Page 18 of Hard as Steel

Chapter Seven

The flight from Greece to Seattle somehow moved faster than normal. It seemed he had just sat down before landing again. That was the state of Krystof’s mind. He felt sick, shaken, and stuck in a state of shock. Steel had been texting him all day. Krystof couldn’t answer. He couldn’t lie and say he was fine. Krystof couldn’t make small talk. He couldn’t tell Steel how much he loved him when he knew why he was here.

Since he was home a week early, he would surprise Steel. As psychotic as it sounded, he kind of hoped he would catch Steel in bed with someone else. While Steel would never do such a thing, Krystof knew anything was better than what was about to happen.

Krystof punched his code in, unlocking the door, and fought tears. He had no right to cry. For the first time in his life, he couldn’t see a way out. He was torn between the two people he loved most. Only one of them was strong enough to get by without him. None of the level-headed reasoning in the world changed a goddamn thing. He would still lose everything soon.

As Krystof came through the door, Steel jogged into the kitchen, smiling and hopping up and down like a golden retriever.

“Oh my God, you’re home. Holy shit. Why didn’t you tell me?” He snatched Krystof off his feet and bear-hugged him. “The sexy, hottie love of my life is home.” He kissed Krystof as if he had come home from war. Krystof wasn’t strong enough to stop him.

Steel set him aside. “I’ve been texting you all morning. Don’t worry about that, though. Come here. Sit down.” He pulled a chair out from the kitchen table. “I have something I need to talk to you about.”

“Me too.” Even he heard the dead note in his voice.

Steel didn’t seem to notice. “You can go first.” Before Krystof said a word, Steel waved his hands. “Never mind. I’m sorry. I can’t wait. One of the contacts I made in San Francisco called and wants to talk to me about a possible multi-contract. He’s a big-time agent, and he has several stars in need of protection. Apparently, they had a contract with some security company, and something went wrong. Anyhow, that’s not important. What’s important is he sounded like he’s already made up his mind. During our call, he talked as if all I had to do was make the trip and sign some stuff, and all his stars’ safety would be in my hands. Holy shit, Kryssy. This is huge.” He paused, and his tone changed. “The issue is I’d likely have to relocate to California. So, what do you say? Wanna move to Cali?”

“No, but you should go.”

The excitement drained from Steel’s expression. His shoulders fell. “Baby, you know I’d never go without you. I can work something else out. Maybe if I hire enough guys, Quince would be willing to move from being a guard to running the California office. I don’t have to go.”

“Yes, you do. This is your dream. I’m telling you to go.”

Steel looked more confused by the moment. “I’m not leaving you. You know I’d rather have you than anything else in this world.”

It took everything Krystof possessed to shore his heart up against this task. “You have to go, Steel. I’m getting married next weekend.”

A small, humorless chuckle burst from Steel. “Don’t even fuck with me like that. Unless you’re asking me to marry you, then yes. You know I’d marry you in a heartbeat.”

The pain ran so deeply, Krystof wondered if he would drop dead. A tear rolled down his cheek. He turned his face away.

“Oh my God. You’re serious. What the fuck? What do you mean you’re getting married? To who? What is happening right now?”

Krystof took a deep breath and forced himself to look Steel in the eye. “I’m breaking up with you. You’re moving to California and forgetting I exist. This home isn’t yours any longer.” The words tasted like acid and sounded as if they came from someone else. Steel’s expression burned itself into Krystof’s brain. He already knew he would look back on this moment and see the night he died.

Steel hadn’t stepped foot in their Seattle home since the night Krystof broke him. During their flight, he had tried to mentally brace himself against seeing the place again. Nothing was the same. Every stick of furniture spoke for someone else. Even some of the walls had been moved.

“You’ve done some renovating.”

Krystof didn’t look around. His gaze didn’t budge from Steel, as if assessing his emotions. “Yeah. I couldn’t look at the same walls. Everywhere I looked, you were there.”

Steel wandered around, eyeing the home that had once been his. He spotted black marks on the wall, citing ages next to them. Steel caught himself smiling.

“It’s hard to believe Kuba was ever this small.”

“We don’t have to talk about that if you don’t want to.”

Before he could stop the sound, Steel snorted. “I’m not about to resent a kid for needing a dad. God knows I could’ve used one like you. I doubt he even realizes how lucky he is. But you raised a good one. The way he’s stood against the press for Diesel has been amazing to see. Of course, Diesel is a great guy too. So.” Steel shrugged. Even he didn’t know exactly where he was headed with that one.

“Yeah. He’s been good for Kuba.” Krystof sat on the arm of the couch and watched him while he spoke. “Kuba was nothing but pure rage from the moment Ana got sick until the day Diesel walked out on him. He couldn’t see anything but his pain and hatred for Dread. I was getting worried I’d never see the real Kuba again. That he would let his vendetta steal everything from him.”

“Does that include you?” Steel was genuinely curious how Krystof felt about Kuba being so focused on a man who was in no way his true father.

“He can’t lose me. No matter where life takes him or decisions he makes, he’ll never stop being my son. I’ll never stop loving him.”

It was almost eerie talking to Krystof about a son. They had never talked about kids. Hell, they had never spoken about marriage. He had known Krystof’s dad would never tolerate a gay son. Steel had cared more about being with Krystof than having a marriage certificate. It wasn’t as if Steel would introduce Krystof to his family. They had been happy as they were. Now they casually spoke about the family Krystof had built with someone else. Steel felt as though he lived in an alternate reality.

Krystof stood and crossed the room. Steel watched his every move. He had known Krystof would still be beautiful when they aged. Steel was every bit as trapped by the sight of Krystof as he had been the night they met. Krystof set his hands on Steel’s hips and shuffled closer. His expression stole every thought from Steel’s head. He looked like a man in love. Steel felt loved.