She set her glass on the counter and turned it clockwise in tiny increments, studying the motion while she considered Ethan’s words. I’ve made Chase happy? The thought brought a smile to her face. Aside from her doubts, finding him, talking to him, made her happy, too. She looked up at Ethan, who watched her.
“Thank you for being willing to watch me. I feel better, knowing you’ll be close. I don’t know if I could walk down the street without jumping at every car that passed.”
“Understandable.” He turned serious. “If you feel like I’m overstepping my bounds or crowding you at any point, please tell me. Chase is really protective of you and I’ll do anything to keep you safe. But if you need space, tell me so we can talk about it, okay? I can be invisible if need be.”
“Really?”
He smiled. “Well, not literally, but I can keep out of sight when necessary. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“I don’t mind. You’re nice.”
He chuckled. “Thanks. Do you mind if I use your shower? I don’t know if Jayson’s up yet.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Ethan retrieved his backpack and headed to the bathroom. Sabrina poured herself a bowl of cereal and thought about what she’d learned about Chase.
*****
Ethan, Jayson, and Sabrina left the apartment an hour later. Liz had headed to Jon’s after Sabrina had gone to bed the night before. Sabrina bounced down the steps to the sidewalk and waited impatiently for the guys to catch up.
“You’re way too chipper for a Wednesday morning,” Jayson grumbled, squinting in the morning light.
“I’ve missed dancing.” She did a pirouette and then shook her head when Jayson rolled his eyes. Ethan laughed.
Jayson rolled his eyes again as they took off down the sidewalk.
“You sure you’re okay on the couch?” she asked Ethan as they walked.
He laughed, his humor evident in his warm hazel eyes. “For the hundredth time, yes.”
She felt bad that he was sleeping on the couch, but he said he was perfectly fine with it. Liz had been staying with Jon more and more. They’d been contemplating moving in together, which would leave a bedroom for Ethan. Until then, he was stuck on the couch.
“Sabrina, when you’ve slept in some of the places I have, you’re thankful just to be inside and warm.”
“Okay.” There were times in hell when I would have been grateful for a couch to sleep on. Maybe it’s the same thing.
“I’ve seen pictures of where you’ve slept,” Jayson said with a laugh. “I’m glad I chose dancing over the army.”
Ethan punched Jayson in the arm. “You chose wisely, my friend.”
Jayson narrowed his eyes playfully. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ethan’s face turned innocent. “I don’t think you’d handle mud in your butt crack very well.”
“Ew!” Sabrina exclaimed. “That’s happened?”
Jayson made a disgusted face when Ethan nodded. “Oh yeah. And worse.”
She wrinkled her nose and imagined mud in her intimate places. “Blech.”
“I think I’ll stick with dancing and listening to your stories.” Jayson shuddered.
Ethan nudged Sabina with his shoulder. “He came camping with us once.” He started laughing.
“I like being clean,” Jayson grumbled.
Sabrina couldn’t help but giggle at their exchange, imagining Jayson with dirt on his face and sitting at a campfire.
“I will say, though, you are a pretty good shot,” Ethan said seriously. “We were impressed.”
“Chase taught me. I’d better be good!”
When they reached the studio, Sabrina walked inside and was immediately surrounded by her fellow dancers. She received many hugs, and by the time she’d heard everyone tell her how happy they were that she was okay, she was nearly in tears.
Martin appeared in the doorway and hurried over to her. She hugged him hard and started crying. “I’m so sorry, Martin,” she said between sobs.
“For what, honey?” he asked, pulling away. His kind blue eyes were full of tears.
“For last week. For . . . For not asking for help.”
He put his hand on her cheek and gave her a warm smile. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Chase told me what happened between you and Aiden. Then you were taken . . .” He shook his head. “So much has happened since then, eh?”
She nodded as she wiped away her tears. “I promise, I’ll show you I can handle this.”
“I know you can,” he said with a nod. “But I also know you’ve been through a lot since then, so don’t push yourself.” She started to protest, but he held up his hand. “Promise me. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“I promise.”
Martin beamed. “Good girl.” He looked up as Ethan approached. “Hello, Ethan.”
“Hey, Martin. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Of course.” Martin nodded, then hugged Sabrina again. “Go get ready. We’ll start in a few.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chase groaned as he got into his SUV and slammed the door. It was after six in the evening and he’d been in meetings since seven this morning. He’d canceled everything during the search for Sabrina. Now that she was safe, though, he had to make up for it. He hoped she had a more enjoyable day than he did.
He’d texted her after lunch to say hi, but she hadn’t responded. Part of him worried that she was ignoring him. The other part of him knew she wasn’t used to having a phone and paying attention to it. Ethan would have called him if she were in trouble, so he knew she was fine.
Chase laughed, wondering how Ethan was doing, sitting in dance rehearsals all day. He’d emailed his friend a few things throughout the day for him to work on, but hadn’t gotten into social questions.
Thoughts of Sabrina had tugged at the corner of his mind all day. It was wonderful knowing she was here and safe. He would see her soon. Ethan was the lucky one, being with her all day.
