Hearts on Fire 3: Tasha (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “Please, Jake.”

  “I’ll call you later.”

  She disconnected the call.

  Her phone rang again, this time it was Agent Thor. “Tasha, are you okay? Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

  “I don’t need to.”

  “My team says otherwise.”

  “They killed Riker.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m calling. I have men covering your apartment. Dash was not arrested yet, but James was along with Carbenaro and LaCosta. We’re pulling things together now, but we need Melanie’s testimony and your uncle’s. They have security now, too.”

  “And my mom?”

  “She’s covered. We’ll do our best to find Dash and keep him behind bars, Tasha, but they have good lawyers. We’re up to our ears dealing with them right now.”

  “What? Are you fucking kidding me? After everything they’ve done? After what Dash took from me? You have to find him, Thor. If he’s out there then I’m in worse danger than before.”

  “We’ll find him and deal with Carbanero and LaCosta. They could post bail and we will ensure that they can’t leave the country. We’ll protect you.”

  Her stomach sank. She’d risked everything, and even now Dash, Carbanero, and LaCosta could still get away and be free?

  “Whatever. I’m done. It’s over.” She disconnected the call.

  * * * *

  Tasha showered and tried to clean up after looking over her injuries. She looked awful, but knowing that Dash and the others could get away with everything made her depressed and defeated. She lay in bed sleeping, not caring any longer if she lived or if she died. But she would have to get up soon, to go see her mom, to speak with the agents and see where they were in the case, and to make things right with her friends.

  She heard her front door open and her heart hammered in her chest.

  “Tasha, it’s Jake.” She swallowed hard, and thought she heard other footsteps.

  “I’m fine, Jake. Please go away.” She curled up in a ball on her pillow.

  “I’m here, too,” Catalina said, and Tasha felt the tears roll down her cheeks. Tasha was only wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts. When she heard the deep intake of breath and Jake swear, she knew they could see the bruising on her hips and back. Wait until they saw her face.

  “Tasha, you need medical treatment,” Catalina said as she placed her hand on Tasha’s arm. Tasha turned to look at her. “Oh Jesus, baby,” Catalina whispered, tears hitting her friend’s eyes.

  “I got the ice and the bandages,” Tasha heard Serefina say as she approached from the other side. Serefina stopped short and the tears instantly rolled down her cheeks.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you everything, Serefina. I needed to protect you. To protect everyone I love.”

  “Shhh, Jake explained all of it. Let’s get you fixed up before my brothers get here,” Serefina said.

  “No, I don’t want them to see me. Please, Serefina, Jake, I hurt them so badly.”

  “You were forced to do what you did. I made them understand that,” Jake said as Serefina gently placed the ice over Tasha’s cheek and eye.

  “I don’t think you’ll need stitches. Let me check your ribs to see if you need an X-ray,” Catalina said as Tasha slowly rolled to her back.

  Catalina gasped. “How are you moving around so well with all these bruises?” She slowly pushed Tasha’s tank top up.

  “Those are weeks old,” she whispered, and Catalina cringed.

  Serefina placed her hand on Tasha’s arm. “About what I said at Burt’s house during the barbecue. You’re not weak. You hadn’t lost the fight. You were fighting the ultimate battle of your life. I should have known something wasn’t right and just supported you.”

  “No, Serefina, you had every right to do that and it gave me the opportunity I needed to help push your brothers and all of you away so Dash and these men couldn’t go after you all next. He’s killed before. He killed my father.”

  “We know about everything. The agents explained and so did Jake. Everyone is on board now and ready to help you get through this.”

  There was a knock at the door and Jake walked out of the room to answer it.

  “This isn’t over yet. None of you should be here. They haven’t found Dash yet,” Tasha whispered.

  “Your part is done. Those agents can do their fucking jobs and handle it from here. What you did, what you risked was more than enough,” Serefina said and Tasha smiled.

  “I love you both.”

  The floor creaked and Tasha knew that it was probably Tyler, Eddie, and Lance. She closed her eyes and prayed that they didn’t hate her.

