Backstage (The Barter System Book 4)

by McClendon, Shayne

  The Zelder brothers appeared in the doorway leading to the main auditorium and the sisters each moved to stand by her man’s side. The twins knew they’d probably gotten word of their family’s arrival from one of the workers.

  Isaiah wrapped his arm around Kayla’s shoulders. “I’m Isaiah Zelder and this is my brother Ezra. It’s our pleasure to meet you.”

  The older woman fanned her face. “Lord above, aren’t y’all gorgeous? I’m Rebeccah but you can call me Becky. This is my husband Ivan and our sons Reynold, Kiefer, and Vince. Vince’s twin, William, couldn’t leave his wife. She’s due to deliver any day now and not allowed to fly.”

  She stepped forward and took a hand from each man in her own small ones. “They sure did you justice. I’ve never heard so many adjectives used in one conversation.” Madeline handed her a Kleenex. “Thank you, honey. I’m just so happy.” Then she blotted her eyes.

  Kayla grinned. “Mama gets emotional during happy occasions.”

  Their dad took the measure of the men in front of him. It was something he’d done with every boy they dated as teenagers. The Zelders were the first men ever introduced to a man with high standards for his daughters.

  “You got the look of men who ain’t afraid of hard work.”

  “We intended to shower and put on clean clothes before you got here, sir. We thought you were coming in this weekend.” Ezra’s voice was careful and both brothers were uncertain of their reception.

  “Ha! We like to sneak up on the kids now and then. It keeps ‘em honest.” He winked. “That’s a parentin’ trick y’all might use one day. As for how you’re dressed, I respect men who know how to break a sweat. Call me Ivan.” He rolled up his sleeves. “We’ll chip in and help with whatever you’re workin’ on. I’ve always wanted to get a look at the inner workin’s of a place like this. I got questions.”

  Isaiah and Ezra nodded with huge grins.

  Kiefer shook hands and stripped off his shirt, ready to get to work. “I hope y’all got pretty girls around here. I’d like to show a city woman why cowboys are the way to go.” He winked and everyone laughed.

  Madeline rolled her eyes. “Kiefer is our confirmed bachelor. Fast cars, fast women, blah blah blah. I can’t wait until a love bug jumps up and bites him on the ass. I’ll have popcorn, ready for the show.” Her sister nodded in agreement.

  Reynold walked closer, jerking his chin at Isaiah’s scar. “Wire?” Isaiah nodded. “Hurt like a motherfucker, didn’t it?”

  Isaiah gave him a grim smile. “Like nothing I’ve ever felt in my life.”

  Reynold pulled off his shirt and lifted his undershirt. Isaiah groaned. “This one’s mine.” He shrugged. “It might not be pretty but the chicks seem to like it.”

  “That looks damn deep.”

  With a nod, Reynold told him, “Don’t know what I would’ve done if the girls hadn’t been there. Kayla had the baler unhitched from the tractor in about ten seconds and Linny had me wrapped in our shirts. Tied all the arms together and made a bandage that wrapped all the way around.”

  “Quick thinking,” Ezra interjected with admiration.

  “Sure was and a good thing, too. Kayla got on the radio to Mama at the house and she was at the corral in the truck by the time we got there. Lost two pints and several pounds of flesh but survived it. An experience like that makes your mind clear. I’ve never let another minute go by wasted. You got that lesson all squared away now?”

  “I struggled for a bit but Kayla is persuasive.”

  Reynold held out his hand and Isaiah shook it. “Glad to hear it. She’s our gentlest. Puts up her fists pretty easy but she’s sweeter than anything and doesn’t want anyone to know.”

  “Stop it or I’ll gag.” Mikayla put her arm through Isaiah’s and met his eyes. “By the way, all our brothers lie. Don’t listen to anything they say and don’t let them drink. They’ll piss in the bushes.”

  “That hurts, Kayla.” Vince smiled and shook hands. “Twins run hot in our family. You’ve been warned.” He stripped to his undershirt and added with a glare at his sister, “She cheats at cards.”

