by Gemma Snow
He leaned back against the far wall, smacking his head hard. “It’s always been all three of us. You know it as well as I do. Crossing the line last night—all it did was make me realize that we need each other more than I thought. So I guess what I’m asking is…stay?”
Yeah, in all of that fucking bomb, Quinn was asking him to stay. Just to stay.
“You’re asking more than that,” Lucas said quietly, trying to wade through his thoughts, but goddamn, there were so many fucking thoughts and…
“Yeah.” Quinn stood and started pacing again. “I’m asking you to stay and love Ev with me. I’m asking you to help me make her the happiest woman on this fucking planet day in and day out. I’m telling you, right now, if you walk out on DC, on her, on us, then she’ll never be whole, man. And yeah, does it twist me up a little that I’m not enough for her? You know what, not as much as I thought it was going to.”
It was possible this was the most talking Quinn had done all at once in the whole time Lucas had known him. Talking that he now had to fight through because what Quinn was asking, telling, it was crazy, it really was crazy. But not impossible.
A ferocious, uninhibited glimmer of hope burgeoned in his chest and Lucas took a deep breath to steady himself. He was a fucking federal agent, after all. He needed to think through this situation with logic and rationality.
“Why do you think she loves me, too?” he asked quietly. “Why do you think she’d want anything to do with something as crazy as this?” Because Quinn hadn’t been wrong, this was crazy. And maybe even crazy enough to work too.
“Well, for one, I heard her talking to Maddy and Lily,” Quinn explained. “I didn’t mean to, I was actually trying to distract myself from the conversation with you, to be honest. But even if I hadn’t heard her say a damn thing, I think I’d know. In fact, I’m pretty damn sure I’ve known for a while. It’s what drove her out this morning and what’s been on her mind for months now. Us all sleeping together, I think it pushed her over the edge.”
It had damn well pushed Lucas over the edge.
But God, what the hell am I supposed to say to a proposition like this?
Yes, dammit. You say yes.
“How?” That was a much simpler question.
Quinn shrugged, apparently pleased they’d gotten this far.
“However she wants. I mean really, what changes? We already have the apartment and with the amount we’re all home at the same time, it’ll be enough to count as one relationship.” The sound he made next was both self-effacing and relieved. “Listen, I know how insane this sounds, I really do. But it works for the Hollis sisters, both of them. And I can’t help but think it’s just one step further from what we’ve already got.”
When Quinn puts it like that…
Lucas opened his mouth without a clue as to what he was going to say. Deep in his gut, he knew what he wanted. He knew he wanted to come home to Ev every night, to a home filled with love and joy, to take that one extra step and just love her together. After all, he totally got what it felt like to love Ev Monteiro.
But before he got the chance, before he could get a goddamned word out, his phone buzzed, angry, in his back pocket.
Sam.
His fingers actually shook as he accepted the call.
“She’s out,” Sam said without any preamble. “She’s out, you can see her.”
Time slowed in the moments it took for them to get up to Ev’s room and Lucas lost track of everything but the need to see her, the need to touch her, to prove to himself she really was okay, that she would live.
Then what? He couldn’t answer that question, couldn’t possibly know what to think or say past seeing her face. Because what Quinn had asked of him, it wasn’t a decision to be taken lightly. And though he’d said it was only the next step in their relationship, Lucas knew it could change everything. Hell, it had already changed so much.
But then the nurse was slowly letting them into Ev’s room then leaving them to it, and everything triple-timed, making his heart feel full and tears spring to his eyes. She looked a sight, hooked up to tubes and wires. Her hair was messy and slick with sweat and she looked as if she’d gone three rounds with Godzilla, but God, she was beautiful.
Without making a sound, they took chairs on each side of her bed, and Ev slowly cracked her eyes open when Quinn placed his hand on hers. Her smile was weak, but so genuine it made Lucas’ heart hurt.
“Hey there, superwoman,” Quinn said, keeping his voice quiet and low. “How are you feeling?”
Her voice was a little dry and husky when she spoke, but she replied anyway, “Like I just got shot.”
Lucas couldn’t help it, he laughed, drawing her attention to him, those powerful brown eyes making him feel more than he’d allowed himself to feel in so, so long. Her expression changed almost imperceptibly, but Lucas knew her well enough at this point to see even the smallest details.
“Lucas.” She reached her hand out to settle it on his, and her smile wavered. “There’s something I need to tell you, both of you.” God, she sounded so weak, and his blood ran hot with the need to protect her, no matter how capable she was of protecting herself.
“I love you, too.” The words were out of his mouth before Lucas had time to process them with his brain. Ev’s eyes went wide, but Lucas didn’t stop, couldn’t stop now. “God, Ev, I’ve loved you since the day you first kicked my ass in training, since you told us about Peter Buldark, since you insisted we all move in together and that we keep the place clean.” He shook his head. “See, Quinn, he’s got this crazy idea that we might just all be good for each other and, goddammit, I think he’s right.”
She turned to look at Quinn now, the motion costing her. “You knew?”
Quinn shrugged. “It took me a while, but I figured it out.”
