Page 62 of Not Your Golden Boy

“Go fuck yourself,” Harry growled, then turned and walked off in a different direction from Albion.

Holberg didn’t follow him, which was a small mercy. The horrific problem did follow him, though. It stalked him like a specter, making him hot and cold as he bounced between helpless thoughts and half-baked plans of how he could best Albion.

There wasn’t any way to best Albion. That was the story of his life. Albion had ruined him, and if he couldn’t think his way out of this situation, he would ruin Nikky’s life, too.

Or maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe Nikky was already too big a star for Albion to take down. Music was only part of what Nikky had going for him. His acting career was going strong, and Albion wasn’t involved in it at all. Nikky would be disappointed if the music side of his career imploded, but he’d still be a star, and in time, he’d find another avenue to make music.

If he was lucky. God only knew how fickle the entertainment industry was.

It wasn’t just the industry, and it wasn’t even just Albion or Holberg either. Holberg was right. It was his fault. He’d gone along with the idea of recording the two of them having sex, he hadn’t deleted the video right away, and he’d been stupid enough to let his phone get hacked.

By the time he made it back to the flat, he was so angry with himself that he could have punched a hole in the wall. His anger didn’t diminish when he let himself in only to find Nikky sitting at the table, having tea with Maggie and Laura, chatting away as if the world wasn’t coming down around their ears.

Raw, guilty anger coursed through Harry at the sight, and a whole new idea hit him like a fist in the nose.

He was the problem. Without him, Nikky would still be the golden boy. He would still be a media darling, and any salacious videos that circulated the internet couldn’t possibly be his fault.

Without him, Nikky could survive this storm.

“What the fuck is this?” he demanded, throwing his keys on the end table beside the sofa as he stalked into the room.

All three of the people he cared the most about glanced up at him with startled, wide-eyed looks.

“I beg your pardon?” Laura said, touching a hand to her chest like she was a dowager duchess clutching her pearls in some period drama.

“Harry,” Nikky breathed out in relief and jumped up from the table. “You’re back.”

“Yeah, I’m back,” Harry huffed, feeding his anger and directing it to the horrible task of pushing Nikky away for his own safety. “Now you’re hosting parties in my absence?”

Nikky pulled back just before reaching Harry like he’d been stung. His sweetly gorgeous face went slack with shock.

“For heaven’s sake, Harry. What is the matter with you?” Maggie demanded, scowling at him.

“The matter with me is that I’ve just come home to find the two worst influences in the world being entertained by a man who doesn’t have the good sense of a flea.”

Maggie and Laura gasped in protest, their faces going red with offense.

Nikky, on the other hand, seemed to go paradoxically calm. “You ran into Holberg, didn’t you,” he said. It wasn’t even a question. Nikky somehow knew.

“What does it matter?” Harry stormed on, walking past him into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

“I think it matters a lot,” Nikky said, following him.

Harry had his back to them, but he could feel Maggie and Laura watching him like they had front row seats at the circus.

“What did he say to you?” Nikky asked quietly, standing behind Harry as he filled a glass with water from the tap. “Whatever it was, ignore it.”

Harry turned off the tap with too much force and jerked around to face Nikky. His lover’s expression was so earnest and so trusting. Anyone who would go to the lengths that Albion and Holberg were going to just so they could hurt someone like Nikky and profit off of him were evil.

And he was just as evil for dragging Nikky down into the pit with him. And for keeping things from him. Nikky still didn’t know their sex tape was in Holberg’s hands. As much as he knew it was the right thing to do, Harry couldn’t tell him. It would destroy him. Nikky was distressed enough already. It was better if he didn’t know, but in order to make sure he never found out, Harry had to handle the situation. He had to play along with Albion, whether he liked it or not.

“I don’t think we should be together,” he said, setting his glass aside without taking a drink and sloshing water over the side. Breaking up was the only thing he could think of to end Nikky’s dependence on him and shift it to Albion. He hated it, but paradoxically, Albion was the one who could protect him now.

He thought he was playing the ultimate trump card, but Nikky didn’t react. He stared at him with unwavering strength and more maturity than Harry had yet to see from those bright blue eyes of his. “What did he say to you?” he repeated, emphasizing the words with more strength.

Harry leaned back against the sink, gripping the edge to the point of pain. He glanced to the side. Shit. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t do the whole noble break-up to save and protect Nikky after all. He loved the amazing young man too much, and it was going to bring them both down.

“It’s not important,” he mumbled.