  Before any more ridiculousness flared up between them, their father said loudly, “You got four more pairs of hands and we ain’t afraid to get dirty. Put us to work. Gives the girls a chance to talk to their mama and we can evaluate you on the fly. Just kiddin’.”

  Becky pretended to be faint. “Girls, feed me. You won’t believe all the questions I have.”

  “We believe it, Mama…we definitely believe it.”

  Isaiah and Ezra kissed their women soundly and left the lobby, the four big men right behind them. By the time they climbed the stairs to the stage, all of them were laughing and talking.

  “That went easier than I expected.” Madeline sighed.

  “I second that damn emotion,” Mikayla whispered. They peered cautiously around the double doors, watching the men bond.

  They linked arms and left the theater. A block away, they settled into a booth at their favorite deli and ordered lunch.

  They planned to sit for hours. They hadn’t had face-to-face girl talk in too long. Every question was answered and even though their mother blushed to the roots of her hair several times, she continued to lean forward excitedly just the same.

  When the twins talked themselves out, Becky sat back and laughed. “Y’all stumbled on plenty of excitement here in New York. I like your men already.” With a little wink, she added, “I can’t wait to see what happens next!”

  Intermission Two

  Present Day

  September 2014 – Season Three (first night of charity previews)

  Tawny walked past the boss no one knew she had and acted as if she didn’t know him. The men who were making her life difficult in ways she never planned watched her approach.

  A few feet away, she skipped and her uncoordinated sweetheart laughed. “You make that look easy in heels.”

  “Zach…baby, I think we can all agree…I’m pretty easy no matter what I’m wearing.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and went limp. He caught her because that was what the two friends, her lovers, did.

  Quinn nodded. “Touché. Would you like a drink, brazen wench?”

  “Will you take advantage of my drunken state?”

  “Naturally,” he answered without hesitation.

  “Then make it a double.” Extending her other arm, she pulled Quinn close and relished the way it felt for them to hug her. It wasn’t something truly accepted in public but she’d never given very many fucks. Societal expectations could get in line. “You’re warm. This dress was designed for hot points, not actual function. I think one of my nipples fell off and my poor puss is shivering.”

  “If you were wearing panties…” Zach began.

  “Shut your filthy mouth. You know we always leave them around as evidence and it takes too long to get them back on in a hurry. Then I’m dealing with a backward thong giving my clit a rope burn.”

  “Uh…”

  “Yeah. How do you like that imagery? Dick in a zipper for chicks.” Both men cringed. “So soak up the fact that I’m commando. Easy access, no panty trail that can lead back to me, and a pretty pink clit.”

  As one, they tensed to walk with her to an undisclosed location so they could do dirty, dirty things that would never cause her to blush as she made them public knowledge to her friends.

  “Not yet,” she said softly and they stilled instantly. “Brie is fragile. I need to keep an eye on her.”

  As one, as they so often were after a lifetime of friendship, they nodded. Zach murmured, “Is there anything we can do?”

  Tawny stroked his face with a soft smile. “Not even for that beautiful woman can I lend you out.”

  “Uh…”

  “Oh, not what you were thinking?” she asked with a small frown.

  “Not…exactly. No. Flowers, a cruise, or all the candy she can eat were options but servicing her like paid gigolos wasn’t the first thing that popped i
nto my mind. I hope you’re not disappointed.”

  She sighed. “I’m not disappointed. I admit that having the two of you crawl all over her would be just the thing but alas, I’m greedy.” With a wink, she added, “However, often, when you make me come, if I’m coherent, I send her positive vibes.”

  They laughed and hugged her closer. Quinn peered over her shoulder. “She lights up when others are around but she’s different when she thinks no one is looking.”

  “I know.” She understood the habit well. For just a moment, she let her own effervescence wink out to take a reality check.

  Inhaling carefully, she let her bounce fill her up. As was common, they caught what she referred to as, “A glitch in the Matrix.”

