Unfamiliar Roads
1194 Words
Joshua glanced at the car. “So… you’re like… James Bond.”
Xavier snorted. “More like James Bond’s exhausted older cousin.”
Joshua let out a shaky laugh, part disbelieving, part hysterical.
Xavier’s face softened. “Listen… I know this is weird. And it’s a s**t time for you. But… Mom and Dad want to meet you.”
Joshua flinched at the words Mom and Dad.
“They’re waiting at home,” Xavier continued. “They’ve been waiting for eighteen years.”
Joshua shook his head slowly. “I don’t even know who you are.”
Xavier’s voice dropped. “I know. And I’m sorry. But… we’ve been looking for you for a long time, Joshua.”
Joshua swallowed hard. “I… don’t even know if I want to go with you.”
Xavier nodded. “Fair. But just so you know… I’m not leaving without you. So we can stand here all night… or we can drive somewhere and talk.”
Joshua hesitated.
Xavier added softly, “Look, man… I know you’ve been through hell tonight. But you’ve got a family. A real one. And we’re not going anywhere.”
Joshua stared into Xavier’s eyes and saw something he hadn’t seen all night in the Rowland penthouse, real warmth.
Xavier pointed a thumb at the car. “Plus… this thing has heated seats. And the stereo’s killer.”
Joshua barked a surprised laugh.
Xavier’s grin widened. “C’mon. Worst case, you get a free ride around Manhattan in a custom supercar. Best case… you find out who you really are.”
Joshua looked at his duffel bag, then back at Xavier.
For the first time all night, he felt something flicker in his chest.
Hope. Or maybe just curiosity.
Joshua muttered, “Screw it.”
Xavier raised his eyebrows. “That’s my brother.”
Joshua exhaled shakily. “But if you murder me and dump my body in the Hudson, I’m haunting you.”
Xavier laughed. “Fair enough. Get in.”
Joshua grabbed his bag and followed Xavier around the sleek black car. Xavier popped open the passenger door, then slipped behind the wheel.
As Joshua settled into the butter-soft leather seat, he looked over and muttered, “So… Interpol, huh?”
Xavier buckled his seatbelt, smirking. “Welcome to the family business.”
The engine growled to life. The car peeled away from the curb, disappearing into the Manhattan night, leaving the towering Empire Heights behind.
The city glowed outside the windows of Xavier’s sleek black sports car, lights blurring into streaks of gold and white as they merged into traffic on Fifth Avenue.
Joshua sat rigid in the passenger seat, gripping his duffel in his lap like it was a lifeline.
Inside, the cabin smelled faintly of leather and something sharper, g*n oil, maybe, or whatever lingered on a man who’d just finished a surveillance operation.
Xavier drummed his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, glancing at Joshua every few seconds.
“So,” Xavier finally said, breaking the silence, “this has been a hell of a day for you.”
Joshua stared out the windshield. “Understatement of the century.”
Xavier gave a short laugh. “Fair.”
They drove several blocks in silence. Neon reflections flickered across the dashboard—signs for sushi joints, nightclubs, high-end boutiques. A big LED billboard flashed an ad for a Broadway show, casting them both in shifting colors.
Joshua shifted uncomfortably. “You really gonna keep driving me around without telling me where we’re going?”
Xavier shrugged. “I could tell you, but then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
Joshua shot him a look. “I don’t like surprises. My entire day’s been one giant surprise, and it sucked.”
Xavier’s smile softened. “Yeah… that’s fair.”
Joshua twisted his mouth, studying him. “You know, the hoodie and the scruff aren’t really helping your whole ‘trust me, I’m your brother’ speech.”
Xavier laughed under his breath. “Hey, I was chasing a guy through a Midtown parking garage three hours ago. I didn’t have time to put on a suit and shave.”
“Chasing a guy?”
Xavier kept one hand on the wheel, the other gesturing vaguely. “d**g syndicate. Money laundering. You know, Manhattan’s greatest hits.”
Joshua blinked. “I… don’t know, actually.”
Xavier glanced sideways at him. “Fair enough. Anyway. I wanted to get here before you disappeared on me.”
Joshua snorted. “Well, too late for that. Already disappeared from one family tonight.”
Xavier fell quiet.
Joshua stared at the passing streets, feeling the weight of each building pressing down. Manhattan suddenly felt gigantic. Like he’d been shoved off the top of a skyscraper and was still waiting to hit the ground.
He swallowed. “So… this ‘Gregory’ thing. It’s real?”
Xavier nodded. “It’s real.”
“You’re seriously my brother.”
“Seriously.”
Joshua eyed him. “You sure you’re not just some psycho who saw me on a news headline and thought, hey, let’s kidnap the sad Rowland kid?”
Xavier laughed. “If I were k********g you, would I be driving a custom supercar with heated seats?”
Joshua crossed his arms. “That’s exactly what a psycho kidnapper would do. Distract me with the Batmobile.”
Xavier grinned. “So Kenny was right. This thing does look like the Batmobile.”
“Who is Kenny again?” Joshua demanded.
Xavier waved a hand. “Our brother. Engineering genius. Custom built this ride.”
Joshua’s eyes widened. “You keep saying ‘our brother’ like I’m just gonna nod and go, ‘Cool, seven siblings, great news.’”
Xavier’s voice lowered. “I get it, man. It’s a lot. I can’t imagine what’s going through your head right now.”
Joshua snapped, “Probably because you’ve never had your whole life yanked out from under you.”
Xavier tilted his head. “Actually… I’ve been undercover in foreign countries where if anyone figured out my real name, I’d be dead in twelve hours. So yeah. I get it.”
Joshua fell silent, staring at the streetlights flashing overhead as they passed under an overpass.
Xavier changed lanes smoothly, tires humming against the pavement.
“Look,” Xavier said after a minute, “you don’t have to believe everything right now. I get that. But I’m not lying. Harrison and Olivia Gregory? They’re your real parents. And they’ve been looking for you since the day you were born.”
Joshua scoffed. “You sound like a Hallmark movie.”
Xavier laughed. “Trust me, our family’s about as far from Hallmark as you can get.”
Joshua squinted at him. “Meaning what?”
Xavier sighed. “Meaning… we’ve got money. Influence. But we’ve also got enemies. People who’d love to see the Gregory name dragged through the mud. That’s part of why it’s taken so long to find you. We couldn’t risk tipping off the wrong people.”
Joshua blinked. “I’m sorry… how is me being lost for eighteen years connected to corporate enemies?”
- Writer
