Free Triple Dog Dare [Triple Trouble 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Tymber Dalton Page B

escaped out of there with his bollocks intact. Ortega invited Rodolfo to come down to Bolivia and settle it like a man. Needless to say, he didn’t.”
    “So any of Rodolfo’s enemies are automatically Ortega’s friends now?”
    “Exactly. I’m not the first person to head to Bolivia to escape Abernathy’s reach. In return, Ortega left me alone and offered me freedom to stay as long as I kept my eyes and ears open and passed any information along to him that he might need about anything I saw.” He sighed. “I hated every second of being away from ye. I suspected I’d do ye more harm than good if I showed up.”
    “I’m glad you’re here.”
    “Yeah?”
    She smiled. “Yeah.”
     
    * * * *
     
    They talked for a little while longer. Carla joined them, a mug of coffee in her hand. She kissed Elain, but looked at Liam.
    “Honey, would you mind if Liam and I talked for a little while? Alone?”
    “No problem.” She hugged them both and headed inside.
    Elain was making her way from the lanai to the kitchen when Lina and Zack emerged from their respective rooms.
    Lina gave her a hug. “How you holding up?” Elain felt a wave of compassion wash over her. When Lina let go of her, the feeling disappeared.
    Elain wanted to opt for a brave face, but she felt tears building inside her.
    Lina squeezed her hand. “It’s okay to be overwhelmed. It’s natural. This isn’t easy stuff to deal with.”
    “How did you deal with it?”
    “She blew up a pine tree in our backyard,” Zack snarked.
    “That was accidental,” Lina shot back. “I haven’t accidentally blown anything up in a long time now.”
    “What about on purpose?” Elain asked.
    She grinned. “Oh, all the time. I have to keep my guys on their toes.” Her smile faded. “How are you doing? Really?”
    Elain sat at the kitchen table. “Can we focus on something besides me for a minute? I’m tired of being center stage. What, exactly, is your deal?” She pointed at the two of them.
    Zack and Lina joined her at the table. “If we could label that,” Lina said, “it would make my life easier.” She looked at Zack. “Long story short, I’m the reincarnation of a really kick-ass lady goddess from a long time ago. Jan and Rick are the reincarnations of my mates from then.”
    Elain stared at her for a moment as she tried to process that. “I’m sorry I asked.” Shape-shifters. Goddesses. Reincarnation.
    This isn’t helping.
    Lina smiled. “I know. It’s a lot to take in. I didn’t want to believe everything at first, either. I’ve found it’s easier to just sit back, admit I don’t know everything, and go with the flow.”
    “Forget flow. I feel flooded,” Elain said.
    “The short version,” Zack offered, “is magic is real, basically. Critters you thought were just myth really do exist. You know, sort of a variation on the theme of, ‘Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.’ Well, just because everyone else thinks these kinds of things don’t exist doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
    Elain stared at him for a moment before dropping her head into her hands and moaning. “ FuuuuUUUUCK !”
    She didn’t even care if Ain heard her swear. She’d gladly take the spanking. At least it would be something to take her mind off this craziness.
     
    * * * *
     
    Carla sat down in the lounger that Elain had vacated. For so many years she’d imagined what would happen if she had Liam sitting in front of her, how the conversation would go.
    Now, she couldn’t recall a single scenario.
    “You look good, Liam.” He’d barely aged, while she’d lived literally an entire lifetime since she’d last seen him. She felt a little self-conscious about that.
    He kindly smiled. “Yer as pretty as ye ever were, Carla.”
    She felt herself blush and looked down at her coffee. “You don’t need to lie to me to make me feel good, Liam.”
    “I’m not. I mean it. And again, I cannot tell ye how much I