“And you’re…okay with this? I mean, I don’t know if I’m okay with this.”
Quinn placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Ev, we love you. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. I don’t have any claim to you simply because I kissed you first. If Lucas leaves, if it’s just you and me, we’ll be happy, but not all the way happy. And God, I want you to be all the way happy.”
Now her gaze was back on him. “You were going to leave.” His face actually flushed, but he steeled himself.
“Before I knew, yeah. It was too hard for me to watch you guys together. I was going to take a job in LA but I don’t think I’m going to do it now…”
And goddammit, if that didn’t feel incredible to say, that he was staying here, with them, the two people he loved most in the world. Because yeah, he did love Quinn, trusted him to love Ev the way Lucas loved Ev, the way he always had. And Ev, God, his heart and soul had never felt so full, so incredible as right at this moment.
“Damn right, you’re not,” she said. “I don’t care about the hows and whys and wherefores. All I need to know is that when I come home at night, it’s to both of you. God, you’ve made the nightmares go away, together. With you by my side, Quinn, Lucas, I feel like I can take on the whole world.”
“You don’t need us for that,” Quinn said. “But we’ll damn well be by your side.”
They were both holding her hand, perhaps a little too tightly, when Ev fell asleep. And they stayed like that, in the hospital room, for a damn long time. Because it had been too long of not knowing, of pretending their feelings were different than they were. They had wasted more than enough time already. And now, with he and Quinn a united force to love Ev for as long as she would let them and longer, and with Ev herself promising a life of shared happiness, of togetherness and completion Lucas had only ever dreamed of, Lucas knew deep in his heart that, though unusual, their relationship was perfect. Because when she woke, this time in the hospital and for all the times to follow, each morning and each late-night call into work, she’d be waking to love both of them, the two men who would always be by her side. Together forever.
And if Lucas felt a little bit
of moisture slide down his cheeks at the thought of it, he didn’t bother to wipe it away, not even when Quinn saw him. Because Ev was alive, and despite the horror and bullshit they’d all endured in their lives, they were finally getting their shot at happiness. And it came with a whole lot of extra love.
Epilogue
“All right, I think I understand the appeal of Montana now.” Ev stood at the top of the hill, overlooking a yawning valley with great swaths of green ribbons cutting through the view. The air was sweet with wet earth and early growth and, though it was far from warm, she was comfortable in her light jacket and content to stare out at the view for a good long time.
“I don’t know, I like the view from where I’m standing.” Quinn shook his head when Lucas shot her an overly flirtatious wink. Or rather, it would have been an overly flirtatious wink a year ago. Now it just made her body heat against the spring breeze and a familiar ache blossom in her chest. Would she ever stop wanting these men? Would she ever stop feeling grateful to the universe for sharing them with her, giving them all a chance at happiness?
Nope. To both questions.
“Mine isn’t so bad, either,” she responded, her out-of-character giggly mood inspired by the fresh air, the upcoming nuptials and the chance to see Lily and Maddy Hollis again. And, of course, the low current of incredible joy that ran through her day in and day out knowing Quinn and Lucas would both be waiting for her when she got home at the end of it.
From the moment in the hospital room when they had all agreed to give their crazy love a chance, Ev’s life had become the kind of bright and beautiful place she’d only ever read about. Sure, their jobs were all difficult to bear more days than not, but the knowledge that they weren’t doing it alone, that they were never fighting their ghosts alone again, had made all the difference. She had moved back into her old bedroom, the one they’d converted into an office after she and Quinn had first started dating, and the arrangement worked nicely. They all had their space, room to be apart when the time called for it, but they shared the big bed in her room every night, and Ev knew she would never feel safer than during the time she spent pressed between her lovers.
“Don’t look at me with that expression, Monteiro,” Lucas chastised. “It gets me all hot and bothered.”
Of course, dating Lucas hadn’t exactly made him any less flirtatious. In fact, she could argue it had even made him worse. The difference was that now he focused all his attentions on her. He came to stand by her and Quinn walked to her other side, slowly wrapping an arm around her waist in his silent appreciation for her. That was another reason why they had all worked so well, why their friendship and their romance were so symbiotic and important. Completion and support—they all gave each other what they needed.
And right now, she needed them. Because just standing in their proximity, back in the very first place where Quinn and Lucas had claimed her through the night, back to the very first place where she’d ever made love with Lucas—which, of course, was what it had been—sent desire bursting through her body and made Ev incredibly aware of how close she was standing to her two very gorgeous partners, who would be more than willing to come at the sight of her crooked finger. Then come a few more times over the course of the weekend.
But before she got the chance to test her theory, Ev’s name cut through the fresh morning air, and she turned away from Lucas and Quinn to see the Hollis sisters and their gaggle of gorgeous men climbing the small hill to greet them.
“I can’t believe it!” Lily caught up to her first. “I mean, last time you were here, my God, you look fantastic.”
Ev gave her a huge hug. “I’m hoping tomorrow’s ceremony is a lot less eventful than the last try,” she said. “And I feel good! Doc says full recovery and no lasting damage. I had to do some PT for a while, but I’m back to my old self again.”
