by Brynn Paulin
Her father blanched, reminded of something he'd tried to put out of his mind. She would have felt bad if not for his behaviour. Her mother had been warmly welcoming to Garrett and Chay. Her father on the other hand had been distantly cordial. Almost.
"Now those two men in there are everything I want. They would never do what Payton did to me. Hurting me is the last thing they'd want. Can't you at least try to be nice to them?"
"I've been nice—"
She tilted her head sideways and raised her eyebrows.
"This is my house. You're not telling me what to do, young lady."
She shook her head. Going to the chest freezer at the back of the garage, she retrieved the ice cream she'd been sent outside to get. She was finished talking. Her father was just going to have to come to terms with this. Thinking that didn't resolve the knot in her stomach. She couldn't force her dad to like her decision. As sick as it made her to ignore his will, she had to this time. She longed to tell him about Pay's latest ‘games', to use it as leverage to his changing his mind about her threesome with Chay and Garrett, but she knew if she told him, nothing less than brute force would get her out of this house tonight. Her dad would fight to protect her tooth and nail.
He shoved his hand in his pant's pockets, his cardigan bunching behind his arms. “Your mom says they like football..."
"Yeah, they do."
"Hmm. We'll see."
There had been a long discussion about football in the car. More than she'd wanted or needed. But she now knew just how much they loved the sport. “They both played football at Michigan State."
Her dad's eyes lit up, but he wasn't ready to give an inch yet. “Traitors."
She rolled her eyes. “Just because it's not U of M—"
He snorted. “Let's go in before the ice cream melts."
Chay and Garrett waited in the kitchen trying not to seem obvious in their concerned over the ‘what the hell’ conversation taking place in the car. She winked at them, then handed the ice cream to her mom.
"Boys, why don't you go into the family room with Jahz? You can get settled before the game begins."
"Everything okay?” Chay asked as they left the kitchen.
She shrugged. “My dad knows where I stand.” She settled herself on the couch between them, resting her head on Garrett's shoulder while her hand lay on Chay's thigh. The stress of the last day and a half was getting to her and she didn't know if she'd make it through watching the game.
Her dad came into the room, stopped short, then sighed and headed for his recliner. He didn't say a word, his fingers tapping on the arm of the chair as he flipped through channels with the remote.
Garrett must have heard her growl in response to her father's behaviour which was worse now than before. “It's okay, baby. We understand."
"You understand what?” he father snapped. “That you're happily leading my daughter into the land of orgies."
"With all due respect sir, there are no orgies,” Garrett replied. “There are committed relationships between three people. Only three people and no one else."
"Maybe you should talk to Uncle Stephen about this—"
"Your uncle is a hippie freak."
"Nice, Dad,” she admonished.
"Maybe we should leave,” Chay murmured.
"I think maybe we should,” Jahz replied, getting up. Without another word to her father, she headed for the front door, stopping long enough to grab her purse and say goodbye to her mom.
"He'll come around,” her mother said. “But you do have to admit it's unconventional."
Jahz shook her head. “Of course, I know. I questioned my decision, too, but I was miserable with second guessing my choice not to explore this. Since I've gone back, I've never been happier.” Except for the Payton crap, but she wasn't sharing that.
"It won't be easy. People will stare. They'll question your morals and your lifestyle. You'll forever be answering questions and having people suppose you're a loose woman. Two men, Jahz? I thought you'd go back, have a fling and be done with it."
"No, this isn't a fling, Mom. I know people will question my life, but that's why Cranston exists. It's a refuge against close-minded people."
"I just don't want you to be hurt."
Jahz closed her eyes. It was her family hurting her. It was her ‘conventional’ husband, now thankfully an ex, who hurt her. It wasn't Chay and Garrett.
* * * *
They stopped for the night at a hotel. Chay promised they'd leave early enough that she'd make her shift at Carol's Cravings although Garrett suspected the restaurant wouldn't be open. Just the same, they needed to get back. For safety's sake, Chay called in to the bank and took a vacation day while Garrett cancelled his appointments for the next few days. Neither of them was willing to leave Jahz vulnerable to an attack. She had a feeling if they could steal her away to some undisclosed location, they might.
