by R J Gray
"Speaking of stubborn women," Octavius started. "Have you spoken to Teagan recently?"
"We text back and forth some, but nothing too serious. I've asked her out a couple times, and she always has some sort of excuse. I know she is into me; I don't get it."
"Ro told me that Teagan's scared. She's had a rough life. She doesn't think she's worthy of love."
"What? That is unacceptable. I knew she had walls up. I assumed it was from a broken heart or asshole ex."
"No, from what she's told us, she's never really been in a serious relationship. She has some idea in her head that she is unlovable and that's why everyone always leaves her. Her fears are deep rooted from childhood abandonment. She is complicated, and if you hurt her, I will kill you."
"Really, Erikson? Do you really think I would hurt her?" Offense dripped from Luca's tone. "We've known each other going on fifteen years, and I would literally take a bullet for you."
"I know, I know!" Octavius said as he held up a hand. "It's my duty as her big brother to warn you—"
"Besides," Luca interrupted, "I could take you."
"Ha. That's funny. You didn't take me in Guam," Octavius said, starting the men down a conversation of reminiscing until they pulled up in front of the Erikson's house. They had barely gotten into the driveway when Ro came bouncing out of the front door.
"Are you hungry? I had far more taco fixings than Teagan and I could eat. I can have the meat reheated in a few minutes," Ro offered as she greeted them.
"Is Teagan here?" Luca asked, hoping he didn't sound overly eager to see her. Damn, if he wasn't attracted to the frustrating woman.
"No. She left about ten minutes ago. I asked her to stay, but she accused me of trying to set her up again, so I all but pushed her out the door." Ro shyly eyed her husband.
"Oh. It's late, so I think I'll head home." Luca's disappointment was clear. Ro looped her arm through his.
"Come in and have a beer and a taco, please?"
"You can't really say no to her tacos," Octavius added.
"Okay, okay!" Luca threw his hands up in surrender.
While driving home, Teagan's mind wandered. She had to come up with a plan to get Evie away from her abusive fiancé. She wanted to go knock on the door, grab her, force her in the car and arrest the sleaze ball. She wanted to protect her sister, but her years of work in domestic violence taught her that she couldn't help Evie until Evie wanted and would accept her help. Teagan also knew that Sleaze had friends in the force or, at least, officers he was able to pay off or intimidate into doing his bidding. Ro had filled her in on how he had somehow managed to get off the last time. What to do? She had helped several domestic violence victims escape. Many of these guys controlled everything in their victim's lives. Cell phones often had tracking apps installed, houses had security, most of the women had no access to money, friends or family. Some of them had taken a while to get out. They would withdraw a few extra dollars, utilizing the cash back option every time they got groceries, and stored it away. The ones with children were extra complicated. They had hidden safe houses all over town, but Teagan knew that Evie wouldn't be one to hide in a safe house.
So then, what? How? They might have to kidnap her and do an intervention. Kidnapping is illegal, you moron. Yet, the idea had some merit. That wouldn't work. She had to find some way to get him to leave Evie alone. Blackmail. Also, illegal. You are supposed to be a police detective. If you don't get caught, the little devil on her shoulder whispered into her ear. If Teagan could get into the house, plant some bugs and video equipment, they could then use that to blackmail him. That meant they'd have to get him hitting her on video. Teagan's gut lurched. The last thing she wanted was for her sister to get hit again. Based on her conversation with Ro, Evie was feeling helpless and trapped. Having that evidence against him could definitely help.
Now, Teagan just needed to find some small bugs that would transmit wireless and a plan to get into the house one night and plant them and plot the escape route. Sleaze would never let Evie just leave. They'd have to sneak her out in the middle of the night for it to truly work. Teagan had a plan. Now, she would have to sit down with both of her sisters and explain and come up with some sort of signal for Evie to use when it was time to get her. Yes, that is what she would do. Teagan was so deep into thought making that she failed to notice her car slowing down.
