Infinite Ties (All That Remains #3) (21 page)

“Unless I was hallucinating, you kissed
another man right in front of us.”

“She did,” Joseph adds.

“He kissed me!”

“And then your eyes got all dreamy while
you thought about him naked,” Joseph growls.

I place my struggling wife back on her
feet. “She’ll probably never wipe her lips again.” My voice raises to a
falsetto while I fan my cheeks with my hands. “Oh my God, oh my God! Nic kissed
me! I’m gonna faint.”

“I should’ve popped him in the mouth,
putting his lips on our girl,” Joseph says before stopping to grasp her face,
giving her a long deep kiss.

“You know I want these beautiful lips on
me, not his,” she assures him.

“Prove it.” For the next few hours, she
makes her feelings crystal clear.

* * * *

The drive back is uneventful. It’s only
been two weeks since we left, but it feels like a lifetime. Before we can make
it in the door, we’re mobbed by family. “Mom!” Lane screeches, clenching his
arms around Abby’s neck while she covers his chubby cheeks with kisses. Walker
tackles Joseph, who sweeps him off his feet.

“Did you take care of the girls?”

“Yep. Me and Carson.”

“That’s my boy.”

Carson quietly questions Abby about her
limp, his eyes darkening at her response. After what happened with his dad, I
need to have a serious talk with him. Jayla hugs us all, and Julie insists on
checking Abby’s injuries. My stomach sinks when I notice Emma looking around
uncertainly. Damn it, Gary. He owes me for this.

“Emma.” Her eyes widen as I lead her away
from the group. “Gary didn’t return with us.”

“Is he hurt?” Her voice wavers.
No,
he’s fucking someone new
.

“No, he’s fine. He asked me to give you
this.” Shaky hands accept the sealed envelope. “I’m sorry.” Nodding, she
retreats, tearing open the letter we both know doesn’t contain a love note. Her
face reddens and she turns abruptly, stalking away.

“Emma,” Joseph calls, looking pained.

“Nothing you can do,” I tell him, grabbing
his hand.

“I know, but being dumped by a letter
sucks.” I guess he would know.

“I’ll talk to her,” Lexi assures Joseph
before turning to Abby. “I’ll come by tomorrow so we can catch up. Going to go
ravage my man.” Hand in hand, Lexi and Eric head off, practically running for
home.

The rest of the evening is a pleasant blur
of family and friends. By the time the kids are asleep, we’re all exhausted. “I
don’t know whose night it is,” Abby remarks with a yawn.

“We’ll crash together. You two can flip a
quarter to see who gets me tomorrow,” I reply.

Joseph snorts and pulls Abby into bed.
“Arrogant bastard.”

The sound of the wind howling around the
house wakes us early. It feels so good to be home, to get back to normal. I
haven’t had another nightmare, and Joseph has been so patient with my less than
stellar reaction to his touch lately. If I focus on him, remind myself why I
want him, the bad shit fades.

I turn to see Joseph kissing Abby’s neck,
tugging off her red panties. Oh, it’s going to be a good morning. Abby giggles
when I push Joseph away and bring my lips to hers. “Mine,” I growl.

“I was here first!” He shoves me back.

“I want her more.” Abby moans when my
mouth lands on her breast.

“Do not,” he replies, kissing down her
belly.

“Move it, belly button freak.”

“Toe licker.”

Abby giggles. “He doesn’t lick my toes.”

“Not your toes, baby.” Abby’s laughter
turns to a groan as Joseph’s tongue plunges between her legs. Her hand closes
around my cock, and she gestures for me to move closer. When I stretch out
beside her, she sucks me into her warm mouth. Oh Fuck. I have a perfect view of
Joseph eating her. He grunts at my hands tugging his body toward me until I can
reach him with my lips. Moans and grunts fill the room as we all take and give
with lips, mouths, and tongues. The sound of Abby’s whimper when she comes
shoves me over the edge, which triggers Joseph as well. Ah, fuck yes. We’re
home. We’re us again.

Abby makes biscuits and gravy for
breakfast and everyone digs in. “So, Emma has her own house?” Abby asks Jayla.

