by Mia Ashlinn
Never looking away from the jukebox, Shannon countered with a demonic grin, “No. I want to hear ‘Better Than Revenge’ by Taylor Swift. Some people forget that I can be a vindictive bitch when crossed.”
Most people would be shaking in their boots at the expression Shannon plastered on her face, but Jaycee wasn’t most people. Instead, she laughed loudly.
Three-quarters of the people inside the café peered at her as though she had gone mental. Pretending not to notice all the attention centered on her, Jaycee stopped laughing and squealed, “God, I missed you!”
Katie-Anne said coolly, “You just saw us a few days ago, Jaycee,” in her most blasé tone. But the head-bopping to Cyndi Lauper’s hit song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and the smile she fought contradicted her words.
“Does this mean you’re back for good?” Shannon asked enthusiastically.
How should she answer that loaded question? She knew what she wanted and what the men wanted, but nothing had been decided yet. They needed to have a serious talk—ASAP.
Shrugging, Jaycee replied, “I think so, but we have some stuff to work out first.”
“What exactly do you need to work out with them?” Katie-Anne asked incredulously, gaping at her. “You came home with them. I think that says it all.”
Shannon leaned forward, her face creased in concern. “I’m sure Jaycee has a good reason. Is everything okay?”
Before Jaycee could answer, a young waitress strolled up to their table with a bright smile, introduced herself as Nikki, and took their orders.
When their server had gone, Jaycee took a deep breath and explained, “We haven’t had time to make any plans for the future. It’s no big deal.”
Shannon sighed. “Crap. We did all that work for nothing?”
Jaycee felt her brow furrow in confusion at Shannon’s remark. “Did what work?” When Shannon refused to elaborate, Jaycee swiveled her head to the right and pinned Katie-Anne with a stare.
Katie-Anne grimaced and angled her head away from Jaycee, looking everywhere but at her.
Next to Katie-Anne, Shannon groaned and laid her head on her folded arms on the tabletop. She wouldn’t look at Jaycee, either.
A sick feeling of dread churned inside Jaycee’s stomach, and the room seemed to shrink around her. She slid out of the booth, intent on reaching the bathroom before she vomited on Lou’s floor.
Not paying any attention to anything other than the panic coursing through her veins, Jaycee ran headfirst into another person, jarring her out of her terror-stricken trance. She heard an excuse me from a very familiar voice, a Russian-accented voice.
Shaking her head as if that action would clear her muddled mind, Jaycee took a good, hard, long look at the woman she’d run into. Wearing khakis with a simple white button-up blouse, the woman had on no jewelry or adornments. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight chignon, and she had applied only minimal makeup which enhanced her green eyes. Destiny Isgood?
Her outward appearance was the polar opposite to the one Jaycee had seen at the psychic parlor, but that didn’t change the fact that this was the mysterious fortune-teller. Contacts and wigs could do astounding things for a disguise, but there were certain things that couldn’t be faked. And this Destiny was the real thing.
Jaycee wanted to know what the hell was going on. And she wanted to know it five minutes ago.
“What the hell are you doing here, Destiny?” The words flew out of her mouth, not allowing time for censoring or consideration. “And why the hell do I get the feeling that my dearest friends are involved?”
Complete silence filled the café. The hustle and bustle had died down before she even finished her sentence. Now, thirty sets of curious eyes were fixed on her.
From the corner, a small voice asked the person next to her, “Why’s that lady calling Svetlana by a different name? Who’s Destiny, Mommy? I thought that was a word. It was in my book.”
The woman shushed her daughter, but no one paid any mind to them.
Jaycee glared daggers at Svetlana, who stared right back at her, not seeming the least bit fazed by her or her intimidation tactics. Changing her strategy, Jaycee crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.
Hours or minutes or seconds passed, and nothing happened. She and Svetlana maintained their staring contest while the people surrounding them kept an eye on them, ogling and twiddling their thumbs. Jaycee had no clue what they expected to see.
