Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
DECLAN
S cott Flynn is dead. Dad called me earlier with the news. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Apparently, the press is hounding Annabelle, so he canceled their plans and took her to the house he purchased a few years ago in Palm Springs. It’s tucked away in a gated golf course community with tight security. With the current state of the world, it shouldn't be long before some other scandal breaks and the news cycle moves on.
I sink down into the bubbling hot water, letting it ease the tension from my muscles. My eyes drift closed as I sink into the utter relaxation of the moment. This trip is exactly what I needed, what we all needed.
“Do you mind if I join you?” Harper’s voice comes softly from beside me.
I open my eyes and look over at her. “Not at all.”
She smiles and sets her towel on the table beside her. I watch as she climbs into the hot tub and sinks down into the steaming water. She groans as she lets herself go down as far as the top of her shoulders.
I haven’t had much time to figure out how I’m going to break the news to her about her father. Should I just blurt it out? Should I bring him up casually? Not that there’s really any casual way to bring up someone’s abuser.
“Apparently my father was killed in a prison fight last night,” she says matter of factly.
“Dad told me.” I watch her warily. “How does that make you feel?”
“I feel,” she pauses to think, her fingertips skimming the top of the water, “nothing.” Her eyes flit to mine, and they do look empty. “How awful is that? I should feel sad at the very least, right? Just for the loss of the man who gave me life?”
“I think anything you feel is valid. It’s not as if he was a good dad to you.”
“Definitely not.” She falls into silence as clouds roll over the sky above us. “I think I grieved the loss of him already. Probably years ago, when I realized he would never be what I wanted or needed him to be.”
“That makes sense.” I reach out and grab her hands, pulling her across the hot tub and onto my lap. “We’re just two members of the dead parents club.”
“Except your mom was a good person.” She rests her knees on either side of my thighs.
My hands find their way to her hips. “Most of the time. Although she had a wicked temper. The day she died she got in a fight with Dad and left without saying goodbye or telling us she loved us.”
I’ll never forget the anguished look on my father’s face when my grandfather showed up at the house with tears streaming down his face. “The last thing my dad said to my mom was that she was being reckless and selfish because the aircraft she was test flying kept failing basic safety checks. She told him he was being too harsh and hysterical. I watched them argue from around the corner of the kitchen.”
“Oh my gosh.” Her face looks stricken. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’ve mostly worked past it.” I give her a careless shrug that feels like the first time I’ve ever lied to her. “I know how much she loved me. But it is why I get so weird about you leaving without saying goodbye or telling me where you’re going.”
Her lips turn down as she looks into my eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “If I would have known, I would have said something. Left a note at least.”
“Well now you know.” I lift my hand to her cheek. “You just have to promise to never leave angry like that.”
“I promise.” She seals it with a tender kiss.
I decide it’s time for a change of conversation. “Did you have fun last night?” I smirk down at her. “It sure sounded like it.”
Her cheeks turn pink instantly. “You heard us?”
“I think everyone on the yacht heard you.”
She leans forward and hides her face in my neck. “That’s not mortifying at all.”
I chuckle and push her back. “Don’t be embarrassed. I’m glad you were there for them.”
“Did Cy tell you about his uncle?”
“Yeah, he couldn’t sleep, and I was on the phone with Dad.”
“How do you think he was?”
I take a deep breath and think back to how he was last night. “I think he was relieved, to be honest. His uncle’s hold on him has been a huge source of pressure for him over the years. It got worse with every job he was sent to do. Especially if he put up any kind of resistance. I don’t think Georgios would have ever truly set him free. There would have just been another new task, one last job, and the threats would have always remained steady.”
“I’m glad it’s over for him.”
“Me, too.” I cup her cheek and pull her face back to mine for a brief kiss. “Maybe with your father’s death, everything will be over for you, too.”
“I hope so. How amazing would it be to go back to just living a normal life?”
“What would that look like for you?” I look down at her hand where Banks’s ring sits on her finger. “Do you still want to say yes to him?”
She looks down, toying with the diamond in silence as she formulates her answer. “I do.” She looks up at me. “But I don’t want to lose you. Or Emerson and Cyrus.”
“Are you absolutely sure he’s okay with that? Can he share you with us?”
“Yes.” She answers with no hesitancy. “It was his idea. Well, not his idea per se, but he’s okay with this. More than okay. You three give me something he can’t, just as he gives me something you guys can’t. I feel like that about everyone. I’m sure that Emerson and Cy do as well.”
