by Marla Monroe
“We just found out about it when she called last night. Then we had to find someone to handle our jobs so we could get here,” Richard added.
“When’s the last time you visited her?” Max asked sipping at his brew.
“Um, well, we haven’t been back in a few years now. It’s not easy starting a business and getting it going,” Rodney said.
“I guess your sister knows all about that, doesn’t she?” Sawyer cocked his head and studied the two young men. “I’d have thought you would have heard how tired and stressed she was over the phone the last time you talked to her.”
It didn’t take much to realize they hadn’t talked to her in a long time. He shook his head and cursed.
“When exactly was the last time you talked to your sister?”
“Um, I’m not exactly sure. I guess it’s been awhile.” Richard rubbed the back of his neck.
“Got somewhere to stay, boys?” Max asked.
“We’re not boys,” Rodney argued.
“We stay with Taylor when we come home. If you’ll get her out here, we’ll take her home with us. There’s no need for her to stay here now.” Richard set down his cup on a table.
“See, there’s a problem. The house is a crime scene, so you can’t stay there and we don’t have another extra room for you to stay here. You’ll have to find some other accommodations.” Sawyer enjoyed the look of horror that crossed the guys’ faces before they regained control.
“What happened? Mom and Dad didn’t know anything about the house.” Richard uncrossed his arms and stuffed his hands in his pockets instead. “Is Taylor okay?”
Max sighed and set his own cup down. “She’s shaken up, but she’s fine. Someone broke into the house and trashed it. All of it. I doubt there’s anything left in one piece inside.”
“Poor Taylor. She’s going to be devastated. Home means everything to her,” Rodney said looking over at his twin. “We can get hotel rooms. That’s not a problem.”
“We’re here until they catch this bastard. Do they know who it is yet?” Richard asked.
“No. Unless they come up with something from last night, they don’t have any clues,” Sawyer said.
“Can we talk to Taylor?” Richard asked. “Please? Look, maybe you mean well, but this isn’t Taylor’s scene. She’s really shy and traditional, if you know what I mean.”
“Like I said. That’s her business. I’ll go get her. Don’t upset her or you’re out of here. Got it?” Sawyer asked.
Both men sighed but nodded their heads in agreement. He looked over at Max and at his partner’s agreement, Sawyer walked over to the stairs and jogged up to get Taylor. She was going to be surprised to hear that she had visitors, especially her brothers.
When he knocked on the bathroom door and called out to her, he heard her scramble across the floor and then the sound of the door’s lock being thrown. When she opened the door and threw herself into his arms, he didn’t hesitate to catch her.
“It’s okay, babe. Nothing is wrong. You’ve got guests and they didn’t know to call ahead so we could turn off the alarms,” he told her.
“What took so long? What do you mean I have guests? No one knows I’m out here, do they? Oh God, the store! I forgot about opening the store!” She started to run past him, but Sawyer kept hold of her hand and tugged her back into his arms.
“Shh, baby. We took care of the store. Your employees are running it until you can go in later. Right now your brothers are downstairs and are a little anxious to see that you’re okay.”
“My brothers?” Taylor’s face grew pale. “Rich and Rod are here?”
“Easy, babe. Don’t pass out on me. If you don’t want to see them, that’s fine. I’ll tell them to go away.” He brushed her hair from her eyes.
“No! I–I’ll see them. I just didn’t expect them to come to Perkins City—or here. How did they know I was here? Who all knows where I am?” she asked.
“You’ll have to ask them how they knew to come here, but more than likely most anyone in town knows you’re out here with us. We didn’t make it a secret, Taylor. Are you ashamed to be staying here with us?” Sawyer felt his gut tighten.
“No, I just didn’t think anyone knew. I didn’t tell anyone.” She didn’t look at him.
Sawyer gritted his teeth. It was obvious she wasn’t exactly happy about the idea that anyone knew she’d been out there with them. He hated that it bothered him, but it did. If she wasn’t okay with who they were and what they did, then they needed to know that now.
That would have to wait though. Right now, they had her brothers to deal with and a stalker to capture. He took her hand in his and pulled her toward the door. She hurried after him, nearly tripping on the stairs. Realizing that he was going too fast, Sawyer slowed down. When they emerged from the stairwell into the back area, Taylor threw herself into her brother’s arms.
He and Max exchanged glances. It was obvious that Max resented that she was seeking comfort from them and not from him and Sawyer. It didn’t matter that they were her brothers. He wanted to pound their faces in the ground for more than one reason, but that wasn’t going to happen, yet. Until they did something stupid now that they knew how serious Taylor’s situation was, the twins were off limits.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were having trouble sooner, Taylor? We would have come and helped you. You know that, don’t you?” Rodney asked.
“I know, but you guys have your own business to run. I can’t expect you to stop everything and come help me anytime I’ve got a problem.” Taylor’s eyes held unshed tears.
Sawyer wanted to brush away those tears, but knew he didn’t have the right to do that. If he had anything to say about it, he and Max would be handling all of her problems from now on, provided she wasn’t ashamed of what they wanted with her. That was a question they still had to answer, and soon.
