Authors: Avery Gale
Making his way toward The Club, James decided he’d take a little walk around and “interview” some of the other former Special Forces guys, just letting them know that the general was always interested in how they were coping with civilian life. Oh yeah, it was the perfect excuse for being around and getting a lay of the land before tonight’s festivities. He had every intention of getting his “pound of flesh” so to speak from Jenna Lamont before he eliminated her. She was a lose end he just couldn’t afford to risk. She was the only one who might ever be able to identify him, there was just something about her that told him she was a huge liability, and fuck it, he was so close to closing this whole sham out and disappearing with all the cash he’d been stashing he wasn’t going to let some hot little piece of ass he’d conquered almost a decade ago scuttle all the work he’d been doing for years. Hell, he’d been selling information to the highest bidder ever since he’d gotten out of boot camp. And he wasn’t about to abandon all that time and effort just because one bitch finally pulled her head out of the sand long enough to figure out Ted Scott and Theodore James were actually one and the same.
* * * *
Jenna was enjoying a late lunch out on the deck with Kat and Rissa when she looked up into the furious face of Colt Matthews. Uh oh, this didn’t bode well for a peaceful afternoon of sun and snoozing before tonight’s festivities. Glancing toward Kat for support, all she got was a shrugged “I told you he’d find out.” And Rissa looked like she was seriously trying to make herself invisible, knowing Mitch Grayson wouldn’t be far behind and equally livid.
Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Kat, you coward!
Jenna smiled warmly and sweetly spoke as he stomped closer. “Good afternoon, Colt. Care to join us? I’m sure Selita would be happy to bring you a plate.” Geez, she was pretty sure if she looked closely, she could see the steam coming out of his ears. He kind of reminded her of one of those cartoon characters she remembered from Saturday morning television when she was a kid. Holy crap! Jenna had asked Rissa to stay behind when Ethan Jantz, the security assigned to babysit them, had walked Kat back to the mansion so she could talk to the other woman alone for a moment. Jenna had wanted to apologize for blurting out what she had finally figured out about Mitch’s gifts last night in front of her new friend. She felt like she had only added to the tension that was already arcing between the two of them as if they were both using some kind of electrical current to communicate. She’d planned to apologize to Mitch later this afternoon. Then she’d see what she could do about setting the whole mess to rights, at one time she and Kat had been pretty good matchmakers. Lucy and Ethel could surely cook up some kind of great plan.
After talking to Rissa, they’d been distracted and had just ambled along until they’d found themselves at the door leading out of The Club. And despite Kat’s warning to wait for an escort and assurances that yes indeed, the guys most certainly would find out if they didn’t, she and Rissa had decided they were grown women and should be able to walk across the gardens back to the house alone if they wanted to.
Geez, it was only a short distance, hell we didn’t see one other single soul the entire time.
But it was obvious from Colt’s expression he was in full pissed-off-boyfriend, ex-soldier-Dom, I-am-the-boss-of-you mode. Time to adopt Catharine Lamont’s motto, “The Best Defense is a Good Offense.”
Colt’s words were calm, but his underlying fury was crystal clear. “Jenna, did you and Rissa walk back to the house unescorted?”
Jenna gave him a considering look. “We walked together, Colt. There was no need to wait for one of your security team to leave something important to come and walk us that short distance. Perhaps you have forgotten, I am fully trained in self-defense and have been traveling alone in some of the most dangerous parts of the world for several years. I’ve never had a single problem, I didn’t expect to encounter the boogeyman in the gardens in broad daylight, and my confidence in both mine and Rissa’s ability to make an adult decision about our own safety turned out to be well founded, don’t you think?”
Way to poke the bear, Jenna, dumb, dumb, dumb.
Jenna just wished Smart Jenna had been at the controls of her mouth instead of Bratty Jenna. Holy shit, he looked about ready to blow a gasket.
