Adams, Eve - Trio [Gideon's Ring 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (34 page)

“
Do you seriously think it will make a difference who tells him, Wyatt?
”

He listened to the Gideon brothers murmuring behind him and released a long breath. With a flick of his gaze
,
he looked to Barrett. The sooner they could get rid of Matt and Wyatt
,
the sooner they could get back to sulking.

Barrett stood and turned to face them. “Tell me what?”

“Nothing. We’ll just come back later.” Wyatt practically cried his response.

Matt dropped his jaw before snapping his mouth closed and clenching his teeth. “It’s far from nothing. You’d better tell him before Michael finds out and they gang up on us. With Chris here, you know he
’
ll take Barrett’s side and we
’
ll really be screwed.”

Chris stood as well.
“
So you
’
d best speak now before we find out on our own.
”

Wyatt darted a nervous gaze between Matt and Chris. Finally, when Matt took a breath, Wyatt shook his head vehemently.

Matt started to speak. “It’s—”

“It’s about money,” Wyatt cut in and visibly swallowed as
he
darted his gaze to Barrett, waiting for his reaction.

Odd. Why would Wyatt want to talk to Barrett about the ranch’s finances? Wasn
’
t that Michael’s role? And why were both brothers looking ready to either puke or pass out?

Chris’s suspicious nature went into overdrive. “What about money?”

“Well, we’re sort of um…we don’t have, uh…”

“Spit it out before I beat it out of you,” Barrett growled
,
and Chris believed him. He still had one good hand.

“Go ahead.” Matt crossed his arms and nodded at Barrett, though speaking to Wyatt. “Tell him what you did. I can’t wait to see that vein in his temple throb.”

Barrett had started to turn red. “If one of you doesn’t tell me what the fuck is going on, I’m going to kill you both.”

“Strickler disappeared,” Wyatt blurted out. “With our money.”

No.
No
.
No
.
No
.

Barrett drew in a deep breath and held it until his lungs burned. It worked to calm him enough that he no longer wanted to tear his kin limb from limb. “And the rating?”

Wyatt paled. “Mystery guesting is required for a five-star rating, but he promised me he had that covered. Someone by the name of Carol was his inside source at the Hotelstar Union.”

“Carol,” Barrett ground out and shot a glare at Chris, who muttered a curse. “How do you like that?”

“He said it was guaranteed.” Wyatt threw his hands out at his sides.

“Meaning what, exactly
?
” Barrett didn’t know if he wanted to know the answer. Something told him whatever the answer turned out to be would give him more than a migraine and send the vein in his temple into a frenzy.

Wyatt swallowed hard and snapped his gaze to Barrett. “I checked into the rating system after he disappeared. They’ve never heard of a Richard Strickler, and they don’t have anyone by the name of Carol working as a mystery guest.”

“You should have checked into everything
before
paying him a quarter of a million dollars.” Barrett’s gut clenched and twisted as his fury damn near choked him. He gripped the back of the chair to stop him from jumping across the room and squeezing his brother’s goddamn neck until he turned blue.

“
Barrett, this is bad.
”
Chris set his jaw and looked at him.

“
I know it
’
s bad!
”
Barrett drew in several breaths to ease the pounding in his temples.
“
Wyatt, please tell me you
’
re joking.
”

“But he promised a thousand percent return on the money! We could pay off the ranch and buy new solar panels for the water troughs. All of our money troubles would be solved.”

Barrett knew his brother had a good heart. He meant well. But, so help him, he was going to rip that goddamn heart out of Wyatt’s chest and shove it up his ass.

“It’s not too late.”

A thousand lasers attacked his heart at the sound of the voice. He stiffened and looked at Chris, whose eyes had widened as he focused on the entranceway between the foyer and the main room at the sound of a familiar voice.

“
Sarah,
”
Chris breathed out the heaviest sigh of relief. And Barrett felt it. Damn
,
how he felt it.

Slowly, carefully, he turned to the entranceway. All the blood in his veins simultaneously froze and then shattered from the shock.

Sarah Emerson.

He wanted to smile. To cuss her out for putting both him and Chris through torture. To pull her into his arms and never let her go now that she’d returned.

