Chapter 7
SEVEN | CAMERON
Crocks has always been a favored hideaway spot of mine. And occasionally, a striking tourist struts through that door, completely unaware they’ve walked into a den of vipers ready to bite because there’s not much else to eat in this damn town.
Or maybe they are reckless and figure that the local hangout spot is an excellent place to find dick and get laid. And finding one isn’t usually a problem for them.
Like I said, beautiful women step foot in here all the time, but after settling my eyes on her, I may have found my new addiction. And it’s about fucking time I had someone new who can hold my interest for more than a few seconds. Someone to help me forget who my heart craves.
I turn my head, staring at my reflection.
The only dissimilarity between us is his shorter-cropped hair under his hood.
He sits down and places a cigarette in his mouth, letting it hang between his lips.
Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he removes a lighter.
My ears perk at the click as he holds the flame steady to the end, the cherry from the cigarette casting an orange glow on his features.
He inhales a deep breath, holding it in before exhaling a curtain of smoke that floats over his face, dispersing into the air above him. “That girl can hold her weight.”
I smirk at my twin. “One more drink, and we’ll be the ones holding her weight.”
Brennan’s wicked smile mirrors mine before my eyes lock back on Xavier behind the bar. He’s making the “special” drink we bought her while she finishes in the bathroom.
“You gave Xavier the apple and the Rohypnol?” I ask.
“Yep,” he says, popping the P. He takes another drag. “Questioned me in the back about why he couldn’t just use one of the other apples they have.”
Because they aren’t as immaculate as the one I picked on my run this morning. Its skin was as flawless as an apple could possibly be—just like the one Brennan left under the tree and the one I left on the hood of her truck earlier.
He drums his fingers against the table impatiently and leans back, stuffing his hands into his sweatshirt pocket. “She accidentally ran into me on the way to the bathroom but was too nervous to look at my face. Embarrassment is a cute color on her.”
I saw. She was too focused on looking at the floor, planting one foot in front of the other so she wouldn’t trip.
I’m not going to lie, a spike of jealousy jolted down my spine since he got to touch her first. I could’ve run my fingertips over hers when I handed her that pizza box the first night she was in town, but I zoned in on my control and forced myself not to.
It was fucking difficult not to touch her.
Especially since we had been watching her walk about her house for an hour before she looked out the window and saw me in the driver’s seat and Brennan leaning against the willow tree in her yard. We were covered head to toe in black pants, hoods, and leather gloves.
Her curiosity was so fixated on Brennan against the tree that I pulled the car away without her noticing. I quickly took off my sweatshirt, grabbed the pizza she ordered from the back seat, and snuck up to her front porch to ring the doorbell.
When she opened the door, I stood before her in a gray Crocks shirt I borrowed from Xavier.
Her eyes penetrated mine, those beautiful brown irises flashing with terror from Bren and me scaring her.
I swear I could feel the vibration of her heart beating through the porch, each shudder shooting straight to my cock.
“But…he wants something in return since this could get him fired if anyone finds out,” Brennan tacks on.
Xavier gets away with too much shit to get fired. Harrison would never throw him out on his ass. He’s his best bartender and has been for the last three years since he moved here.
“What did he want?”
A corner of his mouth lifts. “Me.” He relaxes an arm over the back of the booth, releasing a sigh mixed with a breathy chuckle. “He said I should bring her along.”
I narrow my eyes at Xavier on the other side of the counter, observing as he pours the red mixture into the glass. My eyes roll. “You would’ve let him fuck you anyway.”
“True. But bringing her along? Damn, that would be hot.”
Bren and I shared with him once, and now Xavier expects to join in on the fun every time?
Fuck that. Not happening. Not with her.
I grind my teeth. “She hasn’t consented to anything.” Yet, but she will.
Reaching for the ashtray, he grinds his cigarette into the glass, stubbing it out. “And when she does, I’ll let her know the option is there if she wants it.”
Brennan and Xavier have an open relationship and are always on the prowl for a third. They crave pussy too much to give it up, but they both like dick too.
Bren and I may share, but I have a feeling it will be a challenge this time. The jealousy is already festering, rotting me more than him.
She appears from the hallway, my adrenaline spiking as she returns to her seat. Sliding back onto her stool, the knot on her head looks a little different, as if she fixed it up in the bathroom.
