Oak, Sophie - Siren in Waiting [Texas Sirens 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (27 page)

Leo had taken on a distinctly professorial tone. He was more relaxed and infinitely more grating on Bo’s nerves. “Bo, Trev is trying to be giving. Maybe we should take this someplace quieter and have a session. I think there are a lot of emotions here that need to be talked about.”

“Are we in couples counseling?” The idea horrified Bo.

Trev threw Leo a look. “Can you stop?”

Leo shrugged. “You’re the one who wanted to talk to him. I told you it was a mistake, but if you insist on talking, we should do it in a professional setting. I can probably make do with Aidan’s office. Oh, we could even have a talking stick. You’re not allowed to speak unless you’re holding the stick. It forces you to really listen to the other person. Although some people just play with the stick.”

“Don’t make me go with him.” Bo looked at Trev, who suddenly seemed like the safer bet.

And there it was. Trev was right. He would have gone with Clarissa. He would have allowed himself to fall into a situation that was bad for him. Hadn’t he been doing that all his damn life?

“Don’t listen to Leo.” Trev shook his head. “He’s being obnoxious so you’ll turn to me. He’s a manipulative son of a bitch.”

“I have a PhD in that,” Leo said with a sure smile. “But I believe I just proved my point. Bo, Trev is offering you something most people in your position never get. Do you love Beth?”

Bo nodded, unable to say the words.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but she needs more than you can give her right now,” Trev said, his voice gentler than before.

“Because she’s submissive.” He hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it because he couldn’t be her Dom. He knew it. He also knew how Lexi and Lucas had blossomed under his brother’s care. He’d seen the way Mouse…fuck…Beth had clung to Trev after a single night with him. “I don’t understand it.”

“Are you willing to try?” Trev asked.

If it meant not losing half his heart? “Yes.”

Trev smiled. “Then we’ll get through this. But we should have that talk first. I don’t understand what I did.”

“Are you really off the drugs?” Bo had to know. If Trev had fought his way back, maybe he deserved to be heard. He wasn’t sure if he could trust the man, but he’d said he was leaving in a year. He’d told Beth he was leaving in a year, and he wouldn’t be taking her. What if Trev could bring them together, help him be what she needed? He didn’t have to love the man. Hell, he didn’t even have to like him. He just had to listen.

Trev scrubbed a hand across his face, a weary look in his eyes. “I’ve been sober for two years. This is the first time I’ve walked into a bar since the day I stopped drinking. Contrary to what the shrink over there believes, I don’t even want a drink right this second. I just want to get out of here. The smell is bugging me.”

Bo stood for a moment, really looking at the man. Was he lying? Why the hell would he lie? What did Trev gain from any of this? If he was telling the truth, then what did Bo lose by at least talking to the man? He stood to gain everything he wanted. “All right. Let’s get out of here. I probably shouldn’t drive.”

“Well, look at who’s here. See, Marty, I told you where we would find your boy.” Bryce Hughes stood in the doorway with a smallish man in a suit.

Trev’s face had gone a stark white.

Leo got up off his barstool and stood beside Trev. “Bryce, I don’t think Trev really wanted to speak with Mr. Klein.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the man in the suit said, his voice nasally and quick. “Trev just likes to play hardball. Always has. He likes to string ’em along. Just like I taught you, brother. I was pissed that we missed the meeting today, but the fuckers are now offering us even more money. Idiots. We’re going to come out of this with a huge payday.”

“No.” Trev seemed to have a hard time getting the word out of his mouth.

Marty rolled his eyes. “Don’t be a moron. We can’t hold out for more. Twenty million for this year. If you take them to the playoffs, you get a million dollar bonus. And their current QB is thirty-two, practically ancient for a football player. We can squeeze a five-year contract out of them. Now, take a little pick-me-up, and let’s go catch a flight out of this hellhole.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Trev stood his ground, but something had changed as though he was trying hard to hold on to something.

Bryce frowned. “You damn sure better, Trev. Do you have any idea what your mother’s medical bills cost?”

Trev’s jaw tightened. “I know.”

Bryce pointed an accusatory finger Trev’s way. “Your sister is still paying them.”

Trev took a step back as though shocked at the news. “I thought you had paid those off.”

Bryce snorted. “No way in hell. Why do you think your sister works two jobs? She wasn’t my mother. I told Shelley to let it go to default. It wasn’t like your mother left a whole lot to inherit anyway.”

“Think about it, Trev,” Marty said, sounding a little like the devil on Trev’s shoulder. “You could pay off your mom’s bills with one little check. Your sister wouldn’t have to work two jobs anymore.”

Bryce smirked. “She’s at the second job right now. She’s tending bar at a strip club up the road.”

“What?” Leo’s question rang through the bar. “You let your wife work in a strip club?”

There was only one strip club anywhere close to Deer Run, and Bo didn’t like the idea of Shelley Hughes working there. It looked like Trev liked it even less.

Marty kept up his pitch. “Let’s get out of here, Trev. We can be in LA in a couple of hours, and all your problems will be solved tomorrow.”

Leo started to get into Bryce’s face. Trev put a hand out, stopping him.

“Don’t make this worse on Shell. Please,” Trev said.

