by Alexx Andria
“What’s so funny?” Stacy asked, dropping her demure act and quickly withdrawing her fingers from his ass. She shared a look with Gigi and both seemed to know that he’d completely lost interest. Even his cock, which never discriminated, had deflated to its flaccid state, lolling to the side as if suddenly exhausted. “You still have to pay us,” Stacy said, rising in irritation. “It’s not our fault that you couldn’t get it up long enough to get the job done.”
What could he say? He knew it wouldn’t matter how many times they sucked his cock or stuck their tongue up his ass, he simply wasn’t going to rise to the occasion and it was downright embarrassing as fuck but for some reason, he was relieved. Dillon chuckled as he grabbed his pants and pulled a wad of cash free, tossing it to Stacy in a dismissive gesture. “I’m sure that’s plenty for your trouble,” he said. “Now get out.”
“Gladly,” Gigi muttered, scooping up her clothes and jerking them on. “C’mon Stacy.”
The two women left and Dillon heaved a sigh of consternation. He was losing his mind. And his mojo. Somehow that didn’t seem quite fair.
Please God…there had to be someway to get her out of his head.
And heart.
Otherwise, he might have to become a monk.
“And what do I owe this surprise?” Dillon asked in a bored drawl as Nolan and Vince entered his office with steadfast resolve in their identical faces. “I wasn’t expecting a meeting with you until sometime next week but if you’re in a hurry to discuss terms…”
“Cut the crap, Dillon,” Vince interrupted with a curt gesture as he helped himself to his brandy while Nolan took a seat opposite Dillon. “We need to talk about Penny.”
At the mention of her name, Dillon immediately shut down. “Not interested in talking about your little pet. I’ve since lost interest in that particular topic.”
“You’re lying,” Nolan said quietly. Dillon shot him a dark look but Nolan didn’t back down. “You may think you’re the king of deception but we’ve long ago discovered your tells. You have to remember, little brothers idolize their big brothers and we were no different. At one time, we wanted to be just like you.” Dillon had no response for that, choosing to regard his brothers silently. Truthfully, a part of him was curious about what his brothers had to say. Had Penny mentioned that he’d seen her at the park? Vince joined his brother in the opposite chair, a hard look in his eyes. “We want to know what your intentions are regarding Penny.”
“I would’ve thought my intentions were clear enough,” Dillon said coolly. “I wanted her, I took her. Simple and eloquent don’t you think? Besides, she was a means to an end and she worked quite perfectly. For that, I’m very grateful.”
“You’re such a liar. You care for her.”
“You presume too much,” Dillon retorted, shifting in his chair. “But for the sake of argument what makes you think that I care for the girl?”
“Because Penny is the kind of girl who gets under your skin and doesn’t let go until you can’t possibly imagine life without her,” Vince said, startling Dillon with his revelation. Dillon regarded his brother with renewed interest. He leaned forward and Vince stared him down. “So, what are your intentions with Penny?”
“I think the bigger question is what are your intentions? Are you suddenly growing a heart, little brother?” Nolan made a sound of irritation and Vince looked ready to jump from his chair and plant his fist in Dillon’s mug. “It’s a fair question wouldn’t you say? I’ve never known you to be afflicted with any sort of deep affection for anyone but yourself so I’m curious as to what’s truly happening here. If I recall, you’re all about the chase. As far as I can tell, the chase for Penny is over. She’s your willing pet. It amuses me that you care that I’ve fucked her when that hadn’t seemed to matter in the past,” Dillon said, his tone taking on a bitter edge.
“You fucking bastard, just come out and say it! This is about Isabel, not Penny. Why don’t you grow a fucking pair and just admit it!” Vince shouted, jumping to his feet. Dillon followed, lightening fast. Within seconds, they were toe-to-toe, the rage in each other’s eyes burning like twin coals beneath a wicked flame.
