Undeniably Theirs (Book Three)

by Ramona Gray

  “Stop manipulating her,” Jackson said. “She isn’t going to - ”

  Chloe pulled away and glared at him. “This is none of your business. You need to go home, Jackson.”

  This time he couldn’t hide the hurt. “None of my business? Chloe, I want what’s best for you and -”

  “I appreciate your concern, but you still need to leave.”

  “So, that’s it? You’re gonna brush me off like I mean nothing? Like I don’t care for you or lov -”

  “Don’t!” Chloe’s voice cracked. “Don’t you dare say it, Jackson. Not now. You knew what this was. Please go. I’ll – I’ll call you later and -”

  He stood up, shaking off Ian’s hand again when he felt it on his shoulder. “Don’t bother, Chloe. There’s nothing left to say.”

  Ian squeezed his arm. “Jackson, man, just -”

  He brushed past Ian and stalked out of the house. Before he could open his car door, Ian was grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around.

  “What the fuck, asshole? I called you so you could comfort her, you dick. What the fuck was that?”

  “She’s not going to press charges and her bitch of a sister will be right back in the house. You know she will, Ian. What happens if she gets drunk and tries to kill Chloe again, huh? What happens if the goddamn neighbour doesn’t call the cops the next time? Chloe will be dead,” he shoved Ian in the chest, “the woman we love will be dead. Is that what you want?”

  “You know it isn’t,” Ian said. “But Chloe is a grown woman and we can’t tell her what to do.”

  “She needs us. She needs our help and,” Jackson raked his hand through his hair, “she keeps pushing us away. Why is she doing that?”

  Ian grasped his shoulder and squeezed. “She’s tired and afraid and thinks we’ll make her choose between us and her family. Which, frankly, you just about fucking tried to do back there. You screwed up, asshole.”

  “Fuck! I know.” Jackson slammed his fists against his car door. “You think I don’t know that? But I’m fucking scared, Ian!”

  “I know, me too. But, Chloe needs time, okay? We’ll give her a few days and then we’ll talk to her.”

  “What happens if her sister or that asshole boyfriend tries to kill her again?”

  “The boyfriend has about five warrants on him. He won’t be getting out anytime soon. Lori won’t get out of jail for a while either, even if Chloe doesn’t press charges. She didn’t cooperate when Tony was cuffing her, he’ll back me up in charging her with resisting arrest which means she’ll need to be bailed out. Chloe told me earlier that she won’t pay for Lori’s bail, and her grandmother just bailed her out not that long ago. She won’t have the money to do it again so soon. Chloe will be safe until we talk to her.”

  “Are you sure?” Jackson asked.

  Ian nodded. “I’m sure. Go home, okay?”

  “I should stay.”

  “It’s too late. Chloe is pissed at you, and she’s not going to leave her grandmother anyway. Go home and I’ll see you when my shift is over.”

  “I’m sorry, Ian.”

  “It’s all right, man. I feel the same way you do. But we’ll fix this, okay? Chloe loves us, I know she does. She just needs some time to figure things out.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You look like shit,” Luke announced as he strolled into Jackson’s office.

  Jackson leaned back in his chair. “Thanks.”

  Luke sat down in Chloe’s empty chair. “Seriously, are you sick? Do you need to go home? You share an office with Chloe, maybe you’ve caught the same stomach flu she did.”

  Jackson shook his head. It was Wednesday morning and neither he nor Ian had spoken or seen Chloe since Saturday night. She had replied to one of Ian’s texts, telling him she was fine and not to worry. She hadn’t picked up any of Jackson’s calls and finally, in desperation, he had texted her an apology. She’d replied back with a short ‘it’s fine’, and he had no fucking idea what to do with that.

  When she still hadn’t shown up for work by Tuesday, he’d convinced himself that going to her house after work was the right thing to do. Too bad Ian had shown up at the office at the end of the day. Jackson didn’t think his best friend could read his actual thoughts, but Ian had taken one look at him and shook his head. “No. Do not go to her house, Jackson. She needs a bit of space. C’mon, we’re going for a beer.”

  Now, Luke tapped his fingers on Chloe’s desk. “So, I was thinking for the storefront that we should -”

  “Jackson?” Amy, her cheeks pale and her eyes worried, darted into the office.

  “Ames? What’s wrong?” Luke stood up and Jackson did the same.

  “It’s Chloe, she needs you,” Amy said to Jackson.

  “Where is she?” Jackson asked.

  “The hospital. She -”

  Cold fear sliced into Jackson’s stomach. He stared wild-eyed at Amy. “Is she hurt?”

  Amy shook her head. “She’s okay, she’s not hurt. Her sister got out of jail last night and sometime early this morning, she burned down her grandmother’s house.”

  “What? Was Chloe there? Are you sure she isn’t hurt?”

  “She wasn’t there,” Amy said. “I just got off the phone with her. The firefighters got her grandma and her sister out, but her grandmother’s been admitted to Mercy General because of smoke inhalation.”

  “Fuck.” Jackson grabbed his jacket and his cell phone.

