25. Tyler

Chapter twenty-five

Tyler

I paced the living room as we waited for Layla to get home. I could track her, but I didn’t think she would appreciate it much, given the circumstances. The flight back home was quiet. We all fucked up, and we did it intentionally, so I understood why Layla was mad. I paused in my pacing to glare at Sean again as he sat on the couch sipping his whiskey. Of course, if it weren’t for that bastard, none of us would have been in the position to piss her off, to begin with.

“Tyler, man,” Zach said from across the room where he was polishing his knives, “you have got to stop mean mugging Sean. If I were him, I would have decked you by now. If you have a problem, just say so. We gotta air out our issues, my brother.”

“I said everything I wanted to say to him in the car,” I replied.

“Threatened,” Sean said, “you threatened everything you wanted to in the car.”

“Tylerrrr,” Zach whined. “We’re family. We don’t threaten each other with bad things and mean it. We have to get along.”

“He isn’t my family,” I snapped.

“But he is Layla’s family,” Colton reminded me. “And her family is our family, so whatever lingering issues you still have, get over them, or it’s going to make it harder for Layla in the long run.”

“I don’t understand how you guys are so chill about him being here. I understand this was the plan all along, but how the fuck does his presence not bug the fuck out of you?” I asked.

“I am sitting right here,” Sean drawled.

“I know. That’s the problem I’m talking about,” I retorted.

Drew shrugged. “Sean and I had a really good talk. We’re good.”

“I promised to kill him if he stepped out of line again. And then I brought the Renegades by to kick his ass. Seeing him get beat up by three girls helped me release my anger,” Colt said.

“I beat the shit out of him, and then we sort of talked it out real quick,” Zach said.

Sean snorted. “You mean I let you kick my ass and then pinned you to the floor when you accused me of hiring Anton’s men and setting Layla up to be raped.”

“Shhh,” Zach responded. “You don’t remember it right. You must have been concussed from the ass-whooping I gave you. Oh!” Zach sat up straighter, and his eyes started to shine with excitement. I knew I wouldn’t like whatever crazy idea popped into his head. “Maybe you should beat the shit out of each other—Sean’s fast. Real fast. He might even give the almighty Tyler a run for his money. Go beat your frustrations out on each other.”

I was planning on saying no until Sean spoke.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” He chuckled to himself like he found the idea of us sparring to be comical.

“I think it’s a great idea unless you’re too scared,” I taunted.

Sean hopped up with extra zest. “Then let’s go!” He dashed out of the room before I could respond, leaving my mouth agape. I had expected him to push back a little.

Colton and Drew started laughing. “He played you like a fiddle, Ty,” Colt said as they followed Sean to the basement. “Like a fucking fiddle.”

I looked at Zach, who had a massive grin on his face. He mimed playing a fiddle and skipped out of the room after them.

I should have fucking said no. However, there was no backing out, so I followed them down to the basement. When I arrived, Sean was kicking off his shoes and socks, his shirt already folded neatly on the wooden ledge that ran the room’s perimeter. The others were sitting near the edges of the sparring mat, waiting for the show to start.

“You’re sure you want to do this?” I asked Sean. “I’ve never been beaten; trust me, those three have tried.”

“Not even by Layla?” Sean asked.

“Layla kicks everyone’s ass,” Zach laughed. “She doesn’t count.”

“Fair enough. I’m still in unless you don’t want to,” Sean smirked.

“Oh, I’m definitely in,” I replied, tossing my shirt on the floor and removing my shoes and socks. I grabbed a roll of tape for myself and then tossed another roll to Sean. Once we were finished taping up our wrists and knuckles, we stepped onto the mat and began circling each other.

“Now, Tyler,” Zach said, “why don’t you tell us why you’re so mad at Sean.”

“What do you mean? You know why I’m mad at him. It’s the same fucking reason that the rest of you should be mad at him. He betrayed Layla and got her kidnapped!” My rage bubbled up, and I darted forward with a left hook. My fist connected with Sean’s smug face, and I grinned in satisfaction. Maybe kicking his ass was the right way to handle this.

He shook his head a little and then returned my grin. “I fucked up, I know that. I instantly regretted what I did and tried to make up for it after the fact.” I swung at him again, but this time, he blocked it and punched me in the stomach. “We can’t all be as perfect as you, Tyler.”

I recovered and rushed him. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I lifted and slammed him onto the mat. “Being sorry doesn’t make it better!” I yelled as I rained down punches on his face, most of which he blocked.

