He dropped her off at the condo she now shared with Storm and Cameron, promising her that as soon as he took Gina home where Zach was waiting for her, he was going back to the police station, and would call if there were any new updates on the driver of the brown sedan.

  She tried to study, but her mind kept wandering back to the look on that man’s face as he rolled past them in the back of Sean’s cruiser. Every noise outside distracted her. Who was that man? What if he had accomplices? What if he knew where she lived? How had he known she, Gina and Annalise were there that morning? Had he followed one of them? And why?

  Olivia wanted desperately to text Storm and Cameron to ask when they’d be home, but she knew they were busy. She texted Gina, who didn’t answer. Lucky her. She was probably in bed with Zach. She was about to text Annalise when her cell rang. It was Danny. He told her that each of her siblings had heard by now what had happened, and as soon as she’d reassured him that she was okay, Mickey called.

  She talked to him for almost an hour, and felt a lot better when they finally ended the call, until Fiona called her. Fiona had the unmitigated gall to remind Olivia that she’d left a lot of things behind during her frequent move-ins and move-outs, and asked Olivia if she’d gotten any of those things out of the apartment. Olivia had to exercise every ounce of self-control she possessed not to tell Fiona to go fuck herself.

  It was four in the afternoon when Storm and Cameron finally walked in, carrying bags of food from Gino’s Ristoranti. After they each gave her a tight hug, Storm explained that Vito Santori had called to say that dinner for the three was on him that night. Word had spread around Racy already that Gina had fainted in the burning apartment, and Olivia and Annalise were being touted as heroines for saving her.

  Olivia tried to downplay her role, but Storm and Cameron told her that from what they’d heard from the firefighters, Olivia had done everything right and had remained calm and rational the entire time, even insisting that both Gina and Annalise be taken out of the building first.

  She still didn’t feel calm or rational. She couldn’t stop thinking about how close they’d all come to dying. And that wasn’t the worst of it. She didn’t know why this had happened. Until she found out, she’d never feel safe again, even with Storm and Cameron by her side.

  Olivia wasn’t hungry. She was drained and tired. But Storm and Cameron filled her plate with food anyway and told her to eat it. Cameron placed a large glass of wine in front of her, and she drank half of it before she took a bite of the chicken dish. It was heaven, and she hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she’d taken that first taste. “Did you hear anything new on that man?”

  “One of them will call,” said Storm.

  “Do you think he told them why he tried to kill us?” Olivia watched their faces as she asked the question, and didn’t miss the dark glance between them. “I’m sorry, but why should I mince words? That’s what he tried to do.”

  “We know,” said Storm quietly. “Sean, Chad, or Harrison will call as soon as they can tell us anything.”

  “You know, Gina was right.”

  “About what?” asked Cameron, helping himself to another piece of garlic bread.

  “In the ER when she said there had to be a connection between Bernie and this man, whoever he is.”

  “Olivia, Bernie had nothing to do with this.”

  “Cameron, you don’t know that.”

  “Let the detectives do their job, okay?”

  She took a deep breath and put down her fork. Hours ago, right after the firemen had pulled them out of the burning apartment, she’d vowed to tell Storm and Chase she loved them before she lost her chance to. So why hadn’t she done that? Why was she sitting here, stuffing her face like there was no tomorrow, prattling on and on about Bernie and some man she’d never seen before?

  “You okay?” Cameron brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face.

  “No. But I will be, once I say this to both of you.”

  The corners of Cameron’s mouth turned up. “Uh-oh. This sounds serious.”

  “It is.”

  The smile faded, and he leaned forward. Storm put down his fork and turned his attention toward her. “Go ahead, Olivia. Tell us whatever you need to.”

  Now that the moment was finally here, she was terrified all over again. What if they rejected her? What if they glanced at one another with that look…the one that said they found what she’d just said hysterical?

  Olivia closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. She remembered the sound of the fire outside the bathroom door, the look on Gina’s face right before she fainted, and the sound of what she now knew were explosions. She had to do this. It might be her one and only chance.

  She opened her eyes and reached for their hands, squeezing one from each man. “I…I love you. I love you both. I wanted to tell you right after the fire, but then I saw that car again. I should have told you before, but…but I was afraid.”

  They didn’t glance at each other. They each stared at her with so much love and tenderness in their eyes that Olivia began to cry again. “I was afraid you’d reject me the way…the way everyone else has. I was afraid you wouldn’t want love to be part of this.”

  Storm wiped her tears away. “Don’t cry, hon. It’s okay. I love you, too.”

  “What?” Had she heard him correctly? “What did you say?”

  Storm laughed softly and walked around the table to pull her into a tight embrace. “I said I love you, too. And I should have told you before now, but I’m an ass.”

  “No you’re not.”

  “Well then,” said Cameron, taking her from Storm’s arms to put his own around her, “I most certainly am. I love you, too, Olivia. And I never thought I’d say that to any woman. I never have said it to any woman.” He pulled away and looked into her eyes with more intensity than she’d ever seen on his face. “But you’re not just any woman. You’re every fantasy I’ve ever had, rolled up into one sexy, beautiful creature who has no idea how perfect she is.”

