Page 48 of Tone Deaf

“The woman is in jail. There’s no chance she’s being let out,” I say, hoping the news will give him some sense of comfort and safety.

“She hasn’t said who hired her?”

“No. She’s tight lipped.”

“What about the postman outside my house? Any leads on that?”

“Tobias made some calls—one to Detective Faller and he said he’s on it,” Pen explains, frustration coating his words.

I’m glad Pen took the lead on that question. I need to focus on Callum so that he doesn’t go gonzo and call Brian to bitch him out, exposing what we already know about the shady shit that asshole is currently into.

“Callum.” I take his fisted hands into mine and squeeze. “I promise you, Pen and I aren’t hiding anything from you. Whatever information we get, we will tell you. But you need to keep a cool head in this.”

He nods slowly. “Thanks for explaining it to me.” Callum pulls his hands out of mine and stands. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to bed.”

Regret filters in, seeing how tired Callum is—not just the lingering pain, but the burden of gloom he’s been carrying of this past week.

“See you in the morning,” Pen says with a half-hearted smile his way. He wants very much to fall asleep with Callum in his arms. But that’s not going to happen—not yet.

There’s softness around Pen’s eyes when he looks at Callum, like he’s trying to be strong even when it’s hard to stay away. I too feel the same way, but if we want to make this relationship to work, all three of us need to be on the same page.

As Callum’s door quietly closes, Pen straightens in his seat and declares, “Okay, out with it.”

“You fucked him,” I blurt out. Not so much a question, but an accusation.

“No, I didn’t,” he defends. “But I’m not surprised that you’d accuse me of that.”

“Then what?” I lean toward him, demanding him to be truthful.

“When Callum tells me that he’s desperate for my touch, I’m not going to deny him, Dom,” Pen declares as he stands and faces off with me. “Or are you angry that you weren’t with us?”

“No, I can care less if you two fuck around. I’d watch, but I want to make sure Callum is in this with his heart. Not with his dick only.”

“Do you know he’s afraid to get into a relationship with us?”

That surprises me. “How do you know that?”

“Because we communicate.” He stretches the last word into four syllables and air quotes it, and I get the message. “He started telling me more, until you came into the room and blew things up,” Pen jabs, aggravation in his voice.

“Then it is up to us to change that,” I say, reaching for Pen. But he steps away, avoiding my touch.

“What now?” Pen utters, avoiding eye contact.

“I’m sorry, baby. I lost my cool and said some stupid shit. Please let me make it up to you.” I reach out for him but he still evades my touch. “Come here.”

He comes reluctantly, as the frown across his face shows he’s debating whether he should or not. But he still won’t let me touch him. “I’m still pissed at you.”

“I know.”

“Do you really?” The hurt is evident in his tone. “We’re teetering, Dom. And I’m not sure if I want to stay on.”

“I know I have broken your trust, but please believe me, I had no intention to purposely hurt you,” I confess, reaching for him again.

Pen releases a breath before he takes my hand and slowly walks to me.

“Please don’t get mad for asking, but if you didn’t fuck our guy, then what did you with him?”

His frown slowly disappears, and a small smile slides across his handsome face. “Sucked off his sweet cock. Want a taste? I know you’re yearning to taste him again.”