Sean bucked his hips, sending me off balance enough to knock me off. Before I could scramble away, he was on me. I grunted as Sean landed a blow to my kidney. He stood and kicked me in the back, sending me flying. I got to my feet as fast as I could, bracing for another attack as I spun to face him, but he had backed off.

“I didn’t say it did. I will have to live with my mistake for the rest of my life. It’s always going to fucking eat at me, but I can’t take it back,” Sean said. “What’s pissing you off, Tyler? What I did, or that you didn’t figure out it was me on your own?”

A roar exploded from my chest as I rushed Sean again in rage. Sean stepped to the side, letting me fly past him and off the mat, slamming into a table. Fuck that hurt.

“I believe you hit the nail on the head,” Zach commented.

“None of us knew, Ty,” Drew said as I turned to face them.

“But I should have!” I yelled. “How can I protect Layla or our family if I couldn’t stop Sean? If I can’t see the fucking deception right in front of my face, how am I supposed to anticipate it from others?”

Sean’s arms fell to his side as he regarded me with pity. I didn’t want his fucking pity, even though I was doing a fantastic job at throwing myself a pity party. “Tyler, I did everything I could to make sure nobody ever found out what I’d done. I was and still am so fucking ashamed of myself. I am ashamed that I let my insecurities and worries put the love of my life in danger. Do you think I ever wanted you all to find out what I’d done? To know what a weak son of a bitch I was? You can’t doubt yourself based on my actions. You are one of the smartest and most protective men I know. You knew the secret about my stepdad before anyone. That was something nobody knew, but you did.”

Colton stood and approached me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and squeezed. “Nobody blames you for not figuring out Sean was the leak, Ty. We’re a family, and we work together. We’re all trying to protect Layla, and together, we will. But that means all of us, even Sean. He messed up, but we all will at some point. The important thing is that we stick together and remain honest with each other at all costs.” Colt turned to look at Sean. “No matter how bad it is. Hiding it only creates more problems within our family.”

“No more secrets,” Sean agreed. He stepped toward me and held out his hand for me to shake.

Colt stepped out of the way, and I closed the distance to shake Sean’s hand.

“To a fresh start,” Sean said.

“Yes, but one more thing,” I said as I released his hand and sucker-punched him in the face one last time. “Now we can have a fresh start,” I chuckled.

“Guys, I have a secret,” Zach said solemnly.

“You have secrets?” Drew asked. “I assumed your thoughts had a direct line to your mouth.”

“I do. I have dreams about having sex with Layla in vats of blood,” Zach said, hanging his head.

I shared looks with the others before we all burst into side-splitting laughter. “Sorry, buddy,” I said when Zach looked offended by our laughter, “but that’s no secret.”

A throat cleared by the door, immediately silencing us as we turned to see Layla leaning against the door jam with her arms crossed. “If you’re all finished playing, I’d like you to meet me in the bedroom. I have a surprise for you.”

Alarm bells began ringing in my head as I exchanged suspicious glances with Drew, Colt, and Sean. There was no way this was going to end well for us. Zach, of course, jumped to his feet and ran out of the room like an excited puppy. A smile spread across Layla’s face as she watched him go. It sent chills up my spine that got worse when Layla turned to look at us. We hadn’t moved an inch, and she cocked her head to the side.

“Are you coming?” she asked sweetly.

“I don’t know yet,” I replied. “I’m scared.”

Layla’s smile grew as she strutted toward me, hips swinging. My dick twitched in my pants while my brain screamed that it was a trap. “Why are you scared, Ty Baby?” Layla asked as she trailed her finger up my chest and under my chin. “Have you done something that would make you scared?”

“Yes? No?” I replied.

Layla smirked and turned away from me, brushing her ass against the front of my pants where my very confused dick was trying to figure out how to react. “Come along, boys, or Zach will get the surprise all to himself.”

Reluctantly, we followed her upstairs, leaving some distance between us and her.

“You realize this is a trap, right?” Drew asked.

“Of course, it’s a trap,” Colt replied. “Do you see any other options?”

“I think we should accept whatever awaits us,” Sean said. “We fucked up.”

“You fucked up more,” I hissed.

“Yeah, and I almost died for it,” Sean snapped. “Whatever she has planned will be infinitely better than death.”

“Seriously, do you see any other options? I wasn’t just saying that; I was asking,” Colt said.

“Sorry, brother,” I chuckled as I clapped him on the back. “Our fates are sealed.”

