Fire and Flames [Dragon Love 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Was he covering for Clay? But why would he do that? Why would he risk lying to the authorities for a man he barely knew?

  Chapter Four

  Marlee opened the door to a horrible sight. “Oh my God. What happened?”

  “It was those assholes,” answered Kyle as he helped a bruised and bloodied Clay shuffle into her small studio apartment.

  She took Clay’s other arm and helped Kyle take him over to the love seat that dominated the tiny living area. He sat down with a groan, his body leaning to one side. Kyle sat next to him to keep him upright.

  “Who are you talking about?” She hurried into the bathroom and gathered a roll of bandages, along with disinfectant and several clean hand towels.

  “Max and his friends. They’re after Clay.”

  She dumped her armful of first aid materials onto the square coffee table and rushed to the kitchen. Filling a bowl with warm water, she came back, ready to help Kyle take care of his friend. “Because of the car?”

  Kyle shot her a look that would’ve withered flowers. “He didn’t torch that car.”

  “I didn’t say he did. But they think so.” She dipped a towel into the water and gently dabbed at the blood starting to cake on Clay’s forehead. “Maybe you should’ve taken him to the emergency room.”

  “No. No doctors. They’d just call the police.” Clay moaned, jerking back as she touched a sensitive area.

  “But they beat you up, honey. You have to make them stop.” Kyle rubbed his lover’s back, trying to comfort him.

  The exchange between her brother and his new boyfriend was telling. They’d grown very close in a short time. She wasn’t sure it was a good thing especially since being with Clay was already causing problems.

  Clay wasn’t about to have the authorities question him about the beating. Not because he didn’t want to get Max and the others into trouble but because he was the one trying to stay out of trouble. She hated to think so, but her gut was telling her that Clay was definitely responsible for burning Max’s car. And if he was, then maybe her brother knew the truth and was still willing to protect his boyfriend. She understood loyalty, but sometimes loyalty had to take a backseat to what was right and wrong.

  “How did this happen exactly?” She kept washing Clay’s wounds while studying both men’s reactions. Fortunately, the wounds didn’t seem too serious. They were shallow and not requiring any stitches. Clay would end up with colorful black and blue marks as well as some soreness.

  Clay moaned again, closing his eyes and slumping onto the couch. He didn’t answer, leaving that up to Kyle.

  “We were at our favorite club.”

  “Secrets?” She knew the place well enough. It was a very popular gay bar only a couple of blocks from her apartment.

  “Right. We were having a fantastic time, dancing and drinking.”

  “Get to the part where Clay got beat up.”

  “Anyway, Clay went out to the car to get his pack of cigarettes.”

  Clay opened his eyes once to give Kyle a hard look.

  “Well, it’s true. You smoke. Anyway, if you hadn’t gone outside, they wouldn’t have gotten you alone. I told you those damn death sticks would kill you. I just didn’t know it would happen this way.” Kyle applied some disinfectant to a cut on Clay’s forehead, wincing whenever he did. “Anyway, a couple of other guys who were outside heard him calling for help and yelled inside that a fight was going down. A bunch of us rushed outside.”

  “Max and his assholes ganged up on me in the parking lot. Fucking cowards.”

  Clay was angry, and that was understandable. And yet, there was an underlying level of hatred that bothered Marlee. “Didn’t anyone stop them?”

  “Of course we did. A couple of those pretty boys are big guys. As soon as Max and his asshole friends saw us coming, they took off.” Kyle sniffed back a tear. “Shit, Marlee, I thought he was dead. He was just lying there, with blood everywhere.”

  “They didn’t knock me out, though.” Clay shifted, grimaced, and pressed a hand to his side. “I got in a few punches of my own.”

  “On second thought, you really should go to the ER. You could have internal damage. Maybe even internal bleeding.” She reached for her cell phone.

  “No.” Clay let out a yelp and tried to take her phone. “Please, I don’t want anyone else involved. I’m fine.”

  “You’re a long way from being fine.” Kyle smiled and cupped his boyfriend’s cheek. “Although you’re always super fine in my eyes, no matter how banged up you are.”