  Amy gave him a worried look. “She didn’t ask me to tell you, but I – I think she needs you and Ian. She sounded so… lost and scared on the phone.”

  “Thank you, Amy,” Jackson said as he rushed by her. He ran for the elevator as he called Ian.

  * * *

  “Chloe?” The nurse patted her arm. “You should go home and get some rest. Your grandmother is resting comfortably, and I doubt she’ll wake up until later.”

  “I don’t want to leave her alone,” Chloe said. “If she wakes up and I’m not here, she’ll be afraid and confused.”

  Her voice trembled, and the nurse said, “We’ll explain what’s going on to her if she wakes up. But, most likely, you’ll be back before she even wakes.”

  “I’ll stay a little longer. Just in case,” Chloe said.

  “All right. There’s a coffee machine and cold drink machine down the hallway if you want something to drink.” The nurse eyed the bruising around Chloe’s throat. “Have you had that bruising looked at?”

  Chloe nodded. “Yes.”

  “Okay. I’ll come back in a little bit and check on you.”

  “Thank you.”

  She stared down at her grandmother’s hand, stroking the thin skin as she blinked back the tears. She really should go home and try and sleep, but she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Being alone in her apartment was the last thing she wanted.

  Call Jackson and Ian.

  She used her knuckle to rub away the tears. She couldn’t call them. She had blown them off for the last three days, and they’d be pissed with her. Hell, they’d probably already written her off as a lost cause. She’d chosen her sister over them, just like she always did and always would, and –

  No. Not this time. You’re done with her, Chloe.

  She almost didn’t recognize her inner voice. There was a cold flatness to it that made goosebumps rise on her skin.

  Enough is enough, Chloe. You’re not helping her. You’re enabling her.

  Yes, she was enabling her, and it ended right now. She couldn’t save Lori, no matter how hard she tried, and it was time she started taking care of herself. She needed to call Ian and Jackson, needed to try and make amends with them before it was too late. She’d get on her knees and beg them for a second chance if she had to.

  She stood up abruptly. Coffee first. She needed a coffee before she keeled over from exhaustion right there. She had barely slept or ate since Saturday night. She would use the boost of caffeine to clear her muddled thoughts, and then try to call Ian or Jackson.


  She started toward the door of the room, her steps faltering when she saw who was standing in the doorway.

  “What-what are you doing here?” She whispered.

  Ian stepped into the room and gave her a sweet smile, “Hi, baby.”

  She burst into tears and stumbled across the room toward him. He met her halfway and wrapped her in his embrace. She buried her face in his chest and clung to him as he rubbed her back and pressed kisses against the top of her head.

  She lifted her head and stared at him. “How did you know I was here?”

  “Jackson called me,” Ian said.

  “Jackson? Is he – where is he?”

  Ian stepped to the side. Jackson was standing behind him and Chloe stared silently at him as he gave her a brief smile. “Hi, honey.”

  “Jackson, I…”

  “If you want me to leave, I will, but I -”

  “Don’t leave.” She threw herself at him, plastering her body against his. She heard him mutter, “thank fucking, God”, before he was holding her tight and kissing her.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m the one who needs to apologize. I stepped over the line on Saturday and I -”

  “No,” she shook her head. “No, you were trying to help and I – I was awful.”

  She reached for Ian’s hand, squeezing it hard as she stared at the two men. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “We’ll always be here for you, Chloe,” Ian said. “We love you and we’re not going anywhere.”

  “I love you too,” Chloe said as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I love both of you and I’m so sorry that I pushed you away, and that I chose my sister over you.”

  “Shh, honey.” Jackson pulled her close again. “We love you and we understand, okay?”

  She sniffed and wiped at her face before glancing at her grandmother. “Nana is still sleeping. Will you come to the cafeteria with me? I need coffee and maybe something to eat.”

  “Of course,” Jackson said.

  She took his hand and, still holding Ian’s hand in a tight grip, led them out of the room.

  * * *

  “How did you know I was here?” Chloe blew on her coffee before taking a sip.

  Beside her, Ian was buttering a muffin and he handed half of it to her. “Eat, baby.”

  She bit into the muffin as Jackson said, “Amy told me. What happened, honey?”

  Chloe washed the bite of muffin down with another sip of coffee. “Nana bailed her out again.”

  “How?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me. I stayed with Nana until yesterday afternoon. I went out to pick up some groceries and when I came back, Nana was gone. She returned about an hour later with Lori.”

  Ian put his arm around her and kissed her temple. She picked at the muffin in front of her. “Lori didn’t even remember what she did to me. She was blackout drunk that night and doesn’t remember anything. Nana had to tell her what happened and even then, she didn’t really apologize. Just said that she’d had a little too much to drink and it wouldn’t happen again.”

  She leaned against Ian as Jackson reached across the table and took her hand. “I told Nana that either Lori left, or I was leaving. Nana chose Lori.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jackson said.

  Chloe sighed. “I knew she would. Lori’s had her wrapped around her baby finger since birth. Anyway, I went home, and the hospital called me at about four this morning. I guess Lori went out to the bar after I left and came home drunk around one. Nana went to bed as soon as Lori got home. About one-thirty, the neighbours saw smoke drifting out of Nana’s house, and called 9-1-1.”

