All the King's Men

Excerpt

California is one of America's most earthquake-prone states.

The boundary between the massive Pacific and North American tectonic plates, the notorious San Andreas Fault, runs roughly southeast to northwest through much of California. In addition, a jumble of lesser transverse faults clutters the map of the state.

Both sides of the San Andreas Fault move in a northwest direction, but at different speeds, causing geologic tension to build. That tension is released in the form of an earthquake. The possibility is always present for associated earthquakes among the nearby transform faults.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the state faces a forty-six percent chance of being hit by a Richter Scale magnitude 7.5 or higher earthquake in the next thirty years.

Possibly even next year.

Chapter 1

Thursday 6:52 a.m.

"Tell me you aren't considering going to see him."

Nathan Richardson hesitated, shifting the phone from one hand to the other, aware that Jason was waiting for an answer, glad his friend wasn't actually standing here to see the guilt on his face. Leaning against the gate to the park, he took in a deep breath of fresh air. Not for the first time when his ex was being discussed, he wished he knew what to say. Jason was his closest friend since moving to LA, and fuelled by alcohol and pizza, Jason had listened to Nathan talk about the whole Ryan/Nathan breakup at length. None of that mattered, because however much they talked, Jason would never be able to understand how much Ryan had shaped Nathan's life, how much he'd meant to him.

He'd last seen Jason three days ago at a script read through, and then after when they shared tequila and talk back at Jason's apartment in downtown LA. Jason had listened to Nathan's confused explanations of why he didn't love Ryan and why he couldn't love Ryan. Jason had listened patiently, and then pointed out very succinctly that, Nathan loved Ryan "the asshole."

Nathan had argued himself blue that he and Ryan were over, finished. Halting sentences filled with conviction in a way that was a direct result of alcohol. It was the morning after that rambling conversation that Nathan had finally admitted to himself what Jason could see as the truth. He still loved Ryan, and he needed to stop loving Ryan if he wanted to save his sanity.

"I need to talk to him, Jason."

"By all accounts, many of them from your own mouth, he is a manipulative, jealous, possessive, lying, untrusting asshole." Jason was working up a head of steam, and as usual, Nathan's first response to that was defense against the relationship that had meant so much to him.

"Jase —I told you— it wasn't all him. We were a long way apart, and it was my idea to—"

"Don't. Seriously. Just don't start with all that I moved to LA so it's my fault crap."

"I still love him, I think I always will," Nathan finally offered sadly. He knew the accusations were now going to fly. Jason had become Nathan's friend in LA through the soap they both acted on, and they were as close as two men in the business could be without actually being in a sexual relationship with each other. The two bright lights in his life, Ryan his ex-lover and Jason his friend, had only met once. The night Nathan's relationship with Ryan had self-destructed. Jason had left in a hurry that night when Nathan asked him to go. But he'd heard stories from Nathan when Nathan was at his lowest since the breakup and, more importantly, under the influence of copious amounts of alcohol.

"He screwed around on you, Nate, or do I have to remind you of the het sex with that brunette?"

"Allison? Hell, you don't need to remind me," Nathan replied tiredly. That one fact, clearly made worse because Ryan had chosen a woman as a weapon of vengeance, was what his friend used to remind him at every possible occasion. He wiped sweat from his forehead, pushing his hair back from his face and stretching out the tightened muscles from his daily workout to stay healthy. Keeping fit hurt. Still, it was one way of forgetting his ex-lover in his down time, when he actually had days off. It helped him to forget intense brown eyes and dark hair and a smile that could slay him at ten paces.

"Just be careful— yeah? Don't go calling him with guilt and shit. Think about the person you are here in LA, the confident, happy, successful actor. Swear to me that, if you're gonna call him, you call me first and we talk."

"Jason—"

"Swear it, Nate."

"I promise. I'll think of what I want to say and I will run it by you first." Jason made a noise of agreement, and they exchanged goodbyes.

Nathan pocketed his cell and leaned against the park gates, brooding and wondering exactly what his next move needed to be. His gaze passed over where he now lived, a place so very different from his and Ryan's former home in the chaos and noise of New York.

A small complex of four apartments, quiet and remote, the peace and solitude suited his frame of mind perfectly. He lived in this two bedroom apartment in the hills beyond LA, rented from an absentee landlord and had made his own with photos of family and his modeling portfolio. He was standing in the rough-hewn park carved out across the road from his home, and he looked back away from his sanctuary to the nature that surrounded him. The park itself was a jumble of trees and rocks, grass and pathways, some steeply climbing higher into the hills, some gently curving and ideal for his attempted runs. The nearest main road was a quarter mile away, and most people drove past the entrance to the small complex without realizing the road led to people's homes.

He smiled as a cloud of birds rose gracefully from the oak at the edge of the park, heading skyward at an incredible speed. He loved that he was so close to the peace of nature, and the sight of the birds was both eerie and fascinating. He couldn't stop looking at it, wishing he had his camera with him, cursing at another amazing photo opportunity lost.

He couldn't wait to share what he'd seen with Ryan.

Nathan stifled his instinctive response. Why the hell couldn't he process a new train of thought that didn't include that name? The thought of his ex-lover made him fear his heart breaking there and then…again.