“Put your hands up!” roars the first law enforcement officer entering the room.
None of it seems real. The sea of black uniforms just keeps on pouring in until finally they’ve filled the room nearly to capacity. My three captors are wrestled into face down positions, their bodies being searched for more weapons. Handcuffs are snapped shut around their wrists. All of it seems to happen simultaneously while I struggle to breathe through the inundation of relief and sky-high adrenaline from my position on the ground.
My relief doesn’t fully connect, tough. Not completely. Not until Banks strides into the room, flanked by Gabe and Tobias.
Karina, too. The managing editor is there, visibly deflating with relief to see me alive, but she can kick rocks for all I care. Seeing her only floods me with betrayal. Shock.
I’m going to survive, though, because Gabe, Banks and Tobias all reach me at once. I’m scooped up off the ground into a three-way bear hug. My legs wrap around Gabe’s waist and I’m crushed between a trio of chests, their hands everywhere, raking over my back, thighs and hair.
“She’s bleeding!” Gabe roars, loud enough to drown out the room full of shouting men. “She’s fucking bleeding.”
“Her lip is cut.” Banks relays this information like the gravest sin imaginable has occurred. “And her eye.”
“Which one of them did it, love?” Tobias asks through his teeth, every syllable packed with malice. “Who is going to die today?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m fine.” A sob wracks me. “I just need you guys, okay?”
They look at each other hard, visibly putting a leash on their tempers.
Or maybe agreeing to put them on hold. Temporarily.
“Goddammit, Elise,” Banks grinds out, his chest to my back. “Don’t ever put yourself in danger like this again. You were almost killed. We would have died along with you.”
“I’m sorry. I know, I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry,” Tobias says against my ear. “I’m so sorry, love. Please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. You were right to be mad—”
“No, I wasn’t. You let me know you. I know your heart and I still let my trust slip.”
“It’s okay.” I turn my head and kiss Tobias, feel him shudder. “It’s okay now.”
Banks sinks his fingers into my hair and tugs my head back at an angle, sealing his mouth over mine hungrily. Gabe’s mouth rakes up my exposed throat and my legs tighten around him in anticipation, before I remember we’re far from alone.
In fact, we’re the main focus of a thirty-man SWAT team.
“Um…” I struggle to catch my breath. “H-how did you find me?”
“Gabe strikes again,” Banks responds wryly, brushing my hair back. “Our resident thief stole your phone last night and turned on the tracking feature.”
“The blue dot stopped moving a quarter mile from here, but I could see the direction you were heading. I know this site. I supervised the laying of the foundation.”
I shake my head, sniffle. “I’m password protecting my next phone, but you get away with your thievery just this once, since your criminal behavior saved my life.”
“He gets away with it every time,” Tobias mutters, but he’s smiling. “Always the favorite.”
“You’re all my favorite. We are my favorite,” I say, dropping my feet to the ground so I can face all three men at once. Look up into their incredible faces and marvel over the swelling inside of me. “I love all three of you equally.” My voice catches, the emotion of the last hour clobbering me over the head. “I love all three of you so much.”
Gabe’s chest hollows and inflates dramatically. “Maybe it won’t be so hard to get her on a beach in a white dress with a violinist after all.”
My throat burns. “You mean a commitment ceremony?”
“Yes,” Tobias says.
Banks nods, seemingly unable to speak.
“I looked it up,” I admit, wiping at my damp eyes.
For some reason, the three of them find this admission quite remarkable—and they all converge on me at once, enclosing me in an unbreakable circle.
“I love you, Elise,” Tobias growls into my neck.
“I love you,” Gabe whispers into my hair.
“I love you,” Banks says, his voice unsteady, followed by a hard kiss.
“I don’t suppose I can convince you to let me publish the piece about your relationship?” Karina says hesitantly to my right. All three of the men bristle, but a kiss to each of their cheeks eases their muscles of tension. “I wasn’t lying when I said it was good.”