by Krista Wolf
“He told us.”
“He tells us everything,” said the cheerful girl in the back.
I reached up and mopped the sweat from my brow. “Well I can assure you, you don’t know everything. And I’m not sure I should be—”
The driver’s laughter stopped me mid-sentence. Her eyes flared. “Oh wow, she thinks we don’t know.”
“Really?” said the girl in the back. She seemed incredulous.
“Look,” I said, “if this is some game you guys play or—”
“We know all about Camden,” the driver said abruptly. “And Roderick. And our brother’s… proclivities for sharing.”
It was impossible to hide my shock and surprise. I didn’t even try.
“So…”
“So we know how this whole thing works,” the girl in the passenger seat went on. “It was the same deal with Madison, although she asked a lot less questions than you.”
“She also got in the Jeep a lot quicker too,” the driver added.
They stopped talking for a moment, and a somber silence settled over us. I tried imagining them doing this with Madison, so many years ago. They seemed to respect her at least. That much was obvious.
“This is a test then,” I theorized. “Some sort of a job interview, to date your brother.”
“You getting in, or what?” asked the driver.
I eyed her skeptically. “Depends on where we’re going.”
“There’s a great coffee shop a few miles up the road,” the freckled passenger pointed.
“Well why the fuck didn’t you say so,” I laughed, as I reached for the door handle.
Forty-Three
KARISSA
The blonde with the freckled ears introduced herself as June. The brown-haired driver, as Kate. They seemed interchangeable, in terms of wit and sarcasm. The two sisters remained relatively silently on the way to the coffee shop, other than murmuring to each other in the front seat.
The girl in the back of the Jeep was Melanie, and I liked her most of all. She was the youngest — possibly too young to have been around for when they’d done this with Bryce’s other girlfriends — but she had that unspoiled exuberance of youth. The one that goes away after you’ve been screwed over a bunch of times, leaving you older, more bitter, and more jaded.
“So you’ve done this a bunch of times, huh?” I asked, sipping my coffee.
The place was too quaint for its own good, and cluttered with tchotchkes. You could barely sit down without bumping into something strung up on the walls, or scattered across shelves placed uncomfortably close to the seating areas. But hey, it made damned good coffee though.
“A few,” said Kate. “The ones we can catch, anyway.”
“Do you usually give them the third degree?”
June laughed, bringing her own latte to her full, Bryce-like lips. “If you think this is bad, you should see what he puts our boyfriends through.”
They went on for a bit, detailing some of the things Bryce had done to guys who’d come sniffing around after his sisters. It turned out he’d pulled everything from lying about where they were to telling potential suitors they’d moved away. The ones who still stuck around got an earful of “the speech,” which came complete with passive-aggressive threats veiled as glib promises and a whole lot of physical intimidation, all accompanied by Bryce’s most twisted smile.
“He told a guy I really liked that I’d left to join the Navy,” said June. “All because he didn’t like the shoes he showed up in.”
“That’s nothing,” laughed Melanie. “When Rob showed up for our first date Bryce let him in, handed him a drink, and told him I’d just run out to the pharmacy to pick up my herpes medication.”
I nearly spit my coffee. “Oh shit.”
“Yeah.”
“He took my fiancé out for a ‘gentleman’s lunch’ at a really expensive restaurant,” said Kate. “He slipped out while pretending to use the bathroom and stuck him with the bill.”
“And also left him without a ride home,” Melanie pointed out.
“That too.”
I suppressed a chuckle, picturing Bryce doing these things to the poor guys trying to date his sisters. At least they only had to deal with him one-on-one. I was getting triple-teamed here, and the irony wasn’t lost on me.
“So tell us about yourself,” said June. “If you’re going to date our brother, we should at least know who you are.”
The three of them leaned back in their comfortable mismatched seats, pretending to tend to their lattes. It was a deception though, because they were still focused on me. Probably examining my expression and my body language every bit as much as my answers.
I’d been a police officer long enough to know when people were pretending.
“Well you know I was once a cop, I’m sure.”
“Yes,” Kate admitted. “Bryce told us, up in New Hampshire. Only we couldn’t find an officer named Karissa Smith registered anywhere near Concord.”
“That’s because my last name’s not Smith,” I told her. “It’s Jandris.”
I saw Melanie look at Kate, and her eyebrows went up. She nodded back to her sister.
“Okay,” she said. “You get points for that one.”
“Why?” I smiled. “Because you knew that already?”
Kate shrugged. “Wasn’t hard to find a ‘Karissa’.”
“I’d imagine not.”
“Also because we found the article on your… ‘incident’,” June added. “The one where you T-boned a drug dealer’s Porsche.”
“More like sideswiped until he ran off the road,” I corrected her. “But yeah, that.”
“Sideswiped into a ditch,” Melanie chuckled. She raised her coffee. “Touché on that one.”
“Thanks.”
“Anyway, everything we read made you seem like a loose cannon,” said Kate. “You raised hell up there, then took off down here. And now you’re in our brother’s life. So tell us…”
“Are you a loose cannon?” June finished for her.
