“Ready, baby?” Copper asked as he bent down to kiss his pregnant and quite sleepy wife.
“Mmm,” Shell responded, eyes closed. “You might need to carry me.”
With a chuckle Copper said, “I can do that.”
The rest of the men greeted their women in a similar manner. As Jazz watched, her mouth turned down in a frown. Usually, at this point, a shameful pang of jealousy tightened her gut. Never would she begrudge her friends their happy-ever-afters, in fact no one was happier that they’d all found their soul mates than she was, but knowing with her issues she’d be hard pressed to find such a relationship, well it stung to say the least.
Only tonight, that familiar sensation was absent. Instead, she imagined Screw and Gumby walking through the door hand in hand. They’d kiss her, one at a time, before sharing a lip-lock between themselves.
She snorted out loud.
Hello unreasonable fantasy. Even if both men wanted something with her, who the hell turned a threesome into a relationship? No one she knew.
“You all right there, Jazzy?” Zach asked.
“Right as rain,” she said with a smile that felt forced.
Holly narrowed her eyes and stared as though seeing straight through Jazz’s contented façade.
“All right, here we go,” Copper said as he bent down to scoop Shell up. Before he had her in his arms, the blaring of multiple cell phones had them all jumping. Hell, it sounded like every phone in the house was ringing.
“The fuck?” Copper muttered as he shared a look with his men then pulled his phone from his back pocket. The rest of the guys did the same and within seconds a chorus of, “Fuck!” was shouted in Jazz’s living room.
The thread of panic in each man’s voice had all thoughts of sleep fleeing Jazz’s head. She and her girlfriends all sat straight up with worried expressions.
“What’s wrong?” Chloe was the first to ask.
“We gotta roll,” Copper barked. “Now!”
Without so much as an air kiss or a word of explanation, the men sprinted out of the house.
What the fuck…
“Do not leave this house! You understand me?” Copper yelled from the open front door.
They all nodded in unison.
“I’m not fucking kidding. I find out any of you stepped one foot outside this house…”
“We won’t, Copper. Promise.” Though strong, Shell’s voice held a note of tremor.
“Let’s roll, Cop.”
“Thunder’s on his way in and Monty is already outside. They’ll keep you safe.” With a nod for his wife, Copper disappeared out the door leaving all five of them staring at each other with one question written all over their faces.
Safe from what?
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
THE FANTASY PLAYED out right before his eyes. In his head, it was so fucking easy. Reach out, wrap his fingers around Crank’s throat and squeeze until the motherfucker’s eyeballs popped from his sockets. His face would turn the most satisfying shade of purple as second by second, he ran out of oxygen.
Somehow, despite the way he could feel the man’s pulse fluttering wildly beneath his fingertips, Screw managed to curl his hands in on themselves instead of killing Crank. But, oh, how he wanted to. He squeezed his fists so tight, his blunt nails dug into his palms no doubt leaving a host of crescent shaped indents.
“Yo, Crank, this here is the guy I was telling you about, Luke.”
“Hey, man, welcome.” Crank didn’t bother extending his hand, but nothing in his face showed any signs of recognition, which was the most important point. “How do you like what we have to offer?” He asked, sweeping his hand toward a group of women dancing together. Their hands ran over each other’s writhing bodies in a way that let every man in the room know they’d be down for pretty much anything.
For the first time since they’d pulled onto CDMC property, Screw took a full breath. Crank didn’t know who he was. He and Gumby wouldn’t be shot on the spot or tossed in a dank basement to await certain torture.
He pasted a lecherous grin on his face. “Some sweet pickin’s, man. Mmm. Seriously fucking sweet.” He eyed the ladies, if they could be called by such a term, and for the first time in as long as he could remember didn’t feel a flicker of arousal at the sight of the half-naked women rubbing up on each other. He sure as hell wanted Crank to think he was though. “Pretty sure I’ll be leaving here with a smile on my face.”
Beside him, Gumby tensed. Screw would kick his ass if he thought the words were legit.
“I got one every night, man,” Crank said with a smirk. The man’s slightly busted nose made the perfect target for Screw’s fist.
“This is my buddy, Will.”
Gumby nodded. “Hey.”
Crank barely spared him a glance before he was focusing Screw’s way again. “Squirt tells me you live in Knoxville.”