At long last, she heard footsteps from behind them. A hand clamped down onto her elbow firmly and spun her around. “Come on, Jaycee. I’ll explain everything to you,” Katie-Anne said in resignation.
“Well, I think that I want to hear this particular conversation, Katie-Anne,” Shane declared as he and Landon entered the picture.
“Me, too,” Jared said stiffly as he, Drew, and Randy walked up behind Shane and Landon.
Jaycee noticed how her brothers moved to stand as close to Shannon as humanly possible without attaching themselves to her body. Predictably, Shannon also noticed and moved two steps back, bumping into one of the empty tables. A frown from all three of her brothers let her know Shannon’s not-so-subtle movements hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“Fine,” Jaycee snapped. Taking two steps before she realized that Svetlana wasn’t coming with them, Jaycee reached for the woman’s arm and yanked. “You. Come. With. Us.”
Svetlana followed a baffled Jaycee without a complaint.
Chapter 16
Letting Katie-Anne guide her back to their table, Jaycee kept a fixed grip on Svetlana. No way was she letting her get away. If anyone would be honest with her, it would be Svetlana.
Ducking into the booth, Jaycee noticed that no one sat beside her. Shannon, Katie-Anne, Shane, Landon, and Svetlana sat down on the opposing side, while Jared, Drew, and Randy stood by, hovering over Shannon protectively. She decided this must be how a criminal felt standing in front of the firing squad. Her heart flew, ears buzzed, head spun, and palms sweated.
Trying her damndest not to show her distress, Jaycee folded her hands on the table and took a deep breath. “So, what is up? Svetlana is obviously not Destiny Isgood. You two”—she stopped speaking to point at Katie-Anne and Shannon—“are shifty-eyed and look guilty as hell.” Pointing at each of the men, she continued, “The five of you are standing protectively over my friends, which means that you’re planning to protect them from me. Please tell me what is going on.”
Since no one seemed to be ready to share, Jaycee looked beseechingly at Svetlana, willing her to share the truth. “Svetlana, please. I need to know the truth.”
Svetlana smiled at her warmly, startling Jaycee, who hadn’t known the woman was even capable of showing any sort of emotion. “Yes, you right. You deserve truth. You friends, Gray and Cade, approach me to be psychic. They want me to tell you stuff I told you so you prepare and think before boys come for you. Gray and Cade want you back and hope this help.” Svetlana revealed her emotional turmoil to Jaycee through moist sky-blue eyes that were pleading for her forgiveness and understanding. “Please no be mad at boys. They desperate for you. They do anything.”
The relief overwhelmed her, making her want to shout to the world I am loved and in love! But she held off. She wanted to hear the whole story first.
Switching her attention to Katie-Anne and Shannon, Jaycee inquired, more serene than she was earlier, “So, what was the rest of the plan? I’m assuming that there was more.”
Shannon nodded, not speaking or moving. She looked more like a statue than a real living, breathing person. Jared, Drew, and Randy’s nearness was to blame for that.
If Katie-Anne’s stiffness was any indication, she wasn’t much better off. But at least she seemed ready to reveal their plan. “The game of Truth or Dare wasn’t a setup, I promise,” Katie-Anne swore. “But, I did use it for my own purposes.”
“Okay,” Jaycee prompted politely. “Go on.”
Katie-Anne sighed. “A few days after we made our
pact, I walked in on Gray and Cade trying to concoct a plan to win you back. They were struggling so they asked for my help, and the idea presented itself. I felt like it was destiny.” She shrugged with a sheepish smile. “I broke the rules and told them about our game. Then we spent the afternoon brainstorming. They decided if you had time to think and fret about them before they arrived, then you would be an easier target. That way they could swoop in and seduce you back into their arms.”
Katie-Anne’s gaze met Jaycee’s head-on, her eyes sad. “I had to help them.” She glanced down at the table as though she was struggling to keep her emotions in check. “Since you left, they’ve been messed up. Two men who love each other as much as my brother and Cade should be living blissfully, but they couldn’t. They needed you. Gray tried to act uncaring, but he was hurting. Poor Cade wasn’t any better. The only thing that kept him going was he’d never intended for the separation to be permanent. That is why all of your stuff is exactly as you left it. Cade wouldn’t allow anyone to change it—not even Gray.” Katie-Anne looked back up at Jaycee with watery eyes. “They’re my family. I couldn’t stand by and watch them living like that anymore.”
