Authors: Casey Clipper
Murphy's bar closed for the private bachelor party that hosted around seventy-five men. Non-stop drinks were served all night to Darren. Finally he started to feel the alcohol kick in. Derrick stuck by his side the entire night. Everything went well until their immensely shitfaced brother-in-law strolled up to them. Amused at his condition, Derrick chuckled and took a small drink of his whiskey on the rocks.
"So," Max slurred, "what are you going to do while Courtney's gone all weekend?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Taking home a stripper or two?"
Darren rolled his eyes. Despite his demand that Courtney not have strippers and his fiancée calling his bluff with her own demand, Jack and Carl insisted on naked women. Seventy-five drunk, horny men expected female nudity. To be honest, Darren was relieved. He couldn't imagine telling the men no women tonight. That might not have gone over well and his bar might have ended up brunt to the ground.
The far more sober one, Derrick picked up on Max's words. "What do you mean for the weekend? It's Friday. The party is tonight so everyone has the weekend to recover."
Max snorted. "Riiiiight. The girls are going to come home from Vegas tonight."
"What!" Darren and Derrick yelped in unison.
"They went to Vegas!" Darren screamed.
The few men nearby scatted away.
"Why the hell didn't you tell us?" Derrick barked. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Courtney's cell but it went straight to voicemail. "Damn it!"
"I should fucking punch you, Max," Darren sneered. His relationship with his brother-in-law was tolerant at best.
"I just found out a few hours ago. You know your sister's damn good at keeping a secret. Apparently they didn't even tell Courtney," Max said defensively.
"Of course she didn't know," Darren huffed. "Courtney would never willingly go if she knew Diane was taking her to Vegas. She wouldn't want to upset me."
Derrick tried Courtney's phone again. Still no answer. Obviously someone shut it off.
"We need to fly to Vegas," Darren demanded.
Derrick nodded. "I'll call Gary."
Within fifteen minutes, a charter plane had been booked and would be ready for take off in forty-five minutes. They couldn't risk Courtney alone in Vegas without security. Swooping in and carting her ass straight away was priority number one. She was about to become Darren's wife, which made her a target. A target that if something happened to her would destroy Darren.
***
Courtney, Darren, and Derrick sat at Darren's dining room table after taking the red-eye home from retrieving the girls in Vegas. Exhausted and hung over, they sipped on coffee and tea. Though, of the three, Derrick seemed in the best condition.
"So, how many strippers were at the party?" Courtney asked, sipping her green tea.
Derrick chuckled.
Darren should have realized she wouldn't be fooled by his “no strippers” demand.
"Enough to keep the guys entertained, sweetheart. I kept to the bar with Derrick by my side the entire night," he assured her. "How about you?" he asked, bracing for an honest answer.
She huffed. "We went to more strip clubs than I could count."
Darren growled and Derrick lost his good humor.
"I told Diane no strippers. I don't like my fiancée bounced around like some floozy," Darren snarled.
"I'll talk to her," Derrick said, placating his brother. His brother wouldn't like the idea of her in strip clubs either. He also held her in a higher esteem. She was about to become the boss's wife. There was a certain code of conduct she'd be held to. Of course, she wasn’t quite aware of that part of her position.
She shook her head. "You misunderstand. The bars were meant more for the other girls."
Darren and Derrick furrowed their brows in confusion. Exasperated, she sighed.
"I don't want to get into it," she said. "You know...what happens in Vegas."
"Oh no!" Darren snapped. "Now you
will
tell us what the hell happened."
"I can't betray your sister, Darren. Don't ask me to," she whined.
"Diane?" Derrick asked.
Her head fell to the table. "Damn hangover brain, not quick on the thinking process."
"Now, Court," Darren demanded.
"Diane sort of...disappeared at a couple of the bars," she said, clearly trying to remain vague. But when she glanced up at him, she balked.
"What do you mean disappeared?" Derrick asked.
"Well, when I couldn't find Diane, the girls said she was busy or indisposed and would join us later. I managed to sneak off to try and find her and boy did I find her," she explained. "I found her having sex with a stripper in a back room. She didn't see me, so I left the area, went back to join the rest of the girls, and waited for her to finish."
"What!" Darren screamed. He jumped up from his chair but grabbed his head from the sudden onslaught of dizziness that overtook him. "Ugh, hangover."
"Sit down, Darren," his brother scolded.
He slumped down in the chair but glared at his brother. "She has no right putting Courtney in that position."
"I agree and we'll talk to her about it," Derrick said firmly.
"You can't!" Courtney yelped. "You're not supposed to know. I can't be the one who betrayed her and told what I saw."
