Adams, Eve - Trio [Gideon's Ring 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (29 page)

“Just give me the phone, woman.” Norris laughed when Amber called him a name. “Ouch! You have sharp little teeth. Just you wait until I get you—”

“Could we just focus, please?” Sarah didn’t want to know what her brother planned to do with his girlfriend after they got off the phone. No doubt it would include the third in their trio, Brett.

“Sorry, sis.”

“Did you find out anything about Strickler?”

“Only that there is no Richard Strickler, at least not one who’d fit the bill as a PR rep.”

Her heart flip-flopped. “So I did find Lucky?”

“Maybe. What’s this about the power?”

“It went out yesterday morning around eight, probably due to the storm.”

“Negative. The power company has no reports of any outages in that area. I just checked.”

“You can do that?”

“Oh yeah. They have this cool website now that you can plug in the address and it not only tells you whether the outage has been reported but also tells you when they’ll have a technician in the area to fix it. The ranch isn’t on the list.”

That didn’t make any sense. She turned toward the lodge but of course couldn’t see it from where she stood. “Norris, did the family give you a physical description of Lucky?”

“They did more than that. They gave me Carol.”

All the blood in Sarah’s veins slowed to molasses. “Are you cheating on Amber?”

“No, you dimwit. Carol Dewitt came with the job. The family hired me
and
Carol. When we found out that we were both after Lucky, we decided to join forces.”

She couldn’t believe it. Carol? A PI? Shock, anger, and betrayal all fought for the dominant emotion. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“She asked me not to. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I haven’t heard from her since yesterday afternoon. Do you know where she is?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“She’s not at the ranch?”

“No. She left yesterday.” Sarah paused as she started to piece it together.

“Alone?”

Her heart hit the pit of her stomach. “With Strickler.”

Norris remained silent. When he did make a noise, he growled deep in the back of his throat, which was never a good thing. “That bitch. I can’t believe it. She was in on it the entire time. I should have known when she said she’d been following Lucky since Colorado that something was up.”

Instead of Sarah feeling sorry for herself for not figuring out the connection sooner, anger burned in her senses. If she ever saw Carol again, she’d let her know exactly what Sarah Emerson thought of people who conned the innocent.

“What do you want me to do?”

“When can you get here? We need to regroup.”

Sarah glanced down at her watch to see her time with
her men
quickly ticking away. “Can I just have—”

“You’re up early.”

She turned to see another Gideon walking toward her. Same black hair. Same mesmerizing blue eyes. Same large build.

Just how much had he heard?

“I have to go,” she whispered into the phone before closing it to hang up on her brother. She swallowed and forced a sense of calm as she asked, “Just how many of you are there?”

His grin made her smile. They all shared that same crooked grin that made them sexy as sin.

He tipped his hat at her. “Wyatt Gideon.”

“Sarah Emerson.” She held out her hand.

“It’s always nice to meet one of Barrett’s subs.”

Her world cracked, and she heard it. She felt it. Still, she couldn’t be upset that there had been others before her. It was the thought that there’d be others after her that had her on the verge of collapsing from the truth.

Wyatt grinned, unaware of the pain his comment had caused. He glanced around. “Looks like the storm finally broke. Good thing, too.”

She pushed her pain deep and feigned interest in the conversation. “Why’s that?”

“We’ll be able to get everyone out today. You can go back to your life, and we can go back to ours.”

Sarah ignored the pinch of disappointment that attacked her senses. It was Sunday after all, and according to the contract she signed, she would check out by noon today. She glanced at her phone, and her heart sank. How could it already be nine? That only left three hours before she lost her Gideon cowboys
’
undivided attention.

She sighed and traced the trees with her gaze. Would she ever see these trees again? Would she ever feel the warmth and safety of falling asleep wrapped in Barrett and Chris’s arms again? Had she realized how little time they had left
,
she would have stayed in bed with them longer.

Would either Barrett or Chris remember her in a year? A month? A week? Or would she be just another satisfied guest leaving the ranch with a smile?

“Can I ask you a question?”

Wyatt shoved his hands in his pockets. “Sure.”

“How often do you have retreats here?”

“It started out just a couple times a year. Word got out and we moved it up to every quarter or so. Now we have a retreat at least once a quarter.”

“And do you all participate every time?” She tried to sound disinterested as she prodded.

“Why not ask me what you really want to know? You want to know if Barrett and Chris participate in every retreat.”

