“I have been so lost without you, Jane,” Rys muttered into her hair, his voice low. Her fingers curled into the shirt at his abdomen, bringing him closer as she let the last three weeks melt away.
“I’m so sorry. I’ve been an idiot shutting you two out. Neither you nor William has ever done that to me. I let you down.”
“Shhh.” William was behind her, his hand moving her hair off her shoulder. “Don’t say that, sweetheart. We love you, no matter what. We are the ones who let you down.”
Rys pulled back, and she lifted her head to look at him. Tears formed in her eyes, and she was angry at herself over it. Why was she even crying? The pads of Rys’s thumbs brushed beneath her eyes and wiped her tears away.
“I’m so sorry about everything. I don’t know what the future holds with… well, with all of that, but I want you so damn much, baby.”
“We both do,” William said from behind her, his mouth at the nape of her neck.
“I—”
“Rys, please. Stop.” Instantly, he closed his mouth and looked down at her with mixed emotions. Worry was at the forefront, and she wished she could wipe it away. “I want to talk to you both.” Rys shared a look with William over her head and then nodded down at her.
“Okay, Jane.” The uncertainty in his voice was clear. Hopefully after she told him what Missy revealed, the tension that wound itself tightly around the three of them would ease. She needed that, needed to get back to where they were.
They walked over to the couch, and William pushed aside the broken remnants of the turned-over lamp. He looked sheepish when she watched him move the debris away with his booted foot. Jane sat on the couch while the guys took the two leather recliners across from her. The deep breath she inhaled did nothing to calm her down, but then she looked into both their faces and smiled. It would be okay, because she would make sure it ended that way.
After everything was out in the open, Rys and William looked at each other then back at her.
“I’m going to fucking kill him.” Rys stood so forcefully the chair he was sitting in was pushed back and skittered across the wooden floor.
“Calm down.” William was standing now as well, trying to get a clearly furious Rys to stay calm. “There is nothing we can do.”
“Like hell there isn’t anything we can do.” Rys started pacing the length of the living room, his hands running through his hair over and over again. “I’m going to beat his fucking ass until they have to take him away on a damn stretcher.”
Shit, this is so not good. “Rys, please, calm down.” At her words, he stopped and stared at her. “I didn’t tell you this to piss you off, although I should have known it would upset you. I’m sorry for that, but I’m glad it’s out in the open. Now we can move on without this hanging over our heads.”
“Baby, this has nothing to do with you. I am the one who got pulled into this, which in turn had you and Will catching the backdraft of it all.” He moved until he was in front of her and cupped her cheek. “But, baby, I will kick Trevor’s ass, not just for the shit he pulled with Christa, but the shit he pulled with you.”
William came to stand beside Rys and pushed his brother aside so he could embrace her. His face was buried in her hair, and he inhaled deeply. “God, sweetheart, I missed you so damn much.” He pulled away and stared into her eyes. “Rys is right though. Trevor has this ass-beating coming. We weren’t nearly finished with him at Rowdy’s.” He bent and pressed his lips to hers, murmuring his love for her. Rys pulled her away and did the same.
Jane didn’t go home. Instead, she spent the night wrapped in their arms, making up for three weeks lost.
Chapter 28
Jane walked into Rowdy’s. The music and dim lights instantly altered a person’s senses. She was looking for one person, and when she spotted her in the midst of a thick group of college-aged kids, probably still on summer break from the university in the neighboring city, Jane headed straight forward.
She was pissed that Christa thought she could do this to them and get away with it. To screw with people’s lives because the fantasy world she concocted with a douchebag hadn’t panned out was not acceptable. No, Jane wasn’t about to let that happen. She stopped in front of Christa’s table, but no one realized she was there for several long seconds. Christa giggled as she ran her hand along the arm of some fresh young guy.