Chapter 4
Drake
While Scarlett met with Walter and Samuel, the rest of us went to Graham’s office to discuss some things.
I leaned against the table in Graham's office, my fingers tracing the smooth surface as I listened to the conversation, my body tensing slightly when the topic of April, Rory, Christian, and Stewart's relationship came up.
Graham and I had planned to outline transportation and safety, but once Rory mentioned April and her role in all of this, I couldn’t help but ask about their relationship. Despite their candor, my mind was flooded with unanswered questions.
I absentmindedly chewed on the end of my pen, my mind wandering to Scarlett, as Rory and Stewart talked openly.
“And there are no issues between you?”I asked Rory, who was eager to talk about it and explained how their relationship with April worked.
Stewart shrugged and shook his head. Rory placed a hand on his shoulder.“I think it’s done a lot to bring us closer as friends.”
“Do you…uh?”Graham asked, then hesitated, his eyes shifting between the two men.
Rory laughed, shaking his head.“No, we don’t, but we have friends in a similar style relationship, and they do. I think it is all about what everyone is comfortable with.”
“So, if I might ask, do you just have his nights and then your nights?”
Rory sighed and scrunched his eyebrows, glancing at Stewart. Stewart’s head dipped, and he reached for his coffee sitting on the table.
“Not exactly. Sometimes, yes, we do. Sometimes, it is one or all of us in the bedroom, and even sometimes none. Our goal is to please her, but it’s not one-sided; she also pleases us. It’s not only about the bedroom. Each of us brings her parts of the whole. It’s kind of hard to explain. Have either of you ever had a relationship or even thought about past relationships where your partner is good at something but can’t seem to fulfill your needs in another area?”
Graham's eyebrows furrow and he nodded. We exchanged a quick glance, then turned our attention back to Rory and Stewart. We nodded in agreement, our faces reflecting understanding and intrigue.
In truth, it’s been the big things that have been the impediment. One is great in bed but a total bitch, another a sweetheart but aloof.
“It is not only her,”Rory said.“It is a relationship with the group. Christian can be an asshole, but he gets shit done. Stewart has his points; I have mine as well, and April… Well, she is the sweetheart. She pinches asses in the morning for fun and brings a general feeling of love into the mix. She’s smart, engaged, and loving. We are not reliant on any one of us to offer what the relationship might need. I may be angry one day, and instead of taking it out on her, Christian and I may spar a couple of rounds. Stewart may have a bad day dealing with a troubling case, and she offers him a quiet space. Stewart and I love to golf, but the other two don’t. It’s like having your wife and best friends around all the time. I love my brothers, and it makes us better people all the way around.”
“Don’t you get jealous?”I had to ask.
Stewart sighed and looked at Rory.“At first… I wouldn’t call it jealousy but concern. We worried we were keeping April from choosing the one that she really wanted. It turns out she loves us each on our own. We are all very different, and there are things about each of us that she loves. Why should she have to choose?”
“But what about you? How do you feel when one of the others has a night with her?”
They both shrugged and looked at us.“I don’t know,”Stewart said, glancing at Rory.“I guess like any man would feel if his woman was taking a nap or showering. Private time for her and whichever of us she is spending time with is just as important to each of us in building the relationship.”
Graham looked around the room with an uneasy frown, his glance landing on me for a moment. His brows furrowed, and his lips shifted to a thin line.“I can see you’ve thought about this.”
“I have,” I admitted.
“You wouldn’t have a problem with me seeing her?”
I sighed because I wasn’t sure. I was curious about how it all worked, but committing to it was something I hadn’t faced yet.
Rory interjected before I could speak.“There are rules.”
“Rules?”
Both Graham and I looked at them.
“Of course. Just because you may find yourselves in a polyamorous relationship doesn’t mean everyone just runs around fucking anybody they want. That is something else, I think, called an open relationship. This is very different.”
“How?”Graham asked. I could see he was thinking about it.
“First, everything is structured like a normal monogamous relationship. Except there is more than one husband, so to speak. She is faithful to each and every one of you, and you to her. Outsiders can’t just join in like some orgy. It’s a relationship and one you best take seriously. It isn’t just a matter of hurting one person; there is a whole different dynamic here,”Stewart said.
“How does Scarlett feel about it?”Rory asked.
“Uh… Well, about that…”
“You mean you haven’t even brought it up? Are any of you,” he used his fingers to make air quotes, “‘with’, her?”Stewart asked.
“Well, not exactly. I did take her out for coffee.”I started to feel uncomfortable.“Graham took her to the exhibition.”
“Well, how do you know she even feels that way about you?”
