Actually, it feels like a person.
He’s standing behind us, a shadow that only I can see. He alternately cajoles and threatens me, but in this battle of wills, he’s winning. If there were a line of cocaine in front of me, I would sniff it. It would be his hand on the back of my head, forcing me down.
“You’re not weak,” Holly says, basically sobbing as she sniffles and cries. It’s probably not safe for her to be wielding a butcher knife. “You’re strong. So strong. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.”
“If I were strong, you wouldn’t have needed to protect me from the meeting with Taggart.”
“Ugh, there was no reason for you to see him again! Not after he took advantage of you.”
I finish chopping the last half of an onion, and Emina sweeps in with a bowl to gather the chopped onions. Then a large platter of tomatoes appears in front of us. I have no idea whether this is some kind of therapy technique where we talk out our feelings using vegetables as a medium. Or if Emina is just using us to get her prep work done faster. Maybe both.
Holly and I both reach for a tomato.
“So, it’s over now. I’m safe. We’re both safe.”
“Of course,” she says, chopping off the green top. “It was completely uneventful. He took the diamonds and promised to leave you alone.”
Something about the way she says of course makes me think she’s lying. That she’s trying to protect me again. “You mean he promised not to loan me any more money.”
“Tomato, tom-ah-to,” she says, shoving aside the chopped pieces and grabbing another tomato.
Tomatoes are a lot harder to chop than onions, I discover. They don’t make me cry, but they’re so ripe and juicy that they melt under the knife instead of slicing into cubes. “It could have been dangerous. What if he decided to get violent?”
“That’s why I took Elijah with me.”
I snort. “As if he would have let you go alone.”
“You want to talk about overprotective. He’s the overprotective one. I didn’t even need to shoot a gun. And for that matter, he didn’t actually give me one.”
“A gun?” I set down the knife. “What are you talking about, a gun?”
She looks guilty. “He may have taught me how to use one. Yesterday. After we came back from the beach. But if it makes you feel better, he’s a terrible teacher.”
“That makes me feel worse, thanks.”
“Look.” She pushes aside another pile of tomato cubes and faces me. Her voice drops to a near whisper. “That wasn’t the scary part. The scary part was when Elijah and I… we were… you know I mean… well, we got busy.”
Despite my annoyance at my sister, I can’t help but laugh. “You got busy?”
“Very busy.”
“And that was… scary?”
“The scary part was when Liam caught us. He got really pissed off.”
“What? Why?”
“I guess he thought Elijah was forcing me or something. The tension was off the charts.”
A chill runs over my skin. “Liam told me something when we left the costume party.” I need to do something with my hands, so I grab a tomato and begin chopping. “He said the three brothers have a pact. They all agreed to it.”
“What kind of pact?”
“If any of them turn into their father, the other ones will put him down. Like a rabid dog.”
“What?”
“And I’m guessing forcing a woman would be like his father.”
“So Liam was threatening to kill Elijah? His own brother?”
“I guess he feels like he’d be doing the right thing. Like doing it for his own good. Apparently their father was a real piece of work.”
“But Elijah wasn’t even defending himself. He didn’t even explain that I liked it or that he basically asked permission first, and it was all consensual.”
I feel my eyes go wide. “Um, what exactly were you doing with Elijah that needed explanation? I thought you were talking about getting busy.”
“Like I said, we were… very busy.”
“Euphemisms don’t really work for this. Why did Liam think you might be forced?”
“It’s possible that I was on the ground being held down by Elijah. It’s also possible that a certain part of him was in my mouth and he was calling me names.”
“Oh my God.” My cheeks turn hot. “Holly!”
She grabs a tomato and begins chopping. “I know.”
That’s the kind of thing people would expect from me, but I’ve never been held down by a man like that. And I never would have guessed that Holly did things like that.
Emina bustles between us, gathering the chopped tomatoes into a large bowl. She sets down a platter of zucchini for us to chop next. She says something in rapid Italian. And then in heavily accented English she explains, “Men are never satisfied. They want to hurt us and they don’t want to hurt us. They want to please us and they don’t want to please us.”
She disappears as rapidly as she came, pulling something from the oven and humming off-key.
Holly and I exchange glances. “Men,” I say.
“Well,” she says. “I’m not sure about never satisfied, but Elijah was particularly not-satisfied because Liam interrupted before he could… you know.”
My cheeks heat, but I can’t help but tease her. “Say it.”
“No!”
“So you can give a blowjob but you can’t say it.”
“Stop!” She looks scandalized. “You don’t think there’s something wrong with me, do you?”
“God, no. Sis. Don’t worry about it. As long as you were having a good time, that’s what matters. The brothers will have to sort out their shit between themselves.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Liam
“Hit me again.”
I throw a punch, one that Elijah could block if he wanted to. He doesn’t want to. It slams into his jaw and sends him staggering back. When he rights himself blood drips from his lip. “Goddamn,” I say, throwing in a few extra curses. “If you want a fucking beating, find a dive bar.”
Elijah wipes his face with his forearm. “Don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy it.”
A battered picnic table holds a few bottles of water and towels. They’re the only equipment we need for a solid workout. That, and each other. Josh and I are already covered in sweat from our sparring. Elijah joined us, but he’s busy fucking around.
I take a swig of water. “If your goal is to prove I’m like our father, fuck you.”
“Hell,” Elijah says, taking off his shirt. He’s clearly just getting started. “I thought you might want to blow off some steam. Especially after what happened in the orchard.”
Josh perks up. “What happened in the orchard?”
“Nothing,” I growl.
Elijah smirks. “Your brother caught me in a sensitive position.”
“So?”
“So, he thought I was forcing Holly to suck my cock.”
Josh was lying down on the grass, taking a breather after our last round. He sits up now and whistles. “What the fuck? And neither of you bothered to tell me?”