When Taryn notices the drink in front of her, Xavier gives me a single nod, letting me know we are good to go.
She must catch his gesture because she peers over her shoulder, examining everyone around the dance floor.
Her eyes roam back and forth to look for who Xavier nodded to, but it’s too dark.
She doesn’t see us, even though my focus and Bren’s is locked on her.
With our hoods up and black attire, we blend into the background on the other side of the room from Taryn and the bar.
There is something almost predatory about how we observe each movement she makes.
But our sweet, innocent, soon-to-be roommate is oblivious to us.
My blood crackles with energy, fueling my impatience.
With all the individuals on the dance floor, I only catch glimpses of her between sweaty bodies grinding. The neon strobe lights flash in the darkness, but the bar is well-lit enough to illuminate her side profile.
She turns back around. Lifting her drink, she takes a sip, tipping the glass toward Xavier in thanks as they exchange more words. It looks like she loves the margarita by the way she keeps diving in for more.
Taryn doesn’t know that sweet and pretty things can be disguised to hide their deadly nature. After this, I may need to teach her a lesson about leaving her drink alone with strangers around.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, Taryn.
She stirs the mixture with her straw, causing my heart to pound savagely in my chest with anticipation. The muscles in her back and shoulders start to relax a little more.
Anytime now.
The light from Brennan’s phone screen illuminates his face as he pulls up his messages. “I’m letting Colt know we’ll be home in less than an hour so we can get her through the house without all the questions.”
Bringing Taryn home will be like walking through the door with a new pet everyone has been awaiting. But in our case, we’ve been waiting for years.
Preparing.
Planning.
I narrow my eyes on my brother. “Which is why we waited until tonight, dumbass. Everyone should be in bed so we can slip her in quickly and quietly.” The main reason we needed the Rohypnol.
I’ve always been entirely against the idea of drugging someone, but there’s a first time for everything. She would’ve undoubtedly put up a fight if we had gone with one of the other methods we contemplated. I probably would’ve found a little too much pleasure in that, anyway.
The minutes excruciatingly drag on. A flash of movement by the bar has my eyes darting from Bren to Taryn.
She pushes herself off the stool, her gaze steady on the doorway leading to the stairwell.
She hurriedly walks toward it as the drug starts to pull her under, causing her body to sway from side to side.
She pushes through the door and disappears, but not for long.
My pulse batters, and I clap a hand on Bren’s shoulder. “It’s finally go time, brother.”
He snatches his black gloves from the table, and I remove mine from my sweatshirt pocket. We slip them on as we hustle across the room, dodging sweaty people scattered about.
I give Xavier a nod in appreciation before we exit the bar.
When we push through the doors that lead up to the main level, it’s only us and our girl alone in the stairwell.
She is one step up, hunched over. One firm hand grips the railing in a death grip with white knuckles, and the other is pressed against her forehead.
With one glance, Bren and I share a conversation with unspoken words. He gives me the signal, and we advance toward her.
Her frame can no longer support her weight. She sinks leisurely toward the floor like an anchor, losing a battle with the ocean’s depths—plunging into the deepest trench until nothing but darkness shrouds her.
A groan slips past her soft pink lips when Brennan splays his hand across her lower back to keep her from collapsing and wraps his fingers around her upper arm.
Tugging her upward, he pulls the side of her body flush against his frame, but Taryn’s head falls backward.
Her flushed and heated cheeks are wet with tears.
Those beautiful eyes struggle to find mine, but they pierce into my soul with the intensity of a goddamn pneumatic drill that can obliterate concrete into thousands of tiny pieces. God, they are breathtaking.
Nice to see you again, beautiful.
But I don’t think the recognition crosses her.
I press my chest against her back, snaking one of my arms around her waist to keep her steady.
She moves, her ass brushing against the front of my jeans.
Fuck, if she’s already making my cock swell like this, it won’t be long before the nearly microscopic sliver of self-control I have left vanishes.
Lifting my gloved hand to her head, the leather glides over her smooth and tear-stricken skin as her eyes flutter closed. Bren holds her tightly while I sweep her small, warm body into my arms.
Her sugared citrus perfume envelops me all the way to my car. It’s time to get her home so she can infect my head and our house with that scent. And just like me and my brothers, they will soon be obsessed with her, too.