Four Love

by Rylon, Jayne

The screech of tires and the wail of sirens, trailing off as good guys raced after the blackmailers, reassured Trent that their protectiveness was probably unnecessary. The immediate danger faded.

  A clicking from beneath him made Trent tense. He ran his hands over Holly, who shook uncontrollably, making her teeth chatter as she tried to summon some smartass comment to cover up her terror.

  The whoosh of relief slamming through him made his stomach feel like it turned inside out. His face went hot and his head spun. All he wanted was to get Holly somewhere safe. Somewhere he could make sure she was protected before he tried to fix the damage he’d done.

  As Lorenzo and Owen got to their feet, dusting off their jeans, he did too. He scooped Holly up and turned, heading toward the rest of the agents and police officers who streamed from vans and buildings nearby as if someone had kicked their nest. Holly clung to his shoulders, burying her face in his neck as he climbed into the open back of a plain white commercial van. Despite its innocuous appearance from the outside, the inside was loaded with gear and weapons and who knew what else his new friends needed to save the world. Including their resident nerd mastermind, JRad.

  Trent took a seat on a bench against one of the walls, cradling Holly as he did.

  It kind of freaked him out that she didn’t resist or even protest.

  Lorenzo and Owen were right behind them. They settled across from him and Holly, shoulder to shoulder. Someone closed the door from the outside with a deafening clang. Holly shuddered.

  “It’s just us now. We’ve got you.” Lorenzo promised, leaning forward to rub her back.

  Holly nodded. “Reminded me of the trunk lid slamming on those fuckers’ car. They locked me inside.”

  “Wrap her in this.” JRad, wearing a high-tech headset quit toying with a computer that had three screens long enough to extend a blanket to Owen.

  Holly recoiled, leaning away from the stranger and closer to Owen, Lorenzo, and Trent.

  Owen accepted it and worked with Trent to tuck it around her. “Thanks, man.”

  When Holly felt Owen’s hand on her, snuggling her into the soft fabric, she relaxed, settling against Trent’s body. Lorenzo leaned in and adjusted the fabric on her other side, covering her legs as well as possible in the tight space.

  “Are you okay, Holly?” Trent scanned as much of her as he could see, which wasn’t much considering there wasn’t so much as a molecule of air between them.

  “I think so.” Did she mean to brush her lips across his neck when she said that?

  Trent swallowed a groan. She reached up and cupped his cheek, as if reassuring herself that he was real and that he was there. If he had his way, he’d never leave her alone again.

  “She’s bleeding.” Lorenzo cursed in Portuguese.

  Holly tried to reassure them it was nothing, but she sat a bit too still as Lorenzo fetched a paramedic, then hovered as the woman checked Holly before bandaging her bruised and cut wrists. Miraculously, it seemed that was the worst of her injuries. At least the physical ones.

  Trent wished they could take her home right then and talk in private about any of the wounds that went deeper than her flesh, including ones he may have inflicted himself.

  They sat there are she recounted being abducted to the authorities. When the officer asked her if she’d experienced any sexual assault, Owen bent in half as if someone had punched him in the gut.

  “No, I’m fine. They must really have wanted Trent’s money.” Holly reached out and touched the cop’s hand lightly. “I’ve told you every detail I can remember several times. Please, may I go? I just want to rest and call my mom so she knows—”

  Holly’s face blanched of what little color had returned to her cheeks. Lorenzo steadied her until Trent could put his arms around her and tuck her against his chest again.

  “Oh shit. I’m the worst daughter ever.” A tear slid down Holly’s cheek then. “Trent, how is my mom?”

  “She’s doing great.” He smiled wryly. “She might never forgive me for losing you, but…other than that, better than expected. The doctors sedated her because she was ready to come out here and kick some ass to get you back.”

  Holly snorted at that. “You’re right. She sounds fine. Thank God. I can’t believe I didn’t ask you sooner.” She went limp in his hold.

  Trent said, “She’s had enough.”

