by J. L. Beck
Chapter Eight
Maddie
Automatic blinds slide open, the scent of cinnamon and coffee fills the air, and the most beautiful men in the world straddle the changing room’s lounge chair while I’m putting on my shoes. It’s hard to call Las Vegas home, feeling off-balance after last night. But the morning sun, Cole’s sexy smirk that pinches his blue eyes, and War offering me a bit-size piece of French toast tugs at hope today’s gonna be perfect.
Shit happens, right? I’m thinking last night was a fluke, and we’re back on the path to our happily-ever-after, except I need to caution myself. Nothing is as easy as it seems. “What are you two up to, and why are you pampering me this early in the morning?”
“You’re showered, it’s nearly ten, and we have a surprise waiting for you downstairs, so you need to eat quickly. You’re going on an excursion.”
I snap up the piece of French toast, chewing around my words. “Excursion? Haven’t we had enough surprises? I haven’t even checked out the house.”
A loud bang shakes the windows, and I yip. “What the hell was that?”
Cole darts his gaze at War.
“Construction,” they say in unison.
Twins, what can I say? “I need to be here with you both, in case you need me. You’ll be hungry if you’re working—”
I stop my own sentence, remembering Janet and these two are billionaires. They don’t have to lift a finger if they don’t want to. Of course, I know them like I know myself. They’ll both be knee deep in doing whatever they have planned. “What if you get hurt?”
“Nonsense. You deserve a break. Ready?” War stands, all six-foot-two of him.
That’s when I spot something under the bed, something that catches the light near the towel. I bend to pick it up, but War tosses me over his shoulder before I can clearly see what it is and ignores my little yelp. “There’s something shiny under the bed…”
“Leave it. Now, close your eyes,” Cole orders. “Don’t open them until I say.”
Blood rushes to my head as I hang upside down. I palm War’s sexy buns, and even though I keep my eyes closed, I know we’re descending the spiral staircase from third floor to the first floor. Curiosity piques. What was that object? Whose? Eve’s? I pocket the topic as I don’t want to ruin the jovial mood or their little surprise. “I hope what you both have planned for me doesn’t take too much time. I’m barely settled in—”
“Darling!”
Warmth surges inside my chest at the sound of my mom’s voice, and War releases me to the floor, adding an apologetic grin.
Before I’m able to process Mom’s here, she rushes me and flings her arms around my neck.
“This place is beautiful.” She shoves back a few inches, examining me. “You’ve bloodshot eyes… And your cheeks are sunken a bit. Boys, are you feeding her.”
I flip my gaze to War, the taste of cinnamon fresh on my lips, and consider if crawling back into bed with my men is on the itinerary. “They’re taking good care of me, as always, and I can take care of myself, Mom.”
“I heard about the break-in.”
A tinge of betrayal hits me, and I drop my jaw. “You guys told her?”
“Police were onsite,” War says, as if he’s stating facts like Officer Soares.
Mom squeezes my shoulders, and then paces the floor in a tight circle. “I don’t like this once bit. You should all move back to Brown Valley permanently and forget this winter/summer move. Home is where we can sleep with our doors unlocked, windows opened. You three could build a palace on the ranch, up in the hills...” she says, her speech droning on like a sales pitch. “And another thing, I almost got run off the road on the way here by a work truck. It happened fast, but I managed to get a good look at the woman. She wore her hair in an updo and seemed to be wearing a whole lot of glitter around her shoulders, like sequins. Seems strange for a construction worker...”
Cole beelines toward front door and is gone before I can wrap my mind around what has happened. Would Eve go to such extents as to plan an attack on my family? “Could be the woman dropped her husband off to work in construction before she went to work in the city and was simply distracted.”
“That’s what I was thinking... But she glared right at me, like I was a target, or I’d done something to personally offend her when I’ve never seen this woman before. I shouldn’t have brought it up. Instead, I should be focusing on our day, wedding dress shopping.” Mom squeals. “I’ve got all the locations plotted out…”
Mom’s pumped, and I should be, too. But even though Mom’s rattling off locations, as if she didn’t almost get sideswiped, I have to consider if I’m worrying for nothing. Coincidences happen all the time… Except intuition tells me on this one, Mom’s wrong.
Chapter Nine
Cole
“Mr. Pierce, I need you to come downstairs straightaway,” says Tal, the contractor I hired, concern woven in his voice, as though someone’s about to throw down.
Tal’s overseeing the work being performed today, a man highly recommended by Arnold and a decade older than me. When he talks, people listen.
Only I’m frozen to the carpet in the master bedroom and clutching what I believe is my mother’s earring. I have to consider if the noise I heard last night wasn’t the wind after all, and my heart slams my ribs, as if in warning. Did Eve stand over us while we slept?
I spin and face Tal, holding up a finger before I text War, both wanting to warn him about Eve and to make sure he’s okay. If Eve was actually inside the house last night, there could be a breach in the security system, or a doorway to the outside no one is aware of.