  She set the phone down. “Okay, but promise me you’ll go to an urgent care clinic. Promise both of us you’ll at least see a doctor soon.”

  “No.”

  Kyle took Clay’s hand and squeezed. “Yes, honey. Promise you will.”

  Clay started to object again then gave in. “Okay. I promise. For you, baby.”

  “Good. That’s why I love you.”

  They were sweet together, yet she couldn’t help but think the love was one-sided. Clay obviously liked her brother, but she didn’t sense the same intensity of love that Kyle had for him. Kyle was a firm believer in love at first sight and jumped into relationships with both feet. She’d urged him to take things slowly, but he’d ignored both her and the many times he’d had his heart tramped on.

  She continued to clean Clay’s wounds while Kyle applied disinfectant and then added a Band-Aid wherever one was needed. Luckily, none of the wounds were large enough to warrant use of a bandage. “I don’t understand why they’re after you. What did you do to make them hate you so much?”

  “Seriously, sis?”

  “I mean they have to have a reason.”

  “Clay and Max grew up in our same neighborhood and went to the same high school we did. They were even on the football team together.”

  “That’s the only thing we ever had in common. They were assholes then, and they’re still assholes.” Clay snorted, anger flaring in his eyes. “As far as they’re concerned, they have all the reasons they need. I’m gay.”

  He was right, of course. For those people who thought homosexuality was a sin, the one reason was enough. Never mind that the person they were tormenting had a good heart and only wanted to find love like everyone else. Never mind that the gay man had every right to live the way he wanted and to find a lasting committed partner. To the tormenters’ minds, gay men and women deserved nothing less than hatred and, in some of their poor, confused minds, death. She couldn’t understand how love could ever evoke hate.

  “They’re not going to get away with this.” Clay’s voice dropped to a low, pain-filled timbre. “I’m tired of getting picked on.”

  “So you were out in high school,” she asked.

  “No. Not openly. Even if I’d been straight, I wouldn’t have fit in, especially as a football player. They gave me hell back then about everything I wore and did. I never admitted I liked boys, but they must’ve sensed it. Hell, I even dated a few girls, trying to blend in.”

  “Maybe they found out that you never slept with any of those girls,” offered Kyle.

  “Maybe. It doesn’t matter now. After I told my family and a few friends last year that I was gay, they soon found out. I should’ve known it’d get around fast. They’ve been relentless ever since.” A muscle twitched in Clay’s jaw. “But they’ll get their payback. You just wait and see.”

  “Don’t do anything to them, honey. We have to stay away from them.”

  Clay shook his head and moaned. “We’ve tried that. Do you think it was a coincidence that they were outside Secrets? They came looking for me. They’re the ones who aren’t staying away from me.”

  “We could move. I’d go anywhere with you. Even another city or state.”

  Move? She couldn’t imagine her life without her brother in it. “No, Kyle. There has to be another way.”

  “When you find it, you let me know.” Clay shoved their hands away and pushed himself off the couch. “Until then, I’m handling t
his my way.”

  Kyle averted his gaze, making Clay’s declaration sound even more ominous. She reached out, needing to touch her brother, as though her touch alone could keep him safe. “Kyle’s right. Stay as far away from them as you can. And if you do run into them again, be careful not to let them goad you into doing something stupid. Call the cops.”

  But Clay’s determined expression only hardened more. “We can handle ourselves. Right, baby?”

  Kyle protectively looped his arm around his friend’s waist and avoided looking at her. “Thanks for your help, sis. We’ll be all right.”

  She wasn’t so sure. “Just be careful. I love you, little brother. And you take care, too, Clay.”

  Kyle’s worried gaze finally met hers. “I love you, too, sis.”

  * * * *

  “I’m glad to hear Clay’s doing okay. So there haven’t been any more problems?” Marlee hadn’t wanted to push Kyle for answers until now. A week had passed since he and Clay had shown up at her apartment, and other than a few short texts, she hadn’t heard anything from her brother. Then, at last, he’d shown up with their favorite pizza to share.

