The Triangle Read online

  Is it a scalene? All sides are different.

  Is it an isosceles? Two sides are equal. One is out of proportion.

  Or. Is it equilateral? All sides are equal.

  I want very much to believe it is the last one.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - DANNY

  I lie there breathing hard for a few seconds. Trying to wrap my head around what we’re doing. What I just said yes to. How this is all gonna play out and how it’s all gonna go to shit. Because nothing is making sense to me right now.

  After you have sex with your girl you turn in bed and wrap your arms around her. You lean into her. Let her lean into you. Kinda play it all back in your head as your rapidly beating heart calms down and your muscles relax.

  But this isn’t what’s happening now.

  All three of us are on the bed. All three of us staring up at the ceiling. And I don’t know what they’re feeling but as the seconds tick off and turn into minutes I’m starting to get a better idea of what I’m feeling.

  This… was a mistake.

  I’m here to protect Christine and keep Alec in my sights so I can turn him over to Brasil in exchange for a fresh start.

  Sex can’t change that. Won’t change that.

  The dude is as selfish as they come. He’s always looking for more. More power, more money, more excitement. And I don’t give a fuck what he says, that’s all we are to him. A means to an end.

  His end, not ours.

  We’re not going down with this guy.

  So yeah, the fucking was fun—but that’s all it was

  Fucking. Fun.

  I swing my legs over the bed, grab my jeans, pull them up—

  “What are you doing now, then?” Alec asks, almost annoyed.

  I don’t answer.

  “Get back here,” Christine sighs, clearly tired and spent.

  I don’t answer her either. She’s not gonna listen to me. Not in the afterglow of what we just did. I just pull up my zipper and walk out into the glass-walled hamster-tube of a hallway.

  “Oh, fok you, man,” Alec calls after me.

  No we already did that.

  I hear a thump of feet landing on the hardwood floor of the bedroom, then the soft thud of footsteps as he follows me out.

  Naked.

  Figures.

  I turn, my gaze absently clocking all the beauty surrounding me on the other side of the glass. The small stream running beneath my feet. The choppy lake. The low-hanging mist. And I think about how exposed we are. How I hate that. How I should just grab Christine and leave right now. Get her somewhere safe. Somewhere away from Alec and all his fucking baggage that will surely come crashing down soon.

  Alec grabs my upper arm, turning me towards him.

  I allow this because we are gonna have this talk.

  “Come on, man.”

  I stare into those lying amber eyes and he recoils. Just a little. Just his head as he takes in the change of mood.

  “What now?” He opts for ignorance. Figures.

  I just shake my head at him. “Nope.”

  “No, what?”

  I realize he’s still gripping my arm. I shrug him off, getting angrier by the second.

  “Danny—”

  “Shut up.”

  He does. Fucking miracle, that.

  He stares back at me, gaze changing from satisfied to cautious as I breathe through the hot anger building up inside me.

  He shrugs as I try to keep cool. “This again?”

  “Meaning what?” I say. My heart is beating fast like it was, then wasn’t, and now is again. But for wholly different reasons than it was a few minutes ago.

  “You’re going to run away because we had a little fun?”

  “Fun? Is that what this is to you? Just another spontaneous moment of adventure?”

  “Danny—” Christine is leaning against the doorjamb. Naked. “Just come back to bed. We can figure shit out tomorrow and—”

  “No,” I say. “There’s nothing to figure out.” And then I look back at Alec. “You should’ve kept the sexual tension going a little longer, eh?” I mimic his stupid accent. “Then I’d still be caught up in the game and not thinking with a clear head.”

  “What are you on about?”

  “This,” I say, pointing my finger at him, then Christine, “isn’t happening.”

  “It just did, bru.” And he has the nerve to snicker at me. Like this is some fantastic joke.

  My fist hits his jaw and wipes that smirk right off his fucking face.

