Chapter 36
36
Amy
“So, you’re rebounding with both of them?” Amy’s mom asked her, her voice and expression thankfully free of judgment, though Amy’s dad seemed to be taking things a little harder. He’d kept his mouth shut and his hand over his eyes while he listened to her explanation of what was going on with her housemates and why she’d moved into their bedroom instead of moving out.
“If it’s a rebound, I hope I don’t ever get back up again,” she responded truthfully. The past few weeks had been a dream. A really good one. It was just like before except she was sleeping with Kincaid and Zach in the main bedroom every night, all of her things had been moved in there, and the sex was no longer confined to the club.
When she’d complained that her vagina was getting sore after the first few days together, Zach had taken her mouth while Kincaid slowly fucked her ass instead. It had been hot as hell.
It wasn’t just all the amazing sex and orgasms, though, because that really would have been just rebound material. It was everything else. The way they listened to her. The way they remembered things about her. When she’d had her period, instead of having to suffer through it without complaining—while listening to her boyfriend whine about how ‘moody’ she was despite her silence—they’d gone into caretaker overdrive.
Midol and hot pads when she was cramping, Kincaid had made sure every bathroom in the house had every menstrual product known to woman. They’d stocked the freezer with three different kinds of ice cream, and Zach had brought home a different candy bar every day. Not one word of judgment about any of her cravings or her pain.
With that kind of treatment, she’d had the least ‘moody’ period of her life. It was amazing what a difference a little support made.
Zach also helped her figure out how to block Noelle’s number because she’d started calling again. Amy didn’t know why, and she didn’t care. At least Jeremy had gotten the hint—or maybe he was just afraid of Kincaid. Or maybe he’d looked Freddy up as a lawyer. Regardless, she was glad not to have to deal with him, and she’d like the same from Noelle.
She’d gotten past the anger. Getting dumped had been the best thing to ever happen to her because it had led her to where she was now. She didn’t wish any ill upon Noelle, but that didn’t mean she had to forgive her, and that didn’t mean she wanted Noelle in her life ever again. She hoped Noelle lived a very nice life somewhere else, far away from her.
The fact that she’d been kicked out of the club was a relief because that was the only place they were likely to run into each other. Otherwise, Amy didn’t expect to see Noelle anywhere.
“Are you sure you can’t choose just one of them?” Her dad asked, finally lifting his hand from his eyes. “Or choose a guy who doesn’t come with a boyfriend?”
“No,” she said firmly. “But don’t worry, I’ll be the one to tell Grandma.”
His sheepish expression gave away that that was exactly what his biggest hangup was.
“No, you won’t,” her mom said, making Amy’s dad groan. “He can handle telling his mom, and I’ll handle telling mine.” She glanced at her husband. “Maybe we’ll wait a bit, though… put it on the family Christmas card rather than making a phone call.”
“Oh, I like that idea,” Amy’s dad said, brightening.
“However you want to handle it,” Amy said, amused.
Her mom tapped her finger against her lips. “I think I’ll suggest one of the Bliss books for the next book club. That might help, too.”
“Have you read the Trinity Masters?” Amy asked. Her mom gave her a scornful look that halted anything else she might say.
“Of course I have. I’m no newbie. Have you read Bianca Sommerland’s Dartmouth Cobras?”
“No, but I’ll put that on my list.” She grinned. Bonding over smutty books was not something she’d expected to happen with her mom.
Wait a minute… her aunts and grandma were all part of the book club her mom was referring to. Shit. Nope. She didn’t want to know what they were all reading. She could handle her mom going all fifty shades of kinky books; she wasn’t sure she could handle her grandma.
“Just don’t get ideas,” her mom said, glancing at Amy’s dad again. “I don’t think he can handle more than two boyfriends.”
“Definitely not. And I’m starting to think that I should be paying closer attention to what you’re reading,” he said with a scowl.
“Oh, as if you don’t benefit,” her mom scoffed. “Last time I checked, you love it when I read these books because it gets my motor running and then?—”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Amy put her hands to her ears. “I don’t need to be hearing this!”
