"Good morning, daddy."

Nichole smiles warmly at Taehyun after he wakes up next to her. She pulls her attention away from the television so they can cuddle and kiss. Ademar eventually stirs awake and joins the party. The trio doesn't roll out of bed until half an hour later, no one caring about their jobs and other responsibilities. Nichole swears she's never been as happy as she is now.

Her relationship with Ademar and Taehyun is stronger than ever; she's since gone back to managing the bakery full-time; her car is finally out of the shop, so she no longer has to depend on her boyfriends for transportation. Life has returned to normal, or as normal as it can be.

And most importantly, Kade Lowery is gone.

Nichole hasn't heard a peep out of him for nearly three weeks, and according to his sister Caty, his family hasn't heard a word from him either. Nichole assumes Kade has finally been scared straight. Though, there is still one part about the night when she had to surprise him in his motel room that she can't seem to get off her mind.

The phone call.

Kade had thrown a bigger fit about his cell phone being taken than he did about getting tied up and tortured. He'd said he was expecting a phone call from someone who he'd made out to be seemingly important, and if he didn't answer... well, only he knew what the consequences might've been.

Nichole hates to dwell on it, but perhaps the reason for Kade's sudden silent treatment is because she'd taken his cell phone that night. Perhaps he wasn't exaggerating about something bad happening if he didn't answer whatever phone call he'd been waiting to receive. Perhaps Nichole helped send her ex into an early grave by accident.

"Why do you have that look on your face?"

Nichole is pulled out of her thoughts after Ademar sits next to her on the couch with a plate of food in his hands, just enough for two. She smiles softly as he passes her a fork.

"When did you go out to get this?" she asks in between bites. "I didn't hear you leave."

"Because you were too busy staring off into space," Ademar chuckles. "Now tell me why you have that look on your face."

"What look?"

"The look like you're mentally preparing to go to a loved one's funeral."

Nichole sighs. Not much gets past her overly observant boyfriends. "It isn't like that."

"Then what's it like, sweetheart? Talk to me. I hate it when you're down."

Before Nichole can reply with an excuse rather than the truth, Taehyun enters the apartment with Kade's laptop and cell phone. There's a smile on his face, which can only mean that he had a productive meeting with the hacker he hired, Jacob. Taehyun goes into the kitchen to grab the hammer and a garbage bag from underneath the sink. He then joins Nichole and Ademar on the couch, both of them eyeing him crazily.

"We're going to smash this worthless shit to bits," Taehyun explains while placing the laptop and cell phone inside the garbage bag. "Who wants to go round one with the hammer?"

Ademar laughs. "Slow your roll, handsome. First, tell us how everything went with Jacob?"

"As perfect as it could've gone," Taehyun answers. "He got in and cleared out everything on the laptop and cell phone. He did exactly what he said he would." Taehyun then looks at Nichole and smiles before pecking her on the cheek. "You don't have to worry about the tape anymore. You're finally free of that sick bastard. He can't ever hurt you again."

Not long after the trio came home from wreaking havoc on Kade at the motel, Taehyun immediately got in touch with his old work associate Nathan, who then helped him get in contact with Jacob, a skilled hacker, and overall computer wiz.

Taehyun later met with Jacob to give him the rundown on Nichole's situation. For a hefty price that Ademar and Taehyun were happy to split (without Nichole's knowledge), Jacob assured Taehyun that he'd be able to get the job done. When Jacob finally called this morning to inform Taehyun that he was on the final step of destroying Kade's hard drive, Taehyun had asked if he could stop by to do the honors.

The only thing left to do now is to get rid of the useless machines.

"What about the phone?" Nichole asks. "We couldn't get inside it because we forgot to get the passcode from Kade, so were you guys able to find anything after Jacob hacked into it?"

"Yes, but I don't think it's anything that we can use," Taehyun replies. "Kade kept that phone as a burner. There was only one number listed in the contacts and it belonged to some guy named Quincy. The last message he sent to Kade had been him asking when Kade was going to buy a new phone because Quincy wanted to send him his new number. Kade never responded... because we took his shit. Not much else was on the phone apart from that."

An uneasy feeling settles in the pit of Nichole's stomach. She managed to successfully remove Kade from her life, and yet, it feels as if she's somehow slipped even deeper into his mess.

"Fuck," Nichole groans, hunching over to hold her tired head in her hands. "I think we might have messed up."

Ademar and Taehyun exchange a brief look of concern before moving to console their distressed girlfriend. Ademar sets his plate of food aside to rest one hand on Nichole's bouncing knee, and the other on her lower back. Taehyun gently pulls her hands away from her face to kiss her, wanting to help alleviate some of the anxiety that appears to be smothering her.

"What makes you say that, baby?" Taehyun asks, still holding Nichole's hands.

"I can't explain it. Something just doesn't feel right," Nichole says. "Kade literally begged us to not take his phone. I don't think I've ever seen such genuine fear in his eyes, and then... several weeks go by and no one has heard from him? Last we checked, he left the motel, so where else could he be staying? He should've retaliated by now. He—"

"Sweetheart, the worst is over. You've got to start believing that," Ademar interrupts. "Kade is probably somewhere on the run. I'm sure he's already found out that we tipped off the probation department about his relationship with his parole officer. I have no doubt they're out looking for the asshole. It's only a matter of time before he's back behind bars where he belongs."

"Listen to Addy, baby," Taehyun says. "As much as I'd rather he not be, I'm sure Kade is fine wherever the hell he is."

And if he isn't? Nichole wanted to ask but couldn't. Instead, she forces a smile and swallows the million what-ifs that scratch at the back of her brain.

"I'm sorry. I just get into my head sometimes and... jump to the worst-case scenarios," Nichole says. "Anyway, enough about Kade. Where's this surprise that I was promised earlier?"

"Oh! I'll get it." Ademar hops up from the couch and disappears down the hallway. When he returns a few moments later, he has Nichole shut her eyes and hold out one hand. "This is from me and Tae-Tae."

As soon as the cool metal touches her palm, Nichole immediately knows what her surprise is. She nervously opens her eyes to confirm it. "Are you two serious right now?"

"Very." Taehyun chuckles. "You've barely gone home since we all started dating. It's only right that you have your own set of keys to me and Addy's place."

"You guys..." Nichole sniffles, getting choked up. "This is such a big step for us. It changes everything, you both know that, right?"

"Sometimes change can be a good thing," Ademar says, pulling her up for a kiss. "But no pressure, though. You don't have to accept this for the sake of our feelings."

"Are you kidding?" Nichole smiles, and this time it isn't forced. She wraps herself around Ademar as Taehyun stands to move behind her. "I can never say no to my two favorite boys."

"You hear that, Tae-Tae?" Ademar smirks. "We're her favorite."

"Yeah, I heard. Maybe we should show her how grateful we are for being gifted such a title," Taehyun teases. He plants a kiss on Nichole's shoulder, his hands gripping her full ass. "Would you like that, baby girl?"

"Yes." Nichole moans after Ademar bends down to mark her neck, and at the same time, Taehyun sinks a hand into her head of curls and tugs.

"Yes, what?" Taehyun asks, his voice deepening as his arousal spikes.

"Yes, daddy." Nichole grins. "I want you to show me just how grateful you are."

Nichole shivers at the feel of Taehyun unbuttoning her pants. She then very quickly decides that she'd much rather be rolling around in bed with her two handsome boyfriends than stressing out over her demented ex who is more than likely on his way to make someone else's life a living hell.

Best of luck to them.