As if to confirm her parents’ words, the desk clerk gave them an odd look when they'd checked in. When he'd realised they were ‘together', he gave her a salacious look. Garrett's arm tightened around her and she thought he might go over the edge. Chay carted them both to the elevator.
Mentally exhausted, they laid in the bed wrapped in each other's arms, none of them up for a fashion showing of Jahz's new lingerie. She fell asleep to the sensation of Garrett's lips caressing her forehead and Chay's nose pressed to the middle of her back while he idly stroked her arm.
In the morning, they completed the trip to Cranston. The restaurant was indeed closed but Kelly was doing much better. Carol reported that Kelly would be released the next day if all went well. She told Jahz not to worry about the apartment—that's what insurance was for—and she hoped like hell they caught the rat bastard who'd done it.
The week passed without event, the restaurant reopening on Tuesday and Garrett accompanying Jahz for every shift. She felt guilty making him miss work and sit in a restaurant, but he didn't seem to mind.
The only low spot in the week came on Thursday evening.
"May I speak with Ms. Jahzlyn Monroe, please,” a strange voice asked when she answered her cell phone just before dinner that night. Behind her, Chay nuzzled the back of her neck. His arms circled her, his hands flattening on her midriff. Jahz smiled. He missed her during the days while he was at the bank and usually spent several minutes when he first came home playing octopus.
"This is Jahzlyn,” she told the caller. Chay stilled. She linked her fingers with his as she listened to the caller, her pulse increasing as he offered her a job. Across the state. Five hours from Cranston.
She'd interviewed with the hospital administrators weeks ago and had thought an offer wouldn't hit the table. She thanked him for the opportunity and told him she'd let him know by Monday.
"Are you going to take it?” Chay asked quietly.
"I don't know,” she replied. “It's the only offer I've had in my field so far."
He regarded her solemnly for a moment, then left the room. When Garrett came in a few minutes later, the look on his face told her Chay had shared her news. And he wasn't any happier. They ate dinner in silence. Guilt assaulted her from all directions, telling her she was betraying the two men she loved.
She did love them.
The solemn atmosphere of the evening grew oppressive with none of them sure how to overpower it. They wanted her to relieve their fears but she couldn't tell them she wasn't taking the job. Unable to take the silence and the strained conversation any longer, she excused herself to bed early. For the first time since she'd been at their house, she didn't feel welcome in their bed. She stared at it, tears forming in her eyes. It wasn't right that she had to choose between career and love. Unwilling to hurt them further by leaving their bed if they didn't want her to, she climbed in. She scooted to the far side so that they could have the rest of the bed to themselves if they wanted it. Until now, she'd always slept between them, wrapped in their arms. Tears she'd been holding in fell as she silently sobb
ed. Eventually, she dropped into an exhausted sleep.
Garrett's moans woke her. As she looked around in disorientation, she realised he and Chay weren't in the room with her. A light filtered into the room from the bathroom. She could see the shadows of their bodies through the steamy shower door. Garrett's hands were pressed to the wall while Chay fucked him from behind.
Jahz stared mesmerised at the picture of their perfect loving—Chay powering into him, Garrett turning his torso and stretching up to kiss him. Their moans were like music, an animalistic backdrop to the sound of falling water. They came in unison amid a chorus of earthy grunts. And when Garrett stood straight and turned, they embraced. Together they stood beneath the shower's spray, holding one another and kissing. The tenderness broke Jahz's heart with the deep needs piling up inside her, and tears again rolled down her cheeks. Yesterday if she'd woken and joined them, she knew they would have enthusiastically welcomed her. Today she knew joining them would be viewed as an invasion.
Full of regret, she buried her face in the pillows.
When she woke again, Chay and Garrett had moved her to the middle of the bed. Each man held on to her so tight she could barely breathe. She didn't care. She needed them. She needed their arms around her as they were, reassuring her, soothing her, loving her.
