by Tara Rose
“We’ll hide in the dark and fuck you,” said Jagger, so softly she barely heard him. “We’ll put on scary masks and you can pretend monsters are attacking you.”
Kai laughed loudly as he nipped at her neck. When Ian joined him, she fell backward onto the picnic table and almost landed in the salad they’d brought her. “You two are insane, you know that?”
“Insane about you,” said Ian.
“But you love us this way,” said Jagger. “Admit it.”
“You’re right. I do love you this way. Don’t ever change.”
His and Ian’s expressions grew serious. “We won’t,” said Jagger. “Don’t you worry.”
“We love you just the way you are, too,” said Ian.
“Thank you, Sir.”
Love. That was a strong word. She knew what they meant, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t hope that one day they would mean it the other way. The happily-ever-after way. But would either man allow themselves to fall in love after what they’d been through at such young ages?
The realization that she’d already fallen in love with both of them had crossed her mind plenty of times, and it did so again now. But Kai pushed those thoughts away and instead concentrated on finishing her lunch. Until this nightmare with her aunt and uncle was over, she had to keep her emotions in check. Telling these two she was in love with them would only end in disaster if either Jesse or Wendy were responsible for those fires. How could they love her if that turned out to be true?
To change the subject, she asked if they’d heard anything more from Santos on the investigation. If they noticed she’d switched gears quickly, they gave no indication of it in their expressions. They told her they’d heard nothing, but assured her that Asa would likely hear it first, and they knew he’d tell them.
Kai was relieved to hear that. No news was good news.
* * * *
On Monday, the week of Halloween, Ian and Brett were both working in Ian’s office on a new project when Jagger and Asa walked in and closed the door behind them. Both pulled chairs over to sit at the table with Ian and Brett. Asa clasped his hands on the table, a sure sign he was about to say something important and uncomfortable. The hair on the back of Ian’s neck prickled.
“This is proprietary information.” He fixed his cold stare on Ian. “And I’m only sharing it with you as well as Jagger and Brett because you and Jagger are both involved with Kai. But it can’t leave this office.”
“Understood.” Asa always phrased it that way. “Involved with,” as opposed to another term that better described the relationship. He hated to acknowledge that any of his relatives were Doms to natives.
“Santos informed me this morning that there was nothing on Jesse’s computer that led him or Nick to believe he had anything to do with the fires.”
Ian was surprised to hear Asa mention Nick’s name. Nick Fuentes was the Deputy Superintendent, in charge of the police force on the island, but he hadn’t realized that Nick was in Asa’s back pocket, as well as Santos. Then again, Nick may have passed that information along to Santos, who told it to Asa.
Asa leaned back in his chair. “So we’ve hit a dead end again.”
“What’s next?” asked Ian.
Asa frowned. “I was hoping one of you would know, but it appears you’ve all hit the same brick walls.”
“There’s nothing we can do, Asa,” said Jagger. “We don’t have access to the company’s records, or to Jesse’s and Davis’s personal files. If the police have gone through all that and still can’t find anything, what do you expect us to do?”
“The cops haven’t gone through anyone’s personal computer except Jesse’s. And the DA won’t seek a warrant for anyone else’s computer at this point. He told Santos they have no probable cause for it.”
“Well someone set them,” said Brett. “If it wasn’t you and it wasn’t Jesse, why couldn’t it be an employee? Hell, for all we know, it was one of Jesse’s sons.”
“That thought crossed my mind, too,” said Asa. “Especially Owen.”
“Why him?” asked Ian.
The other three exchanged a glance. “You never heard about his teenage years?” asked Jagger.
“Not enough to know why you think he might have done this.” Ian had ignored family gossip most of his life. It was only recently that he gave it more than a passing thought, because he’d been forced to pay attention.
“He tried to set the high school on fire when he was a sophomore by placing strings of fireworks in the bushes underneath the main offices. And I’m talking long strings of them. Big ones, not just the tiny stuff. They all caught on fire because it was fall and the air was so dry.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah. The only reason they didn’t expel him was because Javel was still alive and he stepped in for him.”
Asa snorted. “Owen’s grandfather always had a soft spot for that kid, but it beats the hell out of me why. He was always in trouble.”
Ian and Jagger exchanged a dark glance. “Then maybe you should put a bug in Santos’s ear to have a look at Owen’s apartment and his personal computer?”
Asa glared at Jagger. “I just told you he can’t do that. The DA told Nick that there is not enough evidence to get a warrant for anyone else’s computer or their home. Even I can’t fight that one.”
“Then someone needs to convince the DA otherwise,” said Brett. “Owen is the millstone around my neck. That man has borrowed more money from me than he’ll ever pay back.”
“That’s your fault,” said Asa. “You need to learn how to say no to him.”
“He’s my cousin.”
“And I’m Jesse’s cousin. What’s your point?”
“This isn’t solving the problem,” said Ian. “What does the DA need to get the warrant?”
“More proof,” said Asa. “As in more than a story about a dumbass teen who did stupid things. They need something directly linking Owen to the fires.”
