Chapter 24
Sabine
I paced the length of my bedroom, my right ankle protesting with each turn. The news played on a loop in my head: "Investigative journalist Sabine Barrett reported missing." My own face staring back at me from the TV screen, that photo from the staff page I always hated.
Seven steps to the window. Turn. Seven steps back.
Mark would never have filed that report. Never. He knew exactly who I was with. He was the one who insisted I go into protective custody.
"Be safe, Sabine. Listen to them. Do what they say," he'd said, squeezing my shoulder that last day in the office. His eyes had crinkled at the corners, worried but trusting that I would be okay.
Six steps to the window. My ankle throbbed. Turn.
Unless Mark wasn't Mark anymore. Unless the Bellantes had gotten to him too.
I ground my teeth together so hard my jaw ached. My fingernails dug crescents into my palms. The thought of Mark—my steady, principled editor who'd backed me on every dangerous story for years—feeding information to the Bellantes made my stomach turn to concrete.
"He's fine," I whispered to the empty room. "There's an explanation."
Five steps to the window. The limp was getting worse. Turn.
What if they had him? What if they were doing to him what they wanted to do to me? The images that flashed through my mind made my chest constrict until I couldn't breathe properly.
Four steps. My ankle gave out and I caught myself against the wall.
I'd exposed corruption that went all the way to the governor's mansion. I'd stared down men who'd killed without hesitation.
But not knowing was worse than any of it.
Three steps. I didn't make it to the window this time.
I sank onto the edge of the bed, pressing the heels of my hands against my eyes. The Bellantes had found me. They'd compromised Mark. They were coming for me next.
A knock at the door made me freeze.
"Can I come in?" Ellie was already halfway inside before I could answer. Her eyes found mine immediately. She wore gray sweatpants and a loose white t-shirt, her dark hair pulled back in a messy bun. The casual outfit didn't soften her assessment as her gaze swept over me.
"You look like hell," she said, but her voice was gentle. She crossed to where I sat and knelt in front of me. "Talk to me."
"Nothing to talk about." My voice came out sharper than I intended. "Just a sore ankle and a missing editor. Regular stuff."
Ellie didn't smile at my attempt at humor. She just waited, her brown eyes patient. Something in that steady gaze broke whatever was holding me together.
"I can't stop thinking about Mark." My voice betrayed me, cracking on his name. "Something's wrong. I know it."
I could feel the fight draining out of me. Tears threatened, but I refused to let them fall. I'd cried enough since coming to this place.
Ellie sat beside me, her hand warm against my back. "Come here."
I stiffened. I wasn't a hugger on my best days, and today was far from that. But Ellie's palm made slow circles between my shoulder blades, and the simple human contact after days of isolation weakened my resolve.
When she guided me to lie down, I didn't resist. We faced each other on the soft bed, her body a solid, warm presence against mine. She didn't speak, didn't offer empty reassurances about Mark. She just held me, one arm draped over my waist.
My breathing slowed to match hers. The panic that had been building all day began to recede, like a tide pulling back from shore. Not gone, but manageable.
"We're going to figure this out," she murmured, her breath warm against my hair.
Her hand moved from my waist to my arm, fingers trailing lightly along my skin. The touch shifted from comforting to something that made my breath catch. Her lips pressed against my temple, lingering there.
I leaned into her touch, seeking more of whatever she was offering.
Another knock at the door broke the moment. Ellie lifted her head but didn't move away from me.
"Everything okay?" Kara's voice, calm and controlled as always.
I glanced back to see her in the doorway, her eyes taking in the scene—me and Ellie on the bed, my face probably still showing every raw emotion I'd been fighting.
Ellie's eyes flashed, like something passed between them in a silent language I couldn't translate. Then Ellie nodded slightly.
"Sabine needs us," she said softly.
Without hesitation, Kara crossed the room. The mattress dipped as she settled behind me, her body curving against my back while Ellie remained facing me. I found myself sandwiched between them, surrounded by warmth and the clean scent of Kara's soap mixing with Ellie's vanilla.
Kara's fingers slid into my hair, gently working through the tangles of my wavy red curls. Ellie's palm rested on my hip, thumb making small circles against the fabric of my shirt. Their breathing slowed, and I felt mine adjusting to match, the tightness in my chest finally easing.
"We've got you," Ellie whispered.