* * * *
"Ms. Monroe, this is Sheriff West. I'm calling to let you know this morning we arrested Andy Turner, trying to break into your car."
"Andy?” Jahz repeated full of disbelief, the bright kitchen seeming to shift sideways with her shock. She knew he'd been a pain in Tam's ass, but when had he become a skulking terrorist?
"We're pretty sure he's the one who broke into your apartment. His car was parked about a quarter mile from town. His shoes had red-paint stains on them. We're waiting on a DNA match but we're pretty sure this is our guy."
She thanked the officer and disconnected her phone. Still a bit shell-shocked, she turned to Chay and Garrett who sat at the table. When the call had come, they'd been reading the paper while they'd had coffee. Now they watched her expectantly.
"They've arrested Andy,” she told them. “It wasn't Payton after all."
A muscle in Garrett's cheek ticked. He nodded silently, an indefinable emotion in his eyes. When she glanced at Chay, she saw much of the same. It twisted her heart. Though they'd made slow, sweet love that morning, everything was falling apart between them, all because she wanted a job in her career field.
The tension was speared by the peal of the doorbell. “I'll get it,” she said, needing an excuse to be free of them for a few minutes.
"Hey neighbour,” Tam said, when Jahz opened the door. She shoved a plate of cookies at Jahz. “I hear it's safe to wander the streets again."
"So I hear,” Jahz replied.
"What's wrong?"
She shrugged. “Things are a mess and it's all my fault."
"Wanna take a walk and talk about it?” Tam rested her hand on her belly. “I'm supposed to be exercising every day, but I don't think what I've been doing qualifies.” She winked. “But it's fun."
Jahz pressed her lips together before she started crying and turned away quickly to place the cookies on the entryway table. “I'm going for a walk with Tam,” she called, grabbing her coat and rushing out the door.
"Out with it,” Tam demanded before they'd reached the end of the driveway.
* * * *
Chay slammed his coffee cup down on the table as he heard the front door shut. “This is for shit!” he exclaimed.
"What do you propose we do? Tell her not to go?"
Yes, that was exactly what he wanted to do. If they told Jahz how they felt, would she still leave? “That's exactly what I want to do, but it's not fair to her."
Garrett took their coffee mugs to the sink and rinsed them. Chay could see the strain tightening his wide shoulders, and his partner's pain hurt him almost as much as the idea that Jahz would leave them. Her job offer had been like a poleaxe through their middles. Neither of them wanted her to go and neither of them knew what to do about it. Perversely, he almost wished the law hadn't caught Andy and she'd be forced to stay with them longer. Now, even that was gone.
God, what was he thinking. Of course he was glad Andy was behind bars. He didn't want that fear hanging over her head.
"We need to think of something. She's giving them her answer in two days."
* * * *
Tam hugged Jahz tight. “We'll think of something. I promise. What do you want to do?"
"I want to stay here with Garrett and Chay. But that's dumb. They haven't asked me to stay, even though I can tell they're pissed about this offer. And it's a chance to do what I love again.” She dragged her arm over her damp eyes, then used her hand to wipe the moisture from her cheeks. “The medical field is booming. I could wait. I just wish I knew what they wanted."
"They want you."
"For how long? I can't ... It doesn't make sense to waste and opportunity on the hope of what might happen. I mean ... the way things are going this morning, our relationship might be over by tonight."
"You don't really believe that? My God Jahz, they love you."
"How do you know?"
"They've put you above everything else since they've met you. I wouldn't be surprised if they're just as upset by this as you are."
Jahz scuffed the toe of her tennis shoe on the sidewalk. “I know they are. I just don't know what to do. Let's go back,” she said when she saw Tam shiver. “I'd feel guilty if you got a cold because I'm whining."
They turned and started towards Chay and Garrett's home. She scuffed her foot again, kicking a pebble down the cement. It landed beside a pair of feet and when she followed the path of his long legs, she stopped dead, her heart stopping. Her entire body shook. Reflexively, she pushed Tam behind her.
