Hearts on Fire 7: Claiming Catalina (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “Don’t be scared. We’re going to take this slow because we don’t want to fuck this up, but damn, you’ve got me wanting to take that job we were offered, move into Treasure Town, and begin a new life with you and my brothers,” Don said, and she gasped. Her eyes widened, and she swallowed hard.

  Cooper squeezed her shoulders.

  “I think you just freaked her out,” Cooper whispered, and then turned her around and pulled her into an embrace. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and hugged him back. A few moments of silence passed, and then Cooper turned her toward the water, keeping his arm wrapped around her as they faced the beach and ocean.

  Don placed his hands on the railing and hung his head, looking so upset suddenly, and her heart ached for him. She reached out and ran her hand along his shoulder and arm. He shot his head toward her, appearing shocked at her empathetic response.

  “My brothers and I have always talked about having the same relationship our parents do. Our mom is married to three men. They live in Connecticut. They’re very happy, complete, and it’s something we’ve wanted forever,” Cooper told her.

  “But our lives have taken different paths over the years, and it was only recently we got our brothers back,” Don explained.

  “You mean because of the incident with the federal government and Jeremy losing his undercover position?” she asked, knowing some of the details now that Sophia was hanging out with all of Catalina’s friends.

  “Yes, you see, we couldn’t contact, speak to, or even know where Jeremy was for almost three years because of his deep undercover operation,” Don said to her.

  “God, that must have been so tough. How did you handle it?”

  “Like good soldiers,” Cooper said. “We fully absorbed ourselves in our jobs, our positions, but add in Cody doing secret shit and flying out of the country to capture terrorists, then even hunt some here on U.S. soil, and the last five years of our lives have been hell.” Cooper squeezed her a little snugger against his body.

  “We want you to understand something,” Don said. “The way we all met you was so out of the blue, but when we saw you at the hospital, when you helped Jeremy, the attraction, the connection the four of us had to you was instant. We all locked gazes and it was like we knew. I know it sounds crazy, how quickly our minds our expectations are running in full force, but this is real. I…we’ve never felt like this.”

  “Maybe you just wanted that to happen,” she suggested. Don shook his head, and then Cooper turned her around and pressed her against the railing with his hands on either side of her waist, trapping her in. He stared down into her eyes, and she saw, she felt, the intensity in his dark brown eyes. He shook his head.

  “No. It was real. It was instant, and they even talked about you a few times afterwards.”

  “But their jobs are making them crazy,” Don said. “Cody is ready to quit. He’s had it with the new protocols and how these criminal terrorists seem to have rights. Jeremy is at his wit’s end trying to handle a desk job and inside intelligence instead of fieldwork and being an agent. It’s like they feel worthless and unsure of a future and what they could have. It’s a hard transitional time for them, and they won’t talk about shit.” Don ran his fingers through his hair.

  “You can’t force them to get through it. It’s obvious from what you explained that both Cody and Jeremy love their jobs and don’t want to let go. They were probably very good at them, too, and feel that if they move on, if they try something different and something goes wrong, that they could have possibly stopped it. I get that way all the time working in the ER and covering extra shifts and hardly getting time off. I’m so worried that if I’m not there and something goes wrong, some other nurse with less experience, or maybe who is overtired or not on her game, might cause a person to be worse off. I don’t know. I guess it’s a control thing combined with a need to feel appreciated, important, and vital to every patient that enters the ER that I’m assigned to. So I get it.”

  Cooper gave a soft smile as he reached up and caressed her cheek.

  “You do get it. You’re special. We want you, Catalina,” he said, and she could tell there was a “but” in there.

  “But?” she whispered, feeling emotional and like they were going to turn her down because their brothers weren’t on board and that was what they always wanted.

  She couldn’t help the sadness that filled her heart, which was so foolish, considering she’d known these men for such a short time, but that was her luck. Every so often she met a guy she felt attracted to, and then something went wrong or nothing came of it. She was starting to think it was her, that something was wrong with her because of Paul. She’d dated him in college and given her virginity and her heart to him, only for him to wind up using her. Paul had hurt her so badly. She could never forgive him. She didn’t even know what she would do if she ever saw Paul again, which was pretty likely, living in a touristy town like this and him working in New York City. Lots of New Yorkers came here to vacation.

  “But you need to know that Don and I want this to work out. We want more dates with you, more kisses, more feeling you in our arms and knowing you’re our woman and no one else’s. We want Cody and Jeremy involved with this relationship, too. We want to share you with them and all be together.”

  She felt uneasy about it, scared actually because it made her feel like an item, a possession. The warning signals went off, the fear that she could lose so much by taking this chance, especially with what had happened in college. Paul had ruined her ability to trust a man under normal circumstances, never mind under something as unique as a ménage relationship. She couldn’t even believe they were talking like this so freely.

  She looked away from them and pressed from his embrace. He released her, and she stood to the side and looked out toward the water.

