by Tara Rose
“There are no secrets among the kinksters in this town,” said Cherilyn. “You’ll get used to it.”
Teresa turned her attention back to Ava. “I only sing for fun, but I always wished I’d pursued it.”
“Have you taken lessons?”
“No.”
“Do you want to? I have a couple of friends who are all set to give them at my shop.”
She glanced toward Carson and Garrett, wishing she didn’t have to ask them for help with something like this. “I won’t start my job for three weeks, when Busler’s opens. I can’t afford to pay for them right now.”
“Don’t give that a second thought,” said Carson.
“If you want lessons, we’ll pay for them,” said Garrett.
Teresa stared at each of them in turn, and then she kissed them both right then and there, not caring who watched.
The group ate their food while they watched the high school marching band set up. Gary had taken off to help them, as he worked with the percussion section, and Teresa glanced around at the other triads sitting with her, Carson, and Garrett. They all looked so happy. Ria and Olivia cooed over Cassidy, who was an adorable baby, and Teresa realized she’d soon be an aunt.
This was what she wanted, and she had it now. It seemed too easy. There had to be a catch. And yet, watching everyone, she realized that all these people had their share of difficulties to overcome. Everyone did. That was part of life. No one had simply walked into this without sacrifices or coming to terms with something in their past. If they could do it, so could she.
* * * *
Carson adjusted his earpiece one more time as the marching band started playing. He kept trying not to be obvious whenever he glanced around the fringes of the crowd on the lawn, but it was difficult not to be. He only hoped Teresa didn’t catch him doing it. He wanted her to have fun today, not worry about anything.
Sean had taken him and Garrett aside half an hour ago while Teresa had been talking to Annalise to tell them that he’d just heard from both the cops in Illinois and in Fowler. Ray had checked out of the motel two days ago, and his car had been spotted just outside Fowler by the local police there last night. He wasn’t in it, and they had no idea where he’d gone.
Carson wished they could postpone this part of the celebration. But he knew that would never happen. This day meant too much to the town. Still, in a crowd this size, spilling all over the park, the surrounding store parking lots, and out onto Riverfront Drive, it was impossible to watch everyone.
The cops in Fowler had promised Sean that if they caught Ray, they’d hold him. But that wasn’t good enough for Carson. He wanted that fucker out of their lives forever. He and Garrett hadn’t had much time to talk after that without Teresa becoming suspicious, but they had agreed not to tell her. No sense in ruining this day for her.
After the marching band played three songs, Carson was too antsy. He didn’t know if it was his sixth sense, or just the fact that he’d never really been into the whole marching band thing in high school. He glanced over at Teresa and Garrett, who both seemed to be enjoying it. That was good. He only wanted her happy. Happy and safe.
When the band finally finished, Zach stood on the podium and gave a very long speech about how they’d all rallied together this past year to rebuild the town, how much the community meant to all of them, and how thrilled he was to see so many people there today.
His speech was punctuated by air horns and cheers, so it took him longer than was probably necessary to get through all of it. After he spoke, each councilperson gave a speech about what their particular district had done to help the community rebuild, and then Zach came up again and urged everyone to visit the vendors who had moved closer to the park from downtown, and to stick around for the play the middle school kids were putting on.
Carson rolled his eyes and stood, stretching. “You two want to take a walk? I need to stretch my legs.”
The three strolled toward the edges of the crowd, where Carson had led them on purpose. He knew there was a car posted along each main road at the edge of town today. He also knew every cop here today wore an earpiece, as did the officers in the cars. But there were simply too many places to watch at once, and they only had so many cops in Racy.
Teresa pointed toward The Fit Bod. “I need to use the bathroom. Be right back.” The gym and a few other shops along the river had agreed to open their restrooms to the public that day. Carson nodded, knowing she’d be safe going inside the gym as opposed to using one of the portable toilets that currently lined the street, and were scattered in the parking lot of the gym.
He watched until he saw her go inside the gym, then he turned to talk to Garrett.
* * * *
Teresa had never been inside The Fit Bod. It had been built during her absence in Racy. She gawked at the bold colors and all the weights and cardio machines, making a mental note to ask Carson and Garrett if she could start coming here with them.
The restrooms had a line that swept around one wall, and it was filled with giggling high school kids dressed in band uniforms. Bad timing. She wasn’t going to stand in line that long, and listen to them shriek about boys, teachers, and God-knew-what, so she went back outside and glanced around.
The portable toilets were better than nothing. She spotted one close to the woods where no one waited to use it. Once she emerged, she had a moment of panic as she realized how far away from everyone she was. She couldn’t see Garrett and Carson, and then realized she’d left The Fit Bod by a different door. They were on the other side of the building, as was everyone else, apparently. There was literally no one else around, and that freaked her out.
She started to make her way toward the gym again when a sound in the woods behind her made her whirl around. What the hell had that been? It was loud, whatever it was. She scanned the tree line but couldn’t see anything. There were too many fir trees in there. Wiping her damp palms on her Capri pants, she turned and started to walk again, faster this time. She never had time to turn all the way around when someone grabbed her from behind, shoved a cold, metallic circle against her throat, and dragged her into the woods.
