Double Betrayal (Surviving Book 3)

by Frost, Ada

  “Is there any other kind than sweet?” Will smiled down at her, making her little face light up. She slipped her hand into his and waited patiently beside him.

  Loaded up with an abundance of sugar, we headed into the darkened theatre. Izzy insisted on sitting in the middle. Will reached his long arm over the back of her seat to hold the back of my neck. We were watching a kid’s film, but the slow methodical rubbing of his thumb had parts of my body overheating.

  Twenty minutes from the end of the film, Izzy fell asleep. Her sleepy little head kept bobbing forward, until finally she had dropped down in her chair. Will carried her out of the theatre, his massive frame making her seem tiny.

  “I can’t believe after all the sugar she fell asleep. I thought she’d be bouncing around for weeks.”

  He rubbed her back and smiled at me. “I had a great time. She’s a hoot.”

  “She’s a demanding little terror. I can’t believe she screwed you for sweets and popcorn. She knows the rules are one or the other.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “It’s not that–”

  “The money really is an issue, isn’t it?”

  “When you don’t have any, yes, it’s a huge issue. I don’t mean to be a pain in the arse, Will; it’s just… I’m not used to this, to–”

  “Is that why you refuse to go to court to fight for Izzy?”

  “I told you that subject isn’t open for discussion. Izzy is my responsibility and I will do anything to protect her. I will not risk losing her over some battle where people judge our circumstances. Money is an issue, yes, but I work bloody hard to provide what I do for Izzy.”

  “And do you not think I know that? Em, I don’t pay for stuff to prove a point. I do it to see this little cherub smile and to take the heat off you for a short while. As far as I’m aware, we are dating, and a guy is supposed to spoil his women.”

  “Isn’t that a little archaic?” I laughed and nudged into him.

  “I was going for sexy; you know, ‘me man, you—’”

  “Now I have an image of you in a loin cloth, so yeah, it’s definitely sexy.”

  “I’m hurt you only want me for my body.” He glanced sideways at me and grinned. “No, seriously, my muscles ache with all the acrobatics. You’re insatiable, woman.”

  I giggled and slid my arm into the crook of his elbow. “You’re more than a pretty face, Will.”

  “Good to hear –”

  “You have a fine arse, too.” I grabbed a handful of his denim clad cheeks and squeezed.

  “Oh, my little pixie-girl, you are going to pay for that when we get back.”

  I blinked up at him, assuming the most innocent look I could muster. “Is that a threat, Mr Senior?”

  “Not at all, Miss Richards.” We reached my car and he gently placed Izzy into her seat and fastened her seatbelt. When he straightened, he wrapped his large hands around my hips and pulled me to him. His lips were warm against the shell of my ear. “It’s a promise, Pix.”

  My skin prickled with heat. My heart rate picked up and my lips tingled with the need to feel his against them. One thing was for certain, I couldn’t wait for him to make good on his promise.

  Checking my reflection one more time in the mirror, I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling the sticky gunk I’d been persuaded to use by the overenthusiastic hairdresser this afternoon. He had more flare than the fireworks on the Fourth of July, but he assured me I didn’t look a total tool.

  “You’ll always be an ugly fucker, no amount of staring can make that,” Ryan twirled his finger in the vicinity of my face and then pointed to his chest, “look as fucking fly as this.”

  “Fly? Ry, you’ve taken one too many shots to the head, mate.”

  “Fuck off. You know I’m the best looking of the bunch. You can have my leftovers.” Ryan pushed me out of the way and ran his hands over his buzz cut. He winked at himself. “Lady Killer, at your service.”

  “What a douche. War has fucked your brain,” I laughed, pushing his shoulder.

  “Nah, my brain was fucked way before I decided to die for my country.”

