Monroe, Marla - Their Broken Lady (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (14 page)

“Any chance one of them could be behind all of this?”

Amber stopped rubbing her head. Was it possible? Would they be that vengeful to want to see her hurt or even dead?

“Miss Reynolds? Are you still there?” Officer McKenny asked.

“Yes. Um, honestly, I don’t know if they would come after me. I don’t see why, but then, they were insanely jealous and controlling. I suppose one of them might have found out where I’m living and wanted revenge for my having left.”

“Neither one of them did any time for abusing you.” He made it a statement.

“No. I was scared of what they would do to me when they got out. I figured I was better off moving. They let me move without putting up a fuss. So I can’t imagine them suddenly wanting to come after me.”

“Well, it’s a possibility. If you were to see either of them in town, let me know.”

“Thanks, I will.” She hung up and sat there thinking about the two men who’d been the biggest mistakes of her life.

What did they have to gain by attacking her? She couldn’t guess what was going on in their minds when she lived with them. She surely couldn’t now. There was no telling what they might be thinking at any given minute. Either one of them was just crazy enough to come after her out of some preconceived notion that she owed them something.

Amber shivered. Now she had more to worry about. If it were one of her ex-boyfriends, she knew she was in trouble. They wouldn’t stop until they succeeded in whatever they wanted. She couldn’t imagine what would be in their sick minds right now.

Getting up, she went back to washing clothes. Once she had everything washed and put away, she lay down to take a nap. Once again, sleep was elusive. Finally, an hour later, she got up and decided to go to town for dinner. It would do her good to get out. She had only been back and forth to work outside of going to Tanner and Bryan’s house.

She carefully locked the door before getting in the SUV and cranking it. When she arrived at the diner that had great home-cooked meals, she realized she really wasn’t hungry. Still, she needed to eat. She hadn’t had anything other than coffee in twenty-four hours. Amber climbed out of the car and went inside. She chose a table near the back.

“What can I get ya?’” The waitress smacked gum as she stood there waiting to take her order.

“Um, I’ll have a hamburger and fries with a Diet Coke.”

“Got ya.’” She turned around and walked to the back to yell out her order.

She returned a few seconds later with her Diet Coke. Amber thanked her and took a sip of the soft drink. She noticed that several people watched her. She looked behind her to see if they were looking at someone else, but there was no one sitting behind her. Frowning, she sipped her Diet Coke. Why were they watching her? Then she realized they knew that Tanner and Bryan had shown an interest in her and were wondering if she was their girlfriend. Well, she wasn’t, and they weren’t coming in to meet her or anything. She glared at them and then ignored them.

Her hamburger came out hot and well done like she liked them. She managed two bites and a couple of her fries before she had to stop. She just wasn’t hungry. After nibbling on it for about twenty minutes, she asked the waitress for a carryout and boxed up the hamburger. She ate another fry, then paid her bill and left.

She wondered what the guys were doing then chastised herself for thinking about them. She needed to put them out of her mind for a while. Maybe if they still wanted to date her later, she would think about it, but she doubted it. Even if they did ask her out again, she wasn’t sure she was a strong enough woman to date them. Not only were they overwhelming, but she wasn’t sure she could handle the talk that would erupt.

When she arrived home, Amber put away the hamburger for another meal and got ready for bed. She climbed under the sheets and prayed that she would sleep tonight. She had to go to work the next day. It was Monday. As it was, she managed a good four hours sleep before she woke in a cold sweat, unable to remember the dream. All she knew was that she wasn’t going back to bed then.

Instead, she got up, took a bath, and dressed for work nearly two hours early. She would wait until time to go then go in a little early. With that, she took another sip of her coffee as she waited until time to go.

* * * *

Thursday night after work, the phone rang as she was undressing. She checked caller ID and found that it was an unknown caller. She almost didn’t answer it, but decided to at the last minute.

“Hello?”

“Amber, it’s Tanner.”

“Oh, hi, Tanner. How are you?”

“Doing fine. I wanted to ask if you’re not busy tomorrow night, would you let us take you out to dinner?”

“Um, I,” she hesitated.

“Don’t say no, Amber. We really want to see you and spend some time with you.”

“I guess that would be okay. What time?”

“We’ll pick you up at a quarter to seven.” Tanner’s voice held a smile in it.

“Okay, um, what do I need to dress in? Where are we going?” she asked.

“The country club. Wear something you can dance in,” he said.

“Okay. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Good night, Amber.”

She hung up and stood there with the phone still in her hand wondering why she had said yes. Because she liked them and wanted to be with them.
You’re a glutton for punishment, Amber. Haven’t you learned anything?
Evidently not. She sighed.

