Page 32 of Four Love (Ever and Always 2)

Trent figured it said something important that Lorenzo, Holly, and Owen were tangled up together there rather than in Lorenzo’s room, where they usually had their foursomes. She was changing them, breaking through walls he hadn’t even realized they had. Hell, the women they’d shared before had never actually made it to the sleeping part of using the bed.

Sleepovers weren’t their MO. Or they hadn’t been before Holly.

“Going to join us?” she asked with a sexy, sleepy smile that made what he had to tell them ten times worse. Even from his place in hell, Trent’s father was fucking up Trent’s love life. That bastard.

“It’d be better if you came out here so we can talk.” He hated himself when she sat bolt upright. The sheet and comforter tumbled to her waist, revealing her pert breasts. “Maybe put some clothes on too.”

“Oh shit, this must be serious,” Lorenzo tried to joke, but it fell flat because Trent didn’t deny it. And just like that, the three of them were rolling from bed and searching for something to wear.

“I’m glad you three had a nicer night than I did.” It wasn’t sarcasm—it made him feel better to know that they’d been looking out for each other. If the worst came to pass, they might have to do without him for a while. His stomach cramped.

Trent spun away and went into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. He was going to need a mug or three to make it through this discussion. Before he’d even finished pouring water into the machine, Holly trotted up behind him and threw her arms around him, making him slosh just a little.

He didn’t mind. Standing there, he absorbed her warmth and the comfort it brought to have her wrapped around him, even in such a platonic way. He’d barely recovered from nearly losing her when things had spiraled out of control again.

“You guys sit down. I’ve got this.” Owen nudged them aside and took up where Trent had left off while Lorenzo grabbed a box of leftover donuts they’d picked up for themselves when they’d gotten some for the security team outside the day before.

“Are you okay?” Holly asked, taking Trent’s hand as she sat in the chair next to him at their dining room table. “What took so long? We were so worried.”

“The cops had a lot of questions.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, unsure of where to start. Things had unfolded as he’d sat in the cold, stark interrogation room. And he didn’t want to disclose every detail of the gut-wrenching journey he’d been on there to them. This was going to be hard enough without misplaced guilt eating at them. Because, for some reason that he was pretty sure didn’t have to do with his inheritance, they actually gave a shit about him.

Lorenzo leaned forward, studying his face. “For you? Why would they be on your ass? They don’t suspect you of being involved in Holly’s kidnapping, do they? That doesn’t even make sense.”

“No, I think they know who was behind that bullshit.” Trent felt acid burn up his esophagus. Maybe coffee wasn’t the right call after all.

“Who?” Owen asked as he joined them, and the gurgling of brewing coffee shattered their tense silence.

“Does the name Joey Bones ring a bell?” he asked Owen, who’d been involved in some shady shit before he’d gotten his life together.

“What the fuck would he have to do with this? He usually does jobs for….” Owen stopped. “Oh. Shit.”

“Let me guess.” Trent gripped the table. “Rich people who don’t want to get their hands dirty. Right?”

Owen nodded.

“What are you trying to get at?” Lorenzo asked.

“Son of bitch.” He pounded his fist into his opposite palm. “They think my mother arranged to have Holly stolen from us so she could sell my wife back to me. No, what they really believe is that she was trying to scare me out of collecting my inheritance at all.”

“What?” Holly stood up and slapped her hand on the table. “How could she do that to you?”

“Tome?” After everything that had happened, Holly couldn’t possibly be outraged for him and not at him, could she? “You were the one scared, alone, and hurt. Because of me and my tainted money and…mostly, my family. I made excuses for my mom when she let my father kick me out, disowned me, whatever. I figured she didn’t have any power compared to him. That she was too hooked on his wealth to live without it. But if this is true, and I’m starting to think it might actually be, then that’s it. I’ve lost not only my father but my mother too. I could never forgive her for doing something like that. It crosses every single line I could draw.”

“This isn’t a fucking game! It’s not a turf war or some bizarre power struggle. Joey Bones doesn’t play. And for what? Pure greed?” Owen roared. “That’s sick!”

Trent faced them, anguish and embarrassment shredding him apart. “I know. What if Holly had gotten killed? How could someone who was supposed to love me use her like some pawn in a dangerous game? I’m so sorry I got you all involved in my mess. This can’t ever happen again. It won’t. I swear it.”

He gathered Holly into his arms and dragged her onto his lap, burying his face in the silk of her hair. His entire chest ached as if someone had punched him in the heart. His own mother had tried to get to him through the woman he loved. She didn’t give a shit about his happiness or that he’d found someone—three of them, really—to spend his life with. All she cared about was hoarding some fraction of his father’s total estate, which she didn’t even need to live without a care for the rest of her life.

How had he come from them? And how much worse would it be if someone who didn’t have any connection to him got a similar idea? He couldn’t risk it.

Holly rubbed his back and kissed his collarbone. “It’s okay, Trent. You’re not to blame for the actions of others. It’s time you left them behind. It’s okay to let go of a toxic relationship, even if it’s one you were born into.We’reyour family now.”

And he might be about to disappoint even them. Would they react better than his parents had when he let them down? When he confessed that he couldn’t provide what they needed?

“I’m so sorry.” He moved Holly back just enough that she could stare straight into his eyes. “Not only did I push you away, but it was my own relatives who assaulted and terrorized you. I don’t deserve you and because of them, I might not get a chance to make it up to you either.”

“Wait. What?” Owen asked. “What are you saying?”

---