Cole: We may have a problem.
War: 27 dresses and still counting. Dinner?
Cole: Where?
War: Leoj Nohcubor
Old memories dart through my mind as my mouth waters.
“Sir, this really can’t wait…”
I hover my finger over the letters, deciding quickly I don’t need to bother Warren with something I can handle. War insisted on tagging along with the girls. Let’s say shopping’s not his forte, but now I’m wondering if my imagination is once again running away from me. Fuck if I’m ruining his day with our bride-to-be. Plus, knowing he’s close to the girls gives me peace of mind. I pocket my cell and the earring, opting to follow Tal out of the master bedroom to the spiral staircase that overlooks the entry.
“Tell me you’ve found a stable, couple horses saddled up and ready ride back to Brown Valley…” Sounding like War, I practically cringe. But, hey, we’re twins in all things. I need to remember we want what’s best for Maddie, too.
“I’ve found more than leather and crops. We have a breach in the security system. A room that’s not on the master plan at all. But that’s not all,” Tal says, as if skirting around a rattlesnake.
Arms bulked up to the size of mine, I take serious the caution in his words and follow him as he leads me past the gourmet kitchen on my right.
Whatever Janet’s making fills the house with savory spices that cause my mouth to water again. I can’t remember when I relaxed over a decent meal. Tonight, I guess.
“This way… I suggest you contact the police again, sir.”
His warning zips through me as we traverse the sterile-white living room to the left, getting a makeover Maddie’s gonna flip over—tufted, gray furniture she likes. A fur the size of Texas lies adjacent to the fireplace. The thought should stir my cock as an image of her forms, me taking her sweet ass cherry right there in front of a roaring fire like she’s been hinting at. Instead, nothing. What the hell’s wrong with me that I held off what she’s been begging me to give her?
“Show me the concern before I make the call.” I stuff the debate with myself for later...
The large hallway winds around toward a service kitchen, laundry area, and a set of three rooms that could be maid quarters, den or office, except they’re already redecorated by the interior designer and made into guest rooms, like s
ome five-star hotel. Maybe War’s right, and I need to temper my urge to spend every penny for fear my good fortune will be stripped and turn around and head back to the one place I truly call home.
Tal holds up halfway down the hallway. “I suspected this panel led to a panic room, as many of these types of homes are built with secret rooms. But this is a threat that must be dealt with before things get too out of hand.”
I pinch my gaze, heart thumping, and examine the fine split in the wall that looks more like a seam in the wallpaper than an actual hidden door. But sure enough, the seam tracks all the way to the ten-foot ceiling across a threshold and back down, meeting the floor four feet over.
“I would have missed this a hundred times over, but I guess that’s the point.” My words shake out of me because I already know what we’ll find, and I’m certain Eve was actually inside my bedroom last night.
A flashback of me, Cole, and Eve inside a similar playroom that ended up destroying our father, our family, tears at my walls, but I don’t break. I won’t. “Open it.”
“I’ve already taken liberties. Prepare yourself, sir.” Tal pulls forward the sconce adjacent to the panel, revealing a keypad that he quickly disarms, and the door folds inward.
Within the dim room, the scent of fresh paint rushes my nose, and I choke back the fumes, squinting as my eyes acclimate to the dim lighting and the black walls on three sides.
“The mural is tacky, sir. I assume whoever painted it has not been gone long... Perhaps within the last few hours. But this must have taken them all night to create.” He pauses. “The mural’s likeness is near a spitting image of you and your brother—at least a slightly younger version—but the woman… It’s not your fiancée is it, sir,” Tal says as more of a statement than a question.
I ball my hands, rage like fire boiling inside my veins. The desire to rip down the wall slams into me, and I raise my cell, snapping several shots and sending them to War. Fuck, he’s gonna flip the fuck out. “I want this wall torn down and replaced.”
My feet seem to have a mind of their own as I stroll deeper into the room, and my cell’s having spasms inside my pocket that I’m not answering. There’s a poster bed on the far wall—like Tal suggested, plenty of play toys and a wall of silk twine—that I bypass to examine the painting. It’s Eve with me and Cole the day before she ended our world. Parkside, laughing.
“Video, audio, and motion detection will pick up everything now, Mr. Pierce. Windows and doors are wired. The only way someone could break in now without the security system being alerted is for you to have given them access to the front door and the ability to disarm the alarm themselves. Otherwise, they’d have to come straight through the exterior.”
“Eve won’t stop until she gets what she wants. If she could throw a man’s children under a bus, what will she do next?” Tal doesn’t answer, and I stare at my younger self, hope-filled blue eyes that seem to speak to me: What do you want? What will you do to get it? “What limits would you cross to protect your family?” I finally break the silence.
“Me? If I was in your shoes, a man with billions? Unless I was struck down with the fear of spending money, there’d be no price. Even if I had to sit watching the house from the roof, or with the man in the moon. Belongings are nothing compared to the ones you love.”
