Page 74 of Perfect Night

“Lieutenant Simmons, it’s Charlie Davidson. Do you have a minute?”

“Of course, Mr Davidson. What can I do for you?”

“I’m flying back to the UK on Sunday and wanted to check that won’t be a problem, given the case.”

“No problem for you to go home. We have your contact details and can let you know about the trial date. The judge will probably let you testify by video conference.”

“Oh, that’s great. Thank you.”

“Obviously, your boyfriend can’t leave the country, but he knows that.”

Charlie was stunned. Why wasn’t Sebastian able to leave the country? Had he missed something? He asked the question.

“Because he’s facing charges for his attack on Mr Fletcher. He isn’t able to leave the country until the case is over, or dropped, but I assume because we haven’t heard from you, you decided against the deal.”

“What deal?”

“Mr Fletcher said he’d drop the charges against Mr Steele if you dropped your complaint against him.”

Charlie was seething, but kept his cool.

“How would I go about withdrawing my complaint? I’m not sure how things work over here.”

“You just need to come down to the station and make a statement.”

“And how do we guarantee Mr Fletcher will withdraw his charges?”

“We’ll cover all that. Have you changed your mind? Would you like to come down here?”

“I could be there in an hour if that works?”

Simmons agreed and provided details of where he needed to go. Charlie wanted to scream when he got off the phone. How dare Sebastian take that choice away from him? First, he needed to focus on speaking to the police. He would deal with Sebastian later.

It didn’t take long for him to make his statement. Simmons said he’d call later to confirm Brandon had done the same. He left the station and decided to get a burger at a place he’d enjoyed the previous week. There were so many homeless people on the streets, more so than in London. He hated to see it, as so many of them were younger than him. Most people kept their head down and ignored them, but Charlie always liked to give some sort of acknowledgement, even if he couldn’t give moneymost the time. He was looking at a group of young lads when he had to do a double-take.

“Hunter?”

He looked at Charlie, startled and was clearly getting ready to bolt.

“Can I buy you some lunch?”

Hunter hesitated. The other lads around him seemed interested in their conversation. He wasn’t sure if they were friends of Hunter’s, or just other homeless guys who were taking up the same patch.

“If you don’t go with him, I will. Free food with a cute guy. And that British accent. Sold!” said one lad.

He looked younger than Hunter. Charlie smiled at him, wondering what his story was. But right now, he was only interested in Hunter. He knew if he left and came back with Deacon, he’d be gone. If he didn’t want any help, then Charlie could at least feed him.

Thankfully, Hunter nodded and followed Charlie, who waved at the other guys. They wolf-whistled, which was bizarre as it wasn’t something which had ever happened to Charlie before. Given the brazen way the other guy had flirted with him, he wondered if they were all part of the queer community.

They didn’t speak as they walked towards the burger place Charlie had been heading to. It had tables outside, so Hunter wouldn’t feel self-conscious. They ordered at the window and took a seat, waiting for their ticket to be called.

“Thanks for this.”

“It’s okay. How have you been doing?”

“Well...” Hunter gestured to his attire, which differed from his clothes at the ball.

“I was asking more about whether you’d heard from Brandon.”

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