Before the Darkness (Refuge Inc.) by Leslie Lee Sanders Read Free Book Online

missed me as
    much as I missed them."
    Adam didn't know what to say. He
    dropped his gaze. How upsetting that must have
    been to have a family that excluded him and
    made him feel like he didn't matter, like he
    wasn't important to them, to betray him, as Elliot
    put it. Somewhere inside, his heartache for Elliot
    was brie ly eclipsed by the awe he had for him
    to stand up for himself. Even if Elliot felt his
    brother was the favored son, Elliot had spoken
    up about the unfairness between them
    regardless of the consequences. If only Adam
    was brave enough to confront his own demons.
    He sighed as an invisible vise clenched and
    churned his innards. The least he could do was
    share something about himself. But he wouldn't
    go too deep. He wasn't ready to go too deep.
    "I don't have any brothers or sisters."
    Adam said. "My father died at ifty when I was
    still a kid, lung cancer. My mom was young, her
    early thirties when he died. Still young and
    stupid she got into drugs and ran off with a
    boyfriend a few years later. I ended up living
    alone until I inally graduated high school. Then
    later, at twenty-one, I took a job at The Rodeo as
    a bartender." There, that should do it. He
    inhaled and tasted dust, exhaled and felt relief.
    That wasn't too bad. He didn't go deep at all.
    "You were a bartender too? Where did
    you learn to tend bar?"
    "Learned on the job. They only hired me
    'cause the club manager wanted some 'hunky
    guys' out front to bring in the ladies and the
    bucks. They hired me only because I promised
    to be a dancer for them when I learned a thing
    or two. I met Jena there the year I started
    bartending. She and her girlfriend were
    regulars. Less than a couple weeks later we
    were dating and about a year after that I started
    dancing."
    "Did you like dancing?" An innocent smile
    curled Elliot's bruised lip.
    The thought of helping Elliot's bruise heal
    with a soft, wet kiss made Adam lick his own dry
    lips. Then he looked away, tearing the image
    from his mind. "It was okay."
    Over the next few minutes of silence,
    Adam's mind wandered, remembering the feel
    of Elliot's hard body on his wet skin. The way
    they moved in unison, rubbing their hard, slick
    cocks together. Allowing the power of their
    orgasm to pull them from their harsh realities
    and transport them into heavenly bliss. If only
    for a brief moment, it felt so . . . good.
    "Do you hear that?" Elliot paused. "I
    heard footsteps."
    Adam paused and listened, looking in the
    direction of the flashlight beam.
    A shadow ran by. Elliot swept the light
    across the dusty trail, following the shadow and
    lighting up a fallen concrete wall that used to
    serve as a divider between homes. Then the
    bark gave it away.
    "Damn dog is back," Adam whispered.
    "Hand me the light." If the damned thing decided
    to attack he would use the long, heavy, metal
    lashlight as a weapon. Elliot gave him the
    flashlight and the dog growled, peeking out from
    behind the collapsed concrete divider. Adam
    braced himself. "Get somewhere safe," he said,
    while keeping the light glued to the dog.
    "Where am I supposed to go?" Elliot said
    quietly.
    But before Adam could answer, the dog
    came rushing forward. He lifted the lashlight,
    ready to strike, but the dog stopped a few feet
    ahead of him. Adam shined the light on it again.
    "Get!" he yelled but the bleeding dog didn't
    budge. He stepped forward and the dog moved
    backward. "Go on. Get going!" The dog
    whimpered, turned as if it was gonna leave but
    made a full circle and cocked his head and
    stared at Elliot. Then he sat down and licked at
    the wound on its hind leg.
    "It's scared." Adam said, relaxing. "It
    doesn't want to hurt us, it's just being
    defensive." He looked to Elliot, seeing a half-
    eaten granola bar in his hand. "Try giving it a
    piece of that."
    Elliot raised his hand, staring at the bar.
    "I forgot I even had this." He broke off a piece
    and threw it in the dog's direction where it
    landed on the ground near