Jaycee’s heart ached for her men. She never should have left them.
“Why weren’t we approached to help, Katie-Anne? You know we would have wanted to. But instead of being a part of the operation, we were told by the triplets over breakfast this morning,” Shane informed Katie-Anne with a frown.
“Yeah, Shannon,” Jared said, talking over Shane, his voice booming in bad temper. “Why didn’t anyone ask us? She is our sister, and they are our friends. We had to find out by accident and go hauling ass 150 miles to stop Gray and Cade because we wanted to protect our damn sister. If you had told us, it would have saved everyone a headache!”
Jaycee could see the smoke coming from Shannon’s ears, and she caught a glimpse of the moment that her redheaded friend’s temper went off.
For the first time in ten years, Shannon snapped back, “Because, asshole, you and your damn mirror images would have done exactly what you did—stuck your noses where they don’t fucking belong.” She pushed her glasses up higher on her nose and glared at Jared. “Don’t pretend that you three wouldn’t have gone to save her like some idiotic Rambo wannabes. I know better than that.”
“You think you know us, do you, munchkin?” Drew asked in an unnervingly calm and collected voice. “I’m thoroughly impressed since you’ve run from us every goddamn time we’ve come near you. Well, that ends now.” He swept Shannon into his arms, cradling her like a baby.
A shell-shocked Shannon stared up at Drew with her hazel eyes, not speaking, but not fighting, either. He must have taken that as a good sign because he transformed from glacial and detached to warm and adoring, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. “There. That’s better.”
Giving a curt nod to everyone sitting at the table, and a sly smile to his brothers, Drew strode away with Shannon, leaving the café.
With an exuberant Hell yeah, Randy chased after Drew and Shannon while Jared hustled over to the counter to presumably pay their bill.
“Looks like I’m not the only one getting laid tonight,” Jaycee said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. “Katie-Anne, we need to get you a fuck buddy. After all, third time is a charm.” Smiling wickedly, Jaycee asked, “Any prospects in your precious little black book?”
Shane and Landon squirmed in their seats, looking at her murderously. She bet the two of them would have mouth sores tomorrow from biting their tongues.
Pointedly staring at the two men, Jaycee remarked to Katie-Anne, “Don’t worry, my friend, we can find some hot, horny men for you. Aren’t Brett, Ethan, and Sam staying with you and Shannon?”
Sitting back in her seat with a smug smile, Jaycee waited for all hell to break loose. And she wasn’t disappointed. Two men’s loud curses split the air in the booth, and an I’m going to fucking kill her from Jared at the counter.
Uh-oh. I need a volume button.
A red-faced Jared wheeled around, stalking back toward their table.
Shane and Landon turned on Katie-Anne, bombarding her with questions and loading her with a lecture. She glared at Jaycee knowingly with homicidal eyes before turning to her men and giving them a piece of her mind.
“I’m going to kill her.” Jared’s grumbling came into earshot. “Of all the harebrained things she could do! She lets three fucking men she doesn’t know stay with her in that tiny-ass apartment. If she wants three damn men, then she’s going to have them. But, goddamn it, it’s going to be us and not some pansy-ass losers that like to hang out with Katie-Anne.”
If Katie-Anne hadn’t been in the midst of a heated argument with Shane and Landon, she probably would have kicked him in the balls for that comment. But she was too busy making hand gestures, shaking her head, and cursing.
As soon as Jared reached the table, Jaycee handed him Shannon’s purse. “Big brother, go home. You wanted her, so get her. Love her. Fuck her. I don’t give a shit, but you better make each other happy. I love you all too much for any other alternatives.”
