He glanced at Thomas. “Now, you don’t have to give us an answer today. If your answer is no, we still want you to come in on Thursdays, that wouldn’t change. There’s no pressure to say yes. If you say yes, we’d want you to start immediately with your new duties.”
She tried to absorb what he said, still stuck on, “We love you.” She knew what Tyler meant wasn’t what she felt, but who cared? She looked at Thomas. “Personal assistant?”
Thomas took her other hand, and now his big brown eyes had her soul impaled. Jeezus pleezus, he was a cutie pie. Freckles peppered his cheekbones, and since Thomas spent lots of time on construction sites he had more of a tan than Tyler.
“Nevvie,” Thomas said, “please move in with us and be our personal assistant.”
She gasped, sure they were teasing. She looked at Tyler. “Move in?”
“Yes.” He dropped his voice and she struggled to listen. “But just you, Nevvie—not Alex. Only you. We’ll pay you whatever salary you think is fair, we’ll provide full room and board, a car, medical and auto insurance, everything. You decide what days off you want, you come and go as you please. You’d become a full-time member of our family.”
She couldn’t breathe. “Move in?”
“Yes.” Tyler’s eyes held hers, drawing her in. God, she wanted to lean over and kiss him, kiss both of them!
Thomas squeezed her hand. “Nevvie, we’ll help you move if you want.”
If she didn’t get air into her lungs she’d pass out. She took a gasping, hitching breath. “Just me?”
Thomas nodded. “Just you.”
She could be free of Alex! This was too good to be true. “Are you teasing me?”
“No, Nevvie,” Tyler assured her, “this is a serious offer. We feel after six months that we’ve spent enough time with you that we’re comfortable making this offer. I know it’s overwhelming, and I understand you will want some time. Please, think about it. Give us your answer on Thursday.”
Tyler, then Thomas, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
She could live with her two sweet love gods, be free of Alex, and get paid!
Tyler studied her. “Are you afraid of Alex?”
She dropped her gaze. “Yeah.”
Thomas’ hand tightened around hers. “He won’t hurt you, Nevvie. We won’t let him or anyone else hurt you as long as you’re with us, we promise. And think, sugar, all the back rubs you can handle.” He winked.
Tyler sighed. “I suppose I need to run you back to the apartment. Think about our offer, and let us know on Thursday, right? If you say no, nothing changes. If you say yes, it would make the two of us very happy.”
Make that three, Tyler—I’d be thrilled. “Okay.”
* * * *
Tyler drove her home and she hesitated before getting out. No Escort, Alex was probably out drinking.
“You guys are serious?”
“I’ll come help you pack right now, if you wish.”
She wanted to say yes. “I’ve got the Pattersons tomorrow, I clean a half-day there. Then on Tuesday, the Leopolds. I need to tell them, it wouldn’t be fair to cancel on them.” She paused. “If I say yes, can I move in on Thursday?”
“Absolutely. Do you need help?”
She shook her head. Alex would be pissed enough. “I don’t have much, just clothes.” She studied his face. “You’re not joking?”
“Thomas and I already view you as part of our family. You aren’t our employee, not in our hearts.” He touched her cheek and lowered his voice. “I’ll be honest with you—we miss you when you’re not around. It feels right having you with us. Please say yes. It’ll break our hearts if you don’t.”
She studied his eyes for a long moment. “Okay. Yes, I’ll do it.”
Tyler leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Thomas will be as pleased as I am.” Then he smiled, and it melted her heart.
She had it bad for both men. How about that? Not only was she a dumbass, she was a dumbass times two, falling for not one, but two cute guys she could never have.
She’d never had these feelings for the guy she did have. Or any other guy, not that she’d been with that many guys. Alex was her fourth boyfriend, and the first time…
She didn’t like to think about that. It made her skin crawl, made her want to throw up.
“I’ll see you Thursday at eight,” she said. “I’ll need to get the car back to Alex without him following me. He doesn’t know where you live.”
