By the time they were finished discussing the ideas, Romulo and Cristano were approving her decisions, and that meant a step closer to finishing this project. They talked and ate as Romulo treated them to all the different variations of food he offered on the menu and some specialty items.
It was when they were waiting on dessert that the conversations clustered into smaller ones and people began to say good-bye and leave. She glanced at her watch, noting it was already four o’clock and the longest lunch she’d ever attended, and also where she’d spoken the most in her entire life.
“You did fantastic, Bethany. I knew you would be perfect for this job,” Cristano told her.
She gave him a small smile. “Thank you for the compliment. I love doing this type of work.”
“It’s always great to be appreciated for your ideas and rewarded.”
He handed over an envelope, and she looked at it, wondering what it was. She watched him exchange glances with her boss, Roger. He smiled, placed his hands together as though he was praying, and bowed his head at her in thanks.
“What is this?”
“A bonus. Roger and I felt that you needed to be rewarded for your hard work. This is only the beginning, Bethany, a start to what I hope will be other contracts we can work together on.”
She swallowed hard, and he placed his hand over hers and the envelope.
“I ask one thing of you.”
She felt sick, and she didn’t want to owe him anything.
“What is that?”
“If you are deciding on seeing one of the Cummings men, or are considering all three, I must warn you to not fall for their charms. Chancellor is a character, and he will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, even if it’s just to say he got it. Riley knows people, and one wrong move, and he’ll have you down and out and begging for help, but no one will give it to you. He knows people and can make sure that crimes go unpunished. He did it with Collin.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, feeling sick to her stomach and scared.
“I’m just trying to warn you, Bethany. My cousin treated you badly, and you almost died because he took drugs and he didn’t know what he was doing.”
“That isn’t an excuse, Cristano. He struck me plenty of times before and kept control of me. It was only a matter of time, and doing drugs just made him continue.”
“But he didn’t kill you. Collin is the one who’s a murderer.”
“What?” She gasped and covered her chest with her hand as she pushed the chair back. He covered her hand and held her gaze.
“He killed a man, a guy I knew, one night in a bar fight. He was family, and Collin and a couple of friends got into a fight. Collin killed a man by stabbing him and then put three others in the hospital.”
She covered her mouth and felt the tears reach her eyes.
This was why Chancellor had worried about her working with Cristano. He knew their secret. He knew what Collin had done. How could Collin do that? There had to be more to this. She looked at Cristano, and he gave her a sympathetic smile that pissed her off and set off her gut instincts. She didn’t trust Cristano. Why had he asked about her brother tonight, too?
“Why did you ask me about Angelo? Is he in some kind of trouble?”
He held her gaze, and she could see the lies forming in his head. It put her in a terrible state.
“I was just wondering and hoping that all these years since leaving Curran and not forgiving him, you haven’t spent them alone. I worry about you, Bethany. Stay away from the Cummings men, because next time, I may not be able to help you when you’re almost dead.”
* * * *
Bethany didn’t know what to do. On her way back to the office, and for the next two hours until it was time to leave, she worried about what she needed to do. At first, she panicked. In all honesty, she had thoughts that once again she had been fooled by a man and, in this case, three. Chancellor knew she was working with Cristano and the company on this latest advertising campaign. It was obvious he hadn’t told his brothers that she was. If he had, wouldn’t Collin have said something to her? Or did he not because then she would know he’d killed a man?
She paced her office and prepared to leave. She had been over this several times since returning to the office. They were brothers. They were close. They protected one another. Not that she really knew about having a bond like that, but then again, every time Angelo had called her, she’d been there for him, despite him never being there for her. She wondered why, why she always got involved with people who were distrustful or who couldn’t reciprocate her love and commitment.
But was she being inconsiderate and assuming the worst? Was she trusting Cristano’s word instead of her heart and her gut? Because every time she thought a bad thought about Collin, Riley, and Chancellor, she felt guilty, stupid, as though she had no power and control over her life and what it was turning into.
Then she thought about why Cristano had bought up her brother. Did he know something? Was Angelo in trouble? He hadn’t tried calling her. Her number hadn’t changed over the years, and he always seemed to be able to find her, no matter where she was.
Great, now she worried about him, too.
She looked at her watch, cleaned up her desk, and prepared to leave. She needed to confront the men. She had ignored their text messages, then finally texted Chancellor and told him she was swamped at work and might not be able to get together later tonight. When Riley texted, she said she had a lot on her plate and wasn’t sure about making concrete plans for the weekend. Then Collin texted, and she never responded. She couldn’t. What if he had actually killed someone?
How could she trust him not to hurt her? Maybe he had violent tendencies, and maybe his brothers did, too, and just hid them.
She grabbed her things and left the office, giving noncommittal waves that indicated no further conversation was to be had and that she was in a hurry. When she got to her car, she thought about each man. Riley was a law enforcement officer. Like Cristano said, he had connections and knew people. Perhaps he was capable of hurting her after all. He was pretty dominant and authoritative. She’d even told him about Curran, so now he knew her weaknesses.