  She hated to think he had ulterior motives, but whenever Kyle forked over money for dinner, he usually wanted to talk. Or to put his nose in her business.

  Kyle plopped the pizza onto the short counter of the adjoining tiny kitchen and snatched up a piece of pie. “He’s fine. We’re fine. In fact, I think he’s the one, sis.”

  She tried to act as though she hadn’t heard the same thing a hundred times before. “Really? Are you sure? You haven’t known him for very long.”

  “I’m as positive as a cat with a bowl full of cream. He’s definitely the one.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure.” She picked up a slice and took a big bite. “But do me a favor and take it slow, okay? Give it some time.”

  “You know me. When I meet the right one, I’m all in. Why bother when you’re sure?”

  To keep your fragile heart safe.

  “And you’re sure he didn’t have anything to do with setting Max’s car on fire?”

  He gaped at her, pizza suspended in mid-air. “I can’t believe you’re still suspicious of him.”

  She listened to her gut, and although she’d tried to stop thinking that Kyle might have been involved in the fire along with Clay, she just couldn’t shake the feeling that he had been. After all, he and Clay had been at the scene of the car fire. Then when two more fires, both in Max’s neighborhood, had origins leaning toward arson, she’d grown even more suspicious. Could Clay be setting the fires? And was her brother in on it?

  What would she do if she found out that Kyle’s new lover was to blame? If Kyle was innocent, it would break her brother’s heart. Yet that wouldn’t be the worst of it. If her brother knew anything about the cases and hadn’t told the authorities, he could wind up in trouble, too.

  “So you’re standing by your story that he was with you all day? Did he leave for even a small amount of time?” It didn’t take long to set a car on fire.

  Was it fear she saw in his eyes a moment before he glanced away?

  “I told you and the police. We were together all day.”

  “But you called me earlier before you went to his place.”

  “Okay, so maybe I wasn’t with him every second. But I was on the phone with him the rest of the time, so I would’ve known what he was doing. Besides, the car was set on fire after my call.” He was silently pleading with her to believe him. “He couldn’t have done it, sis. Trust me.”

  She wished she could. Pushing him harder wouldn’t get her anywhere. Instead, she shifted gears. “So what’s up? Why are you here?”

  He visibly relaxed. “Can’t a brother visit with his sister just for the hell of it?”

  “Sure he can. And you know I love it whenever you come around. But—”

  “But nothing. I swear, sis, you get more suspicious every day. Fighting all those fires is giving you a bad outlook on life.”

  She had to admit he might be right. Although she loved her job, the past week had gotten her down. Not only had there been two more fires of suspicious origins, she hadn’t heard anything from Ridge, Colter, or Adam. Maybe they hadn’t been as into her as she’d thought they were.

  The doorbell sounded, giving her a reason not to say anything. When she opened the door, however, she was surprised to see a deliveryman. The basket he held was huge, tied up with cellophane with a red bow large enough to hide his face.

  He eased the basket aside and checked his pad. “Delivery for a Miss Marlee Hendrickson.”

  “That’s me.” After signing for the package, she rushed to grab her purse and hand him a couple of dollars for a tip.

  “Thanks. Enjoy.” He gave her a practiced smile as he handed her the basket.

  “This thing is heavy.” Heeling the door closed, she carried the basket to the coffee table.

  “Ooh, what’d you get?” Kyle swiped the card off the basket. “And more importantly, who’d you get it from?”

  “Give that to me.” She half-heartedly tried to get the card from him, but he was faster, dodging away.

  His eyes grew big as he read the card. “This is terrific.”

  “What? Let me have it.”

  He held the card higher and started reading out loud. “‘For an unforgettable and unique lady.’ Ooh, so far so good.” He continued to read. “‘A basket of ordinary treats and flowers wouldn’t do. Meet us for dinner tomorrow night at your favorite restaurant. Text us with the location, and we’ll meet you there at eight.’” Kyle grinned and waved the card in the air. “They listed their email addresses.”

