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I know Hershey well enough, but I still feel like an outsider at times. I have ever since Kellan rescued me off the side of that road in the middle of a wretched snowstorm. I miss the feeling he and Fallon gave me—the safety, the sweetness, the security of their embrace. The assured manner in which they took me into their lives. Why’d they have to keep secrets from me?
Tears sting my eyes. I’ve cried myself to sleep so many times already, I can’t do it again. If I’m to do this on my own, I must gather all of my strength and pull myself together. It’s just me and my little girls again. Well, me, my little girls, and the baby growing inside me, this tiny human who will need me so very much.
I drop the girls off at school, leaving specific instructions with their teacher that I will be the only one allowed to pick them up at the end of the day, I meet with Toby at the same café as last time. It’s not a decision I’ve made lightly, but the situationdemands that I revisit the project and accept Charlene’s offer, even though I now know what she was to my men.
“I’m glad you decided to meet,” Toby says, smiling warmly as I join him for a cup of hot hibiscus tea. He’s wearing a black suit and tie, slightly more casual than what I’m used to seeing him in though still appearing to be custom-made to fit his tall, broad frame. “How’ve you been, Avery?”
“Not as well as I would’ve liked,” I reply with a half-smile. “But I’m ready to talk business again, if Charlene will have me back.”
Toby watches me intently for what feels like forever, gauging my every movement. He then leans back into his seat, visibly relaxed. “She would like nothing more than to have you come back to us,” he says, though I find his choice of words rather odd. “I know we’ll make a great team going forward.”
“Good. I’m ready to get back to work as soon as tomorrow. Given you already have all the materials you need for me to complete the project, there’s not much else to discuss in terms of logistical details,” I reply.
“That’s true. So, how’ve you been, really?”
I give Toby a confused look. “Wait, is that it? Just a welcome back, Avery, have a cup of tea, and tell me how you’ve been? Seriously?”
“What did you expect?” he chuckles softly. “Both Charlene and I understood your situation. We gave you all the space and time you needed to make your decision. Trust me when I tell you she’s going to be very happy that you’re taking on the project again. Nothing else matters.”
It’ll be awkward as hell to face her, now that I know of her intimate history with my men, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I have to be able to support myself and my girls. I can’t and I won’t allow anyone to hold any kind of power over me ever again—not even the three men I still love so deeply that it hurts.
15
Kellan
We know Avery well enough to understand that she wouldn’t come back home with just a simple apology. It’s a delicate situation and we know that we are in the wrong. I let my hesitation damn near ruin everything. It all seems so ridiculous now that she’s taken the girls and moved out.
We know where she’s living and what she’s been up to though.
Luke wouldn’t have it any other way. Avery may want space and independence, but she’s still in danger. Someone sent her those photos at the mansion on purpose, and it’s got Charlene’s filthy fingers all over it. The photos were taken closer to the end of the relationship. The ones outside the mansion must have been the handiwork of a photographer she probably hired which adds a new dimension to her motive. The ones taken in the mansion were from our phones. We didn’t mind having mementos of our time together back then. She obviously saved copies somewhere.
Either way, this was a declaration of war.
Luke, Fallon, and I will stand united and prepared for whatever she brings to the battlefield. I was certain she was up to something though I feared she’d try to hurt Avery more than anything. I didn’t expect her to stoop so low with photographic evidence.
As soon as we learned that Avery was meeting with Toby at a coffeeshop in Hershey, I grab Luke and Fallon then head over there. It’s time for this Toby guy to understand that he and Charlene can’t play dirty games. Not here, not on my turf. And not with our woman. We sit outside for a while, watching them through the coffee shop window. They seem comfortable with one another, sipping tea, laughing and talking.
“I’d love to snap his neck,” Fallon grumbles from the passenger seat.
Luke chuckles from the backseat, his eyes also fixed on the coffee shop window. “Fellas, we have to do this the smart way, first. If he doesn’t get it the smart way, we’ll move on to the hard way. Alright?”
“I’m well aware,” I say, shaking my head. “She’s gonna be so mad.”
“She’s already mad, but she needs to know we haven’t gone anywhere,” Luke insists. “We can ask her to come back, but you know she won’t.”
“That fucker needs to know she’s not alone and vulnerable,” Fallon says. “He needs to see us. The three of us. He’s Charlene’s dog, so he more than likely is aware of our past relationship with her. It won’t be such a shock for us to walk in there right now and ruffle his feathers a bit.”
“There will be no ruffling of feathers,” Luke cuts in.
“No ruffling,” I reiterate.
A minute later, we walk into the coffee shop and right up to their table. As expected, my heart damn near explodes when Avery sees us coming, her blue eyes big and round as saucers, her sweet lips parted in surprise. I can tell that she’s been crying lately, and it makes me feel fucking miserable. What has me back into focus, however, is Toby’s complete lack of a reaction.
He just looks at us. Not in fear. Not in contempt. There’s no emotion whatsoever. I don’t like it. It’s unsettling.Heis unsettling, and we don’t have enough intel on him yet to understand where he’s coming from and what he’s truly up to.
“What are you doing here?” Avery asks, her gaze bouncing between the three of us.
“Avery, we need to talk,” I tell her, keeping my voice low and soft.