“Shit. I don’t know. With her dual personality thing and Brody liking her, and none of us knowing who she was till now, it’s all a little complicated,”Graham replied.
Graham and I looked at one another with a knowing understanding, as if we were two puzzle pieces that might finally fit with her. The shared realization that love is a complicated puzzle, sometimes with missing pieces and mismatched edges, but ultimately worth the effort to solve.
Before we could chat further, a light knock at the door drew our attention. It was Scarlett, and both Graham and I hopped out of our chairs to greet her.
She hesitated at the rush of our eagerness to be helpful and then said,“Hi.”
“Hi, Scarlett,”all four of us replied at once, feeling awkward that we were just discussing such intimate things.
“What? I mean, is there something you need?”Graham asked.
“Well, yes, as a matter of fact, there is. April and I have an appointment during lunch at the salon down the street and…”
“No way,”Graham said, stepping forward, his voice a mix of gruff anxiety and protectiveness.“How are we supposed to make sure you’re safe? I had lunch catered in today.”He looked at his watch and then out toward the elevator.“It should be here any moment.”
She looked shocked at his firm tone, and I approached her.“Cheri, it is too soon to be out and about. We haven’t had time to work with Samuel or the guys here to ensure you ladies are safe. If you want, I can run over and ask if she can come to the house tonight. Maybe you and April can have a girl’s night in? We’re just worried about you. They haven’t caught that guy and…”
“I know,”she said, interrupting me. She looked at her nails and sighed.
“I’ll take care of everything.”I paused and looked at Graham.“Graham will help me. Right?”
“We got this,”he said, stepping forward and taking her other hand.“I’m sorry I snapped. I just couldn’t… Well, I was worried.”
“Okay,”she said with a small voice and turned to leave.
Stewart stood, noting our clumsy way of dealing with things.“I’m sorry, Scarlett, this is on us. We just briefed them on ensuring your safety when we aren’t around. I haven’t been able to speak to April about the office procedure yet. We’ll bring her over after we grab Christian this evening. Okay?”
She offered a slight nod, still shaken from the abruptness and Rory stepped closer. “He went in the cruiser to the station and will need a ride anyway. I think it might be nice to visit a little while, chat with Brody, and fill him in. We still have to get the agent settled in at the gym, and she should be there with your sensei right now. April has been so worried about you, it’ll be fun and good for her. We’ll bring the pizza and beer.”
“And we’ll get the manicurist,” I said, my head bobbing like a dashboard bobble head doll.
She smiled wider and nodded, hurrying through the doorway to the conference room to get ready for lunch.
“You gentlemen hungry?”Graham asked and clamped a hand on my shoulder.“Well, Drake, perhaps we should go see about our girl.”
He winked at me and shrugged. As he held his hand out for me to lead the way, I couldn't help but feel a sense of determination and responsibility settle in. It was a daunting task, but one that we were willing to take on for the sake of our girl. She needed us all right now, and we would not let her down. The air was heavy with unspoken questions and uncertain glances, but Graham's hand on my shoulder was a grounding weight, a reminder that we were a team, united in our efforts to protect and care for Scarlett.
I’d been curious about how these things worked and was still unsure, but Graham seemed to think it was something he was willing to work through. This morning, Brody also acted like he thought it might work as well. I wondered what Scarlett might think of it. Would it be something she could agree to?
My mind was a chaotic whirlwind of thoughts and uncertainties, a tangled mess of doubts and inquiries that seemed to spin faster and faster with each passing moment.
I never even knew this was a thing and would never have considered it until now. A knot formed in my stomach as we walked, a physical manifestation of my inner turmoil and confusion. My fingers clenched and unclenched at my sides, a worried twitch I couldn't seem to shake. Until it hit me and I knew only one thing: I’d rather be in this kind of relationship with her than not at all.
None of us were technically in a relationship with her. From all that we’d learned in just a few days, she hadn’t been in a relationship with anyone for a long time. Does she even want one?
My feet shuffled across the carpet, each step feeling heavier as my doubts weighed me down. Looming larger the closer we got to the conference room, my own doubts about whether or not she would even want me began to rise. I couldn't help but question my own worth, and what I could possibly bring to the table for someone like Scarlett. In comparison to Graham's wealth and power and Brody's success, I felt like a mere sidekick, living in their shadows and taking on a job that was seemingly created just for me.
My steps slowed, and I fell back behind the others, pausing to look over the rail to the offices below bustling with busy workers. The demon of self-doubt perched on my shoulder, its presence tangible and suffocating. It made me hunch over in defeat, questioning myself and what I could possibly offer someone as extraordinary as Scarlett.