“Fear of spending money is War’s problem. He’s scared we’ll go without a roof over our head. Been there. Never again. We have Maddie to live for…”
“Exactly. There’ one more thing I need to show you….”
I scope out the room, noting the bed’s askew. “A hidden exit door. It’s on the far wall, behind the bed.”
Tal strolls into the room, passing me. He yanks back the bed, revealing a door to the outside he’s boarded up. “As far as I can tell from the house plans, the exit wasn’t included in the original design. It’s why it wasn’t wired for security, as if whoever added this room did it without the knowledge of the previous owner. Can I ask how you knew that, sir?”
“Because I know Eve…” Fear stirs bile in my stomach as her name passes my lips, and I stalk out of the room and into the hall, where sunshine shoots through the picture window. The urge to control every aspect of every decision, even when they’re not my own to make, engulfs me. But as I catch a glimpse of myself in the window I’m passing, I have to consider maybe relinquishing control is what will save me. I lift my cell, stare at the number I snagged from War’s cell—a number I shouldn’t be calling—and place the call.
Chapter Ten
Maddie
“Another bite, babe?”
War spoons coconut mousse with lemon crème into my mouth, and I savor the mouth-watering bite like I savor War’s kisses. Leoj Nohcubor is a five-star restaurant with purple walls, black crystal chandeliers, and even the carpet has gold wedding bands linked to one another. It’s the finest restaurant with the most scrumptious food I’ve ever eaten. But something’s off.
Cole’s laughing more than he was before I left this morning, but I caution myself to ask him about his day. War’s tracing his fingers along the deep V in the back of my silver party dress and is almost too clingy. I don’t want to ruin our dinner and the mood. I slide my hand onto Cole’s thigh, moving up the inside of his slacks, but stopping just shy of the pleats. “I like seeing you like this: happy.”
He covers my hand, drawing sensual circles with his thumb. “Careful, sugar, or you’ll have more than lemon crème on that pretty little mouth of yours.” Cole leans in and sucks the corner of my mouth, licking me off.
My breath catches, and I tease him, inching my palm upward until I cover his bulge. He’s hard, and when I squeeze, blood fills his shaft, widening his girth even more. “Maybe I’m looking for a bit of trouble tonight.”
Cole grins, but it doesn’t pinch his eyes the way I anticipate. Yes, something is off about him, but I’m not sure what. War tucks his hand into my dress and pulls me closer. I want to hug both of them and tell them I’ve never been happier than in this moment celebrating us, but I realize that in my bliss they’re unsettled, and I have to wonder if coming to Vegas was the wrong move. Guilt from encouraging them to return mounts, and I take a guess at the reason something between us has changed. “Did you talk to Eve today?”
Anguish flashes on Cole’s face, and he glances away for a moment. “We both went to see her while you accompanied your mom and Arnold to the airport. We made it clear she’s not to make contact with us, including you, or we’ll press trespassing charges against her.”
Betrayal rips through me, but I did encourage them to talk to her, and we’re all adults. I know these guys, everything about them, and they’re the ones marrying me. Still, I’m worried if Eve affects them this much and we’ll all be living in the same town that our trio is doomed before it’s really begun. “Are you sure she won’t cause any more trouble?”
Cole takes a swig of Merlot that spins pink in the bowl of the crystal stemware. “Positive. So let’s put her behind us and focus on the future.”
War holds out the last bite of dessert, when suddenly I’m not feeling hungry.
“Eat, Maddie,” War insists. “This is a night to celebrate, because we want to move up the wedding to Saturday.”
My head spins—part excitement, part panic. But as I examine my guys’ faces, Cole’s eyes are as glassy as War’s, and I automatically think what I’m seeing is regret. There’s more to what happened with Eve than what they’re letting on. Or maybe it’s me? The past twenty-four hours have been a rollercoaster of emotions. Why can’t I accept our future? I love them more than breathing, which is cliché, I know, but it’s true. I’m ready to give myself to them in all ways. But I don’t want to be the cause of their torment. “Are you both sure it’s me you’re wanting?”
They sandwich my body and wrap me in their arms so securely that I’m drawn to hug them right back.
“You’re all that matters to us, Maddie.”
They say the words in unison, and t
ears prick the back of my eyes. “You never cease to surprise me, guys. Yes. Yes, I don’t know how it’ll work, but I’ll marry you both on Saturday, and I don’t care how or where. I just want us to jump and never glance back.”
The waiter opens the sliding door, as if he’s been summoned and pops the cork of the champagne bottle, pouring all of us a round. “Hey, aren’t you two the Pierce twins, the Chippendale Twins pictured in the bar?”
Chippendale Dancers.... I vaguely remember my mom tsking the twins over the phone about War’s new job dancing when War attended UNLV, where he obtained his MBA, and for War dragging Cole along after he left the military. But dancing and dancing as a Chip puts their skills at an entirely different level.
