“It wouldn’t have been enough to get you out of Trinity, Elly. That was the entire purpose of this… ordeal. Getting you to leave town.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“I know. And it’s complicated, and dangerous…”
His lips part slowly, as he stares at my lips. I hate the way he’s looking at me. Even more importantly, I hate the way him looking at me makes me feel.
“I’m not leaving town, Kellan,” I say firmly. “I’m not letting you or Rhett or Gage or anyone else scare me out of here. But if I know what to look out for, at least I’ll be better prepared.”
I didn’t even notice when he let go of my wrists, until I feel his arms slipping around my waist and pulling me closer. His heart thuds against mine, my breasts soft against his muscular chest. Arousal quickly sets in, setting my senses ablaze and betraying everything in me.
“It doesn’t work like that, baby,” he whispers, his lips now brushing against mine. “I miss you… but you can’t be here.”
“There’s nothing more you can do to drive me away,” I reply. “I’m obviously not budging. Get that out of your head.”
He moves his hips, and I can feel his erection pressing my belly. I’m already wet, cursing myself and my fate, my inability to keep my distance from The Hotshots. Reason is overpowered, and my body takes over, as I rub myself against his thigh with slow, deliberate motions.
“I know. We’re gonna have to figure out another way to keep you safe, Elly. Fuck…” he groans, pushing himself harder into me. He’s horny, and he’s yearning for me. As much as I’m yearning for him.
It becomes increasingly difficult for us to focus, and my animal brain gears up. I flick my tongue over his lips, and it sets off a flurry of reactions in motion. He kisses me, hungrily… desperately. His tongue invades my mouth, and we clash, tasting and devouring one another between short and ragged breaths.
I put my hands on his chest, squeezing his pecks and prompting him to grunt like the beast I know he is. Oh, the memories of our nights together swarm inside my head, swirling and swelling as I surrender to the feel of his lips and tongue as he nips at my neck.
His right hand slips between us, firmly cupping my breast and squeezing. I breathe in, pushing my chest forward, as if asking for more. He briefly looks around, making sure that no one’s nearby, then pulls the elastic fabric down and locks his lips around my nipple, greedily suckling and sending me down a spiral of delicious, orgasmic memories.
I lean back into the wall as he uses his left hand to find my wet folds beneath the running tights and soaked panties. “Kellan…” I murmur, tilting my head back and praying to all the gods that I get to feel him inside him again.
He was my first, and he had every single inch of my body, every thread of my soul. Our chemistry is undeniable, and I’m desperate for him to fill me up again with every inch of that big, thick cock of his. He fingers me, shameless in his exploits while he moves to reveal and work on my other breast.
“Kellan…” I manage, though I’m not sure what I want to say.
The words scramble out of my head before I can string them into a coherent sentence. All I can do is clench tightly around his two fingers, inviting him to take me wholly again, like we did back in summer camp.
He pulls back, his lips slightly swollen and glistening in the afternoon light. “Not here. Let’s get in my car. Smoky windows and all that…”
I nod, almost automatically, as he pulls my sports bra back up and takes my hand. His fingers are slick from where they’ve been, and that just turns me on even more. Seconds later, we’re locked in his car, settling on the back seat.
He’s sitting, and I kneel beside him, determined to do something I haven’t done since the penultimate day of summer camp. Kellan is speechless, his gaze soft as he watches me. I unbutton his jeans and pull his boxers down, releasing his majestic erection.
For a moment, I am still, remembering its generous size and every vein that throbs along its length. A pearly droplet gathers at the tip, and I lick it off, tasting the very essence of him. He exhales deeply, his cock jumping in my grip.
I take him in my mouth, moving slowly at first, just the way he taught me. Using my tongue, I spoil him dearly, gradually letting more of him in. He curses under his breath, as I raise and lower my head in a steady rhythm, sucking and licking and making love to him with my mouth. He’s delicious, delightfully hard and swelling even more as I finally feel his tip in my throat.
