Gemini (19 page)

“’Night, baby,” Jace said to her back.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Quinn added, already thinking it was too little, too late.

Clay was quiet until she’d reached the door and looked back at him. “There’s no way you could know he was gay,” he finally said.

Gemini rolled her eyes, and Jace gave Clay another punch for her.

Damned if she didn’t look good with her mad on.

* * * *

Gemini was still awake when she heard Quinn come into the apartment and stand outside her door in silence. She hadn’t meant to be.

She’d still been cursing the three of them as she readied for bed. She couldn’t explain why they should have just trusted that she would love them and only them, but they should have. It was nothing but offensive that Clay would have thought to test her by dangling a couple attractive men in front of her. So she flounced herself into bed, determined that she would enjoy sleeping alone like the independent woman she was.

And then she lay there, lonely and a little bit hurt. As much as she tried to empty her mind and sleep, she failed. For a few moments she would feel bad about teasing them. She and Chris had already come to terms when she’d kissed him, but she’d probably taken the kiss further than she should have. She was a bit ashamed of that urge to make her three men suffer just a little, even if they’d deserved it.

That thought reminded her that she was justifiably angry. Then she tossed and turned a bit and felt guilty again.

She almost broke when she heard Quinn at her door but kept herself from inviting him in. It was late when she finally slept and late when she woke. Even then she played possum until she knew it was time for Quinn to go down to open the bar. She’d heard him on the phone earlier, and she figured he’d already given a status update to Clay and Jace.

This time when he came to her door, he didn’t stand quietly, but knocked and opened up. He stood in the doorway and looked her over.

“You okay, Gem?”

She didn’t answer right away, but couldn’t hold out against the concern in those green eyes. “Yes. I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry for what happened. I didn’t know exactly what Clay had in mind.”

Meaning he’d known Clay was planning something. Quinn obviously followed her train of thought. “Jace told us you were talking about a ménage. You understand, don’t you, how that could seem a little crazy to us?”

“Yes, I understand that.”

He searched her eyes some more. “Because it seems a little crazy to you, too.” He clearly didn’t like where his thoughts were going. “But you’re willing to trust it. And you think we weren’t.”

“Right.”

Quinn looked so forlorn she started feeling bad again. Then he gave a little hopeful grin. “You remember I love you, though, right? That counts for something, doesn’t it?”

Gemini smiled. “I do. It does.”

He nodded, mostly happy again. “I’ve gotta open the bar. You coming?”

“Yeah. I need to shower, then I’ll be down.”

“I left you eggs and coffee. Don’t be long.”

Right
. They didn’t like her to be alone. “Thanks. I won’t.”

He almost left, but she saw the hesitation. Then he came to her and sat alongside on the bed. He leaned over her, his face close to hers. Smiling gently, he ran his thumb along her cheek. “I’m glad you’re talking to me.”

“Even if you don’t deserve it?”

“Yeah, even so.”

He rested his weight on his forearm, his lips a breath away from hers and their gazes bound. “Remember how I just said I love you?”

She knew where he was going and held back her smile. “Mmm-hmm.”

He kissed her brusquely. “Did you have anything you wanted to say back?”

“Umm…those eggs must be getting cold?”

Quinn nipped at her lower lip. “Gemini…”

She kissed him back. “Love you.”

“That’s better.” He gave her another kiss—long and sweet. “See you downstairs. Soon. Don’t dawdle.”

When he was gone, Gemini rolled over in bed and lounged a little more. She’d dawdle if she wanted to. She felt better, having made up with Quinn some. She figured Jace would be easy, too—at least, he’d made her happy when he’d socked Clay for her last night. But Clay was going to have to do some groveling before he was in her good graces again.

Lazily, she swung out of bed, warmed up her eggs and ate them at the kitchen counter, then took the coffee with her to the bathroom. She spent a long time in the shower—too long, she realized, when she felt cool air as the shower door opened. She’d dawdled to the end of Quinn’s patience.

But it wasn’t Quinn’s soft gaze she met through the steamy air. It was the hard gaze of a stranger. He reached for her before she could react, covering her mouth with one hand and securing her with his other at the back of her skull. He dragged her out of the shower, holding her naked body hard against his.