  Their eyes settled on her face, their palms resting on either side of her neck. Zach said quietly, “One day, my beautiful redhead, you’ll tell us everything in that brilliant mind of yours and let us see all of you.”

  “You’ll trust us to treat every inch of you, inside and out, with care.” Quinn leaned forward and kissed her temple. “No rush. We can wait.”

  Looking back and forth between the only men who had ever said the word love and given her heart no choice but to reciprocate, she blinked back rare tears.

  “Perhaps one day you’ll tire of my bullshit.”

  “One of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met in my life but in this, darling…you’re rather dumb. That’s not how this shit works.” Zach lightly slapped her ass. “For now, go run in circles among your friends and we’ll watch. I for one will spend my time imagining you naked and plotting against you for your own good.”

  “I second that and add that tomorrow is Sunday. You know what that means…”

  Clasping her hands in front of her heart, every ounce of melancholy evaporated. “Naked waffle making!”

  Several people glanced their way but she ignored them. Instead, she focused on kissing first one man and then the other while wrapping them in a hug as tight as she could give.

  “You are so important to my happiness. Don’t give up on me.”

  “Never…”

  Then she was gone, skipping through the crowd and drawing the attention of everyone she passed.

  Neither man realized it was a deliberate distraction tactic so that her boss could get the fingerprint of a man they’d been tracking for more than a decade. The man stared at her across the upper level hallway. It was not the first time he’d coveted her from a distance.

  Coveting was not all he’d done.

  She quickly squashed any thoughts of cloak and dagger, schooled her features, and reminded herself of the plan.

  As powerful as he was, the criminal she hated with a burning passion didn’t know she’d dug into his world in ways the CIA couldn’t have accomplished. He was not aware that she knew his name, much less the abominations he’d committed in pursuit of twisted pleasure.

  He believed himself anonymous, safe.

  Very soon, she would dance around him, slowly tightening the invisible thread she’d trailed throughout his life.

  As he choked on his actions, she would inhale his defeat. It would strengthen her to face the next one like him.

  There was always another like him.

  For the moment, she skipped and laughed and pretended. The charade did not need to hold forever.

  * * * * *

  Gabriella insisted Hudson and Natalia circulate. They didn’t want to leave her alone.

  Suddenly, it was all she wanted.

  In the middle of the second act, an inexplicable sadness filled her from head to toe. She struggled to hide it.

  The previous year had been wrought with so many changes but she didn’t understand why they were affecting her at a benefit she was truly enjoying in the company of people she loved.

  “Shall we take you to Riya and Tawny?”

  “No. I’m fine here, soaking up the ambiance. Go mingle. You know Natalia is the bomb in public relations so put her to work. She’s too gorgeous to sit in this box.”

  The blonde laughed. “Brie, you are a darling. We’ll be back when the lights dim.” They bent to kiss her cheeks and she winked at them when they stood to leave.

  Her smile held until they were out the door.

  Gripping the arms of the hated wheelchair with white-knuckled hands, she worked to control her breathing, to keep herself from falling into complete despair. One hand went to a heart that beat too fast, pressing there as she silently begged her emotions to settle.

  A glimmer of light passed over her face and she glanced up, startled. Across general seating, in the box opposite the one in which she sat, were two men. She recognized them instantly.

  Every thought evaporated from her mind as she stared at them. One dark, one light, they stood at the edge, shoulder to shoulder. She realized that the blonde got her attention deliberately by reflecting the theater lights on the surface of his watch.

  Harper Delkin and his bodyguard Elijah remained still as she let her eyes wander over their faces, memorizing them for a sketch she would work on in the privacy of her apartment.

  Staring first into pewter eyes that didn’t blink, she moved her gaze to green ones that held hers just as resolutely.

  Realizing one hand still pressed against her heart, she folded both in her lap. Unable to look away, she studied them until a sound behind her snapped her out of the almost trancelike state she’d entered.

  She knew they’d come directly back to check on her. Over her shoulder, she met Hudson’s eyes. He looked past her for an instant and seemed to decipher her deepest secrets.

