Read Van, Becca - Re-awaken Me (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Online
Authors: Becca Van
Van, Becca - Re-awaken Me (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)
“Well, that was some welcome home. Do you guys want coffee?” Pip asked, schooling her features into a blank expression.
“Sure, darlin’” Chip answered.
“Thanks, sugar,” Randy said.
Pip got down more mugs, made the coffee, and placed the cups onto the table in front of the men. She turned to go back for her own coffee, but a large hand clamped around her wrist, pulling her off balance so she landed on Mason’s lap. He shifted her to make her more comfortable, tilted her head to his, and then ravished her mouth with his own. Mason’s kisses were a mixture between Randy’s dominant demands and Chip’s coaxing. It was a heady combination. He had her from simmering to boiling in two seconds flat. Pip became aware that she was making little mewling sounds in the back of her throat as she began to kiss him back. Mason weaned his mouth from hers and stared down into her eyes, a look of smug satisfaction flitting across his face before he wiped away all expression.
Pip pushed away from his lap and walked over to the counter on wobbly legs, hoping the men watching her couldn’t see the effect they’d had on her. She picked up her mug of coffee and turned to lean against the counter. All three of the Sage brothers were staring at her as if she were their last meal. She tried to ignore them as she sauntered back to the table and sat down.
“How long are you staying, sugar?” Randy asked, leaning back in his chair, his legs spread wide, eying her without any expression now.
“Well, I start working for the local paper on Monday, so it depends on how things go. I want to stay here, but we’ll see what happens.”
“Where did you go when your parents died, darlin’?” Chip asked quietly.
“To my dad’s Aunt Penny’s place in Maine. She was such a nice woman. She kept a roof over my head, made sure I finished school, and put money away for me to go to college.”
Pip remembered that horrible time and lost herself in memories. It had taken Pip six months to become aware of her surroundings. She’d felt as if she had been living in a dream world, everything around her not real. Everything had felt so surreal. Pip knew she had attended school, but she had no idea what she had learned, if anything. She had woken from her catatonic state gradually. She had begun to come back into the land of the living, under the love and care of her dad’s Aunt Penny. She had begun to make friends again. She’d missed her parents desperately, as well as the three Sage brothers, but there was nothing she could do about it.
The years had progressed with speed, and Pip had finally finished school and gone to college. She’d studied journalism, just like both her parents had. She’d had every intention of going back home to Shelby, Tennessee. She had always planned to work for the
Shelby News
, and while she was there, she’d planned to investigate her parents’ murder. The investigation into her parents’ death and the death of two other employees at the paper had been labeled a random act of violence. The older Pip had gotten, the less she had agreed with that scenario.
She had often heard her aunt discussing the events leading up to her parents’ death with the investigative officer working for the FBI, as well as Sheriff Jackson. Her Aunt Penny had made sure to never speak of such things around Pip, but being a curious teenager, she had once heard her Aunt talking on the phone about the bombing and made sure to be close by every time the phone rang, when she was not at school. Pip had begun to shun her new friends, eager to get home to her aunt in case anything new had been learned in the investigation. She had been determined to find out who had killed her parents and why. The investigation into her parents’ death had become an obsession by the time Pip reached high school. It had taken the place of her friends and social life. She was too young then to realize she had become totally absorbed with the investigation, trying to fill the empty hole in her heart by being so prolific.
“Is she okay with you coming back here to live, baby?” asked Mason, pulling her from her retrospection.
“I don’t know really. I suppose she would be. She died just after I graduated college.”
“Damn, baby. You’ve had a rough time, haven’t you?”
“Nah. I had it a lot better than a lot of others had,” Pip replied, covering her mouth as a yawn caught her unaware.
“I think it’s time we left you so you can go to bed. Have you got a cell phone, babe?” Mason asked.
“Yeah, hang on, I’ll get it,” Pip replied over her shoulder, already moving.
She was back in moments and passed her phone to Mason. He punched in some numbers, and then his phone was ringing. He disconnected the call then punched in his cell phone number, as well as his brothers’, putting them on speed dial in her cell phone.
“If you ever need us, babe, my number’s on speed dial one, Randy’s on two, and Chip’s on three. Get a good night’s sleep tonight, baby. We’ll see you tomorrow,” Mason stated as he and his brothers headed for the front door. “Lock up after we go, squirt.”
“I will. Thanks, guys. Good night,” Pip called, closing and locking the door after them.
Pip was shocked at the feelings she had felt surging back to life after seeing the three Sage brothers again. She didn’t want to become involved with them. She had too much she wanted to do. She sighed as she headed toward her bedroom. Shit, she still cared for them but didn’t want them back in her life only to have them leave her like everyone else had done. No, she was not going to allow a childish crush to ruin her plans. She vowed to keep them at arm’s length.
Chapter Two
Pip spent the next day grocery shopping then organizing the kitchen cupboards and setting the house to rights. She unpacked her belongings and put them away in the closet and tallboy. When she was done, she set about making herself a sandwich. She got her laptop out and began to research her parents’ death. She had no idea how long she sat going through all the old newspaper clippings she found on the Internet, but when she finally surfaced she realized it was getting dark.
Pip made herself some dinner and ate. She cleaned up and decided she’d had enough of staring at the computer screen for the day. She moved into the living room, turned on the television, and had just started flicking through channels when she heard the sound of a car pulling up into the driveway. She remembered the Sage brothers had said they would be back to see her sometime today, so she didn’t hesitate to answer the door.
She opened the door to a complete stranger.
“Can I help you?” Pip asked, thankful the screen door was between them and locked. She didn’t want to open the door to the tall man standing on her veranda. She’d never seen him before in her life.