They faced the foggy mirror, and Gemini could just barely make out the man’s face. She saw his mouth move as he spoke and could only hear the words as though they came to her through a long tunnel. Gradually, the mirror cleared, and she worked to focus on his reflection and his words.

“I have a gun under my left arm here,” he said. “Do you see it?”

He still had her mouth covered, but she nodded her head.

“I’ve got a friend sitting at the bar downstairs. He has a gun, too. Do you understand?”

She nodded again.

“I’m going to move my hand from your mouth. You’re going to be quiet and do exactly as I say. If you do that, then my friend will leave here without putting a bullet in the bartender’s skull. You get it?”

He let her mouth go, his hand hovering near her face. He held her now with only that one strong arm across her waist.

“I get it,” she said.

Nodding once, he stepped away from her and handed her a towel. “Go to your bedroom and get dressed.”

With shaking hands, Gemini covered herself with the towel. “Who are you?”

The man motioned to the door with his head. “What you really want to know is who I work for. And all I know is that you left one pissed-off husband in your wake. Now, go. Dress.”

Gemini left the bathroom, still clasping the towel around her. She made as if to close the bedroom door between her and the intruder, but wasn’t the least surprised that he didn’t allow it. He followed her in, closed the door at his back, and leaned against it, obvious in the fact that he would watch her dress.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her cell phone on the dresser. Taking a deep breath, she used the towel to dry her body, trying hard to ignore the stranger who watched her. When she was done, she dropped the towel on the dresser, blocking his view of the phone. Standing naked, she pulled out each article of clothing—choosing the jeans and sweater she’d worn the night she first walked into Mach One. Once she’d fastened her jeans, she leaned into the dresser, running her fingers through her wet hair.

When she rose upright, she had the phone in her hand. She kept it pressed against her waist as she turned her back to her captor and walked to the closet. As she slid her feet into her shoes, she slipped the phone beneath the waistband of her jeans. Then she turned and walked to the door.

The man had enjoyed watching her. His eyes glittered and he didn’t bother to conceal the way the fly of his black cargo pants tented out. He made no effort to hide his pleasure and let his gaze travel down and up her body as she stood in front of him.

“Good girl,” he said, as though she cared for his approval.

He wore a tight-fitting, long-sleeved T-shirt. Sliding his fingers into the pocket of the tee, he brought out two rings and handed them to her. They were her engagement and wedding rings, ornate platinum bands and a three-carat diamond that she had come to hate.

“You’re to put these on.” He handed them over with a little bemused shake of his head. “You should have hocked them. You could have gotten further away.”

Gemini had considered it, though she wouldn’t give this creep the satisfaction of saying so. But she’d wanted nothing of Bryce’s, so she’d left them behind. And she’d gotten herself as far as she’d wanted to go. Stoically, she put the rings on her finger and silently faced him.

She couldn’t suppress a small cry, though, when he shoved his fingers down the front of her jeans and pulled her close. He brushed against her, letting her feel that he was semi-stiff. “I enjoyed the show,” he said. “Thanks.”

Then he reached his other hand in, behind her front pocket where she’d secreted the phone. He took it out and threw it behind her onto the bed. “Let’s go.”

He gripped her hand and led her down the stairs to the door that opened to the bar. Stopping there, he put his hand on her neck and lifted her face to his. “Go to the bartender and tell him one of your other boyfriends is outside in his car. Tell him the guy’s taking you for lunch. Don’t say anything more than that, and don’t stop longer than it takes to say it. Keep walking, go outside, and get in the car that’s waiting.

“The man at the bar wearing a biker jacket is my partner. He has the same shoulder holster I have and the same big gun. He won’t leave the bar until you’re in your husband’s car and gone. Got it?”

Gemini nodded. “Yes.”

He opened the door and pushed her through it. Gemini put her hand on the outside doorknob as he pulled it closed. She stood unmoving for a moment, looking around the bar. Quinn was pouring a draft, nodding as he listened with half an ear to one of the lunch regulars. One of the waitresses passed plates of burgers around a table of four.

