30. Objectivity
Objectivity
Sara
Mom and I sit on the couch in the primary bedroom.
I try not to glance at the oversized bed or think about what I’ve done in this room, but my insides are still on a steady roil.
I don’t know what to say to my mother about the guys.
Maybe I never thought the guys and I would get this far.
Not because we don’t love each other but because this situation is so unusual.
The door is closed and Mom has that I’m waiting face on. The one that makes me confess all my sins. But I know I haven’t done anything wrong this time. I’m in a loving relationship with four guys. Is that a lot? Probably.
Am I going to break up with them because society might not like it? Hell no.
I clear my throat. “What do you want to know?”
My mom sighs. “You’re in a relationship with all four of them?”
“Yes.” This is the time to be completely honest with my mom. I held back after Verity, and Mom let me. But I can’t hide this. It’s more important than that friendship ever was.
“You’re not being coerced into something you might not want?” She arches an eyebrow.
“No, I’m not.” I take a steadying breath, ready to spill most of the story. “I’ve always loved Wyatt. But I’d given up on him ever wanting me. So I started dating Drew.”
I don’t need to tell her I was looking for a hookup, but my cheeks heat anyway, probably giving me away.
“He’s nice and fun. And then things started to happen with Dante and Finn. It made me remember that, when I was younger, I chose Wyatt because I couldn’t date three guys and especially not my brother’s best friends.”
She waits for me to continue, but this is hard. It’s admitting to my mom feelings I’ve had forever. I don’t need to mention the consent contract or the devirginizing by all four of them. Or that we started this as a conditional affair that was supposed to end.
I’m not sure who we thought we were fooling. These guys were always going to be endgame for me.
“I love all of them. So much. Dante has always been protective. Finn...” I trail off and smile. “He’s playful, but he can be serious when I need him to be. Wyatt would burn down this world for me. And Drew, he’s the one who makes this work. He’s never tried to hide his feelings from me.
“They take care of me and I take care of them. For the first time in a long time, I’m ready to start living my life again.
Not hide because someone I trusted hurt me.
And that’s because of their love. I trust them to be honest with me.
So if you have questions, I’ll answer them, but I’m not about to settle on one guy for the rest of my life, because that’s not what the five of us want. ”
She’s thoughtful for a few moments. Then she rubs her temple and closes her eyes.
“I know it’s not what you wanted for me.” I blow out a breath but don’t lower my gaze from her. “Actually, if what you wanted for me was to be happy and have a fulfilling life, they give me that. I’m really happy with them.”
Mom meets my eyes and takes my hand. “All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. I can respect your relationship with all of them. I’ll have to get used to it, but I trust you.
What I’m concerned about is, will you be able to handle what everyone else will think?
I just don’t want this to end the same as when you withdrew after high school. ”
My lips press together. I was so naive when it came to Verity and didn’t suspect my friend would stab me in the back. But the guys are different. They’re mine and I’m theirs. They would never do that to me.
“Sara, when your friend betrayed you, you hid yourself away from life because of what other people thought of you.” She squeezes my hand.
“You’re older now, and with those guys, you’ll never have to face those whispers alone.
It’s not like you really cared much for society.
Tom loved the attention, but you never did.
So if these men make you happy, that’s enough to satisfy me. But consider your friend Madison.”
My breath escapes me. With Cooper’s established name and wealth, most people still accept Madison and her men at parties and events.
But people like Verity snub her openly. And others talk about her behind her back.
The guys will still need to go to benefits and events to network for their businesses.
What if our relationship has a negative effect on their companies?
They’ll want me to go with them. Could I handle that again? Could I ignore the whispers? My insides buzz.
But then warmth fills me. If I’m in their arms, the world slips away and it’s just us.
But what about when I’m on my own? When they aren’t there to make me laugh or protect me?
If Verity had approached me in the bathroom even a year ago, I would have sunk in on myself and let her continue to degrade me.
But I didn’t. I’m stronger and my men give me their strength to stand up for myself.
“Madison doesn’t care what others think about her relationship.
” I focus on my mom again. “I don’t know how we’ll be accepted into society or even if we will, but I’m okay with that.
What Verity did to me was awful, and at eighteen, I wasn’t ready to deal with the backlash.
