Taken by Two(33)

“The maid?” I couldn’t believe she’d been responsible. He nodded, “Yeah, she did this with Rodrigo’s help.”

“Why would he…?”

“She’s been fucking him forever. And, Evelyn hired her. Plus, that amount of money set her entire family up for life, most likely.”

“So it wasn’t because of me? Because of the drugs?” Nate relaxed, the weight of guilt lifted from him. But his calm quickly turned to anger. “What are you going to do to them?” Nate asked, his face red in rage.

“Nothing. I mean, they’re fired, of course. But, they aren’t the real villains here.”

Rex’s fingers went down to Nate’s face, his thumb cradling the indent of Nate’s elegant chin. “There’s nothing you could do, okay?” Nate nodded, his eyes rimmed red as he fought the swell of emotion.

We sat there silently, Nate on his knees on the floor beside Rex’s hospital bed.

“Seeing you like this…” Nate whispered.

“I’m going to be fine, man, I swear. We trained the Princess well.” He smiled at me, reaching a hand out for me to come closer.

I crouched on the floor next to Nate. Like two baby chicks waiting to be fed by a momma bird, we waited for Rex’s guidance. He held up his hand, three fingers splayed out at us. “Three,” he said, “we are three. I love you both.”

I reached up three fingers and held them to Rex’s, my hand tiny against his. “Three, I love you both,” I repeated.

Nate flushed, a warm glow lighting his face. He held up three fingers from his left hand to ours and repeated the words that would become an oath binding us together.

“Now, take those meds the doc is going to give you. Trust me, they won’t trigger anything. When they release you, get a room at the hotel across the street. Don’t let Penny out of your sight—she’s been stuck sleeping here this whole time. I think it’ll be another few days before I can convince this quack to let me go home.”

“I will,” Nate nodded, his confidence restored.

“She should be safe—Murdock, the guy hired to do the hit on her, has been, well, taken care of. Evelyn was going to turn Penny over to him as soon as he got back—apparently he was on his way from Vegas where he was looking for her.”

“So what’s Pablo’s role in this?”

“None. He wasn’t involved. But, thanks to Evelyn’s lunacy, there was a massive DEA raid on his mansion. It just happened to turn up two kidnapped Americans. It’s a shame that Major Daniel Bowen, a special ops Chaplain, had no choice but to shoot Evelyn with my Glock in self defense.” He winked at us and added, “Helps to have friends you can call in a favor to.” My mind drifted to the night of our rescue, and the burly Priest, Father Dan, who saved our lives. “Poor drug lord Pablo, his wife is dead and he’s sitting in a Colombian jail cell. DEA turned up all sorts of incriminating shit in his tacky mansion.”

“Won’t Lynn just hire someone else to do the job?” Nate shot a worried glance toward me.

“Oh, that piece of shit. Well, as odd as it may seem, he was involved in a hit and run accident the other night on the Strip. Seems he didn’t make it,” Rex shook his head in mock sadness. Clearly his network of contacts ran deep.

“I’m safe then? Can I call my dad?” I was relieved to finally not have a price on my head.

“I think you’re safe, yeah, but can you just wait until we’re all home? I’d feel better then.”

“The rooster wants all of his chickens home to roost before he can relax,” Nate teased.

“What the fuck do you know about livestock, Mr. Internet Billionaire?” He shot Nate a smile. “Go back and rest, take those meds, and get yourself released so Penny can get out of this hospital.”

“Yes, sir,” Nate quipped with a mock salute. He kissed me before heading back to his room.

“You’re so bossy,” I said to Rex with a grin.

“Damn straight I am,” he pointed his large index finger at me. “Now, park yourself over on that spare bed and let me sleep so I can get the fuck out of here.”





Chapter Sixteen





I sat on the floor in the hallway outside of Rex’s room a few days later, my knees to my chest, my head resting on them, exhausted. Nate had been released, and I spent my nights across the street at a hotel with him, but my worry for Rex prevented me from sleeping. After sitting with Rex all morning, I’d left the men to go down the hall to get a candy bar from the vending machine, and when I returned, Nate and Rex were embroiled in conversation. I drifted off, but at some point Rex’s deep voice lulled me from sleep.

