In defeat, she released her grip on the door and let it open. “Okay, but you can only stay a minute. I have a lot to do this morning.”
“Like what?” He couldn’t resist the snarky question. The place was immaculate. Even the floor had no footprints in the carpet. The apartment was small and old and un-renovated, but it looked like a display home for dilapidated structures. The complex could actually sell units if they used this one as a model.
Ashley stepped to one side. “Who are you?” She seemed to notice Evan for the first time. She tipped her chin a little and breathed deeply.
Josh knew she was scenting the man. Her eyes widened when she realized he was a shifter.
“This is Evan. He’s the private investigator I hired to find you.”
“Find me?” She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I didn’t know I was missing?”
“Oh, come on, Ashley. You move around every few months and you haven’t called home in thirteen months. How would you describe that?”
Evan set his hand on Josh’s arm. “I’ll wait out here.”
Josh took a deep breath. It wouldn’t help if he started yelling at her. She was so beaten down, she probably didn’t realize how bad things had gotten.
Ashley’s hand shook as she reached for the door. “You should go. If Damon finds you here…”
“What? What if Damon finds me here?”
“He doesn’t like guests is all. He’s kind of private.”
“So private you aren’t allowed visits from your family or phone calls?”
“I’m allowed phone calls.” Her voice lowered until he almost couldn’t hear her. She tucked her head. “I just haven’t earned any recently.”
Earned? Holy fuck. Things were worse than he’d imagined. How had his sweet, innocent, fun-loving sister fallen into this life?
Evan spoke from behind Josh. “Ashley, I know it’s hard for you to see right now, but you’re in an abusive relationship. I’m sure Damon has told you all sorts of things to keep you under his thumb. He’s probably threatened to hurt or kill your family if you don’t do his bidding.” Evan paused. “I can see by your expression he has. I’ve seen this sort of thing dozens of times, Ashley. I can assure you Damon is not going to hurt anyone. We just want you to come with us so you’ll be safe. I promise you won’t be in danger.”
Ashley shook her head again. “No. I…I can’t. I’m fine, really.” She smiled, but the expression didn’t reach her dull sad eyes. She raised her chin in attempt to prove she was just peachy. “Damon…he…we’re fine. He just likes things…tidy, is all. I’m doing better.” She glanced around.
Not a thing was out of place. Better? This shell of a woman used to be his sister. She didn’t do tidy. She was an artist. Messy was her middle name. He fought the tears welling up in his eyes. No matter what he’d said or thought, the reality was he couldn’t take her against her will without causing a disturbance. What if he couldn’t convince her to come with him voluntarily? This scenario had never played out in his mind.
A shadow filled the doorframe and Ashley yelped. Josh jumped to swivel around, expecting to see Damon standing there. What he saw instead, made his heart soar.
Samantha. And Nathan was behind her. Evan stepped out of the way. Samantha smiled, a sweet precious image he remembered seeing in Ashley’s eyes before…
“Hi, Ashley.” She didn’t look at Josh yet. “I’m Samantha, Josh’s mate.”
He was glad she didn’t expand on that right then. Ashley was fragile. No way could she have understood the workings of this threesome.
“This is Nathan.” Samantha nodded behind herself, giving no indication who Nathan was to her or to Josh. “What a nice place you have.” She entered the apartment fully, stepping past Josh and Ashley into the living room. “Did you do all this decorating yourself?”
Josh almost laughed, except the situation was far from funny. Decorating? What was Samantha’s angle?
“Most of it came with the apartment, but some.” Ashley perked up a little and shuffled in Samantha’s direction. “Do you really like it?”
“I do. The colors are perfect.” She nodded at the walls and an abstract painting above the couch. “Did you paint that?”
Josh’s mouth hung open. Samantha was accomplishing more in moments than he could have ever hoped for on his own. Luckily, he recognized the style of the painting. His sister did indeed paint that sort of thing. At least, she had, before she’d vanished at twenty years old.
“I did. It’s been a while though.” Ashley’s voice was stronger now. “I miss painting,” she added.
“I’d love to see more of your work.”
Ashley turned her face to the floor. “I don’t have much here. I used to have a lot of art at my parents’ home, if they kept it.”
“Oh, goodness. If it’s half as good as this painting, I’m sure they did.” Samantha stepped closer to Ashley. “I’d love for you to show it to me sometime.”
Ashley smiled, the first twinkle of her old self sparkling in her sea-green eyes.
And then her face fell. “You really have to go. If Damon finds you here…”
Samantha took Ashley gently by the arm and turned her toward the hallway. “Is there anything here you don’t want to leave behind?” She didn’t ask his sister to come with them. She implied there was no other option. “We need to get going so we can put as many hours as possible between us before Damon comes home. Don’t you think?”
Oh, Samantha was good. Josh’s chest swelled. Make this all her idea.
Ashley turned a shade of gray as she stood her ground. Samantha released her arm and headed down the hall. His sister would have to follow. What choice did she have? She couldn’t very well let the stranger roam through the house and possibly mess anything up.
“Where do you keep your suitcases?” Samantha asked over her shoulder.
Ashley moved then, fast. She entered the first door on the left, leaving Josh standing in the front room.