  “Where is Lori now?” Ian said.

  “I don’t really know,” Chloe said. “Nana’s been sleeping since I got here. She inhaled a lot of smoke. The doctor said she would recover, but if the neighbours hadn’t seen the smoke…”

  Tears splashed onto the muffin half and she pushed it away. “Nana’s nurse looked up Lori’s name and she was brought here as well. She’s alive and fine, that’s all I know. I don’t know if she’s still in the ER or if she’s been discharged and I don’t care.”

  Jackson squeezed her hand. “It’s okay that you don’t, honey.”

  Chloe stared into her coffee. “I’m done with Lori. No more choosing her over everyone else, no more coming to her rescue or-or trying to save her from herself. I’m done.”

  Ian kissed the top of her head. “You’re exhausted, and it’s been a difficult morning. You don’t have to make any decisions right now, baby. You can -”

  “No,” Chloe said. She stared at both of them, feeling a wave of love that was almost overwhelming in its intensity. “I’m done. She tried to kill me Saturday night, and she almost killed Nana last night. I don’t want anything to do with her ever again.”

  Jackson leaned in close. “Honey, there’s still your grandmother to consider. Lori will use her to get to you.”

  Chloe laughed bitterly. “No, she won’t. I talked to my dad this morning. He’s flying in tonight and as soon as Nana can travel, he’s taking her back to Iowa. He’s been trying for years to get her to move in with him and my mother, but Nana refused to leave her home. But, now that Lori’s burned it to the ground and she has no place to live, she doesn’t really have a choice.”

  She sighed and rubbed at her forehead. “My mom is an alcoholic. Did I tell you that?”

  Ian and Jackson shook their heads and she said, “She is. Recovering, and has been for a while now, but it’s one of the reasons that they moved to Iowa. Dad moved her to this teeny little town in the middle of goddamn nowhere, so she wouldn’t have so many bars to go to.”

  She studied the cafeteria table. “I told him he was being crazy, told him that drunks like her would always find bars. But he didn’t listen. It’s good that he didn’t. I mean, she still had to do a rehab stint in Iowa for nearly four months, but it worked. She’s been sober ever since. I think my grandma thought that if my mom could beat it, so could Lori.”

  She gave both Ian and Jackson a look of sorrow. “But she’s wrong. Lori can’t be helped until she wants help and, I don’t think she ever will. I don’t want to try anymore. I’m not going to try. I’m choosing me and my happiness instead.”

  She thought she might cry or feel guilty but there was nothing but relief. She took a deep breath. “I should feel horrible about it, but I don’t. I feel… relieved.”

  “I think that’s a normal reaction,” Ian said.

  “Yeah, maybe. Anyway, I know I’ve been really awful to the both of you and I’m so sorry. If you’ll give me another chance, I’ll make it up to you.”

  “You have nothing to make up for,” Jackson said. “We love you, Chloe, and if you change your mind about your sister or, if in the future you want to try and help her again, we will be right here with you. Always. You don’t have to deal with any of this alone.”

  Chloe gave him a trembling smile. “I love you, Jackson.”

  “I love you too.”

  She turned to Ian. “I love you, Ian.”

  “I love you, Red.”

  She smiled at the nickname before resting her head on Ian’s shoulder. “So, I guess we’re in a relationship now, huh?”

  “Guess so,” Jackson said.

  “It’s not going to be easy,” Ian said. “Chloe, are you sure that you really want to be in a relationship with both of us?”

  “Ian, dude, I love you, but shut up,” Jackson said.

  Chloe couldn’t help her soft laugh. “Yes, I want to be in a relationship with both of you. I know it’s different and weird, and we’ll probably lose some friends and maybe even family over it, but I don’t care. I love you both equally and I’m not choosing one or the other. I’m all in – with both of you.”

  Ian and Jackson gave her identical grins of happiness. God, she really did love them.

  “You should know,” Ian said with a grin at Jackson, “that once y
ou say you’re ours, we don’t plan on ever letting you go. You’ll be ours forever, Chloe Matthews.”

  The sounds of the people around them faded to a muted hum as happiness rushed through Chloe. She smiled at both of her men. “I’m yours.”

  * * *

  Sign up for Ramona’s newsletter here

  Connect with Ramona:

  Email

  Website

  Facebook

  Twitter

  Goodreads

  Instagram

  Books by Ramona Gray:

  Individual Books

  The Escort

  Saving Jax

  The Assistant

  One Night

  Sharing Del

  Other World Series

  The Vampire’s Kiss (Book One)

  The Vampire’s Love (Book Two)

  The Shifter’s Mate (Book Three)

  Rescued By The Wolf (Book Four)

  Claiming Quinn (Book Five)

  Choosing Rose (Book Six)

  Undeniable Series

  Undeniably His

  Undeniably Hers

  Undeniably Theirs

  Working Men Series

  The Mechanic

  The Carpenter

  The Bartender

  The Welder

  The Electrician

  The Landscaper