Jesus. I’m losing my mind.
She felt the tears reach her eyes, and she knew she needed to focus. She had a long drive home. She had to figure things out fast. She thought about Collin. He was a hunter, a hiker, and probably knew how to use a gun. He’d mentioned being able to track people missing in the woods. She thought about his body, his muscles, and that lost, angry look he had in his eyes when he thought no one was watching him.
Then there was Chancellor. She knew very well that money could buy anything. Even freedom.
Her phone rang, startling her. She saw that it was Collin calling again. She ignored the call. They would have to wait. When she was ready, she would confront them. She had to.
By the time she pulled along the dirt road to her cabin, it was dark out. Her headlights lit the way, and she felt her belly rumble. She’d hardly eaten at Romulo’s because she was talking so much. Then, once Cristano had warned her about Collin and his brothers, she was done for. She felt exhausted, weak, and now she wished she had eaten something. Once she got inside, she would take a hot shower, eat something, and then lie down.
The moment her lights lit up the road to the end of the street and her house came into view, so did the two trucks. That scared, panicked feeling consumed her all at once, and she felt lightheaded.
She really didn’t want any of it to be true. Not the bad thoughts, not the lies, or for Collin to be a murderer whose brothers somehow got him off scot-free.
She turned off her lights and the engine of the Jeep, and before she could open her door, Collin was there.
“Are you okay? Is something wrong with your phone?” he asked her, and she ignored his questions as she reached across the seat for her purse and bag.
“I’ve had a long day, Collin, that’s all.”
“You seemed upset in your texts. What’s wrong?” Riley asked, and Collin closed her door. She hit the auto lock on her keychain and headed toward the house.
Chancellor stood there and watched her. She unlocked her door, and they all went inside. She walked toward the counter, put down her things, and kept her hands on her purse. She needed to be honest and confront them. If they hurt her, and any of this was true, then she would go on, she would survive, just like always. She felt the sadness, and her heart ached something terrible. When the hand landed on her shoulder and another on her hip, she tightened up.
“What happened at work? Did something go wrong at that lunch meeting?” Chancellor asked her. He knew she was having that meeting and that Cristano had been there. There was a connection.
She turned to look at him, and he kept his hands on her hips as she leaned against the counter. She stared up into his eyes and saw in her peripheral vision that Collin and Riley were nearby, their arms crossed in front of their chests. She glanced at them and saw their concern and complete focus on her.
“Is there something you need to tell me, Chancellor?” she asked him. His squinted at her.
“Me? What about? What do you mean?”
“About Cristano and how you really know him.”
It was instant. The sound of angry voices, and multiple questions being spoken at once. “Cristano Chicatiro?” Riley asked.
“What did he say to you?” Chancellor asked.
“How do you know him? He was at this meeting you had today?” Collin asked.
“You didn’t tell them that I’m working on a project for Cristano? Why? What are you hiding from me, from them?” she asked.
“Working with him? No fucking way. He was at a meeting with her, and you knew this, Chancellor?” Riley asked, raising his voice.
Chancellor looked at his brothers but remained holding on to Bethany. “She mentioned that he was the main investor in the new advertising contract her company just got and that Bethany is in charge of. She wasn’t going to be having any close contact with him, or so I thought.” He looked at Bethany. “What did he tell you?”
She looked at Collin. “He warned me to be careful about who I got involved with when he saw me texting Collin today.”
“That fucking dick.” Collin started to pace.
“What else did he say?” Riley asked.
“That Collin was in a bar fight years ago and he killed a man because he was violent and out of control, and that you two had connections and got him off. The guy was someone related to him.”
“That’s bullshit. He’s a fucking liar.” Collin was so angry. She couldn’t even believe how different he looked. His eyes almost seemed darker, his face contorted, and she slid away from Chancellor and put the small kitchen table between her and them.
“Don’t be scared of Collin. It’s a lie, Bethany,” Riley told her as he started walking toward her.
Collin stared at her, wide-eyed, and ran his fingers through his hair.
“That fucking lying piece of shit. He doesn’t even know her and he tells her this. He’s still trying to get revenge. It was his cousin that killed Dalton. It was self-defense, and I had to fight off three other men, fight for my life, and had to stab the guy in order to not get stabbed and killed, too,” Collin exclaimed, and she heard the sincerity and anger in his voice.
Riley took her hand, stared down into her eyes and explained what happened that night, and how Cristano tried to get the tables turned on Collin. It took a series of calls, a year-long process of lawyers and court appearances to prove Collin’s innocence.
The tears filled her eyes as she thought about what kind of man Cristano was and how he manipulated situations for his own purposes. So why was he trying to stand in the way of her involvement with these brothers? Was it simply revenge? Was he interested in her for himself? She shivered as the tears hit her eyes.
“It’s not true, baby. He lied. Do you believe us? Do you believe the truth? I can show you the file and the reports, anything you need to see to know it’s not true and that Collin acted in self-defense that night. He’s had to live with the trauma of it all for years. It’s part of why he doesn’t work outside of the home and does his day trading,” Riley told her.