“No way—no. Nate, I won’t lose you…we won’t lose you. Forget it.”

“I-I don’t want to. I just thought that you might want to be with Penny, that the two of you could be a regular couple, be… You know, get married, have kids.” Nate’s voice was ragged with pain. I knew he loved me, loved us both, so much that he would sacrifice himself for our happiness. My heart ached for him.

Rex’s answered, low and comforting. “Do you love her?”

“Yes, more than anything. Both of you… But how can this work? Seriously? The three of us?”

“You brought us together, and it’s right. I don’t give a rat’s ass about what anyone thinks about anything—I never have. I don’t get the impression she gives a fuck about traditional either. Did you even ask her?” Rex’s tone was loving, but he was annoyed.

“No, I wanted to see…I’d do anything for you two to be happy.”

“We are happy, bro. Did you seriously think she’d be okay without you? Nate, it’d be like asking her to cut out half of her heart.” In a lower voice, Rex added, “And…half of my heart. No fucking way.”

I was ecstatic that Rex wanted the three of us together and rejected Nate’s offer to step aside. It had crossed my mind more than once in moments of doubt that I’d be asked to choose between these two men—to love only one of them. When my mother was dying, my father asked me to choose him over her. The idea of it was sickening—I loved them both. To him, though, my decision to stay by her side was a betrayal. I never wanted to be forced to choose between people I loved again. My love was complete with both men, and I prayed that they could accept that. As I wiped away a tear, I knew that Rex understood.

The room was silent, and I rose up to rejoin them when I heard Rex speak.

“Is it enough for you?”

“From her? Of course! I want her to love you.”

“I meant from me? I’m never going to give you the level of… I doubt I’m ever going to give you what you desire from me. Is what the three of us have, physically, enough?”

“What we have is enough—with Penny, it’s complete. You two are my all; I just…I don’t want to ever hurt her. What if I fuck up again?”

“Then you fuck up again, and we are here for you this time.”

A doctor came up behind me, urging me forward in agitated Spanish I didn’t understand. “Inside,” he barked when I didn’t move. I walked into Rex’s room through the open door. He was propped up on pillows, his golden color once again gracing his skin. Nate’s long fingers rested on Rex’s forearm. He didn’t remove them when the doctor came in behind me, and Rex, to my surprise, didn’t either.

Rex smiled at me and tapped the edge of the bed. “Come sit, Penny—seems the doc here has news.”

The doctor spoke in loud, hurried Spanish—the news sounded dire, except when he was finished speaking, Rex smiled. “Gracias,” he said as the doctor left. “What?” Nate asked nervously. “I can go home tomorrow.”

Nate was thrilled; I wasn’t. “No, it’s too dangerous, who will take care of you?”

“We will,” Nate answered, annoyed that I wasn’t as excited at the news as he was.

“Yeah, of course, but I mean shouldn’t we hire a nurse or something? I don’t want to risk his health with—”

“With us idiots?” Nate snapped.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just afraid, that’s all. I thought we lost him not that long ago.”

“Penny, I’m a doctor. I can care for these two wounds myself. My legs are fine—I need to rest, recover, keep the pain at bay.” I nodded, the idea of going home beginning to sink in. “This arm will be in a sling for a little while longer until the shoulder wound heals, so I’ll need you two, but we can handle this.” In a whisper, he added, “Home is far safer, and cleaner, than this place.”

“I’m going to go get the house ready for Rex—we need groceries, supplies, and bourbon,” Nate said, reaching for my hand and pulling me to my feet in front of him. “Will you stay here with him tonight? I don’t want him left alone.” I nodded as I wrapped my arms around his waist. His fingers raised my chin to look into his mesmerizing eyes. “I love you, babe. Call me if anything changes, okay?” He leaned down to kiss me before sliding his fingers through Rex’s hair. “Thanks, man,” Rex said as Nate left the room.