“Assuming he set them,” said Brett. “Just because he did one pyrotechnic thing as a teen doesn’t mean he’d do this. He had to have known there would be workers in those buildings at that time of day. And what’s his motive? He has no beef with any of us.”
Brett gestured toward Asa. “Including you. Once we exclude you, we assume that whoever did this has also been trying to frame you for it, because everything connected to it has leaked to the media. That’s why we thought it might be Jesse and Wendy who had done it. They hired the attorney. Jesse might have even leaked the story about him and Dot. But why would Owen give a shit about framing you, or what his father had done, or what any of us had done, for that matter? I don’t think his loyalty to his father runs that deep. Owen is loyal to himself. What would he stand to gain from this?”
“Point taken,” said Asa. “You know him better than any of us. What else is going on in his life? Why is he still coming to you for money when I imagine Jesse pays him quite well?”
Brett averted his gaze, and then he ran his fingers over his face. “Well, there is one thing. And it would give the cops probable cause.”
Jagger and Ian both spoke at once, urging Brett to tell them what was going on, until Asa held up his hand. “Calm down. Neither one of you would betray a friend. This has to be Brett’s decision because he can’t go back after this.”
“All right,” said Jagger. “True enough. But if whatever is going on will lead the cops to finding out who did this, don’t you owe it to everyone in this room to spill it?”
“You’re not protecting him if you’re keeping something potentially dangerous from us,” said Ian.
“I know that,” said Brett. “I honestly didn’t put this together until now. I thought they’d find something on Jesse. I didn’t want them to, but he was the most likely person to have done this.”
“You think he’d blow up his own buildings?” asked Asa. “And commit murder?”
Brett shook his head. “No. Not murder. That was an unexpected con
sequence. I thought he might have done it for the insurance money, and then tried to pin it on you. Or he might have done it without realizing how out of control it would become, and then tried to pin it on you because you two hate each other. I don’t know.”’
“It’s always been a thin theory,” said Jagger.
“But he didn’t do it,” said Asa. “And neither did Wendy. She’s devoted to him, although I don’t know why. But we know that neither of them did this. So that leaves the question of Owen. What’s going on with him? Why might he have done it?”
“He’s in debt up to his eyeballs,” said Brett. “Gambling.”
Asa’s face turned red. “And you’ve given him money for that?”
“As a matter of fact, I have not. I refused. He came to me months ago for the first time, asking me to help him pay back what he owed. I told him to go to hell. I said I wasn’t financing an addiction. I told him to get some help, and he assured me he would.”
“And now?” asked Ian.
“He came to me this past week and told me he’d lost a bunch of big bets again, and begged me to help just once. He said he’d pay off the debt and never gamble again, but I told him no. I reminded him that he’d lied to me. He said he was going to get help, but obviously he hadn’t done that.”
“Fuck,” whispered Jagger. “But that still doesn’t tell us why he’d set fire to this project.”
“Sure it does,” said Ian. “For the insurance money. He does the books for Jesse and Davis, right? It’s easy for someone who’s probably been skimming money off the top all along.”
The room grew so quiet, Ian could hear the air in the heating ducts. As the men exchanged glances, all Ian could picture was Kai’s face when she heard this. It would kill her.
Chapter Fifteen
Tuesday afternoon, Kai held up the gossamer dress that Giselle had just finished. “It’s perfect. You’re so talented. I can’t sew worth a damn.” As soon as Kai came home from work, Giselle had called to ask if she could bring the dress over.
“I’m happy to do it. I think the whole sexy vampire thing is perfect for you three.”
Kai stripped off her top and jeans to try on the dress. “What are you, Kade, and Elliot coming as?”
“We have this I Dream of Jeannie theme going. They didn’t want to go along with it at first, but I persuaded them.”
Kai laughed at the tone in Giselle’s voice. “I can’t wait to see it.” Once she had the dress on, she twirled in front of the mirror. “Oh, Giselle…this is so awesome. Thank you!”
“I’m glad you like it. It looks amazing on you. A little gothic makeup and you’ll be the perfect sexy vamp. I’ll be finished with Jagger’s and Ian’s costumes by tomorrow.”
“They should be here soon. I think I’ll leave this on so they can see it.”
Giselle glanced around. “So…do you live here in Jagger’s house now?”
“Well, I’ve been splitting my time between the two. We really don’t have any firm plans as to who stays where, but it’s getting kind of confusing. I keep leaving things at one of their homes that I need, and they don’t live that close to each other, or to me.”
“It was a bit easier for me with Kade and Elliot living right next door. And now we live in Elliot’s house full time.”
Kai sat on the bed and searched Giselle’s face. “How are things between you three?”
Giselle sat next to her and grinned. “Perfect. I mean that. I’m so happy. But what about you? Are you okay?”
“I’m confused most of the time. And don’t misunderstand me. That’s not because I don’t care about both of them. I do. But that’s what has me confused. I’m afraid that I might care too much.”
Giselle placed a hand on Kai’s arm. “Tell them that. Tell them how you feel. Don’t be afraid of that. Trust me on this one. Don’t wait. I thought I lost them both over something that ended up being not nearly as important to them as it was to me. I totally assumed the worst. Don’t make that mistake. I’ve seen the way they each look at you. Tell them.”