She colored and smiled as she kicked at the snow around her boots. “Yes.”

“
Both of them?
”

She nodded as she kept her head down.

“When Chris is in town, he usually does. Barrett, always.” Wyatt glanced over at the tents. “But he’s never been an active partner before.”

“What does that mean?”

“He pinned you.”

“So?”

“He doesn’t do that. Barrett is the one who is usually pinned, not the other way around. He teaches the couple how to please each other and only participates to demonstrate how to do something.”

Sarah dropped her jaw as shock plunged through her body. “You talk about him as if he’s some sort of instructor.”

Wyatt blinked at her and lifted his brow. “That’s what he is, Sarah. That’s what we all are, even Chris when he
’
s here. We don’t open the ranch to these retreats just to have a fuckfest, pardon the French. The client comes first, so to speak. That’s what these weekends are all about—making sure the clients are satisfied when they leave. It isn’t like we actively participate in all the ménages that happen, but we will if the clients don’t choose each other or if they aren’t having fun.”

That didn’t make any sense. Barrett sought her out, as did Chris. He’d pinned her. So had Chris. They both focused on her and only her. Neither one made it sound like she should have been with anyone else.

But Chris did point out some of the other guests to her when they sat at the table that first night. And Barrett hadn’t looked very approachable while he stood scowling at the bar.

“Sarah, I know you like Barrett. Chris, too. Maybe too much. That’s why I’m telling you this. I’m not trying to be an asshole, but you need to know the truth.”

She swallowed thickly. “And that is?”

“Those boys are simply playing their role as your instructors. They are teaching you how to enjoy yourself so that you can take the lessons you’ve learned and apply them to a real lover outside of the ranch.”

“You’re wrong,” she whispered, the dread slowly creeping in like a dense fog. No.
No
.
No
.
No
. It couldn’t have all been an act. No one was that good.

“Have they pulled the whole ‘me Dom, you sub’ routine? Those two usually reserve that angle for the more challenging clients. You aren’t the first client to mistake their devotion as sincere. They are both very good at their job.”

Wyatt smiled kindly, and it broke her heart. She knew that smile. It was the same smile her friends wore whenever Sarah talked about Ryan. The same smile Norris wore whenever she talked about wanting in on the family business.

The pity smile.

Realization slapped her across the face and caused her heart to plummet to the dark depths of her sorrow. This entire weekend, everything that made her fall head over heels in love with two men, was all part of their job. She knew that, and that was what made it all the more humiliating.

She wanted to be angry. She wanted to unleash on Barrett. On Chris. Even Wyatt. It didn’t matter who. She wanted all the Gideons to know just how cruel their little role-playing could be.

“I suppose I should thank you for correcting my ridiculous assumption.”

“I’m really sorry that I had to be the one to do it. It’s Barrett’s job to make sure he keeps a strict line between business and pleasure since he pinned you first, and he failed. He crossed the line with you, Sarah, and what’s worse, so did Chris.”

Not wanting to shed a single tear over this—after all, it was her fault for assuming either one of her weekend lovers had any feelings for her—she turned and headed back to her tent. She needed to gather her things before she left with the rest of the guests.

As she approached the tent
,
she heard Barrett’s booming laugh, and it felt like a dagger shredding her heart. With a deep breath and a hard swallow to push her emotions down deep, she unzipped the tent and walked inside.

Barrett looked up from the woodstove and grinned wide, the gesture lighting up his eyes and making this all the more painful. He stood and pulled her all the way in before zipping the tent behind her.

“There’s my girl.”

“Don’t,” she whispered before she could stop herself.

He immediately stiffened and rested his hands on her shoulders as he studied her, concern flickering in his gaze. “Baby? What’s wrong?”

She couldn’t do this. Now that she knew with certainty that this was all an act, she couldn’t do it. She had to get away. From Barrett. From Chris.

From the ranch.

“I have to go.”

“Sarah?” Barrett wouldn’t release the grip he had on her shoulders. “What is it?”

She didn’t want to feel any worse than she already did. Instead of admitting her assumption, she simply smiled and shrugged out of Barrett’s grasp. “I just have so much to do this week. I want to get a jump on it. I
’
m going to call a cab and have them take me to the airport.
”

Chris frowned as he stood up from the table and approached.
“
Why are you in such a rush to get out of here?
”

“
I’m going to try to catch an earlier flight out.”

“
But why?
”