  The policewoman looked up at him and nodded, then asked Jordan, the head of the security team, “You want to take them or should I get them a ride?”

  “We’ll take them. We’re going to hang around a while.”

  “I’ll hire you to protect her, at least until we can set up something long-term.” Trent was grateful for their help.

  “No need. Westbrook, Armand, and King law firm already did.” Jordan grinned. “And they tip really well.”

  “Just like that? We can walk out of here?” Holly asked.

  “Where you go from here is up to you.” Jordan nodded, looking between the four of them. “I mean, I’d recommend you stay vigilant and don’t go anywhere alone. Other than that, just let me know where your home base is going to be and we’ll set up as many precautions as we can to keep you safe.”

  “I want to see my mom.” Holly didn’t hesitate.

  “Unfortunately, the sedation protocol also means no visitors so she can rest undisturbed. The nurse said it’s a twenty-four hour ban and that they’ll allow her to wake naturally in the morning,” Owen told her. “Until then, you should rest.”

  “Oh, I…” Holly looked at Owen and Lorenzo, then to Trent. “Where should I go?”

  “What do you want to happen from here?” he wondered. Had he ruined everything or would she give him another chance? He didn’t deserve it, but he’d grab it anyway if she offered.

  “I want you to take me home.”

  Lorenzo dropped his head and Owen balled his fists. Though Trent tried to hide his disappointment, it must have been obvious in his frown and the way his arms went slack around Holly. “Okay.”

  “To your house, I mean,” she said quietly, sparking hope within him.

  “Oh. Really?” He froze, afraid to so much as breathe lest she change her mind.

  “Yeah. If that’s what you want too. Or are you still going to insist, like last night, that you don’t care about anything other than super-hot foursomes and finishing the work we started together.” Holly jabbed her finger into his chest and stood up. She flicked her gaze toward their new bodyguards. Though Jordan wisely acted like he hadn’t heard what she’d confessed, the slight tilt to his lips made it clear he had and that he didn’t disapprove. Of course, Trent, Lorenzo, and Owen had heard all about how he wasn’t exactly traditional when it came to his relationship, and he’d bragged about his own feisty wife and their lover more than once in the short time since they’d met him, but Holly didn’t know that.

  And Trent hadn’t done much to convince her that what they had was everything to him.

  That was bullshit. Time to own it and fix it.

  Not only for him and Holly, but also for Lorenzo and Owen, who were frozen enough to resemble mannequins while observing their exchange.

  “No, Holly. I’m not going to be that stupid ever again. I want this every bit as much as you do. And the reasons why have nothing to do with dollars and cents. Hell, I would have given it up to get you back and considered that the best deal of all time.”

  She bit her lip, then glanced over at Lorenzo and Owen.

  Owen kicked Lorenzo’s boot with his own sneaker, making him jump. “Yeah. That’s what I want, too. All three of us do. We never want you to leave again.”

  Trent winced, thinking of how her departure had been salt in Lorenzo’s clearly unhealed wounds. He would damn the woman who’d left his friend at the altar, but then they would never have met and have formed the bond that was about to change their lives forever.

  “How about we take it one night at a time?” Holly sighed. “I’m not ready to think about the future. For now, al
l I can focus on is being free, here with you. I want you to surround me again and make me feel safe and warm.”

  Trent could see the rest of what she left unsaid hanging between them.

  That’s what she wanted, even if it meant getting hurt later.

  Well, that wasn’t going to happen. Not if he had any say in how things played out.

  From the looks Lorenzo and Owen were shooting his way, they all had the same thing in mind.

  They needed a do over on the night before.

  He wasn’t about to fuck up their second chance.

  5

  Owen chewed his thumbnail as he peered into the visor mirror from the passenger seat of one of the unmarked sedans Jordan and his team had commandeered. Holly was sandwiched between Lorenzo and Trent on the backseat of the vehicle as they sped toward their house.

  Thank God she was okay.

  Relatively. He’d seen the terror in her eyes, which darted around every few seconds, as if making sure no one was going to reclaim her and try to sell her back to them.

