by Kay Gordon
“Hey, Vincent.” There was silence before Evan sighed. “I’ve got people searching for something we can use to prove it was Tristan again.” Another pause. “She’s still asleep but she’s going to be okay. She’s too strong to let him keep her down and I’m not planning on going anywhere.” He laughed softly at whatever my brother said. “Damn right. See you in a bit.”
When the house went silent, I stayed where I was on the top landing for a long minute. It wasn’t until the fridge door shut that I made my feet move and carry me down the stairs. I walked into the kitchen and was rewarded with the sight of my boyfriend at the stove in only his jeans.
His brown hair was a mess, either from sleep or from running his hands through it, but he smiled brightly when he looked over at me.
“Morning, sleepyhead.”
“Have you been up long?” I asked, moving forward until I could wrap my arms around him from behind and dropping my cheek to his muscled back. He shook his head and covered one of my hands that was resting on his chest.
“About thirty minutes. I had some calls to make.”
We stood like that until he had to move to flip the eggs that were frying on the stovetop. I stepped back and hoisted myself up on the countertop in the corner.
“What can I do to help?”
Evan turned and offered me a smirk. “The best way for you to help in the kitchen is to sit back and watch.”
“Whatever,” I replied with a scoff, knowing that he was absolutely right. “I’m not that bad.”
“Yeah, Tor. You’re worse.”
We both laughed and when it tapered off, silence fell back over the kitchen. It wasn’t a bad silence, though. Evan and I didn’t have those anymore. It was a comfortable silence. I watched him cook until he asked me to pull down plates from the cupboard. It wasn’t too long before he was plating fried eggs, sausage links, and toast for each of us.
“Simon and Nick brought your car home. Oh, and Vincent will be here later,” he said once we’d sat at the table to start eating. I shrugged and put down my glass of orange juice.
“I’m surprised Vin isn’t here yet, honestly. Who called you? Him or Owens?”
“Your brother.” He looked at me with his brows raised. “Do you two seriously have that twin ESP thing?”
I nodded. “It’s always been like that for us. The negative moments hit harder than anything although I swear I knew the second he lost his virginity.”
A shudder ran through me at the memory but I pushed it away. “And then when we were sixteen, I was in chemistry taking notes and it suddenly felt like someone had taken a hammer to my hand. It was so painful and so quick that I screamed out loud, interrupting the teacher. Turns out, Vincent was in shop class and his hand had been smashed in a vice, breaking three of his fingers.”
“Wow. That’s awesome and terrifying at the same time.” He took a bite of his sausage and offered me a handsome smile. “How are you doing, Tor? For real?”
What a loaded question. It was funny how little I’d thought about the video since climbing into bed with Evan the night before. The moment I found out that it had been circulated to the New Hope departments, I immediately felt devastated and ashamed. I spent years working hard to gain their respect, to be seen as something other than a woman in a male-dominated profession. What if it’d all fallen apart in a matter of seconds?
With the LVFR, so many members of my company had immediately seen me a joke. As nothing more than a piece of ass. I wasn’t prepared to do that again. I wasn’t sure I actually could.
But in reality? I didn’t think the members of my company would be like that. The one who might have worried me the most was Chad Hughes. He wasn’t the most mature out of the bunch and could be a chauvinistic asshole but the things he’d said the night before… Well, that had given me the biggest confidence boost.
“I’m okay,” I replied honestly with a small shrug. “I’m sorry about last night. I just-”
“Stop,” he interrupted swiftly, his voice hard. “Don’t apologize for that. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
A smile threatened to spill along my lips at his stern expression but I managed to just nod instead. “Okay.”
Evan changed the subject, telling me about how Christine’s mom had tried to take on the role as his assistant at the game the day before and how mad she’d been when I showed up. I chuckled while rinsing off our dishes.
“You’re like catnip to all of those soccer moms. You’re lucky I’m not an insecure person.”
“If I’m catnip to soccer moms then you’re catnip to the male species in general.” Evan placed his hands on the counter on either side of me, caging me in at the sink. “What’s the deal with Lennox?”
“Lennox? Tyson Lennox?” I was momentarily confused but burst out laughing when I saw how serious Evan’s face was. “We’re really good friends. Let’s just say Tyson and I are close because we’ve both seen some shit in our lives.”
Evan’s face softened and he leaned in to brush his lips against mine gently. “You bring out the caveman in me, Tor. I want to pound on my chest and make sure everyone knows you’re mine.”
A thrill ran up my spine with his words. A year before, I would have kneed someone in the balls if they had tried to declare that I belonged to them. The way Evan Coleman said it made me feel cherished, desired, and maybe even loved. I welcomed it.
I threw my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, touching my tongue to his. He didn’t hesitate to kiss me back and I somehow ended up with my legs looped around his waist and his hands squeezing my butt.
He had just carried me to the kitchen table and I was rubbing against him like a shameless hussy when the doorbell rang four times in quick succession. I groaned and pulled my lips from Evan’s so I could bury my face in his shoulder.
“I hate my twin right now.”