“Trev, if you go back into that life, you will slide back into all of your problems.” Leo’s fists were clenched.

Trev’s face had taken on a blankness that Bo recognized. He’d seen it on his own face many times. It was the mask he wore when he knew he had to do something he didn’t want to do.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Damn right you will,” Bryce said. “Maybe you can wash some of the tarnish off your name and start giving back to this family.”

Marty slapped Trev on the back. “Don’t worry about a thing. Bryce here set me up. We’ll get out to LA, and I’ll make damn sure you feel good, if you know what I mean.”

Bo wasn’t sure what the man in the suit meant, but he had a feeling that going to LA would be bad for Trev.

Although it might be good for Bo. “You planning on taking Beth with you?”

A hollow look came into Trev’s eyes. He looked like a man who had just realized his life was over. “No. I won’t take her with me.”

He wouldn’t take her with him because he knew what would happen. Bo could see that plainly. He could also see just how much it was going to cost Trev McNamara to get his sister out of trouble. And it was obvious that the man had changed. Bo couldn’t fool himself. Trev hadn’t done anything since he’d come into town except stop Bo from hurting Beth and try to get honest work. And he’d offered to share a woman he clearly cared for because she needed it. And Bo needed it.

If Trev left, he might never figure out just what Beth needed.

“This is a huge mistake, Trev.” Leo’s jaw had formed a hard line.

It was. And the shrink was going to stand around talking the problem to death. Frustration bubbled up in Bo. Wasn’t this just the way everything went? It was sure as fuck the way his life always seemed to go. Just when he thought he was making some sort of progress, some asshole stepped in and screwed it up. He was goddamn sick of it. He was sick of the Brians of the world tossing their prejudice around. He was sick of the Clarissas who thought they could have any damn thing they wanted. He was sick of the slick-suited guys who thought they owned everything. He was sick of himself for never fighting.

Leo could try to talk the problem to death, but Bo was done talking.

He pulled back his fist and plowed right into that asshole in the suit. He went straight for the fucker’s face. Bo heard a satisfying crunch and a howl of pain. Yeah, that felt good.

“Bo!” Trev barked out his name.

Bo looked at Trev who glowered disapprovingly, but Leo was smiling.

The man he’d hit was still howling. Bryce was growling into a cell phone, probably calling the cops. Damn. He was going to jail again, but this time it was going to be worth it.

Like always at The Rusty Spur, the minute the first fist flew, the bar exploded. It was as though violence was always simmering right there at the surface, just waiting for any excuse to let loose. Almost immediately, Bo felt someone tug on his shirt and a fist smash into his face.

“Hey, asshole, what did you do to Clarissa?” One of Clarissa’s old boyfriends shoved another fist into Bo’s face.

“Fuck off!” Trev threw himself into the fight. The man might have sworn off liquor, but it seemed he hadn’t sworn off fighting. Trev pummeled the guy, tossing him aside when he was done.

Bo lashed out at the next man Clarissa had sent. He could see her standing outside the fray, a humorless smile on her face. Arms and legs tangled in a violent display as the world became a mad mix of fierce joy and righteous pain. Bo welcomed both.

He punched out at anything that came too close. The music suddenly seemed louder. The lights brighter. Everything seemed to come to life as he realized he wasn’t alone in the fight. Trev was behind him, their backs almost touching.

“We’re going to have a talk about your lamentable lack of control, Bo.” Trev plowed his fist into Brian Nixon’s gut.

“Yeah, well, we’re going to have to talk about your bossiness, McNamara.” But he could feel the grin on his face.

“Fuck!” Bryce Hughes screamed as he started to run, pushing against anyone in his way. “I will sue you, asshole.”

His nose looked broken. Bo couldn’t miss the satisfied smile on Leo’s face.

The doors to the bar flew open, and the sheriff and both of his deputies charged in.

Bo was still smiling as they put him in the back of the squad car. Trev was shoved in after him. This time he wasn’t alone.

Chapter Thirteen

Mouse paced. She walked through her house which now had a sturdy door and locks on every entryway. She’d made sure all the windows were solid. She’d even checked the attic to make sure there was no way someone could get in that way. She’d done just about everything she could with the tools she had, and still Trev hadn’t found his way home.

A note. She’d gotten a note saying something had come up, and he’d be back later. That was it. And he wasn’t answering his phone. It kept going to voice mail. What had happened?

A million scenarios played through her brain—none of them good. She’d tried his sister, but her phone had gone straight to voice mail, too.

Mouse sat down on her rickety stairs, phone in hand. Why had he left? She’d worked so hard in the short time she’d had to obliterate that nasty message the young man who’d attacked her had left. She’d put two coats of primer and three coats of paint on the wall, and for the life of her she could no longer see the words. Trev wouldn’t have been able to see them. She’d been worried he would leave to protect her, but she didn’t want to be protected. Not like that.

Or he might have just changed his mind, and this was his way of telling her.

The phone in her hand buzzed. Mouse flipped it open as quick as she could. “Trev?”

“No, hon, it’s Wanda.”

Wanda? Why was Wanda calling? There was only one reason Wanda called, and that was to spread gossip about the people who got hauled into the sheriff’s department. Mouse’s heart fell. “What did he do?”