by Bea Paige
I scoff. “Legally? This guy’s a criminal, Bryce. He won’t do anything legally. If I don’t pay up then this,” I say, indicating my injuries, “will be nothing in comparison to what he’ll do to me. It’s a mess.” My shoulders slump with the weight of my worries.
“He won’t get the chance,” Bryce says, squeezing my hand tightly. “There is no way that animal is going to touch you again. I won’t let him near you.”
“And how are you going to do that? You can’t protect me. I’m just going to have to find a way to get the money together somehow.” But how? That was the question. I am barely surviving as it is. I owe Richard money, I have rent to pay, bills, and as of today I’ve walked out on the only job I had.
“I can protect you, we can protect you. This isn’t on you. You shouldn’t have to deal with this burden. We’ll deal with it together.”
“We?”
“Max and I…” Bryce takes a deep breath. He looks troubled. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that he’s failed to mention Hudson. My heart constricts.
“What about Hudson?”
Bryce swipes a hand through his hair. “Admittedly, at first we were all upset and angry when you left without saying a word. We dealt with that rejection differently. Max partied. I threw myself into work and Hud… Hud dealt with it the worst, Louisa. He’s not been himself at all…”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve had a shit day already. I didn’t come here to make it worse. I just wanted to persuade you to come see us.”
“Bryce, don’t avoid my question. What do you mean?” I insist.
“He’s withdrawn, angry. He doesn’t go out but when he does it’s to get pissed. He doesn’t want to work. He barely eats.”
“Oh my God, I had no idea. I didn’t know. I’m so sorry, this is all such a mess.” This time I can’t prevent the tears from falling.
Bryce scoots closer to me and pulls me into his arms. “Don’t, okay. You couldn’t have known that would happen. You were upset, you acted on instinct. You didn’t think we cared enough about you, and that is our fault for not making it plain, for not convincing you enough. Jesus, we were lotharios, we did use women. You saw first hand what we were like. But believe me when I say, Louisa, you mean the world to us. Hudson wouldn’t have taken it so hard if you didn’t. Max and I have better coping skills. Hud’s past is the most fucked-up.”
“What should I do?” I say, pulling out of his arms slightly.
He wipes gently at the tears on my cheeks. “Come home with me. You can have a room at our place. Stay with us for a bit. We can look after you, we can make sure you’re safe.” He is completely sincere, and I am utterly taken aback.
“Move in with you? I can’t.”
“I think it would be a good idea while we sort this situation out. Then you can decide whether you want to stay permanently.”
“You want me to move in permanently?” I don’t know what to say to that. Yes, we had a few amazing weeks in France, and a couple of mind-blowing days, but I barely know them. I want to get to know them, but moving in? That’s just crazy talk.
“Don’t do that Louisa, don’t discount it until you’ve had time to consider,” Bryce says, frowning. “Look, come stay with us for a few days. Let’s try and figure out what it is we are doing here. All of us. Then we’ll decide how we move forward.”
I remain stunned for a moment. Don’t get me wrong, a huge part of me loves the idea of it. I’ve missed them all. I don’t know how many times I’ve thought about them over the last few weeks. But I’m nothing if not a realist. It’s one thing being with all three men in the confines of the cabin, quite another here in real life.
“But… this isn’t normal. There’s three of you and only one of me. What will people think?”
Bryce laughs. “I don’t give a shit what people think. Besides, who wants normal? I sure as hell don’t.” I smile at that.
“What do Max and Hudson think? What about Nisha, I can’t just leave her.”
“Max knows I’m here. Hudson will be okay once we explain why you left. I know he will… Who’s Nisha?”
As if right on cue, Nisha steps into the kitchen.
“I’m Nisha. Who are you and what the hell have you done to Louisa?”
Chapter Four
We both look up. Nisha is standing in the doorway, looking as though she is about to throw herself at Bryce like an alley cat protecting its kittens.
“Whoa,” Bryce says, raising his hands. “This wasn’t me, I would never hurt Louisa.”
“Lou?” she asks, turning to me.