“Move, scream, or anything and I will kill you.”
Ray. He had her. And he was holding a gun to her throat.
No. This couldn’t be real. Where the hell was everyone?
She glanced toward the gym, but the windows had been designed in such a way that you couldn’t see inside, even when the lights were on. Was anyone watching them right now? Had anyone spotted her?
She had to get away.
Teresa tried to squirm out of his grasp but he hit her on the side of the head and she fell to the ground, dizzy and nauseous. When he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, she knew she had to do something, but the world was spinning and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
It was over. Ray was going to kill her. Or take her someplace where Carson and Garrett would never be able to find her. She’d never look into their eyes again or have the chance to tell them that she loved them.
She fought to stay awake as he ran through the woods, but the pine fronds slapped at her body and her head hurt like a bear. She couldn’t fight it. She had to sleep. Just for a few moments…
Chapter Twenty-Four
Garrett checked his cell phone. She’d been gone only minutes, but he told Carson he wanted to go inside the gym and look for her. He had a bad feeling and couldn’t shake it. One look at Carson’s face told him his friend had the same bad feeling.
As they approached the gym, Cherilyn came running out, tears streaming down her face. She was crying so hard they couldn’t make out what she said, but Garrett caught the words “Teresa” and “man.” He shouted into his mouthpiece, and within seconds they were surrounded by cops, and Thayer and Denning.
Once the two got Cherilyn calmed down enough to be able to speak, she told them what she’d seen. “I was in the gym, checking the restrooms. It’s a zoo in there. I glanced out
the window toward the woods and saw some man grab Teresa. She must have gone outside to use the toilet because she didn’t want to wait inside or something. He took her into the woods.”
Garrett thought he was going to pass out. Fifteen years on the force and he’d never fainted. Not at the sight of blood or brains or guts. Not even close. But he fought to stay conscious right now.
Hammond had come through the woods on foot. It was the only thing that made sense. There was no way he’d driven his car out of Fowler because the cops there had impounded it last night. That meant he couldn’t be holed up far away.
“Should we call her phone?” asked Carson.
“No,” said Harrison. “He’ll hear it. He may not know she has it. If she can get to it, she can text or call one of you.” He turned to Sean. “Can we track it?”
“We can’t, but I know someone who can.”
Sean stepped away to talk on his phone, and Garrett ran toward the woods with Carson and the other cops. “What about a helicopter?”
“Chad is working on it.”
“We’ll find her. She’ll be okay. We have to find her.”
Carson gave him a look that made Garrett’s blood run cold. He was just as afraid, and that really chilled him. Carson wasn’t afraid of anything. He’d faced death at a young age, and was the toughest cop Garrett had ever known. “We will find her. And when we do, I’m going to kill Ray Hammond for what he’s put her through.”
* * * *
Teresa rubbed her head, but all that did was make her dizzier. She tried to sit up, but something was on her chest. When she glanced up and saw it was Ray, the last few moments came back to her in living color. Or had it been hours? Where were they? Where were Carson and Garrett? She could barely take a full breath. “Get off me. I can’t breathe.”
“You’re such a slut.”
“No I’m not. Get the fuck off me.” She would not let him get inside her head. She couldn’t allow that. She had to stay calm.
“I saw you with those two. Who are they?”
“None of your damn business.”
He waved the gun in her face. “I’m making it my business. You belong to me. Did you think you could hide? You told me everything, you stupid bitch. You told me where you lived, where you went to fucking high school, and everything about this shithorse town.”
“Why? Why are you here?”
He let out a sound of disgust. “Because you’re mine, Teresa. I told you that. No one else can have you.”
She narrowed her eyes, sniffing the air. No smell of alcohol, but then she spotted it. The glassy eyes, the slight hand tremor as he kept waving the damn gun around, and the matted hair. “You’re high again.”
“Whatever.”
“Get off me, Ray. They’ll be here any second. You’ll never get away with this.”
He put the barrel of the gun to her forehead, and Teresa fought to keep from screaming. She pictured Carson’s blue eyes and the lopsided, sexier-than-hell grin that Garrett always gave her, right before he kissed her.
“No they won’t. You’re no smarter than you were when I last saw you. Going off to take a piss in the middle of nowhere. That was so easy I almost didn’t enjoy the challenge.”
She bit her tongue because the urge to tell him to go fuck himself was too strong. And, he was right. She’d been a damn fool. She should have stayed inside where everyone could watch her.
He finally moved off her and began to pace. She glanced around, looking for an out. They were in a barn that had seen better days, but didn’t appear to be used anymore. The door was shut, but it looked like all she had to do was lift the lever to open it.
“I gave you everything. Everything! And you still left me.”
She didn’t answer him. She was too busy trying to slide her cell phone out of her pants pocket. At least he hadn’t spotted it and taken it from her. Then again, since he probably still had hers, he wouldn’t know she had a new one.
