Read Online Long Road Home by Chandra Ryan - Free Book Online Page B

kitchen. I’m making myself a sandwich. Would you like one?” He hurried to the fridge to pull out the required items to make lunch. He didn’t want Hank to know he’d been waiting for him to pull up, and he most certainly didn’t want him to know Drew made him nervous.
    There were heavy footsteps on the hardwood floors as the men made their way to the kitchen. “Nah. I—we need to talk to you for a second.” He glanced over at Drew as he spoke.
    “Is it about the order? I thought we were going to go over it tonight and then finalize it next week.” He had to pull his gaze away from Drew to address Hank. The man always appeared intimidating but today he wore an especially dark expression. The man terrified him.
    “Are you sure about this, Hank? You’ve only known him for a week,” Drew said. “Once it’s done, it can’t be undone.”
    “I’m sure.”
    His stomach tightened. “I’m not. What’s going on?”
    “How do you feel about me?” Hank asked.
    Such a simple question, yet it wreaked havoc deep inside him. “I like you.”
    “You like me?” he repeated. “Anything more?”
    His heart raced. He didn’t want to come clean. “I appreciate you helping me.”
    “I love you, Thom. I need to know, do you feel the same?”
    The words washed over him like a wave. Of course he loved Hank. The thought of him walking away in a week ate him up inside like a slow-moving cancer. Did he want to tell him, though? “What’s going on? You and Drew are kind of freaking me out.”
    “Do you love me?”
    Now or never. He took a deep breath. “Yes.” He should offer some caveat or explanation but none came. He loved the man.
    Hank took a deep breath and wobbled a little as if he’d lost his balance momentarily. “Good. I have something to tell you and I need you to hear me out.”
    “Okay.” Things were about to get strange. His whole body vibrated with the weird currents of energy being given off by the other men.
    He held up his hand. A bloodstained bandage rested on his palm. “I’ve joined Drew’s group—officially.”
    He pulled a chair out to catch himself as his knees gave. Of everything Hank might have said or done, he had never imagined he’d joined the cult. He’d told Hank he’d hear him out, however, and he planned to keep his word. “Why?”
    “Last chance to walk away, Hank,” Drew said.
    He kept his attention focused on Thom. “I’m one of them. I always have been.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “What I’m about to tell you—show you—you can’t tell anyone. If you hate me, never want to ever see me again, I’ll understand.”
    Drew made a sound. He would’ve sworn the noise had been a stifled laugh if the situation weren’t so serious. “Okay.”
    “You can never tell anyone, though. If you do, Drew will kill me.”
    Drew cleared his throat. “More likely Ryker would, but we’re splitting hairs.”
    He stared planning the quickest route to his handgun. “I don’t think I want to hear any more. I love you, but I don’t want anything to do with a cult who kills their members.”
    “You’re dragging this out too much,” Drew said. “Tell him already.”
    “I’m a Werewolf. Drew is my Alpha. His father was my Alpha before him, but he threw me out of the pack because of my sexual orientation.”
    He continued speaking. Thom saw his mouth moving but he couldn’t process anything. Not with the room swimming around him. Strong hands grabbed his shoulders as he fell forward.
    “Snap out of it.” Drew shook him hard enough to jar him back to the present.
    “Werewolf?” The word came out as a squeak.
    “Yes.” Hank knelt in front of him.
    “I know a great therapist who specializes in psychotic delusions.” He fell silent when Drew growled. They certainly were fond of the noise.
    “Show him.”
    Hank looked at Drew for a second before returning his attention to him. “Remember, no matter what happens, it’s me. You have nothing to worry about or