Lucky dog.
His phone rang as he hit the button to start the SUV. Looking at the screen in his dash, he saw that it was Richard. He sighed, praying he didn’t want to meet tonight. He was exhausted and wanted to go home, take a shower, have dinner, and fall into bed.
He pushed the button on his steering wheel as he pulled out into traffic. “Hey, Richard.”
“Hello, Chase,” Richard’s voice surrounded him, coming through the SUV’s thirteen speakers. “How was your day?”
“Long. Both the bank and tech company had me in meetings all day.”
“That’s what happens when you travel.”
Chase growled. “The traveling wasn’t exactly my idea. And the last few days were more important than their crap.”
“I know. Were they upset?”
“Tara was a little bitchy this morning, but after I explained what happened, she seemed to soften, though I think she was a little jealous.”
Tara was the bank’s security manager and had been flirting with him the entire job. She was attractive, with long blonde hair and brown eyes, but a little too forceful in her personality. They’d gone out to dinner a few times—working dinners, she said—but there was heavy flirting on her part. Chase had a policy of never dating or sleeping with someone on a job. It complicated things too much. Something he’d learned the hard way at West Point.
“I was going to invite you over for dinner, but you sound worn out,” Richard said. “Kathy wanted to see you.”
“Yeah. I just want to go home and go to bed.”
“I understand. Would you mind stopping by my house tomorrow morning, though? We need to talk about Sabrina.”
Chase sighed. “Okay.”
“Well, not her, specifically. More what we learned from her and what we can do to find out more.”
<
br /> “Oh. Okay, sure.” Richard wasn’t going to lecture him. Good.
Richard laughed. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about stuff since you got home and she was here. We need to have a plan.”
“I agree.”
They settled on a time, then Chase punched the disconnect button on his steering wheel and turned on the radio. He needed something soothing, so he turned on the classical station.
*****
The next morning, Chase knocked on the big black door of Richard’s enormous brick home on the outskirts of Boston. He’d slept really well the night before and woke feeling refreshed. Of course, the texts he’d exchanged with Sabrina had probably helped. As he was finishing dinner, she responded with an apology, saying she wasn’t used to checking her phone and had been in rehearsals all day. They texted briefly about their days. Hers had several smiley face emojis, making him think she was feeling good. Ethan had also texted that she was, indeed, doing good and had been happy all day.
Kathy, wearing a black silk robe, opened the door.
“Morning, Kathy,” he said, stepping inside and kissing her cheek.
“Good morning, Chase,” she responded with a smile. “I was disappointed you didn’t come over last night.” She pouted prettily.
Chase smiled and gave her a small shrug. “I’d been in meetings all day. I don’t think I would have been good company.”
She waved her hand through the air. “Just your presence is good company,” she said with a wink.
When Richard had invited him over, he’d suspected the reason had been for a threesome. Normally, Chase would have been happy to oblige, but not last night. And now that Sabrina was around, he didn’t know how often he’d come over to indulge in his physical passions with the couple. He wasn’t sure how Sabrina would feel about such a thing.
Come to think of it, he didn’t know how Sabrina would feel about a lot of things. If she went to a Gathering, would she be shocked? Would the types of sexual encounters that went on there disgust her? There was no judgment at Gatherings. As long as it was consensual, it was good. If it could be imagined, it happened there.
Kathy wasn’t the only wife who attended the informal Gatherings, either. Most of the Deacons’, Richard’s closest Brothers, wives attended. They all enjoyed themselves, usually apart from their husbands, who enjoyed themselves with other women. He also knew that Richard and Kathy had other couples over on a regular basis. In the Brotherhood, sex was for enjoyment, however you wanted it.
But how would Sabrina react? In her natural state, as a demi-Immortal, she would enjoy it, but what about if they were in a relationship? Would she be able to accept that Chase had to go to these on a regular basis and it was bad form to not participate? How would he even begin to explain it to her? After all she’d been through, was it even fair to ask that of her?
Maybe Richard would have some suggestions on how to broach the subject with her.
“Richard’s in his office,” Kathy said, motioning toward the side of the house. “I’ll be in the living room if you want to visit afterward,” she added with a wink, then disappeared toward the back of the house.
Chase made his way through the formal sitting room to Richard’s office, knocking on the door jamb to let him know he’d arrived.
“Ah, Chase,” Richard said, motioning to him from his massive mahogany desk in the middle of the room. “Get enough sleep?”
Chase settled in the red leather chair across from him. “Yeah. Slept like a log.”
“Good.”
They engaged in small talk for a few minutes before Richard leaned back in his massive leather chair and tented his fingers. “I’ve been doing some research into what we’ve learned from Sabrina and, well, it’s odd.”
“How so?”
“Well, there is a Ramon de Sousa who fits what she’s told us, but . . .” Richard leaned forward and squinted as he clicked something on his computer. “He was a drug czar from Mexico. His body, along with several others, was found about a month ago in his compound near Tucson. The authorities think it might have been his brother who attacked them.”
