Chapter 36
36
MIRANDA
V oices. Loud, obnoxious, shouting voices woke me from the deepest sleep of my life. I rolled over and rubbed my eyes. “Charlie?”
No answer.
The voices continued, the hateful tones rising in pitch and piercing my room with jagged edges. Austin. I recognized his shouts, the fury I’d seen displayed once and only once, the memory of it enough to rip out my heart. Austin’s anger soared, only to be met by Patrick. I leaped from the bed and ran to the window, yanking back the curtains. Two dozen news vans dotted the yard, a horde of reporters pressing in around the front steps. Austin stood in nothing but his boxers, his face twisted in a rictus snarl. Duncan held him back. My brother’s thrashing body twisted in every direction, but no matter how he moved, Duncan kept him in place. Why were they standing there? Duncan had control. He needed to move Austin inside. I cracked open the balcony door, ready to shout down at Duncan, when the conversation billowed upward, tearing me to shreds.
“We love her, you prickly asshole.” Patrick ducked beneath Austin’s attempt at a punch, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him. “You can’t stop us.”
“The hell I can’t.” Austin moved again, throwing his entire body weight forward.
Duncan moved with him, refusing to give Austin an inch of room to escape.
I whirled and grabbed a robe, throwing it around my body and belting it at the waist as I ran for the stairs. I flew over the narrow boards, my quickness almost tripping me twice when I overreached. I landed in the foyer with a hand on my heart and the other smoothing my hair. The three men I loved were brawling on the front stoop like a pack of neanderthals, and all while the press looked on, their cameras recording every single second.
I grabbed the knob and yanked. The door resisted, the knob refusing to turn. Well fuck. No wonder Duncan hadn’t dragged Austin’s sorry ass into the house. The door had locked behind him, and they’d all be fools to try and grab the key from the hiding place beside the porch. I palmed the lock and wrenched the door open.
Charlie’s contrite expression met my fury head on without flinching. “Sorry, Miranda. I’ve tried talking to him.”
Patrick dabbed at his bloody lip and winced.
Duncan and Austin continued to twist as a single unit. For once, Duncan seemed to be keeping a lid on his temper, but things were out of control. Time for me to step up and do what I did best.
“Get inside. Now.” My voice barked out with enough power to snap all four men’s attention to me. I backed around, keeping the door in front of me so the cameras had nothing to record and pointed toward the study. “Right fucking now.”
“You took advantage of her. I’ll never forgive you for that.” Austin kicked out and tried to kick Charlie. “Rotten, scum sucking bastards. When I get my hands on you, you’re all dead men. You hear me? You’re all dead to me.”
Great. Just great. I never should have let this go on. I’d been too tired to talk to Austin last night and look what happened. Twelve hours. Lives ruined in twelve fucking hours. Why? Why me?
“Duncan.” I whipped out his name, turning it dagger sharp. “Drag him inside if you have to. I know you’re strong enough.”
“Fucking right I am.” He walked backward, hauling Austin with his arms splayed out like chicken wings.
Austin grabbed for the door frame, trying to stop Duncan from taking him inside. “No. Let them all hear. Let them hear what you’ve done.” He kicked and flailed, his mind completely shut down in anger and grief. Just like the day we buried our parents.
“Austin.” I called his name amid the flurry of curses and the thumping of bodies.
Patrick held the door open and motioned at Charlie. “Make sure all the blinds are closed, then call for a security detail. We have to get all these reporters off the property.” He shot a look at me. “Right? We want them gone?”
“It’s probably best. Even if I get Austin calmed down enough to make a statement, they won’t believe him right now. They’re frothing at the mouth over this story. If he tries to take it back too soon, it’ll start even more vicious rumors.” I’d seen it before. “After that display, they’ll think that we assaulted him, forced him to admit he was wrong.”
“Much more of this bullshit and they’ll be right.” Duncan growled low and ferocious. “Stop trying to bash my nose, you egg-sucking cockblocker.”
Of course, the words drove Austin into a bucking, tearing frenzy.
I crossed the room, closed my eyes for a moment of clarity, then grabbed his face and pressed his forehead to mine. “Austin Reginald Lake, stop that right this instant.” I talked to him the way dad used to, the crisp tones and total demand sending me back to my childhood when Austin and I fought each other like a pair of rabid badgers.
I hate hearing his pain. If I couldn’t reach him with words, I’d have to try other, less friendly tactics. As soon as he stopped bellowing and blinked, I hugged him. It was awkward with Duncan holding Austin’s arms at such odd angles. My brother’s heart ran a million miles an hour, almost humming in his chest where my ear rested. The nightmare of the paparazzi and all the shit I’d have to deal with later evaporated. Austin needed me. That mattered more than any gossip column, more than any rumors they spread about me and the men I loved. “It was my choice.” I spoke the words for all of us. Austin most of all, but because in the heat of the moment, we all needed to hear the truth.