“Guys!” Nolan tried to intercede but Dillon and Vince both wanted this. Dillon had dreamed of putting his brothers in their place since the day he’d discovered what they’d done to Isabel after he left. The twins hadn’t given him a chance to redeem himself before they’d swooped in and put their grubby hands all over his girl.
“You want to hit me?” Vince taunted, giving Dillon a hard push. “Don’t be a pussy. Go ahead. Do it. Because I’ve got something reserved for you that I’ve been holding onto for the past eight years!”
“Is that so?” Dillon mocked, advancing toward Vince, his rage percolating at a dangerous level. “Do your worst, baby brother.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Vince muttered right before swinging a hard right hook straight at Dillon’s face. Dillon managed to avoid the hit to his face but took a blow to his shoulder, stumbling a bit but he rebounded quickly, adrenalin giving him an extra boost of power as he lunged at his brother, taking them both to the floor with a roar.
“You rotten son-of-a-bitch,” Dillon shouted, landing a punch across Vince’s cheek as they grappled like Greek Olympians in designer clothing. They’d all lettered in football and wrestling and all that age-old training kicked in as they grunted and shouted, landing punches as they rolled across the fine carpeting, leaving smudges of each other’s blood in their wake. Nolan shouted for them to break it up but Dillon and Vince were determined to beat the holy hell out of each other or die trying.
“Selfish, self-absorbed asshole!” Vince countered with a grunt just as Dillon locked his legs around his torso and wrenched his head back. Vince struggled but Dillon tightened his hold as Vince clutched desperately at the choke hold Dillon had on his windpipe.
“Let him go, Dillon,” Nolan yelled. “You’re going to kill him!”
Dillon, breathing hard, let go of his brother and pushed him hard away from him. Vince gasped and rose to his knees, rubbing at his neck with a surly expression as he recovered. Dillon rose slowly to his feet and Vince followed. A long moment of heavy silence passed between the three until Vince, his gaze bitter, said, “You weren’t the only one who had loved Isabel,” he said. Dillon shot him a sharp, warning look but Vince barreled forward anyway. “We made a mistake, Nolan and I. If I’d known how to deal with the feelings I was having, I never would’ve agreed to the arrangement…we were young and stupid but no one was dumber than you for letting her go in the first place.”
Nolan looked away, ashamed. Dillon had never seen his charming twin express something akin to genuine emotion. “We were so arrogant. We didn’t realize the damage we were doing. I thought it was all part of the game and I wanted to win. I don’t want to make the same mistake with Penny.”
Vince shared a look with his twin. “I don’t either. Isabel haunts us all. Isn’t it time we let her rest in peace?”
“Don’t talk to me about Isabel if you know what’s good for you,” Dillon warned, tears springing to his eyes. “She was my girl. You had no right. What you did was inexcusable.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Nolan said hotly, stepping forward. “But you’re not off the hook either. You were stupid and brash and arrogant, too. If you’d realized what an asset you had in Isabel, you never would’ve tossed her away during what accounts for a royal temper tantrum.”
“A temper tantrum? Is that what you call what happened between me and our father?”
“You spoiled bastard,” Vince bit out. “You think you cornered the market on being bullied by that man? He fucked with us all! We were just smarter than you and learned how to play the game! Why couldn't you have just swallowed your pride? None of this had to have happened. Did you ever stop to consider if you hadn't been so damn selfish, maybe Isabel would still be alive?"
"Don't play the what-if game with me" Dillon snarled. "Don't you think
I've spent the last eight years wondering how things might've been different if I hadn't cut ties? But unlike you I couldn't live under the old man's thumb. Unlike some people I'm not content to suck off of someone else's tit in exchange for luxury. I made my own fortune and I did it on my own terms. Can you say the same?
"Bravo, brother,” Nolan mocked, adding to ask, “But at what cost?" Dillon’s stony silence was answer enough. Nolan shook his head and said, "You have no idea the true cost. Honestly, I thought I was doing you a favor in keeping something from you but I know now you’ll never truly understand the burden we carried for you unless we tell you now."