  * * * *

  Eddie was shaking before he even got to Tasha’s apartment. Jake and Agent Thor explained Tasha’s role in this deep undercover investigation. These men killed her father, controlled her uncle, and nearly killed her cousin. Tasha risked her life, gave up her friendships, and even pushed them away to save them, too. He looked at Lance and at the bandage on his arm from the hospital, and he knew Tasha would probably freak out about that and feel responsible.

  Tyler said that the body they found in the burning building belonged to the agent involved with the investigation. The media was all over the case and the investigation, asking questions and trying to help police and federal agents track down suspects. Tasha’s name wasn’t mentioned but her family was and the case involving her father’s death in the car accident was reopened. Poor Tasha had sacrificed everything and now she was injured, too.

  “I need the three of you to take your time, and to not push her,” Jake said as he let them into the apartment. The three of them had to go through three agents and a deputy to get inside.

  “We know. How bad is she?” Eddie asked. Jake ran his hands along his whiskers and then stared at them, placing his hands on his hips.

  “Bad.”

  “Fuck,” Lance whispered and then looked at Eddie and Tyler. “She needs us. Forget all the other shit and let’s be there for her because we care and she’s ours,” Eddie said, and his brothers nodded their heads.

  Eddie spotted his sister wiping her eyes and holding an ice pack against Tasha’s cheek. Catalina had Tasha’s tank top pulled up to her bra and was pressing lightly over her bruised skin. He heard Lance and Tyler gasp and then move closer.

  “Tasha?” Lance whispered and Tasha opened her eyes. He saw all the bruising, her cut lip, her swollen, bruised cheek and eye. She was a mess.

  “Please don’t look,” Tasha whispered as more tears rolled down her cheeks. Lance took the ice pack from his sister as Serefina got up from the bed to let Lance take over caring for Tasha.

  “How is she?” Tyler asked Catalina as he stood by the opposite side of the bed. Lance placed the ice over her bruised cheek. She closed her eyes.

  “I think her ribs are just bruised. They’re weeks old so they probably healed on their own. She’s a trooper,” Catalina said and then stood up from the bed, covered her mouth to maybe stiffen a sob as tears rolled down Catalina’s cheeks.

  Tyler took her place, sat on the bed and gently placed his palm over Tasha’s bruised skin.

  “You’re safe now, Tash. We got you,” Lance whispered, feeling his own eyes well up with tears.

  * * * *

  “We’re going to get going. Eddie, Lance, and Tyler need some time alone with Tasha,” Serefina told Jake as Bull, Ice, and Ace brought over some food for them.

  “Is she resting now?” Bull asked. Serefina nodded her head.

  “Every time she doses off she jerks awake,” Catalina added, then wiped her eyes. Ace pulled her against his side and hugged her. “She’ll get through this. We’ll help her,” he added.

  “She may need a prescription, you know, something to help her sleep?” Ice said to them. “I can ask her mother’s doctor. We’ve got a team of men there and two agents as well until Dash is caught. Investigator Thor has state police patrolling, too.”

  “I can’t believe
what she’s been through. I was so pissed off at her. She had us all convinced that this man was her dream guy,” Serefina stated.

  “She risked her life for all of ours. She was trying to protect you, your brothers, every one of us. That’s a hell of a burden to bear,” Jake said, and they all agreed.

  “I want you all to take precautions. Keep a lookout around you and keep the women protected. Dash is resourceful and determined. Through further interrogation of his partner, James, Thor found out how obsessed Dash had become with Tasha. If he’s desperate and he knows his life is over, he could seek revenge and want to take her with him,” Jake explained.

  “Jesus, so this shit isn’t over? She’s still in danger?” Bull asked.

  “Until Dash is behind bars, she needs constant protection.”

  “We’re all going to help, especially my brothers and I,” Eddie said as he stood in the doorway.

  Jake nodded his head and they made some plans to watch over Tasha and take care of her injuries.