But he didn’t do any of that, mostly due to the giant standing behind her, his hands protectively on her shoulders. He stood and quickly hid his cast behind him as Sarah walked in with her brother and a female with a large black bag in her hands. Matt and Wyatt backed away from Barrett and Chris, a jointly concerned look on each of their faces as they kept glancing between Sarah and the men who loved her.

Stunning. That was the only word he could think of to describe her. Her crazy red curls, her liquid brown eyes, that beautiful smile. Everything about her held him prisoner as she approached him.

“Hello, boys.”

He watched her expression carefully. She smiled, but the shine didn’t reach her eyes. The corners of her lips shook as she fought to keep her composure.

God, he’d missed her. He’d been to hell and back just thinking about her. He couldn’t
stop
thinking about her. Her warmth. The sound of her laughter. How she loved to challenge him and that wicked glimmer in her eye when he challenged her right back.

He missed the way she said his name. How she screamed it in the height of her climax. How she whispered it in her sleep. He missed the feel of her body. Her lips. Her very essence. It was all
he and
Chris talked about these past three weeks.

Damn her. In the time since they’d been apart
,
she’d found a way to affix her soul to his, and, no doubt, Chris’s. He didn’t know where his ended and hers began.

“Sarah.”

Her lower lip quivered
,
but only for a split second. If he didn’t know every inch of her by heart
,
he would have mistaken it to be just a quick movement and nothing more. But he knew better.

She couldn’t hide the pain in her expression, the sorrow clouding her pretty eyes. Seeing that pain, knowing he had to be the reason for it, cramped in his heart.

“
Sarah,
”
Chris whispered and took a step toward her.

“Sorry to break up the reunion.” Norris cut in and stepped in front of Sarah, blocking her from Chris’s approach. Chris stopped and let out a breath.

Norris nailed the oldest Gideon with such a violent glare as he crossed his arms that Barrett took a step back. Nothing good ever came from a man looking at another man like that.

He looked ready to rip Barrett to shreds, and he shared that murderous look as he turned on Chris. What did they do? Sarah left them, not the other way around.

“Norris, you promised
,
” Sarah’s sweet voice sounded from behind her mammoth of a brother. Both Barrett and Chris matched him in size and strength, but from the look in his eye, not in mutual hatred. And he had a disadvantage with one hand covered in a cast, although Chris looked ready to protect Barrett if it came down to it.

They
’
d never had a beef with Norris Emerson. So why the sudden sworn enemy act?

The little vixen with hypnotic green eyes and long black hair waltzed over to Norris and wrapped her arm around his. “Norris, I warned you that if you stepped an inch out of line I’d have your balls on a platter by breakfast. Don’t make me follow through with my threat, love. I’m Amber, by the way. So nice to meet you.”

Barrett stood there and stared as this tiny thing with an English accent easily dragged Norris away. He still had no idea why Sarah had returned or felt the need to bring reinforcements with her. When he turned to look at her, the way her face contorted before she turned away ripped the air from his lungs.

Barrett swung his confused gaze to Chris, who nodded in return.

“
Sarah, sweetheart. What’s going on?
”

“
Not your concern, Chris.
”
Norris thrust out his square chin.
“
This involves the Gideons who own the ranch, not the one who stops by to enjoy the benefits without consequences.
”

Chris stiffened.
“
What the fuck do you mean by that?
”

Sarah walked up and rested her hand on her brother
’
s behemoth arm.
“
Norris, please. Chris is as much a part of this ranch as the others.
”

“
She
’
s right,
”
Barrett agreed without hesitation.

He audibly growled as his dark eyes assessed Chris and then Barrett.
“
Fine. Just stay the hell out of my way. All of you.
”

Amber looked at Norris. “Where should we set up?”

“The business office.” When no one moved, Norris turned to Barrett and narrowed his ruthless gaze. “You do have a business office, don’t you? Or are you as careless in business as you are in your personal life.”

That did it. He had no idea what Norris meant by that, only that he’d meant it as an insult. No matter what the reason, Barrett didn’t deserve to have Norris invade his home and treat him like a piece of shit.

But Chris started in again, beating Barrett to it. “What the hell is going on?”

“Not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?”

Brother or not of the woman they loved, Barrett refused to allow Norris to talk to Chris like that. He doubled up his one good fist and took a step toward him. Sarah, his sweet, sinful Sarah, stepped between them and put her hands on his arms.