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But my friend merely lets out another choked, stuttering sound. Then, a low voice growls and I freeze, every cell in my body on alert. I know that voice, and my heart begins to race. It’s not Chinese … it’s Tom and Gabriel Costas, and they’ve come to make me theirs.17GabrielSeeing Michelle standing in front of me brings up a myriad of intense emotions.
For starters, I’m immediately relieved that she’s safe. But my relief is quickly replaced with confusion, followed by anger that it’s come to this. Why did she run off? Why did she desert us? And what the hell is she doing here?
I look around the damp, squalid apartment and my heart hurts to know that Michelle ever lived in such conditions.
“I… um, hi.” Michelle greets Tom and me, looking just as bewildered to see us as we are to find her at her old apartment.
“I’m June.” The skinny blond who answered the door raises her hand in a wave, but I hardly notice her.
“Do you know how worried we’ve been?” I growl, my eyes running up and down Michelle’s curvy form as I try to control the anger in my voice. She says nothing and only continues to stare at Tom and me, as if she can’t believe that we’re really standing in her doorway.
“I’m going to go. Michelle, call me later!” June sings. She looks from Tom to me, and then shoots a sympathetic look at Michelle. The friend grabs her purse, and then slides out the door behind us.
When the three of us are finally alone, Tom and I shut the door firmly. Then we step further into the room, causing Michelle to take a solid step back from us. My brother and I make the small space feel even tinier, and I wonder how soon I can get Michelle across on my lap with her bottom up for a solid spanking.
“Is this where you live?” Tom asks, looking around. The place is utterly squalid, although our girl has tried to make the best of it. There are colorful throw pillows and cheery posters on the walls, but nothing can hide the enormous water stain on the ceiling, nor the fact that the place is about as big as a postage stamp. I can’t believe that Michelle ever lived in such conditions. I have an urge to sweep her into my arms and to spirit her away from this place forever.
But Michelle isn’t backing down.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she asks in a steely voice.
“What the hell are we doing here?” I feel my attempt at control slowly slipping away. “You’re mad at us?” I demand, irritated.
“Why did you come here?” my brother adds. “You’re the one who left without any notice and without telling anyone where you were going,” he says, his own voice low.
“Are you kidding me?” Michelle shakes her head at us incredulously.
“We thought you’d been kidnapped, or taken for ransom – do you know how many people want to threaten billionaires?” Tom’s usually composed façade is cracking, and his whole body looks tense. His handsome face is pulled into a grimace, and blue eyes blaze at the curvy form before us. “We had no idea where you were,” my brother continues, his normally quiet voice rising with anger. “You weren’t at the house when we got home last night and you haven’t answered your phone all day. What the hell?” Tom gestures to the cell in Michelle’s hand. “And seeing that you’re standing here, holding it in your hand, it doesn’t appear to be broken.”
“The least you could have done was message us to let you know that you were okay.” My own tone is sharp, and for a moment, I don’t care if I frighten Michelle. Why would she ignore us?
But the curvy girl jerks her chin and lifts it.
“I didn’t want to talk to you,” she says, her own voice harsh but unsteady. Her face looks like she’s been crying. My own anger starts to dissipate as I realize that something must be wrong, otherwise Michelle surely wouldn’t have run off without notice.
“Why did you leave?” I ask more gently this time, trying to contain my frustration over Michelle’s strange behavior. I follow her further into the apartment. “Did something happen?”
“Oh something happened, all right.” Michelle thrusts her phone in my face, her own expression contorted with disbelief. I take it from her and stare at the image on the screen.
Fuck.
“You somehow failed to mention to me – the woman living in your house, eating your food, and spending your money – that you’re both married.” The hurt and pain is apparent in Michelle’s voice, and I suddenly feel nothing but horrible for being the cause of her distress. “Is that too much to ask? That tiny little fact? Michelle, hey, by the way – we’re married men.”
