A tickling sensation pushed into the back of my mind, heat vibrating through every cell as I thought about the three men who’d crashed into my life, awakening not only dark desires that I’d obviously had years before, but also a longing for a family. That was crazy. Yet as I pictured them in my mind, a series of sweeping images of our passion brought a smile to my face and a flurry of butterflies replacing the knots in my stomach.

  What we shared was real.

  They were all I needed and everything I craved.

  I stared at my phone, biting my lower lip.

  Then I hit send.

  Cain

  Love.

  I’d grown up accepting the fact that love wasn’t a possibility for a monster like me. At first, I’d told myself the reason was because the woman would be considered a weakness, which still held some merit. Then I’d been certain there wasn’t a woman who could tolerate my needs. That no longer remained true. Sage had been… perfect.

  My cock twitched just thinking about how passionate we’d been, her needs paralleling mine.

  The final reasoning would remain locked in my mind.

  I didn’t deserve to have joy and happiness, love and passion because of who and what I was. A killer. An evil man. That much she’d known, even accepting who and what all three of us were.

  The simple truth was that I wanted Sage in my life so badly I would do anything to keep her happy. Hell, I would lock her in a cage, protecting her against the evils of this world.

  Including me.

  Including the two other men who wanted her heart.

  And I would hunt down the people responsible for hurting her.

  I glanced at Hunter and Cristiano as they studied the arrival board for at least the third time. I’d thought about taking my jet to San Diego, but she’d gotten on the plane returning to Chicago, or so I’d been told. She was coming back.

  But in what capacity?

  As a woman determined to destroy the three men who had a part in the tragedy that had altered her life, or as the girl we’d fallen in love with years before?

  I’d seen the notes she’d written down and had been able to feel her anger and anxiety in every word scribbled on the pieces of paper. Then there was the story, one so breathtaking that I hadn’t been able to breathe. Now, I paced the floor of the airport, hoping I’d get a third chance to make it right.

  Which I didn’t deserve.

  Hunter turned to face me, the look on his face the exact one on Cristiano’s, and if I looked in the mirror, I suspected the same version would be reflected.

  She’d managed to get so far under our skin that we had difficulty functioning.

  Hunter swaggered towards me, his eyes boring into mine. “We will protect her. We will care for her. She belongs to us.”

  He made the statement as if I’d argue with him. I couldn’t blame him for that.

  “I have the jet standing by if she didn’t get on that plane. We will find her.”

  Cristiano overheard and returned. “She’s on the plane. She’s as connected to us as we are to her.”

  The tension between us was almost laughable. The few times we’d made incredulous plans of finding the right girl, settling down together had made us laugh. We’d tried to tell ourselves it had been the alcohol talking, but the seed had been planted, watered the night we’d gotten a taste of Sage.

  When I tried to look away, Hunter got in my face. “Admit it. You’re in love with her.”

  I lifted a single eyebrow and exhaled. “Yeah, man, I am. That doesn’t mean shit if she doesn’t want to be with us.”

  Cristiano studied the runways outside the oversized window. Her flight was due in fifteen minutes.

  “Your men are in place around the airport. Right?” he asked.

  “No one is getting to her here. In addition, I have Brogan finding out everything he can about Watkins’ activities over the last few days and his current location. We’re going to pay a visit to the man.”

  “That’ll add gasoline to the fire,” Hunter threw in.

  “Maybe so, but we’re going to start ruling out candidates one by one. Besides, it’s time we address the fact that he made our lives a living hell for years.”

  “I’m down with that,” Cristiano threw in.

  “Who else could be behind this bullshit?” Hunter was as exasperated as I was.

  “We’re going to make a list and check them off one by one.”

  Cristiano nodded. “Do you think Sage’s father admitted he killed your brother?”

  I raked my hand through my hair. “I don’t know.” All the years I’d wanted to hunt the man down, taking my time to torture before killing him remained in my mind. However, if I followed through with acting on my revenge, I’d lose Sage forever. “The truth is that I’m not certain I care.”

  Hunter opened his eyes wide, then offered a nod of respect. “But it might matter to her.”

  He had a good point.

  “Did she answer your text?” I asked him.

  “No. She read it.”

  There was nothing to say to that.

  “Whoever is behind this will try and take Sage away from us.” Hunter’s voice was haunted.

  “They won’t be able to touch her. But l hope they try.”

  As a grin shifted across Cristiano’s face, I sensed he knew what I was thinking. “You want to call them out in the open.”

  “You bet I do.”

  “That’s dangerous,” Hunter threw in.

  Danger.

  The word had been one of the first ones I’d spoken as a kid. I’d grown up on adjectives and verbs that most mothers would attempt to keep stricken from a child’s vocabulary for as long as possible. I’d valued their meanings because that’s what was expected of me.

  I’d also learned that danger fed adrenaline. If controlled properly, the rush could be used to generate boosted strength and agility. However, once anyone fell into the darkness that danger often provided, there was no chance of using its core value.

