“We’ve talked a little about the situation.”
“A little won’t suffice.”
They were right. He knew it, but change didn’t come easy for him. “I love Paris. I don’t want to lose her. I’ll talk to her dad.” Maybe he can help me figure out what she’s hiding.
* * * *
Peter Barkley carried all his belongings in a brown paper sack that the prison had placed them in. The woman in the shiny new Mercedes who had come to pick him up after his release remained inside the car. She had short dark hair and wore designer sunglasses. He’d never met her but had been communicating with her via e-mail for a couple of months.
He climbed into the passenger seat. “Nice to finally meet you, Miss Trollinger.”
“And you, too.” She started the engine.
“I’m not sure why you’re helping me out.”
“Because you and I have each lost someone dear. You lost your wife. I lost my brother. The guilty need to pay. Don’t you agree?”
“That’s all I’ve thought about since I was sent to prison.”
She smiled and placed her hand on his leg. “We have a lot to talk about, but we’ll have plenty of time during our trip.”
“Where are we going?”
“Not we, Peter. You. You’re going to where those responsible for taking away our loved ones from us live. Destiny, Colorado.”
Chapter Four
Even though his brother’s digs had mostly been directed at Mick, it was obvious they’d bothered Paris even more than they had him. Mick put his arm around her, trying to think of a way to get her mind off of what Dustin had said.
“I’m sick of this, Mick. I’m tired of Dustin making us feel like we’re not good enough. We’ll never be good enough in his eyes. I thought we could at least be friends, believing that when I came back home after being away for so long things would be different. They aren’t. It’s like we are at the same spot we were ten years ago. Damn, I’ve been such a fool. I should’ve stayed away.”
Is she thinking about running away again?
This wasn’t like her, not really. Sure she’d come back to Destiny changed, but she was still the sweet, wonderful woman he’d fallen in love with. His feelings for her hadn’t lessened but had actually multiplied. He knew he could not let her disappear from his life one more time.
God, his brother could be such a jerk. Mick understood that Dustin was a little more serious about the lifestyle than he was. For Mick, he loved the playful side of BDSM. Still, he and Dustin both practiced BDSM as Doms, and they both enjoyed it, too. Hell, all three of them had explored the life together before the breakup. They had all been so green. He missed those days.
Mick was a fully trained Dom, just like Dustin. He could read a woman quickly and determine her level of submissiveness in the subtle signs that were lost on the inexperienced and untrained. Reading Paris now, it was clear to him from her reaction to Dustin’s earlier digs that things were spinning out of control. Dom or not, there was no excuse for his brother continuing to treat Paris the way he did.
He needed to get her back on track and smiling. Once that happened, he was going to have a heart-to-heart with Dustin, or fist-to-face if necessary, to get his brother’s undivided attention. Dustin knew damn well he was pushing her buttons, and that had to stop.
“Let’s go and have some Chinese food, Paris. That’ll fix everything.”
“If only it could.” She sighed the sigh of someone who was about to give up.
Fuck. He certainly couldn’t back down now. “When did you eat today?”
She shrugged. “I had a banana this morning.”
“That’s all.”
She nodded. “I guess I am hungry.”
“And you need to eat. Let’s go.”
Holding her hand, he led her out of the clinic. The June air was warm and the sun hung above their heads in a cloudless blue sky.
Paris was very upset, more than usual, about Dustin’s outburst. Mick knew he was walking a thin line with her and Dustin. He wanted to say the right thing to Paris that would make her feel better about his brother.