“Don’t be a prude, dear. You should be glad your parents are… active. Life doesn’t end at fifty, you know.” Her mom winked at her dad.
“I’m glad you guys are… doing whatever it is you’re doing, but that doesn’t mean I want to hear graphic details about it. I promise I won’t be sharing any graphic details about my sex life.” Talk about awkward. Especially when her mom looked a little disappointed.
“Well, we’re very happy for whatever makes you happy. And, I have to say, I liked those two boys much better than I did Jeremy,” her mom said, reaching over to pat Amy’s knee. “Can we have them over for dinner sometime to get to know them a little better?”
That put the grumpy expression back on Amy’s dad’s face, but he didn’t protest.
“I’m sure they’d be happy to,” Amy said. They’d actually wanted to come over for dinner with her today when she’d told them she was going to tell her parents, but she’d said no. She’d had the feeling her parents would take it better if they weren’t confronted with two boyfriends face-to-face immediately.
Giving them time to settle into the idea before she brought her boys over had seemed like the prudent decision, and she wasn’t regretting it. It would give her parents time to let it all sink in before she made the formal introduction.
She also had the feeling that Jeremy’s shitastic treatment of her on their wedding day and the way Zach and Kincaid had stepped up at that moment also helped with her parents’ acceptance. The contrast was pretty stark.
Kincaid
Dinnertime without Amy was odd. They’d gotten used to having her around. It didn’t help that they were waiting to hear from her on how telling her parents had gone.
“Is it weird that it feels lonely here with just the two of us?” Zach asked suddenly, breaking the momentary silence. There’d been a few lulls in the conversation already. “It was just the two of us for a long time, and it didn’t feel lonely then.”
“It does, and it’s not weird,” Kincaid reassured him. “We’ve gotten used to having her around.
“I think I’m also freaking out a little that she’s going to come back and say her parents couldn’t accept her dating two guys and that she’s moving out and leaving us,” Zach admitted. He’d gotten a lot better about sharing his feelings and fears over the past weeks, something Kincaid really appreciated. He might not be able to do anything about them, but he was glad Zach wasn’t keeping it all bottled inside anymore.
“I doubt she’s going to do that, but even if she did, I’m not going anywhere. We’ll just be lonely together for a little while.” He reached out his hand to take Zach’s, making the other man pause in eating. Not that he’d been eating much, to begin with. “But I really don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Zach took a deep breath.
“I don’t either, but I can’t stop thinking ‘what-if?’ And I know, Mistress Julie said to do exactly what you just said and actually answer the question, not just leave it hanging. You’re right. We’ll be okay. Just… sad.” Zach sighed. “If she does, I don’t want to go looking for another third.”
“No, I don’t either. I think if we’re going to be a trio, Amy is it for us. It only works with her,” Kincaid agreed. He and Zach would make it on their own if they needed to, but he hoped they wouldn’t have to. Being with Amy made them feel even more complete.
His phone buzzed, and he released Zach’s hand so he could pull it out and check the text. He frowned as he read it.
“What’s wrong?” Zach asked, concern and some confusion laced through his voice. He probably assumed it had to do with Amy, but it didn’t.
“Don, Cassidy’s ex, seems to have disappeared,” he said grimly. “He hasn’t been at his job for a few days or any of his usual places. Patrick wants me to see what I can find out.”
He’d also text the information to Lincoln and David. If Cassidy was in danger…
Maybe they’d gotten lucky, and the asshole had gotten arrested or something and was out of their hair for good. Kincaid didn’t believe in that kind of luck, though. He looked up at Zach.
“Sorry, I don’t want to interrupt dinner, but do you mind if I make a few calls?”
Zach’s expression was as grim as he felt.
“Do it. I’m not that hungry, and neither of us is going to feel like eating while you’ve got asshole Don hanging over Cassidy’s head. I can make some calls, too, and see if anyone knows anything.” The gossip train at the club wasn’t just for the fun stuff; members had been keeping tabs on asshole Don, which was probably why Patrick knew the jerk hadn’t been to work.