But now, I have friends who will stand with me, men who will do anything for me, and a family who loves and supports me. ”
I hold my breath after that last one.
Mom’s eyes soften and she puts her hand on the side of my face. “Always, Sara. You always have our love and support.”
I lean in and hug my mom, drawing in the smell of home.
When I pull away, I smirk. “Besides, your daughter didn’t just land one rich man. She landed four, which should be enough to keep your bridge club envious.”
Mom smiles but shakes her head. “I don’t care what my bridge club or anyone else has to say. You’re all that matters.”
Wyatt
We catch Roger up on what’s been happening. Including our rescue of Sara and finding Tom and Natasha. He sits back with his glass of scotch dangling between his fingers and takes in everything.
Roger has been Tom and Sara’s stepfather for a long time now. He was the one we’d call as teens when we got in too deep. He would drop everything to help us out of whatever jam we found ourselves in. We respect him and he knows us.
“You should have called me earlier.” The words aren’t an accusation. They’re the blunt, honest truth. Roger has access and means we don’t. He might have been able to find Tom quicker. He would have protected Sara with an army if he needed to.
“We didn’t know you were out of town at first.” Dante rubs the back of his neck. “Your security system is fairly impenetrable. We didn’t leave Sara’s side after someone got through it. They didn’t do it while she was there. We had it covered.”
Roger glances at where Peabody sleeps. Tanya brought him back after dinner. He’s going to have to be happy with the backyard for a while.
“So what are we doing now?” Roger leans forward and sets his mostly full glass down on the table. His gaze hits all of us and settles on me.
“We’re finding a loophole.” I take a drink before continuing, “We need something that will strengthen Alexander’s power without him marrying Natasha.”
“Seems like he thinks marrying Natasha is the only solution.” Roger rubs his jaw. “You said he took your waitress as a hostage for an exchange?”
Drew runs a hand through his hair. “She’s had experience inside that world before. She left with him voluntarily.”
Roger’s gaze turns shrewd. “You think she may be complicit?”
“Possibly.” Drew puts his hands on the table. “Those guys spend a lot of money on the women at my club. She’s been to Peter’s country house for parties before. I have nothing to do with that though. The women can do what they want when they aren’t working in the club.”
Roger nods. “When are we meeting Alexander and what do we have so far?”
“I found some passwords that might be for foreign bank accounts.” Dante opens his laptop. “Tom found something that looked like Peter might be skimming off the top before giving a percentage to his men. With that, Alexander should be able to keep Peter out.”
“By blackmailing him.” Roger picks up his glass and takes a sip. “Not a bad start. But what will make him stop coming after Tom? With Tom out of the way, Natasha could be convinced to marry Alexander for protection.”
That’s something we’ve considered, but we aren’t in organized crime or whatever these guys are into. We know accounting.
Roger’s gaze settles on Finn. “What about your father?”
Finn bristles. “My dad?”
“He’s a resource, isn’t he?” Roger sets his glass down and leans his elbows on the table.
“Real talk time, boys. This isn’t someone who will be swayed by numbers.
This guy tried to murder Tom to take care of the obstacles.
If you don’t sufficiently neuter him, he will always be an issue, because he’ll always need something more. ”
Drew glances at his phone. “We don’t have a lot of time left.”
“See what you can dig up on the financial side.” Roger stands. “I’ll reach out to my contacts and see what I can find out about Alexander. Maybe there’s something you haven’t thought of that will make this go away.”
When Roger leaves the room, I meet Drew, Dante and Finn’s eyes. “We need a smoking gun.”
“I don’t think we’re going to find that.” Finn rubs his hand down his face. “Maybe Roger is right. No matter what we find, it won’t be enough. It might be time to call in my dad.”
“No,” Dante and I say at the same time.
Dante leans forward. “No. You can’t owe him anything.”
“He claims he doesn’t expect more from me,” Finn says. “But who knows with fathers.”
I know how that goes. I have a message from my father waiting unread on my phone. Not my biological father, but the man who raised me. I’d say he raised me as his own, but he didn’t. I was never good enough for him. Always tainted by my genetics.
“If our relationship comes out, my sperm donor might make a reappearance.” I shake the ice in my glass and watch the bourbon play over the cubes. “He might see dollar signs.”