“They don’t know it was Sabrina?”
“There’s absolutely no record of Sabrina after she got off that plane and her adoptive parents picked her up at the airport. She just vanished.”
Chase rubbed his chin. “How did she end up with a drug lord?”
Richard shook his head. “I have no idea. It doesn’t make any sense.”
The men were silent for a few minutes. “Is anyone looking for her?” Chase asked.
“Not that I can tell,” he answered. “Aside from this Master of hers.”
“No one knows who he is?”
“I’ve talked extensively to the other Elders. No one knows who it could possibly be.”
“Maybe it’s . . . I don’t know . . . someone from another country?”
“We’d still be able to sense him if he were here.”
Chase sighed. “So what do we do?”
“Keep watch over Sabrina and be vigilant. Theo’s reaction was a bit unnerving, to say the least, but he hasn’t returned, so we’re on our own at the moment.” It wasn’t unusual for Immortals to keep their distance from human troubles. They weren’t there to change events, but to guide the Elders in making good decisions when events happened. “He’s given us our directives for now. All we can do is follow them and hope he has news for us when he returns.”
*****
Chase started heading out of Richard’s house when a thought occurred to him. He walked back in and found Kathy.
“Chase,” she said with a broad smile, putting down her tablet. “Come to start your day with a smile?”
Chase laughed. “Not this morning.” He was flattered that she was always happy to see him. What guy wouldn’t be? But she was never crass or overt. They understood each other. If either said no, they were fine with it. “I actually was wondering if I could talk to you about Sabrina.”
“Oh, of course, hon.” She motioned to the couch across from where she sat. “What can I help you with?”
Chase sat down and thought about the best way to phrase his questions. “When Richard became Elder, how did you deal with his new duties?”
Kathy smiled. “You mean his responsibilities, or the hundred or so sex slaves he was now caring for, or the things that happen at the Gatherings?”
He chuckled. “All of them?”
“Well . . .” She leaned back on the couch. “He’d been involved with the Brotherhood our whole marriage, so that wasn’t too much of a change.”
“I guess that makes sense. What about when you guys got married? Did he tell you about it before?”
“No. When we got married, he told me he belonged to a men’s club and their meetings were on Friday nights.” She laughed softly. “I suppose it wasn’t an outright lie. It is a men’s club.”
“Is it that much different now than before?”
Kathy nodded. “Oh yes. Once he opened up to me and told me what it was . . .” She shook her head. “He wasn’t keen on some of the stuff that happened there. But once you’re in, you’re in. There’s no easy way to leave. Once Oscar was gone and Richard was inducted as Elder, things changed. It was a kinder place to be.”
He knew Oscar was one of the Elders who had been assassinated when Tom’s friend tried to take over. Oscar’s eldest son, too. A few months after things calmed down, the Elders decided to start with new families in their leadership, to show that things really were changing.
“How did he tell you about it?”
“Which part?”
“I guess start with that he belonged and go from there.”
“Oh, well, he did a good job of keeping things hidden from me for about a year, but then I started talking with your mom and some of the other wives whose husbands were part of th
is ‘men’s club.’ Combined, the stories were suspicious. Some knew more than others, and they didn’t share a lot, but reading between the lines, I started to understand that, well, that he basically went to orgies every week.” She laughed. “You know, the biggest thing I was upset about was that I wasn’t invited.” She gave Chase a knowing smile. “You know how I am. I enjoy . . . variety. And he wasn’t sharing. Oh.” She shook her head. “We had such a big fight the night I confronted him. And when I told him that . . .” She laughed again. “His eyes got as big as I’ve ever seen them.”
Chase laughed. “Really?” Richard was always so calm and dignified, it was hard to imagine him being so shocked.
“Oh yes.” She tilted her head. “So we started talking and . . . exploring. We had other couples from the Brotherhood over and had our own ‘gatherings’ here.”
Chase chuckled, imagining how those went.
“Then, when he was asked to become an Elder, he broached the subject with the others about opening up the informal Gatherings to their wives. It was discussed and eventually agreed to. I’m not sure how many wives are active in the other cities, but Richard has said he has the most wives in attendance most weeks.”
“It probably helps that you’re involved.”
Kathy nodded. “That, and I don’t have a son there. There’s no weirdness for me. I can’t imagine your mom going if you were there.”
Chase scrunched up his face. “Yeah. That would definitely be weird.”
They were quiet for a few minutes. “Chase, are you trying to figure out how to tell Sabrina?” she asked.
He sighed. “Well, she already knows about the organization. At least a little bit. Richard has suggested she come to a Gathering to see what it’s like. It’s different because she’s meant to be there. She’s Immortal. How could she not be drawn to it?” He blew out a breath. “But how do I tell her about the stuff I do there? How do I tell her about what I do with you guys? About my . . . About the things I like to do?”
“Are you worried about telling her about you, or are you worried that she’ll choose it over you?”
“Good question,” Chase admitted with a wry smile. “Both, I suppose.”
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