“It wasn’t Bryce,” I say with a sigh. “A loan shark called Smithy came to collect the money Mum owed him. He did this when I told him to fuck off.”
“Shit, Lou. Are you okay?” She sits beside me, pulling me in for a hug. I wince when she brushes against the sore spot on my back.
“That fucking arsehole. If he comes back here I’m going to kill him.”
Bryce smiles, a look of admiration on his face. “You and me both,” he says. “I’m Bryce, by the way.”
Nisha looks from me to Bryce and back again. “Oh, I see. You’re that Bryce. Fuck, that explains a lot. I’m Nisha, Nish for short. Nice to meet you finally, I’ve heard quite a lot about you and your brothers.”
Bryce raises an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
Nisha offers her hand to shake, Bryce takes it. “Good to finally meet you. Lou has been pining over you three for weeks now.” She shoots me a look, winking, and I feel my cheeks colour.
“Thanks, Nish,” I mumble.
Her hand drops away and she points at my now swollen lip. The ice pack doesn’t appear to be helping with the swelling, given the look on her face she surveys mine.
“We should call the cops. Make a report.”
I shake my head. “No, that’ll only make the situation worse. I’d rather pay them the money owed and get rid of them once and for all.”
“How much are we talking about, Lou?”
“Five grand.”
“Five grand?! Are you nuts? You haven’t got that kind of money.”
“I have,” Bryce says, folding his arms across his chest.
“No,” I say. “Absolutely not. You can’t do that for me.”
Nisha gives me a look. “Louisa, you’ve got no money. We’re barely surviving here. The gas and electric get cut on a regular basis. We eat bloody noodles most nights. How the hell are you supposed to come up with five grand?”
“Nish, this isn’t on Bryce. This is my mum’s mess. I need to deal with it.”
“No, you don’t. Stop doing that. Stop trying to take everything on. Your mum used you your whole life. Sending a little kid to get her booze, using her teenage daughter to be her fucking skivvy. Even now, after she’s bloody died she’s still using you. Damn it, Louisa, when will it end?”
She’s right. I know she is, but it doesn’t mean Bryce should have to pay for it. My mum might have used me, but she is still my mum. Over the years, whatever issues she had, I would always take them on. I held her hair back when she threw up the contents of her stomach night after night. I helped her into bed when she was so drunk she could barely walk. I spoon fed her food when her face was so swollen from a beating she could barely open her mouth. Even now, even after her death, I am willing to help her because, despite everything, I still love her. This is my responsibility, no one else’s.
“Nisha’s right, Louisa. You don’t have to take this on. We can help. That amount of money is short change to us. Let me pay it.”
“No,” I say stubbornly.
“For crying out loud, Louisa. You’re being an idiot. Think about it. If this guy can barge his way in here, slap you around over your mum’s debt, imagine what he’ll do to you when you can’t pay it? Have a bit of common sense.”
“He won’t be fucking touching Louisa again,” Bryce says vehemently. “Look, Louisa, if you won’t accept the money as a gift, then accept it as a loan. You can pay it back over time.”
<
br /> I laugh hysterically. “That would be great, if I actually had a job.” Oh fuck, I really haven’t thought this through, but pride is stopping me from accepting his generous offer, even if that offer may just save me from getting beaten to a pulp.
Bryce opens his mouth to speak but Nisha cuts him off.
“Look, if Louisa doesn’t accept your offer, there’ll be nothing you can do to help when that animal comes back for the money. What are you going to do, stay here and be her bodyguard twenty-four seven?” she says, glaring at him. Poor Bryce, none of this is his fault. He’s only trying to help.
“No, Louisa is going to come stay with me and my brothers, so we can look out for her.”
“What?” Nisha looks agape at us both.
“I didn’t agree to anything,” I say quickly, before turning to Bryce. “Thank you for the offer, but I won’t leave Nisha on her own. If Smithy comes back, when Smithy comes back, he will hurt her to get to me. I’m not putting her in harm’s way, I won’t.”
Bryce clenches his jaw, clearly biting back some kind of comment. “Then you both come. There’s room enough.”