“Fuck, Elly…”
I go all the way down. Once, twice… by the third time, he gently lifts me up and turns me over. I’m on my knees and hands, and he peels the tights and panties down, leaving my ass exposed. He grips the cheeks firmly, spreading them wide before he spears me with his tongue.
No one can see us through the smoky windows, but I can see a couple of parents walking their kids home. Colorful trikes and the family dog rush down the street, while Kellan licks my pussy, making me whimper from the sheer, unadulterated pleasure. No one out there knows what’s going on inside this car. This is our secret, our hot and steamy secret.
His fingers find my clit, and he pinches it. “Ah!” I gasp as he licks me and rubs me. My core tightens, and I need him now, more than ever. “Kellan… I want you inside me… All of you.”
He pauses, as I look back at him. Without another word, he positions himself behind me, then grabs my hips and pulls me down and… oh, wow…
I’m full. I can feel every inch of him, spreading me, consuming me. I rest the back of my head on his shoulder and cup my breasts as he starts to push. At the first thrust, I see stars before my eyes. At the second, I’m so wet, so raw and delicate on the inside, I can feel his cock as he moves. In and out, in and out…
“I’ve missed you so much, baby,” he whispers in my ear before he gently bites on the lobe. He knows what it does to me. I squeeze and fondle myself, while his hand moves to the front and finds my sore little nub again.
He flicks and rubs it with a vengeance as he moves harder and faster, fucking me like… like we haven’t been like this in weeks… in years…
“Did you miss me, Elly?”
“I did… Oh, baby, I did…”
My mouth moves without me realizing it, as he commands me, as he thrusts his full length inside me. I welcome it all, as I come undone, his fingers working and pinching my clit. Waves of ecstasy ripple through me.
“Did you miss Rhett?” he asks.
For a moment, I’m afraid. He feels me stiffening, but he keeps rubbing and pushing, forcing me to forget my own awkwardness as a second orgasm quickly rears its head around the corner. He’s holding me tight with one hand and moves in an almost brutal rhythm that demands another release.
“There’s no wrong answer, baby,” Kellan grunts. His movements intensify, and I know he’s close to an orgasm, as well.
“Yes!” I cry out, losing my mind altogether. “I’ve missed you… I’ve missed Rhett…”
“And Gage?”
“Yes! Yes, baby, I’ve missed Gage, too!”
He’s pounding into me, and I lose all control, moving against him so I can experience everything, so he can split me and fill me to the brim, as I ride my orgasm and tighten around his cock.
“I fell in love with you, Elly,” he groans and comes hard, our bodies blending into a single, ecstatic, shuddering mass.
I feel him pulsating inside me, and I sway my hips in a circular motion, prompting him to jerk and push some more, until every single atom in his body is drained and satisfied. We stay like this for a while, glued together, our eyes glimmering in the afterglow.
It happened so fast. So unexpectedly…
Everything’s changed, and I will need some time to process what just happened. My heart is a jumbled mess, because their motives are different from what I thought. Everything that happened, it happened for the right reasons, despite the horrific execution.
My conscience emerges, but I can’t let go of Kellan, either. He
asked me questions. About him, about Rhett, about Gage… and I was honest, but where is this supposed to lead? Where does this leave us? I have so many more questions now…
“Elly, I…” Kellan’s voice trails off as his phone rings.
I move away and turn around, cupping his face and kissing him deeply. “Forget the phone… We need to talk, Kellan…”
He nods slowly. “I know… We do, but…” He looks down at his phone screen. There’s a message notification, followed by another incoming call.
Somehow, I’m left watching, unable to move or say anything else. He slides his finger across the screen to answer the phone. “This is the worst possible time to—” he pauses, as the person on the other end of the line tells him something.
Something awful, I realize, as he’s suddenly pale. Ashen, even.
His eyes widen, his gaze wandering across my face without really noticing me.
I’m frozen, as the air between us shifts. He’s devastated. “When?” he asks, and the answer doesn’t seem to make him feel any better. “I’m on my way.”
He hangs up and finally looks at me. Without so much as a word, I pull my panties and pants up, rearranging my bra beneath the vest. I’m like a robot, my feelings tucked away in a corner while I try to figure out a way to get a grip on myself.