“Thomas and I will take care of that, don’t worry. What about your mail?”
“I have a P.O. box he doesn’t know about.”
“Excellent. We can change that over. Are you sure you don’t want to leave sooner?”
“Thursday will be fine.”
“Do you want my cell phone, in case there’s an emergency?”
“No, that’s okay, but thank you.” She didn’t want to get out of the truck, and knew the longer she sat there the more the neighbors would talk—most likely to Alex.
“May I walk you to your door?”
Tyler even smelled good. She didn’t know if that was his deodorant or body wash or what.
Screw the neighbors. “Yes, please.”
Tyler walked around the truck to open her door. The perfect gentleman. Alex never held a door for her. Tyler walked her to 111 and she fished out her keys.
Tyler waited until she stepped inside. Then he smiled and, apparently well aware of the nosey neighbors, mouthed, “Thursday.”
She smiled and nodded. “Thursday,” she silently mouthed back. She locked the door and leaned against it, trying to catch her breath. Looking around the apartment she tried to think of anything she’d want so she wasn’t scrambling at the last minute. She didn’t have much in the way of clothes, maybe three suitcases, if that. She didn’t want any of the furniture. The kitchen stuff was cheap dollar store crap. She’d rather smash Alex’s Xbox than take it.
Nothing. There was nothing she wanted except her purse and clothes. Learning a valuable lesson after Katrina, she kept important paperwork in a safe deposit box Alex didn’t know about.
Thursday.
Freedom.
She sank to the floor, closed her eyes, and cried.
Chapter Four
Nevvie took a shower, wanting to finish before Alex returned. He usually stayed out late on Sunday nights and hopefully would tonight. She relived the day, the way Tyler held her hand at the bakery, how both men looked at her when asking her to move in.
So they weren’t interested in her body. Who cared? They wanted her.
They wanted her to be part of their family.
Mentally she planned what to take, how to pack. Maybe she should have left today. Away from them, standing in the rat-hole apartment and dreading Alex’s return, Nevvie felt more alone than she had in years.
With the boys she felt like a part of a family. That was an alien feeling, but one she had quickly grown to love.
Growing up she’d never felt like she belonged. When she found out she’d been adopted, it made sense. The man she thought of as her father died when she was eight. When her mom remarried two years later, “Preacher Jim” wasn’t her favorite person in the world.
A strict and unyielding man, Nevvie proved to be anything but compliant. He never tried to molest her but she’d be damned—literally—if she’d spend all her free time doing nothing but reading the Bible as he insisted.
A voracious reader, Nevvie’s favorite Nancy Drew and other books were taken away, deemed too immoral. He permitted only school texts and her Bible. He forbid any music except the Christian radio station. No TV allowed. Or movies.
Preacher Jim insisted the Earth was only a few thousand years old despite what scientists said. Even at ten Nevvie knew that was pretty damn stupid. While all her friends wore jeans or shorts, Preacher Jim forced her to wear long-sleeved, ankle-length dresses.
At twelve she ran away for the first time, which puzzled everyone except Nevvie, because she e
arned straight-A grades. She ran away at least once a month to her second cousin’s house for sanity and sympathy, riding the school bus with her the next morning. Finally, Preacher Jim deemed her a child of the Devil and encouraged Nevvie’s mother to reveal the truth about her parentage and give her cousin’s mother custody of the unruly girl.
Nevvie flourished once free of her stepfather’s restrictive tethers. Even her teachers noted with confusion that while most children should be failing by that point, if anything, her already impressive grades improved. She graduated with honors and an academic scholarship to the University of South Florida. Her mother and Preacher Jim and two younger half-brothers moved to Utah or some godforsaken place when she was sixteen, and she hadn’t heard from them since.
She didn’t want to.
Everything was on track until late one August night, when Nevvie was eighteen and in her first semester at USF. The alternator on her beater Chevy died on the way home from her job at the Bowl-A-Rama on 56th Street. She made the mistake of trusting Steve Moses, a guy she knew from high school, to give her a ride home in his daddy’s brand new Jag.
