguel that there was a nosy reporter that was really interested in what had happened. Miguel told him to keep an eye on him. He couldn't have anyone finding out about his past. He had come a long way for it to go away just like that.

***

It was early in the morning and Christian was busy rushing to Carter's house, praying and hoping that he hadn't heard anything that he had told Miguel, otherwise, there was gonna be fire on the mountain. He knew that Carter loved him so much and he didn't wanna hurt him.

Before he even reached the house, he saw Carter slowly walking on the side of the road, looking at his phone. Seeing him, Christian felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He took a deep breath and rushed to him.

When carter saw Christian, he stood still and just stared at him like he wanted to slap the hell out of him. His heart was suddenly pounding again... He felt really cold and angry... he clenched his fists, trying to fight off his tears. He couldn't believe that was his boyfriend standing in front of him. He loved him so much but what he had heard from him was so painful.

"You look really handsome, Carter." Christian tried to sound confident, taking Carter's hand.

Carter's gaze shifted to those hands and he simply moved his away, surprising Christian. Shit, he knew, Christian thought as his heart began racing.

"I will not pretend like everything is alright." He said, literally yelling at Christian. "I was at the hospital because I wanted to find out the reason why you went to see La don. And I heard everything that you said to him including the part where you said..." He paused and felt tears building in his eyes. "...you loved him."

Christian got closer to Carter but Carter took a few steps back.

"But Carter, I am sure you saw that Miguel was also sleeping, right?"

"Does it matter?" He fumed, pointing his finger angrily at Christian. "It doesn't because that is exactly what you feel. And all this time, I thought you had forgotten about that man. But I was very wrong."

"Carter, please..." Christian had never been in such a dilemma before. He didn't know what to say. "...the situation was extreme. That was about life and death. Miguel was at the point of death. I swear to you, my love..." He quickly gripped his hands and placed kisses all over them. "...when Miguel woke up, I told him that I loved you and I am with you now."

Shit! Christian felt a sharp pain in his heart. He had just told a lie and his heart reacted.

Carter on the other hand got really mad that he quickly withdrew his hand. He couldn't fight his tears anymore. They came rushing down his cheeks but he quickly rubbed them. He was so much in pain and he had no idea how to react with the news that Christian had given him.

"How dare you, Christian?" He snapped, yelling his lungs out. "You're telling me you stayed with that boy until he woke up. I can't believe this." He chuckled bitterly, rubbing his sweaty forehead. "That means you spent even more time with him than you were meant to."

"My love..." Christian thought Carter was being jealous for nothing. Wasn't it enough that they were now together? "...i stayed with him because I needed to make sure that he got better."

"As what?" Carter yelled, clenching his fists. "As his boyfriend?" His voice sounded really harsh. "As his husband or his toy? Who even cares if he was to get well or to die? I have had it with him."

"Try to understand, please." Christian was trying to control himself. "We shouldn't even be talking about this. Let's try to put this whole issue behind us and focus on being happy together."

Carter couldn't believe Christian was telling him that after what had happened. What did he take him for, he thought as he got closer to his boyfriend? He loved him so much but...

"I can't do it." He said simply, shaking his head. "You're the only who would be happy but I wouldn't because I would always have to be looking round my shoulders." He pointed at himself angrily. Christian had never seen Carter act like that.

"But you're the one I love."

"No!" He angrily shook his head. "It's not only insane for you to love two men at once, it's shameless. Maybe he's even the one you think about when we're making love, when we're in bed."

"No!" Christian shook his head. "I promise you that there's nothing between Miguel and I. I only said I loved him because the situation was extreme. He was beat up and he almost died."

"I refuse to have Miguel's shadow in our lives."

Christian didn't know what to say to Carter anymore. "What do you want me to do?" His voice was rising as he was suddenly getting upset. "I accepted your conditions and didn't see Miguel."

"But you still went there despite my warnings, Christian." He literally screamed as he suppressed his tears.

Christian sighed, slightly closing his eyes. "Life isn't black and white. Relationships are unpredictable. They aren't a house with three kids and a dog."

"Well, I can't live with the uncertainty that you might wake up one day and decide to go chasing after Miguel." He sobbed softly. He didn't wanna seem weak. "I want you to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself who you truly love. Until then, I don't wanna do anything with you or Miguel ever again."

He quickly turned and ran away crying back to the house. He couldn't believe the amount of pain that he was in. He felt like going back to Christian, kissing his sweet lips and just shield him from Miguel. But no matter what he did, Miguel always came back in their lives. For a few weeks, he thought he had gotten rid of Miguel for good but he came back. He couldn't live his life being jealous of Miguel when he had Christian with him.