“We had a good life, Teresa.” He glanced toward her and she froze, but he wasn’t looking at her hands. He was off in la-la land, where she’d seen him countless times when he was high on cocaine or God knew what. But she had to get away because those were also the times he always became violent. She couldn’t go through that again. She simply couldn’t.
“We had money, everything. But you had to go and fuck it up.”‘
She had the cell phone out. If he saw her, he’d take it away. But she had to try.
“You had a good job. Why did you leave it? Why? Why couldn’t you just let me do my thing, and you do yours?”
She tapped in their contacts and sent a text. “With Ray in a barn. He has a gun.”
That was as much as she dared to do. She had just slid it back into her pocket when he turned and narrowed his eyes at her. Teresa sat up, but that proved to be a mistake. Her head hurt so badly, and she felt sure she was going to throw up. How hard had he hit her?
“Why did you do that?” His voice was tiny, like a child’s. He was escalating, and fast. She’d been here before. She didn’t have much time before he stared hitting her, and in her current condition she doubted she could fight him off.
“Why?”
Teresa stood slowly, fighting the waves of nausea. Once she was erect and had taken a few deep breaths, her head seemed to clear a bit. But when she put a hand to the spot that hurt the most, she almost passed out. It was wet. She was bleeding.
“Why did you do that? Why did you make me chase you around the state?”
She forced her voice to stay soft and calm. “Sit down so we can talk about it.” It had worked in the past. It might work now. Anything was worth a try. Could they track her phone? How would they find her? What if she never saw them again, or had the chance to tell them that she loved them?
“I don’t want to sit down. We have to get out of here. They took my car. They took my fucking car!”
He was pacing again. She moved toward the door, slowly.
“You let them take my damn car!”
“Ray, the cops probably took your car. Sit down so we can talk.” She took several more steps as she spoke, but he wasn’t even looking at her now. This was bad. She had to get out of here.
She’d nearly reached the door when the unmistakable sound of screeching tires reached her ears. Unfortunately, he heard it, too. An instant of clarity came over his face as she bolted for the door and tried to move the lever up, but he was faster.
He caught her around the waist and pulled her back. The room started to spin, but Teresa hung on long enough to elbow him in the gut. He let out a sound similar to the air being squeezed out of a balloon, and she tried the lever again. This time it moved, and she opened the door as she heard Ray’s footsteps behind her again.
“Get down!”
Teresa didn’t know who had shouted it, or to whom, but she dived for the dirt and then covered her ears and screamed as gunfire erupted.
* * * *
“She’s okay. She’s okay.”
That was Carson’s voice. She opened her eyes and cried out at the sight of him. It looked like he’d been crying, but she’d never been so damn happy to see him. He pulled her into his arms, and when she tried to sit up, he whispered that she needed to lie still for a moment. “The paramedics are on their way.”
“I’m okay.”
“Hon, you have a gash the size of Texas on your head.”
“He hit me. I think with the gun.”
Garrett’s face was in front of her now, and she put her arms around him as well. They were both here, and they were all right.
“I have never been so afraid in my life.”
She shivered at the fear in his voice. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have gone outside.”
“If you hadn’t, there’s no telling how long this would have gone on.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Carson stroked her hair. “Shhh. It’s over now. He will never hurt you again.”
“Where is he?” Had he got
ten away?
“He’s dead.”
She blinked a few times.
“He was shot by one of our officers as he ran toward you from behind. That’s why we shouted at you to get down.”
She swallowed hard. There was no point in asking exactly who had shot him. She knew they weren’t going to tell her. And it didn’t matter. Tears stung her eyes as she glanced from one man to the other. It was over. It was finally over.
“I have to tell you this. I love you. Both of you. I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid to. But I’m not afraid anymore. I faced him down. I did it. I have nothing left to fear.” She swiped at her tears as big smiles spread over both their beautiful faces. “I want to be with you always. Please tell me you feel the same way.”
“Oh, Teresa.” Carson pulled her close. “Of course we do. We love you, too. We were going to tell you tonight. Both of us. And we want you with us. Always. As our sub and our lover. Forever.”
They loved her. They both loved her, too! She was overcome with joy.
“I love you, too,” said Garrett, holding her close. “We both do. Stay with us. Be our sub and our lover. I’ve never loved anyone. I never thought I’d find anyone like you. You are everything I’ve ever dreamed about.”
“And I feel the same way,” said Carson. “My heart was dead, but you made it live again.”
She wiped away more tears. “I never thought I’d find anyone like either of you. Yes, yes, yes. I will be your lover and your sub. I will be with you forever. Yes.”
The whine of the ambulance reached her ears, but she didn’t care. She was too busy laughing and kissing her Doms. It was official now. She was theirs. Forever and ever. She would spend the rest of her life loving them, and making sure they knew how much she did. And they would keep her, protect her, and cherish her.
She was home again. Home and free now to live the life she’d always been meant to live, with the two most perfect men in Racy. Her two Doms. Her true loves.