Game of Revenge

Chapter 11

Tray

Someone must have heard the gunshots despite our best efforts to ensure we were secluded, and we didn’t have time to fully recover all the bodies.

The sirens thankfully could be heard for miles, echoing through the trees, giving us enough warning.

We could have panicked, but that’s not how we’ve stayed ahead of the law this long and have still been able to find our own kind of justice. Instead, Blakely had a brilliant idea.

“The cops aren’t going to know what to do with this all,” she giggles as she snuggles into Chuck’s side.

“Carving the words bigot and love is love was one way to establish the Rainbow Slasher,” Meyers grumbles. “That’s what the news is already calling you.”

“Ha, you can’t say it was just me when you wouldn’t let me fully enjoy the festivities,” she grumbles.

It’s been twelve hours since we took our revenge for what happened, and the media is going wild with the news. The FBI is involved and completely stumped. It would be more amusing if we hadn’t lost one of our own to this.

Mike and I had a moment in the woods, but his words ring in my ears even now. “I'm going to make this so good, you won't even remember Brian's name when I'm done with you…” In my eyes, my love isn’t a competition.

It’s true, we haven’t been as close, but that’s for many reasons, and one of them is his constant fighting. It all comes down to the fact that he didn’t think he was enough, and now he’s included in the names of the “victims” of Riot Wars.

So much makes sense now that the truth is out. Kiernan hasn’t been able to string together two words since he walked out of the clearing in the woods. Shayna was released to walk to the nearest town, and she’s lucky Blakely didn’t also kill her for her role in Brian’s beating.

If she hadn’t called her ex-husband Ricky, then none of us would be here now. Brian would be smiling and talking, Michael would still hate his twin, and they’d be fighting… Fuck, there really aren’t any good answers here.

“Kier,” Blakely says, leaning forward to get his attention. “I’m so sorry about Michael. Not about killing him, but that he was such a piece of shit. We’ve all known each other for so long, it’s hard to believe he was capable of killing his own twin.”

“The jealousy and constant fighting makes sense now,” I mumble. “The things he said that I’d just brush off…it makes me sick that he meant it all.”

“I loved them both the same,” Kier whispers, breaking his silence. “Did I do this?”

“No!” everyone in the room yells, horrified.

“Babe, you didn’t,” I repeat. “He wasn’t well. I can’t imagine the way his thoughts twisted him up inside, until all he could think about was killing Brian.”

Kier shudders, and we all think back to how destroyed Brian was after the beatings. It’s so difficult to imagine he could have been alive after it all.

I don’t know how long he could have lived after this, if there was any hope at all, but figuring out how to move past how he was robbed of the chance feels insurmountable.

We’re all going to need so much damn therapy after this.

“I don’t know what to do,” Kiernan rasps. “I can’t live in the house we’ve been renovating anymore. We should sell it and start somewhere new. We can go anywhere, it hurts to be reminded of Brian and Michael everywhere.”

“Come live with me,” Frankie says intensely.

“There’s something really special about getting emotional support and an ass kicking by her when you’re in a bad spot,” Blakely says with a smirk.

From what I remember Kier telling me once, she stayed with Frankie for a while when she was really depressed. Maybe it’s a little selfish, but I want to see where the flirtation with Francis is going. I won’t push to Kier’s detriment, though.

I can’t lose another person. My heart and soul are tired of burying friends and loved ones.

“If you say so,” Kier says with a tired nod. “It’s hard to make decisions with how much this hurts. Knowing the truth now though helps to know why he was almost happy that Brian was gone all the time, but he was really moody too.”

“I don’t think the attitude was because he felt guilty,” I sigh. “Everything must have felt too close for comfort.”

“The truth always comes out,” Blakely whispers. “The FBI will be chasing their tails for years on this one, but I think it would be smart to get the hell out of here. Newcomers are always the first to be pulled into the station. Even though I own this cabin, none of us are local.”

“It’s almost four in the morning, we can pack up and get on the road now with the condition that you’ll nap,” Bates growls.

Their closeness even when they argue feels so different to the one Kier and I had with the twins. Blakely may not love everything the guys fuss at her about, but it comes from a place of love and not jealousy or control. They almost lost her once, I can see why they’re so protective.

“Yeah, yeah,” she says with a wide yawn. “I can totally go for a nap. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

Standing, we pack up our meager belongings and close up the cabin.

“Do you want help with the rental and all of that?” Frankie asks, looking up at us with her big green eyes. She’s stunning and unapologetically helpful.

Kier gazes at her for a moment before nodding. “That would be really nice,” he says finally. “I’m not going to be great company?—”

“No one is asking you to be,” she says gently. “You can sit in your pain and process. It’s still so fresh and honestly unexpected. I’m stunned as well.”

“Thanks,” he sighs.

Climbing into the vehicle together, I turn on the SUV and get us going. Twenty minutes into the drive he’s sleeping, to my relief. I know once everything hits him fully that he’s going to have a hard time.

I plan to be there every step of the way. He’s never going to lose me.

Frankie links her fingers in mine and squeezes, content to sit with me as I drive. Everything is so entangled and complicated. I have a lot to think about.

Two weeks later

We’ve been in Portland for the past week, and finally settled in. Thank God for Frankie. She helped us go through things to decide what to donate and what to keep. Almost everything was given away that belonged to Michael. It hurts too much to look at it.