Her hand moved from my hip to my stomach, no longer casual but deliberate. I felt Kara's lips press against my shoulder, then drift to the sensitive spot where my neck met my collarbone. A small sound escaped me.
I reached up to touch Ellie's face, tracing the line of her jaw. Her eyes darkened. When she leaned in, the kiss started gentle but quickly became something else entirely—hungry, deep, a confession neither of us had planned to make.
Kara's hands slipped under the hem of my shirt, her touch leaving fire in its wake. Suddenly clothes felt like barriers I couldn't stand. I tugged at Ellie's shirt, needing more, needing skin against skin.
What had begun as comfort transformed into something urgent and necessary, three bodies moving together in the dim light.
A shadow fell across the bed. I looked up through half-closed eyes to see Cam standing in the doorway, her tall frame silhouetted against the hallway light.
Her face remained impassive, but her eyes burned with an intensity that made my skin flush hotter.
She stood perfectly still, one hand resting on the doorframe, waiting.
"Come here, Cam," I whispered, my voice breaking with need. "Please."
She crossed the room in three long strides, her movements fluid and deliberate. The mattress dipped under her weight as she knelt at the foot of the bed. Kara shifted behind me, making space while keeping one hand possessively on my hip. Ellie's lips never left my collarbone.
Cam's calloused fingers gently grazed my sore ankle, then slid upward along my calf with agonizing slowness. I gasped as her hand found the sensitive spot behind my knee. Her touch was different from the others—rougher, more demanding, but no less careful.
I reached for her, pulling her closer until she was stretched alongside us. We adjusted, our limbs tangling, bodies pressing together in a way that made it impossible to tell where one of us ended and another began.
Kara's breath was hot against my ear. Ellie's fingers traced patterns on my stomach that made me arch upward. And silent, watchful Cam held my gaze as her hands joined the others exploring my body.
I surrendered to the sensation of being surrounded, claimed, protected by these three women who had become my entire world.
Ellie's fingers traced my jawline before she leaned in to kiss me again, her lips soft but insistent. I felt Kara shift behind me, her body a warm anchor against my back as her hands slid beneath my shirt. The heat of her palms against my bare skin made me gasp into Ellie's mouth.
"Let us take care of you," Ellie whispered, her breath hot against my lips.
I nodded, beyond words as her hands found the hem of my shirt.
She pulled it upward, exposing my breasts to the cool air.
I hadn't bothered with a bra after my shower, and now I was grateful for that small decision as Ellie lowered her head.
Her tongue circled my nipple before taking it into her mouth, sending electricity down my spine.
Kara's hands weren't idle. She pressed her lips to the nape of my neck while her fingers slipped beneath the waistband of my yoga pants. I arched into her touch, silently begging for more.
At the foot of the bed, Cam watched with hungry eyes. Unlike the others, she didn't speak, didn't need to. Her gaze alone was enough to make my skin flush hotter. She moved with deliberate grace, her strong hands massaging my legs.
"Yes," I breathed, answering her unasked question.
Cam tugged at my pants, sliding them down my legs along with my panties. The cool air hit my exposed skin, but I didn't have time to feel vulnerable before her hands were on my inner thighs, spreading them wider.
Kara's fingers found my center from behind just as Cam lowered her head between my legs. The dual sensation of Kara's fingers plunging inside me while Cam's tongue pressed against my clit tore a moan from my throat.
Ellie swallowed the sound with another kiss, her hands still working my breasts. I was surrounded, claimed by these three women who had become my entire world. Three different rhythms, three different touches, all focused on bringing me pleasure.
"Let go," Kara murmured against my ear, her voice a command I couldn't disobey even if I wanted to. "We've got you."
Cam and Kara’s mouths met in a kiss that made my breath catch.
Their tongues slid against each other, wet and hungry, before they both turned their attention back to me.
Kara's mouth found my clit this time, her tongue circling with precise, maddening pressure while Cam waited, patient as always, for Kara to withdraw her fingers.
The moment she did, Cam sucked my juices from them, then pushed her tongue deep into me.
I cried out, my back arching off the bed. My hands clutched at the sheets, at their hair, at anything I could reach. I could barely process all of the sensations at once: Kara sucking gently on my clit while Cam's tongue thrust in and out, her hands gripping my thighs to hold me open.