* * * *
Taylor couldn’t believe her brothers were there to see about her. They’d always looked to her for help and now they were trying to see about her. She brushed away the tears that perched on the end of her lashes and hugged them again.
“It’s so good to see you both. I can’t believe you’re actually here.”
“Taylor. What is going on? What are you doing at the Golden Shackles? This isn’t somewhere you need to be, Sis.” Rod pulled her off to one side.
“Max and Sawyer helped me when I needed a safe place to stay, Rod. Don’t take that tone with me. I had nowhere to go.”
“What about Betty or Darla? Why couldn’t you have stayed with them?” Rich wasn’t usually one to argue with her, but he was now.
“I couldn’t risk anything happening to any of them because of me. You know that. They have an alarm system here and Sawyer used to be in the army or something. I’m safe here.”
“Why didn’t you get an alarm system put on the house and the store? That would have been a start,” Rod said, clearly not at all happy with her choices.
Well, she’d done what she had to and wasn’t going to apologize to them or anyone else. They hadn’t minded leaving everything to her while they started up their business before they finally decided to sell their shares to her. Neither had they offered to help when she’d told them about needing a new cooler last year either. She hadn’t outright asked them, but surely they knew she’d needed help.
“Look, I did what I thought was the right thing to do. You aren’t here, so you don’t know enough to try and tell me what I should have done. I’m glad you came to check on me, but I’m fine. You can go back to Dallas now.” She pulled free of Rod’s grip and walked over to the coffeemaker and poured a cup for herself.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Rod followed her.
“It means that you’ve checked on me and I’m fine. There’s no need for you to stick around. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, Rod. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you? Do you have any idea what this place is, Sis?” Rod looked fit to be tied.<
br />
She sipped her coffee then set it down and crossed her arms. “Do I look stupid to you? Of course I know what it is. It’s a private BDSM club that caters to people in the D/s lifestyle.”
At her brother’s astonished look, Taylor turned to Rich and stared at him. “I’m nearly eight years older than you. I changed your diapers. What gives either one of you the idea that you can tell me how to live my life?”
“No sister of ours is going to be some bastard’s doormat!” Rod argued.
“I am not now, nor will I ever be a doormat. That includes the two of you as well.” Taylor got up in Rod’s face. “You better not let me ever catching the two of you treating some poor girl like that. I’ll turn you over my knee just like I used to when you were kids.”
She smothered a smile at the sick look on Rich’s face. Rod only looked sullen and angry. He had always been the hothead of the two. She sighed. They meant well, but they were arrogant, spoiled brats. They had some more growing up to do.
“Look, guys. I’m fine. Sawyer and Max are treating me fine and are keeping me safe. You don’t have to worry about me. I know what I’m doing.” At least she hoped she did.
After their early morning episode, she wasn’t too sure about that. She hadn’t intended on giving in to her hormones. Now that she had, she wasn’t sure she could walk away unscathed. Even now with her brothers in the room she was very aware of the two men standing off to the side watching for any sign that she needed them. Just thinking about them had her nipples hardening like diamond spikes.
“We’re going to get rooms at the motel in town and stick around a little while to be sure. I don’t like that someone is trying to hurt you, Sis,” Rod said.
“If that’s what you want to do, then I hope we can visit some while you’re here. I’ve got to get ready to go in to the shop. I’ll talk to you two later.” Taylor hugged them both then turned and hurried up the stairs before she broke down and cried.
She couldn’t believe that her brothers were really worried about her and had put their business on hold to do it. As many times as she’d prayed that they would come to see her or remember to call on her birthday or holidays, it didn’t actually happen until her life was in danger. She’d long sense given up on her parents looking outside their own slice of paradise to see what was going on around them and in their children’s lives. Finally, her brothers were acting a little less self-absorbed. She hoped it would last. She missed having them in her life. They had been like children to her and it looked like she wasn’t going to have any of her own anytime soon, if at all.
Chapter Fourteen
“We’ll walk you out to your truck,” Max said.
“We haven’t finished talking to you yet,” Rodney said in a belligerent voice.
“And we haven’t finished talking to you either, but we’re taking this outside so that Taylor can’t hear us,” Max insisted.
Rodney looked over at the closed door leading to the stairs to their apartment and nodded. Then all four of them walked outside to where Taylor’s brothers had parked their truck. Rodney leaned on the driver’s door and watched them with suspicious eyes.
Max crossed his arms and stood with his feet planted wide. Sawyer took a similar stance across from Richard. He could see the amusement in his partner’s smile. He was looking forward to a fight. Well, he wasn’t going to let it go that far if he could help it. Fighting was something he steered away from now. He didn’t back away if someone brought the fight to him, but he wasn’t going to instigate one either. Sawyer would in a heartbeat.
“Did you know that Taylor was having trouble making ends meet?” he asked.
“What? That’s ridiculous. Rizzoli’s has always been solvent, and she’s a damn good manager. Unless she developed a shoe habit after we left, she shouldn’t have any trouble at all,” Richard said rubbing his jaw. “Rod? What could she be having trouble with? I mean, she complained about the cooler acting up, but even if she’d had to replace that, it wouldn’t have strapped her for cash.”