She’d come to love the bar, even in this short time. It had become her home, her safe haven. And the man behind it, her savior. Her love.

Quinn looked over, caught sight of her, and smiled. She tried to smile back, but she knew the man in the black leather jacket at the far end of the bar had also seen her. He was turned away from the bar, facing her.

With a slow breath, she let go of her dreams. She knew her three men wouldn’t thank her for walking out of their lives. They might even hate her for it. But she’d seen the cold in the eyes of the man on the other side of the door. He would do whatever Bryce asked. She would walk away before she took chances with their safety.

At the last moment, she thought to push her left hand into her back pocket, hiding the rings that symbolized Bryce’s ownership. She forced a smile and walked to the bar.

Quinn’s eyes had followed her, and he leaned across the bar for her kiss.

“Jace is outside,” she told him. “He has something more I need to sign, so he’s taking me to lunch and then to his office. Will you be okay here alone?”

“Sure,” he said, and leaned further to make more of the kiss. “See ya later?”

“Yeah.” But it was a lie and she knew it. She could hardly keep from crying about it.

She turned quickly and strode to the door, certain she’d stop walking if she turned around to look at Quinn one last time.

Outside, just down the street enough to be out of view of Mach One’s windows, Ron Purdue stood next to the open back door of a Mercedes limo sedan. Gemini walked to him, pausing when she reached the car. She could see inside enough to know that Bryce was there, clothed in one of his impeccably tailored suits.

Purdue spoke quietly, just for her. “You’ve had quite a walk on the wild side, Mrs. Tomlinson. I’m afraid you’re going to pay for that.”

Like she needed or appreciated his warning, his false sympathy. Without a word, she bent and moved into the car. It closed behind her with a solid thunk, like ending a chapter of her life. Or ending her life, period.

The glass separating them from the driver’s seat was dark and closed. She wasn’t sure that mattered to what happened next. Bryce had never bothered to hide his violence toward her from the men he hired.

He grabbed her now, taking her arms roughly and pulling her toward him. There was no rage in his eyes, just cruel determination when he slapped her hard across the face.

Gemini raised a defensive arm and kept it there, protecting her face. “Don’t ever hit me again, Bryce,” she said. “I’ll do what you want, pretend whatever you say, but if you hit me again, I will kill you. I’ll make it my life’s only mission.”

“Find your spine, did you, Anne?” Bryce spoke derisively, using her middle name as he always had. He didn’t consider her first name respectable enough for his wife. “Maybe boning a bartender and his buddies gave you a higher opinion of yourself.”

Gemini turned away from him and gazed out the window. Purdue was taking them to the airport.

“It shouldn’t have,” Bryce went on, taunting. “I never realized you were such a slut at heart.” He reached over and curled a strand of her hair around his finger until she jerked her head away. “I kind of like knowing. I’m looking forward to when I get you back in my bed. I’ll enjoy treating you like the whore you are.”

He turned to face forward. “Of course, I’ll have Dr. Mathis take care of whatever diseases you picked up from your boy toys first. Purdue found your pregnancy test in your bathroom trash. At least the good doctor won’t have to bother with that little problem. There’s a lucky thing, right?”

Gemini looked over her shoulder at him as he picked up a phone, obviously dismissing her. She wasn’t sure she could do it. It turned her stomach to think of lying in his bed again, letting him touch her, take her.

But she knew she would. She knew Bryce wouldn’t hold back from harming Quinn and Jace and Clay unless she played her part perfectly, unless she pleased Bryce fully.

She held back tears. She looked out the window and shut down her heart.

But she couldn’t close her ears, and so she knew that pleasing Bryce didn’t matter. It was already too late.

* * * *

Clay tore through his condo until he found it. He’d checked his safe first, thinking the break-in might have been a robbery. But his cash was there, and his off-duty piece, too.

It took longer to find what had been left rather than figure out what might have gone missing.

He hadn’t noticed it when he’d come in the night before. He’d slunk away from Mach One, feeling censure from Gemini and Quinn as well. Jace had given him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder but it hadn’t been enough to help.