  Given I’d never allowed it to happen, I hadn’t been prepared for the anger and trepidation that had already spread throughout my system.

  There was no doubt in my mind that whoever was behind the charade would make good on their threat. My bets were on William Watkins, although a strange nagging remained in the back of my mind. There were too many cryptic pieces, oddities that seemed amateurish but in truth, were brilliant crumbs dropped in hopes that we’d spend time going down a wrong path.

  The driver’s license found on the assassin inside the SUV had turned out to be just another part of the game. While the picture had been of the dead man, the reality was that the social security number and name had been stolen from someone who’d died several years before.

  While we were completely aware whoever was doing this wanted the three of us, it was also obvious they didn’t mind creating collateral damage.

  That included the ultimate revenge, taking her life for real. Nothing else could be worse.

  If that was the case, then whoever was behind the game knew how much we cared about her. Watkins wasn’t the obvious choice. Not for this. But the person responsible had hoped that’s what I’d think.

  I’d grieved Sage’s death more than I’d let on to anyone. I’d thought of her so often at times it had felt as if she were standing in the same room.

  It wasn’t about ghosts. My reaction has been caused by the desire that had never truly been fulfilled even once.

  Did I feel guilt for what had happened to her? Without a doubt. But I didn’t feel any remorse for ending Theo’s life. He’d deserved what he’d gotten.

  We stood in the airport near the terminal where her flight was due in any minute. It was entirely possible once she’d spoken with her parents that she wouldn’t return. Why should she? Did that mean I wouldn’t hunt then down in San Diego? No.

  The sound of my phone drew Hunter and Cristiano’s attention.

  “Brock. You found something.”

  “You’re not going to like it,” he said.

  I took a stab in the dark. “William Watkins is dead.”

  “How the fuck did you know?”

  “Call it luck.”

  Hunter snorted. “What the hell?”

  “How?”

  “He was shot leaving a restaurant in New York.”

  “Interesting. See what else you can find.”

  “Already on it.”

  Just as I ended the call, all three of our phones made noise.

  I took a deep breath before shifting to the correct screen.

  A long time ago I met three men who I fell in love with. They were rugged and dangerous, requiring my surrender. They thought me to be innocent, a budding flower. However, in their arms, the woman inside was awakened, the passion we shared undeniable. Until tragedy brought the budding romance to an end. Yet fate had other things in mind. Together again.

  Sage…

  CHAPTER 25

  Sage

  “Who was Kelly? My roommate?” I asked as Cain handed me a glass of wine.

  Hunter turned around, his eyes opening wide. “She was. She was also a groupie of the Elite, for the lack of a better word.”

  I thought about the bits and pieces of my memory. “A chosen one.”

  “Yes,” Cain said quietly. “Part of our large flock of women who would do anything we asked.”

  “Including luring me to the party.” I had no anger in my voice. There was no need. We were different people now, the experience altering all our lives significantly. I’d seen the pain in their faces when I’d left the gangway, the desire roaring through them as well as twisted anticipation.

  “If you’re thinking she had something to do with this, think again. She’s currently married to a senator. She had three kids and they own four homes,” Hunter said casually.

  I’d clung to the three of them as they’d surrounded me inside the airport, realizing that we’d made a spectacle of ourselves. I’d learned soldiers had surrounded the airport and that I was in danger from the person or persons responsible for sending the threats.

  “She knew she’d get married to someone who could provide her with a wealthy life.”

  “You remember more than you let on,” Cristiano said as he sat back against the couch.

  A whiteboard had been set up, the men determined to work through the mystery methodically. I’d learned someone had attempted to kill the three of them while I was jetting off to San Diego. I’d also heard stories of attempts made on their lives before.

  No wonder they were dead set on finding out what was going on.

  And it was no wonder they initially suspected I might be behind what they called a game being played. I called it a recipe for disaster.

  “I remember enough. Theo hated you. Kelly was in love with one or all of you. Did you know that?”

  Cristiano lifted his eyebrows. “Kelly hoped to be selected that night, promised to one of the Elite.”

  “But that was never allowed again after what occurred.”

  Hunter shook his head, studying me as he’d done continuously. “It was the last straw for the administration. I can’t tell you how many people were angry that the house was shut down. A lot of kids were tossed out, the ripple effect derailing many careers. She obviously did okay.”

  “A reason for revenge. Maybe not Kelly, but you can’t put it past the ones who didn’t land on their feet.” I said the words in passing, and Cain was the first to react, his chuckle leaving a vibrating hum across my already heated skin.

  I dragged my tongue around the rim of the glass, my legs curled under me. I felt more protected than I had my entire life, the three men keeping their weapons close.

  There were also at least six of Cain’s soldiers protecting the perimeter. They were nervous that the game was escalating. In truth, so was I. The last words written on my dressing room mirror remained in the forefront of my mind.