  He kissed her, gently at first, and then his tongue was in her mouth and she didn’t even care that her dinner was getting cold.

  Storm kissed her, too, and then he picked her up and carried her over to the sofa. He lay on top of her and kissed her some more, and then they were on the floor and she was on top of Cameron, kissing him again. When the three finally came up for air, they were laughing and still brushing tears off Olivia’s face.

  “Should we let the food get cold?” asked Cameron.

  “Fuck the food,” said Storm, pulling Olivia back down for another kiss. He tugged at her crop top and then it was off. She sat back on her heels and ran her hands through her hair, loving the way Storm reached up to grasp her breasts.

  He teased her nipples with his thumbs and forefingers while Cameron peeled off his clothes. When he ran upstairs, Olivia giggled. “Does he have to pee or something?”

  Storm chuckled. “He’s getting condoms, I would imagine. Although, we should just fuck you without them.”

  “And why would you do that? I might end up pregnant.”

  “So?”

  Olivia stared at him, convinced now that she’d inhaled smoke and hadn’t known it until right now. Surely she’d heard him wrong.

  “Would that be so terrible, Olivia?” he asked quietly.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it, to be honest. But…I mean…is that what you want? What you both want? It’s so permanent. It’s irreversible.”

  Cameron came sprinting into the room holding condom packages. “You two look serious. What did I miss?”

  “I was asking Olivia if she wanted kids, and she of course is voicing doubts. It’s permanent. It’s irreversible.”

  “So?” asked Cameron, as quietly as Storm had done. “What’s wrong with that, Olivia?”

  She stared into Cameron’s eyes, unable to believe what she was hearing from his mouth. “Nothing. It’s just that I never imagined it’s what you would want. What you both would want.”

  “Well, now you know. Permanent and irreversible is exactly what we want. You’re stuck with us, Olivia. Whether we have children or not, we want you with us always. Don’t you know that, love?”

  Olivia didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

  “But we can leave the question of kids for another time. I think you’ve been through enough today.”

  Storm nodded. “That’s true.” He caressed her face. “We’ll talk about that another day.”

  When he kissed her again, she forgot about all else except the feel of his mouth and hands on her. It was overwhelming to imagine that they’d want that kind of a permanent life with her. It was overwhelming simply to know that they loved her. Olivia just tried to keep breathing for now so that she could keep kissing them.

  Storm moved her aside long enough to take off his clothes and slip on a condom. Then he removed her shorts and panties, pushed her onto her back, and slid his dick into her wet pussy. She clung to him and cried out as he fucked her slowly, gently. When he pulled out, Cameron covered her body with his and kissed her deeply, and then he pushed his dick into her pussy.

  His thrusts were rougher, but she welcomed them. She didn’t want to think right now. She simply wanted her men to fill her up and claim her for their own. He withdrew and told her to lie prone on the sofa, and once she did, the men took turns fucking her from behind.

  Olivia’s orgasm crashed over her, and then it just went on and on as Storm and Cameron took her with raw, animal lust. They told her over and over that they loved her, and she whispered her love for them as well. Olivia couldn’t hear or say the words enough. Now that it was out, she felt so free and powerful to be able to finally voice the emotion. She’d never stop saying it to them.

  When they each finally came, all three were breathless and panting. It took several minutes for Storm to crawl off her. Once he did, Olivia sat up and followed his gaze toward the table.

  “I guess we shouldn’t let all that food go to waste,” he said.

  “Hell no,” said Cameron, peeling off his condom. “But I think we’ll save the dessert Gino gave us and have Olivia again later instead.”

  She giggled as she pushed to a standing position. “I like the sound of that. Be right back.” Once she was in the bathroom, she stared at her face in the mirror. The weight she’d gained made her cheeks less gaunt, and when she turned sideways she saw that Storm was right. Her boobs were a bit bigger.

  She placed her hands on her flat abdomen and tried to imagine what it would be like to be pregnant. The realization that they’d want to share children with her brought fresh tears to her eyes. She’d never imagined this would happen. She’d never imagined she’d hear them tell her that they loved her, but they had. They both had. Olivia had never been this happy. Every dream she’d had about Storm and Cameron had already come true, and her life would never be the same again.

  They joked a lot with her and with each other during the rest of dinner. It was as if the act of fucking like that, spontaneous and unrestrained, had released something inside all three. Olivia couldn’t stop smiling or gazing at each of them. When they’d had their fill and the leftovers were put away and everything cleaned up, they sat down to watch movies until their food digested and they could get to “dessert” as Cameron had called it.

  Olivia was cuddled up with Storm while Cameron had begun to brush his hands over her thighs when Cameron’s cell phone rang. Olivia assumed he was being called to a fire, and hoped it hadn’t anything to do with Bernie or the mystery man who’d tried to kill her.

  “It’s Chad,” he said, before answering the call. Cameron shot Storm and Olivia dark glances as he listened to Chad’s voice on the other end. He nodded several times, and from the look on his face it wasn’t good news. “Got it. Okay. I’ll let her know.”