  He hated the fact that even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t have met the blackmailers’ demands. Sure, he’d wished he’d been born loaded like Trent a million times in his life—had even dreamed about it on the nights he’d gone without anything to eat growing up, or the year and a half he’d spent living under a railway trestle on the outskirts of town. That had been before Trent had stumbled across his turf on an urban hike with Moose, helped him get a job, and eventually invited him to be roommates. But never before had he realized how woefully inadequate what he had to offer someone was compared to men like Trent, or Ford, Brady, and Josh for that matter.

  All he had to give was himself. And maybe a handful of orgasms, which Holly could get from any guy lucky enough to be welcomed into her bed.

  Since she’d escaped, she’d been glued to Trent. It made sense. After all, he was the one she cared about. He and Lorenzo were simply guests in their bed, toys to make their sex even better. He felt like a leech. And yet he knew that if she asked for all three of them when they turned this next corner and walked into their house together, he’d be right there.

  Because he was weak. Being needed was his kryptonite. No one had ever needed him for shit before. And though he didn’t have money, he could give her a whole lot of himself if she would accept it. He’d never been able to count on someone before Trent, and if he could repay his friend while also making his best friend’s girlfriend happy, then Owen was in despite the risks he was taking with his own feelings.

  He ground his teeth as he watched Lorenzo caress Holly’s hair and murmur foreign shit to her that sounded sexy, even to him. Trent had cash and his romantic side. Lorenzo, brought the spice. What the fuck did Owen have to add to their arrangement?

  Nothing.

  Would he be left out in the cold, like always, when Holly realized that too?

  Owen gripped his knee so hard his knuckles turned white. When Jordan glanced over and raised a brow in question, he shook his head. This was fine. Everything was fine.

  Or at least it would be if he didn’t let his demons get the best of him. What had happened the night before, when Trent let his past overcome his better sense, had showed Owen the dangers of getting choked by his hang-ups. He had to avoid making the same mistake.

  He was completely out of his element, in over his head. But he had to figure it out how to act like a normal guy who knew how to care for someone else and let them do the same for him. And he had to do it fast.

  Before Owen was entirely ready, Jordan pulled into their driveway. Moose barked his head off as they spilled out of the car. He was probably pissed at being left behind, or maybe just glad to see them reunited.

  I know, buddy, me too, he thought to the dog. Hell, even that he owed to Holly. She’d found the puppy and given him to Trent to look after. The animal had been the first “person” Owen had ever fully trusted. Then Trent had proven that sometimes decent people did decent things for those around them.

  And now Holly…

  Owen refused to get too far ahead of himself until he knew where he, and Lorenzo, stood with her.

  Surrounded by the guys and Jordan, Holly made her way up their sidewalk and into the house. As expected, Moose danced around her feet, licking her hand and bringing back the easy smile that had been missing from her face since they’d offended her the night before.

  Owen shut the door behind them, leaving Jordan and the rest of his team, who were already in place to strategize about how best to secure their home. He couldn’t say he minded after seeing what some people would do for a piece of Trent’s newfound stash.

  Trent and Lorenzo guided Holly to the sofa, where she plopped down and leaned forward to hug the dog. “I’m so glad to see you, Moose.”

  When her voice cracked, Owen had to take action. If he stood there and watched her break down, he’d lose it too. And right now, he needed to keep his own shit together. He’d have to wait until she was okay, however long that took, before they could deal with his—and Lorenzo’s—building tension.

  He looked at his friend, who swallowed hard before giving him a slight nod. Yeah, Lorenzo knew exactly how Owen felt.

  They had to trust that Trent was going to make this right for them all, and that wasn’t a position either of them was used to being in. Having always fended for themselves, it frustrated the hell out of him.

  Rather than risk losing his patience, he tried to help in some small way.

  “When’s the last time you ate?” Owen asked. He might not be a gourmet-chef-in-disguise like Trent, but he could heat a bowl of soup or cut up an apple or something.

