“Fuck you, Paulson. Just go fuck yourself, because you’re never getting your dick in me again, that’s for goddamned sure!”
Thomas picked the papers up and read them, closed his eyes and swore. “Jesus fucking Christ, Tyler. I thought you deleted this. You stupid shit. I knew we should have just told her how we felt. You and your fucking games.” He shoved Tyler out of the way. “Nevvie, please, talk to me.”
The door flew open again, Nevvie fully dressed, purse and keys in hand. She shoved past them. “Fuck you too, Kinsey. You’re a couple of goddamned assholes.”
Tyler tried to catch her arm and she pulled away. “Don’t fucking touch me,” she warned, holding her key like a weapon. Her eyes narrowed, the color high in her face. “If either one of you ever fucking touches me again, I’ll castrate you with my bare hands!” She stalked toward the front door.
Both men followed and she turned on them, tears streaming down her face. “I trusted you guys! I thought you really loved me and now I find out you fucking played me. This was all some sort of game to you right from the start, wasn’t it?”
Thomas held his hands out to her, pleading. “No, Nevvie, it wasn’t like that, seriously. We wanted that night to be special.”
“Yeah, it was real special, all right. Some sort of sick fucking game. I love you! You wanted to use me for your sick fantasy. I thought we were playing that for fun, not for real. Is that all I am to you, a fucking slave?”
Tyler wanted to take her hand and knew he’d likely pull back a bloody stump. “Sweetheart, we do love you! We’ve loved you from the moment you first entered our lives. After you were living here, we decided we wanted to make you part of our lives.”
“Oh, so you go ahead and pull some sort of mental shit on me, get me under your spell and make me fall in love with you instead of doing what normal people would do and say, ‘Hey, we think you’re cute and we’re bisexual, would you like to have some fun?’”
Thomas pushed Tyler out of the way. “Nevvie, we were afraid we’d scare you off.”
“Oh sure, because training a sex slave is a lot better than telling someone the truth from the start. Fuck you, Kinsey.” She jabbed her finger at Tyler. “And especially fuck you, Paulson. You’re a manipulative asshole.”
She reached for the door and Thomas tried again. “Nevvie, where are you going?”
“I’m getting the hell out of here. I’m not sticking around to see what else you have in store for me. I swore after Alex I’d never let anyone control me again, and I was too fucking dumb to see that’s exactly what I let the two of you do to me. Sorry, Master, I’m not asking permission. I’m getting boxes and moving out. Cancel all my credit cards and take my name off all the accounts, I’m done with both of you. I’ll be out of here in a couple of hours. Oh, and by the way, I fucking quit.” She slammed the door.
Stunned, Tyler slumped against the wall. Thomas grabbed him by the shirt. “You were supposed to delete the goddamned file! You told me you did!”
“She must have found a copy on your desktop. I forgot I copied the directory there when I used your computer.”
Thomas slammed Tyler into the wall, hard, then ran down the hall to their bedroom. Outside, Nevvie’s car peeled out of the driveway in an angry squeal of tires.
Thomas returned less than a minute later. He’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt and stormed past Tyler, roughly grabbing his arm and dragging him. “Come on, dumb fuck, let’s go after her.” He turned, glaring, jamming his finger in Tyler’s face. “I never should have listened to you. If we lose her because of your stupidity, I’ll never forgive you.”
He flung the door open and jogged for the Ridgeline. Tyler numbly followed.
* * * *
Nevvie gave up fighting her tears and sobbed. She loved them, and now it turns out she was a fucking game. They’d planned to get in her pants the whole time.
Reason tried to regain a foothold in her panicked mind. But they rescued me from Alex.
Fuck them. Someone would have called 911 eventually. Or maybe she’d be better off if he’d killed her. That was preferable to the gaping wound where her soul used to be. Her cell phone rang, and she angrily hit the end button, sending it to voice mail.