“But…” I start.
“Bloody hell,” Nisha says.
“Bryce, we can’t just…”
He holds his hands up. “This is what’s going to happen, Louisa. As you won’t take my offer of money as a gift I will employ you as a personal assistant at the Brothers Freed Corporation. We always need more assistants in the office. Between us we have one personal assistant and she is run ragged. We pay the debt, you work for us while earning a decent wage. Over time you can pay that loan back should you wish. That is the solution and you are going to accept it. Oh, and before you even mention it, you are both going to pack your bags and come with me back to the home I share with Max and Hudson, at least until this all blows over. I’m not convinced that prick won’t come back even when he’s got the money.”
I slump back into my chair in shock, completely lost for words. After a while, Nisha starts laughing.
“Well, hell. I’m not going to say no. I hope your place is posh, Bryce. I’m thinking it must be, given the Gucci suit you’re wearing. Which, by the way, is ruined now from the rain,” she says, pulling a face.
Bryce shrugs his shoulders. “I’ve got plenty more suits. Now, where do you keep your cases?” he asks, standing.
“In the airing cupboard.”
“Great, I’ll grab them. Nisha, I shall pack Louisa’s things if you’ll show me to her room.” I move to stand but he rests his hand gently on my shoulder. “Stay here, I’ll do it.”
“But what about my under…”
“Don’t worry, Louisa. I won’t go rummaging through your knicker drawer,” Bryce grins, striding from the room.
“Oh, my fucking god, Lou. Who would have thought it?” Nisha beams, her china white teeth startlingly bright against her mocha skin. “I’m pissed at what’s happened to you, but blimey, this is one hell of a silver-lining. I can’t wait to meet the other two hotties.” She practically skips out of the kitchen after Bryce.
I stare after her back. What the hell just happened?
Forty-five minutes later we are sitting in the back of Bryce’s top of the range Mercedes 4x4. It oozes money and style and I can’t help but feel slightly inferior. Nisha, on the other hand, is enjoying herself immensely. This is like something out of a fairy tale for her. She doesn’t know the brothers’ upbringing because I didn’t tell her that part. Nisha assumes they have all come from a privileged background which is as far from the truth as she can get.
“This is the latest model, isn’t it? I mean, this car alone has got to be at least fifty grand, right?” she says excitedly. “It’s even got under-seat heating. My arse is nice and toasty.”
Bryce laughs. “It’s a bit flashy. I prefer my old Range Rover, but it’s in the garage getting a service right now.”
“How many cars do you own exactly?”
“A few,” Bryce says offhandedly. I can tell he doesn’t like showing off. It’s not really in his nature. When we first met he was a bit of a bighead but underneath all that bravado is a nice guy. I smile at him from the seat in the back. He glances at me in the rearview mirror and winks. Inside, a warm feeling blooms.
Nisha chats away for the rest of the journey and Bryce answers all her questions. He’s sweet with her. He didn’t have to offer her a room at their place, but he did it for me. I will always be grateful for his kindness. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to her.
“So, where exactly do you guys live?” Nisha asks.
“Esher, Surrey.”
“Oh, very la-de-da,” she says, affecting a posh accent.
“It’s quiet. Near enough to London for business but far enough away not to feel caught up in the rat race. When we’re home, we want to forget about work. Trouble is, traffic sucks on a Friday evening. It’ll be a little while yet until we get there.”
“Ah, don’t sweat it. If you haven’t already noticed, I’m enjoying relaxing in this beauty.”
Bryce laughs. “I can tell.” He stops at a set of traffic lights and takes the opportunity to turn around and talk to me. “You okay? How’s the pain?”
“It’s better, thanks. Just a dull throb now. I could do with a bath or something, though.” My gaze catches his and a spark of desire lights in his eyes. I know he is reminded of our intense make out session in the shower back in Petite Cabane. He coughs, clearing his throat.
“That can be arranged,” he says softly, before putting the car into gear and pulling off.