What the hell? Teagan pushed the gas on her car. Why was the car slowing down? It stalled, sputtered and came to a complete stop. Dammit! The gas! She grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and saw the low battery warning on the screen. Are you kidding me? She rooted around for her charger. The radio was still going, so the battery wasn't dead. Where the heck was the charger? Fuck. In her office. Calling roadside assistance was out; her phone would die before she could get someone on the line.
Keep your cool, Teagan. You've got this. Figure out where you are so you can get some help. Ro lived twenty minutes away, and Teagan had found a shortcut through some backcountry roads. Unfortunately, she didn't know the name of the roads. Maybe Octavius was home and could help her. Getting out of the car, she walked around to the trunk, grabbed a flashlight and started down the road.
"Tea, what's wrong? You never call; is everything okay? What happened?" Ro asked.
"Not exactly, you know that gas light I was telling you about?"
"Oh, thank God. I mean, you just ran out of gas, right? Where are you?"
"That's the thing. I don't know. I'm walking down the road hoping to find a sign. It's one of the back-country roads between our houses."
"You're walking down the road in the dark? Go get back in your car and turn your hazards on; you'll be safe there."
"Ro, I am perfectly safe. Listen, my phone is about to die, and I don't have a charger with me."
"Teagan, your cell is going to die now, too? You're lucky you don't have a Daddy, because you would be in so much trouble right now. Seriously, my ability to sit would be short lived."
"Ro. Stop repeating everything I say and listen. My phone is going to die, and I need gas. Is Oct home? How do I get my coordinates to you?" Teagan heard Ro yell into the other room and waited for her to return to the phone. Her pulse sped up as the phone beeped its final warnings over the battery.
"Teagan, it's Octavius. Put me on speaker."
"Okay? Done." Flipping her phone in front of her face, she did as she was told.
"Now, I want you to open your map app and click the arrow in the corner. A dot should appear with your picture on the map. Do you see it?"
"Oh! I do!" The phone beeped again. "We need to hurry; my phone is dying."
"Tap on that dot. A box should show up that says, 'share my location'. Tap it. When you do, it will give you the option to message it to someone. Message it to Ro, and we will be on our way."
"Done."
"Now, go get your butt back in your car and turn on your hazards."
"What was that? Oh, sorry, Oct, my phone is…" Just like that, it was dead. Looking around, Teagan realized they would have to come up the road the same way she did. It was a beautiful but cold, early December night. She could walk to the end of the road and wait. She pulled her coat a little tighter around herself and started to walk.
"What's going on?" Luca asked after Octavius hung up.
"I just forwarded you Teagan's coordinates. She ran out of gas and is walking around on a dark country road with a dead cell phone. Why don't you leave Trident here, and I'll bring him to the office tomorrow?" That was all Luca needed to hear. He grabbed his coat off of the hook and snatched his keys off the table.
"Look who's matchmaking now," Ro said, followed by, "Ouch!" when Octavius swatted her.
"Rowena!" Oct admonished.
"May the odds forever be in your favor," she yelled after Luca as he left. Luca punched the coordinates into his car's GPS and started to drive. He was only fifteen minutes away from Teagan's location. He hoped she had stayed put and gotten into the car like Octavius had instructed her.
Snow started to fall from the sky. The temperatures were dropping quickly, and the roads would freeze over soon. What was she thinking? His palm itched for the umpteenth time to spank her beautiful, round butt.
There was something incredible about Teagan. She challenged him in a way no other woman ever had. He had his share of relationships and play partners at Deviance, the local BDSM club, but none of them had turned him on the way Tea did. Her intelligence was a breath of fresh air; her feisty nature gave him a run for his money. He didn't expect to be knocked off kilter by a woman with his best friend's wife's face, but here he was. They might be identical, but their personalities couldn't be more different. Their curves weren't the same, either. Evie was leaner than Ro and Teagan. Teagan was by far the most fit.
