Before You Break by K.C. Wells & Parker Williams

Author:K.C. Wells & Parker Williams [Wells, K.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 9781635336986
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2017-05-25T18:30:00+00:00

ELLIS COULDN’T believe he’d only been gone a week. It felt like months since he’d seen any of his team. They milled around him when he walked in, rubbing his head, patting his back, and telling him how much they’d missed his sorry ass. He winced when more than one person swatted him on top of Wayne’s maintenance from the night before.

“All right, you lot, listen up. Today we’re going to be heading back to the town,” Lewis announced.

A chorus of groans went up.

“Shut it, all of you. We’ve got our Mr. Mann back with us, and he hasn’t run a single simulation in the last week. We have to make up for lost time. So I want you in your gear in fifteen minutes, then ready to go. Move it!”

They bustled for the door, but Lewis shouted Ellis’s name. “Not you, Ellis.”

Ellis stifled a groan. What now? He waited for Lewis to a chorus of guys calling, “Ooooh, he’s in trouble again!” It was good to be back.

Lewis handed him a stack of notes. “Your parents have been trying to reach you for days, apparently. They’ve been calling the Met switchboard, who passed these on. Not something they are particularly happy about, and the powers that be have been giving me grief over it. So call your parents and let them know that, in the future, they’ll need to contact you through a different channel.”

“Yes. Okay. I’m sorry.” His heart sank.

“Nothing to be sorry for, Ellis. I just don’t want it to become a habit.” Lewis took a few steps, then turned back. “By the way, Ellis? It’s good to have you back. I really wish I hadn’t needed to do it. And I’m glad we got rid of Roberts, because no one on my squad will ever talk like that about another team member, not while I’m in charge.”

Lewis left the room, shouting to the men that they had best hurry up. Ellis thumbed through the messages. All vaguely innocuous, but he could read the subtext. They were pissed they couldn’t get in touch with him, that he hadn’t returned their calls, and about how he’d treated Barb. His heart started hammering. He needed Wayne.

As if by some unspoken wish, Wayne was by his side, an arm around his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly.

“They’re angry. My father is insisting I call them.” Ellis turned his gaze away from Wayne.

“Hey, look at me.” Wayne cupped his cheek in his hand.

Ellis turned to face Wayne. “I don’t know what to do,” he said, his voice small.

“It’s time to make a decision. You’ve been doing your best to be what they wanted since you were a young boy, but you’re not him anymore. You’ve grown up, and now you need to figure out what you want.”

What he wanted? That was easy. He wanted Wayne with an intensity he’d never experienced before. He loved Wayne. But to go against his parents—his family—was something he’d been brought up to believe was the ultimate crime.

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