"Look yourself in the mirror... Ask yourself who you truly love."

"Shit!" Christian was confused as fuck. He had no idea what he wanted at that time.

On one hand was Miguel whom he loved with his entire being but was cold, mysterious and tough. And on the other was Carter, sweet, loving and loved by everyone he knew. He had to consider his mother in this. But what was he going to do?

***

Miguel was seated on the bed, staring at the woman that stood in front of him. He had a serious look on his face and he wasn't there for jokes. He had called Yvette there because he needed to talk about something really important.

"Miguel..."

"I know that you must be wondering why I called you here." It wasn't a question.

But Yvette was really scared because Miguel had warned him on several occasions and she was bound to be scared. And she had something to tell him, especially.

"I am but there's someone who needs to see you." Her voice was a bit cracking. "I am sorry Miguel but I had no idea how she had found out about..."

"What?" He couldn't believe how harsh his voice came out. "You told someone about me even after I told you that..."

"No!" She shook her head. "I didn't but..." She glanced towards the door. "Come in!"

The moment she said that, the door opened wider, revealing a teary Alicia who was coming inside, staring at Miguel like she had seen a ghost. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was just too emotional.

When Miguel saw her, he felt tears build in his eyes. He did his best to suppress them because he couldn't afford to get weak in front of the two ladies. He also didn't need to be a genius to know that she knew who he was.

"For three years, three painful years." She sobbed, not even bothering to rub her tears off. "I thought you had died, Angelo. I thought you had already left this world. For three good years I had been mourning you, crying and asking God why he took you away.

I had no idea that it was you all this while. I had no idea that you had survived. I even had no idea that you had come back or what had happened to you."

Miguel took a deep breath, staring at the woman as she approached his bed.

"My Angelo..."

"No, Alicia." He shook his head, giving her a stern look. "Angelo isn't here anymore. Angelo died almost four years ago. There is only Miguel and how did you..."

"I had forgotten to do something so I came back and I heard the confession. I called the police but..."

"Alicia I really hope you haven't..."

"I haven't told anyone that you're him." She held his hands tightly. "I had no idea that Jack could do something so evil and..." She paused, looking at him. "...you're really beautiful. I thought you had died..."

"Alicia, I am not really in the mood to talk about my past right now which should stay hidden." He said with warning in his voice. "I called Yvette here because I have something important to say. But now that you're here, you can also listen to it since I am sure you know about it since you know about Yvette."

He breathed in deeply. "I was at the point of death and believe me, I want you to be very discreet about what I am going to tell you. I don't want this to leave this room."

Both Alicia and Yvette nodded though Alicia was still in tears. She could only imagine the pain that Miguel had gone through.

"When I was at the point of death, I thought about Brian, I thought about my parents and even though you won't believe me..." He paused and sighed. "...my brother."

To say Yvette was shocked would be an understatement. Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped as a loud gasp escaped her.

"I don't know what to say." She said with tears in her eyes. "Have you changed your mind and want to let him know everything? Do you want to take him with you?"

"No!" Miguel was quick to answer. "Although I don't wanna say this..." He looked at Yvette, nodding with tears in his eyes. God, it was really hard to say what he wanted to say. "...I don't regret my decision because you're the best thing that had ever happened to Carter. He became a man he is today because of you and your teaching. I don't know the kind of life that he'd have had if he had stayed with us."

Yvette was still shocked. "I can't believe what I am hearing."

"I would be lying if I told you that I truly love Carter like a brother." He said, rubbing his fingers through his hair. "I just wanna make sure that you and he live a good life, a life that he should have been living since he was born, this time without blackmail or lies. I just wanna secure his future."

Miguel knew that if the truth ever came out, he wasn't only gonna risk the life of his brother but Yvette too. He couldn't live with that and that was why he wasn't gonna let the truth out.

Yvette looked at Alicia, still shocked. Her heart was racing and she couldn't still believe Miguel because ever since she had met him, she had received nothing but threats from him.

"I don't know what to say, I mean, you've always seen Carter as your rival because of..."

"My relationship with Christian is over and done with." He said hoarsely, clenching his fist. "I don't want Carter to know that I am his brother but I want to secure his future. The money is his. I am not offering it to you as anything that doesn't belong to him. You've got to accept it."

Yvette didn't know what to say. She simply shook her head and agreed with Miguel.

