“We don’t need to be the bait,” Maggie suggested, daring to speak up in a meeting for the first time.

“What do you mean?” I asked, hoping for options.

“Well, we know The Boss’s people are demanding protection money from the locals, right? Some of those people have told us that they would help us if we moved into the region, too. So all we need to do is to tell all these people that we’ve kneecapped The Boss’ ability to do anything at all to them, and we’re now the ones calling the shots. Like you said, we hand out money and gifts, and impress on everyone how much better Queens Emmy and Leah are for them. Soon enough, The Boss’ crew will make contact with one or another of these people, and they’ll tell us. If we can get there in time, we can follow them back to wherever The Boss is hiding,” Maggie explained.

“Sounds good in theory, and I think the basics are there, but I don’t see how we can expect to ever arrive in time to actually tail anybody back to their hideout,” Grant said, rubbing his chin. “But I do like the idea of using the dissatisfied locals to identify the remaining bad guys.”

“What we really need is to grab one of those guys still left on The Boss’ crew, and get him or her to give The Boss up. They all have to know that we just wiped the floor with the guys at the warehouse, so they have to be feeling pretty jumpy right about now,” I said. “They have to believe that the only way they’ll make it through this is by staying hidden, right? They don’t know how many of us there are, or where we are. All they know is that they just lost eight of their guys, in what was supposed to be a slam-dunk ambush. This has to have them rethinking their life choices. If we grab one of them, I’m willing to bet that he’ll give up The Boss in a moment.”

Eddie looked doubtful, but Michael agreed. “I would expect that his organization will show some cracks. Perhaps capturing one or more of his lieutenants will be enough for the rest to abandon him.”

“Well, O.K. Let’s start with step one- getting the locals to love us. Start making the rounds, talk to everyone you can, hand out gifts and cash, promise them the usual benefits if they accept our shadow. Tell them to tell everyone they know. You know the drill,” I said. “Don’t forget, absolutely nobody does anything alone, right? I’d prefer three or more in any group, and at least one should be a real fighter. Also, keep moving where you’re staying. I understand it’s a pain, but I want you guys to stay as safe as possible. Also, wear the protective gear. I know it’s uncomfortable, but we’ve seen proof it saves lives.”

“What do you want me to do?” Grant asked.

“I need you to coordinate operational safety, and continue working with everybody on the combat skills. It looks as if we’re going to need that more than I’d expected we would.”

“Fair enough,” he said.

Emmy and Angela were still out by the time I got back to the hotel, so I took the time to catch up on work emails. The real world didn’t stop just because I was off doing nefarious shit halfway across the country, right? Thankfully, there weren’t any fires to put out, so it was all wrapped up by the time that Emmy and Angela burst back into the hotel room, laughing and smiling. I stood up and got a kiss from each in turn, Angela slipping me a little bit of tongue just to be saucy.

Looking at their surprisingly empty hands, I asked, “What happened to the guitar store trip?”

“Oh, that is what we did,” Emmy said. “I bought a guitar, a really beautiful nineteen sixty-three Fender Stratocaster, and an amp to go along with it.”

I made an exaggerated ‘looking around’ motion, getting a laugh from Emmy.

“I had them delivered to the hotel,” Emmy explained. “They are downstairs, waiting for when we leave.”

“Makes sense,” I admitted.

“You should have seen it,” Angela said, all lit up. “The moment we walked in the door of the guitar store, everybody dropped what they were doing and immediately focused on Emmy. It was like she was… I don’t know, the second coming, or something. They couldn’t wait to show her all these guitars, and asked her to play something.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen that happen a time or two,” I admitted.

“So they set up a video camera and recorded her trying out a bunch of guitars and saying what she liked or didn’t about each one, and playing a few songs. It was amazing. There were a lot of people in there, but nobody did anything while Emmy was playing. I mean, nothing. They just watched.”

“Yeah, that’s what happens,” I agreed.

“Is it like that every time?” Angela asked.

“Yeah, pretty much,” I said. Then, changing the topic, I said, “Hey, we need to be out of here in less than an hour. Do either of you need to shower or change clothes or anything before we leave?”

When both said they were fine, I suggested we launch a bit early. I called for a car, while Emmy phoned the flight crew to let them know we’d be ahead of schedule, and within an hour we were taxiing for takeoff.