“Speak of the devils.” I lift my hand as they walk out of the living room and onto the deck. They’re both in swim trunks with towels draped over their shoulders. Neither of them asks if they can join us, they know they don’t have to. This is a conversation we all should have together anyway.
“What are you two talking about?” Cy sinks down into the water across from me.
“The future,” Harper drifts over and gives him a kiss.
“That sounds ominous,” Emerson sits down beside me.
“I don’t think so,” Cy throws an arm on the edge of the hot tub. “The future is looking pretty fucking amazing from where I’m standing.”
“My father was killed last night in a prison fight,” Harper declares matter of factly.
Surprise flickers through Emerson’s eyes as he takes in the news. Cy, on the other hand, shutters his expression. Harper doesn’t seem to pick up on the subtle change the way that I do. Not that I expect her to, especially with the shock of finding out the news.
I know she said she’s numb to it, but I have a feeling that won’t last. She’s going to fall apart at some point, either with sadness or anger or guilt. Perhaps some combination of the three. We’ll be here when it happens.
“Dad wants us to meet them at home when we get back to the states tomorrow.”
“All of us?” Emerson asks.
“No, just Harper and me. Dad and Annabelle are laying low in one of vacation homes, but we need a family meeting, apparently.”
“So we just have one more day.” Harper sighs and looks out over the ocean. “I’m not ready to leave.”
“Me either.” Emerson reaches over and pulls her onto his lap and kisses her shoulder. “How do you feel after last night?”
Her cheeks turn the sweetest shade of pink. “Good. A little sore, though.”
“Sore from what?” I ask, knowing full well what the three of them were up to last night. “This sweet girl took both of us at the same time.” Emerson looks at Cy first, and then they both turn their attention to me.
“Did she now?” My dick perks up at the thought. That would have been so sexy to watch. “How did you like it, Angel?”
Her cheeks turn from a rosy pink to a deep red. “Do we have to talk about it?”
“Yes. If we’re going to have this type of relationship, communication is key. We need to know what you like and dislike.”
“Exactly. It’d be easy to steamroll you three to one, and we would never want to do that.”
She looks around at the three of us before taking a deep breath and answering. “I loved it. I loved feeling both of you inside me at the same time. I can’t imagine not doing it again, especially with all of you. Once I’ve recovered,” she quickly adds.
My chest expands with warmth at how, with minimal coaxing, she’s so open with us. Slowly but surely, she’s becoming more comfortable with us and talking openly about sex and her feelings. I know it’s as important to Emerson and Cy as it is to me that she feels completely comfortable with us.
“That can be arranged.”
The chef put together a full Thanksgiving meal for our last dinner aboard the yacht. There was so much food that Harper insisted the entire crew join us, not just the captain. While she chats with everyone about their background, I grab Emerson and Cy for a quick talk outside.
“Where are you going to go while Harper and I spend the weekend with our parents?”
“Mom and Dad want us to hang with them,” Emerson says.
“Good. You’ll be close.” His family lives up the road from mine. “Dad said they’re really close to nailing the guy who has been stalking Harper.”
“What are you going to do when you find him?” Cy asks. “Because I wouldn’t mind an hour or two alone with him.”
“I haven’t discussed that with Dad yet.” Too risky to talk about something that could be incriminating over the phone. “I’m more concerned with having you guys nearby.”
“Awww,” Cy singsongs. “Are you worried about us, pookie?”
“Fuck off.” I shove him with no real force. Fucking clown.
“I’m so ready for this to be over,” Emerson says. “If I could just spend the next six months focused on nothing but school and you guys, I’d be so fucking happy.”
“I know.”
Emerson has the most to lose in terms of letting distractions drag him off course. I know the classes he’s taking are harder than what any of us are enrolled in. I’d love to be able to give him the peace he needs to finish his final year as successfully as the first three.
“I’m actually going to drop out of school,” Cy says. “Now that I’ve gotten my inheritance and it’s more than I could ever need, I’m going to focus on what I want to do for a while.”
I nod in agreement. He deserves that after what his uncle has put him through. I know he’s due for a breakdown over killing his uncle at some point, just like Harper is with her dad’s death. We’ll be there for them, no matter what or when it happens. There’s no one else I’d rather be in the trenches with than these two guys.