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“For you.” He handed her a mug.
He climbed into bed next to her.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
She looked at them. “You two are worried about me.”
“Yep. You are our top priority. You are our family now, Abby. There isn’t anything we wouldn’t do for you.” Deacon’s voice was serious.
“Family?” she whispered. The terrible pit of fear hit her out of nowhere. She had awakened in their arms and forgotten about Cal. The blackmail had seemed like a dream she had pushed to the back recesses of her mind.
“Family,” Cole echoed. “As unconventional as it is. That’s what our relationship is. We love you. We love you like the only woman who was meant for us.”
“Oh God,” she croaked. She suddenly couldn’t drink anymore of the coffee. She felt the walls caving in on her.
“What’s wrong?” Deacon searched her face.
“I-I don’t deserve any of this. I don’t deserve you.” She wiggled to try to free herself from them, but Cole took the coffee and Deacon’s hands landed on her shoulders.
“Talk to us. What’s going on?”
She shook her head. “You’ll hate me.”
“Doubtful.” Cole laughed.
“You don’t know what I’ve done.”
“Other than give us everything we’ve ever wanted?” Deacon stared at her.
“You’re going to find out either way.”
“Find out what?” Cole’s blue eyes turned a dark cobalt color. “You’re scaring us, Abby.”
She stared at the sheet. She couldn’t face them. “Remember when someone hacked your payroll system two years ago?”
“Are you talking about HiTech Global right now?” Deacon asked.
She nodded. She had to fight the tears. These weren’t happy ones. “Cal has had all kinds of ideas to make cash. It never ends. One of those ideas was training me to be a hacker. And I hacked HiTech’s payroll for a quarter. I transferred the payments into one of Cal’s offshore accounts. Small amounts so they wouldn’t be traced. And only for three months. But it was me. I stole from you.”
The room was quiet. She looked up. Abby’s heart fell to her stomach.
34
Cole
He’d never loved a woman like he loved Abby. He couldn’t imagine sharing anything more intense than taking her virginity the way he had this morning. But now she was sitting in between him and Deacon, confessing to theft. To hacking. To hiding money.
Cole bit his lip. He was stunned.
“Cal made you hack into our payroll?” He tried to keep his voice calm.
She nodded. “I knew it was wrong. I knew stealing from you was wrong. I didn’t touch the employees’ income, just the company portions. I know that doesn’t make it any better, but Cal didn’t know where the money came from, only that it ended up where he wanted it.”
Deacon pressed his lips together. “This is it, isn’t it? This is what the fucked up money philosophy is all about?”
She nodded. “Yes,” she whispered.
He pushed off the bed and paced at the window. “Damn it, Abby.”