“I have to go,” he says. “I’m sorry.”
“Will you tell me what happened?”
“I have to go,” he repeats himself.
It’s impossible to reason with Kellan right now. I remember this look on his face. I’ve seen it before, back in summer camp. He got a call back then, too… about his grandpa. My heart aches for him, because he is terrible at masking his emotions. He’s shell-shocked right now, and I dread the mere thought of finding out what just happened.
I let myself out of the car, as he exits on the other side and gets into the driver’s seat.
He looks at me, his expression soft and warm again for a brief moment. “I’ll call you. I promise,” he says.
Do I believe him? Did any of this really happen? I’m not sure, but I give him a faint nod, as he starts the car and drives off with a frantic screech, narrowly missing a passing car. My heart’s in my throat, and I’m still coming down from all the wonderful things we just did.
My body is singing. My soul is expanding. And my heart… the poor thing, it’s beating every other way, unsure of everything. All I can do is run back home and sweat it all out before a hot shower and dinner with mom and… Gage’s dad.
When did my life become so odd and complicated?
I don’t know. But things are changing faster than I can keep up. I need to rethink my strategy, my relationship with The Hotshots. For the first time in weeks, I’m looking forward to Kellan’s call, and it terrifies me, because I could very well be sliding into a very dangerous and toxic cycle.
If they start backpedaling and treating me like shit again… what will I do?
By the time I get home, the weird factor is amped up to eleven, as I see Connor storming out of our house, jumping into his car and driving off in a frenzy similar to Kellan’s. I go inside, finding my mom in the kitchen with the table already set. She doesn’t look very happy.
“What happened?” I ask.
“Someone died,” mom says, giving me a concerned look. “Someone close to Connor, apparently. He just got the call.”
So dinner with Connor O’Donnell is cancelled. Could the same thing have taken both him and Kellan away from us? I’ll have to arm myself with patience and wait until tomorrow. Whatever comes next, I need to be ready for it. Good, bad, terrible… I’ll have to prepare. I can’t take another heartbreak, dammit.
21
Rhett
I know everyone dies eventually, but my dad did not deserve this.
He and my mom were at a diner, on their way back to Trinity, when he collapsed. The seizure and the foaming around the mouth scream foul play, but the ME won’t have a result for us until early next week. I’m trying to keep it together, but the rage inside me is about to let loose, and I pity the souls who find themselves in my vicinity.
“The bastard… The fucking bastard…” I hear myself say as I race through town with no regard for traffic or stop signs. Good thing I never sold the Ford, otherwise I would’ve depended on Kellan to pick me up in the Rover.
I know this was Kevin’s doing. It had to be him. My dad was healthy. Healthier than most people his age. For fuck’s sake, we raced down the track last weekend, and he nearly beat me! My heart’s in tatters. My throat burns. I can’t even cry—everything is happening so fast, I need to keep up.
The police are investigating, but I’m not sure what that’s going to do. Their loyalty is to be questioned, now that both my grandpa and my dad are gone. How the fuck am I going to get through this? What will happen to mom? My brother. Me?
My head’s a mess. I don’t even know how I’m able to drive but… I have something to do. Before I even get to the ME’s office, I have to check the safe. Kellan’s meeting me at Gage’s place. Common sense would dictate that I go be with my mom. However, our current and suddenly unexpected situation demands that I divert my attention to the safe, first.
Gage’s call came right after mom’s. This can’t be a fucking coincidence.
“Motherfucker won’t even let us grieve,” I breathe, then slam on the breaks outside Gage’s house. I stop less than an inch from the Range Rover. Kellan’s already here. Good. We need to get our heads together, quickly.
Without acknowledging anything or anyone around me, I glide up the steps and barge into Gage’s two-story house. I know it’s just him and Kellan for now, because everybody else is rushing to the ME’s office, where my mother refuses to leave my father’s side. She’s stunned. She could barely speak over the phone, but… even she knew. She knew! She knew Kevin was involved, somehow.