Austin stilled. He remained rigid, his breaths short and panting, but he stopped cursing, stopped yelling, and I knew he’d heard me.
I lifted my head, dropped my arms, and took a step back. “Duncan is going to release you.” I arched a brow. “And you are not going to do one motherfucking thing to any of these men, because if you do, you’ll have me to answer to, and I’m not above tattooing your balls while you sleep.”
Shocked laughter burst out of Patrick. “Dammmn.”
“It was your choice?” Austin relaxed.
Duncan eased back, slowly dropping his arms so Austin could step clear. Confusion chased the concern across his face.
I nodded and motioned him toward the study. “Let’s sit down and talk. I’ll tell you everything.” Well, maybe not everything, but all pertinent information. “Quick, basic facts.” I settled on the chair. I normally would have chosen the couch, but seeing Patrick, Duncan, and Charlie sitting beside me might be too much for Austin before he’d learned all the facts. “I’m in love with all three of them.”
Austin paused in the motion of sitting, blinked slowly at all four of us, then dropped the rest of the way onto the loveseat.
Charlie, Patrick, and Duncan lined up on the couch to my left, the position putting them between me and Austin. Their gazes volley back and forth from me to Austin and back again.
The lemon and leather scent brought a familiar comfort. Behind Austin, the large desk sat bare, but the bookshelves behind it housed all the pictures we’d taken together through the years. We’d split up the photos taken when Mom and Dad were alive, and Austin had interspersed those amid our present memories.
“Look at me, Austin.” I held my hands out by my sides and let him get a good, long look. “I’ve never been happier in my life. What has happened between us,” I motioned at the men on the couch, “is the best thing that could have happened to me.”
Austin remained quiet, his head tipped in a contemplative tilt that shook blond hair over his forehead and shielded his gray eyes.
“I don’t want you to be mad at them. Or at me, if I’m being honest. I understand you’re pissed because you wanted to protect me. But they did nothing wrong.” The urge to stand and try to force him to accept my choices sent rigid coiling sensations along my muscles. “I fell for your friends, your teammates, because they’re loving, loyal, honest men. You should want that kind of love for me, even if it comes from men you tried to scare off by making me off limits.”
“But you really are pregnant?” He said it in a whisper, almost like he was afraid to hear the truth.
“Yes. I’m pregnant. And I don’t regret that either.” When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I leaned forward and took his hand, pressing it between mine. “I fell in love with three amazing men. They did not just sleep with me and take off.”
“We’re in love with her.” Charlie spoke up.
I almost told him to hush, but Austin had to hear all of it, from me and from them. Anyone who looked at Charlie could see the genuineness of his emotions stamped on his face.
Austin leaned forward and dropped his head to his knees. “I’ve made the world’s biggest ass of myself, in front of the whole world.” He gripped the back of his head and rocked even deeper. An instant later, he shot to his feet and crashed to the floor beside me. “I’m sorry. If they’re truly willing to share and to make you happy, then that’s all I need.”
“And raise the babies.” Patrick scooted to the edge of the cushion, looking ready to snatch me up any second.
This was what I’d expected from Austin–what I would have experienced–if I’d told him myself from the beginning. “I’m sorry we hid it from you.”
“I should have seen it coming. I was so wrapped up in my own life.” He shook his head.
“You don’t have to put your love life aside to look out for me. I appreciate your concern, and everything you’ve done through the years, but I’m okay. I’m happy.” I brushed his hair back and tweaked it with a sharp pull. “Are you mad?”
“Of course not.” He snorted. “Seeing you happy is worth everything to me. What made me angry was thinking I’d failed in protecting you, that I’d let members of my own team sneak in and take advantage. I never want to see your heart broken again.”
“Well, they did nothing of the sort.” I put on my best proper accent and leaned down to hug Austin. “Thanks.”
“We’ll never hurt her.” Duncan cracked his knuckles one by one. The menacing sound contradicted the words so thoroughly that even Austin grinned. “We love her too much to let anything hurt her, especially one of us.”
“We intend to make her feel special. Treasured.” Charlie sprang up from the couch and crossed to stand behind me. One hand landed on my shoulder. “Every single day.”
“You’re fucking right you will.” Austin stood and walked around the chair to hug Charlie. He slapped his best friend on the back and moved to hug Patrick, followed by Duncan. “And if you ever do hurt her, I will personally beat your sad carcass within an inch of your life.”