She loved them, both of them, would have done anything for them. To see Tyler’s meticulously calculated agenda in black and white shocked her. As always, Tyler had planned everything. He’d carefully researched and scripted it. No doubt he’d spent weeks gathering the costume components.
And Thomas going along with it? It must be Tyler’s plan. Thomas was smart, but he didn’t have the sense God gave a box of rocks when it came to shit like that. That was one hundred percent Tyler.
Once again she’d let herself get sucked in. Yeah, they weren’t abusive like Alex, but it boiled down to the same fucking thing, didn’t it?
She didn’t know where she’d go. She had less than fifteen grand in savings. She wouldn’t have that if it they hadn’t paid for everything, so she could thank them for that. She’d need an apartment. Find a job. Maybe ask Eddie and Pete if she could crash there for a day or two.
She bitterly laughed. No chance those two would play mind games with her. They were sweet, but definitely not her type, and she wasn’t theirs.
Her hands shook, her stomach bound up in painful knots. The boys were her world. She saw the three of them growing old together. She loved working with them, having individual relationships with them and their unique triad. She’d never wanted to imagine what it would be like when one of them died, hopefully many long decades in the future.
Both gone, in one day. Worse, the pain and betrayal ripped through her, fracturing her universe into a million pieces. Less than three miles as the crow flies from the rat-hole apartment, but she’d felt a million miles away, safe and secure and happy, her life a fairy tale.
Okay, so an X-rated one, but her happily ever after had happened, times two.
Would she ever feel that joy again? Worse, could she ever trust again? How would she ever find one man who could be to her what those two were—her rock and her soul?
She sobbed at the thought and angrily beat the steering wheel. Then Nevvie spotted a huge pile of empty boxes stacked outside the front door of a liquor store. She pulled in.
Nevvie backed in and started loading the trunk and backseat, still crying and angrily muttering under her breath.
She fit as many boxes as she could carry in the Acura and pulled out of the parking lot, headed for home.
Well, her soon-to-be former home.
* * * *
Nevvie didn’t realize someone watched as she loaded the boxes.
In her anger and anguish, she never noticed the battered Ford Escort pull out behind her and follow a short distance behind.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Tyler felt heartsick. When they reached Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Thomas hesitated, finally turning right, muttering under his breath and casting nasty looks at Tyler. He drove for ten minutes. Seeing no sign of her, he turned around and passed the entrance to the development, traveling the other way. After twenty minutes he realized it was useless and turned toward home.
He glared at Tyler. “Why? Why the hell couldn’t you leave well enough alone?” When he was especially upset, Thomas’ southern drawl sounded more pronounced. “You and your goddamned master plannin’. I cannot believe I let you talk me into this. I knew better, and I still went along with you. Fuck. If I can’t talk her into calmin’ down and hearin’ me out, she’s gone, thanks to you. We coulda talked to her in the beginning, been open and honest about how we felt and hoped she didn’t freak out. Oh no. That’s not easy enough for you. God knows you have to play around with her fuckin’ heart.”
“I love her too, you know.”
“Well, goddamn, ain’t that great! You fuckin’ love her, and you can’t do something as simple as be honest an’ tell her how you feel? Why can’t anything be simple with you, Ty? Life isn’t fuckin’ complicated enough, got
ta go workin’ people round like they’re characters in your books? You always do this. Shit!” He pounded his fist against the steering wheel and fell silent.
A few minutes later, Tyler started to speak and Thomas steamrolled him. “You know, I shoulda kept my fuckin’ mouth shut about her. I shoulda been happy with what we had. I was happy with what we had. I loved you, you loved me, we had a great thing goin’. No, I gotta be a greedy fuckin’ dumbass and fall in love with her, and let you talk me into thinkin’ that’s a great goddamn idea. Forget that everyone says three’s a crowd, and now I fuckin’ know why.”
He turned to Tyler at the next red light. “I mean it, Tyler. We lose her, you and I might as well say goodbye because I won’t forgive you, and every time I look at you I’ll hate you for it.”