His body rumbled against mine as he laughed and I sucked in a sharp breath as I slid down Evan’s body. The doorbell rang four more times as I steadied myself on my feet with a disgruntled groan. I started to head for the front door but paused when I realized Evan wasn’t behind me. I glanced over at him questioningly but he just shook his head.
“Be there in a second.” He looked down pointedly and my eyes followed. A huff of laughter escaped my lips when I saw how little his shorts did to hide his arousal. “I’m not interested in getting hit by your brother today.”
I grinned and continued towards the front door, feeling a bit more powerful as I put some sway into my steps. The doorbell had just begun to ring again when I unlocked the door and pulled it open.
“Finally.” I had about half a second to glimpse the worry on my brother’s face before he was scooping me into a tight bear hug that lifted me off the floor. “Are you okay?”
With my face buried in his shoulder, I nodded. He smelled like sweat and chemicals, a sure sign that he just got off work, but underneath that he smelled like my childhood.
“I’m okay.”
He put me on my feet and pulled back to inspect my face. “If anyone at your station gives you shit, heads are going to roll.”
My eyes are what ended up rolling but Evan approached us before I could reply.
“Vincent. Good to see you again.”
My two favorite guys shook hands and Evan looked at me once they separated.
“I’m going to go for a run.”
“Okay.” I reached out and squeezed his hand, knowing full well he was only going for a run to give me some time alone with my brother. He always ran in the mornings but never this late due to how warm it was. “Be safe.”
He disappeared upstairs to go change and I sat on the couch next to Vincent. I told him about the night before, starting with the beginning of our shift and ending with when Evan brought me home. I left out the details of what we did once we were home because I was a nice sister like that.
“You’re better than I thought you’d be,” my bro
ther said quietly, tugging on a strand of my hair. “I kind of expected to show up here and find you a complete wreck.”
“I felt like I was falling apart when Owens first told me the video had been emailed to everyone,” I admitted. “I just saw it all happening like it had all those years before but, I don’t know… I feel like I have more people behind me, ready to support me, and that makes me stronger than I already am. My biggest fear has been that my company mates would see and treat me like a piece of ass or like I couldn’t do my job.”
“But they’re not going to do that.” Vincent’s green eyes were full of fire when he spoke. “The difference between this company and your last is glaringly different. You guys operate like a family and family always has your back, Vic. Trust them to have your back.”
“I do.” And I really did. It was amazing what some supportive words, a good night’s sleep, and some mind-blowing sex could do to put things in perspective.
“Good.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my temple. When he sat back, he raised his brows. “Looks like Coleman’s taking good care of you.”
I smirked and pinched the skin on the underside of his wrist. “Oh, he’s taking very good care of me. Want details?”
“Gross, never mind.”
A snort of laughter escaped my lips but I let out a sigh as I relaxed into my brother’s arms. “He’s pretty amazing, honestly. I don’t know how we even ended up where we are but I’m glad we did.”
The two of us sat there in silence for a few moments and I smiled when I realized how true those words were.
“Okay,” Vincent said about five minutes later. “I left as soon as my shift ended and didn’t eat breakfast. What do you have in this kitchen that I can eat?”
He was polishing off a box of Frosted Flakes I had in the pantry when Evan reappeared from his run, shirtless and sweaty. As he took a long drink of from his water bottle, I watched a few drops of sweat trail down his chest, all the way across his muscular abs.
I didn’t even realize I was staring until my brother groaned and put the empty cereal box on my counter. I snapped my eyes to him and saw that he was trying not to smile while looking grossed out.
“And on that note, I’m out of here.” He reached over to obnoxiously mess up my hair and gave a chin nod to Evan before leaving the kitchen.
The front door had barely slammed shut before I was hopping off the counter and wreathing my arms around Evan’s neck.
“Any interest in finishing what we started earlier?”
He responded by lifting me slightly and encouraging me to wrap my legs around his waist again.
“I believe I was taking you over to the table before he showed up.”
I nodded and ran my tongue along his bottom lip. “I believe you’re right, Coleman.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Evan
It was funny how much could change in such a short period of time. Eight weeks before, when I’d turned to find Victoria glaring at me on the soccer field for the first time, I never even imagined that we’d be where we were.
Any trace of the brokenness that I’d seen at the station house on Saturday evening was gone Sunday. Resolve was in its place and I knew that she wasn’t going to let my brother break her. Not a second time.
We spent our Sunday doing very little, apart from filing a police report in regards to the video. Victoria insisted on getting a workout in after we gave her table a workout of its own and then the two of us hunkered down in the living room. I pulled out some case files to read while she flipped through the channels and stopped on some housewife show.
Her phone vibrated throughout the day but she didn’t answer any of the calls or respond to any of the text messages unless they were from Vincent or her father.
She put her phone down after ending a call with her dad and rolled so she was looking up at me from where her head was in my lap.
“Dad wants me to bring you over for dinner tonight.”
I cringed slightly at the thought of coming face to face with the Jones patriarch. The memory of his hatred and loathing from seven years before was still fresh in my mind and Vincent hadn’t shied away from telling me how much their father still disliked me.