Evenif she did want me, what could I bring to the mix?
I hadn't noticed her approach, but when I turned to see her standing next to me, she was a vision of beauty. Her long blonde hair cascaded in waves down her back, and her blue eyes sparkled with curiosity. Her delicate hand, with slender fingers and a small, graceful wrist, covered mine on the rail.
“What’s wrong, Drake?”
The softness of her hand on mine was like a gentle caress, calming the demons of self-doubt that had settled on my shoulders.
I looked into those beautiful blue eyes and smiled a strained smile.“Oh, nothing, Cheri.”I lifted her hand and kissed it.“Just taking a moment to look things over.”Then tucked it into the crook of my elbow and headed to the conference room for lunch.
Chapter 5
Brody
The car was quiet, with only the sound of the engine humming beneath us. The passing scenery outside the window was a blur, the buildings and trees blending together into a monotonous gray. The only movement was the occasional pedestrian walking toward the subway entrance as we made our way to the gym. The silence between us was heavy and filled with unspoken worries and fears seen only in Sensei's expression: the lines etched in his forehead, stern and pensive, his brow furrowed in worry. I glanced over at him and then back at the road a few times, and it never changed. I was struggling to focus, my own thoughts weighing heavily on my mind.
My fingers drummed nervously on my leg, the tension visible in the way they trembled. Sensei's hand gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white.
Each of us were deep in thought, knowing we all worried about Bella. She’d been with us since that night. We kept an eye on her, keeping her safe. I found in every moment, just knowing she was there, a feeling I would never have expected. All of a sudden,my world felt empty when she left for work but also filled with worry and anxiety.
Sensei's normally composed face was etched with worry and a hint of longing as he watched Bella leave with Drake this morning. Despite his attempts to remain professional, his eyes betrayed his true feelings. Deep inside, I wondered if he had the balls to act on it. I could see him keeping his distance and reminding himself of his own rules about dating students all along. But his feelings betrayed him like a storm brewing on the horizon, obvious in how he watched her. I could see it, even as far back as the day Jenny dragged her into the gym.
As we rounded the corner to where we parked the car in the alley, a sleek black car with tinted windows caught our attention from across the street. Its dark exterior gave it an ominous appearance, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Sitting there like a dark predator, its menacing presence ground against us as we made our way towards the door.
Glancing wordlessly at one another, we walked without any obvious attention to the car and headed inside through the side door. Neither of us made overt moves toward watching it, which was positioned to see both entrances, but we never took our eyes off it.
If it was the guy who’d hurt her, we didn’t want to give away that we’d seen him. It could have just been someone waiting for a friend to come out of the coffee shop, but the way the guy was eyeing us made my skin prickle and only heightened my unease. Almost as if the man's gaze was physically touching me, I could feel the weight of his stare, and it was heavy and unwelcome.
Sensei's office was a flurry of movement fueled by urgency as he quickly made his way across the room to his desk. As soon as he entered, he began writing as fast as the pen would move across a pad. I strolled toward the front and snapped on the lights, keeping a watchful eye on the car. The guy inside looked right at me and then raced off. No one had come out of the coffee shop, and I could see that he was alone in the car.
But when I turned to see what Sensei had been writing and told him the car had left, I found him standing outside his office looking a little pale. His usually composed features were now strained with worry, which in and of itself made me nervous. We’d been friends all through school, and this made me feel uncomfortable.
“Jonathan, what is it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper as if I was afraid of the answer.
It was a rare occurrence for me to address him by his first name, a name that had become distant and foreign after all this time. We’d worked together for many years, and I could never recall seeing such pallor on his face. I shook him to bring him from his thoughts.
“What?”The sound of my own voice shouting cut through the thick silence and echoed across the empty mats.
He blinked a few times, then looked at me. His hand trembled slightly as he handed me the artist’s drawing from that night. I glanced at it, noting the lines on the artist's rendering, so sharp and precise, capturing every detail of the description of her attacker that Bella had given to the police, then eyed him again.
“After that night, I’d gotten the sketch in the email for the gym and printed it but forgot it on the printer. I was so wrapped up in getting her settled I figured until we opened the gym it didn’t matter.”
I looked at it again, this time noting the face more carefully. It was an exact match for the man in the car.A wave of bile rose in my throat from the very thought. “We have to tell the police,”I snarled and hurried for the phone.
He nodded and looked at his watch. It was 10:30 in the morning, half an hour before the tots class.“I need to call the detectives. You call Drake.”