  “I don’t think that’s going to work. The fact that you want to share me, and both of you are right here, is one thing. I’ve never really thought I would get involved in a relationship like this, but you have to understand the risks are so great. You guys aren’t even living in town. You’re debating about a job transfer and change. Cody and Jeremy aren’t even here. You don’t know how they really feel, and this type of relationship can’t be forced. I won’t feel like a possession, a means to trying to mend the relationship you once had with your brothers.”

  “No, Catalina, it’s not like that at all,” Don exclaimed, stepping closer.

  “We know they like you. If they were here with us, they would be just as aroused and wanton as we are.”

  “I’m sorry, Don. We can’t make an assumption. Think about what you’re saying to me. You’re basically telling me that you and Cooper want to have an intimate relationship with me, a committed one, I hope, but that if your other two brothers are interested in sleeping with me to possibly see where it leads, I need to be willing and accepting of that? Do you realize how that sounds? I never even said yes to going out with you guys. I don’t trust men for personal reasons, which I’m not getting into right now. I can’t see what you’re suggesting as anything but a disaster waiting to happen.”

  “Wait, I understand when you explain it like that. You’re not a possession, a woman to fuck and be done with,” Cooper told her, and she was astonished as her eyes widened and he gripped her hips. She held on to his forearms.

  “Just focus on the two of us and what we feel right now. Let’s see where it leads. If need be, Don and I decided that you come first, that you’re so perfect for us, and we want this relationship.”

  “And if Jeremy and Cody come along, visit or whatever?” she asked, feeling a mix of anxiety, fear, and a bit of interest, which was truly strange. It was as though, in her mind, she thought she could accept them, too, but that kind of thinking would get her hurt.

  Cooper cupped her cheeks between his hands. “We’ll deal with it when and if the time comes. Just don’t push us away.” He leaned forward and kissed her deeply, pulling her completely i
nto his embrace and making it so that the only thought in her mind when he lifted his lips from hers was whether or not Don would kiss her next.

  Chapter 2

  Jeremy walked out of the hardware store in town to find he had two flat tires. What the fuck were the chances of that happening? He cursed, knowing he had only the one spare in the back, and knew he would need a fucking tow. Great. His first week on leave from the job had given him nothing but time on his hands to sit and wonder what the fuck he wanted to do with his life. He was a goddamn trained killer, an agent for the government. In his ten years working numerous undercover operations, he’d pretended to be everything from a clerk who fronted a store for gun sales to a hired hit man working to eradicate the transmission of terrorist ideas onto the modern world.

  He placed his hands on his hips and looked at the fucking tires. He pulled out his cell phone.

  An hour later, he was sitting in the customer area of the local mechanic’s shop waiting for the damn tires to be replaced. Finally, he handed over his credit card as the not-so-friendly cashier gave him some replies in a grunt and then handed over the card again.

  As he pulled his car out of the gas station, he looked around the town. They were only about twenty-five minutes outside of Manhattan. He could get any open positions in another town, another city. As he thought about it, like he had been for the last several months, he came back to the same thing. He couldn’t leave his brothers. It had been hell being away from them, and when they were all around, he felt at ease and at peace, but with Cooper and Don spending another week in Treasure Town, New Jersey, this was his week to straighten his shit out.

  His cell phone rang, and he hit the speaker to answer it.

  “Where ya at? You left early this morning,” Cody said, sounding concerned.

  “Fucking walked out of the hardware store to find two flat tires.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep, then spent the last hour and a half sitting in the shop waiting for them to replace them.”

  “You’re lucky you didn’t take out the Mercedes.”

  “To go to the hardware store? No way. I should be back in about twenty minutes. What do you need?”

  “It’s not me who needs something. I just got back from taking a run. Don and Cooper need us to call them back. They have work in about an hour.”

  “Sounds like something is going on.”

  “Sure does. Cooper sounded serious.”

  “Shit. Was Don with him? Are they both okay?” he asked, but he knew they were. They had a special bond all these years, and despite being out of the loop for three years, his natural connection with them was getting stronger again. He would know if something was wrong.

  “They’re good. They swore they were.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

  The entire time he’d been home, Jeremy wondered what was up with his brothers. As he climbed the front porch to their large colonial, he saw some dirty boot marks, not remembering seeing them earlier when he left, but then he remembered he’d exited the house through the side door. When he got into the house, his stomach growled, and he realized he’d missed lunch and breakfast was a blur.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Cody asked as Jeremy entered the kitchen.

  Jeremy walked over to the sink and washed his hands.

  “Crazy fucking morning. Did the guys call back yet?”

  “No. Any minute, though.” Just then, the phone rang, and Cody answered it, putting it on speaker.

  They exchanged pleasantries, and then Cooper cleared his throat.

  “Don and I have been offered a really great job here in Treasure Town with the fire training center.” Cooper went on about the job, the experience they’d had the last few weeks, and about wanting and needing a change in their lives. Jeremy felt his gut clench. One look at Cody and he knew his brother was feeling the same thing. They were drifting apart. All of them.

  “That’s a big decision to make in a matter of days, Cooper. Have you and Don thought this through?” But he knew in his heart they had thought it through. The twins always seemed to be able to make a decision on their own or together. Although mostly inseparable, they succeeded in all they did.