When we entered the bedroom, Zach was standing at the foot of the bed, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly. On the bed were five matte black gift bags with red bows. On the bag was a logo for an adult store. Maybe this wasn’t a trap after all. What could she possibly have gotten from a sex store that could be bad? Unless she bought us each a whip, even that could be enjoyable under the right circumstances.

“Can I have mine?” Zach asked, making grabby hands at one of the bags. “It has my name on it.”

“Patience,” Layla chirped, patting him on the cheek. “Everyone strip and stand shoulder to shoulder.”

“Yesss,” Zach cheered as his clothes flew around the room. He was naked and standing proudly in the middle of the room before the rest of us had even flexed a muscle. “What are you waiting for?” Zach hissed when he saw we weren’t undressing.

“Zach, you realize that whatever this is can’t be good, right?” Drew asked him. “Whatever you think might happen here isn’t going to happen.”

Zach looked confused as he looked between us and Layla. After a few seconds, he shrugged. “Bring it on,” Zach said. “How bad could it be?”

“Famous last words,” Colton muttered as he began to strip.

I never quite understood Zach. Layla had us all whipped and wrapped around her little finger, but with Zach, it was like he had lost all sense. He was an intelligent, capable man. Ruthless, talented, dangerous as fuck, and psychotic on a good day. But as soon as Layla is involved, or more accurately, sex with Layla is on the table, he loses brain cells. Unless Layla needs him to take charge, I thought about how she was after she thought Sean died. Maybe it was all a show, or maybe, with Layla, he could drop all the worry and seriousness of our life and simply enjoy the moment.

Once we were all naked and standing in a line, Layla handed us our gifts. I held mine by the string handles away from my body like it was a bomb about to explode. Zach immediately tore into his. We watched as he pulled the object from the bag and held it up triumphantly for half a second before yelping and throwing it across the room. Zach turned his horrified expression to Layla. “Why would you want to imprison little Z?” he asked, sounding betrayed.

Layla chuckled as she retrieved the item and handed it back to him. We all leaned closer to him to see what it was.

Oh, fuck me. I opened my bag and peered inside to see a similar item. Layla got us fucking cock cages.

“Not fucking happening, Hellcat,” Colton growled.

“I’m afraid you don’t have much choice,” Layla replied sweetly. “As you have all cleverly pointed out by faking Sean’s death, I can’t kill you without hurting myself. I suppose I could take you downstairs and cut you up,” she pondered.

“That!” Zach said, raising his hand. “I pick that punishment.”

“But some of you would enjoy it too much,” Layla continued, gesturing to Zach, who deflated at her rejection of that idea. “Plus, as someone who has been on the receiving end of a good slice and dice, I reserve that for my enemies, not the men I love.” Her fingers idly traced over the vines that covered the knife work John did on her. “I could always withhold sex, but that would also punish me, and let’s be honest, the first hard dick flashed in my direction would end the punishment. But the cock cages would prevent the erections, alleviating that little issue.”

“I’ll say it again, Layla. I’m not fucking wearing it,” Colton said. “If you remember, we’re in charge in the bedroom, not you. I argue that this falls under the bedroom category.” Zach and I were nodding along as he spoke. It made sense to me.

“Oh, no,” Layla laughed. “Didn’t you hear? Those privileges have been revoked until further notice. This is now a... dick-tatorship, and I’m in charge.”

“I’ll wear it,” Sean said.

Fucking suck up.

Layla awarded his compliance with a smile. Then she stepped forward and tentatively kissed his cheek. His hands twitched as he went to grab her but stopped himself. “Thank you for understanding, Sean,” she said as she backed away.

“Have you lost your balls?” Colton asked him.

“No. But I fucked up,” Sean replied. “And how I atone for that isn’t my decision. It’s up to her, and if this is what she wants, I’ll do it. Better than dying.”

“Shit,” Drew groaned. “Yeah. I’ll fucking wear it, too.”

Layla grinned and kissed him as well. Sean watched longingly as Drew’s kiss was far more intimate than the one he received.

“Count me in,” Zach grumbled. “Wait, how long do we have to wear them?”

“Until I decide that you don’t,” Layla replied.

“That could be forever,” he whined. “It won’t be forever, will it?”

“It won’t be forever,” Layla assured him, patting his cheek.

“Ok, then yeah. I’m in,” Zach said. He also got a kiss, and I looked at Colt, who had a stubborn look in his eye. I knew that look. That was the one he had when he wasn’t going to budge.

“You and I both know we’re doing this,” I told him. “We made our beds, and now we must lie in them. No sense in making a fool of ourselves and fighting the inevitable.”