“I never want to fly in a normal plane again,” Angela said, sipping from her glass of champagne and leaning back in the plush couch in the cabin of the Lascaux family jet.

“I do dislike flying commercial,” Emmy agreed. “But since this plane belongs to my parents and not to me, sometimes we have no real choice.”

“A girl could get used to being spoiled like this,” Angela said, tucking her feet up under herself.

Despite Chicago’s location in a region called the Midwest, it’s actually a whole lot closer to the East Coast than the West, so the whole flight only took us about two hours to get to Teterboro, where Wally was waiting with the sedan.

“Miss Emmy, Miss Leah,” he said, signaling to the porter to follow with the luggage.

“Wally!” Emmy said, pleased to see the man. “How have you been?”

“Our driver,” I explained to Angela.

As Emmy and Wally chatted, Angela said, “You guys don’t have a driver in LA?” somehow making the statement into a question.

“New York is a different thing,” I replied. “You can’t really drive yourself here. It’s just too much of a pain in the ass.”

It took us about an hour to cover the fifteen miles or so to the townhouse, and Emmy and Wally talked nonstop about how the remodel was progressing, what a pain relocating the wine had been, and how the time working with Grant had really changed Wally’s understanding of the world around him. I only half listened to the conversation going on in the front seats, and Angela was completely lost in the sights outside the big BMW’s dark-tinted windows. She’d said she had never been to New York before, and it was obvious that the sights were captivating her to no end.

“Can we go up to the top of the Empire State Building?” She asked. “Where’s that place- 30 Rock?” And “Is this the tunnel that got blown up in that Sylvester Stallone movie?”

I did my best to answer her questions, but really, my mind was still back in Chicago. I’d wished I could have stayed there and just sent Angela along with Emmy to New York, since there was so much yet to do.

Realistically, though, the next phase there was likely to take some time, so me staying to supervise would probably be a waste of my time, on top of stepping on Michal and Grant’s toes with micromanaging. I had to let them do what they were there to do, knowing that I could be back in a few hours’ notice if needed.

When we pulled up to the townhouse, Mia and Luisa came out to greet us and help bring in the luggage. Both looked good in dark trousers and light-colored shirts, almost like uniforms but not quite. Of course, Wally had on his usual business suit, but I’d expected that. Seeing Luisa and Mia dressed like staff somehow seemed a little wrong to me. I was going to have to talk to Emmy about her expectations, and maybe find out if it was her idea.

The house smelled like fresh paint, and when Emmy wrinkled her nose, Luisa said, “They just varnished the woodwork in the library on Friday. I tell you, it was unbearable in here, even with the fans going full blast.”

I took a moment to peek into the library, since it was right next to the foyer anyhow. Yeah, it smelled pretty strong, but looked really, really good.

Luisa pulled me aside and asked, “Which room will Angela be using?”

“What’s ready?” I asked.

“Well, the master, of course, and the fourth floor bedrooms are both done.”

“Furniture and everything?” I asked.

“All ready. The only parts of the remodel they’re still working on are down in the basement. Everything else is pretty much done, and Charlie’s already got the rooms all done up.”

“That’s awesome,” I said, looking around to really take it all in. Yes, the ugly, heavy old overdone furniture was in fact all gone, replaced by much lighter, more simple and elegant pieces. The walls were all freshly painted or papered, too, and the floors shone, at least the parts of the parquet not covered in area rugs.

“You’ll have to give me a tour to catch me up,” I said.

The master bedroom was greatly improved, with the Pre-War moldings restored and painted white, contrasting with the pale celery walls. I’d expressed to Charlie, the designer, that the bed in that room was just about the single piece of furniture I’d liked, so she’d replaced it with a new one of the same make, but this time with a classic canopy bed frame.

“Charlie did an amazing job with this place,” I remarked to Emmy as we checked out the room.

“Oh! The bath is perfect!” Emmy exclaimed, drawing my attention. Sure enough, Erich and Charlie had transformed it from a green marble monstrosity into an invitingly light and airy space, somehow feeling much larger than it had before. The free-standing tub was at least as large inside, but the space it took up was only about half what the old built-in marble-clad thing had occupied.

“It’s hard to believe this is the same room,” I agreed.

