He had no idea how bad things were in Drinkwater with the abused omegas, but he suspected it was far worse than even he could fathom. The smells and the images of the factory basement had taken them all by surprise when they’d discovered the fuckers had taken advantage of the omegas. Taken advantage. If it were only that.
Those bastards held them hostage, raped and abused them until they were terrified of their own shadows. He wasn’t at all surprised that during their heat, they wanted no one near them.
Unable to shake off the effect it had on him, it was in that moment he’d given in to the attraction for Monty. Until then, he’d had no intention of acting upon it.
He shut off his train of thought, not ready to have more recriminations, when he felt Kendrick’s presence at his back. The big man ran his nose along the line of his neck, placing a kiss next to his ear. Although brief, it was no less impactful because of the intimacy that came with it. A silent offer of support, even when Rue hadn’t asked or explained what was wrong, that made him struggle to catch his breath. Of all the things they’d done, this he didn’t know how to react. Before he was forced to make that decision, Kendrick stepped away, picked up his mug of coffee and took a sip, unaware of how off-kilter Rue was.
Monty’s appearance broke the tension building inside him.
“Coffee, I could kiss you.” Monty came in smelling like sunshine and looking equally refreshing. Rue had no idea how, at the ungodly hour, when they’d all had very little sleep.
Monty took the offered mug and inhaled the smell before sipping and groaning in approval. “How folks survive without caffeine, I’ll never know.”
Rue didn’t answer, mulling over how to explain the news about the omegas when it would wipe away the sunny smile. Fuck, it would affect all the PAs, not just Monty.
“What?” Monty rubbed at his nose, going slightly cross-eyed, looking utterly adorable. “Have I got something on my nose?”
“No… we’re gonna have to head out.”
Monty gave the expected grumble of complaint. But Rue was looking at Kendrick, assessing, before going with his gut and the desire. “Last night, you mentioned setting up a group chat… trying something long distance.” Rue glanced at Monty and could see surprise but, more than that, excitement. “How would you feel about that, Monty?
“If I get to keep you both, then I’ll try anything.”
Kendrick slung an arm around Monty’s shoulders, looking so damn pleased Rue released a shuddery breath. Fuck, they were doing this. All he could think about was taking advantage of the remaining time they had in Bayfield.
“So, what time do you get off work later?”
Chapter Fifteen
Monty
They were leaving. Where had the time gone?
Monty could only cling to the knowledge it wasn’t over—hopefully.
Kendrick won’t be in the same place with us.
Honestly, can’t you see I don’t need the fucking reminder.
He didn’t when it was difficult to breathe, to get the air where he needed it to be able to speak as Kendrick walked down the stairs towards the front door wearing just a pair of sleep pants. He radiated sex appeal that left Monty wanting to turn tail and head right back up to the warm bed he’d left minutes before, when Kendrick’s alarm had gone off.
Kendrick ran a hand over his cropped hair as he reached the bottom and stood by the door wearing a tired smile. They’d slept an hour but, despite being physically exhausted from ranch work and a little sore after their nocturnal antics, Monty chose not to complain. Why would he when he was absolutely surethat whatever this was they’d all been doing, waschanging into something else?
Would Rue go back to behaving as if there was nothing between them without Kendrick present? It was a sobering thought. It saddened Monty, hurt him to think it was a real possibility. Past relationships had taught him that allowing his emotions to tangle themselves around a person—or persons—never worked unless everyone wanted more.
The two men stared at each other, tension rolling off Rue, meaning Monty needed to be careful with his heart. The bitter laugh was all in his head when he’d handed that same heart over to Rue months ago, whether or not the man knew it. Monty suspected that spending more time with Kendrick this would put him in an even worse situation because it would be easy to fall for both men.
Would long distance video calls protect his heart? He doubted that very much, but Monty wanted more, making him willing to try despite the risks.
Rue shoved his hands into his jean pockets, looking down a moment later, shoulders drooping. Loving just one person was hard enough. Monty wanted to kick Rue, get him to say something, only there was little he could do about it when Rue wasn’t a brilliant conversationalist about feelings.
After the heated conversation they’d had, which broke the ice, there was little more said beyond agreeing to try calls. It was as if they’d all come to a mutual agreement not to waste time on talking when they had so little of it. Just now, Monty wished they had laid things out about their expectations a little more.
“You’ve got my number stored in your phones. I’ve created a group chat on WhatsApp, I’ll call y’all when you get back.”
Rue jerked his head up, nodding eagerly, and Monty witnessed a flare of desire, the same one he felt at the prospect of more—ofthe vocal confirmation, once more that they were continuing to have Kendrick in their lives, despite the distance.
“A call, when?”