Kai rose and changed the subject because Giselle’s words made her uncomfortable. They echoed her own thoughts of the past two weeks, but to hear another sub who had two Doms say the same thing brought it all crashing down on her again.
What if the cops never figured out who had set the fires? This could go on indefinitely. If she waited until it was resolved, she could end up waiting her entire life. Giselle was right, but Kai was still fearful of actually saying the words. Both men had been burned badly by the same woman. What if love wasn’t something they wanted any part of? What if they simply wanted to keep things as they were?
There was nothing wrong with the status quo, after all. The three of them weren’t hurting anyone, they enjoyed each other, and they were perfectly content with the current arrangements. Why did one of them have to complicate it with the “L” word?
Kai was saved from having to speak with Giselle about the issue further because Jagger and Ian came home. Giselle left after promising the men she’d bring their costumes by the next afternoon.
As soon as she was out the door, Kai twirled again for the men. “Well? What do you think? Isn’t it amazing? I can’t wait to see what she came up with for you…” Her voice trailed off at the looks on their faces. Her palms grew damp and her pulse raced. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Jagger took her hands. “The dress is very sexy, sweetheart. But you’d better sit down. We have some news for you.”
“Just tell me, Sir. Please.”
“Sit first.”
Kai took a seat on the sofa, and Ian pulled a chair over in front of them.
“Santos spoke with Asa today, and he told us the news. The DA has obtained a warrant to search your cousins’ homes, their computers, and Wendy’s computer.”
“Well, okay, but I’m not surprised by that, to be honest. I mean, I know they didn’t find anything on Jesse’s computer, but it stands to reason they’d want to search everyone else’s records, right?”
“There’s more,” said Ian. “They’re also taking another look at the financial records for the company and comparing them to Owen’s personal computer files.”
“Owen? Why?”
“He does the books. And well, the cops now have reason to believe he may have a motive for setting the fires.”
“Just because he pulled that ridiculous stunt in high school?”
“No,” said Jagger. “Because of what Brett told us.”
“But Owen is his friend. Well, scratch that. I’m not sure friend is the right word. But I suppose you already know that.”
“I know it. But I didn’t realize you did.”
“Your father once told me that Brett was the kid who brought home strays and was kind to everyone. Owen has always taken advantage of that.”
“I’m not sure you know how deeply it goes. This isn’t only about Owen taking advantage of my brother’s friendship. Owen has a gambling problem. A big one. He’s in debt for close to a million dollars. Santos said he’s surprised no one has shown up on the island yet to break his legs.”
“Oh my God…are you sure?”
“Positive.”
She glanced from one man to the other as icy fear shot through her veins. “You think he set the fires for money?”
“Maybe,” said Ian. “He could have done it for the insurance money.”
“But how would he get it? Oh, holy fuck. No.” She shook her head. “Please tell me he hasn’t sunk that low. Do you really think he’d do that? Steal from his own father and uncle?”
“We don’t know anything for certain yet,” said Jagger. “And it’s not for us to decide either way. But we wanted you to know the cops are going to be taking a closer look at your entire family.”
“This is exactly what I was afraid of.” She ran her hands through her hair. “That one of them was responsible for this. And now you both will be…I don’t know what to say right now.”
“Hey.” Jag
ger cupped her face. “This has nothing to do with us. We’re on solid ground.”
“Are you kidding me? What will Asa say? He already wishes you both weren’t with me. This will put the nail in the coffin.”
“No it won’t,” said Ian. “Asa can’t force us to stop seeing you, no matter the outcome of this.”
“He can if he takes away your jobs.”
“He won’t do that. And we all have trusts funds, anyway. It’s an empty threat. Kai, we aren’t going anywhere. You’re stuck with us.”
“You say that now, but what happens when this turns out to be true? When it hits the national news again? We already have reporters camped out on the island, just waiting for the story to unfold. They’ll be camped out on the lawn of both your homes. Then what? He’s my cousin, too. All three of our families are in this mess, and the media won’t care if we didn’t know, or whether we had anything directly to do with it.”
Jagger pulled her close and stroked her back as she fought to stop her limbs from trembling. She’d always known Owen was a pain in the ass. But arson and murder? This couldn’t be true. The incident in school had been isolated. No one thought about it after a while because he’d never done anything like it before or afterward.
Had he been stealing money all along from Jesse, Wendy, and Davis to fund his gambling addiction? Did her aunt or uncles know? How long had Owen been doing this? And what about the workers who had died, or those who were injured? Kai couldn’t believe that Owen had meant to kill or hurt anyone. He hadn’t sunk that low, had he?
This must be killing Jagger. Davis was his father, after all. And Kai could only imagine what Asa had said to the two of them by now. They had to work with him every day. They reported directly to him and Tim. Even if they were trying to keep it from her, she knew this would affect their jobs.
That night, Kai made love to Jagger and Ian with a desperation she’d never felt before. She was terrified that when the truth came out, she might never be in their arms again. It might be irrational considering they’d both reassured her that would not happen, but she hadn’t exactly known people in her life she could trust. She didn’t know how to let go and do that.