Chapter Twelve. #2
“Susan has gloves, stay put,” Blue said as I sat down at the table.
We’d ordered in tonight for dinner, and the plates and dishes had just been cleared away.
Susan and Kiki had gone for a late-night swim—the resort lit the swimming pool up after dark and made it pretty.
They’d wanted to take a dip since they’d seen the pictures.
“Here,” Blue handed me a pair of thin gloves like doctors used, and I opened the envelope. It was heavy, but I hadn’t expected photographs to fall out. A stack of about twelve sheets of A4 paper appeared, each crammed with about ten images.
The first few pages were of me, leaving me disturbed.
There was me getting coffee, heading into the Royal Ink or another business, and some with me outside the clubhouse.
They were shot with a long-range lens. After that were visuals of torture featuring my head positioned over the model.
The scenes were graphic, and I winced. The final few made me pause.
“What the fuck?” I hissed.
“Babe, could these be AI?” Blue murmured in shock.
“No. I think they are real. Cyber ran that previous image, but nothing came back.”
“She needs to run it again. And you need to call Wylde. The police might have a serial killer on their hands.”
Disturbed, I looked up and nodded. Goosebumps broke out, and I felt chilled. The women in these pictures had been tortured to death, and they’d all died hard. There was no coming back from that. And what had been done following that?
My stomach heaved, and I raced to the toilet. I reckon he could be called a stalker.
As I vomited everything up, I heard Blue on the phone.
“No, Prez, these are bad. Wylde needs to come, and Cyber’s gotta run them.
I believe they’re real… Thanks, Prez… No, we’re in the suite, Nun is throwing up…
do you blame her? I would too. This fuck is focused on her…
Yup, I think it’s a warning… Cheers, Prez. ”
Blue’s boots clunked on the floor, and he pushed over the door. He squatted down and rubbed my back. “Sapphire and Wylde are coming. They said to use gloves, and don’t touch anything.”
“Did you notice two pictures were taken here?” I murmured.
“Yeah. You don’t go nowhere alone,” Blue stated, and I nodded.
“Sorry about this,” I muttered, getting up and brushing my teeth.
“It’s not your fault, but Christ, shit has been hitting the fan recently. Should we leave?”
“No, Kiki is having fun. I don’t want to ruin that for her.”
“Nun, she’d put you first,” Blue said.
“I know, and I don’t wish for her to. Kiki has earned this break, and she’s enjoying it so much. Even if we go home, he’ll still find me,” I replied, heading back to the table and tapping on the images.
“How did he get near with no one noticing?” Blue worried.
“Those were taken using a long-range lens. He didn’t get that close. But he’s documented most aspects of my life, which is beyond worrying. He’s even stalked us to the club; this is me and you entering the Royal Lounge.” I tapped on a page. Blue agreed.
“Babe, you gotta be more careful. I can’t lose you,” he stated as he held me tightly.
I nodded against his chest. I was ill-equipped to handle this.
Sapphire and Wylde arrived and took the evidence after Wylde used the resort’s photocopier to make copies for Cyber.
His worry spoke volumes. Wylde believed the pictures were real, which scared the daylights out of me because that meant some sick fuck was after me, and one who did more than stalk a woman.
They collected the originals and left, leaving us alone again. Kiki and Susan had been at the bar, so they didn’t realise anything was wrong. That was best for them. I really didn’t want to be responsible for ruining their vacation.
Blue and I had barely relaxed on the couch when a knock startled us. Before I could open it, Blue was there. He peered through the spyhole and frowned, looking surprised. He opened the door as his frown turned into a glower.
“Hey, Nun! Bet you didn’t expect to see us!” Brielle breezed into the room.
“Nope, that I didn’t,” I replied, shocked. “Did you run away again?”
“Nah, Ethan’s here. Please listen to him. He’s been a dick, but Ethan’s a good cousin. He’s just useless at emotions,” Brielle announced.
“Thank you for that resounding recommendation,” Priest declared dryly as he walked in.
Blue was giving him daggers, well aware of what had happened. Brielle grabbed an armchair as Blue sat beside me. Priest snorted and sat opposite us.
Then Blue slung his arm around my shoulder and drew me in close, and I let him. Blue was clearly making a point.
“Why are you here?” I asked, holding Priest’s gaze.
He looked uncomfortable and glanced at Brielle, who rolled her eyes.
“Ethan!” she squealed and turned to me. “Okay, Ethan’s anxious about talking in front of me because I’m sixteen next month and meant to be this innocent shit. I’m a teenager. I probably know more than he does, because he’s getting old. Anyway, Ethan’s been stupid and regrets breaking up with you.