She’d been a virgin. A piece of her died when he left her lying on the side of the road. She supposed she was lucky he didn’t kill her. She dropped out of college and wanted to put Tampa far behind her, especially after Steve Moses’ daddy bought him out of trouble and blamed her for the whole thing.
Now, back in Tampa, her luck had finally changed for the better.
She rolled over and feigned sleep when she heard Alex stumble in around two a.m. She was too excited to sleep.
Alex staggered into the bathroom then fell into bed smelling of beer and perfume. She’d never let him fuck her without a condom, thank God. She especially didn’t want him touching her now. It didn’t matter that Tyler and Thomas were gay, she was their girl.
It’s all she wanted to be.
* * * *
The days crawled and Nevvie’s stomach twisted into knots. She resisted the urge to call Tyler and make sure the offer still stood, afraid Alex would catch her. She hid the necklace in her shoe when in the shower. Otherwise she always wore it, even in bed. There was no way in hell she would take it off.
Thursday morning. Emancipation. Freedom.
Alex didn’t get ready for work like he normally did on Thursdays. Nevvie fought the urge to pressure him out the door. That would set him off and he’d never leave.
She washed the dishes and tried to act normal. By seven, Alex had made no move to get ready. “Don’t you have to go to work today?”
“No. I’m going to drive you and take the car. I need it.”
No! She froze, trying to think.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” she lied. “They’re very private. They don’t want people knowing where they live. You screw this up, they’ll fire me.” Crap, even she didn’t believe that.
“Hell, you know where they live.”
“I clean their house. I’m supposed to know.”
He paused his video game and eyed her over the back of the couch. “You get ready. I’ll take you. If your little queer boy boss has a problem with that, have him talk to me.”
Nevvie was glad he couldn’t see her fists clench behind the counter. She fought the urge to sling every plate in the drainer at him.
Alex stared her down, daring her to defy him. She backed off and gathered what she’d need for her shower, taking it into the bathroom. She might never get undressed for her boys, but she damn sure wasn’t getting undressed for Alex. She decided on jeans instead of shorts. She wasn’t showing Alex any more of her body than she absolutely had to.
She tucked the necklace into the toe of her sneaker and started the shower, finishing as quickly as possible. The latch on the door was iffy at best and a strong tug would open it. She didn’t want Alex walking in while she was naked.
Nevvie dressed and had put the necklace on when she heard the knob pop. Alex appeared in the doorway.
“What the hell you doing in here with the door locked?” He saw the necklace. “What the fuck is that?”
She protectively covered it. “A present.”
His eyes narrowed and he advanced. “From who? Those fag boys? Who the fuck gives their maid a necklace? How fucking long you had it?”
She tucked it under her shirt and shoved past him. “They gave it to me for my birthday, asshole. Which by the way was a week ago, and you didn’t even say anything.”
He grabbed her arm and spun her around, slamming her painfully into the wall. “What the fuck did you call me?”
She yanked her arm free, trying to catch her breath. If she had to she’d walk and call Tyler to come get her. Her purse sat by the front door. Alex snooped through it anyway. At least there she could always grab it fast.
“I called you an asshole!” She tried to walk to the front door and he grabbed her by the hair. Her first instinct was to fight, but when he reached for her neckline she twisted and kicked and pulled away, trying to protect the necklace.
Her boys gave it to her. She damn sure wouldn’t let this shithead take it.
“You haven’t been treatin’ me real good lately, Nevaeh. You getting some from them fag boys?” He shoved her sprawling across the plastic crate doubling as an end table by the couch.
She turned and scrabbled backwards. Alex frequently yelled and shoved her, but never hit or came after her like this before. There was a dangerous gleam in his eye she didn’t like.
He advanced. She finally regained her footing, put the couch between them.
“You shut up about them. You don’t know anything about them. They’re my friends, and they treat me a hell of a lot better than you ever have!”