“Well, she was cleaning up that little two
bedroom on the other side of Julie for her and Gary. I don’t know whether she
still plans to stay there alone.”

“I never thought I’d feel sorry for Emma,”
Abby replies, shaking her head.

The back door pops open and Lexi pokes her
head through, asking, “Everyone decent?”

“Get in here, girl.” Abby laughs. Eric
follows Lexi inside, snatching a biscuit from Carson’s plate.

“Jackhole,” Carson grumbles, replacing it
with a fresh one.

“What’s a jackhole?” Walker asks.

“A species of East African wild dog,”
Carson replies without missing a beat, and Abby tries to cover her laugh.

“Did Eric behave himself on your trip?”
Lexi teases.

“Well, my hand lotion kept disappearing
and he’s my main suspect. Other than that…perfect gentleman.” Abby and Lexi
laugh together until a knock at the door interrupts them.

“I’ll get it. It’s probably Jon. We’re
supposed to go fishing,” Carson says, heading toward the door.

Abby’s face drains of color. He’s been
here? He came back here after leaving her to be raped or killed? After
encouraging it? This ends now. I’m never going to see that look on her face
again. “Don’t.” I grab Carson’s arm. “We need to talk before you see him, and
now isn’t the time.”

“What? We’re just…”

“No!”

Carson’s face hardens into a carbon copy
of Abby’s stubborn expression. When he starts toward the door anyway, Joseph
grabs him. “He tried to get your mom killed. He’s the reason she got shot.
We’ll explain everything later, but for now, trust us. Look at your mother’s
face. Please, stay here with Jayla and the kids.”

One glance at Abby, and Carson rushes to
her side. “Are you okay? I…what did he do, Mom?”

Abby forces a grin that’s more of a
grimace. “I’m okay. I’ll explain later. Please, watch Lane. Keep the kids
inside,” she whispers, heading for the door. She’s out of her damn mind too!

“Abigail! You aren’t…”

Her face is furious. “I’m not running from
him anymore!”

Joseph hands me a pistol and nods. “She
needs to do this.” Eric and Lexi follow us out the back door and around to the
front.

“You’re back,” Jon says, and I want to
smash that fucking smirk off his face.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Abby
demands as he steps into the yard.

“Now, that’s not very nice. I came to see
my son. I couldn’t find that damn cottage again.” His grin widens when Abby
stalks toward him. He never sees it coming and the look of agonized shock on
his face when she kicks him in the nuts is funny as fuck. “You…bitch, whore,”
he gasps, falling to his knees. “Tell them you’re a whore.”

“Shut the fuck up! I hate you! Sadistic,
noodle dick motherfucker!” Abby loses it. Years of pain, shame, hate, and fear
rocket to the surface, staining her cheeks red. She picks up Walker’s aluminum
ball bat and slams it into Jon’s shoulder. I hear it pop out of place even over
his shriek. He falls to his side, and she delivers another well aimed kick to
his crotch before landing another two strikes to his ribs, profanities pouring
from her lips.

As much as I hate to, I have to stop her
before she kills him. She’ll never be able to live with it. I will. After a
kick to the face breaks his nose, and likely a few teeth, I pull her away.

“Let go! He’ll never stop!” Tears pour
down her face as she wrenches away from me, darting into the woods.

“Summer home,” I call to Joseph when I see
what path she takes, and he nods, following after her.

“Eric, can you?” He nods as I gesture to
the bloody man moaning at our feet.

“Where do you want him?”

“Toolshed.” Nodding, he drags a screeching
Jon to his feet. “If he tries to run, shoot him. Wherever you want.” Eric nods,
taking the gun, and I make my way toward the tiny trailer where Abby and I
spent so much time early in our relationship.

It’s time for answers.

Abby leans against the counter, arms
crossed, eyes glued to the floor while Joseph sits on the edge of the couch.
She flinches as the door falls shut behind me with a loud thwack. “Where is
he?” she demands.

“Eric has him. He won’t be bothering you
again, darlin’. You kicked his ass.” I can’t help the pride I feel, and Joseph
grins, hearing it in my voice.

“Nothing will stop him. He’s determined to
announce my shit if he has to stand in the yard with a bullhorn.” He isn’t
going to be standing or speaking anytime soon, but I’m not telling her that.
She needs to tell us what the hell he’s been holding over her.