“Ethan was worried about what others might say to me because of your triad. Hell, he wasn’t aware I knew what that was.
I mean, come on, everyone knows except old people your age.
A lot of them don’t know. Ethan wanted to be responsible for me, which is rubbish.
But, whatever. Ethan loves you and misses you, but he’s not bisexual, although he doesn’t understand that’s not the important part,” Brielle spewed.
I blinked. “Okay. Umm. First off, thirty-two is not old!”
“Nun, you’re twice my age; you’re old,” Brielle argued.
“Not!” I jabbed a finger for emphasis.
Brielle responded with an eye roll. “Okay. Let’s move on before you forget why we’re here,” Brielle replied.
Blue snorted in amusement, and I knew he was holding back laughter.
“Fine. Brielle, Priest can decide for himself. You can’t force him to accept something, and it was clear he was completely against it,” I continued.
“Tell her.” Brielle nudged Priest. He ran a hand over his face and shook his head. “Ethan!”
“I love you; that hasn’t changed,” he said.
“Same here, but I won’t give Blue up.”
Blue relaxed, and I patted his thigh.
“How do we make it work? Can you explain that because, as you and Brielle pointed out, Blue and I aren’t into each other. Doesn’t that cause strife?” Ethan asked.
“How the hell would I know? I’ve never had a triad before,” I retorted.
Ethan threw his hands up and stared at Blue.
“Don’t look at me, I’m twenty-five and have no idea. But you ain’t coming between Nun and me.”
“I want to make this work, but I’m unsure how,” Priest admitted.
“Really. Jeez, you’re meant to be adults?” Brielle exclaimed.
This time all three of us sent her glares. Brielle wasn’t fazed.
“Okay. So first thing, living together. I guess you’d all like that to happen?”
“Yeah,” I replied.
“Great. We’ll require a big house to live in.
I think Ethan and Blue each have their own room, and if they want to sleep with you, that’s an option.
You need a huge bed because if they’re both in it, you’ll be squished.
Nun’s bedroom can be the shared one; then if one of them needs a break, they can go to their own room,” Brielle suggested.
I raised an eyebrow as Priest turned red-faced and Brielle barrelled on. “You can share household tasks. Ethan can’t cook for shit, but he can mow the grass. Can you cook?” she asked Blue, who nodded, amused. “Great, so Blue cooks and Nun can wash up. See how easy that is? You split chores.”
“You’re not getting out of them,” Priest warned. Ah, nice try, kid, but Priest had caught Brielle out.
Brielle pouted but continued, “Have a joint bank account, and you each put a third of the bill money in there. And don’t argue; you know Nun will.
It’s all okay to be all alpha male and stuff, but Nun won’t take that crap.
Then have a couples date night once a week.
One week Blue and Nun, the following week Ethan and Nun, and keep it running.
But for communication, you should have a triad evening, the three of you together.
And at least twice a week, we should sit down as a family and eat.
That keeps us all close.” Brielle was making some good points; she’d clearly thought about this.
“That is a very fine idea, young lady. I’m going to enjoy having you around,” Kiki stated, entering the room.
“How long have you been listening?” Blue demanded as Susan followed. He looked horrified, but Kiki appeared amused, as was Susan.
Priest wriggled uncomfortably, and I smirked. Their reactions were funny.
“I can build on that,” Susan said. “Make one of the family nights, one where you cook and prepare the meal as a unit. That really does bond you. If you can’t cook, you can peel, dice, slice or stir; it’s about spending quality time together.
You two aren’t in a sexual relationship, but you are in a relationship.
You need to become friends and learn to love each other too. ”
“I agree,” Brielle said. “Ethan wants kids, and I bet Blue does too. It’s simple. Nun comes off birth control, and she picks Ethan first; Blue wraps up or uses the male implant.”
We all squirmed, though it made sense.
“Or if you only want a kid to love, both of you go ungloved.” Brielle finished with a grin. “I need babies, so sooner rather than later would be nice.”
Priest reached over and slapped a hand over her mouth as Kiki and Susan laughed.
“Why don’t we take Brielle for dessert?” Susan suggested.
Brielle muttered something against Priest’s hand, and then he pulled a face.
“You licked me!” he accused, wiping his hand.
“I’m going with them. You three fix this and tell me where we’re going to live.” Brielle’s face fell. “I’d like to set my stuff up in a new home.”
My heart pinched and squeezed. “We’ll sort it,” I reassured her.
Brielle smiled and left. We faced each other, waiting for someone to speak.