  And then I lose track of everything. He hits me back. Christine is yelling something. Time blurs. Seconds meld into each other. There’s a sharp pain in the side of my head, my knuckles splitting open as I connect with his ear. Taste of blood in my mouth as I’m pushed up against the glass. I hit it so hard I wait for the inevitable shattering that never comes. And there’s no time to think about that because Alec is on me. The way he was on Curtis that day at the gym.

  But I’m not Curtis and I have no plans of going down like him, either.

  He swings, I block with my left and connect again. His lip splits and he bends over. Then rams me in the stomach with his head, crashing me against the window again. His arms wrap around my waist and he presses himself into me. Almost hugging me.

  “Get the fuck off me,” I growl.

  “Stop it!” Christine is still yelling. She’s tugging on him, and me, and her fucking breasts are swinging—so goddamned distracting I pause, giving Alec the break he needs to twist my arm around my back, forcing me to turn into the window.

  He holds me like that. Just enough pressure on my arm to make the threat of a dislocated shoulder real. Then a jerk—pain shoots up my arm—to hammer that home.

  “You know what your problem is, man?” he growls, his words low and angry right up against my ear.

  “You,” I growl back.

  He gives me another jerk, and as the shooting pain runs up my arm, I decide… fuck Brasil. I’m gonna finish this job myself. I turn, weight on my left leg as my right leg sweeps behind him, hooks his ankle and as he goes down, I wrap both arms around his legs, taking away the major threat.

  But I’m in control for less than a second. Even after all these years apart, Alec is as familiar with my moves as I am with his. His forearm catches me under the chin as he pushes my head to the side, and quick as that—he’s out from under me, getting to his feet.

  I’m on my feet too, and we circle each other. Half crouched. His cock—slightly hard from the sex we just had, or maybe the fight turns him on, who the fuck knows—swings back and forth.

  “I might be biased,” Alec says, spitting blood onto the floor. “but I agree that it’s perfect. Feel free to stare, my boet.”

  “You guys!” Christine shouts. “Enough!”

  “Not yet, nunu,” Alec says. “We’re just getting started. But don’t worry, Danny’ll be back in the old bed as soon as he gets it all out of his system.”

  “I will, but you won’t,” I snarl back.

  “Why are you so goddamn uptight, Fortnight? Jesus Christ. Your hang-ups are starting to bore me.”

  “Is that what you think this is?” We continue to circle each other. Eyes locked. Hands in front of us, fingers spread wide, each waiting for an opening. “Shame?” I laugh, then lunge, hitting him in the chest the way he got me. He goes reeling backwards down the stupid hamster-tube hallway, but doesn’t lose his footing.

  I probably should’ve anticipated the position this would put me in a little bit better… because I get a good long look at his cock and then a slap, as it swings up to hit me in the chin.

  Alec laughs. “Don’t bite now, Danny. That’s a rule I have no matter who has their head between my legs.”

  I push harder. He pushes back. For two eternal moments we’re immovable forces. Equal and opposite in every way. And then…

  He gives in and we go reeling—me forward, him backwards. His back crashes into the floor and I crash into him. Instantly his leg
wraps around me, his hard cock pressing into the muscles that line my waist, and we trade positions.

  The next thing I know I’m face down, in a head lock, and he’s got his lips pressed up against my ear. His breath flows into me with his words. “Why don’t you ever believe me, Danny?”

  “OK, that’s enough!” Christine is yelling. I think she’s been saying shit like that on repeat since we started fighting, but I lost track of sound so I’m not really sure.

  “Because nothing you tell me is true,” I hiss back, barely able to get the words past the pressure of his forearm against my throat.

  “Everything I say is true.”

  “Ha,” is all I can manage. I might be blacking out.

  He eases up and the blood begins to flow to my brain. The fuzzy feeling fades as Alec lifts his body up off mine, allowing me to turn over so I’m no longer pressed face first into the floor. Just as quick, he leans down again. Pressing his chest against mine as he grabs my hair with both hands and gives me a shake. “What do you want from me? A ring? A wedding? Do you need a dress and a cake and dancing under the stars?”