I lean my head back against the seat and watch London whizz by, my thoughts returning to our time together in the mountains. It had been intense, erotic, wonderful. Despite what Bryce said, I’m afraid Max and Hudson won’t be happy to see me. Especially Hudson, given he has taken my leaving so badly, it would seem. Pushing those thoughts aside, I close my eyes and try not to think about it.
Chapter Five
“Hey, Louisa, we’ve arrived,” Bryce says.
My eyes feel heavy, the Tramadol has well and truly knocked me for six and I feel bone weary, but I open them slowly. Nisha has jumped out of the car, and I can hear the distinct sound of gravel crunching under her feet as she chatters incessantly about the size of the place. Bryce is still in the front seat. He is staring at me, a worried expression on his face.
“Urgh, I feel awful.” My head is spinning, and the dull throb is still there. All I want to do is collapse in a bath.
“Give me a sec. I’ll get the door.”
I move to sit up, but my head swims and I suddenly feel nauseous. A moment later the door opens. Bryce leans over me and unclicks the seatbelt, sliding his hands under my thighs and around my back.
“I can walk,” I say half-heartedly.
“Maybe, but I’d rather you didn’t faint on me.” Bryce lifts me out of the car. Another sharp pain makes me draw in a sudden breath.
“Nisha, will you get the door?” Bryce asks. Nisha looks over at us both.
“Shit, of course. Sorry, Lou. I’m such a bad friend. Are you feeling alright?”
I lean into Bryce’s neck and press my fingers against my cheek. It still feels sore. “I’ve felt better,” I say with a wry grin. She walks over and presses a kiss against my forehead.
“Sorry, Lou. It’s just…”
“I know, I get it,” I say, reaching for her hand. I understand her awe. “This place is about as far removed to what we’re used to as snow is to people living in the Sahara Desert. But you’re not a bad friend. You’re my best friend and I love you.”
She smiles. “Now, let’s not get soppy. I think that’s the Tramadol talking.”
“Come on, let’s get inside,” Bryce says.
Nisha rushes forward and Bryce follows. Even through the haze of the painkillers I am acutely aware of his hands beneath me, the closeness of his skin to my lips. I really, really want to press them against his neck, to breathe him in. I want to kiss him. I want him. Bryc
e looks down at me. For a moment I think he is going to kiss me, but he doesn’t, he simply smiles and moves forward.
His home, the brothers’ home, is a huge modern building set over three stories, with smooth white walls and huge panoramic windows on each floor that wrap around the entire house. To the side is a large garage and above it, what looks like a granny annexe or studio of some sort. The light is on in the first floor and I can see two people walking around. My heart lurches in my chest as I recognise the physique of the first person. It’s Max. The other man isn’t Hudson. I don’t know who he is.
Bryce walks me up the couple of steps to the front door, then gently lowers me to my feet whilst he fishes in his pocket for his keys. He hands them to Nisha, pointing to the correct key.
“Would you mind?” he asks, then leans over ready to lift me up again, but I place my free hand on his shoulder. “I can walk, honestly. I think I just sat up too quickly or something.”
“All the same, I think I’ll still keep my arm around you. Is that okay?” he asks.
My hand slips to the opening of his shirt, my fingers resting on the skin there. “It’s more than okay,” I respond.
He looks at me for a long moment, his face nearing mine. “God, I’ve missed you…”
“There,” Nisha says, breaking the moment between us. “After you.”
Bryce’s head snaps up and she looks at me with her eyebrows raised, a devious twinkle in her eye. As soon as we’re alone she’s going to be bombarding me with so many questions.
“Max, Hud, get your arses down here,” Bryce calls from the open doorway.
Inside, the house is all clean lines, white walls and minimalistic furniture. There are pieces of cool graffiti artwork hanging on the walls.
“Is that a Banksy?” Nisha asks before I can.
“Yes, it is,” Bryce says.
“Holy shit.” Nisha walks over to the painting, reaching up to touch it.
“Max, you need to get down here now,” Bryce yells, smiling at me apologetically.
“Alright, bro. What’s the sodding hurry?” I hear Max say from above.