“I can’t think of anything. She just replaced the roof on the house a few years back. It was covered by insurance anyway.”
“Well, she must have replaced the cooler because the one she has now looks brand new. She said the rent and all of her taxes and insurance have gone up a lot lately. We’re going to do some asking around to find out if anyone else has had trouble with theirs going up,” Max said.
“Rent?” Rod asked. “Rich, is she renting that building? Why did I think she owned it?”
“I can’t remember. We’d have to ask Mom and Dad. Sis is the one who kept up with everything after they retired.”
“Why would she pay rent if she owned it?” Sawyer asked looked at Max.
“Unless she sold the building to pay off something else, she wouldn’t be.” Max had a feeling things weren’t as they seemed.
“Do you know anything about James Chesterfield?” Max asked.
“That piece of shit bastard is a crook if there ever was one. Just like his entire family. They own a lot of the town and are always trying to cheat someone out of something. Why? Have they been giving her trouble?” Rod asked.
“James has been pestering her some about dating him. Evidently she went on one date, and he isn’t taking no to another one very well.” Max watched Rod’s face turn red.
“That bastard! He’s up to something.”
“Why do you say that?” Sawyer asked.
“Because he’s as gay as the day is long,” Rich answered for his brother.
“Are you sure?” Max asked.
“Maybe he’s using her as his beard for his family,” Sawyer suggested. “Pursuing her when she says no would steer them off for a while.”
“They know all about him. That’s not what’s going on. I can promise you that.” Rod turned and jerked on his door handle, snatching it open. “You better not hurt my sister. No matter what she says, she doesn’t know the first thing about the lifestyle.”
Max caught the door before Rod could slam it. “And you do?”
“Enough. Now let go. We need to get a room lined up and make some phone calls,” Rod said.
“Here’s our card. It’s got both our phone numbers on it. If you find anything out, let us know. She may be your sister, but she’s our woman. We want her safe just like you do.” Max held out the card.
Rod looked at both of them before he snatched the card and gave them a brief nod before slamming the door shut and starting the truck. When he pulled out of the lot in a wash of gravel, Sawyer started chuckling.
“What?” Max snarled.
“He’s a definite Dom and you challenged him. He’s not taking it well. His twin is a top, but not a Dom.” Sawyer shook his head. “Things are heating up and twisting around.”
“They’re in the scene in Dallas. What do you want to bet?” Max asked as they walked back inside.
“Oh, I have no doubt they are. I sure as hell hope they don’t treat women the way he described Taylor being treated.” Sawyer gathered the cups and rinsed them out before putting them in the mini dishwasher.
“We better go see about Taylor. She handled the confrontation a hell of a lot better than I expected, but I think a lot of it was bravado for their sakes. They hurt her.”
“Yeah,” Max sighed and followed his partner upstairs.
When they walked into the bedroom the bathroom door was closed and the shower on. Max looked at Sawyer arching an eyebrow.
“Go ahead and see if you can calm her down. I’m going to make those calls. Maybe I can get someone to bring some clothes out to her by the time you two finish. Drag it out,” Sawyer said with a wink.
“I’ll do my best. Call about the clothes first.” Max pulled off his boots then stepped out of his jeans.
The hot water would feel good after having stood around in the cold shirtless twice now. He went to open the door and found it locked. With a growl he stopped himself from just knocking the damn thing in. He didn’t want to sc
are her out of her mind with everything she’d already been through. Instead, he found a paperclip in the bedside table and picked the lock. Then he eased into the room, careful not to make a sound and stepped into the walk-in shower to find Taylor leaning in the corner crying. His heart melted on the spot.
With a sigh, he gently pulled her into his arms and held her as the water poured over them. She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let her. She needed to feel as if someone cared about her. Obviously, no one had in a very long time.
As soon as she calmed down, Max relaxed his hold and let her pull back. He didn’t say anything, just took the cloth from her and after soaping it up, began to bathe her. It bothered him that she had been alone for so long. Here she’d been living in a town that seemed to look after each other and somehow she’d slipped between the cracks. That wouldn’t happen again if he could help it. First he would take care of her then, once they had everything with her and the club squared away, they would figure out how to identify other single women around the area who had no one watching out for them.
“I’m sorry. I don’t break down like this, ever. Now I’ve done it twice with y’all.”
Max kissed her softly on the lips. “It’s okay to need to be held sometimes, Taylor. There’s no shame in that. Lean on us and let us help you, precious.”
He turned her around to rinse off then started on her front. She balked when he started on her breasts.
“I can do that.” She tried to grab the cloth out of his hands.
“I know, but I’m doing it this time. Be still before I have to spank that pretty ass of yours.”
“You have a thing about spanking asses,” she said narrowing her eyes up at him.
“I do at that. Give me another reason and I’ll show you just how good I am at it.”
She huffed out a breath but didn’t say anything more. When he ran the cloth down her abdomen to her mound, she shivered but remained quiet.
“Spread your legs for me, Taylor.”
She opened her mouth as if to protest, but finally closed it and slowly spread her legs just enough for him to squeeze his hand between them. He frowned down at her.