  Trent sank onto the cushion next to her, putting his hand on her knee, while Lorenzo manned his post standing near the arm of the couch. He couldn’t relax enough to lounge. Owen didn’t blame the guy.

  “Dinner last night.” Holly held her hand up, palm out when he turned toward the kitchen. “But…I’m really not hungry. Food isn’t what I need right now.”

  “You’re exhausted.” Lorenzo hummed as if he was going to sing her a lullaby.

  “I am, but I don’t think I could fall asleep either. There are too many things still racing through my mind. Too much nervous energy making me restless.” She shifted before blinking up at Trent.

  Owen knew how to take care of that. But he wasn’t about to be the one to suggest it. Neither did his best friend. Was Trent going to falter again, even in the face of what Holly was obviously begging for?

  Owen could picture them, soothing each other, skin on skin. Erasing the terror of the past several hours and replacing it with mind-blanking pleasure. He could do that for her a hell of a lot better than he could provide sustenance. Or maybe that was just a different kind of nourishment.

  Trent lifted his hand to stroke her hair, but his fingers stopped short, trembling in the air as if he was afraid of hurting her again.

  Holly leaned into his touch, connecting them when Trent hesitated.

  She was exactly what they needed, and Owen wanted to be the same for her. Even if it was only temporary, or as the second—or third—string player in her love life. All he cared about was erasing some of the doubt and trepidation in her pretty eyes.

  “I need you. All three of you.” Holly wiped a tear from her cheek, making him want to go back and rip the bastards who’d taken her from them to shreds. “Can we have a repeat of last night? Except change the ending? Pretend none of it happened? I mean, everything after the sex stuff. Try again and see if we can get it right this time?”

  “I’d like nothing more than that.” Trent groaned. “I fucked up, Holly. I should have—”

  “Don’t tell me what you should have done. Do it now instead.” She rose, and Owen shuffled closer. Lorenzo and Trent were right there with him.

  Holly reached out to him.

  So he went.

  Consequences be damned.

  6

  Owen shed his clothes before he’d even crossed the threshold of T
rent’s room.

  Lorenzo kicked his jeans into the corner with a flick worthy of his profession as one of Vegas’s most popular male strippers. Owen didn’t possess Trent’s sophistication, or Lorenzo’s suave moves, but he had a burning desire to make Holly feel like he never had before. Wanted, cherished, protected, and—as long as he didn’t have to say the words—loved.

  She deserved it.

  The way she’d sacrificed so much of her own life to care for her mother, and her willingness to volunteer to help Trent the night his father had died, and how she’d rescued Moose, not to mention the affection she’d lavished on Trent, Lorenzo, and himself…

  Well, he may not have known her long, but she’d shown them the kind of person she was and the quality of her soul. It couldn’t have been more attractive to him. Having her in their homes, and now in their beds, had brought them all together.

  The fact that she didn’t seem to realize how much she had to offer only made him want to prove it to her that much more.

  Trent paused at the side of the bed. How the man resisted climbing in next to Holly, Owen would never understand. “Are you sure about this? You’ve been through a lot. I don’t want to rush things and risk turning stuff between us into a bigger disaster.”

  “That’s not possible, jerk.” Lorenzo put his hand on Trent’s lower back and shoved.

  Holly laughed when Trent toppled onto her before shooting Lorenzo a glare. The sound did something to Owen, and it seemed like his two friends, too.

  It calmed him, made him think they maybe had gotten incredibly lucky and that somehow, things were going to be okay.

  Holly was going to recover from her ordeal. So were they, and maybe their relationship, too.

  At least he hoped it could be possible.

  So he didn’t wait. He got into Trent’s bed on Holly’s right side as Lorenzo mirrored him on her left.

  “For the record…” Holly murmured as she spread her legs to make room for Trent between them while also reaching out, searching blindly for Owen and Lorenzo. “I am sure. As sure as I was last night. No, even more. Because you came for me. You actually came.”