* * * *

Friday night arrived and Amber was so nervous she nearly threw up when she was dressed. She was wearing the red bra and panty set along with a slinky red dress that would be perfect to dance in. She wasn’t sure about the color, but it was her best choice. She didn’t have a lot of dressy clothes that weren’t for work. She thought for a second that maybe she needed to buy a couple more dresses to wear out. Then she reminded herself she wasn’t going to be dating them on a regular basis. It wasn’t a good idea to get too comfortable with them when she had no intentions of getting serious.

The doorbell rang at seventeen before seven. She grinned, then settled herself and opened the door. Tanner stood at the door dressed in dress pants and a pullover shirt. He smiled and held out his hand.

“You look beautiful, Amber.”

She took his hand and let him lead her out the door. Then he locked it for her. She’d forgotten that they had keys to her house. She briefly thought about asking for them back, but decided against it. They hadn’t hurt her, and she might need them to have one again one day.

Tanner helped her climb up into the truck. Bryan was wearing something similar but in greens where Tanner wore blues. She guessed her red dress went well with both of them.

“Hey, Bryan.”

“I love that dress on you, baby.” He smiled an appreciative smile.

“Thanks. I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate for where we are going.”

“You’ll wow them all, honey.” Tanner squeezed her hand.

Bryan backed out of her drive and headed in the direction of the Blue Springs Country Club outside the other side of town. It took them about fifteen minutes to get there. Tanner made small talk about her job and his while Bryan remained quiet.

Once they arrived, he parked and they all got out of the truck. They each got on one side of her and held her hand as they walked into the club. She almost jerked her hands out of there for worry of what everyone would think, but she restrained herself and was surprised to note that no one seemed to pay them any mind. They were shown to a table by a window. And Tanner held her chair while she sat down.

“The steak here is excellent. If you like fish, they have great rockfish,” Bryan said.

“Oh, I’m not very hungry. I might just get the fettuccine.”

“You should eat something more than that, baby. I can tell you’ve lost weight.”

“He’s right, honey. Eat something more filling.” Tanner backed Bryan up.

“I really don’t think I can eat anything else.”

“Try. You don’t have to eat it all, but get something besides the noodles.” Bryan seemed worried.

Amber didn’t realize she’d lost any weight. Well, not really. She just hadn’t had an appetite. Then she wasn’t sleeping well, either. She sighed, and when the waiter came to take their order, she ordered the grilled chicken and rice. The men ordered steaks.

“You said work was going fine,” Tanner said. “Tell us a little about you. Where are you from and do you have any siblings kind of stuff.”

“Oh, um, I’m originally from Jackson, Mississippi, and I don’t have any siblings. My parents are gone.”

“Is that where you moved from? Jackson?” Bryan asked.

“No, actually I moved here from Memphis, Tennessee.”

“What made you decide to move here of all places?”

“I, um, got tired of living in Memphis. There was so much crime, so I decided to come west. I drove until I got here and fell in love with it. I said if I could find a job, I’d stay.”

“And you found the job at the bank,” Tanner filled in.

“Right. I figured it was fate.” She smiled.

“I know it was the best thing that ever happened to us,” Bryan said.

He reached across the table and took her hand in his. He squeezed it and then let it go. She could easily see the sincerity in his eyes. It squeezed at her heart.

“Have you ever been married?” Tanner asked.

“No. What about you guys?”

“Nope. Never met someone we wanted to settle down with.” Bryan stared into her eyes.

The
until now
was insinuated with his eyes.

Their waiter returned with their meals, setting their plates in front of them. Amber looked at hers, and though it looked and smelled delicious, she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to take a single bite.

The men attacked their steaks with a vengeance. She envied their appetites right then. She cut a tiny bite off the chicken and stuck it in her mouth. She chewed without really tasting it and swallowed. She continued eating very small slices until she’d eaten half the chicken and a spoonful of rice. She sighed and pushed her plate aside.

“You’re through?” Bryan asked.

“Yeah, I’ve eaten all I can eat.” She waited for him to tear into her, but he just nodded and continued eating.

She relaxed some when Tanner didn’t say anything either. They both finished their steaks and pushed their plates back as well. A bus boy stopped by the table and took away their plates. The waiter arrived next to refill their glasses and asked about dessert. No one wanted any, so he left them the check and disappeared.

“I’m full. I think I need to digest some before we dance,” Bryan said.

“Good idea,” Tanner agreed. “Let’s go outside to the gardens. You’ll like it out there, Amber.”

“Okay,” She stood up when they did and let Bryan lead her through to the double doors that opened out to the gardens.

The floral scents assaulted her nose almost immediately. They weren’t kidding. It really was a garden. She could see roses and all sorts of native flowers to the area. They walked along a path that took them deep into the gardens until they came to a gazebo. Bryan walked her up the steps, and they took a seat with one on either side of her.

“It’s lovely out here. There’s even a slight breeze,” she said.

“You’re right. It is lovely out here,” Bryan said, looking at her.