Lily’s grin was radiant. “Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have two hot nursemaids taking care of you, does it?”
Ev snorted at the same moment Dec McCormick shot Lily a dark, promising glance. “I heard that, Lils…”
“Can you picture either Quinn or Lucas in scrubs? No thanks.” She glanced over at her men—her men!—and laughed again. “There’s so much freaking testosterone on this hill I’m surprised it’s still standing.”
Maddy joined them. “Now I’m imagining them all in nursemaid uniforms. I could see that working for Dec,” she said, cocking her head to the side when they both snorted even harder.
Over the months since Ev had been shot and they’d agreed to take their relationship to a new place, she’d been in fairly good touch with Maddy and Lily Hollis. It wasn’t just only they were expert tour guides at navigating the trickier elements of this new dynamic, but she’d grown to care quite a lot for both of them as they’d exchanged messages and social media chats. Their friendship had also forced Ev to acknowledge that she didn’t have much of a social life beyond work and Quinn and Lucas, and she was secretly pretty proud of how well they’d kept in touch.
“I have news!” Maddy whispered, her voice suddenly low and conspiratorial. “But you can’t freak out. Promise.”
Ev narrowed her eyes. “Do I look like the type of person to freak out?” she asked.
“Remember we found you crying in the barn not too long ago,” Lily pointed out. “No secrets from us! But I’m shutting up now,” she finished when Maddy sent her the evil big-sister eye.
Instead of saying anything, though, Maddy simply reached out and took Ev’s wrist, before slowly guiding her hand to her stomach.
It was still fairly flat, but there was no denying the small curve low in her belly and the glow of Maddy’s smile.
“Holy shit,” Ev managed to breathe. “Holy shit!” She gathered Maddy into her arms in a careful but excited embrace, dancing them around in a circle, before holding Maddy back and looking at her, first her very smiling face, then down to her still-flat belly where they would be bringing a new generation of joy and love into the world.
“You said you wouldn’t freak out!” Maddy said, but she was smiling too, even when their commotion brought the men over to investigate.
Ryder Dean slid his arm possessively around Maddy’s waist then the lot of them laughed when Christian Harlow one-upped him and kissed her passionately and intensely on the lips.
“You told her, then?” Christian murmured against her mouth. “That we’re having a baby?” He turned to catch Ev’s eye. “She wanted to tell you in person. Now I understand why.” Quinn and Lucas both clapped the men on the back and offered Maddy hugs and wide smiles, and it struck Ev for a moment that, though she’d probably never have a family like this—she’d never have babies in the traditional way, not with her age and the expectations of not just her job, but Lucas’ and Quinn’s jobs as well—she had, in many ways, gained a whole new family by coming out to the Triple Diamond Ranch.
“So is it going to come out wearing a Harley jacket or a Ford T-shirt?” Lucas quipped. “Ooh, in-family rivalry!”
Christian shook his head. “I don’t care who the baby looks like, as long as it looks like Mads.”
Ryder echoed the sentiment and pulled Maddy against him, and Ev’s eyes felt surprisingly moist.
“We should probably let you get the rest of the wedding preparations covered,” she said after a moment. “And I need a shower after the flight.”
It was crazy, how she still felt the heat of their gaze when she mentioned something like shower, but feel it she did.
“Of course!” Maddy went from friend to business owner in a heartbeat. She fished the key out of her front pocket and tossed it to Ev. “You know where to find us this weekend. We still haven’t dished about the hot nursemaids.”
Ev gave them each another hug, even as Lucas muttered under his breath about not being a piece of meat, then she and her men were headed down the familiar path to the cabin they’d first shared months ago in this beautiful escape. She unlocked the door and walked over to the fireplace
to get the place warmed up against the spring chill. Not that she needed warming, since there were two scandalously hot federal agents willing to do exactly that the moment she asked them for it.
“Now this is a sight I could get used to.” It was Quinn who spoke, just as it had been Quinn that first night. Quinn, who had the most to lose, who had guided them all through the rough waters.
“You’re not bored yet?” Ev asked, getting down on her knees before the fireplace and, yeah, maybe sticking her ass a little too far up in the air.
Lucas touched her first. She’d been able to tell their touch within a matter of nights together. Quinn’s control was veiled and somehow desperate at the same time. Lucas kissed with abandon, without pause or control. They varied, but she knew. She always knew.
“Some days, I wish I could watch you grow larger with our child,” Lucas murmured low in her ear. Ev went to protest, but he beat her to it. “I know, I know. But God, Evvie, you reduce me to a caveman. Me Tarzan, you Jane.”
She stood and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Okay, wild man, what do you have in store for me today?
He kissed her. She shouldn’t have been surprised about that. Lucas’ kisses were hot and demanding and, even after four months, Ev still wasn’t able to get enough of them. Especially when Quinn came up to stand behind her, a solid, immovable mass of hard muscle, now leaning down to kiss her neck, her chest, the slope of her ear, whatever he thought would garner the most reaction from her. Which was, of course, exactly what he wanted.
“You looked at me that way,” Lucas told her, temporarily distracting from Quinn’s dangerous fingers and tongue and kisses.