  They’d confessed everything, although Hunter and Cristiano had done most of the talking while Cain had kept his dark eyes pinned on me. He’d tossed back at least three glasses of expensive Macallan scotch while they’d answered my questions, and I’d provided what limited information I had in return.

  What none of them had asked about was my father. But it was on Cain’s mind. I could feel the intense hum of his anger just below the surface. He wanted to rip my father’s head off.

  I understood why, but I wouldn’t allow the man who’d raised me to be killed because of…

  The truth wouldn’t set him free. In fact, I suspected it would destroy him more than I originally thought.

  To learn my father had been called the Iceman because he showed no remorse was strange, yet almost freeing. He’d killed dozens of people, on call with several crime syndicate families. For as horrid as my father had been, once home, he’d been a doting father and loving husband.

  Maybe that’s why I could imagine a life spent with three dangerous, deadly men.

  “Our little pet has a good point. Perhaps we should broaden our list,” Hunter said.

  I eased to my feet, moving towards the set of open French doors. I’d removed my shoes, the warm summer late afternoon begging for my attention. It seemed like forever since I’d walked in my bare feet on pristine grass.

  Once outside, I took a deep breath, holding the fresh air until my lungs were filled.

  It’d hoped it would calm my nerves. But it didn’t.

  I walked down the steps, keeping my eyes locked on the large body of water as a light breeze drifted through my hair.

  Romance.

  I’d mastered the art of singing my heart out, writing love songs masquerading as hard rock. My fans had eaten it up. I’d made a lot of money feeding off the energy of sexual tension. The electricity was the thing fantasies were made of. What I’d realized the moment I’d stepped foot off the plane was that every song I’d written, every ballad crooned out to a massive audience, had been about the three men I hadn’t been able to remember.

  Yet their aura and the erotic magic we’d shared together had never left the back of my mind. I wondered if they had any idea how many top ten songs they’d inspired over the years. Now that I knew the source of my muse, I wondered if it would change my music.

  I’d learned from Cristiano that when enrolled in Crandall U, I’d gone on late night adventures, singing my heart out while performing in costumes. He’d been there protecting me.

  They’d admitted they’d stalked me, including Cain placing rose petals on my nightstands, and cameras and listening devices in the rooms.

  And they’d read my stories, ones similar to what I’d penned in the middle of the night little more than a week before.

  Some people would say I was crazy to continue caring about them, but the heart refused to be denied. Was it something I might regret later? I doubted it. I had a new lease on life, a need to explore the joys we shared.

  Yet at that moment my heart was still heavy.

  Now, I stood staring out at Lake Michigan, the water only a stone’s throw away. Cain’s estate was incredible, one of the prettiest I’d ever seen. His backyard was perfectly green, the grass rolling towards the water’s edge and dock where two boats were moored. There was even a section of beach, a gorgeous gazebo a few feet away.

  I’d expected his house to be modern or gothic, but the charming gingerbread detail on the palatial estate added to the charm of the Victorian setting. So many things had surprised me about all three men, but certainly not their possessiveness. I pulled the wine glass to my lips, feeling a presence behind me.

  A smile curled across my face, my mind still whirling from the upload of information they’d provided. From what I could tell, they hadn’t left out a single thing that had occurred that awful night. I was grateful the pieces had been filled in. However, the weight of having the letter meant for Cain still in my possession was strangling me. It was past time to provide what he needed to be able to heal.

  If that was possible.

  He was an angry man, his hatred and rage ebbing and flowing like the electricity we shared. As he closed the distance, I was immediately thrown by his exotic scent. It wrapped around me like a warm blanket, soft yet demanding at the same time.

  When he brushed his fingers down the length of my arm at a lazy pace, a single tremor drifted down my spine.

  “Cain,” I whispered, for no other reason than I enjoyed saying his name.

  “Beautiful little Sage.”

  “I’m not so little any longer.”

  He chuckled. “You’re exactly as you should be. Perfect.”

  “I’m far from it.”

  “And I’m a cold-blooded killer.”

  “With a heart.”

  His sigh was heavy, as if he also felt the weight of the world much like I did.

  I couldn’t just blurt it out. He needed to read what my father had written. If he could believe him.

  “I’m not a good man, Sage. Neither are Hunter and Cristiano. When this is finished, you’re free to return to your life.”

  For the first time, I heard what sounded like remorse. “No one will ever be able to take the music away from me, but I want more. I want all three of you. I know it’s crazy. I know people will think badly of us, but I don’t care.”

  He fisted my hair, yanking my head back until I was forced to rest it on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about what other people think. Just worry about what you need.”

  “Then that’s easy. All three of you.”

  “You’re certain?” There was a strange sound to his voice, hopeful.

  “Very much so.”

  “Mmm…” he growled. “Then if that’s what you want, you do realize there will be rules to follow.”

  He wasn’t asking a question, merely making a statement of what would be. He spun me around and pulled me even closer, narrowing his eyes.