  I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at the man before me, the man who I thought of as my kin, my brother. Growing up, he had always had a serious nature, like the world rested on his broad shoulders. I knew his dad beat him. I’d seen enough of the scars and bruises in the locker room. But I never knew how bad things had really been until he begged me to help him essentially kidnap Jo. At the time, we just thought of it as rescuing the little guy, but let’s face it, we were old enough to be prosecuted for kidnapping. The night we stole away through the woods with a terrified Jo, I found out shit that caused me nightmares. People my family had dined with at the fucking country club, bastards in charge of our safety, were doing unspeakable shit to kids half my age. I never knew the full details, but I wasn’t dumb; I guessed enough. But the night I caught Mom sitting in Dad’s lap sobbing about Ryan’s pain, I knew I had no idea how deep things ran. I made a silent pledge that night my brothers would always have me, regardless of where we were in the world.

  “Ryan, that shit ain’t even funny. You didn’t enlist to die.”

  At his silence, I stared at his emotionless face. His cool blue eyes were…empty, like he’d released everything within him, and not in a good way. It was an ‘I give up’ way.

  “Ryan –”

  “Stop being a pussy; come on, let’s go get your piece of ass.”

  “Firstly, she isn’t a piece of ass and never say that about her again,” I snapped, my hackles rising at his dismissive words. “And secondly, I’ll gladly hold my hands up if loving my brothers means I’m a pussy.”

  “Christ, I’m gone for fifteen months and you grow a vagina.”

  “Fuck off.” I pushed him out of the room, following him.

  He stopped, his massive back still to me. “You really love this chick, don’t you?”

  “Now who’s being the pussy?”

  “I’m just saying, it’s good to see. You and Jo happy, I mean.” He cleared his throat, “It’s all I ever wanted. I never worried about you, but Jo, he’s a different story. But he’s all settled. What about you, are you planning on staying in the UK?”

  “Was thinking about it.”

  He nodded. I stepped around him to watch his face. I had an uneasy fear creeping up my spine.

  “That’s good. You’ll have each other.”

  “Ry, what the fuck is this about?”

  His cold eyes met mine. “It makes it easier, knowing you’re together.”

  “Stop being a bastard and talking like we’ll never see you again.”

  His eyes flashed with real emotion.

  “You’re coming home, Ry. You… Ryan, you promise me you’ll come home.” I was ready to punch the fucking tool in the face if he didn’t make me that promise.

  “I don’t have a home anymore, Will.”

  “We are your home. Mom, Dad, Jo, and me. What about Jo’s kid? You serve your country, but you come home to family. You got me? We need you, brother. Don’t give me this shit. We fucking need you.”

  “I’m tired of listening to the shit inside here.” He pounded his fist against his temple and I winced; that had to hurt. “I’m so tired, Will. The noise, the constant fucking noise.” He slumped against the wall, holding his head in his hands. “And don’t talk shit about therapists and crap like that; it doesn’t work.”

  I knew he wasn’t talking about real sound. It was the voices of his past; the fear, anger and guilt he felt over what happened.

  “I want silence; that’s all I ask. I don’t need to fight anymore, Will; the kid is safe.”

  “Yes, yes, you do. You fight for yourself. Jo still needs you, Ry. You come home, you stay here with me. I want to start my own firm here. You know I went into law for Marissa. Well, I want to use my knowledge, but start our own company. You and me, bro; I can’t do this shit without you.”

  A loud shaky breath exploded out of
him; his shoulders slumped as if all the fight drained out of him.

  “You promise me you will return home?”

  He bobbed his head before lifting his gaze to mine. His eyes had warmed. Light was staring back at me.

  “Promise me, Ry.”

  “Stop being a –”

  “Call me a pussy and I will put you down. Promise me! Swear it on Jo’s life.”

  “That shit ain’t funny,” he growled.

  “Swear it!”

  “I can see you growing titties along with your vagina.” He laughed but paused at my steely expression. “I swear it. Now, you owe me a bottle of Jack after this shit.”

  I slapped him on the back, thankful at least I had his promise. Ryan may be a mouthy dick, but he never went back on his word.

  “My woman can pour a mean Jack and Coke. Now, let’s go see her before some fucker thinks he has a right to touch her.”