“He hasn’t contacted you in years.” Dante draws my attention. “For all we know, he’s dead or moved on to something better.”
I give him a wry smile. “The only thing keeping him away is he’s wanted by the FBI.”
“What about the FBI?” Drew taps the table. “They helped with Peter. Maybe we can find something to hand them Alexander.”
I shake my head. “Tom said Alexander is untouchable and I believe him. If what the FBI had on Peter didn’t implicate Alexander, then we don’t have anything that would.”
“Let’s see what we can find with the new information before we make any decisions.” Dante opens his laptop.
I glance toward the stairs. How is Sara’s conversation with her mother going? Does she need us to back her up? No matter what happens with her family, I’m not leaving her ever again.
Drew
I step into the hospital room, and Natasha is curled up on the bed next to Tom on his good side. Tom opens his eyes and sees it’s me.
“I told her to text when she got tired.” I sit in the chair.
He smiles and runs his hand over her hair. “She didn’t want to leave.”
“They need her help back at the house. Some of the numbers aren’t familiar to any of us, and she’s the one those files were intended for.
” The last couple hours have been spent digging through what we still have and the files Theo unencrypted from Peter’s computer.
When the numbers began to swim on the screen, I knew it was time for me to call it quits.
He sighs. “I just want to get to the rest of this, you know?”
“You mean where we start our lives with the women we love without them and you being in constant danger?” I smirk. “Yeah, I’m ready for that too.”
“I didn’t—”
“You don’t need to explain to me. Honest.” I slouch and thread my hands over my stomach.
“I would have done the same to protect Sara. But I don’t have friends or a sister that would need the information.
I would have disappeared and never come back.
Made sure the people I care for had what they needed and spent the rest of my life with Sara on some tropical island. ”
“It never would have been that easy.” Tom’s eyes soften when he looks at Natasha.
“For you. No.” I smile. “It wouldn’t have worked for Sara either because she loves her family.”
“I love mine,” Tom insists.
“I know that.” I shrug. “What’s done is done. It’s all in the past. You took a bullet for my woman and I’m thankful it’s you in this bed and not her.”
Tom nods. “Me too. When I thought she’d been shot—” He coughs to clear his throat. “She’s my sister. I’ve always protected her and loved her, even when she was an annoying little shit.”
“That doesn’t sound like Sara,” I chastise, but when she’s with Wyatt, I see that side of her. The brat. Stubborn and unwilling to give an inch. But he likes her that way. Prefers it even.
“Does that creepy smile mean you’re thinking of my sister?”
Tom raises an eyebrow at my laugh, but relaxes into the bed when I say, “I’m not going to divulge all my secrets.”
“Thank god. I appreciate a good pot-stirring when it’s happening to other people. That’s why I love Finn so much. But when it’s turned on me… Fuck, it sucks.”
“So you and I find something neutral to talk about when Natasha heads home?” I raise an eyebrow.
“We have to have a common interest in something.” Tom chuckles.
“Besides punching each other.” I grin.
He smiles back. “Yeah, that’s fun, but Sara might get upset. And I’m down an arm.”
“Pity. I could tie my arms behind my back to give you a fighting chance.”
The door opens and the guard I brought with me to make sure Natasha got home safe steps inside.
“We’re ready,” he says.
Natasha wakes a little groggily and sits up. “Hey.”
“Time to go home and get some sleep, Tasha.” Tom sweeps the hair away from her face and she smiles up at him. “I’ll be out of here before you know it.”
She kisses him softly before getting out of the bed and straightening her clothes. She glances my way. “How’s it going at the house?”
“They’ll need your help a little before you can go to sleep.”
Nodding, she looks at Tom and says, “I love you.”
“I love you.” Tom catches her fingers and squeezes before releasing her.
“I’m pretty ambivalent, but I could see liking you both in the future.” I smirk.
Natasha chuckles. “Bye, Drew.”
The door closes behind her and I put my feet up on the side of his bed.
It’s been a while since I tried to make a new friend that I didn’t enter into an odd relationship with to fuck a woman, but there has to be something we can bond over.
Even if it’s dealing with his three best friends.
“Okay, so we both like girls, but that’s a nonstarter. Sports?”