"Don't. He doesn't deserve to know," Vince said, shooting Dillon a disgusted look.
"What are you talking about?" Dillon asked, suspicious. "What do you mean you kept a secret from me?”
"When Isabel died her family asked for an autopsy. They couldn't believe that she would've jumped. But what none of us knew was that she was pregnant."
"I already knew about the pregnancy." Dillon's jaw tensed. "For all I knew, she was carrying your child."
“How did you know?” Nolan asked, confused.
Now it was Dillon’s turn to be ashamed. “She tried contacting me. She left me a message, telling me she was pregnant. By that point, I’d known about your arrangement and I was bitter. Besides, I figured the baby was probably yours or Vince’s, which made it your problem, not mine.” Dillon ran a hand through his hair, fighting a rise of nerves as his stomach threatened to rebel. “I never imagined she might kill herself,” he admitted in a pained voice. “I never even considered it. If I’d had an inkling that she might harm herself…I would’ve done what I could to save her.” He looked to his brother. “How do you know the baby was mine?”
"Because there was the possibility that baby was ours, we had a DNA test done on the fetal tissue." Nolan met Dillon's gaze and held it. "Without a doubt, the baby was yours."
Dillon felt sucker punched. All the air in his lungs evaporated and his vision zeroed to a pinprick. This was how it felt to have the rug jerked out from beneath you; to have your world come crashing down around your ears. He thought he'd known how that felt but he’d been wrong. His hand went to his heart almost involuntarily as he struggled to breathe. He stared at his brothers, uncomprehending. "What are you saying to me? How could you keep this secret?" he asked, incredulous.
"Now you know the true cost of your actions, asshole," Vince said, not giving Dillon an inch. "And the kicker is I loved her so much I would have raised that baby as my own if she would've had me. But her heart was tangled up with you and there was no room for me. And because you refused to listen to reason, you were so fired up about leaving the family she didn't feel she had a choice. For once in your life you needed to think about someone else aside from yourself but you didn't and split. So yeah, we were guilty of a lot of things but you can't place the blame completely on our shoulders."
For the first time in his life Dillon felt as if he were sliding into a black hole. It shouldn't have mattered about the paternity of the long-lost baby. But somehow it did matter. It mattered more than he ever imagined it would. Why hadn't Isabel told him? It might've made a difference in his decision. He might've swallowed his pride, but then, he might not have. It was hard to say. The clarity of hindsight was legendary.
"And now there's Penny. I'll admit we didn't start this journey with the cleanest of intentions. Old habits die hard. But she's the kind of woman who deserves love and if she were to have me, I would give her the world. But just like Isabel, all she truly wants is you. So you have to ask yourself, what are your true intentions with Penny? If you have no plans to offer anything but pain and heartache because you're pissed off at us then get ready for the fight of your life because there’s no way in hell I’ll allow you to hurt Penny the way you hurt Isabel. But if you love her…” Vince stopped as if the words were cutting his throat to say them. When he resumed, his gaze was filled with pain but also honesty and integrity, which were qualities Dillon had never seen on his brother. “We’ll step out of the way. Not for you — but for her. Are you feeling me?"
Dillon looked to Nolan and saw that the other twin was in complete agreement. Of course they were, they shared one brain. But honestly, he couldn't possibly give either one of them an answer because his mind was so blown over the revelation they’d dropped in his lap. "You said your piece, now get out." Dillon didn't want to look at either of them. They'd withheld important information and of all the things that he could hold against them, this was by far the worst.
Nolan looked at him with disappointment. "You have a chance to be a better man. Don't screw this one up. Come on, Vince lets go.”
Dillon sank into the chair and stared with unseeing eyes across the bay. At some point, and he wasn't sure when it happened, he had a scotch in his hand. One scotch turned into two, two turned four and then he lost count. But it didn't matter how many drinks he poured down his throat, the pain in his heart continued until he thought he might die.