Tyler swallowed hard and nodded. Thomas was right—this was his fault. He was on the verge of losing the two people he loved more than his own life, and for once he didn’t have the slightest idea how to make things right.
* * * *
Nevvie backed into the driveway. The Ridgeline wasn’t there. Good, that meant at least one of them had left. She opened the garage and angrily threw the boxes in, slinging them toward the back wall. When she had them unloaded she slammed the trunk and doors and stormed into the garage, leaving the big door open. She’d be coming back in a few minutes to start loading.
She grabbed as many boxes as she could carry and walked inside. The house felt empty.
“Hello?”
No answer. She stomped to the bedroom, yanking open dressers and ripping hangers out of the closet. At least she had a decent wardrobe. She could probably get a position with a temp agency, working in an office. The ring on her left hand flashed in the light and she stared at it, sitting on their bed and crying.
Why did they do this to her? Why fuck with her heart? They didn’t have to play games to win her love. Didn’t they know that? Didn’t they know how much she loved them, even before all this started? All they had to do was tell her how they felt. She would have jumped at a chance to be with them. Okay, so a little weird, yes, but to have two men who made her feel the way they made her feel…
Nothing hurt as bad as this. Couldn’t she turn back time—Jesus, only an hour, not even that—and have her life back?
She hesitated. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe she should talk to them, wait for an explanation.
But how could she trust herself? How could she trust them, be sure they weren’t playing yet another mind game?
The garage door opener kicked on, startling her. She never heard them drive up. Crap. She tensed when the door from the garage into the house opened. Which one would try first? Probably Thomas. He looked as pissed at Tyler as she felt.
No. She needed to leave, at least for now. There was plenty of time to hate herself later, but there was no way she could ever think straight around the two of them. They’d melt her reserve, and once again she’d do whatever they wanted. Her problem was she’d never lived by herself as an adult. She needed to get away from them, get her head on straight. Then, and only then, would she talk to them and hear what they had to say. Maybe then she could sort fact from fantasy.
One of these fucking days, she had to learn how to stand on her own two feet, quit waiting for some white knight to swoop in and rescue her.
Today was that day.
She took a deep breath and started packing again. She sensed one of them standing in the bedroom doorway. After a few long minutes, she turned.
Alex leered. “Well, bitch, I see you found yourself a happy little whorehouse to live in. Shoulda known you would.”
She dove for the phone and he was on her in a flash, ripping it from her hands and pulling the cord from the wall. He hit her with it. She managed to push him off and stumbled for the door, screaming for help.
“Quit screaming. Your little fag buddies aren’t here to save you. What the hell you doing with them anyway? They fuckin’ you up the ass? That what I shoulda done to keep you in line, treated you like a fuckin’ whore?” He grabbed her arm and slammed her into the wall, stunning her. When he threw her to the bed she bounced and rolled off the other side, on her feet and bolting for the bedroom door.
Alex tripped over one of the boxes but didn’t fall. He caught her in the hallway, pinning her face down on the floor. “Just hold still and take it up the ass, why don’t you? I bet you do for them and love it.”
He punched her in the head, and for a moment she feared she’d black out. When he changed position she scrambled up and he fell backwards. She kicked him in the thigh when aiming for his crotch, and managed to break his grip. She stumbled into the kitchen, still screaming.
* * * *
Tyler couldn’t look at Thomas, unable to bear the weight of his angry glare. Thomas was right that they never should have played with Nevvie the way they did. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but don’t all horrifically awful ideas start out that way?
“What the fuck?” Thomas swore.
They’d rounded the final corner to the house and Tyler looked up to see Alex’s battered Escort parked across the end of their driveway.
Tyler’s instincts screamed. “Oh, no. Call 911!” Before Thomas had the truck completely stopped, Tyler flung the passenger door open and raced for the house.