“Were you or were you not both told to only leave the spa with an escort? Not just the fucking Club itself, but the spa as well?” Colt’s words began to trail off into angry mutterings as he paced back and forth, pushing his hands through his hair in frustration. Wow, looked like a play right out of the Alex Lamont book of pissed off. He finally stopped in front of the table and speared Jenna with a glare. “One of the security team will pick you up at your suite at 8:00 p.m. You will wear what is delivered to your suite later this afternoon.” Stopping her from speaking by holding up his hand, he continued. “Yes, I know the Submissives’ Masquerade doesn’t begin until ten o’clock, but the two of you will be paying for this little transgression before we have to focus all of our attention on other matters. The men assigned to watch you have been dealt with, they’ve already paid the piper, and they will be allowed to watch you pay for walking away from them and disobeying very specific direct orders. Alex and Zach have left this to Grayson and I to deal with, they will be staying with Katarina in the house during your punishments. Don’t even think about trying to bolt, Jenna, and that goes for you also, Rissa. We will find you.” And with that, he turned and stomped back down the stairs and disappeared into the gardens.
“Holy shit, you two are really in deep this time. Damn, I’m glad I’m not a part of this.” Kat stopped and then sighed deeply. “Shit, I’m turning into an old married robot. I didn’t even think of the fun I’d have getting paddled for misbehaving. Crap, I’m turning into a mom already…I’m going to be dull and boring…Hell, I’m already dull and boring! This sucks! I’ve got a reputation to maintain, what will people think if I all of the sudden start doing exactly what those two Neanderthal husbands of mine demand? Damn and double damn!” Jenna was just watching Kat with stunned disbelief. The crazy woman had talked herself right into a tizzy fit about not getting into trouble and getting her ass paddled.
What the fuck is that about? Must be the hormones. I’ve got no other explanation for Kat’s insanity.
Jenna looked beyond Kat to see both Alex’s and Zach’s smiling faces. No doubt they’d heard Kat’s tirade. Her sweet friend had always bemoaned the fact that thinking out loud got her in more trouble than anything she’d actually done deliberately. Alex stepped up and looked down at his wife. “Katarina? Did I hear you correctly that you wish you had misbehaved earlier today, just so you could maintain your reputation as a problem wife? Hmmm? That doesn’t sound quite right to me, what do you think, brother? Perhaps our wife is in need of a reminder about why bratty behavior is to be avoided.” Jenna watched Zach work to hide his grin before he stepped forward where Kat could see him.
“I believe you might be just about right, brother. Come along, kitten. We’re going to have a remedial lesson this afternoon.” Zach held out his hand, and when Kat placed her hand in his, he pulled his round little wife to her feet. God, but he loved seeing her carrying their growing child inside her sweet belly. Kat had flushed several shades of crimson and was giggling like a school girl at whatever the men were whispering to her as they led her inside.
Rissa looked at Jenna and blinked as if to refocus her eyes. “I’ve fallen down a damned rabbit hole and landed straight in BDSM hell. Hell no, I couldn’t land in Alice’s Wonderland, oh no, I went straight past ‘Go, do not collect $200’ into BDSM
hell
. Shit, Jenna, what are we going to do? What do you think they are going to do to us? Damn, I’m so scared I’m going to throw up!”
Jenna reached over and touched the other woman’s arm. “Stop it, Rissa. Think about this for a minute. Do you really think my brothers would allow someone to really harm either of us?” When Rissa slowly shook her head, Jenna asked, “And do you really think any of the security guys who have been charged with protecting us would actually stand by and watch someone hurt us?” Again she waited for Rissa to shake her head before adding, “And do you honestly believe Colt or Mitch would really ever cause either of us true physical harm?”
