Free Crush (Hard Hit #5) by Charity Parkerson Page B

before you tell me everything, and I lose all sense of reason.”
    Gannon nodded again, but he held his tongue, giving Orlando the floor.
    He started over. “You don’t deserve to be happy. But you also didn’t deserve to die by Seb’s hand after everything you did for him. Just in case you’ve ever questioned why I made the choices I did that night, that’s why, and I need you to know it. But I also need you to understand that was my brother. My baby brother. He’s dead, and you don’t deserve to get to walk away and be happy. I won’t bother you again after today. No more calls or nothing like that, but I’ll never believe you deserve an ounce of happiness in this life.” It was harder than Orlando could’ve ever imagined to say those words. In all the years he’d pictured doing so, he never once dreamed it would slice across his heart. His lips moved, dropping three words Orlando didn’t intend to say, but once they were out there, the pain stopped. “I forgive you.”
    Gannon covered his mouth with both hands, and tears filled his eyes. He blinked them back before they fell. With a nod, he visibly pulled himself together. “I’m sorry, but if I’m going to tell you everything, I’ll have to be brutal and quick. I see my husband on the phone over there, and I guarantee it’s Kieran on the other end of the line.”
    “You’re married?”
    Gannon smiled. “Yeah. The day after the incident with Andrei on the boat, we went for it. It’s the real thing, so why wait, right?”
    “Yeah,” Orlando said, feeling numb. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how his hatred had isolated him. Two people had died that night by the river. The only difference was Orlando’s body hadn’t yet given up the fight.
    *
    Noah: I hear you’re free. Want to get together?
    Andrei: Just tell me when and where.
    Noah: Puck Drop. 15 minutes?
    Andrei: Until then…
    Two weeks. Fourteen days. Three hundred and thirty-six hours. Twenty thousand one hundred and sixty minutes. Almost a million point three seconds. No matter which way Andrei looked at it, he couldn't find a way to look at the time he'd been apart from Orlando that matched how long it felt. His body burned. His heart ached. He missed the sound of Orlando's voice, his smell, and the heat of his body. No matter how hard he tried, Andrei couldn't focus on anything other than what he'd lost. That was the real reason he'd agreed to meet with Noah.
    He was on his phone when Andrei cleared the door of Puck Drop. Big surprise. Andrei felt very old in Noah’s company. The man was always texting. It was equally obvious he’d been there a while. Beer bottles and shot glasses lined one side of the table. Noah glanced up and winked.
    “Hey, man.” He motioned toward the seat across from him before returning to his texting. Andrei barely held on to his eye roll as he accepted Noah’s silent invitation to join him.
    “You celebrating something?” Andrei asked, nodding toward the empty glasses and bottles.
    Noah snorted and set his phone aside. “I have a head start on you. What can I get you?”
    For some reason Andrei couldn’t explain, he suddenly felt old and tired. This was one of the many reasons he’d retired. He’d burned out on all this bullshit a long time ago.
    “How are you getting home?” Andrei asked instead of answering Noah’s question.
    A wicked smile spread across Noah’s face. “Are you offering to take me?”
    Orlando’s claims about Noah ran through Andrei’s mind. He feared Orlando had been right. Noah was greedy for whatever and whoever he could get. The idea made him sad for Noah as well as himself. They weren’t that different—both of them were hiding their hearts behind a façade.
    “Yes. I’m offering.”
    Noah’s carefree veneer melted away, allowing Andrei a glimpse of the unhappy person living inside him. “There’s something different about you today, Andrei. Did you allow Sexy Chocolate to break you?”
    “I was this way