  “There’s more, guys. We’re happy here. There are a lot of friends and a community that truly bonds together like nothing we’ve ever experienced before. We were hoping that the two of you would take the trip to come out here and see for yourself while you’re both on leave from work. Maybe consider looking at what Treasure Town may have to offer you both.”

  Cody looked at Jeremy and shook his head.

  “I don’t know if I’m ready for that, to make a move like a career change or a different position than what I’ve been doing. I’ll always wonder, you know, and if I hear of a situation, I’ll think, what if I was involved?” Cody admitted.

  “I feel the same way. I haven’t decided what direction to go in yet. We don’t want to lose you guys. We’ve always talked about living life together and handling things as a family.” Jeremy felt his heart ache. He was causing this, all because he’d been removed from his position.

  “There’s more.” Don said.

  “Don, I thought we were going to wait,” Cooper said to his brother. Jeremy and Cody could hear the whole conversation. They were on speaker.

  “Shit. Hold on a minute. My cell is ringing. It’s the chief,” Don said, and they could hear the one-sided conversation. “Okay, fifteen minutes.”

  “We need to go, guys,” Don said. “We’ll call tomorrow and talk about this more. Think about coming out here for the upcoming weekend. We’d like to show you a few places we’re looking at and think you’ll both like.”

  “Yes, and with your professional experiences, there’s certain to be something here for you as employment, whether in town or a short commute away. Call you tomorrow,” Cooper said, and then they disconnected the call.

  Jeremy gripped the table and exhaled. He slowly looked across the table at Cody.

  “It is a great little town. We all loved it when we were there.”

  “I know we did, but if we decide to go check it out and consider giving up our old lives, do you think we’ll be happy or wind up regretting it?”

  “Jeremy, I don’t know. Part of me is scared, but then when I think about my job and what I do, I know it’s something I can do in any city or town. I stop terrorists from succeeding in causing deaths and damage. Treasure Town isn’t that far from one of the larger headquarters for the anti-terrorist task force, but I don’t know if I’m ready.”

  Jeremy exhaled and ran his hand along his jaw.

  “I don’t know if I’m ready either, but I was just getting used to having the three of you around me again. I missed three years of this, and I can’t help but feel I’m to blame for causing us to lose that time. If I hadn’t gone undercover—”

  “No, Jeremy. That’s not fair, and it’s not the case at all. We’ve all chosen our careers. Hell, the dads even went through shit, too, when they met Mom.”

  “Shit, we’re not even involved with a woman. What’s supposed to come of that dream?”

  Cody chuckled as he leaned back in the chair.

  “I don’t know. Maybe if we take Cooper and Don up on the offer to head out for the weekend to visit, we could get a date with that nurse we all met,” Cody teased.

  Jeremy chuckled.

  “Catalina. Damn, she was gorgeous. I think we have too much shit to work out with ourselves before we could even think of asking a woman out. Hell, I didn’t even know what I was doing for the rest of the night, never mind the next several years.”

  Cody stood up and walked to the refrigerator.

  “Sounds like we need some beers.”

  He pulled two out as Jeremy chuckled, then sat back down at the table. Cody passed him a can of beer, and they both popped their cans open.

  “To whatever tomorrow brings,” Cody saluted.

  “To whatever tomorrow brings,” Jeremy repeated, and they cli
nked their cans of beer together and took a sip.

  Hopefully it brings something positive.

  * * * *

  He listened as they spoke about their brothers and leaving for Treasure Town. He had been there just a few days ago watching the two other brothers. He knew their schedule, and he knew how he could take them out to get to Agent Jeremy Jones. His boss didn’t want that quite yet. Instead, he wanted to play with Jeremy and get him to the point where his boss could use hurting the man’s family as leverage when he confronted Jeremy and demanded information. Then he could point out how he could have just killed them and Jeremy if he wanted to.

  It was Clover’s job to keep watch, to do shit right under the agent’s nose and, eventually, take what meant most to him away from him little by little. The dumbass was so out-of-sorts—and so was his brother Cody—that they didn’t even seem suspicious of the car tires going flat. Nor did they sense the intrusion in their home as Clover bugged the place. He was good at what he did. Being patient and slowly torturing his victims was a specialty and a talent that would surely come in handy with one badass agent like Jeremy Jones.

  He wrote down the information he needed, including the name of some woman they wanted to screw. It was all good stuff he would tell his boss about. He was going to love it when his boss revealed himself to Jeremy. Wouldn’t that be a shocker? Everyone else thought he was dead or had long gone into hiding.

  Not a man like Frederick Price. His friendship and business relationship with Castella Moya and Ruiz Mateo, who had been killed by Jeremy and some friends trying to save their woman Sophia, ran deep in their blood. Frederick wanted revenge, and so did Castella, but Agent Jones had information they could surely use to keep the illegal government business deals in motion. They just needed the names of other undercover agents, and Jeremy knew exactly who they were.

  Clover couldn’t wait. He’d tortured and killed so many agents before that getting this one, and his entire family if necessary, would be fun. They were the enemy and stood in the way of success and getting rich. For that alone, the Jones brothers all deserved to die.