“Uh, I live next door. I just wanted to introduce myself to you. I’m Alex White. I’ve lived in the house next door for the last five years. Did you buy this house? It’s been empty since before I came to Shelby.”
“This is my home, Mr. White. I’ve only just come back to Shelby. I’m Phillipa Grovner. Pleased to meet you,” Pip replied, keeping the screen door between them closed. She didn’t know what it was, but something about him gave her the creeps. Maybe it was his eyes, the way he was staring at her so intently. He was tall, just a couple of inches over six feet, and his build was wiry, but she could see his muscles rippling in his forearms.
“Well, nice to meet you, Miss Grovner. I’ll be on my way. Welcome back to Shelby, ma’am,” Alex stated then turned and headed to his car.
Pip watched until she could no longer see the taillights on his car. She closed the door, making sure she put the dead bolt in place. A shiver ran the length of her spine as she remembered the way Alex White had stared at her from his piercing hazel eyes. She headed back to the living room, flicking through the channels, not really seeing what was on the screen. Even though she was tired, she was full of restless energy. She pushed the button on the remote, turning the TV off. Maybe a nice hot shower would help to settle her enough so she could actually sleep through the night.
Pip had been troubled with dreams of her parents’ death since the day Sheriff Jackson had taken her onto his lap, holding her as he told her about their demise. She had endured the dreams nearly every night since. She hated the thought of going to sleep and reliving those nightmares, but she had learned the hard way that trying to stave off sleep night after night was unhealthy and only made matters worse. She remembered her elderly aunt trying to soothe her when she was younger, but nothing seemed to help. The dream was always the same.
Pip headed to the bathroom and showered then turned off the water, dried off, and pulled on her favorite large T-shirt. She slid beneath the covers in the guest room and let her tired, sore eyes drift closed.
Pip ran through the streets of Shelby, screaming at the top of her lungs. She knew she didn’t have much time to get to the newspaper office, and the faster she ran, the slower she seemed to move. She could see the doors to the building. They were now no more than ten feet in front of her. She could see her mom and dad standing in the window of the second story. She could see someone else in the window, a silhouette of a man, but she couldn’t make out his features. She saw the man hand a small box over to her mom, and she screamed as loud as she could, still running toward the building but not seeming to make any headway. She could feel tears streaming down her face, and her throat was sore and raw from trying to get the attention of her parents, or anyone else who would listen to her frantic pleas for help. She watched in horror as her mother moved in slow motion, taking the proffered package with a smile. One of her hands moved to the top of the small carton, and she used one of her nails to slit the tape holding the box closed.
The noise of the explosion was so loud, the detonation so powerful, Pip was flung from her feet, sailing through the air then landing on the hard ground with a bruising thud. The windows in the top floor exploded out, raining glass out into the air and onto the pavement, smoke and fire billowing out of the building. She could hear herself screaming and crying as she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, bile rising in her throat until she knew she was going to be sick. The grief piercing her heart was so profound she thought she was going to die from the pain. She could see the face of evil within the flames on the second story. She had never felt so sick to her stomach, so grief stricken, or so angry in her life. She wanted to go charging into that building to find the cold-blooded murderer and rip him apart with her bare hands, but she was only twelve years old. What the hell could she do?
Pip jerked awake. She was sobbing out loud, her sore throat telling her she’d likely been screaming at the top of her lungs. Thank God, she still had another two days before she started working at the newspaper. She was going to need that time to calm herself again. She knew the nightmares would come. Every time she did more research, they seemed to stir up her subconscious mind, making her see what she thought her parents had gone through. She had been horrified at the destruction she had seen when Sheriff Jackson had driven her to her parents’ funeral. He hadn’t wanted her to see the building her parents had died in, but there had been no way around it since the main street was the only way to the funeral parlor. It had taken her a long time to remember what she had endured in the days following her parents’ death, and still there were some pieces missing from the first six months after they had died.
Pippa slid out of bed, pulling her track pants on beneath her shirt and pulling a sweater on over the top. She slid her feet into her slippers then headed down to the kitchen. She flicked the light on and put the kettle on to make a cup of chamomile tea.
She sipped her tea, the hot liquid sliding down her throat, soothing her soreness and dryness away. She heard a car pull into her driveway and glanced at the digital clock on the microwave, surprised to see it was only eleven o’clock at night. She must have only been asleep for the better part of an hour. She jumped at the knock on her front door. She hesitated to answer the door, hoping her creepy neighbor wasn’t back to disturb her again. She took a deep breath, shored up her courage, and headed to the front door. She couldn’t see who was at the door, and when she flicked the outside light on, it didn’t work.
“Who is it?” Pip called through the door.
“Mason. Open up, baby.”
Pippa didn’t hesitate. She threw the bolt, opened the solid wood door, and then released the lock on the screen. She stepped back, giving Mason room to step in the entryway. She saw the shadows of Randy and Chip behind him.
“Why didn’t you turn on the porch light? You could have seen it was me if you had,” Mason stated.
“I tried. I think the globe must be blown,” Pip replied. She moved back down the hallway toward the kitchen, intent on having another cup of tea.
“Are you all right, darlin’?” Chip asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Would you like a drink?” Pip asked, turning to face the three Sage brothers in the bright light of the kitchen.
“You’ve been crying. What’s wrong, sugar?” Randy asked, moving toward her.
“Nightmare. I’m fine. Do you want tea or coffee?”
“Why don’t you sit down, baby? I’ll make the drinks. You don’t look too good,” Mason stated.
“I’m fine. I’m used to it,” Pip replied.
“What do you mean by that, darlin’?” Chip asked.
“I’ve been having nightmares since my parents died. As I said, I’m used to it.”