“Holy shit.” Josh ran a hand through his hair.
“She’s amazing,” Nathan commented from outside the apartment. He didn’t say who, but Josh knew he had to be referring to Samantha. The woman was a goddess.
“I left you guys sleeping.” Josh tried to concentrate on Nathan, but he couldn’t take his gaze off the door to the room where his sister and his mate had entered. Nerves made his stomach clench.
“We woke up.” Nathan said nothing else, as if to imply what else would we do?
“I’m Evan.” The other man stepped forward and shook Nathan’s hand. “Congrats on the strange mating.” He didn’t apologize as he chuckled.
Josh imagined they should expect a lot of that reaction when they returned to the real world. What were others supposed to say? Hell, neither humans nor wolves were going to understand this. Josh didn’t fully grasp it yet himself.
Maybe they could keep it private for a while? Would his mates go for that idea?
But first, they needed to get out of here. His skin crawled more with every passing minute. He hated this place and his stomach threatened to roil thinking about what Ashley had been through in the last four years.
“We’re ready.” Samantha’s over-sappy voice filled the void. Her strained fake grin didn’t fool him, but he imagined it was perfect for Ashley, who followed behind his mate looking rather frantic.
“I don’t know about this. Damon’s going to be pissed.”
“Trust me, sweetie. Everything is going to be perfect. You’ll see.” Samantha walked straight out the door, carrying the bag she had undoubtedly packed while Ashley watched. “Grab your purse. Is your license in it?”
License? Why was Samantha worried about whether or not Ashley had her license? It wasn’t like the woman needed to do part of the driving.
Samantha glanced at Josh, softening her expression. “You never know when you might need ID, honey.” Sugar slipped from between her lips.
Josh doubted she’d ever talk to him quite that way
in real life. Honey?
Whatever worked.
Ashley moved like a robot, grabbing her purse off the counter in the kitchen. She paused in the doorway, hesitant to step outside the apartment. She turned to Josh. “He has a gun.” The blunt phrase made him flinch.
He clasped her cheek with one hand. “It’s okay. You’re going to be safe now.”
When Ashley stepped out into the sunshine behind Samantha, she covered her eyes against the glare. When was the last time she’d been outside?
Wasting not a second, Josh turned to Evan who nodded. “Go, I’ll meet you back in St. Louis at your place.”
“Thanks, man. I totally owe you, and not just money.” Josh took his private-investigator-turned-friend’s arm and squeezed before he dashed down the walkway toward his car.
“Wait,” Nathan said before he ducked into the driver’s seat of Josh’s car. He hadn’t said a word, just knew instinctively it was the right thing to do. Nathan turned back and jogged over to Evan.
He exchanged a few words, handed the man something, and was once again bending into the driver’s seat before Josh had Ashley situated in the back. Samantha had taken the front passenger side.
Nathan glanced in the rear-view mirror as he pulled away from the spot.
“What was that about?” Josh was afraid to ask.
“Evan’s car is a rental. He’s going to leave it here in Jasper and drive mine to St. Louis.”
Samantha turned to the side and smiled so Josh could see it too. “How’d you think of that so fast? Perfect.”
No kidding. Now they didn’t have to split up. Safety in numbers, and honestly Josh didn’t want any of these three people away from him for a second. Bless Nathan. It might be a strange relationship Josh still only marginally grasped, but so far the man had proven to be a valuable asset in their relationship.
He had no idea how on earth the three of them were going to handle their mating in the real world. The image of trying to explain this to anyone he knew gave him the willies. But right now, he needed to concentrate on Ashley.
Chapter Eleven
“How is she?” Samantha asked as Josh stepped silently into the living room of his parents’ home. He was exhausted.
They’d driven straight to Paul and Laura Rice’s home from Alabama, only stopping briefly for gas and food along the way. At the first stop, Samantha had asked Ashley for her cellphone. He knew she intended to throw it away in case her bastard husband traced it. But, that wasn’t a problem. Ashley didn’t even own a cell phone. Figured.
“Shook up. Beaten. Literally and figuratively.” There was no way to sugarcoat it. His sister was a wreck. Josh had seen the bruises all over Ashley’s arms and neck as the girl had slept during the drive. Some were faded, others were fresh, indicating she been beaten nearly every day for some infraction or another.
First thing in the morning they would go to the local hospital, but for tonight, Ashley was exhausted and scared out of her mind. She needed sleep. She undoubtedly would admit to nothing this late in the evening. And Josh knew the best defense for any future needs would be an admission to the doctors of her abuse.
“Do you want to stay here tonight?” Samantha asked Josh as he approached.
He took her free hand, the other one being held by Nathan on the couch next to her.
Josh knelt in front of both of them and glanced from Samantha to Nathan. “I just want to go home. Will you both come with me?”
Nathan leaned forward. “Are you kidding? Where else would we go?” He set his free palm on Josh’s shoulder and squeezed.
This was really happening. The three of them. They’d explained nothing to Josh’s parents this evening. Laura and Paul had way more important things going on to discuss this arrangement, but Josh also knew his parents would have sensed the mating. They hadn’t spoken about it, but shifters were savvy about such things. The scent of the trio would be altered, letting any wolf around know they were taken, mated.