“We could pawn that goddamned thing, you selfish bitch.”
“Go pawn your fucking Xbox!” She looked at the counter where she always kept her cell phone—it wasn’t there. He must have taken it. The clock on the stove read seven-fifty. If she wasn’t there on time and the boys couldn’t get her on the phone would they come looking for her?
“Fuck, you gotta set of brass balls on you, bitch. I bust my ass and make us a new life here, and you go fucking a couple of gay guys for a necklace?”
“For your information I’m not fucking them, and you do shit around here. I’m the one who’s always worked my ass off. Well, fuck you, Alex. I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back.”
She bolted for the door. He hooked an arm around her waist, slamming her against the kitchen counter and knocking the wind out of her. “You’re not leaving until I say you are.”
He punched her and grabbed her by the hair again. “In fact, I’m going to teach you a lesson and take you to work so your little fag boys can see what it looks like when a real man fucks a woman.”
She fought like a wildcat, kicking and scratching, screaming for help. She landed a punch to his ear, loosening his hold. With a cry she launched herself at the front door, but he caught her foot and she kicked at him, unable gain purchase on the cheap linoleum floor.
She screamed, hoping one of the neighbors would, for once, call the police, but not holding out any hope. She fought Alex and held onto the bathroom door frame. Then he launched a kick at her ribs and she curled into a tight ball, trying to catch her breath and protect the necklace.
She’d die before she’d let him take that from her.
* * * *
Thomas and Tyler were a bundle of nerves. They woke early, eagerly anticipating Nevvie’s arrival.
Tyler also had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that worsened by the minute. Something was desperately wrong. Nevvie wouldn’t change her mind, he was certain. Had the caveman discovered the plan? Was she okay? He’d fought the urge to call her yesterday for fear of making Alex suspicious, unsure if he monitored her calls.
Eight o’clock came and went with no sign of Nevvie. Tyler paced in the kitchen while Thomas glowered at him from the counter.
“Are you sure we didn’t go too fa
r? Maybe she changed her mind.”
“No, I’m telling you something’s wrong,” Tyler insisted. “If anything, she’d be early today, not late. She wouldn’t be late and not call, especially not today.” The sick feeling had grown to a fully enraged, gut-twisting scream. His instincts were never wrong, and a feeling like this meant something bad.
Eight-ten. “I’m calling.” Tyler grabbed his cell, called, then frowned. “It’s going straight to voice mail, not even ringing. Her phone’s off.”
Thomas looked out the front window. “I’ll admit this doesn’t look good. You said she’s close?”
“Only twenty minutes on a bad day. Not even three miles.”
Thomas disappeared to the bedroom. He returned, fully dressed, and tossed a pair of shoes to Tyler. “Let’s go find her.”
Tyler slipped on his shoes. He left a note in case she arrived while they were gone, and followed Thomas out the door.
“Which way?”
Tyler gave him directions and Thomas frowned. “That’s in Suitcase City.”
“It’s a dump. I hate the thought of our sweet girl living there.”
Thomas pulled the Ridgeline into a parking spot next to the Escort, his jaw set in a hard line. “If we’ve got to drag her out of here kicking and screaming, she’s coming with us.”
Tyler grimly nodded. “Agreed.” So much for finesse.
They climbed out of the truck. That’s when they heard a woman’s terrified cries.
Tyler sprinted across the commons toward her apartment, Thomas on his heels. Sure enough, the loud crashes and frantic cries came from apartment 111. Thomas tried the knob, found it locked, and pounded on the door. “Nevvie, open up! It’s Thomas!”
They heard another loud crash and a man’s enraged roar, followed by the sounds of someone being struck and Nevvie crying again.
Thomas pushed Tyler out of his way, took a step back, and kicked the door. It gave way on the third blow and the two rushed inside. They didn’t see her and raced through the spartan apartment to the bedroom, where Nevvie cowered on the floor in a corner. Alex towered over her, kicking her.
Love Slave for Two Collection [Box Set 7] Page 21
