Three

Chapter Three

Ryan

A GIRL.

A fucking girl.

What the hell were we supposed to do with her?

Kodee motioned with his head for us all to go into the kitchen and leave her sitting on our couch. I didn’t even want the bare skin of her thighs touching our Italian leather. I was furious with Dillon for landing us in this mess. I thought he’d gotten over his screwed-up ways and settled down a bit. It seemed I was wrong.

We kept our voices low in the hope she wouldn’t overhear us.

“Let’s throw some money at her and tell her to get the hell away from here,” I suggested.

Kodee’s square jaw tightened. “And what happens if the Capellos send their men back for her? How do you plan on explaining that one?”

“We could say she ran,” I suggested.

Kodee shook his head. “Not gonna work. It would still be our fault for not watching her properly.”

Dillion’s gaze darted over to where she sat on the couch. Her hands

were clasped between her knees, and she appeared fixed on the little white statue in the middle of the coffee table. Shit. The statue was supposed to represent the Greek god of nature and was a faun with a massive cock.

Kodee had spotted it at a flea market one Sunday and brought it back to me as a gift. I remembered laughing and placing it pride of place on the coffee table. We didn’t normally allow outsiders in here, and I’d certainly not have thought we’d ever have some girl sitting opposite it. I didn’t suppose it really mattered—after all, she’d probably seen more cock in real life than

even I had, but I didn’t want her reporting back to the Capellos, or anyone else, for that matter.

“How long do you think we’re going to have her?” Kodee asked. We both looked toward Dillon for any answer.

“How the hell am I supposed to know? You were here when they dropped her off. It’s not like I heard anything you didn’t.” His green eyes flashed with anger, but it was defensive anger. He knew he’d messed up.

I pressed my lips together. “You should have told us you were doing a job for the Capello brothers.”

Dillon’s defensive anger didn’t fade. “I did some work. I needed some money. We might be business partners, but that doesn’t mean I have to tell you every little thing.”

“We’re a bit more than business partners,” I snapped.

Kodee stepped in. “And if the shit you do affects the rest of us, then yeah, you do have to tell us.”

“I’m not a fucking fortune teller. How was I going to know it was going to affect you? I mean, I could hardly predict this,” he gestured to the girl,

“could I?”

“No,” I countered, “but you know the Capellos are bad news, and you went there anyway. What did you need the money for? Are you gambling again?”

“No. Fuck. I’m over that shit. You know that.” Kodee lifted his eyebrows. “Do we?”

Dillon looked to me. “Come on, man. You can back me up.”

I twisted my lips and shrugged. Dillon had screwed up plenty of times in the past, so what was one more?

It wasn’t as though I was some innocent either. Hell, I’d spent time in Iraq and had seen some shit that would give the hardest of men nightmares, but I did my best not to drag others down with me. This apartment was our little sanctuary from all the bullshit of the rest of the world, and Dillon had singlehandedly managed to drag the rest of the world in here with us.

I folded my arms over my chest. “So, what we’re saying, here, is that we’re stuck with her.”

“Yeah, but for how long?” Kodee said. “Days? Weeks? What if the Capellos don’t come back for her at all?”

We all turned to look back over at where she was sitting. She must have sensed our combined gazes on her, and she peeped at us across her

shoulder, caught us all looking, and ducked her head back down, focusing on her hands instead. What must she be thinking? I would have put money on this not being the normal reaction when she was handed over to a group of men. I switched my attention to Kodee and Dillon. Kodee was more than

happy to have a woman around, and Dillon was a horny little fuck and didn’t care if it was pussy or cock he was getting, just as long as it turned him on. I’d definitely always been more into men—though that hadn’t been the reason I’d joined the Army. It wasn’t that I had anything against

women. I’d just never come across one who made me feel things the way a guy did. I liked it when the person I was with took control, and that normally wasn’t going to be the woman.

I scowled over at the girl. I hoped she didn’t intend on sliding into our setup and stepping into my role.

“Well, we can’t just leave her sitting on the couch,” Dillon said. “She’s going to need somewhere to sleep.”

I shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with the couch.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You want her just sitting there, all day every day?”

“I hope you’re not suggesting she shares your bed,” I snapped at him. Dillon shrugged. “You got a better suggestion?”

“Yeah, I’ll go in with Kodee. She can have mine.”

“You’re giving up your bed for her?” Dillon said in disbelief.

“Only so you’re not tempted to slip her a little cock when both our backs are turned.”

“All right, you two,” Kodee intervened. “Quit it. She can have my room, and I’ll go in with Ryan.”

That probably worked better. There were some things I needed in my room that I didn’t want to have to explain to her.

“Where are your belongings?” Kodee called out to her.

Realizing she was being addressed, she lifted her head. “I don’t have

anything. My owners normally provide me with what they want me to wear. Most men prefer their women to be dressed in a certain way.”

“So, you don’t have anything with you? No belongings? No suitcase?” She gave a tiny apologetic shrug.

Kodee exhaled a long breath of exasperation and went to the front door. He opened it, checking no suitcase had been left for her in the hallway, and turned back to us.

“We don’t have anything... feminine... in the apartment,” he said.

She didn’t even have a change of underwear with her—not that I wanted to think about what her panties were like.

“I’ll go out and pick her up some stuff,” Dillon said.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “You know how to shop for a woman?” “No, of course not. But those places have plenty of female shop

assistants. A cheeky smile and bit of extra eye contact, and they’ll be falling over themselves to help me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”

She really wasn’t wearing much at all right now. The straps of her dress were threads, and the hem barely covered her ass. She didn’t look like she had enough body fat on her to keep her warm, never mind the lack of

clothing. It wasn’t as though it was cold in the apartment, but I still felt like she should be wearing more.

“Get her something normal,” I told Dillon. “Don’t go buying her slutty clothing. Get her jeans and t-shirts.”

“Jesus, what do you take me for?”

“A horndog who might decide this is the perfect opportunity to dress a woman up however the hell he likes.”

Dillon smirked, and I knew I’d been on the right track.

“Hey,” Kodee called, addressing the girl, Rue. “You can take my room until we figure out what we’re going to do with you. Dillon is going to go out and get you some new clothes, but if you want to take a bath or a

shower in the meantime, I can find you a shirt and some boxers to wear.”

Her dress looked filthy, and I couldn’t imagine what sort of grime she’d be washing from her skin. Did she still have the trace of whichever men had come before us on her? The idea did something strange to my insides, and I pushed the thought away.

Rue turned toward us, looking tentatively between us. “I’m sorry you’ve been landed with me. I can tell you don’t want me here.”

I opened my mouth, but Dillon cut in. “It’s fine. This isn’t your fault.” She nodded and looked back down at her hands again.

It wasn’t fine, and I didn’t want her here, but we didn’t have much of a choice right now.

“The bathroom is through there,” Kodee said, nodding toward our bathroom door. “You should have everything you need. I’ll leave you a clean shirt outside the door.”

She pressed her lips together and unfurled from the couch. Her legs

were bare, as were her feet. She didn’t even have any shoes. What kind of person didn’t have shoes?

I was angry at her for invading our lives like this.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t be for too long, and then she could go back to whatever fucked up kind of life she lived, and we’d never have to see her again.