The snow was falling heavier now as Luca turned onto the road that Teagan should be on. He scanned the road for the hazards but saw nothing. Slowing to barely moving, Luca rolled down the window and looked for the car. A movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention.
"Teagan Anne!" he bellowed out the window.
"Luca?" He heard the confusion in her voice as she walked up to the car. Putting the car in park, he jumped out, sliding just a bit on the now slick ground.
"What are you doing? I heard both Oct and Ro tell you to get in the car and turn your hazards on."
"Why are you here? I thought Oct was coming."
"I have to drive this way to get home anyway, so I volunteered to come get you." He reached out and took her hands. "Your hands are like ice. Get in the car." Luca couldn't help himself; he swatted her butt sharply once.
"You booped me!" she squeaked as she hurried around the car and climbed in the passenger side, waving her hand over the vent to defrost her fingers.
Back in the car, Luca turned to her, shooting her his best dominant look. "You have some explaining to do, darlin'.
"Explaining?" She turned toward him, blinking hard and fast. Snowflakes were melting on her eyelashes, her cheeks red from the wind.
"Yes." Luca reached across Teagan, securing her seatbelt before putting on his own. The act did not go unnoticed by Teagan.
"I mean, it is pretty obvious what happened." Teagan shrugged.
"How does one run out of gas, let alone at night in December?"
"A couple of days ago, my light came on. But my car tells me how many miles I have until empty. I've been checking that. I swear, it said I had thirty miles before I left my house tonight. It's about twenty miles to Ro's house, so technically, I should have had enough gas to get to the gas station. I meant to stop at the one by the house, but I got lost in thought and forgot. Innocent mistake."
"Innocent mistake? You could have frozen to death out here. You could have been raped or murdered if the wrong person had stopped. You could have—"
"Oh, the dramatics!" Teagan said, throwing her hands in the air. "I wouldn't have frozen to death. I would have walked to the nearest building if I hadn't been able to reach someone. If I couldn't do that, I had blankets in my car. If you haven't noticed, Luca, I always have my gun on me, I'm a damn police detective. I'm not about to be a victim." Teagan swallowed the word, again, before it could roll off her lips and expose secrets she wasn't quite ready to tell him.
"What is it with police officers feeling they are invincible? You aren't invincible. Police officers die every day, darlin'." Luca pulled his car to a stop behind hers, putting on the blinkers.
"Grab everything you need from the car for the night. We'll come back for it tomorrow. I'll take you home and bring you back. It's too late, and the temperatures are falling too quickly to come back tonight."
"You don't need to bring me back. I can figure that part out in the morning," she muttered, getting out of the car. She heard his, "stubborn woman" trail after her as she finished grabbing the few personal items she kept in the car. She was back in Luca's car in a matter of seconds.
They drove in silence for a few minutes, and then Luca spoke again.
"What is this I hear about your cell phone being dead?"
"God, you are on a roll tonight, aren't you?" Teagan rolled her eyes.
"That disrespect isn't helping your case any."
"I didn't know I was on trial."
"Why was your cellphone dead, Teagan Anne?"
"I left the charger at work. Really, it is Ro and Evie's fault. Before I found them, I barely ever received any texts or used my phone much. I only have the one charger, and I only needed to charge my phone once a day. Now, they blow my phone up so much, I find I have to charge it more. I brought the charger to work today because I forgot to charge my phone last night."
"You forgot to put your phone on the charger?" Luca asked incredulously.
"Yes? Why is that so hard to believe?"
"It's 2019, Teagan. Most women I know are completely addicted to their phone. It gets below fifty percent battery and they are freaking out."
"I guess I am not like most women."
"You can say that again." Luca laughed.
"Hey!"
"Calm down, darlin'. I mean that in a positive way. I love that you aren't like other women. I wouldn't have it any other way." Luca turned onto Teagan's street. It dawned on her that she hadn't given him her address.
"Umm, Luca, I didn't tell you where I lived."
"You didn't have to. Remember, I ran your plates the day you met the girls at the café? I did a full background check on you, darlin'. Your address came up."
