Imprisoned Match [Ménage.com 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

“So how do you suggest we end this?” Sonny asked.

Anna couldn’t help but turn at the sound of malice in Sonny’s voice. She saw his knuckles whiten as his fingers tightened on the gun. He hadn’t been the one to pull the trigger on her brother or parents, but he might as well have been. He was the one responsible for giving the Contractor her brother’s name, as well as that of her family. Anna could observe from the fear in the woman’s eyes that she thought she was going to die but noticed that she wasn’t looking at Sonny or his weapon. The woman was staring at Cooper and Brody. She loved them, that much was obvious.

“I’ll end it,” Anna said, before even realizing she’d spoken the words.

She brought up her weapon and pulled the trigger, having no doubt she’d hit her target. The sound of the shot rang out in the air, along with Sonny’s scream. He was holding his hand, now empty except for his blood. The woman he had been holding hostage finally regained her senses and dove for his gun. Anna caught sight of Victor turning his weapon on the woman, so Anna aimed for his leg. Taking another shot, she couldn’t resist a smile when Victor fell to the ground.

“Remember, Jackson, you owe me,” Anna said, satisfied that he would take over and see that Sonny was taken into custody. Carlos motioned to her that they were running out of time. Walking to the car, she couldn’t help turning around one more time. “This doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you, just that I know who can be useful to me in the future.”

Anna wasn’t sure if he would get the innuendo that she was aware of the setup but thought she’d put that out there. Her aiding them in saving their woman might come in handy if she were to ever meet them again in the future. She had one more man to bring down, and Anna wasn’t sure where that might lead her. The Contractor, as he was nicknamed, was elusive, and she had yet to find out his real name. Looking over at the woman, Anna envied her. The two men clearly cared for her, and Anna wondered which one she would choose. They both seemed to be the type of man any woman would be lucky to have. Anna would never know what it was like to be loved like that. She’d either be dead or in prison by the time she completed her mission, but she’d made peace with that a long time ago.

“Anna,” Carlos warned in a soft voice that only she could hear. “They’re coming.”

“Are you okay? You seem a little pale,” Sarah said, draining what was left in her wineglass. Walking over, she passed the counter and went to the sink, placing her glass inside. Her demeanor seemed a little more subdued than before. “Listen, I was only trying to help. Now you’re making me feel bad. I can’t stand seeing you wither away into a lonely old lady.”

“Old lady?” Anna asked, forcing out a laugh and trying to appear as if being plastered on the Internet for the world to see didn’t bother her. She needed to make Sarah believe that she was as normal as Sarah’s other friends. “I’m almost thirty years old. I highly doubt I’m going to whither away into an old maid. Besides, you come drink wine with me once a week. And just because I work from home doesn’t mean I don’t have contact with the outside world. You make me sound like a hermit.”

“Well, I live across the hall from you. We’ve been friends for over a year and I have yet to see you have an active social life,” Sarah said, coming back over to the counter and leaning her hip against it.

“That’s why I have you,” Anna said, giving off her best smile. “And remember, you work during the day. I do get out and have lunch, you know. Speaking of work, don’t you have an early meeting tomorrow?”

Sarah grimaced and then looked over to the stove, where the green digital clock showed ten thirty at night. Anna was glad she took the bait. “You had to remind me. Ugh. Did I mention I hate Monday mornings?”

“Every Sunday night,” Anna replied, smiling for real. “Good luck tomorrow. I know you worked hard on your presentation.”

“Thanks.” Sarah walked back over to the couch and used her feet to fish out her slippers that had been under the coffee table. Sliding her toes inside the pink rabbits with long, fuzzy ears, Sarah started to walk toward the door. “You aren’t mad at me, are you?”

“No, silly. But the next time you do something like that, you’ve got to ask me.” Holding open the door, she watched as Sarah walked across the hall of their apartment complex. “Just for you, though, I’ll take a peek and see what type of men are listed on there. If I don’t like what I see, I’ll just delete my profile. No harm, no foul.”