***

At the burial site for Alejandro's son, things were really bad for him and his wife. She had been crying uncontrollably though the burial was done. Almost everyone was trying to comfort him. Alex was trying to get her up but she didn't wanna leave her son all alone in the cold. Fortunately, Ximena was there to help. She convinced her and both of them left.

Meanwhile, Brandon was standing at a distance and he saw his son, Francisco kissing some guy, a trash that looked older than him. He was really pissed and wasn't gonna take such behavior from his stupid son.

Everyone left except for Alejandro and Gabino, the cop that had always admired Carter. Gabino gave him his condolences and then explains the whole incident of his son's supposed argument with Carter before he took off.

Alejandro was sure Carter is to blame.

"I want you to kill him." He said sternly and coldly.

"What?" Gabino was scared as fuck. "I can't even think of hurting Carter because don forbade it."

"Do it!" Alex ordered with evil in his voice. "That idiot killed my poor son and I won't spare him. I want him killed."

"But..." Gabino was scared, really scared. "I am afraid of what don might do to me once he finds out I even laid a finger on him."

"Don't you have brains, you idiot?" He yelled, angrily pointing at him. "Who told you that you must tell him? You must be very discreet about it. I need to find justice for my son."

Question was, will Gabino go against Miguel's orders and kill Carter? And Alex was also thinking about why Miguel had forbade anything to happen to Carter when they were not even in good terms. He had to find out the truth.

Meanwhile, back at Christian's house, he was telling his best friend, George how he thought Carter had overreacted with the whole thing. But at least, he had time to continue his investigation with Brandon to find out what had really happened to his ex, Marcus.

The two friends headed over to Brandon's house because they wanted to do more investigations on Brandon's car to find any evidence.

***

Daniel opened his eyes slowly, coming back to the land of the living and was just welcomed by a terrible headache. He tried to move his hands but found that he was being chained to a wall. He couldn't move his hands. He groaned, slightly closing his eyes.

The last thing he could remember was Brandon knocking him out cold after he had asked what the hell they were gonna do to him.

"Shit!"

He had no idea how to get out of there because he knew exactly what Miguel wanted from him. But before he could even go further in his thoughts, he moved his eyes to scan the whole place and just froze when he saw the person that was right in front of him.

He was putting on a beautiful black designer's vest that was tucked in a blue skinny jean with cross belts and black snickers on his feet. He was looking extremely sexy, especially with that big cigar that was on his lips and though the look he was giving him scared him to the core, Daniel couldn't help but admire him.

He had long red hair that was tied in a ponytail, revealing his cute sexy face. He was absolutely stunning if not for the fact that his face spoke business and danger in one sentence. Daniel was really screwed but was hoping that everything was alright.

"Hello, Daniel." Miguel's spoke, releasing that smoke from his mouth which sounded like a swoosh of air. "I have come to hear you out. I will be your judge and I will decide whether you live or die."

Death, Daniel thought as his heart gave about the sharpest pound in his chest. He was scared because he'd never seen him like that before.

"Miguel, there's no need to..." He gulped, feeling a large lump in his throat. "...beat about the bush here. I know very well that you're that boy from almost four years ago. You may look different and I know that what had happened was really bad and..."

"You think?" Miguel's voice was cold and harsh.

"I know that we destroyed your life but I promise you, though the others raped you that..." He paused as his cracked. He had no idea why he was sweating. "...same night. I won't deny that I was there but I couldn't do it. I couldn't bear to rape you like the others because all my life, I have done some things that I regret up to this day. I won't deny that I have raped someone, but that was just once during my initiation into the brotherhood of the dragons." His voice sounded like it wanted to break. He was getting extremely scared as he remembered exactly what had happened. "I have never murdered anyone and that night, I... I..." He swallowed, breathing in deeply. "...I came with them but I told them not to do anything to you. I screamed at them and..."

Miguel laughed, fighting the images that slowly started forming in his head. He couldn't afford to be weak. He was really mad because anger had taken over him like a great storm at bay.

"You only screamed when the others raped me and killed me and maybe even when they killed all the people that they've killed." He rasped, pointing at him with his cigar. "But you never did anything to prevent them. The others raped me because they were perverts." He was getting close to the idiot. "But you did all you did out of cowardice."

Daniel couldn't deny that he was a coward but he also had a heart, something that all the other dragons didn't seem to have.

"You have no idea how life has been." Daniel's eyes were getting watery. The pain was slowly coming back. "For years, I have lived with guilt because of what had happened. There has never been a single night when I haven't woken up sweating and panting because of what had happened to you that night. The screams, the pain and the cries, everything..."