  “What the fuck are you talking about? And get the fuck off me, asshole.”

  “Not until you answer.”

  “Answer what? Your stupid jokes?”

  “It ain’t a joke, man. Just… tell me what I need to do to convince you I’m real. Yeah? Can you do that? Give me a hint, maybe? So we can come to terms and get back to fucking? Because that was preferable.”

  “I don’t even know what you’re trying to say.”

  “Oh, my fucking God!” Christine screams. “He’s trying to tell you he fucking loves you!”

  I actually laugh.

  “That’s funny, izit?” Alec asks.

  “Yes.” I’m still laughing.

  But then I stop laughing. Because… he’s kissing me.

  For a second I don’t know what to do. Punch him in the face because this fight isn’t over? Or just…

  Give in.

  I give in.

  Because Christine is kneeling behind me. My head between her open legs. Scent of her pussy infiltrating my nose. Everything forgotten as both her hands cover Alec’s, which are still gripping my hair as his tongue pushes its way past my lips and slips inside my mouth.

  Christine’s long hair brushes against the side of my cheeks as her lips flutter against the corner of my mouth, wanting to complete our triangle.

  I lean into her. Ready for more of that. But Alec isn’t about to let me forget he’s here too. His cock is practically stabbing me now. So hard. So ready.

  Christine’s hands slide down my face and reach over my chest, fingers splayed open like her legs. Her tits dangle like ripe fruit over my mouth and I reach for them, twisting and kneading them until she begins to moan.

  Alec lets got of my hair, lifts himself off me until he’s sitting on my thighs. I don’t miss his kiss. I still have Christine and she’s the only one I want.

  Until… until Alec’s fingers drag my zipper down and pull my own rock-hard cock out.

  I grit my teeth and close my eyes.

  “Fok that,” Alec says. “Open your fokken eyes this time. Coward.”

  I do. Mostly because the venom in his voice doesn’t match what he’s doing with his hands. Which is slowly pumping my cock with a firm grip. “What?” I ask, my voice rough and throaty.

  “No more sticking your head in the sand. No more pretending. No more bullshit. We. Were meant. To be together. The three of us. It’s perfect. Our love triangle. And I’m not going to let you lie your way through it again. You will make a decision. Now. Get up and walk out forever. Or stay and commit to us. To what you know is right.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - CHRISTINE

  It’s one of those do-or-die moments. A defining moment.

  And I refuse to leave it up to Danny. Because he’s always worrying about tomorrow. He’s never satisfied to just take the prize and run. Always has to overthink things. Always dwelling on the stupid consequences.

  We don’t have time for consequences. We could die tomorrow and then who the fuck cares, right? We might not even make it to tomorrow.

  I feel guilty for even thinking like this. Because I know that, truthfully, if Danny wasn’t Danny I’d probably be dead right now. I sure as fuck wouldn’t be in a love triangle with the unofficial forty-fourth richest man in the world and a car-chopping mastermind—

  Wait. What?

  The memory of what Danny really does for a living comes crashing back to me like a hammer to the head. It actually hurts. A pain shoots through my brain and then… then… it’s gone. The foggy haze that mimics the mist outside receding, the missing parts of my life—did I know there were still missing parts?—rush back in as the black-out pressure is released like a dam breaking.

  “If I leave,” Danny says, bringing me back into the moment, “I’m taking her with me.”

  Her. Me. He means me.

  “No,” I say. “No.” I look down at Danny and frown. “If you leave, Danny, you leave alone. If you walk out on him, you walk out on me.”

  “Christine—”

  “No,” I say again. “No. I’m done.”

  “Done how? What do you mean?”

  “I’m not gonna let you ruin everything, Danny. Not again.”

  “Again!” He chokes on his incredulous laugh.

  “You were the one who couldn’t commit. You were the one who divided us. You were the one who walked away. Not us.”

  He cringes at the word ‘us.’ But I don’t care.