  Chapter 12

  “I’m not going to help you. It’s over, just turn yourself in, there’s no place to go,” Dash’s last resort replied to his request.

  “Fuck that, it’s not over. I say when it’s over. You are going to help me or they’ll find out about your involvement in all of this,” Dash threatened.

  “I don’t care. You murdered several agents and you beat those women. I don’t want any part of that.”

  “Too fucking late, considering that you were fucking my ex Mary Ann. I could have killed you, left you for dead.”

  “Except I had what you needed, Dash. It’s over.”

  “No, it’s not. You’re going to help me with one last thing, and then I’m out of here.”

  “What’s that? You’re loaded, you have fake IDs, passports, what the fuck could you possibly want?” he asked, and Dash was silent. The man on the other end inhaled deeply. “Her? You want Tasha?”

  “Meet me tomorrow morning, and we’ll discuss how you’re going to help and how this is going to go down,” Dash said and then disconnected the call.

  * * * *

  Tasha jerked in her sleep. She opened her eyes simultaneously feeling the warmth surrounding her. She pushed back slightly as she saw Lance lying in front of her, but then felt someone behind her against her back. The arm came over her waist slowly.

  “Easy, Tasha, it’s okay, you’re safe.” Tyler.

  Safe? Oh God, I’m not safe and neither are they.

  “What time is it?” she asked, her belly rumbling as the aches and pains kicked in from her injuries as she moved around.

  “Six o’clock,” Eddie said from the doorway. He looked so huge standing there, all sexy and filled with muscles. She was in love with these men. Now, here she was, covered in bruises caused by some other guy she had made them think was her boyfriend. Her gut clenched with guilt as tears filled her eyes. She gulped down the lump of emotion.

  “Where’s Jake?” she asked.

  Eddie looked a bit upset by her question but it was Lance who responded. “He went back home and then to work. We’re taking care of you now.”

  She looked at him and then his arm, wrapped in the bandage. She caused that. She nearly got him and the other firefighters killed. She reached over, feeling a slight ache in her arm as she did, and touched his wrist. “Are you okay?” She felt the tears fill her eyes.

  Lance reached over and cupped her cheek. “Just a flesh wound. I’m fine, because of you.”

  She shook her head and tried to sit up. “You’re in danger because of me, you need to leave.”

  “That’s not happening. You’re not pushing us away this time,” Eddie’s firm voice drew her complete attention to him. He was always so stern. She loved that about him. She wondered why his tone, his assertiveness didn’t make her shiver in trepidation like when Dash ordered her around? Maybe because she knew that Eddie wouldn’t hurt her.

  She had hurt him. She had hurt all of them.

  “You have work,” she said and then reached up to gently place her hand against her cheek. It was so sore.

  “We’re working out a schedule,” Tyler replied, standing up from the bed.

  “She needs more ice,” Lance added and then touched her chin and tilted her face toward him. Lance’s beautiful green eyes looked dark and concerned. She knew he was angry at her bruises.

  She touched his wrist. “I’m okay. It will all heal.”

  “It’s not okay. You didn’t deserve any of this.”

  She reached up and pressed her hand against his hand that cupped her cheek. Closing her eyes, she absorbed the feeling of safety and contentedness. Then she felt Lance’s lips against her own. It was just a soft touch because her lips were swollen. He moved his mouth along her chin, her jaw, and then her neck, as he lowered her back down to the bed. She clutched his shirt then ran her hands over his shoulders as he suckled against her skin instead of her lips. She adored him for it, and it showed her how powerful and strong their feelings were.

  She felt Tyler join in, and he started kissing her arm all the way up to her shoulder. The bed dipped, and Eddie joined them, pressed between her legs, leaned down, and kissed her belly as he pushed her tank top higher.

  “Why did you do it? Why didn’t you tell us sooner so we could protect you?” Tyler asked her as he held her gaze. She looked at him, then Lance and Eddie.

  “Because I love you, and all I wanted to do was keep you alive and safe.”