Luisa had cooked a lovely dinner of lamb chops and asparagus, apologizing that it wasn’t up to Per Se’s standards.

“This is lovely,” Emmy said, truthfully. “Not every meal can be like that, and I would not want them to be.”

Angela and I both complimented Luisa’s cooking, and Mia chimed in that she’s been eating better since moving in with Luisa than she ever had in her life.

Puzzled, Angela asked, “You two are lovers?”

“I wish!” Mia said, and Luisa laughed. “No, we just both work for Leah and Emmy, and we both live here. Luisa’s been doing pretty much all the cooking when we’re both home at night, since my idea of a decent meal is Kraft Macaroni And Cheese.”

“No, that’s absolutely the truth,” Luisa said when the laughter died down. “Mia can’t cook anything more advanced than, well, Mac and cheese.”

“Yeah, but I do it up right,” Mia said, mock pride on her face.

After dinner, I was trying out the new tub, relaxing with my eyes closed when somebody came in. I heard clothes being removed, then a foot stepped into the tub with me, then another. I opened my eyes to see Angela lowering herself onto me, lying down front to front. She saw that I had my eyes open, and gave me a long, slow, sensual kiss.

“Where’s Emmy?” I asked as Angela settled herself into a comfortable position.

“Upstairs, playing in her new recording studio with Luisa and Mia,” Angela replied.

“Why aren’t you with them?”

“I wanted to spend some time alone with you,” Angela replied, laying her head on my shoulder. I wrapped her in my arms, stroking her long dark hair where it covered her back.

“What’s up?” I asked after a while, when it seemed that Angela wanted to talk.

“I want this to last forever,” Angela murmured, kissing my collarbone.

“The water’s going to get cold before too long,” I said.

“That’s not what I meant,” she replied, blowing a little raspberry on my skin.

“You want me to grope your butt forever?” I asked, giving said butt a gentle squeeze.

“Well, yeah, that, and other things,” Angela said, again nestling herself against me.

I continued to gently squeeze her world-class rear end, waiting for her to continue.

“Emmy and I talked,” she finally said. “She said that it’s O.K. if you and me, we, you know, without her being there.”

“Yeah, we talked about that, too,” I confessed. “We’re both O.K. with you having sex with the other.”

After a while, Angela said, “I didn’t think I was gonna like it,” she admitted.

“Why did you ask for it, then?”

“I don’t want to sound… I don’t know how to explain,” Angela said, burying her face against my neck. “I want to be with you two, you know? And it seemed like you guys, well, sex is a big part of how you two, um… express your love for each other?” She said, making it a question. I gave her rear a gentle squeeze of encouragement, and she continued.

“I want to be part of your lives, and I want you two to be part of mine, O.K.? So I thought that maybe, um, if I gave myself to you guys, you’d want me around, you know?”

“Angela,” I said, moving my hands up her back, finally sliding her hair to one side so I could see her face better. “We wanted you to stay with us even before you did that, you know. I asked if you wanted to move into our new house with no expectation of sex, I hope you know that. Emmy and I enjoy having you as part of our lives, whether or not you share our bed.”

“I know,” Angela said, her voice timid. “But… I thought that maybe, well, maybe you guys felt the way I did, and maybe you guys have fallen a little bit in love with me, like I have with you guys. I thought that you two express your love for each other that way, maybe you’d do the same with me.”

I didn’t really know what to say, so I just kept stroking Angela’s hair while holding her close.

“Like I said, I didn’t think I was going to like it, but I thought that if it was something I could do for you guys, then that would be alright. I mean, I never liked giving Antonio blow jobs, but he liked it, so I did it for him, you know? So I figured that I’d try it, and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“And how was your first taste of Sapphic love?” I asked, curious.

“You mean sex with another girl? I mean, two other girls?” Angela asked for clarification.

“That’s what I mean.”

“I liked it a lot,” Angela admitted. “I mean, the actual sex part was good, you know? It was amazing having my fingers deep inside you, feeling how you, um, responded to my touch. It made me feel really close to you and Emmy, close in a way… I didn’t expect. And the way you guys licked me, that was incredible. I really loved that.”

“So, you’re saying the sex was better than you expected?” I asked.