  He disconnected the call and leaned against the wall. As Olivia watched the emotions cross his face, a cold shiver ran through her body. “What is it?” she whispered. “Just tell me.”

  “The next time you talk to Gina, you can tell her that she was right about Bernie.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Olivia put a hand over her mouth and leaned into Storm’s strong embrace.

  “What did he say?” asked Storm.

  Cameron pushed away from the wall and knelt in front of Olivia. He took her hands and gazed into her eyes with so much love that she sighed despite her fear “The man you saw driving the brown car is named Steve Remming. He works for Matthew Cale, and he confessed everything. They’re cutting him a deal for giving up Bernie.”

  “What?” She started to pull away from both men, but Storm tightened his hold on her and held her tightly. “He tried to kill us.”

  “And he will still serve jail time for that, but the police have bigger fish to fry.”

  “What does that mean?” How could they do this? This Steve Remming person had blown up her parents’ garage, on purpose, with all of three of them inside.

  “Olivia, listen. Did you hear what I said about Bernie? Gina was right. You all were. Bernie paid Remming to do this. Bernie wanted Gina dead. Remming followed her this morning and cruised past the house, making his plan. That’s why you saw his car. He used the same type of device that Kevin Newark used to blow up the buildings downtown, and then the sick bastard stuck around to make sure Gina was dead. You or Annalise weren’t intended targets.”

  “But why did he sit there then? She wasn’t hurt.”

  “He didn’t know that. He only saw them carry her out and put her on a stretcher. Once the ambulance left, he stuck around for fun. He’s a sick fucker who was laughing about it as he told Chad, Sean, and your brother what Bernie had paid him to do.”

  Olivia began to shake uncontrollably as Cameron’s words sunk in. Bernie had tried to kill Gina. It wasn’t possible. She suddenly knew how Morgan Riddle’s wife must feel. To have known and worked with someone that long…and then to realize they were capable of something like this…

  She stared at each man in turn. “Do they know? Gina and Annalise…do they know yet?” How would Gina deal with this, on the heels of what she’d gone through today?

  “Harrison has gone home to tell her, and Chad is going home now to tell Annalise.”

  “What else did Chad say?” asked Storm.

  “Bernie did kill Morgan. He went off half-cocked after that about loose ends, and that’s when he hired Remming to take care of Gina. Because of Gina’s involvement with Zach, and because of the way she quit and the job she did for the city, he didn’t trust her. He was convinced that she’d dig up the truth and expose him.”

  “She did do that,” said Olivia.

  Cameron nodded. “That’s not all. Bernie did hire Cale to work on some of the projects downtown. He pushed through the contracts without going through proper procedure.”

  “Is that why he killed Morgan?”

  Cameron nodded. “Morgan threatened to blow the whistle. Bernie thought he had Morgan by the balls because Morgan has been visiting a certain area of Indy three nights a week while his wife was in church, but Morgan came clean to his wife just days before he was shot. When he told Bernie that his blackmail threats wouldn’t work any longer, Bernie shot him.”

  “Oh my God…But what about the fires last month? Was he behind those, too?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid he was. And that makes Sylvia and Billy Crider’s culpability all the more certain.”

  “Cameron, I don’t understand any of this. Bernie lives here, too. He was born and raised here. How could he do this?”

  “Money,” said Storm. “Nothing else motivates Bernie quite like the smell of money.”

  “Where would he have stopped?” asked Olivia.

  Cameron shook his head again. “No one knows.”

  Olivia searched his face, desperate to find a truth in his eyes that didn’t exist. She couldn’t make sense of anything right now. “So now what? Are they going to arrest Bernie?”

  “Sean is on his way over there with four officers to do just that.”

  “So this is over?”

  “I sure hope so, Olivia.”

  That night, Storm and Cameron massaged her back and shoulders while Olivia tried to relax enough to sleep. She’d already cried more tears than it was possible for one human being to make. The fact that they hadn’t expected her to make love again after Chad’s news meant more than she was able to put into words.

  Not that she’d have minded, but she was so emotionally exhausted that she couldn’t give anything more today, and she’d never been less than one hundred percent invested when they made love. She didn’t want to do that to them. She held them and cried, taking turns in their arms, until finally she drifted off to sleep.

  * * * *

  The following morning, Storm and Cameron both went to the fire station to finish paperwork on the events of the day before. Gina and Annalise both called, and the three settled on meeting at Gina’s because Zach would be there, working from home. All three women were afraid to be alone.

  They finished finalizing the plans for their business and then agreed to wait until the next week for the launch date, once they knew everything with Bernie and Steve Remming was truly over.

  While they ate lunch with Zach, they speculated on who would fill Morgan’s place as councilman, and who would become mayor of Racy now that Bernie was facing criminal charges. Zach said he and Bettie had already begun impeachment proceedings against Bernie, and they were thinking of suggesting that Leticia Freemantle take Morgan’s place. She was well respected in the community, and she’d been talking about needing a change for a while. As for who would take Bernie’s place, Zach said anyone would be a welcome change.

 

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