She looked at Collin. “I believe you. I know what type of man Cristano is and what he’s capable of. I know he has a pretty large extended family, and they aren’t all on the up-and-up.”
“How do you know?” Chancellor asked her.
She exhaled as the tears hit her eyes. They had been honest with her, and she needed to be honest with them. It all made sense that Cristano was trying to turn her against these men, but she didn’t know why.
“I know that Riley told you both about my ex and what he did to me. I was in the hospital for weeks, and almost died, but I got great medical attention, the best, and pulled through. Cristano paid for it all.”
“What?” Collin asked, and she could tell they were thinking crazy things as they looked her over as if she were some dirty whore or something.
“Cristano is Curran’s cousin.”
“Wait, Curran is the name of your ex that beat you and nearly killed you?”
She felt the tear roll down her cheek. She wiped it away.
“He apparently knew that Curran was abusive. The night he lost it, he had taken some drug at some party. It messed him up, and he tried to claim that when the police arrested him for assault and tried getting him for attempted murder. From what the nurses told me, Cristano came in to see me. He was immediately upset, and he paid all the medical bills. He also got the attempted murder charge dropped off of Curran but kept the assault charges in place, and it gave Curran a few years in prison. They had negotiated with the lawyers, and by the time I was able to get released from the hospital, it was all presented to me in a nice, neat package, compliments of the local DA, who seemed thrilled with the charge. I never saw Curran again and heard that he was back in jail on some charge, but I don’t know.”
“Does he feel you owe him for paying those hospital bills?” Collin asked, coming closer.
“I don’t think so. He just said a few things to me, things that make me think either he’s interested in me for himself, or he’s just trying to keep a bit of control over me in case he can use me for something. A man like Cristano doesn’t just do business or stay in contact with people to be friendly.”
Collin pulled her into his arms. He pressed her against the counter and ran his hands up her arms to her cheeks, cupping them. He stared down into her eyes.
“I don’t want you anywhere near him, Bethany. Do you understand me? He’s no good. He’s up to something.”
She felt his fear and her own. She wasn’t stupid, but what could she do? She was in the middle of this project.
“I know and understand that he’s up to something, but I can’t walk away from this project.”
“Why the hell not? Because of the money, the job, and advancement of it all?” Chancellor asked, raising his voice a little.
“Because she still fears that we could hurt her, that if she invests in us completely after only knowing us for this short period of time, we could hurt her,” Riley said.
“Is that true? After what we shared, you still don’t trust us?” Collin asked, and she felt in her heart that she did. She was overwhelmed with emotions.
“I already love the three of you,” she whispered.
Collin covered her mouth and kissed her deeply. She kissed him back, ran her hands under the dress shirt he wore, and let her fingers run over his skin and up to his pectoral muscles.
He caressed her neck, her shoulders, then lifted her up and placed her on top of the kitchen table. He pressed between her legs and pushed her skirt higher. After pulling from her mouth, he slowly lay her down on the table.
“I love you, too. I would do anything for you. You trust me. You trust us, but you’re still scared, Bethany. Scare
d of what Curran did to you and scared of not knowing what Cristano wants. But you have us, and Cristano can’t have what is ours. We’ll protect you and work this out, but right now, I need to be inside of you. I need to know that you’re mine forever.”
He pressed over her and kissed her again. She ran her fingers through his hair as he maneuvered his fingers between her thighs and under her panties. She felt his fingers stroke her wet cunt, and she lifted her feet so they sat on the edge of the table, opening her thighs to give him better access.
She couldn’t seem to get her tongue deep enough to show him how much he meant to her and show how much she desired him. He pulled back and pulled his shirt up over his head. She stood up and helped him remove her clothing, and then she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he hoisted her up into his arms. She straddled his waist.
“Together, Collin. We need her together,” Riley said, and she turned to see them both undressing. Chancellor was holding a small tube of something. Was that lube? The fact he’d come prepared to make love to her together with his brothers, always putting her safety first and ensuring she was ready for them, meant so much.
She kissed Collin’s neck, his fuzzy, trimmed beard tickled her nose and her cheeks, but she loved it. She loved him. He turned around and fell backwards to her bed, taking her with him. She laughed, and he chuckled then pulled her down by her hair and neck to kiss her again. She shifted over him, and his other hand cupped her breast, and behind her, lips pressed against her spine and each ass cheek. She knew both Chancellor and Riley were kissing her, too.
She shivered with anticipation as the desire to feel Collin’s cock deep in her cunt, pulling them together, making them one, became too hard to resist. She reached between them and stroked his cock. He pulled from her lips, licked her chin and neck, nibbling and softly moaning as she continued to stroke his cock and scrotum. Her pussy wept with need as she aligned his cock with her cunt then held his gaze.
“I love you, and I trust you, all three of you, with my heart, my body, and my soul.”
Crossroads 5: Show Me What Love Is (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 14