I grabbed my phone from my bag and dialed. While waiting for him to pick up the phone, fears for her safety ran through my mind. I worried if she was safe at work. If he came here, would he go there?
“Hey, I can’t come to the phone right now. Leave some digits and a message.”
“Shit,”I cursed and pressed redial.“Must be on silent.”
Again, I got the voicemail, and this time, I left a message,“Hey bro, call me back ASAP.”,hung up and went looking for Graham’s number.
My fingers flew across the numbers as I dialed it. I was ready to punch a wall by the time I heard a voice.“This is Graham.”
“Oh, thank God,”I said, nearly shouting.
His voice shifted, and he said,“Can you hold a moment?”
“What?”
“Sure, let me go check,”he replied.
“What the hell? I need to speak to you. Where’s Drake?”
“Absolutely, his promoter is actually right here. Let me grab the file, and you can speak to him.”
I was confused but heard some shuffling and muted conversation, Graham was excusing himself and asking Drake to come with him.
“I’m sorry, Brody,” Graham said.
“What’s going on?”
“Drake is right here. Let me get to my office.”
I waited, and then Drake came on the line.“Brody, what’s up?”
“Dammit, don’t you answer your phone? I’ve been trying to call you!”
I could hear Graham asking what was wrong, Drake explained that Bella was standing right there, and it had been quite a morning. He was worried that she would get even more upset if it were something to worry about.
I could understand that and was instantly grateful that he had the forethought to excuse himself that way.
“Listen Drake, the dude?”
“What about him? Hold on,”he said.
I could hear him ask Graham to put it on speaker.“Hi Brody, we can both hear you. Is this about the attacker whohurt Scarlett?”
“Yeah, he was just posted up outside the gym. We noticed him watching the place when we pulled in.”
“Shit,” Drake said. “Is everything okay there?”
“Yeah, but we were worried about her at work. Sensei is calling the detectives now.”
“No need to worry about that,”Drake said. Graham chuckled a small laugh in the background as he went on.“This place is like Fort Knox. Has the agent shown up yet for the gym?”
“Not yet; she is supposed to come and sign up sometime this morning after we open.”
“Scarlett is safe here. They’ve locked this place down. Christian is at the station, but Rory and Stewart are here, and so is Samuel, the FBI agent. He is touring for his new position.”
Graham chimed in.“I’ll have Walter make something up to keep him here.”
“Watch over her,”I warned.
They promised they would, and we ended the call. As I paced around the studio, my eyes couldn't help but glance nervously towards the office door where Sensei was talking on the phone. I could see the worry etched on his face as he listened intently to the person on the other end. He came out of his office while I was unlocking and setting up for the toddler class with a grave look on his face.
“What is it?”I asked.
“They got a hit in their database on who this guy might be. He’s been like a ghost but is responsible for multiple murders.”
“We knew that, the DNA they got from the saliva already confirmed it. They just couldn’t link it to a person.”
“Well, apparently, they’ve never had a survivor before. She not only survived but survived him twice. He’s the same guy that hurt her before. Dear Scarlett managed to avoid him because she changed departments and was so devastated she changed everything about herself and fell off the radar. The detective told me there was no news about it when it happened the first time. He probably thought she was dead because she disappeared without a trace.”
I swallowed hard, the palms of my hands sweating.“What are they going to do?”
“Christian is calling his partners right now, and she will not leave their sight even for a moment. He will have them let April know that she is to stick to her like glue. Even go to the ladies’ room with her. He said they were all coming over tonight and would also look at security at the house. He sent some uniforms to check on it and stay there. What did Drake say?”
“That place is like Fort Knox, and besides him and Graham, the other two detectives are there. The FBI plant they hired to take Felicia’s place this morning will also hang around. There is no way into her office, and absolutely no one will be allowed onto the mezzanine, so as long as she is there, we can relax some.”
The bell chimed, its sound sharp and piercing as it echoed through the front door. My muscles tensed and my body froze, the arrival of the first child causing a ripple of anxiety through the room. I looked at the image in front of me, committing every detail to memory - the sharp lines of his face, the intensity in his eyes, the way his hair fell across his forehead. I vowed to myself that if he showed up again, I would not hesitate. I cursed and promised under my breath to rip his throat out.
I looked back as I left the office to see that Jonathan's hands trembled as he held the sheet of paper with the sketch of the person who had harmed Bella. His face was filled with anger and determination, his eyes focused and intense, his body almost vibrating with energy as he prepared to take action.
I snorted. If that guy might think I was a threat, he’d find himself in a tough spot. I was sure he’d never been up against anyone like Sensei before. I almost pitied the man if he got to him first… Almost.