After telling them the best she could, she leant on the edge of the bed, holding her stomach. She was so close to throwing up; remembering everything from that night until tonight.
“Fuck. I told you, you should have told her at the beginning,” Nate mumbled.
“You knew?” Skylar asked.
“Yeah, I did. Only a handful of people know about his other job.”
She looked back towards Dominic. “How could you be with someone else while you’re with Chantal? What is wrong with you two? You both can’t keep it in your God damn pants!” Skylar yelled.
“It’s fine, Sky. It’s over between us. I was shocked about the job when he told me, but the killer was that he spent the night with Renee, and possibly Maria.” She turned and faced him one last time. “I have never kept something this bad from you. I would have been absolutely fine about your job, had you told me at the beginning. But the fact that you still slept with your so-called clients doesn’t work with me. We never agreed on an open relationship, Dominic, and I would never pick that. When I am in a relationship with someone, it’s with that person and that person only! No sharing with another.”
“Chantal—”
“Nate, don’t’ you freakin’ dare,” she growled towards him. She knew what he was going to say, but what she had going on in her life was nothing compared to what Dom had dropped on her...it wasn’t even close.
“Sorry, Chan, but I think it’s time you tell him.”
“No, he doesn’t need to know. We aren’t together anymore, so he has no right knowing anything. I can handle it myself.” She had had enough; she needed to get out of this room, and the hospital. The walls were slowly starting to crowd her. There was no way on this earth that she was going to tell him about her stalker. He never cared about her in the first place, so why would he start now.
As she stomped towards the door, Dominic grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. “What’s Nate talking about, Chantal?” he growled.
“None of your fucking business. Let go of me!” she yelled.
“Tell me, now,” he demanded.
“You lost that right to demand anything from me, Dominic, when you spent the night with Renee. And you have also lost the fucking right to ever touch me again!” she screamed at him, as she pulled her arm from his grip and ran out of the room.
Chantal ran down the corridor towards the lifts, crying so bad she really couldn’t see where she was going. Every time she wiped the tears away, a new set fell down her cheeks. She sobbed harder as she finally stood in the lift, without Dominic following her. She had been so very close to telling Dominic about her stalker, but that was before. Why would she waste her time telling him now, when she meant nothing to the only man she had ever loved. Her heart broke in two, over him. The lies he told, the deception, and God knows what more.
She stepped out of the lift, and saw that Jason and Gavin stood near the entrance door. As she walked their way, both of them turned and faced her. Jason was the first to her side, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her out to their car. He never said a word, only kept a tight grip on her as they all slid into the car.
How could she have been so wrong about Dominic? Why was the only one that you trusted with your heart, the one that broke it into a million pieces? He did that, alright. She felt numb as the car pulled away from the hospital...she couldn’t feel a thing. Tears poured from her eyes, she didn’t care what she looked like. The only thing she wanted to do was crawl under a rock and die. What else could she do, after losing the love of her life? There was nothing on earth that could change the events of the last twenty-four hours. She had lost her soul mate, the one that held her heart in the palm on his hand. Yeah, and then he tore it up right in front of her eyes, laughing. It was all a huge joke, their whole time together, their relationship...everything.
––––––––
D
ominic and Nate stood next to the bed that Sky sat in; the three of them all stunned by what just happened. He had not slept with Renee, or any other person but Chantal. If she had only been quiet for a spilt second, he would have told her that. But he was angry as well. She was keeping something from him, and Nate knew exactly what it was.
Fuckin’ God damn it!
Why didn’t she come to him and tell him what was wrong? Slamming his fist against the wall, he couldn’t believe that she had done the exact same thing to him as what he had done to her.
“I told you to fucking tell her, Dominic. Shit,” Nate growled.
“Baby, let them sort it out, ok. I’m not going to do anything, so you shouldn’t either,” Skylar whispered from the bed, as she grabbed Nate’s hand.
“I can’t, Sky. And I know you won’t exactly back off either. This is all bullshit. Why do you all keep shit from each other?”