"That was over a month ago! You remember?"
"I have a photographic memory. It helped when studying for promotion boards and getting my bachelor's degree. I remember most things, especially if they are important to me."
"My address was important to you?" Teagan's voice shook as she asked.
Luca pulled into the short driveway leading up to her townhome, put the car into park and turned to her. "You are important to me, Teagan," Luca answered.
Teagan fumbled around in the car, gathering all of her stuff. She didn't know how to respond to that statement. She hadn't, as far as she knew, ever been important to anyone before.
Chapter 6
"I'll walk you to your door," Luca said, getting out of the car and walking around to the other side. Opening Teagan's door, he took her bag from her before she got out of the car. They walked to the garage door, and Luca continued to the sidewalk. He realized Teagan had stopped completely and turned toward her when he heard her mutter, "fuck," under her breath.
"One of these days, darlin', I'm going to remove that nasty habit from you." He returned to where she was standing. "What's wrong?"
"I can't get into my house."
"What do you mean, you can't get into your house?"
"I set up alarms and automatic locks that don't override, and, um…" She looked down, tugging on a piece of her hair.
"Um, what? Just use your key and unlock it," Luca said, puzzled. How hard could it be to unlock a door? He was impressed by her diligent dedication to security.
"The only key I have is my garage door opener. I don't actually have a key to the front door."
"How do you not have a key to the front door?"
"Well, when I bought the house, they gave me one, and I lost it, so I had a keyless system installed. I was supposed to install a keypad for the front door, and I never did. I figured my garage door would be plenty."
"Let me guess, your garage door opener is in your car?"
"My garage door opener is my car."
"Explain." Luca had a hard time keeping the groan from coming out.
Teagan was a mess. "I programed the code into my car. I just hit the button, and it opens."
"Did you think about what would happen if you weren't driving? If you were on a date? If you were drunk and had to have a friend take you home? If your car was in the shop?"
"Well, no. I guess I didn't." Luca noticed the tugging of the hair again. She was nervous. He studied her face and saw her chattering teeth. She was freezing.
"Get
in the car, Teagan."
"What?"
"Now." Luca was tired. He'd had a long day. They had been at another one of those political get-togethers that he hated so much. He couldn't pull all of his men off their other jobs, so he and Octavius went. His best friend's wife's sister was driving him nuts. She had gotten under his skin and into his blood. He wanted her, in more than one way. His desire to protect her was growing with each and every meeting they had.
"Where are we going?" Teagan asked, sinking into the warm seat of Luca's car. "Are we going to get my car after all?" Luca reached over and put her seatbelt on again. He enjoyed that small act of dominance. He started the car and started driving.
"No, darlin'. It's late, dark, and the roads are slick with ice. The temperatures have dropped, freezing the sleet to ice."
"Will you take me back to Ro's?"
"No. It will take almost an hour in these conditions," Luca said.
"Then, where? I have my go bag; I grabbed it from my trunk. You can drop me off at the hotel."
"You aren't going to a hotel, Teagan. You are going to stay at my place. I'm less than three blocks from you."
"Your house?" Teagan swallowed hard.
"Yes, don't worry. I'm a gentleman. I'm not going to take advantage of you. That's not the way I roll," Luca said.
Teagan laughed nervously. "You don't intend to…" Teagan started.
Luca knew exactly what she was asking. She didn't know it yet, but he recognized all the cues. She was submissive. Not to anyone or anything in this life but the one man who would be her Daddy, him.
"I don't intend to what, darlin'? Ravish you? Oh, but I want to. I'm exhausted. All I intend to do is to take a hot shower and go to bed." Luca heard her frustrated sigh and smiled to himself. He turned down the street into his quiet neighborhood. The real estate agent had been surprised when the bachelor decided on a four-bedroom brick house with an acre lot. It was a lot of house for a single man. But Luca hadn't planned on being single forever. Someday, he hoped to have a family to fill the house.