Realizing he stood like a fucking prick holding his refrigerator door open, Cash scowled, grabbed a beer, then slammed the door shut.
Just as he opened the bottle, his doorbell rang.
Glancing through the peephole and seeing Stretch.
He opened the door, and the breath whooshed from him. Blood covered Stretch’s clothes and smeared his hands and cheek. No! Stretch hadn’t gotten injured again. Fuck! Who did he have to fuck up? It was bad but at least he was on his feet. Damn it, he never should’ve left him and Fee. “What the fuck happened to you?”
“Cash,” Stretch started and swallowed. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s Fee.”
Fee? What about Fee? He’d thought Stretch was injured. But Fee? Seeing all the blood, Cash knew it was bad.
Cash stepped aside without a word, allowing him entry. “Talk.”
“She’s in critical condition. She might already be dead.”
Grabbing Stretch’s shoulders, Cash shook him, his heart pounding, its beat pulsing in his ears. “What the fuck do you mean?”
“She went to Noah’s house. He slit her throat and stabbed her all over her body.”
Nausea welled within Cash. Fee had been stabbed. The horror she must’ve endured. Stabbing was up close and personal.
“Fee isn’t going to die.” He couldn’t imagine a world where she didn’t exist.
“She’s lost a lot of blood.”
He didn’t give a fuck. Fee was strong. She wouldn’t…Fuck, he couldn’t even bring himself to say it.
Wild fury roared through Cash and he yanked his hair. “No. Just fucking no.”
Stretch nodded. “Yeah, Cash. She’s so bad off. I…Noah got away.”
Noah? Wait a fucking minute.
“Noah,” he spat. “Noah fucking Carson?”
“Yes.”
Noah was a fucking dead man. When Cash got his hands on him, the motherfucker would wish he’d slit his own fucking throat.
“Where’s Outlaw?”
“On his way to the hospital.” Stretch backed toward the door. “I thought you’d want to know.”
The time Stretch had been beaten and nearly died came to him. Cash didn’t leave the goddamn hospital for a week. He thought he’d lose his mind, until he knew for certain Stretch would survive.
Outlaw enabled Cash to be at Stretch’s side as much as possible, without arousing the brothers’ suspicions. They’d come and go as one would normally expect. No one but Outlaw, Johnnie, Mort, and Val, knew how Cash had been glued to Stretch’s side. Stretch didn’t even know.
“She might die,” Stretch repeated again.
“No, she won’t,” he said in a hard voice. “Ophelia is a fighter. She’s a Donovan.”
Stretch swallowed. “I want to go to the hospital to be at her side, but Outlaw might see something. He might know.”
No might in it. Outlaw would know.
Cash closed the distance between them and took his face between his hands. “She’s going to survive this, babe,” he said, soft but fierce. “I’ve missed both of you so much. I owe you a lot. More than a mere apology. Fee will make it. She has to. Then, I’ll figure a way for us to be together.”
He pressed his lips against Stretch’s, appreciating his sigh. Settling his hands at the back of Stretch’s neck, he threaded his fingers through his hair, their tongues tangling. Possessed by urgency, Stretch lifted Cash’s shirt, his touch sending shivers through Cash. Moaning, he deepened the kiss, his cock hardening, his body responding to the familiarity of Stretch’s caress.
In the face of tragedy, he couldn’t remember why he’d let either of them go. In the weeks since, his life had been so empty. If Fee pulled through, he’d repair all the damage he’d done, convince her that the three of them could have a beautiful relationship without anyone knowing. A few times a year, he’d take them to Houston and Denver, even back to Kansas, where they had freedom. He’d show her his way was the best way and he’d do it with patience.
Stretch removed his shirt and unbuckled his jeans. Gazing into Stretch’s eyes, Cash saw the endless turmoil.
Unable to deny either of them the comfort they found in each other, he grabbed Stretch’s hand and led him to the bedroom, their kisses frantic and demanding. Needing the connection, the familiarity, they clung to each other, undressing with urgent tenderness and tumbling onto the bed.
Cash rose to his knees and tapped his cock on Stretch’s lips, not losing eye contact as he sank into the warmth of his mouth. Stretch licked his cock crown, then sucked him into his mouth again. Admiring Stretch’s dick rose from his manscape, Cash groaned, his balls tightening. A bead of cum glistened from Stretch’s dick head, watering Cash’s mouth. Prick still in Stretch’s mouth, Cash laid over Stretch’s body, and took the man’s hard cock between his lips. For a few minutes, they enjoyed the mutual pleasure, until Cash sucked harder, faster, determined to draw Stretch’s cum out.