Fucking Babbitt.
Grant had already declined the invitation to join the sex party. Twice. He looked at his watch. At least another couple of hours before Operation Scare the Shit Out of Hoyt could commence. He looked back at the picture, felt his cock stir, and reversed his decision.
Yeah, he’d fallen in love with Gray, didn’t mean he had to spend the rest of his life as a monk while she lived happily ever after with Chase.
Grant liked women, he liked pussy, and there happened to be an abundance of both ready, willing, and able to suck the edge off his cock just a short elevator ride away.
So what if the bride discovered what happens in Vegas tends to follow you home like shit-coated gum stuck to the sole of your boot.
Not his woman. Not his family. Not his problem.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Hand shaking,Judge Roland Matthew pushed the pause button on the video of his son’s masturbation ritual, freezing a scene he never expected to see. Handcuffed to the rail like the others before her, Eve appeared to be unconscious, the bloody dress covering her a testament to how close she’d come to succumbing to her injury.
The sight of her shattered his heart, each fragment a sharp strike embedded deep in his chest.
Not Eve. Dear God. Not Eve.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to. I just…I had the impulse, and it hurt so bad…I couldn’t help myself. I know I should have waited for you. I know, but Eve was right there.”
Between sobs, his twenty-eight-year-old boy wiped the mucus trailing down his face with the sleeve of his cashmere sweater.
“I told her you would be back soon. That you would take care of things just like you did with the others. I swear…I don’t know how she got away! Oh God. I’m bad. I’m bad. I’m bad.”
Each proclamation accompanied a hard two-handed smack to the forehead as Bryan rocked back and forth in one of the library’s oversized wing chairs.
“That’s enough now, Bryan.” Voice gentle, he put an end to the self-flagellation, and reaching across his desk, he offered his handkerchief.
Bryan accepted the monogrammed square with his bandaged hand, and after a wipe of his eyes, and then his nose, he managed to regain control of his emotions. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I—”
“I know you are, son.” With an exhausted wave of dismissal, Roland brushed aside the apologies he’d heard too many times and rose to his feet. “Come,” he instructed, closing his laptop and making his way around his desk. He gestured for Bryan to join him before placing his arm around his boy’s shoulders to guide him to the door.
They left the library together, walking down the mahogany-paneled hallway to the grand foyer. When they reached the spot Beverly had lain in, skull cracked, brain already too damaged from the swelling to recover, Bryan hesitated. “When Detective Vonn finds Eve, he won’t hurt her will he?”
“Absolutely not,” Roland lied. “She’s your sister. I’ll see to it she’s safe.”
Bryan’s shoulders slumped in relief, and the truth he refused to acknowledge all these years remained buried along with the women he abducted. “Will you tell her how sorry I am?”
“Yes, of course. I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear it. Go on up to bed, now. Take your medication and get some sleep. I’ll take care of this, and when you wake in the morning, things will be better.”
“You forgive me, don’t you, Dad?” Eyes bright with a fresh round of tears, he wrung the kerchief like a child, and once again, Roland felt compelled to give him the absolution he needed.
“You made a mistake, son. I know you didn’t mean to hurt Eve.”
“I didn’t hurt her! I didn’t! I swear it was an accident. She had the knife in her hand. I tried to take it away, and—”
“That’s fine, Bryan. That’s fine,” Roland said, defusing the situation with a pat to his son’s cheek. “Go on, now. Time for bed.”
“Next time, I’ll wait for you. I promise.” As if he’d done nothing more than borrow the car without permission, he stole a quick hug, and without a second thought for Eve or the lives he’d ruined, he took the stairs to his third-floor suite two at a time.
Next time.
As long as Bryan lived, there would be a next time.
Another woman. Another abduction. Another body.
God help him, Roland couldn’t do this anymore.