Anna felt guilty when Sarah’s smile spread across her face, indicating that she was happy Anna was going to give it a try. So what that Anna told a little white lie? Her entire life was based on a lie. Sarah didn’t need to know she was going to delete everything on the site that could be traced back to her as soon as she could get her fingers on her laptop.

“Call me if you find a man or two,” Sarah said, waving her hand in the air before she disappeared into her apartment.

Anna closed the door and proceeded to secure all three locks that she had added for protection, along with the deadbolt. Once she was satisfied that no one was getting in without her permission, Anna made a beeline for the computer. Picking it up, she plopped herself on the couch and rolled her finger over the little silver touch pad. The screen came to life, bringing up her picture that was situated in the top left-hand corner. Looking underneath the snapshot, she saw her weight, height, and other personal attributes. On the right side was a box that included hobbies, likes, dislikes, and other little tidbits of information. Had Sarah really put down she liked hiking? The only thing that held a ring of truth of the hobbies she had listed was running.

Anna was just about to click the blue
unsubscribe
word that was underlined when a small
ding
vibrated her computer, accompanied by a tiny yellow envelope appearing on one of the tabs at the top of the page. The little arrow wavered over the word that would erase all the damage that Sarah had done, but something drew her to see what the envelope contained. Had someone been attracted to her photo or the description that Sarah had filled in? Temptation had her wanting to see what was in the message.

“I’m smarter than this,” Anna whispered, even though she swiped her finger until the pointer was hovering over the yellow envelope. “I’ve come this far without making a mistake, and I’m not going to start now.”

A longing hit her out of nowhere—a need to be a normal woman, satisfying everyday urges. She’d never had a typical life, at least not after she’d turned eighteen. The decisions her older brother made had not only affected him but had taken the lives of their parents. Anna’s world had been destroyed, leaving her with two paths to take. The first route would take her to college, away from the loss and grief of the life she had known. The second route would lead her down a manipulative trail of vengeance, changing the innocent girl she was into a hardened woman. Crossing paths with the only person who knew firsthand what had truly happened to her family, Anna had chosen the only justified course and learned what she needed to in order to extract revenge. It wasn’t like her to ponder the what-ifs. So why was she sitting here, arguing with herself over a damn message that could never come to anything?

“Shit.” Anna swiped the touch pad in irritation, and when the arrow touched the word that would make this all disappear, she clicked it quickly. A little box appeared, asking if she was sure she wanted to delete her profile.

“Hell, yes,” Anna answered out loud, pressing the silver square to confirm. When her screen finally thanked her for trying their site, Anna was able to breathe normally. She pushed aside the pang of regret. She had unfinished business to attend to and didn’t need anything to distract her.

The ringing phone had her closing the laptop and placing it beside her on the couch. Hoping it was the call she’d been waiting for, Anna picked up her cell phone and looked at the lighted screen. If luck was on her side, she was about to walk the last mile of her journey. Whether that led to jail or death, she didn’t know.

“Did you find him?” Anna asked, not bothering with a formal greeting.

“Yes.”

It was the answer she had been waiting for. Anna looked over at her end table, seeing the family portrait she’d placed there to remind her of her duty. Her father, so proud of his family, stood behind her mother with his hands on her shoulders. His Spanish heritage shined through his brown eyes and black hair. Her mother was smiling, and her red hair and porcelain skin were in direct contrast to her husband’s. Her brother had gotten their father’s looks, while she had taken after her mother. They were staring back at her, as if waiting for justice to be done. Anna wouldn’t let them down.

“Carlos, I don’t know how to repay you.”

“You forget, muñequita, Antonio was like a brother to me as well,” Carlos replied. “I’ve done all I can for you, though. If word got out that I was going against the Contractor, they’d come after my family.”

“I would never put your family in danger, Carlos,” Anna said, meaning every word that came out of her mouth. She knew only too well the heartache and grief the Contractor caused if he thought he was being crossed. “Stay safe, mi amigo.”

“Ve con Dios.”

“Weren’t you supposed to have a date last weekend?”