It was well past sundown and into the late evening when Penny heard a loud crash in the foyer. She startled and peeked around the corner and was shocked to see Dillon standing unsteadily amidst the broken pieces of an expensive vase. "What are you doing here? Are you drunk?” she asked as she caught a whiff of strong alcohol to exclaim in horror, "Oh my God, did you drive here?"
A mocking smile twisted his beautiful mouth. "Are you worried about my safety, pet?”
She glowered as she went to help him before he broke something else of value. "No. I'm worried about the other people on the road. You can go to hell."
"My, my… someone's feeling feisty aren't they?"
"Oh shut up, you drunken idiot.” Why, of all the doors in the city, had he somehow landed at mine? Penny maneuvered Dillon with some difficulty to her bedroom where he flopped on the bed with a grunt. She sighed and bracketed her hands on her hips, wondering what to do with him. Perhaps she should call the twins, they’d come get him for her. But even as that idea had merit she knew she wouldn’t call them. "Do you need some coffee?" she asked.
"So I can be a wide-awake drunken idiot?" Dillon laughed. "Penny, what I need does not come in a coffee pot."
"And what do you need?"
"I need redemption." Penny frowned as he laughed. He was losing his mind. "Do you have that in your cupboards?" he asked with a guffaw.
"You're not making any sense. What are you talking about?"
At that Dillon buried his face in her pillows and groaned. "I'm a rotten son of a bitch."
"That I knew. Is there something else? Something new?” Scary thought, that. “Did you break someone else’s heart recently,” she muttered, mostly to herself and didn’t expect him to hear in his inebriated state but he had.
He rolled to his back. “I’ve done a lot of terrible things in my life, Penny. And I thought I could make up for them with time but some things, are simply too big to account for in your little ledger of good karma."
Penny frowned and sat beside him. She had a feeling whatever was eating at Dillon had nothing to do with her. “What happened?" she asked softly. She caught his gaze and she found a wealth of sadness and pain, so much so that she wanted to hold them in her arms and tell him it was going to be all right. But she did neither and simply waited.
"Kiss me, Penny," Dillon murmured, leaning toward her. As much as she wanted to sink into his embrace she put her hand up to stop him. He seemed to understand and didn't push the issue. He sighed. "Smart choice. You deserve better. Sorry for fucking with your life."
"Being a martyr doesn't suit you. I made my own choices. Now tell me, what's going on?"
"Do you really want to know? It might change your whole opinion of me forever."
At that she actually chuckled. "Dillon, let's be real. I already know you're a jerk at your worst but I also know that at your best you're pretty amazing. Whatever is wrong I promise I won't judge you."
God, she hoped she could live up to
that promise. What if he admitted something heinous? Like he liked to slaughter puppies in his spare time? No, she told her rapidly running away imagination, whatever was eating at him had something to do with Isabel. She’d be willing to bet her life on it. And if that was the case, she would gladly provide the shoulder for him to cry on because God knows, Dillon has needed to let this go for a long time.
"I used to blame my brothers for Isabel's death but in reality, it was me. I'm the one who caused her to jump off that building. If she hadn't met me, she wouldn't have gotten pregnant with my baby." Dillon met Penny startled stare. "Yeah, you heard me correctly. Penny was pregnant with my baby."
"How do you know?"
"Ah, well, it seems my brothers have always known. But they decided to keep that information from me. Apparently there was a DNA test during autopsy," Dillon looked sick to his stomach. "And the DNA match came back to me.” He looked to her. "I could've been a daddy. Scary thought, huh?"
"I think when you get your head on straight you’ll be an amazing father." Maybe she shouldn't have admitted that but it was true. The fact that she would willingly have his children was something that she would keep to herself however. "Why didn't they tell you?" she asked.
"I don't know but I can guess. Vince was in love with Isabel and he wanted to lash out at me. He didn't feel I deserved to know. Nolan, probably didn't want the publicity. I don't know, all I know is that this is damn near unforgivable."