I glanced down, wondering what they wanted to hear. The cheap little table we sat around was stained by a dozen or more coffee rings. People that hadn’t used coasters had left heat impressions in the Formica.
“What kind of answer are you looking for?” I finally asked. “Want me to lie? Tell you I’m straight now, and I’ve got all my anger issues under control? Or should I tell you the truth, which is I’m pretty much winging it. That I lucked into a job I truly love, with three bosses I really admire. That I fell into bed with them too, after a whole year of attraction. And not just one by one, mind you. But two and three at a time.”
I paused, watching the surprise creep over their expressions. Not because they didn’t know the guys were sharing me, which they did. It was more like shock over me being so blunt about it.
“I was as shocked as anyone else when it happened,” I said. “But I rolled with it. I rolled with it because I was desperate for some intimacy in my life, and yes, some sex too. But I continued rolling with it because I actually love these guys, and because they love me. Your brother included.”
They glanced at each other again, and information passed wordlessly and seamlessly between them. It was a sister thing, I knew. It made me a little jealous I’d never had one.
“So you love Bryce.”
“Yes.”
June raised a skeptical eyebrow. “What do you love about him?”
“Well he’s bright. Handsome. Generous. He makes me laugh, constantly, even when I don’t feel like laughing. And of course he’s built like a—”
“We know that part,” Kate interrupted. “Go on about the other stuff.”
I took another sip of my coffee. Not only to get my bearings, but to disarm them a bit.
“Bryce is hardworking. Ambitious. And he never stops moving, which is right up my alley. I’m a lot like him in that regard. It’s like no matter what time of the day or night it is, Bryce’s motor is always running. He p
uts it in idle to sleep maybe, but it never, ever stops.”
Melanie laughed and nodded. Apparently my description of her brother was hitting the nail on the head.
“It gets annoying sometimes,” I admitted, “that he never sits still. But since that’s what happens with me, we’re kinda good for each other. We mellow each other out, especially at the end of the day. We calm each other down.”
They were still watching me, still waiting. Letting me go on, until I either said something wrong or was done.
“Most of all I love that he’s always happy,” I told them. “He’s the most cheerful person I’ve ever met — the type of guy who could bring anyone’s day up. And it’s not a fake happiness either. I’ve seen fake happy. Bryce’s good mood is the real deal, and he has the uncanny ability to inject optimism into even the shittiest situation.”
Silence. Sideways glances. Then:
“Fuck,” said Kate. “That last part about the optimism was dead on.”
Melanie laughed. “I know, right? He’s annoyingly optimistic.”
“But that other part too,” said June, “about being real not fake.” She looked directly at me. “He said the same thing about you, actually.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yes. He told us ‘this world is full of people who are full of shit’. But not you. Bryce said you were no-bullshit. And that’s what made you special to him.”
“Actually,” Kate butted in, “he said you were anti-bullshit.”
I had to chuckle. “So like I cancel out existing bullshit?”
She drained the rest of her coffee and nodded. “Exactly.”
I sat there for another moment or two, while the other’s exchanged glances. Eventually, they all rose at the same time.
“I guess you’ve got our blessing for now,” June smirked down at me. “But that can always change.”
I smirked back. “I’ll be careful.”
“Good. It’s not an easy thing I’m sure, splitting your attentions between three people. But if this is what our brother wants? If that’s his thing?” She shrugged. “Who are we to judge.”
“Lucky you,” Melanie winked.
They turned to leave, obviously without me. I leapt to my feet. “Wait. Where are you going?”
“To the beach.”
I blinked. “And what about me?”
“Oh you’ll find your way back,” Kate smiled, as June and Melanie giggled.
“Our brother said you were very resourceful.”
Forty-Four
KARISSA
I found Bryce where I always found him: in the gym, doing crunches. He was always doing crunches, no matter where he might be. He did them in the living room, the kitchen, the hallway. He did them in the bathroom once, while I was showering, just to keep a conversation going.
“Oh hey,” he said, after finishing his latest set. Looking me up and down, he smiled. “You’re sweaty.”
“Yeah,” I said, a little snarkily. “You have your siste—”
“Me too,” he said, pulling his shirt up to his chest. His two rippled columns of magnificent abs were all pumped and glistening. “See?”
“I… ummm…”
He nodded toward the back bench, in the corner of the library. “Wanna get more sweaty?” he grinned. “Together?”
I swallowed, totally distracted as he pulled his shirt over his head. Bryce’s beautifully cut body had my mouth watering. Among other places.
“You’ve done it on the bench before,” he said, his voice going low and sexy. “Camden told me.”
I nodded, remembering our after-workout workout from a few nights ago. Holy shit the things Camden had done to me on that bench…
“He said the bench was great,” Bryce growled, his body only inches from mine. His hands slid around my waist. They settled over my ass and squeezed. “He said you felt incredible, straddling him on— wait, what?”
All of a sudden he looked confused. Like something had just registered, a minute late.