  * * * *

  Tyler leaned forward and caressed her arm and then he took her chin between his fingers and stared down into her eyes.

  “We understand what you did. I won’t lie and say that it didn’t hurt.”

  “It hurt for me to do it. But you were so persistent. I had no choice. If I had done what I wanted to do and made love to the three of you in that bedroom, you never would have let me go, and Dash would have found out and killed you. I had to push you away.”

  “From here on out you’re not alone. We want you, we always have, but were too caught up in worrying about your age and then you were seeing that guy Gino.”

  “He cheated on me.”

  “What?” Lance asked.

  “I found out that he was cheating on me so I left work one day at lunch and snuck into his apartment. He was in bed with another woman.”

  “Asshole,” Eddie stated, and she smiled but it hurt. “Awe, baby, sorry. Lie back and relax.” He caressed his hand over her belly then leaned over her and gently kissed the corner of her mouth where there was no bruising.

  “How the heck are you guys fitting on my bed? You’re huge.”

  Tyler smiled. “Get used to us smushed in this bed with you, Tasha. We plan on being in here with you a lot.”

  Tasha smiled. “You seem awfully confident about that. Are you sure you want me?”

  All three of them were touching her. “We’ve waited long enough,” Tyler said.

  “We could have lost you,” Lance added.

  “With us is where you’re meant to be.”

  Her stomach growled and Tyler chuckled.

  “How about something to eat, and then back to bed?” Eddie asked as he rose from the bed. Tyler got up next and offered her a hand. Lance followed.

  “I don’t know what I have to make.”

  “No worries, the guys dropped off stuff last night,” Eddie told her.

  Tyler watched Tasha cringe as she stood up from the bed. Tyler helped her adjust her tank top, and then he placed his hands on her hips as he stared down into her eyes. He softly cupped her breast, making her gasp, but she didn’t pull away.

  “You’ve got one hell of a body, Tasha. I can’t wait until after breakfast so my brothers and I can explore it.”

  She shocked him as she pressed her body against his and hugged him tight. “I gave up hope that I’d ever get to love you.”

  * * * *

  Lance moved in behind Tasha, his heart aching for her pain, but he was also determined to show her how
much they cared and how much she needed them.

  He caressed her shoulders and she lay her face against Tyler’s chest as Lance moved her hair off her shoulder.

  “Every chance we get, we’re going to love you.”

  “Yes, I want that,” she whispered.

  “Let us pleasure you and explore what’s ours. Let us take your mind off of everything that happened and help you to forget,” Lance said and then leaned forward to kiss her bare shoulder.

  Tasha turned around slowly to face Lance. He swallowed hard. It was difficult to look at her battered skin and not feel angry. But that wasn’t what she needed right now. Now, she needed compassion and love.

  She reached up and cupped his cheeks between her hands. “I would love to kiss you right now. But it will hurt too much.”

  He turned his head slowly but held her gaze, looking down at her, his petite woman, so sweet and gentle. She didn’t deserve the pain she went through.

  He kissed her palm.

  “There are other ways we can make you feel good, and that show how much we care for you and hated being apart.”

  She lowered her eyes and pressed her forehead against his chest. Tyler locked gazes with Lance from behind her, and Eddie reached over and touched her chin. “Tasha, what is it? Talk to us.”

  She looked up. “I don’t want you to be disgusted with my body and the bruising. So long I thought of the day that I might get a chance to mean something to the three of you, you know, more than good friends, and now even that is ruined.” Tears filled her eyes.

  Lance shook his head. “It’s not ruined. Being with you, making love to you, can never be ruined. It will be special, because you’re special.”

  “I want to. But I want to be with all three of you together. I need it to be like that. Perfect.”

  “Sweetheart, we’ll try our best, but we don’t want to hurt you,” Eddie said.

  “You won’t hurt me. I know you’ll take your time and you’ll prepare me for the three of you to be inside of me together. Please, Eddie. I need it this way, the first time, every time. I need all three of you.”