Rissa let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and said, “No, I guess not. But I’m really not sure about this whole punishment thing, ya know? I’ve got some, well, some kind of bad memories of punishments.” Her last words were soft, but her meaning was clear. “I don’t know if I can do this, Jenna. What if I fail? What if I let Mitch down? I have been careful to keep him at arm’s length because I’m sure I can’t be what he needs, well, at least I can’t anymore, but damn, I’ve stepped right into it this time. If I can’t do this, I’ll have to leave ShadowDance, and I’ve been happy here...” And her mouthed words
and safe here
weren’t audible, but they weren’t missed by Mitch, who’d been watching the whole scene from the monitor in the Crow’s Nest.
* * * *
“Did you see that? Did you catch it? What does she mean by ‘safe’? Did anything in her background check come back hot?” Mitch had already turned to a keyboard and was furiously pounding on the keys before the questions had even stopped sounding in the room. Colt had been plenty proud of his performance until he’d seen the stark look of terror in Rissa’s eyes. Jenna had held her chin perfectly level to the floor and not even blinked during his tirade. Oh, she was going to be a joy to tame, and Colt was hoping like hell it took him the rest of his life to get it done.
But now Colt was really worried that the scene they’d hurriedly set up for tonight was going to push Rissa too hard. They were going to have to find out exactly what they were up against with her, no Dom wanted to do physical or psychological harm to any sub and particularly not one he had deep feelings for. One of the basic tenants of Dominant-submissive relationships was to push boundaries, but to never do anything that could cause permanent damage to a person who had given her Dom the ultimate gift of her trust. Every Dom knew his or her biggest responsibility was protection and care of their sub, and that included protecting not only their physical health but their mental health as well.
As Mitch worked his way through the pages of Rissa’s background file, Colt picked up the phone and dialed Alex’s number. Even though he knew he’d be interrupting his bosses’ afternoon delight, he needed to know if there either Alex or Zach had information that wouldn’t be found in the file. When he was switched immediately to voice mail, Colt hung up and sent a quick text saying,
Call me ASAP
, and turned back to watch the security monitors that Grayson had abandoned after Rissa’s tear-filled, but silent words.
Chapter 27
Jenna had spent the rest of the afternoon mentally preparing for whatever Colt had planned. She wasn’t just worried about herself, she had seen the terror in Rissa’s eyes and was worried the men would push her too far. Having been a victim herself, she well knew that a misspoken comment or overly familiar touch could send her into hiding for weeks and back to having nightmares for months. She’d wondered about talking to her brothers, letting them know her concerns, but had decided she’d see what was planned before making a decision about action. She didn’t want to betray Rissa’s confidence, if that’s what you would call her vague, mouthed words about safety, but she would if she felt it was in the other woman’s best interest. After she’d made inquiries this afternoon about returning to college to earn her counseling degree, she’d decided she would visit the school and talk to the instructors, but after what had happened earlier and her overwhelming desire to help Rissa work through whatever had happened, well, now she knew for sure this was the direction she wanted to go. There certainly wouldn’t be much money in her new career, but the rewards she’d reap by helping others would far outweigh the monetary loss. She’d still help with Lamont Oil when she could, but God knew she’d trained a number of employees that would be fantastic replacements for her, and most would be over the moon for the opportunity.
Jenna had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t heard the knock at the door. Mitch stuck his head in the room and saw Jenna pacing back and forth, and he could hear her muttering something about Lamont Oil and college.
Damn, she must be really distracted to not hear my knock or the door open, not safe, Jenna, Colt is really going to be pissed if you don’t start taking some fucking interest in your personal safety.
Mitch and Colt had decided to pick up each other’s women because they knew it would add to their apprehension and would also allow the men to more accurately assess Jenna’s and Rissa’s states of mind. Emotions could easily cloud a Dom’s judgment, and this was too important to take a risk. Both men knew the next couple of hours was going to be a make-or-break moment for both them and the girls. He was praying that the adjustments they had made to their planned scene would be enough. They hadn’t been able to get much information about Rissa, seems Sheriff Marshall wasn’t all that keen to share what he knew, but he was smart enough to know what they’d gotten was likely just the tip of a very nasty iceberg.