“What is she keeping to herself that I should know about, Nate?” Dominic asked.
“I am not telling you. She needs to do that, not me. I kept your secret to myself and never told anyone. But with what is going on with Chantal, I was so freakin’ close to telling you, and I know that you needed to know, but I didn’t because I promised her I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Damn it, Nate. What if I had a secret that Skylar told me, and I knew that you needed to know? How the fuck would you feel about it?”
“Don’t turn this onto me, Dom. You are the one that fucked this all up between the two of you. I have fixed everything that has happened with me and Skylar. Now, you need to do the same with Chantal, if she will ever allow it.”
“Guys, please stop,” Skylar sobbed.
Nate moved to her side. “I’m sorry baby,” he said, leaning down and lightly kissing her.
“She will listen to me,” he growled.
“Whatever you think, Dom.”
“I’m going to go and find her and sort all this shit out,” he told Nate, as he moved to the end of the bed. “Skylar, I never slept with Renee or any other woman since I have been with Chantal. I love her. I have ever since I first laid eyes on her.”
“You don’t have to stand there and explain it to me, Dom. You need to tell her; make her listen to what you have to say. We all know she is hotheaded. If she doesn’t listen, find a way to make her.”
He smiled. “I plan to, whether she likes it or not.”
Dom left the both of them, and walked out of the room. He needed to find her and definitely make her listen to him this time. He had his ways to make someone talk and he knew exactly how to do it with her. He grinned to himself. The first thing he needed to do was find out what she was hiding from him. It had to be something big, if Nate knew about it, but not Skylar. There is no way that Nate would have told her about it if he knew it would upset her.
As he walked over to his truck, nothing came to mind as to what she could have kept from him, but he was sure as hell going to find out. One way or another.
Pulling out from the hospital parking lot, he drove towards her house. He tried ringing her several times, but it went to voicemail. She could only hide for so long from him, until he found her.
When he pulled up in her drive, he got out and walked to the front door. Knocking once, he waited. No answer. Looking through the front window, he saw that no lights were on and there was no sight of her. He tried the door handle, but sure enough, it was locked. Deciding on trying the back door, he walked around back. As he walked up the stairs, for some unknown reason the back window didn’t look right to him.
Trying the door handle, it opened as he lightly touched it. Stepping inside, he glanced around her kitchen. There was nothing wrong with it at all. There was no sign of any water damage to the floor, or cupboards. And there was no sign that there were any repairs done to her kitchen, ever. What the hell was going on? Why would she say that her kitchen flooded, when it apparently never did?
“Fuck.”
Something serious was going on, and he needed to know now. If she was in trouble, she should have come to him; he would do absolutely anything for her. She was so going to get the spanking of her life for keeping whatever it was from him. How could she go off at him completely when she was keeping some big secret that she didn’t want him to know about?
Whatever it was, he was going to find out. There was not going to be any more secrets kept from each other from that point on, everything was going to be said, end of story.
******
O
ver a week had gone by since Joey had seen Kristen and Bradley that late night in the bar. Since then, he had locked himself in his office, not wanting to see either of them. Several times, she had knocked on his door, and the only thing he did was yell out that he was busy and told her to go and see Red.
Red was the only one that was allowed into his office—well, he walked in whether Joey like it or not. He never took any of Joey’s shit. He could have fired the guy but what was the point, he’d be back the next day.
Wiping his hand over his face, he knew he really had to get back to the bar. He couldn’t keep himself locked up, he just had to suck it up and deal with seeing them two together. He had no idea why he was acting this way. Yeah, he had a thing for her, but he wasn’t going to do anything about it. And by the looks of things with her, she was into Bradley.
Just thinking their names together made him growl. “Fuck.” He couldn’t keep doing this to himself. She could date or sleep with whomever she wanted; it wasn’t like they were a couple, for crying out loud. Pushing his chair back, he stretched his arms over his head, working the kinks out of his back as he did.
