Read Online Her Troika by Trent Evans - Free Book Online Page A

waving his placard plaintively. “Why’d you close the bidding?”
    The man at the lectern moved his baleful gaze to the brash young man. “The session observed no further bidders.”
    “ Me !” The boy stepped right up to the front, thrusting the placard in the older man’s face. “What about this don’t you understand, old man?”
    The man at the lectern snapped a glance toward the back of the chamber. Derek looked back to see two pairs of black-suited men moving toward the front, the crowd wisely making way for them with alacrity. Then the older man turned to the angry young man. “You’re out of order. Step back, now.”
    “Go fuck yourself.” He tossed the placard, bouncing it off the sloped lectern, to clatter against the wooden floorboards. “I’m sure my father will have something to say about this bullshit.”
    The man at the lectern drew himself to his full height, and advanced on the young man. “We’ll be having a word with your father very soon, and we’ll ask him why he shouldn’t be sanctioned for the disgraceful behavior of his rogue son. Would you like that, boy ?”
    “W-what?” The color drained from the young man’s face. “No. That’s not—”
    The massive men moved up to either side of the kid, but a quick negative movement of the older man’s head stopped them. “Then I suggest you step back, you foolish boy, and remove yourself from the premises. Your night is over, I should think.”
    The older man swept an arm toward the stalls, tilting his head toward Breanna. “Take her to the pens. One hour display, no restrictions.”
    Derek sank to his chair, the slap on his back from Kurt barely registering, as if his consciousness were fading slowly away. What in god’s name had he just done?
    Realizing a fantasy you didn’t know you had.
    He looked up at Kurt. The man’s lips were moving, his arm pointing toward the row of stalls, eyes dancing. But Derek wasn’t hearing any of it. This wasn’t going to work. Any of it. This train needed to stop. Now.
    Standing, he dropped the odd placard to his seat, ignoring the people around him. A beautiful woman with raven black hair leaned into his aisle, reaching for him. Her smile was radiant. He passed her by as if she weren’t even there.
    Finally, Kurt’s voice could be heard behind him. “Derek. Derek, what are you doing?”
    “Leaving.”
    Derek made his way to side, trying not to see the puzzled looks, the appraising glances. He looked around for an exit, any way to get outside, the massive barn seeming smaller by the second. What he’d done … he didn’t know what to think about it. Didn’t want to examine what it might mean. Not now. Maybe not ever. This was how things had fallen apart. Allowing himself to indulge this part of him, this … need.
    Not again, goddammit. Not ever again.
    Derek found the exit, not surprisingly guarded by more of the same black-suited tough guys.
    A hand closed on his shoulder. “Derek, wait man. What the fuck are you doing?”
    “I gotta get outside,” Derek growled, shaking off Kurt’s hand. “Let me go.”
    He walked up to the two guards, who made no effort to allow him through.
    Derek glared at them, the tension gathering in his muscles, preparing for a fight if it was required. “You guys gonna move? Or am I gonna move you?”
    “It’s okay,” Kurt said from behind him. “Let him by boys. No problem here.”
    The cold night air filled his lungs, innervating, and at the same time, calming. The fog had cleared and aside from a few lights in the small parking lot next to the barn, the night was inky black, the stunning panorama of the Milky Way arrayed across the sky.
    The door closed behind Kurt, shutting out the low buzz of the crowd inside the building.
    “You can’t … you can’t expect me just to jump into this without batting an eye, Kurt. This shit is heavy.”
    “I know it.” Kurt walked past Derek, looking up at that incredible spray of stars. “I should’ve