Free NecessaryDecision by A.D. Christopher Page B

started, he was afraid he’d never
stop. “We didn’t want him to be alone and now he’s more alone than ever.”
    “I know.” Varek sounded choked. Gable imagined he had a lump
in his throat too. “It’s not just that we lost him. It’s how… it’s how much we
hurt him.”
    The truth was too much to hold inside him with a stiff upper
lip. Gable started to cry, silent tears that flowed down his cheeks. His whole
body ached. Kylar felt betrayed and alone and it was his fault. This whole
thing had been his idea. Varek would never have tried something like this on
his own.
    “I’m sorry.”
    Through his tears Gable saw a familiar figure standing near
the bed. It was Job, who bunked across from him. Gable sniffed and swiped at
his nose. “Job, can you give us a few minutes? This isn’t really a good time.”
    “I know.” Job sat down on his bunk. “I know it isn’t, and
that’s my fault. I’m so sorry. He made me tell him. I couldn’t say no. But he
didn’t let me explain it right, he didn’t—”
    “What?” Gable lay very still, even as dread crept quickly
beneath his skin. “What are you talking about?”
    “Baron Grossman,” Job said. “He came here asking questions.
He said if we didn’t tell the truth he’d have us killed. I told him what I’d
heard, about you and Varek planning to seduce Kylar so you could be free.”
Job’s anguished face broke Gable’s heart even more. “But he didn’t let me tell
him the rest, about how many times you’ve both said you loved Kylar. He made me
stop, and Kylar looked so…sick. He obviously loved you both…very much.”
    Behind Gable, Varek sat up. “Wait. You told Baron? You told
Kylar?”
    “He made me,” Job said, shrinking away. Varek could be
pretty terrifying when he was angry. “He said he’d have me killed if I didn’t
tell. Me and Hendricks both.”
    Gable sat and slid his feet to the floor. So that was it.
That was how Kylar had found out. That was what Baron had done to his own
child, fed him half truths just to break Kylar’s heart. He’d probably laughed
afterward. Anything that hurt others seemed to make Sire Baron very, very
happy. It was part of the reason Gable had been so certain Kylar would be
better off with him and Varek. Screw Kylar’s family. They might be his by
blood, but he and Varek were Kylar’s by heart, by choice, by love.
    A love Gable wasn’t about to give up on so easily.
    He stood, but stopped Varek from standing beside him with a
hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to go back to him and force him to hear the
truth,” Gable said.
    “Let me go with you.” Varek tried to rise again, but Gable
stopped him again. This time with a kiss, a gentle kiss on his full lips that
was as bitter as it was sweet. What if this was the last time he ever kissed
Varek? What if the only way to right the wrong he’d done was to give up both of
the men he loved?
    Gable swallowed and ran an affectionate hand over Varek’s
bald head. It would be worth it. If he had to go so that Varek and Kylar could
both be happy, then that’s exactly what he would do. “I love you,” he
whispered.
    “I love you too,” Varek said, his eyes narrower than usual.
He obviously suspected Gable was up to something. Hopefully, by the time
suspicion turned to action Gable would have convinced Kylar of Varek’s love and
he himself would be gone. Gable turned and started back down the row of bunks.
    “Be careful,” Varek called after him.
    “I will,” Gable whispered to himself. For the first time in
weeks of carefree enjoyment of his two loves, he was going to be very careful
indeed.

Chapter Seven
     
    Kylar didn’t hear a sound. There was no crunch of gravel, no
footfalls outside the house. Gable was simply not there one minute, and
crouched on the sill of his open window the next.
    “Get out,” Kylar mumbled from the chair in the corner of the
bedroom, the place where he’d collapsed when Gable and Varek had left. He
didn’t know