Nodding, Kincaid got up from his seat while Zach pulled out his phone and started texting people.
Half an hour later, they knew that no one had seen him since Wednesday, the lease on his apartment had ended, and he was in the wind. Not the news that he wanted to call Cassidy about, but she needed to know. It was even worse when she answered the phone with a chipper tone that indicated she was having a good night.
“Hey, Kincaid! How are you? I was going to call you tonight!”
“You were?” He blinked in surprise.
“Yeah, I wanted you to know that I finally got a job! I applied for a job being someone’s personal assistant, and I got it… and you’ll never guess who it is… David’s grandmother. He didn’t want her to hire me, but she did, and now I have a job!” Cassidy’s glee traveled easily over the phone and made Kincaid feel even worse because he was going to have to burst her happy bubble.
“Is David giving you a hard time about it?” he asked, because if he was… But Cassidy just giggled. Fuck, he was really going to hate raining on her parade.
“No, she won’t let him. She’s amazing. And, to be fair, he had good reason for not wanting to hire me. I kind of accidentally showed up to the interview high.”
“You what?” That definitely wasn’t like Cassidy. “How do you accidentally get high?”
Zach turned to look at Kincaid, a baffled, questioning expression on his face, and Kincaid waved his hand at him. Obviously, he couldn’t stop to explain right now.
“Oh, it’s kind of a long story… What did you need?”
Damn. Guess he couldn’t put it off any longer, but she did need to know. He was absolutely getting the story about how she accidentally got high later, though.
“Cassidy, I have some… well, we’re not sure it’s bad news yet, but it’s not good news,” he said gently.
“Oh… oh. Damn.” Her energy immediately dropped in reaction, and her next question had a small, fearful quiver to her words. “What did he do now?”
“We’re not sure. He seems to have disappeared. He hasn’t shown up for his job, although he didn’t quit. The lease on his apartment ended, and he’s no longer there.” Kincaid sighed. “We’re not sure where he is. We’re going to do our best to find him quickly and make sure he’s nowhere near you, okay?”
Cassidy took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she answered. “Okay. Do you think he’s coming here?”
“There’s no way of knowing. Maybe he pissed someone off and is on the run. Maybe he got a new job somewhere else and needed to move and didn’t care that he was leaving someone in the lurch.”
“Or maybe he figured out where I am and is coming after me here,” she said quietly.
“Maybe.”
“Do you think I should quit my job? I don’t want to put Brenda in danger.”
“No. Because there are a lot of other things it could be,” he said firmly. “But I do want you to keep an eye out, just in case. I’m also going to let Lincoln and David know that Don has fallen off our radar so they can keep an eye on you.”
“I’ll tell Jensen tonight, too.” She sighed again. “This sucks.”
“It really does. I’ll keep you updated as I get new information.”
“Thanks, Kincaid, I appreciate it.”
He could tell she was sincere, but he still felt like a jerk for having to ruin her day, especially when it sounded like she’d been having a good one. Other than getting accidentally high. But he didn’t feel like he could ask her about that right now. She clearly wanted to get off the phone, probably to take some time to think or process or maybe cry.
Fuck. He hated this. Cassidy didn’t deserve this shit. He gave her the reassurance that he could, but there was only so much he could do. The best thing they could do was find Don as quickly as possible and hopefully discover that he was far, far away from Pittsburgh.
After calling Cassidy, he called Lincoln, then David. He didn’t ask David about Cassidy’s new job. No point in making things harder for her. The other man didn’t offer up any information about it, either. He really was going to need to get the full story from Cassidy as soon as he could.
Getting off the phone, he looked over at Zach, who appeared frustrated.
“Nothing?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“Nothing. I’m sure now that everyone’s on the lookout we’ll find something soon. And some of those subs should be hired by the FBI because… damn. I’m pretty sure Domi and Rae were on a computer before I even finished my first sentence.” He shook his head. “If someone doesn’t figure out where he went in the next twenty-four hours, I’ll be surprised.”