  Kyle paused and she could see his mind working overtime. No doubt what he’d read had finally registered. “Wait a sec. ‘We’ll’ and three email addresses? Are you serious? Is this from three men? Together?” His eyes grew big. “I’ll bet two of them are the hotties I saw at the station.”

  “How would I know? I haven’t read the card yet.”

  “Oh, come on. You know about my love life. It’s only fair you tell me about yours. You’re dating three men? That’s freaking amazing. Who knew you had it in you?”

  “Kyle, I’m not talking. Besides, I don’t have a love life.” Yet. “It’s just an invitation to dinner.”

  “From three men. Holy crap. That’s huge. Is the third as hot as the first two?”

  She arched her eyebrow, giving him her “big sister” look. “No more questions.” She tried to change the conversation. At least a little. “That’s a different approach. I get to choose the place.”

  He gave in for now. “Yes, you do. Too bad they don’t know how awful your tastes are.”

  “Hey, I like what I like.” She tried again to snatch the card and again failed. “Who’s it from?” She knew who she wanted it to be from, but was it? Still, what three other men could it be?

  Kyle waved the card like a miniature fan. “It’s from Ridge, Colter, and Adam. Again, amazing. Sounds like someone’s into a little ménage à trois.”

  “I told you. Knock it off.” Finally, she caught him unprepared and grabbed the card. She read it, her heart picking up speed, even as relief set in. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized just how much she’d wanted to see them.

  “Okay. I will. For now. But you know you’ll tell me sooner or later.”

  He was right. He was a bulldog when it came to getting information out of her.

  “Open it up, sis. I see candy.”

  She would’ve preferred to have received her gift and invitation while she was alone, giving her time to savor the moment, but having Kyle around was fun, too. She pulled the bow off and undid the packaging. Knowing there was no stopping him, she let Kyle pull all the treats out.

  “Red-hot cinnamon hard candy. Good.”

  She didn’t miss it when he pocketed those, thinking he was sneaky.

  “Oh, look. A small fire extinguisher.” He handed her the red container that was the perfect size for a smal
l household.

  “I think there’s a theme here.” Putting the extinguisher to the side, she got ready to take the next item.

  “Red candles.” He held them up and read the label. “‘Cinnamon Fire to add heat to your passion.’ Nice.”

  She loved candles, especially scented ones. “What’s that underneath the spicy sausage?”

  Kyle kept taking things out of the basket. “This?” He held up the box. “Well, of course. It makes sense.” Handing it to her, he added, “It’s a smoke alarm.”

  By the time he’d removed everything, he was beaming from ear to ear. “So who’s this Adam guy? Is he as yummy as the other two?”

  She sat down and inspected one of the candles. “He’s a friend of theirs. And yes, he’s pretty damn hot, too.” Giving a firefighter a basket full of fire and heat related items was a cute idea. If nothing else, they were clever. But oh, they were so much more.

  “This is amazing. So where are you going to meet them for dinner?”

  She picked up her phone and sent the text. “Done.”

  “So? Where are you going? Do you have anything fancy to wear?”

  “I won’t need anything fancy. You know I’d rather have a good, juicy hamburger than some frou-frou food.”

  “Oh, hell, sis. Please tell me you didn’t ask them to meet you at Hamburger Heaven.”

  “Okay. I won’t tell you.” She turned away, knowing what his reaction would be.

  Kyle groaned as she’d expected he would. “You have three very sexy men taking you out at the same time, and you’re going to eat burgers? I saw how they dressed. Ridge and Colter definitely have the money to splurge on you.”

  She practically danced into her bedroom and opened up her closet. “I’m not interested in their money. I’d rather spend my time getting to know them where I’m comfortable instead of worrying about what the snooty waiter thinks. Now help me pick out something that’ll hide my ass.”

  “You don’t have an ass. Besides, big butts are in.” Kyle flopped onto her bed.

  She didn’t really want his help, but asking had diverted the conversation away from her dates. At least for a while. Now all she had to do was to keep her excitement in check until he left.