"Payton,” she whispered.
"Nice of you to recognise me, pet,” he grated. His hand lifted and he pointed a gun at her head. “You're coming with me and I'll make sure you never cheat again, bitch."
Tam's fingernails bit into Jahz's arms. Jahz slowly backed away from Payton. She had to keep her cousin and her babies safe.
He jerked his head at a car parked at the kerb. “Just get in and I leave your little friend alone."
"No, don't do it,” Tam begged. “Don't trust him Jahz."
"She's pregnant, isn't she? Do you really want to risk her?"
"Promise me that, if I get in the car, you won't hurt her."
"As if you'd trust me.” He sighed. “Such lack of faith in a wife. No. I won't hurt her."
Jahz bit back her response. When had he ever done anything to garner her trust? Not in years.
He yanked open the door and she saw a black gaping grave. If she got in that car, it was over. She didn't doubt he'd kill her. If she didn't get in the car, he'd kill them both.
In a moment of clarity, everything crashed around her. She'd let a job be so important to her that it had destroyed the last hours she'd had with Chay and Garrett. She'd never tell them how much she loved them or even see them again.
"Tell them I love them,” she whispered to Tam.
"No!” Tam cried.
"I have to go. Tell my parents I love them, too.” Tears pricking her eyes, she marched towards the car and climbed into the driver's side. Payton prodded her and she crawled across to the passenger seat.
And never looked back on everything she lost.
* * * *
"Garrett! Chay!"
Both men came running as Tamera's screams shot through the house. Garrett skidded into the entryway first, his blood turning to ice at the sight of Tamera's dishevelled figure, tears ravaging her face as she sobbed and screamed for them.
"Where's Jahz?” he exclaimed as Chay dashed in behind him.
"Payton,” Tam gasped. “He forced her into a car. He had a gun and threatened to shoot me so she went. Oh God!"
"I'll get my car,” Chay said, his voice a dry rasp. Garrett wasn't sure he'd s
ound any better as horror squeezed his throat. They'd thought a job across state was unbearable. If Payton killed Jahz—
"Call 9-1-1,” he told Tam as he started after Chay. “What colour was the car and what direction did he take?"
Payton wouldn't take Jahz from them. Garrett had promised to protect her and he would, no matter what he had to do.
His fingers fisted. With her in Payton's hands, he'd already failed.
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Chapter Five
"If you weren't such a lousy wife, it wouldn't have come to this. You would have been thrilled with the flowers. And when you swooned, I would have swooped in and saved you."
Jahz stared at Payton. He was insane. When had he turned this corner? He used to be a jerk, but not a lunatic. “And how exactly would you have saved me?"
"By taking you home where you belonged and showing you the error of your ways."
He was gonna kill her. She had to get out of this car as soon as she could. “You're a friggin’ fruitcake,” she ground out. “Only a lousy husband would have tried to poison me to make me be with him."
His hand flew out, smacking her across the face and slamming her head against the window before she could steel herself against his attack. Stars swirled before her eyes. Blindly, she grasped for the door handle. They were on the rural highway but as soon as he slowed, she'd dive from the car. It was far more palatable than death at his hands.
"You may think I'm lousy but I'm a hell of a lot smarter than that lout of a boyfriend you've got. I followed him right into your apartment and waited in the closet when he grabbed stuff. He almost caught me when he came up the second time. Not so smart that one. I waited for you to come upstairs ... but you never did. Too busy whoring around with your two men. Since you like threesomes so much, perhaps I should invite over a few of my buddies for a fuck-fest. A bunch of cocks should be great fun for you. Better than two."
He hit at her again but she was able to deflect most of the blows. She winced as his signet ring caught her across the collar bone then slammed upward into her jaw.
The car swerved as he beat at her and she fought back. When the wheels hit the side of the road, spitting gravel behind them, she shoved open the door and rolled from the car. The impact jarred everything in her, but self-preservation drove her. Run, Jahz, run! For God's sake...