We should’ve seen this coming. He’s a fucking coward and a psychopath. He won’t do his dirty work. He’ll pay others to do it. That’s his signature…
I find Gage and Kellan in Gage’s study, where he keeps his safe. Freezing in the doorway, I understand that everything happened just the way he said it. Someone broke in. Nothing else in the house was disturbed, but his study is a mess. Papers thrown all over the place. Bookshelves empty, expensive, leather-bound volumes scattered across the floor. The sofas are all cut up, filling spilled out. All the drawers are out, some broken and splintered, manila folders spread out. It’s impossible to make sense of anything.
Even the paintings were taken down, the canvases torn to shreds. But the worst part is the safe, which Gage had installed behind a fake panel of the elegant mahogany bookshelf module that covers the entire eastern wall. They found it. They used a crowbar to pry the panel open, then managed to break into the safe.
It’s wide open, and I can immediately tell that there are things missing from it.
Kellan’s in shock. He just stares at me, breathing heavily, unable to say a word. Gage is equally stunned. His knuckles are grazed and bloody, and there are crimson smears on one of the walls. I reckon he punched until he couldn’t punch anymore.
“When did you get here?” I ask Gage.
“Forty minutes ago,” he says, his voice low. “I don’t know why I felt the need to come here. After dad called about Harry, I… I knew something was off about the whole thing.”
“He did it. He fucking did it!” I snarl, repeating what I’ve been saying to myself for the past hour. “It was Kevin.”
“Rhett…” Kellan manages, and only now do I notice his bloodshot eyes. He’s been crying. What a shitty brother I am, not to realize the kind of pain he must be in. I’m feeling it, too, but… I process things differently. I’ve learned to be okay with that.
I dart across the room and take him in my arms, holding him tight as he starts crying again. We have suffered before, but this comes on the heels of grandpa’s death, and it’s too much, even for Kellan. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to
be able to keep it together, but I have to find a way. My brother needs me. My mom, too. Gage. We’re vulnerable, now. The family succession rules put Kevin in the lead, and he won’t stop until he’s driven us all away, one way or another.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I whisper.
Kellan sniffs and takes a few deep breaths, as I pull back and grip his shoulders, waiting for him to say something. “We’re fucked, Rhett…”
That’s not what I want to hear. “We’ll figure something out,” I say, briefly glancing at Gage. He doesn’t look convinced, either, which makes my stomach tighten in new and painful ways. “Grandpa did not teach us to roll over and die, Kellan. We’re fucking Flanagans.”
“Flanagans without a few and very important items,” Gage interjects, clearing his throat. I look at him, then at Kellan, who gives me a disappointed nod.
“What’s missing from the vault?” I ask.
“Some USB sticks I put in there. Kompromat on Kevin and a few of his associates,” Gage sighs. “One of the accounting books we took from Quinn’s study before the will reading. And the photo…”
For a moment, I don’t immediately register what photo he’s talking about. “Huh?”
“The photo, Rhett. You and Elly. Summer camp bonfire,” Kellan mutters, staring at the vault.
Dread comes over like a rabid blizzard, freezing the blood in my veins, stiffening my joints, making my heart still. Elly and I used one of those photo booth machines they had at camp, to commemorate the time we had together. Kellan and Gage took photos with her, too, but they had the common sense to burn their copies. I held on to mine. It was the only thing I had left of her… I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it.
How stupid of me. How fucking stupid of me to think that anything of ours would be safe from Kevin Flanagan, even here, in Gage’s house…
“He took Elly’s picture,” I mumble, trying to wrap my head around this. My dad’s dead on a fucking slab in the ME’s office, and Kevin somehow managed to make everything even worse. He’s got collateral, now. He’s got a way to get to me, and it’s exactly through the person the three of us have been trying so hard to push out of Trinity. The person we paid attention to when we should have been paying attention to dad. Not that dad wasn’t covered. He had security. Mom even pounded him into a fucking vest on the occasion they’d be out for long. He was taking every fucking precaution he could think of, without turning himself into a hermit and making it obvious to Kevin that he didn’t trust a drip of blood in his veins. And then, poison. Seriously!
Holy Trinity Page 17
