Chapter Nine #3
“Fuck, Brent. Give me that,” Zane grumbled. It sounded like a scuffle was taking place, so I turned to face them, trying to be a better person. This was because of me, after all.
Brent held a candle stick in his hand. Well, both he and Zane held it, anyway, almost appearing like they were playing tug of war. I’m guessing Brent had been moving to start tossing the furniture.
Stash jumped in, grabbing Brent around the waist and heaving him on the couch – sans candlestick.
“Calm the fuck down! In light of the current situation, I really don’t think that Mr. Fresby would appreciate a credit card bill for a ruined penthouse on top of having her here. Get yourself together, buddy.”
Stash patrolled while Brent ran his hands through his curls, making a mess of it, trying to compose himself.
Zane was putting the candlestick back and Ally was taking a drink straight from the bottle of a fully loaded bar.
Maybe I didn’t have to go down to the pool.
Cole sat in a chair, kicking up his feet on the table with his fingers steepled below his chin, perfect eyebrows pinched, and appearing deep in thought.
Stash stopped moving and stared straight at me. “I’m truly sorry for the way you grew up, Ember, and I mean no offense by this, especially since it’s been more fun having you around than it’s been for a long time, but maybe you should go back to New York while we complete this job.”
“No,” Brent and Cole stated as one. They eyed one another, but didn’t argue.
“Ladies, pardon my frankness.” Stash glanced back and forth between and Ally and me, then turned to stare at Cole and Brent.
“You two need to stop thinking with your dicks. Her family,” he pointed at me – as if we didn’t know who he was referencing, “ruined a multi-million dollar deal for our client who is paying us A LOT of money to be here. We all realize you two want to fuck her again, but wake the hell up! She’ll be in New York when we get back!
” Stash was practically yelling by this point.
Nowhere did he seem like the fun-loving comical guy he had been up until this point.
“I mean, shit Cole. Miranda’s fucking here to ease any needs you have.
And it’ll only be a month at the most, Brent.
Plus, you can find a piece of ass here if you need to.
Hell, Ember’s nothing more than a glorified con artist, at best. She needs to go. ”
He should have shut up a long time ago. I’m thinking he had to be blind not to see he was about to get pummeled. Ah, stupid men. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t shoot ‘em. Well, unless you want to live without windows and have bars for everyday scenery.
Predictably, Cole and Brent lost it.
They lunged for Stash, who was still carrying on.
At the same time, Zane, Ally and I shot into motion.
Stash was going to get dead if we didn’t intervene.
I was closer to Stash and jumped between the bulldozing men.
All six of us landed in a heap of punching arms and kicking legs and jabbing elbows. Someone even bit me at one point.
Ally screamed, her accent riding her hard, “You goddamn stupid men. You stop this, right now!” She pounded on Brent’s and Cole’s backs.
I had landed back first, lying diagonally, on top of Stash.
One side of my face was squashed under Cole’s chest while the other side was pressed to the floor, facing Stash.
My lower body was crushed between Brent’s lower half and the floor.
My middle section lay over Stash’s hips and under whatever shifting body part Brent and Cole rolled over me, so I was bent at an extremely awkward angle.
Zane had Brent in a chokehold. But, that didn’t seem to hinder him and Cole from walloping on Stash, who wasn’t doing too bad holding his own. I felt a slim hand grab my ankle and start tugging while I tried to breath and push them away.
Ally kept on screaming, “You brutes! You’re gonna hurt Ember!”
Heck, I was already hurting. Those two hit like a freight train at the initial charge. In their defense, I don’t think they actually saw me dart from behind Stash when they took us down. And now, I don’t even think my teeny body was noticeable in the chaos.
Zane piped in, catching one of Cole’s arms, shouting, “Ember’s under you two!”
That stayed the fight. All the men’s bodies under and over me stopped moving, except for their heaving chests.
“What?” Brent asked, panting.
“Ember’s on top of me and under you two,” Stash reinforced, wiping blood from a cut on his eyebrow. His hand slid down, under Cole chest and touched my forehead. “You all right down there, doll?”
“Can’t…breathe…” I gasped, feeling more tugs on my ankle.
Brent and Cole immediately rolled off. My inside expanded in a painful push back to normal. Christ almighty that hurt! I groaned and didn’t move from my prone position on top of Stash, who started brushing the hair out of my face.
“Someone friggin’ bit me,” I whined.
“Cole likes to use his teeth.” Stash chuckled quietly. “A childhood habit he’s never been able to get rid of.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Cole commanded, but not too forcefully. He and Brent were now sitting up, picking up my limbs and feeling them over. His baby blues found mine, soft and worried. “Did we hurt you other than the bite, sweetheart?” He was examining the teeth indention encasing half my wrist.
“How to answer that?” I griped sarcastically, trying to push them away. “Of course you freaking did. Y’all hit us like bats out of Hell made out the fiery places own stone. You two need to cut back on the Wheaties.”
Stash’s body shook under mine as he chortled. He didn’t seem to be able to move much, either. He had taken the brunt of the fall and then their fists. I was real happy I wasn’t him at the moment.
“I’m sorry, darlin’,” Brent murmured, bending my other wrist back and forth, and then placing a kiss on my palm. “We would have stopped if we’d have seen you.”
Cole and Brent were gazing at me with such sincerity and concern, I almost felt bad for them.
“Well, it appears it’s not just their dicks their thinking with. I do believe you’re staying, Ember,” Stash whispered thoughtfully. Since he was still my cushion he was seeing everything I was. “I’d doubted, but not anymore.”
Something in his voice made the men glance up at him. Their hands were still gentle on me, but bit by bit their eyes turned from anxious, to ticked off fury.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Cole asked quietly. Eyes like ice.
Stash coughed, and then chuckled. “You don’t think she’s the only one who can manipulate, do you? And honestly, if you only wanted her here for a lay, then it wasn’t worth it to keep her with us. We all know that. I had to know for our business’ sake.”
A pause. “Cole, pick up Ember, please,” Brent ordered, his forest green eyes scary calm.
“With pleasure, but make sure you get in a few for me,” Cole smiled sinfully, picking me up like a babe.
Brent nodded. “Done.”
He jumped back on Stash and started throwing punches again.