  ***

  We arrived at the bar and the first thing I saw over the throng of people was my blonde pixie, mixing drinks at the bar. She had a bottle in her hand and her other hand on the beer tap. She was chatting to a group of guys at the bar as they waited for their drinks. Well, that shit was ending immediately. Her tight white shirt was pulled over her sexy ass body. And I knew that short black skirt did killer things to her legs.

  “We getting a booth or…” Ryan’s voice trailed away as I made my way through the bodies in front of me. My eyes fixed on Emily. I smiled when her gaze lifted to me and a smile spread across her gorgeous face.

  “Yeah, fuckers, see that, she’s mine.”

  “Don’t forget to fasten your pants after you’ve finished pissing on her,” Ryan sniggered at my side. Asshole.

  “Shut up.”

  My grouchy response only made him laugh harder. I watched as Em placed the drinks on the bar, accepted their money and headed to a free area of the bar, her eyes trained on me and no one else. She tapped her fingers over the wood, and when I didn’t move, she waved her hand impatiently.

  “I think that’s your cue.” Ryan walked past me and headed toward Em. I was staggered by how much I fucking loved that woman.

  “Hello, beautiful. He’s paying, so I’ll have a double Jack and a beer, please. And get one for yourself, darling.”

  “Quit with the charm offensive, dickhead.”

  “What? I’m simply complimenting the gorgeous staff, I mean,” he stood, leaning over the bar to gawp at Em’s legs, “look at those fucking legs.”

  I slapped my hand against his chest and forced him back into his seat. “Sit the fuck down.”

  “When you two have finished with the pissing contest, I’d like a kiss before I get back to work.” I forgot about Ry, and leaned forward to press my lips against hers. She slid her petite arms around my neck and stroked her fingers into the hair at my nape.

  “I missed you,” she whispered against my mouth.

  “Not nearly as much as I missed you, Pix.”

  Her beautiful face brightened like a shining star as her smile grew. My chest tightened, knowing all that was for me; I had put that smile there, me and me alone, and it felt amazing.

  “Do…do you want to stay over tonight?”

  I frowned, because week nights were ‘school nights’. “What about Izzy?”

  She paused, staring into my eyes. I could see the war battling about in her mind. “She won’t mind.”

  It was my turn to grin at her. I wanted to pull her over the bar into my arms and take her home now. Instead, I slid my hands down her sides. “I’d love to.”

  “Okay. –”

  “I don’t pay you to fraternize with the customers, Em. It ain’t that kinda bar, babe,” her fuckwit of a boss said, laughing at his hilarious joke. He whipped her ass with his towel and headed down the bar. I stared after the jackass.

  “If he touches your ass again, I will –”

  “Whoa! Never thought I’d see the day. Mr Passive here going all macho over a woman.”

  I turned to glare at Ry. I was surrounded by fucking loons tonight.

  Tiny hands slid over my chest and her soft lips kissed my neck and under my chin. “Just the way I like him.”

  With those parting words, she jumped down from the bar and started collecting empty glasses.

  “If you’re trying to fight what you feel for that girl, I’d give in now, bro. Because there ain’t a damn thing you can do.”

  “What the hell are you yammering about now?” I slumped down on my stool, picking up the tumbler of bourbon Em left for me. I watched as her tight little ass shimmied down the bar.

  “You’re in love, and I ain’t talking about the shit you put up with from Marissa. I’m talking you’ve handed your balls and soul over to this woman. You’re in deep.”

  I turned and tapped my knuckles against his head. “You sure you didn’t sustain an injury over there?”

  His deep, throaty chuckle and shake of his massive frame said he wasn’t offended.

  “Deny it all you want, kid. I see it, the way you look at her. I’ve never seen you look at any woman the way you look at her.”

  “Ry –”

  “I’m happy for you. Mar was never right, Will, and I think deep down you know that.”

  “Fuck if I do. She was my wife; I loved her with everything I had.”

  “Yet you walked away without fighting for her.”

  I turned to glare at him. “She was fucking another man. She gave birth to his kid. Would you stay?”

  “No. But if you found Emily with another guy?”