Walking to the door, he counted in his head before he opened it. Moving down the hall, he noted that for a Saturday night it wasn’t that busy. Maybe closing up early might help, so he could disappear from the world until tomorrow, or he could just find a woman for the night and get lost inside of her body.
The only one he thought about doing that exactly with was standing at the end of the bar, serving a customer. Damn, why couldn’t she be over at the table or something, rather than leaning over the stupid bar, passing a drink to the customer? Her perfect ass sticking out, as she stood on tiptoes. Just seeing her doing that had all kinds of thoughts running through his brain.
He had never fucked anyone on his bar, or desk, but every other place he had. His cock sprung to life, fully, when she bent over and retrieved the glass tray from the bottom shelf. He wondered how she would feel if he asked her to blow him, while behind the bar? Yeah, that wouldn’t go down so bloody well. He’d end up with his balls in his throat, from her kicking them that far.
He walked down the bar. “Hey boss, you finally decided to come out?” Kristen said to him, as he approached.
He rubbed his neck. “Yeah, things need to be done.”
“Not much out here left to do,” she said as she was wiping the counter down. Shit, she really had to stop leaning over or bending in front of him.
He fixed up the front of his jeans, making them more comfortable for his growing bulge. “I was thinking of closing up early, not many people around tonight.”
“Your call, boss.”
Why the hell was she calling him that and not by his name?
“Where’s Bradley?”
“How should I know? Last time I seen him, he was out in the back storeroom.”
“I’ll go and let him know that we are closing up. You can leave once you’re done here.”
She only nodded towards him. Walking down the hall to find Bradley, he heard some pretty weird noises coming from the storeroom as he was about to open the door. He frowned as he pushed the door open, and was pissed at what was in his view.
Bradley had some brunette up against the back wall, fucking her hard.
What was it with this bloody room? “What the fuck, Bradley?”
He knew the rules: do not ever fuck anyone in his bar.
The woman screamed, covering herself as best she could as Bradley just grinned like a silly schoolboy, while fixing his pants up.
“Sorry, boss.”
“This is your last warning, Bradley. You’re a great barman, but if I catch you again, that’s it!” he growled and stormed off.
Jesus Christ. He was going to put freaking signs up and possibly a security camera. If they wanted to fuck someone, take them home, or at least to their car.
Slamming his office door closed, he was so over catching people in the act while at work. Least he had the courtesy to do it while no one else was around. Ripping his phone from his desk, he called his brother.
“Hey, big bro, what’s up?” Jet mumbled over the phone.
“Sorry to wake you, I need a favor.”
“It’s fine, I needed to get up anyways. What you after?”
“I’m looking to add some more security cameras around the bar.”
“Ok. Is there a reason for more?”
“I’m sick of catching my workers fucking random people in my bar,” he growled.
Jet’s loud laughter came over the phone, pissing him off more. “If you’re just going to laugh about the matter, I’ll find someone that will do what I want.”
“God, don’t be such a woman, Joey. You know I’ll do it, it’s just funny that they are all still doing it and you catch them ever bloody time. I might have to come down there and see who you got working. Have you got anyone new working for ya?”
“Stay away from my staff, Jet,” he growled.
“Well, damn. So, you do have someone new. What’s she like, big man?”
“None of your fucking business. When can you be here to install the cameras?”
“I can be there in the morning, or Tuesday lunch time.”
“Tomorrow would be better, be here before the bar opens. You won’t have anyone to distract you then.”
“Bro, I can be distracted and still do my work in the time frame.” He laughed.
“Whatever, just be here in the morning,” he grumbled, and then he hung up. Jesus, it was hard enough seeing her with Bradley, he didn’t need his fucking brother trying to get her attention. He slammed the phone down. She was really starting to get to him, and in a good way.
“Shit.” He couldn’t let her distract him when he had a bar to run. Or maybe it was a good idea. Maybe he just needed to get her out of his system, and then he wouldn’t be thinking about here every spare second he had. They could come to some arrangement that it was just sex between them, nothing more.