“Fine,” Colt growled, looking down at the stainless steel cage Layla had chosen for him.

I finally pulled out the shiny black one she had chosen for me. The bottom had what looked like a fine mesh on it. “I’ll do it too, but we might have a problem, Baby,” I said, a dim spark of hope forming in my heart.

“What would that be?” Layla asked.

“My piercings,” I stated.

“It’s not a problem,” Layla assured me. “The wonderful woman who helped me pick these out personally vouched that it would work with your piercings.”

“Oh, good,” I replied.

“Nice fucking try,” Colton whispered.

“Now that you’re all on board,” Layla said, walking back to the bed and picking up a smaller bag I hadn’t noticed before, she pulled out five tiny little red locks. “Let’s lock up the goods. Luckily, I have the one key to unlock them all,” she said, giggling at her play on words and Lord of the Rings reference.

“What happens if you lose the key?” Zach asked as she knelt in front of him and secured the cage.

“I’m sure Colt has some sort of grinder that could cut them off,” she replied.

“Colt and his grinder aren’t coming anywhere near my fucking dick,” I stated.

“Please tell me you have another key,” Colton groaned.

“I do,” she replied. “I gave it to Cordy for safekeeping.”

“Why Cordy?” Drew asked as she moved to him next.

Layla grinned. “Because I knew it would have to be one hell of an emergency for you to ask her for the key. I told her that if you need the key, you have to tell her what it’s for.”

“You’re fucking diabolical, woman,” I groaned. “My dick would have to be falling off before I ask Cordy for that fucking key and tell her why I needed it.”

“Exactly,” Layla replied as she moved to Sean. She hesitated when she reached for his junk.

“I can do it if you’d prefer,” Sean said softly.

As pissed as I’ve been at him, it pained me to see the awkwardness between him and Layla now. Hopefully, this would help them work through some of that, and we can all get to a better, stronger place.

“I’ve got it,” Layla replied. She lingered slightly with Drew and Zach, making it more teasing, but she moved quickly with Sean.

“Fuck,” Sean swore when she moved to Colt. All eyes moved to him as he fought back an erection. His cock straining against the gold metal looked painful. “Sorry,” he grunted. “It’s been a while since I’ve been touched. Shit, this is going to fucking suck.”

Layla giggled, and the sound made Sean’s eyes pop open to look down at her.

“But it will be worth it,” he said softly, making Layla blush.

“Yeah, I think I’ve changed my mind,” Colton said, staring at Sean’s dick.

“Too late,” Layla replied, quickly locking him up.

When it was my turn, she carefully slipped the cage over my dick, making sure that the piercings were positioned comfortably before securing the tiny lock. Layla stood when she finished and stepped back to admire her work.

“That’s actually kind of hot,” Layla admitted. “I didn’t think it would be, but it is.”

“Hey, LG?” Zach asked, “There’s still something in the bag.”

“Oh, that,” Layla chuckled. “Well, with you all under lock and key, I thought I should probably get myself something as well.” She picked up the bag and out slipped a box. “The woman said this was the top-of-the-line clit sucker on the market right now.”

Great. Layla covered all of her bases. The only thing we had to bargain with was giving her mind-blowing orgasms, and she went out and got herself a toy that would do it for us. I looked at the others and saw they were just as displeased as I was by the turn of events.

Layla pulled the toy from the box, and I heard it hum to life as she pressed a button. “Fascinating,” she whispered. Tossing the toy on the bed, Layla unbuttoned her pants and slid them off. She hadn’t been wearing panties; damn, I wish I had known that sooner. Already, I felt myself getting harder, and I fruitlessly tried to fight off the erection. Layla climbed up on the bed and spread her milky thighs wide, showing us her pretty pussy.

Zach fell to his knees at the end of the bed for a close-up as Layla moved the toy to her clit and turned it on.

“Holy fucking shit!” Layla gasped as she quickly pulled it away. “Wow!” She looked at the toy again in wonder before moving it back to her clit.

“Nope. I can’t do this. I have to get out of here,” Zach exclaimed as he ran from the room.

“Where are you going? You can watch if you want!” Layla called after him. “The other capos will be here shortly to continue going through the files, so don’t go far!” Layla groaned loudly. “Shit. I might be late to the meeting. If I am, start without me.”

She groaned again, and the rest of us tapped out. Watching her masturbate wasn’t doing us any favors, and it fucking hurt.

“God, I hope the battery on that thing runs out quickly,” I mumbled to Drew as we left the bedroom.

“It’s rechargeable,” Layla called after us.

Son of a bitch.