  “Oh, yeah,” I continue. “There’s an us.” The hurt on his face is automatic. And I feel it like it’s mine. I’m not trying to hurt him. I don’t want to hurt him. But he needs to see the truth and this needs to happen now. “Alec didn’t walk away from me.”

  “Christine, I only ever wanted what’s best for you.”

  “I know that, but you never stopped to ask me what I wanted.”

  There’s several moment of awkward silence. My tits are dangling in his face. My hands splayed out on his chest. Alec is naked, still sitting on Danny’s thighs, still gripping Danny’s cock, slowly and automatically pumping it up and down as he locks eyes with me.

  Keep going, his eyes say. Tell him. Make him listen. Make him stay.

  There’s a lot going on in my head right now. And the seventeen stitches are just the beginning. What do I know? What’s true? What’s missing?

  “Christine,” Danny says, jerking me back to the present. “He’s not good for us. He’s not—”

  “Stop it,” I say. “Just stop it. I mean, come on, Danny. Everything good that’s happened to us is because Alec was there.”

  Danny shakes his head. “How can you even say that?”

  “Because it’s true.”

  “We’re criminals, Christine. Because of him.”

  He has to know that’s not true, so now he’s just lying. And that pisses me off. “You were a criminal long before Alec van den Berg came along. Or have you forgotten all those years we spent together? Alone. I saw you, Danny. I saw what you did. I know who you are. And that guy was inside you long before you appointed yourself my knight.”

  “He taught you to kill, Christine!”

  “Thank God he did, right? Or you’d be dead right now.”

  This shuts him up.

  Alec sighs. And when I glance at him, notice that he’s still giving Danny a hand job, I want to laugh. Because he makes me happy. Because I love him. And I know that Danny loves him too. It’s just… complicated. And I get that. I do.

  So I lean down and kiss Danny. And when his lips part to receive my offering, I whisper, “We love you, Danny,” into his mouth.

  His head tips back, his eyes on mine. Scanning me the way he does. Searching for the mysteries inside me.

  But there’s no mystery. “It’s just love in there,” I say. “That’s it. That’s all. Just love.”

  “No,” he says, one hand coming up to rest on my cheek. �
�You’re pretty inside. It’s blue in there.”

  I sigh. Long, and low, and softly. “It’s blue in you too.”

  “I can be blue,” Alec says. “Just tell me what it means and I’m every shade of blue you like. Light blue, navy blue, cerulean blue. I’ll even be turquoise.”

  When I look at him he’s smiling like the fucking Cheshire cat. “Don’t gloat,” I say. “Be gracious.”

  “He doesn’t get to be gracious. He didn’t win.”

  “And you,” I say, leaning back down to bite Danny’s lip. He hisses at me. “Be honest.”

  “With what?”

  “Oh, for fok’s sake,” Alec sighs. He’s about to swing his leg over and dismount Danny’s thighs when I reach out and place a hand on his shoulder.

  But I don’t say anything. Not to him. Instead I look at Danny. “This is it, OK? Your last chance. If you want to walk away from him, go. But I’m staying. And if you stay, it better not be for me. It better be for us.”

  Danny’s eyes dart to Alec.

  Alec shrugs. “I’ll get us all rings. How many carats do you need to feel loved and cherished, Danny?”

  Danny smiles. Then he laughs. “Fuck you.”

  “I mean, you do realize that diamonds have nothing to do with forever, yeah? They’re just a made-up token invented by the mining industry.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “But I have connections. I can make you feel special.”

  And then… that defining moment is back. Because that last part comes out different. It’s not a joke. He’s not making a joke. He’s serious. And slowly, so slowly, Alec lowers his head down to Danny’s stomach and begins to kiss him. His eyes looking up Danny’s chest. Wide open.

  “I don’t even have to try hard,” Alec says, pausing to kiss his way up Danny’s abs. “Because it’s always been true. I wanted you first, you know.”

  I’m so close to Danny I hear him swallow.

  “I went to that boxing club to get your attention.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “No, it’s true, man. It is. I was fighting for you that day.”