Kincaid hoped so.
The sound of the keypad on the front door made both of them look up. Despite the shitty turn of the night, just knowing that Amy was home made him feel better.
“Hey, guys,” she said, walking in with a smile and pushing the door shut behind her. Almost immediately, her expression changed. “What’s wrong?”
“Cassidy’s ex is in the wind,” Kincaid said. “We’re talking to some people to try to figure out where he might have gone.”
“Oh… that’s awful. Do you think…” Her voice trailed off.
“We don’t know,” Kincaid said firmly. Part of him feared that Don was doing exactly what they were afraid of, but there were other possibilities as well. He wasn’t going to have anyone panicking until they knew they had reason to. It was always possible the guy had just disappeared off the face of the planet, which would not be the worst thing, as long as he never resurfaced.
Callous? Yes. Kincaid didn’t care. Cassidy deserved peace, and Don didn’t deserve shit.
“How did dinner with your parents go?” Zach asked. It almost felt wrong to change the subject, but there really was nothing more they could do for Cassidy right now. As soon as he had a lead, Kincaid would pursue it. They just didn’t have one at the moment, and… the most pressing issue within his personal life was the result of Amy’s dinner with her parents.
Sometimes, it felt wrong not to be able to do more, but he’d long ago had to accept that life continued. A really fast way to burn out was not to let himself live his life because someone else’s life was fucked up. Cassidy wasn’t in immediate danger, and even if she was, she needed the team up in Pennsylvania. He wouldn’t be able to do more than drive up there and miss everything, anyway.
“Dinner was good,” Amy said, perking up a little. “They want to meet you. Again. More formally, as my boyfriends, I mean. My dad is a little weirded out by it. I think Mom is taking it a lot better, but she’s still not seeing it as ‘real’ in some ways. Having dinner with you will make it more real.”
“Interesting.” Kincaid chuckled. “Sounds a little like my parents.” Though his parents were more of the ‘we’re determined to be open-minded no matter what you throw at us’ type. They’d been a little taken aback by his announcement that he was now poly as well bisexual and that he had both a boyfriend and a girlfriend, but they’d quickly rallied and voiced their full support.
“Mine are getting used to us,” Zach pointed out. “Although Mom still asks some weird questions when you guys aren’t around.”
“Just make sure you never let it slip to her that we’re also part of a BDSM club,” Amy teased. “Can you imagine what kind of questions she’d come up with after that?”
Zach groaned. “I don’t even want to think about it. Not a hint of talk about kink near her. Ever .”
“Speaking of, are we still going to go to Stronghold tomorrow?” Amy asked, looking over at Kincaid. “Or will you need to work on finding the douchebag? No problem if you are. Cassidy’s safety comes first, but I’m just wondering.”
“It’ll probably depend on how things go,” he admitted. “I might not know until the last minute.”
“That’s okay. As long as I know that’s the plan,” she said with a smile. That was something else he’d noticed about her. Even though Amy preferred plans, she could be very flexible as long as she knew that’s what was needed.
“And if you do need to go, and I can’t, Zach can always take you.”
She and Zach exchanged a glance. “I don’t need it. If we go without you, it’ll be just to hang out.”
Damn, he was so fucking lucky.
“You can have sex without me, you know,” he teased.
“We know,” Zach said, coming up beside him, grinning. He reached out to slide his hand up Kincaid’s back. “It’s just more fun with you.”
“Oh, is that so?” he asked, very aware that he was being manipulated by the other two, much to his consenting amusement.
“A lot more fun,” Amy said, coming up on his other side. “I think we should show him.”
Well, who was he to argue with that?
Not that he let either of them be fully in charge, but he enjoyed them crawling all over him before he finally took back the reins and put Zach on his knees with his face in Amy’s pussy while Kincaid fucked his ass.
It was a damn good night.