Smiling at her brother, Jaycee shooed him away like a pesky mouse but remembered there was one thing her brothers needed to know. Shannon would probably never forgive her, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
“Hey, Jared,” Jaycee said as quietly as possible.
Her brother analyzed her face, and realized that what she said didn’t need to be shared with everyone, and leaned in close.
“You might want to make sure you boys lube up real good. A girl’s first time isn’t always easy.”
As she watched, her unflappable big brother became flummoxed, his face losing every drop of color. From his wide eyes to his mouth hanging agape, he was thoroughly unhinged. It was delightful.
Jared had never provided this much entertainment for her. She would have given just about anything to have a camera to capture this priceless moment on film and preserve it for a lifetime.
“My God,” Jared murmured, the shock and awe equally proportioned in his hushed tone. “A virgin? Shannon’s a virgin?”
She grabbed her big brother and kissed his cheek with a loud smack. “Hopefully not for much longer. Get ’em, tiger. Or should I say tigers?”
Jared’s eyes bugged out of his head when the cobwebs cleared, apparently mortified that his sister would tell him to fuck her best friend with their other two brothers. “I am going to pretend that you did not say that to me, Jaycee Elizabeth,” her brother informed her frostily.
Unable to stop herself, she snorted. “Oh, of course, Jared. How silly of me? I forgot that I’m as pure as the driven snow. Your sister isn’t shared by two men, just like you don’t share with Drew and Randy. Please, spare me the dramatics.”
Not wanting to give him the chance to give her one of his stupid, obligatory big-brother lectures, she threatened him with the one thing that would send him running for the hills. “If you don’t leave this very minute, I will share every lurid detail of last night’s sexual exploits between me and—”
He disappeared before she could finish her bluff, and it was definitely a bluff. Talking about fucking Gray and Cade with any of her brothers was nothing short of repulsive. Her stomach heaved at the mere prospect.
“You two have no authority over me or my life. Leave. Me. Alone.” The steel in Katie-Anne’s statement wasn’t all that unusual. However, the defeat behind it was. Searching her best friend’s face, Jaycee couldn’t miss the strain behind the straight line of her mouth and the tears she valiantly held back.
“Back off, guys,” Jaycee said defensively on her friend’s behalf.
“Jaycee, it’s okay. They were leaving, weren’t you?” Katie-Anne asked pointedly, as if she was giving them the option, but Jaycee could tell it was no question. She was telling them to leave.
Katie-Anne regally slid out of the booth with her head held high, every bit of emotion that Jaycee had caught a glimpse of wiped away. She didn’t speak
to them, just stood there, waiting for them to walk away like they had so many times before.
With a grunt, Shane slid out of the booth, followed by Landon. Neither made a move for her, showing with their actions how well they knew her. For two men who acted as if they didn’t care for a woman, they understood what she needed.
A grim-faced Landon stared at Katie-Anne as if she was the only person in the world. “This isn’t over, kitten. Not by a long shot. I’ve made mistakes, but starting today, that is going to change.” With a nod, he and Shane sauntered away, receding from sight without glancing back.
An unstable Katie-Anne collapsed onto the booth seat with an Ooph.
“They right.”
Startled, Jaycee and Katie-Anne looked at the woman they’d forgotten about in the insanity of the last few minutes. Svetlana sat plastered against the wall with her eyes closed as if she was no longer with them, as if she was seeing something no one else could.
“You must face past before paving way for future. This not over.”
Cocking her head to the side, Katie-Anne’s wide eyes studied Svetlana with perplexity. “Excuse me?”
Knowing eyes popped open. “You hear me, my dear. I go.”
Katie-Anne scooted out of the booth, but this time she was moving out of Svetlana’s way. In a daze, she stumbled, nearly falling, but Svetlana caught her before she completely lost her balance.
“Thanks,” Katie-Anne stammered, red-faced.
A curt nod came from Svetlana, who moved away from them slowly with a slight limp that Jaycee hadn’t noticed before. She called out cryptically, over her shoulder, like an afterthought, “You want change, destiny give change. Tell friend to beware green car. She be back soon. She upset.”
