However, Eden could greatly benefit from some time spent as a Little. She needed to learn to relax and trust. And she definitely needed a spanking. As well as some strict boundaries. He had to be careful about how he punished her. He didn’t want to risk harming her. There was a lot he needed to consider and there wasn’t exactly a ton of research he could do on being a Daddy Dom to a Little in a wheelchair. That just didn’t come up on Google.
He knew her paralysis was incomplete. Knew she used crutches sometimes. But he didn’t know much beyond that. He stared at her, his best Dom face on. To his surprise, she gave in, lowering her gaze.
“Unless you’ve changed drastically over the years, I can’t see you putting up with this bullshit. You were always overly protective of what was yours. So, what is she doing here alone, tonight?” Reyes asked him suspiciously.
“I’m guessing she’s fighting the claiming,” Duke replied with amusement in his voice.
Zeke glared at them both. “Not that this has anything to do with you two, but I was taking things slow.”
“Seems to have worked out well for you,” Reyes said sarcastically.
“Um, hello, I’m sitting right here.” Eden waved her hand. “And despite what Zeke says, nothing is being taken slowly because there is nothing between us.”
Oh, you keep thinking that, princess. Keep daring me to show you exactly what is between us.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What do you want, Reyes? There’s a reason you kept her here and called me. What is it?”
“What? You don’t think I did it out of the goodness of my heart because I was worried about her? A Little wandering around in a bar filled with big, bad wolves.”
Zeke just stared at him. Reyes sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Why did you come here, Eden?”
Zeke was surprised that he’d turned to Eden. Reyes had made it clear that he had some old-fashioned views about women. But Zeke wanted to know the answer to that question as well. He stared over at Eden. She looked around at the three of them, as though searching for an answer.
Then she sighed. “You know why I came here.”
“I know what you told Ink,” Reyes said.
“That the guy out in the bar? The tattooed surfer wannabe?”
Duke snorted. Reyes shot his gaze up to his large second.
“Gonna have to tell Ink that one,” Duke commented. “Don’t think he’s even been to the beach.”
Eden shrugged.
Reyes tapped the desk. “Enough. What did you say to him? Why’d you come here tonight?”
Zeke sent Reyes a warning look, not liking his tone of voice. He was already on edge, knowing that they’d kept Eden locked up while waiting for him to get here. While he appreciated that she was no doubt safer there than she would have been on her own in the bar or parking lot, it still didn’t sit right with him.
“It’s no secret and I don’t see what the big deal is.” Eden watched Reyes carefully. “I got a voicemail from a friend earlier. She sounded scared and the message got cut off. When I couldn’t get hold of her, I came here since I thought this was where she worked.”
“A friend? What friend?” Zeke asked. “Tyla? Brittney?” Those girls didn’t deserve Eden as a friend. He still hadn’t worked out why she hung out with them so much. They used her. They were often calling her at all hours to come pick them up and drive them around. Then they’d ditch her when she was no longer useful.
“It’s someone you don’t know,” Eden said.
“Keira Blackwell,” Reyes supplied him with the name.
Keira Blackwell? Who the hell was that? Why hadn’t he heard of her before?
“Who is she? Why is she important? Why the hell would you come here looking for her?” he snapped.
Eden shrugged. “She sounded like she was in trouble.”
“She is in trouble,” Reyes said harshly. “But she definitely hasn’t been here tonight. Believe me, she won’t be showing her face around here any time soon.”
“So, she doesn’t work here?” Eden asked.
“Oh, she used to work here. She doesn’t anymore.”
“Do Clint and Kent know her?” he asked. “Why would you come here looking for her without telling anyone?”
Half the things she did for her so-called friends he didn’t understand. She was a strong person; she was someone that anyone would be lucky to have as a friend. Loyal, kind, smart. So why was she friends with people who used her?
Zeke made a mental note to have Corbin look into this Keira. Anyone in his girl’s life, he was going to know about.
Eden sighed. “We were in the hospital together after this happened.” Eden waved her hand at her legs. “Keira had a broken pelvis and two broken legs. She was in traction. Even though I had a private room, I hated being on my own so when Clint and Kent weren’t around the nurses would wheel me into Keira’s room. We were the same age, I guess they thought we’d get along. And even though we were very different, we actually did. She made it more bearable to be in there. I got to leave before she did, though.”
“What happened to her?” Duke asked softly.
“Officially, she tripped and fell down the stairs. But the truth was that Keira’s dad was a mean drunk. He pushed. He only visited her twice in the hospital. Once when she arrived and then to pick her up. Keira said it was a blessing, not having him around. I asked her why she didn’t tell anyone what he’d done. That he hit her regularly. She just said that there were worse things out there than a dad that hurt you. I didn’t get it. Nobody had ever hurt me. But her story, it helped me rise out of the. . .the sadness, I guess. Because she was right. There were worse things out there than what she and I had endured.”
“How old were you?” Duke asked.
“Ten.”
He whistled. “Tough lesson for a ten-year-old.”
“I’ve had a few of those.”
“So, you’ve known Keira since you were ten?” Reyes asked. “You kept in touch?”
