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I searched for you. I watched your childhood home, but you disappeared before I could get you. I know you aren’t there anymore. I stood over your bed where you slept, peaceful, knowing that you had deceived me, taken from me.
I have searched for you, but it is as if you have vanished. No one vanishes. I will find you.
.
Twenty-Two
CASEY
Standing awkwardlyat the top of the stairs, I was still holding the blanket wrapped securely around me. Not sure what to expect, and with no expectations about what life now meant for the three of us. I was still an outsider here, and I had no desire to cause a rift between the two of them. Watching them has warmed my heart. I loved what they had together.
Brent and Ethan weren’t what I would have considered a perfect relationship in the past. They didn’t hold hands all the time, and while they kissed, they didn’t show much by way of public displays of affection, but the love they had for each other was plain to see. They seemed to have a well-established way about them. Brent was the caregiver. He loved to cook and provide a service there, while Ethan filled the role of protector. At least, that’s how it appeared from the short time I’d been around them. I had a feeling that it went much deeper. These men were more complicated than that.
There was something I hadn’t seen with my own eyes yet. I was sure that the more time I spent with them, the more I would come to understand. I couldn’t wait to explore and experience it for myself. If I was invited to. I didn’t think many were privy to the inner workings of their relationship. They were private men and didn’t seem to care what anyone thought about them.
One thing was for certain. They were both dominant men, though Brent seemed to have a darker edge. Before I had gotten to know them over the last several days, I had thought about Ethan as the dark one and Brent as the light. But that was only the surface. Their opposing hair color had nothing to do with the darkness that seemed to lurk under the surface. Brent hid it well with his golden good looks. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that Ethan was the only thing that kept him from being the demon that lurked below his angelic strands. The thought had a shiver run through me. I wasn’t sure if it was of repulsion or want. I couldn’t lie to myself, though. I definitely wanted to have this fierce man protecting me.
“You going to sit down?” Brent’s grin shook me from my thoughts as I watched the two of them move around the kitchen. They were opening cabinets and beginning the preparations for a meal. I glanced at the clock, noticing that it was already seven. I hadn’t realized we had spent so much time downstairs.
I walked to the glass doors leading out into the backyard. It was darker than it would normally be at this time of day, but the storm clouds were still covering the sky. The worst of it seemed to have passed, and the rain was just a light patter against the cement patio that wasn’t covered by the yawning. It was almost peaceful.
I thought about going to my room and finding some clothes to slip on instead of staying wrapped in the blanket, but changed my mind. I was comfortable, more comfortable than I ever would have thought, being vulnerable in a house with two large men. I felt safe for the first time in a long while.
I turned away from the rain and walked back into the kitchen, and leaned against the counter as the guys joked with each other. Ethan flicked a towel at Brent’s ass, making me grin at their antics. I wanted this. I wanted to have this moment for the rest of my life.
“Baby, come sit down,” Brent called to me softly, jerking me back into the moment, and I stepped forward on bare feet. I sat down carefully on the wooden chair that Ethan held out to me and smiled gratefully. My stomach growled when Brent slid a plate in front of me with a large sandwich on it that looked delicious, reminding me I hadn’t eaten for hours.
I picked up the sandwich, taking a huge bite, and listened as the guys began talking about their day. It felt… natural.
“How was your day, dollface?” I jumped at the question, once again getting lost inside my head. I placed the sandwich back down on the plate and reached for my glass of sweet tea.
“Oh, umm. It was fine. Seemed like the storm kept away a lot of the regulars. A woman came in with her two kids. Everything was good until an older woman came in and caused a ruckus. Grace had to call Ethan.” I looked up at him to see his grimace when Brent looked at him with a dark look.
“Yeah, Mrs. Banks was on a bit of a rampage. She was accusing her daughter-in-law, the younger Mrs. Banks, of making her son disappear.” I didn’t miss the look he shot Brent’s way, but I couldn’t decipher the meaning. “We ended up having to take her out in handcuffs.”
Brent’s head swung to me and stared hard like he was searching for something. “Did she hurt you?” His demand had me shaking my head swiftly.
“No. She smacked Grace’s hand and got rough with the younger woman, but she didn’t do more than that. I was just trying to protect the children. They were so upset by the whole ordeal.”
His eyes softened at my words, but hardened again when he turned back to Ethan. “Was she arrested?”
Ethan shook his head. “No. No one wanted to press charges. The officers had to let her go with a warning to stay away from the wife.”
Brent looked back at me. “If she ever goes into the diner again, you call one of us immediately.”
His tone brooked no argument, so I just picked up my sandwich while nodding my head. I didn’t want to deal with the unhinged woman. She seemed capable of some serious violence if she wanted to. I swallowed down another bite of my sandwich. “Do you guys know what she was so upset about? Did her son run off or something?”
They shared another look, then Ethan glanced my way before focusing on his own sandwich. “I had a call last week about a domestic disturbance. He had been beating his wife, and we had suspicions that he was doing worse to his daughter. Unfortunately, without evidence and because the wife refused to press charges, we had to leave him.”
Brent grunted. “Sounds like she needs to learn when to stand up for herself and her children.”
I couldn’t help but nod. That poor little girl. The thought of her father putting his hands on her sickened me. I couldn’t help but feel glad that he was gone. “Well, at least he can’t hurt them anymore if he’s gone. Good riddance.” I picked up my glass of sweet tea for another drink and smiled at Brent’s approving grin.
We finished the rest of our simple meal and then worked together to tidy the kitchen. With the three of us, it seemed to only take seconds to have the dishes loaded into the dishwasher and the counters wiped down. As soon as I closed the door to the dishwasher, I stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say or do next. I clutched the blanket tight to my breasts and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as I looked up to see both men staring at me, ravenously.
“So, I uh, I guess I should go to—“
My words were cut off in my throat when they both took a step toward me. Ethan cocked his head as he studied me, sweeping his gaze down my body from head to toe and back up again to meet my eyes with a cocky smirk. “Is that what you really want to do, sugar? Do you really want to go to your room and wait until it’s dark to sneak out into the hallway to watch Brent and I fuck again?” I gasped. I knew they had seen me!