Elliott Braxton looked up to see Dakota walk through the door of his garage, his face smeared with grease. Figuring Dakota’s truck had finally reached the end of its life, Elliott had to bite back a smile. The entire town of Triple had a bet on how long the vehicle would last, since Dakota had had that piece of shit since high school. It looked as if luck was in Elliott’s favor, because if he wasn’t mistaken, he had this month listed on the wager sheet.

Since Elliott and his brother, Mitch, owned the only garage in town, it stood to reason they would be the ones to keep the record of everyone’s pick. He would have to grab it out of the desk in back to confirm his win, but mentally, he was already rubbing his hands together in victory. Placing the black pen he had been writing with down on the counter, Elliott gave his full attention to Dakota.

“We were supposed to, but the lady in question never replied to our message,” Elliott answered.

“Your message,” Mitch growled, coming up behind the desk with his usual ill-mannered attitude. “I want nothing to do with that site.”

“Ah, so you told him?” Dakota asked.

Dakota was referring to the fact that Elliott had joined a ménage dating website, effectively including Mitch in that profile. Unfortunately, Mitch wasn’t as gung-ho about the prospect of meeting a woman as Elliott was. Having decided that it was time to get Mitch into the land of the living again, Elliott had done what he had to do. Dakota’s wife and her two friends were the ones who had created the site, offering the town of Triple another avenue for the men to find a woman interested in the lifestyle. Elise, Cyn, and Shea blew life into the old town, and people who lived the lifestyle were setting up permanent homes here. After unearthing someone whom Elliott thought would be a good match for the two of them, which was no easy feat, it had been a huge disappointment when she never bothered to reply to his invitation.

“I had to tell him,” Elliott said, ignoring Mitch as he grabbed the paperwork for the next vehicle that was to be repaired. “I thought the woman would reply and we’d go out to dinner, see if we hit it off. Is there any way you or Elise could look into why her profile disappeared? When I checked for her answer a few days later, it was gone.”

Dakota frowned. “That’s odd, unless she deleted it herself. But I can’t give you that kind of information, Elliott. It’s against the privacy policies the girls have in place. My suggestion would be to find another applicant you think you might like and send out another invite.”

“Without me,” Mitch snarled, walking back toward the open area of the garage.

“Are you sure he’s ready to meet someone?” Dakota asked, looking skeptical. “I mean, it’s only been a year since he’s been out of prison.”

“And in that year, have you seen any improvement?” Elliott looked at his brother, feeling sympathy over what he had endured over the last eleven years. “He needs to start living again, Dakota. There are times that he’ll be in the garage until three in the morning, just to give himself something to do. There aren’t enough vehicles in Triple to keep him as busy as he wants to be, so I need to find him another hobby. Speaking of vehicles, I take it the old truck finally choked out her last breath?”

“Shit, yes,” Dakota answered, shaking his head in dismay. “I thought for sure I’d get another year out of her. She’s about a quarter mile outside of town, toward the old schoolhouse. Can you guys tow her here? I’ll have Chad and Elise pick me up at the diner. I was going to meet them for lunch anyway.”

“Sure. You want us to try and fix her, or are you ready to scrap her?” The look of horror that crossed Dakota’s face was too dramatic for Elliott not to laugh at. “Fine. Mitch will be happy for a challenge. At least it will give him something to do until I find another woman who is willing to have dinner with us.”

“It takes time,” Dakota said. “Look at us. If Elise hadn’t come to town to promote the website, we’d still be looking for our perfect match. I think fate has a lot to do with it. When it’s your time to meet that special woman, you’ll know.”

They said their good-byes, with Elliott promising to call Dakota when and if they had his truck fixed. Elliott grabbed the keys to the tow truck and headed out the back of the garage after informing Mitch that he was to keep an eye on the front desk. The chill of the air hit him immediately when he stepped outside. January in Triple could be pretty cold, and today was one of those days that Elliott wished he’d worn his jacket. Thinking of turning back and grabbing Mitch’s, Elliott shrugged and decided against it. He wouldn’t be out in the cold for long, and honestly, by the time he got Dakota’s truck hooked up, he’d be sweating anyway.