Darren looked from Courtney to Derrick. "I had a feeling she's been cheating on him again."
Derrick held up his hands. "None of our business."
"It is when she involves my future wife into her affairs," Darren spat.
"Does she do this often?" she asked, shocked.
Both brothers glanced at each other then to Courtney. Derrick readjusted in his chair while Darren suddenly grew interested in his coffee cup.
"And you both know about it?" Courtney asked even more upset.
"Honey, Diane has always been a bit of a free spirit." Darren grabbed her hand and squeezed.
"Free spirit is being kind, brother," Derrick murmured.
When he shot Derrick a warning glance, his brother shrugged and took a sip of his coffee.
"Diane has a hard time reigning herself in, sweetheart. Our parents had trouble with her when she was a teenager. Unfortunately she hasn't matured. We all hoped she would when she got older. She gets hyperactive, almost as if she's crawling out of her skin at times, and we never know what she will get herself into. We’re all thankful she has never done drugs or anything else that could be completely self destructive," he explained. "We've learned to let her go. If we don't she tends to rebel and takes off running. She has kids now and can't disappear. If she has an affair here and there, well, that's her way of dealing with her
issues.
Derrick, myself, and our parents won't get involved as long as the kids aren't harmed."
"Does Max know?" Courtney asked stunned. The topic had never been discussed in all the years she'd been a part of the family. No one had said a word to her.
"He does but turns a blind-eye," Derrick answered. "Because of us. He doesn't want to upset her brothers and get on our bad side. To be honest, we don’t like him. He doesn't treat Diane very well but that could be because of what she puts him through."
Darren nodded in agreement. "We can’t blame him for his bitterness towards Diane, but he might help the situation if he treated her better."
She snorted. "Would you if I cheated on you?"
Darren went rigid and pulled away from her. Slumping back in the chair, he studied her. Well, that made him think, now didn't it?
"Courtney," Darren warned.
She groaned, "Darren, get real. I'm not saying I would cheat on you. I'm saying you're getting on Max for not being kind to Diane because of her infidelity, but when push comes to shove and if that were you and me, I would be out on the street quicker than I could blink. Right?"
"It would be worse than that, darling. I promise you," he growled.
"Okay, I think that's enough for one hangover morning/afternoon." Derrick smacked the table putting stop to the potentially dangerous conversation. "We'll talk to Diane about not involving Courtney again in her shenanigans, and Courtney promises to never have an affair. So...what are we doing for rest of the day?"
***
"If you involve Courtney in any of your little trysts again, Diane, I will personally wring your neck," Darren yelled.
They stood on their parents' back porch in warm evening breeze with the sun setting in the background. It had been one week since the parties. Darren took advantage of the first opportunity and confronted his sister. He glowered menacingly while he laid down the law.
Diane waved dismissively and rolled her dark brown eyes. "Please, she wasn't involved in anything."
"It doesn't matter!" Darren bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the quiet neighborhood. He could feel his blood pressure rise. Pissed wasn't accurate enough of a description at his sister's nonchalant attitude. "She is going to be
my wife
. Do you even comprehend what that means!"
Diane
Both her brothers were furious at her. Derrick stood off to the side and shot daggers her direction. When she'd turned to him for support, the look of distaste spoke volumes. She was on her own.
"Of course I understand what that means but you're too overprotective of her. She's a grown woman who can handle herself," Diane snapped. "It was a fucking party, Darren. Get your grip off her."
Darren took a hard step towards her which caused her to take a step back. It was an automatic self-preservation move. His features had turned dark and dangerous. He pegged her, his voice low, unable to contain himself any longer. "You listen to me right now, Diane. If you
ever
do anything like that again, you'll have to deal with me, and I will
not
take mercy upon you because you are my sister. My
wife
will always...always come before anyone else. She will be the mother of my children, the queen of my empire. Courtney will be the most respected woman you will ever know. People will bow to her every wish. Am I understood?"
Tears formed in her eyes as she looked away from her brother. Indeed, she had pushed the envelope in Vegas. Really she had underestimated how Darren and Derrick would react so violently. Yes, she knew she'd have to answer for her behavior, but she thought they would yell and scream. Not all out threaten her. She should have known Darren would protect and choose Courtney above her. His heart belonged to her now. Reality smacked her in the face. She'd been the sister-queen-bee for years. Now she'd be on the outside looking in.
"Diane," Derrick warned.
She slid a quick glance to her older brother and shivered. She thought the dark look on Darren's face was frightening? Derrick was the one that she should be more frightened of. Darren might feel family bond and loyalty would be important enough to keep her alive. But Derrick...no, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her. He loved Courtney as much as Darren and his protection of her would come first.