Whatever his parents thought about the threesome, they hadn’t brought it up tonight.
Samantha stood and tugged both men to their feet alongside her. “Let’s go home.”
At the door, Josh’s father caught up with them. “You kids be safe driving, ya hear? And I’m sorry for the circumstances preventing us from celebrating the obvious, but let’s discuss it further tomorrow, okay? Your mother is beside herself with grief. I’m sure she wouldn’t want to miss anything.
Josh fought back tears as he watched the heartache on his father’s face. The man knew. And he wasn’t judging them. He was actually sorry and disappointed by the circumstances.
The first hurdle was crossed. They had so many more to approach in their future. What were people going to say? Human and shifters alike were going to raise eyebrows and Josh felt too tired at the moment to ponder the inquisition.
Josh shook his father’s hand. “Thanks, Dad. And tell Mom to stop beating herself up over this. She couldn’t have done anything different. It isn’t her fault. Only Damon can be blamed.”
“I know, son. But your mother…Hell, even I feel terrible. It’s going to take some time.”
Josh hugged his father and then ushered Samantha out the door with a hand on her back.
Nathan took the lead. At the car, he unlocked the doors and then handed Josh the keys.
“Thanks, man.” Josh swallowed. He’d not cried in years, not since he was a young boy, but lack of sleep and emotional overload threatened him.
Nathan smiled. “No problem.”
The man had driven Josh’s car all the way home, not prying, not asking questions, just allowing Josh his space and letting Ashley sleep. Josh couldn’t thank him enough for his compassion.
Josh drove the short distance to the Central West End where he’d been living for several years in the house he’d purchased after residency. It had been more than he could afford at the time, but he’d thought of it as an investment and scrimped to get by while he paid off exorbitant student loans.
Nathan gasped as Josh pulled into the driveway. A low whistle filled the car. “Nice place. Guess we won’t need to argue about your place or mine.”
Josh smiled to himself as they all three climbed out of the cramped space and stretched their legs. He, for one, had dreaded getting back inside the car for the short drive home. “I’m not expecting you both to bend over and cave for my place. We can discuss it further later. I just thought it was an easy fix for tonight. I haven’t even seen Samantha’s apartment, though she told me it was downtown. Where do you live?” Josh took Samantha’s hand as they headed for the front door and looked over her head at Nathan.
“Also, downtown. It’s been easier that way. But there’s no contest here. Hands down, you win.”
Samantha squeezed Josh’s hand. “I’m afraid I’ll have to agree with Josh. I guess we lawyers have been all about convenience and frugality since taking the bar.”
Josh opened the front door and tossed his keys on a small table. “Nothing wrong with that. This place sucked me dry for the first few years. I’m not sure what I was thinking taking this on with all the debt I had, but I wanted it so bad. The location was something I’d always dreamed about. And I never considered selling after I met the neighbors. Nicest people I’ve ever known.”
Josh glanced from side to side as he shut the front door to the world. At least they had been nice neighbors. His shoulders deflated considering the looks on everyone’s faces when they learned Josh had entered a relationship with a man and a woman. That particular conundrum still made him cringe.
Samantha took his hand. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He fake-smiled at her.
“Riiight,” Nathan added. “I know that look. It’s the same one I would have if I brought you two back to my place. And it crossed your face as you looked to make sure none of the fabulous neighbors had seen you enter the house with the two of us.”
Josh grimaced. “That obvious? I’m sorry. I—”
; Samantha stopped him with a finger on his lips. “Please. Do you think you’re the only one worried about this situation?”
Josh let his shoulders slump and staggered into the front room. “What do we do? Should we move?”
“Nope.” Nathan stood taller than Josh felt. “We go to bed, make passionate love to our woman, and sleep on it. Whatever problems we need to face will still be here in the morning. I for one am exhausted. Not too tired to have sex first, but too tired to worry about the neighbors and our friends right now.”
•●•
Samantha led the way to Josh’s bedroom. She turned around when she reached the bed and started removing clothes. She never wanted to see this particular suit again. Nathan probably was thinking the same thing about his. “Where do you shift and run around here?” This was a neighborhood. The houses were close together and there weren’t enough trees.
Josh pulled his shirt over his head. “I don’t. That’s the downfall. I have to drive somewhere.”
Nathan finished the last button on his shirt and tossed it aside as though it had a disease. “It’s not like either of us can run from a downtown apartment either. That’s the bummer about living in a big city.”
“I drive to a wooded area not far from here. It’s pretty convenient.” Josh dropped his pants.
As Nathan did the same, Samantha licked her lips. Both men had tasted her. She’d tasted neither. It was time to rectify that. “Come here.” She crooked her finger at them and they both stepped forward, impressive cocks bobbing with each movement. “I think it’s my turn to be in charge.”
Nathan chuckled. “And what did you have in mind, hon.” He wrapped his hand around her neck and she ducked out from under him.
“Both of you lie down on the bed, side by side, leaving space for me in the middle.”
“Isn’t that kinda how we always lie?” Josh asked. He smiled, but did as she said.
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