Kiernan has the worst of the pain, frequently leaving while we went through the rental house’s items. We lived out of that place for a long time while we worked on renovations, and now it feels as if we lived in a dream state.

Lies, denial, and wishful thinking are what led us to this point.

Frankie also helped us get the Murder House sold to someone who enjoys a project and wants to flip it. I wish them good luck, and hope it turns out better than it did for us.

I feel really jaded now, and despite how busy we’ve been up until we moved in with Frankie, depressed as well. Kiernan reminds me of a robot going through the motions. He won’t let me comfort him, he’s sleeping in another room, and he’s pushing me away.

I’m losing him, and I don’t know how to pull him back.

Now, Frankie sneaks into my room occasionally to snuggle, and we draw comfort from each other. I need the physical touch, because it helps ground me from spinning out. I have to be the voice of reason, the strong person, even when I just want to give up.

“Enough is enough!” Frankie yells as she walks into the living room.

Kier and I are mindlessly watching shit television in an effort to be near each other without talking. It feels as if we’re miles away, and I don’t know how to change this.

“What?” I ask, turning toward her. She’s in a mini skirt that hugs her every curve, and her long legs make my mouth water. The corset top pushes her breasts sky high, and I suddenly really want her heels digging into my back.

Ugh, this is a really bad time to pop a tent in my joggers. They don’t hide much, but Kiernan isn’t paying attention to me, his gaze pulled from the television to Frankie.

“What’s enough? And why are you all dressed up?” he asks dully.

“You’re going to get your cute little asses up and take me out. I’m tired of the moping, and you’re both starting to smell,” she says.

Kier and I both smell ourselves, looking at Frankie in outrage.

“Okay, maybe that’s a stretch,” she mutters. “You’re delicious, but I want to go out! I will browbeat you both to get my way. Please?”

Kiernan surprises me by sighing. “If I have to deal with people, please tell me there will be alcohol, Frankie, and I’ll go,” he mutters, leveraging himself up to stand.

“Promise!” she squeals, making me smirk. She’s so damn cute. I mean, she’ll stab a bitch, but it’s still adorable.

I just won’t tell her that out loud.

Getting up, I nod. “Alright. I'll take a quick shower to make sure I don’t smell, and get dressed,” I grunt.

Frankie chuckles under her breath as Kier and I pass her on the way to shower. The house is gorgeous and spacious, but still manages to feel warm. She breathes life into this place, and it feels larger than life in a good way.

Walking into the room I’m in, I enter the adjacent bathroom and take a shower. The cold water I use to wake myself up feels good, and I feel as if I’m shaking myself out of a really terrible dream.

I’m in a funk, doing the same things day in and out.

I need to thank Frankie for this. A night out will be good for us.

Twenty minutes later, I’m dressed, and Kiernan is actually waiting downstairs with Frankie already.

“How did you beat me?” I ask, amused.

“You like to sit in the shower to get yourself together,” he reminds me. “I’ve always taken faster showers.”

There’s a wide ass smile on his face, and I nudge his shoulder with a grin. Even if he’s forcing himself to stay present with me, I appreciate the effort. I’ve missed my best friend and lover. Things are all twisted around. It’s nice to embrace the good things, even if this won’t last long.

His sadness is so large, it feels as if it’ll take something monumental to cross the abyss, and I no longer have the manual to all things Kier.

We take a rideshare to the club, and head straight for the bar. The music is begging for us to shake our asses, the pounding beat making my heart race in the best of ways. Life has been too heavy for too long.

We all take two shots before Frankie is pulling us onto the dance floor, and we lose ourselves to the music. I dance with both of them, and neither of them complain. There’s a section upstairs with different music that’s not as crowded, and Frankie leads us up there to have another drink and dance.

At one point, I lose track of Kier, and I pull Frankie closer to me. Her lips draw me in like a bee to honey. I can’t keep myself from kissing her. She tastes just as sweet, our hands groping each other as I swallow down each of her moans. It could have been hours or minutes, and I don’t think I’d notice.

“Huh,” Kier says, startling me into turning to face him.

My kiss swollen lips part to explain or maybe apologize to him. I haven’t known how to really talk to him about this like I normally would have. It’s always been easy to be truthful with him, yet it feels like a barrier is between us.

“Kiernan,” I rasp, eyes wide. “I keep wanting to talk to you about this but?—”

“I’ve been checked out,” he says, shaking his head, taking a slow sip of his beer. “This is good. I want you to be happy, and Frankie is incredible.”

“I’m not taking him from you,” she says fiercely. “It doesn’t need to be an either or thing. Tell me you get that. This isn’t an excuse for you to drift away.”

“I know,” he says, sighing. “I just need some time.”

“I didn’t want you to find out like this,” I tell him.

“You’re not cheating on me,” he says. “You’re exploring something new. We’ve always said if someone came along that we were interested in, we’d consider it. I know you’re bi, Tray. I’m really okay with this. I don’t want this to drag down our night.”

“Come dance with us?” Frankie asks, holding out her hand to him.

Gazing at it for a moment, he nods, taking it and twirling her around. A part of me wants to believe him completely, enjoy the way his lips are parted into a smile. He even kisses me as we all dance, and I decide that the minefields that may crop up in our relationship will wait for another day.