Long Way Home by Carolyn Gray Read Online Free

firmly behind
    them, life would settle back into its usual routine. That he could permanently forget about the
    horror of Nick’s captivity and all the memories of Lee’s own past it had evoked. Nick carried
    many physical scars from his time in that sadist’s hands, but his spirit hadn’t broken—though
    it’d come close when it was Brandon hurting, not himself. He had endured as only a man could
    who knew he was deeply loved by his erstwhile partner, his friends, and yes, his fans.
    Lee envied him.
    Those fans now were held in rapture as Nick sang one of the quieter songs, a song Lee had
    helped Brandon write back in days gone by, when he was still touring with them. Lee’d never
    tried his hand at writing music before then, but the deep tones of the bass absolutely set off
    Nick’s voice.
    He’d played the song so long, he could do it automatically, even engrossed with studying
    the crowd around him. For the first time that evening, he realized how tiring keeping vigilant
    was.
    Mutt seemed to be enjoying himself, set back a little behind Nick, a guitar stuck in his
    hands. No one in the audience knew he couldn’t play a damn note—which was okay, since his
    guitar wasn’t plugged in. Lee wondered what the reviews would say the next day about the new
    guy showing up for the concert. Mutt would enjoy that, as well. And Greg would finally have
    something to razz his partner about.
    Tommy was enjoying himself too. Putting him out onstage first had been a good
    precaution, and it’d certainly made Tommy a happy camper.
    Lee took a deep breath, closing his eyes as Nick’s voice carried over the hushed room. It
    was nice to enjoy some peace and quiet, as much as anyone could possibly get while on the stage
    of a concert hall that held twenty-five thousand people. Lee’s fingers ran through the song, never
    missing a note. One false note could destroy so much.
    At last the concert was over, and exhausted but jubilant, as nothing bad had happened, they
    left the packing to the crew and headed for the airport. Everyone except him was excited about
    going to Dallas, but there was no escape. Unfortunately. While the others boarded the plane, he
    straggled behind, the last to board. He put his gear away and took his place next to Mutt. After
    strapping in, he closed his eyes.

    Long Way Home
    11

    “You’re not thinking of ways to escape going to the ballet with me, are you?”
    No, though he wished he could skip Dallas altogether. Lee opened one eye. Nick sat in his
    seat, facing Lee. He didn’t like to sit backward, as he called it. It made him sick. “I said I would
    go.” And Lee regretted that now. Not like he’d had a choice, though—he’d always found it
    pretty impossible to refuse Nick.
    Nick tapped his fingers on the armrest. “I looked up where it’s going to be. A theater called
    the Majestic. It has an interesting history.”
    Lee debated whether to admit he’d seen it, been in it. Then he thought, why not? “It’s
    small, but it’s pretty nice. What are they dancing, anyway?”
    “You know it? The theater, I mean?”
    “I’ve been to Dallas,” Lee said.
    Nick shrugged. “I knew that, but that doesn’t mean you’d been to the theater. I should get a
    tracker device for you. I never know where you go or what you do. Drives me crazy.”
    Lee said to Siobhan, who sat on his other side, “You’d cut it off for me, right?”
    She bumped her shoulder against his. “What are friends for?”
    Nick scowled at her. “I should separate you two,” he muttered. He pulled his iPhone out,
    and after a few minutes, he whistled. “This is nice. Actually, it’s a program with different kinds
    of modern dance and classical dance. So we’ll get a nice variety.” He waggled his eyebrows as
    he scrolled through the Web site. “Nice nice,” he murmured.
    “Let me guess. The dancers,” Siobhan teased. “Pretties to look at, that’s why you’re
    excited.”
    He pointed at her. “And this is why