  “Gabriella?”

  “Yes, Hudson?” she asked him quietly.

  “I will introduce you.” She started to speak but he smiled. “You are melancholy, attempting to hide it, and I don’t like it.”

  Kneeling beside her, he reached out to take one of her folded hands. “How worried you are for everyone around you. Stop it this instant.”

  She was angry at the tears that gathered in her eyes as Natalia settled in a chair on her other side and brushed her hair away from her face. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  “You almost died. Your natural freedom was curtailed and you’ve been in pain.” He squeezed her hand. “You are not required to be perfect nor do we expect you to smile when your heart hurts.”

  “Darling, never hide from us. It isn’t necessary. Soon, your physical body will catch back up to your inquisitive mind and your beautiful heart. Until then, just breathe and allow yourself to heal.” Pressing their cheeks together, she added, “Prepare yourself, Brie. They are taken with you.”

  With Hudson holding her hand, Natalia’s face against her own, she let her gaze drift to the box across the theater. Both men stood there still, watching the interaction between the three friends.

  Looking at Hudson, she whispered, “I still like you best.”

  He laughed and lifted her fingers to kiss the back. “Naturally. You have excellent taste.” With a wink, he stood and straightened his jacket. “You have more to tell us about the theater.”

  With a small smile, she watched as the couple made themselves comfortable. Clearing her throat, she stole one last look at the men across the theater, and took a deep breath.

  “I hit it off with the caterer for the theater immediately because we’re alike in so many ways. Theodora never felt as though she fit in the world at large. Then she became friends with the Johannson sisters and – much like my friendship with both of you – it opened her life to unbelievable possibilities…”

  Act Three: Supporting Roles

  Chapter One

  October 2012

  With so little time before their official opening night, the Zelders accepted the help of the Johannson men with grace and gratitude.

  Their different backgrounds didn’t hinder their laughter or conversation and all were pleased to find common ground. Having additional experienced workers sped the process along and saved them a day. As they installe
d the final sets of lights in the dressing rooms, they admired the finished product.

  “I think that does it,” Isaiah announced. “Well done, everyone.”

  “Hell, y’all had most of the work done when we got here,” Kiefer said. “I tell you what, I’m ready to chew off my own arm. Let’s pick up the scrap and get some grub.”

  “I like that idea. The girls are out with Becky until rehearsals so we can consume stupid amounts of chicken wings without feelin’ like pigs.” Ivan slapped the Zelders on the back. “What do you think?”

  “Actually, we called in our caterer. I don’t think I can wait to order at a restaurant. You’re going to love her food.” Ezra grinned. “She tries to fatten everyone up.”

  “Sounds fantastic! Let’s hurry the hell up!” Kiefer glared at his brothers and picked up a pile of boxes and packing material. “I’ll show you how it’s done so my stomach doesn’t wither and die before you get to work.”

  Reynold popped him on the back of the head. “You had breakfast, glutton.”

  “What’s your point?”

  Making a face at his oldest brother, Kiefer walked through the halls to the alley exit. Backing through the door, he ran into a person who made a muffled oomph sound.

  Quickly dropping the boxes, he turned and caught the soft individual in his arms as the automatic door clicked closed. In the dim light, it was impossible to determine age. A white jacket and white-blonde curls were all he could really make out.

  The person issued a small scream, followed instantly by laughter. The sound of it made him grin.

  “I thought it was safer not leadin’ with the trash. I apologize, ma’am.”

  “You’re so polite! Trust me, this kind of thing happens to me all the time. No need to apologize. Excuse me.”

  Her gentle voice caused a funny sensation in his chest and he watched her move past him toward the backstage.

  A moment later, someone yelled, “Theodora! What do you have today?”

  Picking up the garbage, Kiefer finished what he needed to do and headed inside. It was getting cold in New York. Oklahoma temperatures could get low but the buildings in the city created a wind that stripped every ounce of warmth from the body.