“Big, bad Evan Coleman is scared of my little, old daddy?” Her green eyes sparkled with humor and I ran my fingers along her ribs gently, causing her to squirm.
“You talk a lot of shit for someone who’s at my mercy, Jones.”
She gasped for a breath in between laughs and shook her head with a beautiful grin when I stopped. “Will you please go with me?”
“Of course I will.” I leaned down and brushed my lips against hers. “I’ll go anywhere you ask me to, Tor.”
She tugged on my head, deepening the kiss, and we didn’t resurface for a few minutes. When we did, I had to resist the urge I had to rip her clothes off.
“I need to run home and change if we’re actually leaving the house.”
“Okay.” She sat up and stretched her arms above her head, causing the t-shirt she was wearing to ride up and put some of her flesh on display. “If we stop by that bakery on Campbell Road and get him a cake, it could possibly soften him from the get-go.”
“On it. I’m all for cheating with sweets.”
I changed into the clothes I’d been wearing the day before while Victoria got ready. When she emerged from the master bathroom, I couldn’t help but smile.
She was leaving her hair down more and more and I loved when those silky strands were left free. The denim shorts and grey tank top she was wearing spoke of a new level of confidence my girlfriend had reached and I was so proud of her. When she slipped her feet into a pair of flip flops and caught me watching her, she raised her eyebrows expectantly.
“What?”
“Not a thing.” I flashed her a smile and grabbed my wallet, keys, and gun from the dresser. She rolled her eyes but I could tell she was trying not to smile, too.
I drove us in my truck to the bakery first, picking up a strawberry shortcake that Victoria insisted was Warren’s favorite. Afterwards we went to my place so I could get some clean clothes.
“When is re-construction supposed to finish?” Victoria asked as she looked out my bedroom window to where the Morris house was being rebuilt slowly.
“Not until after the first of the year. I think Dom’s going to go crazy by then.”
She stepped away from the window. “I can imagine. Just the thought of having to live with my dad again makes me feel like going insane. He has the tendency to revert back to smothering parent after any prolonged visit.”
I had no idea what it was like to have a parent who smothered you because they loved you but I didn’t say that out loud. Victoria’s face always went sad anytime I mentioned something about my pathetic childhood.
I was just buttoning up my charcoal colored shorts when the doorbell rang. Tori glanced over at me with furrowed brows.
“Expecting anyone?”
“Definitely not.” I slid the blue t-shirt over my head as I headed towards the living room. The doorbell was just ringing again when I pulled the door open and wanted to slam the door when I saw who was standing there. “Hi, Shelley.”
She was dressed in a pair of black shorts that were indecently short and a hot pink sports bra. Her brown hair, like always, was curled perfectly and the make-up on her face was very overdone. Her red-painted lips, which looked chemically enhanced, were formed into a pout.
“I’m so glad you’re home. I feel like you’re gone a lot.” She reached out and touched my arm, showing off her purple painted nails. “I need your help.”
I think it said a lot to my self-control that I didn’t release the frustrated groan I felt in my chest. “What’s wrong?”
Before Shelley could spill her turmoil, I heard Victoria speak with a ton of levity in her voice.
“Who’s at the door, Ev?” She made her presence known by coming to stand by my s
ide in the doorway with a too-big smile on her face.
Shelley’s eyes immediately zeroed in on my girlfriend and her smile faltered for about two seconds before she forced it back on.
“Oh, who’s this?”
I wanted to laugh when Victoria leaned into my side and slipped her hand into my back pocket. I’d never see her jealous or possessive and I had to say, I liked it.
“This is my girlfriend, Victoria. Tor, meet my neighbor, Shelley. She lives down the street.”
“Nice to meet you.” Victoria’s voice was still sickly sweet and a direct contrast to the sour look on Shelley’s face.
“Girlfriend?” My neighbor focused her gaze on me. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”
“I do.” I flinched slightly when Tori dug her nails into the flesh of my ass. Even with the lining of the pocket and my boxers acting as a barrier, it stung slightly. Whether she was teasing me or punishing me, I didn’t know and I honestly didn’t care. “What did you need help with?”
“Oh.” Shelley’s eyes lit up again with the reminder of why she’d come over in the first place. “I have a problem with the pipe in my bathroom. It’s leaking and I can’t figure out what to do.”
Before I could reply, Victoria spoke. “Oh, my father owns his own plumbing business and I’m actually pretty good with that kind of stuff. We’d be happy to come help you.”
It was obvious that having both of us over to fix the issue was not what Shelley wanted. She tried to stammer out a refusal but Tori wouldn’t hear it.
Thirty minutes later, we were back in my truck and heading in the direction of Warren’s house.
Victoria had marched down to Shelley’s house with my toolbox and fixed the leaking pipe within five minutes. Shelley watched with her jaw dropped the entire time and I somehow managed not to laugh my ass off.
My girlfriend’s friendly demeanor never wavered and she’d been quick to tell my neighbor that she was happy to help with any other plumbing problems that arose. Shelley thanked her and looked like she didn’t know whether to be grateful or irritated.