  My blood burned through my veins. My hands tightened into fists and my muscles coiled tight at the thought of any man touching her. Ryan glanced down at my hands, then shrugged with a dismissive lift of his beer. He took a sip and glanced at me from the corner of his eye.

  “Did you deck Brock?”

  “No, there wasn’t much point. He’d already –”

  “But you are willing to massacre me for mentioning Em with other guys.”

  “Stop talking shit, Ryan. My Emily would never cheat on me.”

  “Did you think Mar would?”

  “I’m not talking about this anymore. You’re being a dick.”

  A slow smile spread across the bastard’s face. But even in my own mind, I couldn’t rationalise why I felt different. In the short time I’d known Emily, I’d almost become obsessed with the magical little pixie. I’d lusted after Marissa for months before having the balls to ask her out, and if I was completely honest with myself, her refusals to my proposals were never that killer. Yeah, I was bummed, but I wasn’t crippled by grief like I would be if Em–

  What the fuck! Em and I weren’t getting married; I wasn’t thinking in those terms. We were having fun; it wasn’t – oh, who the hell was I kidding? Ryan was right, I was a lost cause. She had me, balls and soul.

  “Well, if it isn’t sexy William. And who is your friend?” Rhea’s honeyed voice sent me on high alert.

  Ryan cast me a sly smile. When he caught sight of Rhea, his eyes widened and his smile grew. I shook my head infinitesimally but he caught the movement, his military senses kicking in. His shoulders broadened and his hand tightened around his beer.

  “What do you want?”

  “Now, now, there is no need to be like that. We’re intimately acquainted, after all.”

  Ryan glanced at me.

  “Stripping in your sister’s kitchen and throwing yourself at me does not an intimate relationship make. Actually, legally, you could be arrested for indecent exposure, harassment, and –”

  “Please,” she slurred and I almost gagged at the stale stench of her breath. I noticed a stain on the front of her top, not that there was much material to stain. I dared any man to deny her chest was on full view; if she bent forward everything would be on display. “If Em hadn’t been upstairs, you’d have let me go down on you –”

  I held up my hand to silence her vile mouth.

  “That’s your problem, honey; if he was interest
ed, he’d be on his knees eating pussy for breakfast.”

  I spun on my stool to glare at Ryan. The expression on his face had the words freezing in my throat. He looked furious. But Rhea, being the desperate man-eater she was, ignored his tone and squeezed her body between us.

  “Hey –”

  “Save your breath; I’d take a vow of celibacy before risking what you’re carrying.” He took a hearty swig of his beer and spoke around Rhea. “I need a piss. Get rid of the garbage while I'm gone. And ask your gorgeous girl for another shot and beer.” Rhea glared at Ryan’s back as he made his way through the crowded bar.

  “No one gives me the time of day; it’s always her.” She pointed down the bar at Emily’s retreating back. I weighed my chances of retrieving the shot she had stolen from in front of me, but in one gulp it was gone. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and slammed the glass down on the bar. “I gave birth to that weedy fucker’s bastard kid and he still wanted her!” she screeched, pointing at Em. I shifted my body, trying to block her view, trying to somehow save Em from the venom being spewed her way. “I’m so much more than her; what the fuck does she have you all bloody want?” She reached over and grabbed Ry’s drink and downed it. She didn’t even care to wipe the dribbles running down her chin this time. I slid my hands down my jeans and stretched the tension out of my shoulders.

  “Sweetheart,” I drawled slowly, with as much condescension as I could pack into one word, but she was so far gone her eyes glazed over and a sassy grin slopped onto her face. “You want men to want you the way men crave Emily?”

  Her shoulders jerked, but she leaned toward me, her lazy grin turning predatory. She thought she had won me, but the game was far from over and my woman was keeping her trophy.

  “Have some respect, Rhea, and stop acting like a two-cent whore.”

  I saw it coming; let’s face it, she was sloppy drunk and slow, but I deserved it. I’d never spoken to women with such derision, and she deserved to take the shot. The slap landed and stung like a motherfucker. I smiled at her with a smug, arrogant grin. She lifted her hand to slap me again, but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her to me.