“Abigail.” Joseph speaks her name softly,
reaching for her hand.

“Don’t. Don’t touch me. You won’t want to
touch me after you hear this. Just listen and let me get it all out. I can’t do
this more than once.”

“Whenever you’re ready, ladybug.”

Shaking her head, she grabs a bottle of
bourbon from the counter and takes a drink. “I was a whore.”

Fuck. After all the secrecy, I’m not sure
I want to hear this.

She swallows hard and stares at the floor.
When we don’t respond, she turns and throws the glass tumbler against the wall.
“Didn’t you hear me?” she screams. “I was a fucking whore!”

“I heard you.” I try to keep my voice calm
though my heart is beating out of my chest. “You fucked guys for money. That’s
what you’re telling us.” I can’t believe it. There’s more to this story. There
has to be. I know what sex means to Abby. She’s not the type to sell it.

“Yes.” Her chest rises and falls on a deep
breath. “Sort of. I didn’t know about the money. I was so stupid.”

Joseph approaches her, his voice soft and
reassuring. He’s doing a better job of covering his shock than I am. “Did someone
make you do it? Were you on the street?”

“No, it wasn’t like that.” She flops onto
the far end of the couch, her anger dissipating. “He didn’t make me, but I did
it for him. To learn. Because I was lousy in bed.”

“Jon?” I growl, and she nods.

“He wanted you to be a prostitute so you
could learn to fuck? I assume he got the money?” Joseph asks.

“I didn’t know about the money until
later. He couldn’t stay hard when we had sex, and I couldn’t have an orgasm. He
said it was because I was inexperienced, that I needed to learn. He acted like
he was doing me a favor, sacrificing for me. He got to pick the guys, and at
first he’d stand outside the door, but later, he started staying to watch.”

“How old were you, Abigail?” I ask, trying
to mask the fury in my voice. I don’t want her to think it’s directed toward
her.

“Seventeen.”

“And you didn’t know he was making money
from it?” Joseph asks.

“No, I was fucking stupid.”

“No, baby. You were young.”

“He turned her out,” I tell Joseph, my
voice icy.

Joseph nods and asks, “How long did this
go on?”

“A few months. Four…four different guys,”
she confesses, shame filling her face. “He said they agreed I was frigid, it
was my fault. So it wasn’t his fault when he fucked around with other women. He
had needs I couldn’t meet.”

“What ended it?”

“There was one guy who was different. The
quiet, shy type. He was gentle with me. He didn’t hurt me like the others and…I
came,” she whispers, tears running down her cheeks. “I wasn’t supposed to like
it. He was paying to fuck me and I didn’t even know him, but I liked it.
Disgusting,” she murmurs.

Fuck. Me. Of all the things to have in
common. Joseph looks at me pointedly. It didn’t take him long to connect the
dots on our issues. She flinches when I kneel in front of her. “Sweetheart, listen
to me. I know how you feel. How it feels to hate something, to be ashamed of
it, but have your body react anyway. When I was…abused, I hated every second of
it, but I always came. He used that as an excuse, proof I liked what he was
doing. I hated myself for so long. It’s not your fault. You can’t control it.”

Her soft hands reach to cup my face. “This
is different, Air. You were a child. You didn’t have a choice. I did. I was so
desperate to make him happy, to make him love me, I did what he wanted. I swore
after him, no one would ever control me again or tell me what to do.”

That explains a lot. “You were a damn kid
at seventeen too. Naïve and desperate, and he took advantage in the worst way.”

Joseph scoots close to her on the couch.
“It stopped after the guy got you off?”

Abby shakes her head. “There was one
more.” The tone of her voice tells me I don’t want to hear the next part. “Jon
was so pissed that I came with another man when I couldn’t with him. The last
guy was this prick he worked with. He knew I hated him. It was his revenge.
When the guy showed up, I refused, and they both laughed. Jon told him I liked
it rough, wanted to be forced, then he left the room. I tried to fight him, but
he was so big. He wouldn’t listen. Wouldn’t stop.” Her hands shake and she
clasps them together.