“Much better,” Angela agreed. “But it wasn’t just the sex, you know? Lying there in bed, your arm wrapped around me, I felt so warm, so safe… It felt like maybe you did love me, even if it’s just a little bit. And then, when I woke up and you were gone but Emmy was there, I wanted to hold her. Just hold her, that’s all, and it felt good, too.”

“Holding Emmy does feel really good,” I agreed.

“I guess what I’m saying is that I’m happy. Happy like this, Leah. I want us to continue to be like this,” Angela said.

“I’m still not really sure what this thing we have really is,” I admitted.

“A household of three?”

“What does that mean for you?” I asked, using a grip on her butt to scoot her up so we could look eye to eye. Seeing her concerned look, I gave her a long, tender kiss, to make it clear that I did care for her, and it wasn’t just a one way thing.

“I want to be your lover. And Emmy’s lover. I want you to kiss me when you get home from work. I want to kiss Emmy when she wows everyone at a music store. I want to take baths with you. I want to wash Emmy’s hair in the shower. I want…” Angela said, running out of words.

“You don’t think of yourself as lesbian, do you?” I asked.

“I’m not gay, just for you and Emmy, that’s all.”

“Did you notice how beautiful Luisa is?” I asked.

“Of course?” Angela said, making it another question.

“Imagine what she’d be like in bed,” I said. “What would you like to do to her?”

Giving me a little frown, Angela said, “Kiss her? I guess? I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Just checking to see if you find other women attractive,” I said, giving Angela a little kiss on the nose.

“I don’t think so,” Angela said, doubtfully.

“You never practiced kissing with any of your friends when you were little?”

“No, I never did,” Angela said, shaking her head.

“Hmm,” I said. “Well, how do you feel about practicing kissing with another girl right now?”

“I think I need all the practice I can get,” Angela said. “It’s different than it is kissing a man.”

After our practice session, Angela rested her head on my shoulder again.

“I have a question for you,” I said, kissing the top of her head.

“Hmm?”

“What are you going to tell everybody? Your parents? Your little sister? What are you going to post on the social media sites?”

Angela groaned, making it clear this was something she’d been thinking about. “I don’t know,” she said. “I guess it depends a lot on what’s going to happen, you know? I mean, if you and Emmy want me to be part of your lives, and you want me to be, um… your lover, third in the household, whatever we call it, and it looks permanent, I’d be happy to tell the world if you guys want.”

“There you two are!” Emmy exclaimed as she entered the bathroom. “I have been looking for you!”

“We’ve been here, talking,” I said as Emmy knelt by the side of the big claw-foot tub.

“Is that what they call it these days?” Emmy said, laughter in her voice. She slipped her hand into the water and stroked Angela’s ass, causing Angela to squirm a little. Seeing the reaction, Emmy slid her fingers up between Angela’s legs, stroking gently. “What were you talking about?”

“Angela wants to sleep in our bed tonight,” I said.

“Every night,” Angela corrected, her squirming increasing with the movement of Emmy’s fingers.

“And what did you tell her?” Emmy asked, continuing to pay attention to Angela’s sensitive bits under the water.

“I told her that she needs to think about what it would mean to be our lover. You and me, we’re used to the tabloid trash talk, right? But Angela hasn’t had to face that yet. And there’s her family to tell, too.”

“Angela, no one in this household is going to question where you spend your nights, in our room or not. But outside of this house, the world can be cruel,” Emmy said, pulling her hand from the water. “You need to determine if you are ready for that, and what it will mean for you.”

“I know,” Angela groaned, as much from the cessation of physical stimulation as anything. “I need to think about it.”

“You do,” Emmy said, her tone gentle. “We will wait for your decision. In the meantime, we can try to keep it away from the public eye. As for tonight, we would love to have you join us in our bed.”

“Not just tonight,” I corrected.

“No, not just tonight,” Emmy concurred. “We would he happy to have you sleep with us every night.”

“Are you serious?” Angela asked, sitting up, straddling my belly.

“Angela,” I said, my hands on her hips. “I think we’re all in agreement. We all want to make this work.”

Angela bit her lip, her face a picture of indecision. “I guess that means it’s up to me, then?”

“Yes, I think it is,” I said. “We’ll accept whatever it is you want to do.”

Thinking about it for a moment, Angela said, “Can we try the sex thing again?”