* * * *
Nevvie tried to grab the cordless phone from the counter but Alex tackled her again. He smelled like sweat and beer and rank body odor. He was drunk, and that made him even more dangerous. She pulled free but he caught her leg. As she turned to kick he grabbed something from the counter. She barely registered the silver flash in his hand before the knife sank into her stomach.
Hot, searing pain flooded her body. She screamed in agony.
“Like that, bitch?” He punched her with his other hand, splitting her lip. He pulled the knife out and sliced her shirt up the front, cutting her flesh several more times. “Gonna git a little action out of you whether you like it or not, fuckin’ cunt.”
She couldn’t speak, tried to put her hands to the wound. Nevvie saw the front door open behind Alex and she reached out.
* * * *
Tyler flung the door open. “Nevvie!” He immediately saw Alex on top of her. Tyler charged, grabbing Alex by the shirt and pulling him off of her. The knife fell from Alex’s hand, clattering to the floor and sliding under the fridge.
That’s when Tyler saw the blood.
“Oh, Nevvie, sweet Jesus!”
Alex roared and slammed Tyler against the counter, knocking the wind out of him.
Tyler turned to take a swing at him when a chair flew at his head, dropping him to the floor. As Tyler lost consciousness, he looked at Nevvie and heard Thomas’ enraged scream.
* * * *
Thomas parked on the lawn and was seconds behind Tyler, already on his cell to 911 and asking for a deputy. He raced through the open front door in time to see Alex swing the chair at Tyler, knocking him out. Alex had his back to the front door and Thomas dropped his cell, the operator still asking him questions. He tackled Alex, pummeling him with his fists, finally knocking him out.
His legs shaky, Thomas grabbed his cell, and that’s when he saw Nevvie lying on the floor behind the counter.
She was barely conscious. He screamed her name when he saw the blood. She looked at him, her eyes unfocused, trying to talk.
He cried, dropped to his knees next to her. “Oh God, he stabbed her! Please, send an ambulance! Oh, God, she’s bleeding everywhere!”
The operator tried to calm him. “Who was stabbed, sir?”
“He stabbed my wife!”
“Sir, please calm down—”
“God fucking dammit, send a fucking ambulance! She’s dying!” He looked at Tyler. “He hit Tyler, he’s out cold, but she’s dying, you’ve got to save her!”
“Who is Tyler? Is he okay?”
“He’s my partner—I don’t know, he’s on the floor unconscious, he got hit with a chair when he tried to help Ne
vvie. Please, you’ve got to send an ambulance!” Thomas heard sirens down their street and dropped the phone, cradling Nevvie in his arms, sobbing, caressing her face.
Her eyes focused on him, and he touched his forehead to hers. “Nevvie, please baby, hold on, they’re coming, you’re going to be okay.”
She tried to touch him and he grabbed her hand, squeezing it.
“Tom,” she whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you too, Nevvie, honey. I love you so much. I’m so sorry. You’re gonna be fine.”
“Where’s Ty?”
“He’ll be fine, he’s knocked out.”
“Tell Tyler I love him too, okay?”
“You’ll be able to tell him yourself, sugar.”
“Sheriff’s office!” The deputy in the doorway had his gun drawn.
“Over here!” Thomas screamed. “He stabbed her! Please, help her!”
The deputy holstered his gun and called into his radio, racing to their side. “What happened?”
Thomas pointed at Alex. “He attacked them.”
Nevvie’s eyes closed, and Thomas leaned close to hear her faint whisper. “I love both of you. Please don’t leave me alone.”
* * * *
Tyler didn’t understand what happened at first. Then as he gathered his wits and sat up, he realized a paramedic was talking to him.
“What?” His head throbbed, ached.
“Can you tell me your name, sir? What day it is?”
Through the open front door, Tyler saw a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance, Thomas climbing in with it.
“Nevvie!”
He tried to stand and wobbled, his head in agony, what happened coming back with painful clarity. Alex had blindsided him.
“Don’t try to stand, sir.” The paramedic made him sit in a chair, probing his forehead, flashing a light in his eyes.
“Nevvie, how is she?”