“No.” Eden wouldn’t meet anyone’s gaze. “I didn’t hear from her again until a few months ago. She contacted me through social media. I didn’t see the message for a while. Not much into posting my life out there for the world to see. I wouldn’t even have a Facebook page if it wasn’t for my friends making me one. She wanted to see me so I met her for dinner. It was clear to see our lives had gone down different paths. She hadn’t had things easy.”
“What did she want?” Zeke asked.
“What makes you think she wanted anything?” Eden asked, looking up at him.
Because it didn’t make much sense for this woman to contact her out of the blue. Because of who Eden was, someone with money and a strong sense of loyalty.
He gave her a knowing look.
She let out a sigh. “Fine. But I don’t want any lectures.”
Zeke ran his hand over his face. “Eden,” he groaned.
“I know what I’m doing, Zeke. I knew she wanted something and I still met with her. I didn’t have to give her anything, but. . .”
“You remembered that little girl with the abusive dad and felt sorry for her.” He knew the way she worked.
“It was just a few grand. I’m guessing she’d done her research so she knew who I was. How much I was worth. She had a black eye. Some loan shark sent his goons after her because her boyfriend owed him money. At least that’s what she told me.
“I told myself it was just a one-off. I felt like I had to help her. She’d helped me through some dark times in the hospital and hell, it’s only money.”
“Did she contact you again? Asking for more?” Zeke snapped. How the fuck had this gotten past him? Despite her attempts to keep him at arm’s length, he’d done his best to keep an eye on her.
“I was expecting her to call asking for more. I was going to tell her that I couldn’t give her any more. Bad as I might feel about that, I’m not a pushover.” She glared at Zeke as though expecting him to argue that.
“I
know you’re not, baby. But you do have a blind spot for some people.”
She shook her head tiredly. “You don’t know everything about me, Zeke.”
“As interesting as this all is,” Reyes voice said it was anything but interesting, “can we get back to Keira?”
“Right. Well, the next time I heard from her, was that night I ended up at the Suck ‘n Blow.”
His hands tightened into fists at the memory. Rage filled him and he had to work hard to keep it contained. She’d been attacked in the parking lot by two assholes. If Abby hadn’t come across her. . . he took in a deep breath, let it out slowly.
“Suck ‘n Blow? Markovich’s bar?” Reyes snapped.
“You know Mr. Markovich?” Eden asked.
“We’ve had dealings with him,” Reyes said carefully. He leaned forward. “What happened at Markovich’s bar?”
Eden blinked at his harsh tone. “Keira asked me to meet her there. Only she never turned up. Then she called me the next day and told me that her boyfriend had an emergency and she’d had to leave before I got there.”
“Eden was attacked and nearly raped by two assholes in the parking lot that night,” Zeke spoke in a furious whisper.
Reyes shot him a look. “Where were you?”
“I didn’t know she’d left the ranch.” It was after that incident that he’d put the trackers on her car and in her handbags.
“Wonder if Markovich has had dealings with her,” Reyes mused.
“You think Markovich was the loan shark whose goon hit her?” Zeke asked. It didn’t feel right. Markovich wasn’t a good man. He was a criminal. Yet he couldn’t see him doing that.
“Markovich isn’t one to do business like that,” Reyes commented, cementing Zeke’s opinion on the loan shark. “He’s got a soft spot when it comes to women, although he doesn’t let anyone manipulate him because of that. But I doubt he sent goons to beat her up.” Reyes looked up at Duke. They had some sort of shared conversation in silence.
“Why are you so interested in Keira?” Zeke asked, his suspicion growing.
“Because nearly a week ago, the bitch stole money from us.”
Eden gasped. “She stole from you?”
“How the hell did that happen?” Zeke asked. Reyes wasn’t an idiot.
His jaw tightened. This wasn’t something he wanted to tell them. But then he sighed. “She got in tight with one of my guys. He got her a job here, working behind the bar, cleaning up. They installed some cameras in my office. We found them later. They must have recorded me opening the safe.”
“How much did they take?” Zeke asked, guessing it was substantial.
“Hundred grand.”
“You keep a hundred grand in your safe?” Eden asked. “Haven’t you heard of a bank?”
Everyone looked down at her. She swallowed. “Oh, right.”
“So why would she call Eden tonight?” Zeke asked trying to puzzle it out.
“I don’t know, but we have people searching for her. We’ll find her eventually. Maybe she’s feeling the heat and called your girl to help her. Maybe she wanted to borrow some more cash.”
Eden’s eyebrows rose. “I’d never lend her a hundred grand!”
“Eden is not paying her debt,” Zeke said firmly.
“Of course, I’m not!”
Reyes looked from one to the other. “No? You see the problem is that money wasn’t actually ours. We were holding onto it for someone.”
Laundering it, more like.
“And these people are not happy that the money is gone. They’re putting pressure on me to get it back. If they hear that Eden here is friends with Keira, they might just shift some of that pressure to her. Get what I’m saying?”
Zeke got it now. Why he was here.
To protect Eden.
Fuck.