“What were you saying about my sister?”
His words broke me out of my happy little trance. Unfortunately.
“Sisters,” I corrected him. “All three of them. Together.”
His confusion remained for another second before his eyes went wide with acknowledgment. “Ohhh…” he said, covering his mouth with his hand. “Oh shit.”
“Yeah,” I smirked.
“Damn Karissa, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I should’ve warned you they might—”
“Kidnap me?”
His face was half apology, half grin. He shrugged, and it was such an adorable shrug I couldn’t even be mad at him.
“Ply me with really good coffee?” I continued. “Abandon me five miles from the house?”
“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “They do shit like that.”
“Well maybe you shouldn’t have done it to them,” I shot back playfully. “I heard a few stories. Things you pulled on their boyfriends.”
Bryce shrugged again, blowing a lock of blond hair out of his face. “Well I’m the older brother,” he said. “That makes it my right. Hell, when you have sisters it’s actually a requirement.”
“I hear you,” I smiled, leaning into him. “And I think it’s cute.”
I opened my palms and laid them right where I wanted them: on his hard, quivering stomach. I could feel the tension, from all those delicious repetitions. I could feel heat, through the well-earned sweat.
“Still want me to show you how to use that bench?” I teased, sliding into him.
He laughed. “You’re going to show me?”
“I’ve got a few exercises, yeah.”
“Do they require these?” he asked, pulling out the waistband of his workout shorts. He snapped them back just before I could get a glimpse inside.
“Not even a little bit.”
Our lips collided, our mouths working hungrily as our hands explored. Our bodies were already hot from all the exercise. Bryce’s, from the tail end of a hard workout. Mine, from my several mile run.
None of that mattered. Right now, the only thing I wanted even more than a cold glass of water was to have him inside me.
“I’m going to smash you all over that bench,” he growled, his hands taking control.
I moaned a little, giggling into his mouth. “Go for it.”
“And then I’m going to—”
“Ah, there you are!”
We both whirled as Camden came rushing into the library — or the gym — or whatever we were calling it. He saw what we were about to do and stopped.
“Oh.”
“What is it?” Bryce asked.
“Oscar called,” said Camden. His gaze shifted to me. “He’s been trying to reach you, but you’re not answering your phone.”
“I left it charging,” I said. “Does he need something?”
“More like he found something,” Camden replied. “On one of the cameras.”
My hands dropped from Bryce’s stomach. My already racing pulse picked up a little.
“Did he say what it was?”
“No, but he gave me a time-stamp. It’s from late last night.” Camden paused, as if just noticing our sweatiness… and various states of undress. “If you guys wanna finish what you’re about to do,” he smirked, “I could show you afterward, or—”
“I’m coming now,” I declared. Extracting myself from Bryce’s arms, I grabbed the towel he’d been using and mopped my brow. “Sorry.”
“Raincheck?” he grinned, nodding casually toward the bench.
I turned back and bounced onto my toes for a moment to give him a long, deep kiss.
“Definite raincheck.”
Forty-Five
KARISSA
The footage was crystal clear, and sharp as hell: a car, circling the outer edge of the property. It stopped near the entrance and a lone figure got out, walking the perimeter of the newly-locked gates. We’d started locking them when the cameras went up.
�
�Wow,” said Bryce, leaning over my shoulder. “How much did we pay for these cameras?”
“Why?” I asked, hunched over my laptop.
“Because they’re fucking amazing, that’s why.”
“Probably too much,” I admitted. “But hey, having the place burned down by a mess of blurry pixels is way more expensive.”
Camden returned, sliding a glass of cold water into my hand. I gulped it down greedily, then punched the button on the laptop that would rewind the footage.
“So… any ideas?”
The man who approached the gates wasn’t short or tall, he was somewhere right in the middle. He had an average build, an average shape. An average-sized silhouette, against the bluish, two-in-the-morning sky.
“He’s too far away to get any features on him,” said Camden. “So no.”
“Enhance!” Bryce joked.
I pushed the footage back and forth at a quarter speed, hoping for a miracle. I only needed one frame. One small area where the man’s face passed through the dim moonlight, and gave us something to go on.
“Shit,” I said after a minute or two. “Nothing.
I took a few screenshots, and sent them to our printer. They didn’t amount to much, though. Just then Roderick entered the room. He squinted into the screen with a concerned look on his face.
“Apparently we’ve got a visitor,” Bryce told him. “Someone was snooping around the gate last night, but—”
“I know. Oscar told me.”
I’d given Oscar a couple of overtime hours to pour through the nighttime footage on the weekends. The motion sensors picked up all kinds of stuff on a windy day, and it got windy often. It was a lot to go through.
“So what do we have?”
“A guy trying the gate. Finding it locked.” I shrugged. “Not much else.”
“What’s he driving?”
I zoomed in on the car, which was parked some distance away. It was a sedan, not an SUV or a truck. And it looked a little on the smaller side.
I looked back at the guys. Camden was squinting extra hard.