9
Eden looked at Jacob Reyes in confusion. She didn’t get any of this. She didn’t know where Keira was. Or anything about the stolen money.
“But I don’t know where she is. I can’t help you find her.”
Reyes studied her. “You don’t have any ideas where she might go?”
“I. . .no, obviously not since I came here to find her. I don’t even know where she lives.”
“I believe you,” Reyes told her with a sigh. “Would have been a lot easier if you did know where to find her. We used your phone to try and call her number, but it’s dead.”
She couldn’t even feel angry over them using her phone. Her stomach felt like lead. She’d known Keira was trouble. She should never have come here looking for her. And yet, she’d sounded so scared on that message and Eden remembered the girl she’d been. But to take a hundred grand from an MC club? What was the other woman thinking?
Eden took a deep breath. “Who are these other people?”
“I’m not going into that now,” Reyes told her. He shared a look with Zeke. What was that about? “But they’re not people you want to mess with. Keira is in over her head. Let’s just hope that they don’t learn of your friendship.”
“What do we do now? You never answered me before, why did you call Zeke? Why not call my brothers?”
“When Ink heard you say Keira’s name, he thought it best to keep you until we figured out who you were. When I figured out who you are, I realized we had a mutual acquaintance.”
She looked over at Zeke. He gave her a small nod. How did they know each other?
“So I called Zeke to come get you. I also don’t want the wrath of the Jensens coming down on my head.”
Or the cops.
“I didn’t realize you were his. But it makes things easier.”
She bit back her retort about that. She got the feeling that no matter what she said it wouldn’t make a difference in their archaic beliefs. And in some ways, although she’d never admit it out loud, she kind of liked the protective feel of it. Clint and Kent were protective of her and she knew they loved her. But their protectiveness could also make her feel like a burden.
Zeke just gave Reyes a nod. “That all?”
“It is.” Reyes aimed that ice-cold glare at her. “You were lucky tonight, Miss Jensen. I can’t guarantee your safety if you come back here. My advice is that you lay low, let Zeke here look after you and that you do what he says.” He raised his eyes to Zeke. “I’m guessing you’ll have that sorted, though.”
She wasn’t sure what that meant exactly. Unless he was referring to Zeke’s job as a security specialist for her brother. Shit. Clint and Kent were not going to be happy when they learned about this.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make certain she is safe.”
Duke escorted them out to Zeke’s truck in silence. Zeke pushed her chair. He stood watch as Zeke opened the passenger door.
“My car,” Eden said in a low voice.
“I’ll get Corbin to send someone to get it. You’re not driving home tonight. We need to talk.”
And they weren’t going back to the ranch, but she didn’t need to know that yet.
To his surprise, she didn’t press the argument and he knew that everything she’d learned about her friend had rocked her. She was off-kilter but he didn’t think she fully understood how bad things could be. Hell, he didn’t know how bad things were. But he’d be finding out.
He lifted her into the passenger seat. Then he grabbed the seat belt and placed it over her, clicking it in.
“I can buckle my own seat belt, Zeke Jonas,” she snarled at him.
He leaned in and gave her a light kiss. She froze in shock which had been his intention. Sometimes it was the right moment to fight back, other times it was better to fight with a different sort of fire.
Her breath caught and he quickly shut the door before she could recover.
Duke snorted. “I like your style.”
Zeke quickly folded up the wheelchair and carried it to the back of his truck, lifting it in.
Duke held out his hand to him. Zeke reached out to take it, feeling the small cell phone pre
ss against his palm.
“He’ll call later.” Duke gave him a nod and then left. Cagey bastard.
Zeke hopped into his truck. Eden turned to him. “Zeke—”
“Just wait a minute, Eden. I don’t want to be driving while we have this conversation and I don’t intend to have it until I know you’re safe.”
“Safe? But I’m not really in danger. Reyes was just exaggerating.”
“Exaggerating? Believe me, Jacob Reyes doesn’t exaggerate. For Reyes to act like that, he believes you could be in danger.”
He pulled out of the parking lot in front of the bar and onto the dark street. This wasn’t the best part of the city and he was determined to get to the outskirts before he pulled over.
“But I don’t know where she is. We’re not even that close, I don’t see how I’m at risk because of what she did.”
But he could hear the doubt in her voice.
“Ten minutes, Eden. I want to make certain that we’re not being followed.”
“Followed? Zeke you’re being crazy. If she stole this money then that’s to do with her. There is no reason anyone would try to harm me!”
“How long ago did she take the money?” Zeke snapped at her. She had been sheltered by her brothers, but he still didn’t believe she was quite this naïve. Did she think she was invincible? Because she’d survived a car crash that had killed her parents? Had that led her to think nothing would touch her? Or was it that she just couldn’t see the danger?
“What has that got to do with anything?”
He made a frustrated noise. Did she always have to argue with him?
“Nearly a week ago,” she muttered.
“Right. And since then, Reyes has probably had all his men searching for her and her boyfriend. Have they found them?”
“No.”
“No, and they’re probably fresh out of leads. Except for one. You. What do you do when you can’t find someone who has gone into hiding?”
Daring Daddy (Montana Daddies Book 5) Page 8