Club de Fleurs 4: Rachel [Club de Fleurs 4] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Rose Nickol

  “Right, not the smartest move,” Sadie put in.

  Relaxing back in her chair, Rachel agreed. “I know my mouth gets my ass in more trouble. I need to learn to think with the damn thing.”

  Everybody laughed, and the waiter came over and took their orders. After he explained that the men would be paying the bill, they all decided to order the most expensive things on the menu, including appetizers and drinks. If the men wanted to pay, pay they would. Not that it would faze any of them, they all had money to spare.

  When the women went to order their third rounds of drinks, they were informed that the waiter could no longer serve them alcohol. They all groaned and complained, but ended up ordering expensive desserts instead.

  After they had finished the meal, they set to the task they had assembled for, planning Rachel’s wedding. Since neither she nor Craig had family that would be attending, they had decided on a private ceremony with a justice of the peace. Theresa and Alan would stand with them. Later that same day, they would have a ceremony for everyone at the club. They got all but a few details worked out before the men came over and told them it was time to go. Jenna and Sadie were anxious to get back to their children, and no one complained.

  Kyle left first to make sure no one was lurking outside. He was gone for several long minutes before Craig and Alan decided to go and check on him. Leaving the girls with Evan and Dave, they took off. Dave tried repeatedly to call Kyle’s phone with no answer. The women crowded around Jenna, trying to reassure her that all was okay.

  After several more nail-biting minutes, Dave’s phone rang. It was Alan. Kyle had seen Mike Hawkins outside the restaurant and given chase. He had lost him after several blocks, and they were all on their way back to the group.

  Rachel wanted to call the police, but as Kyle pointed out, it wasn’t against the law to stand outside a restaurant or to run. All the girls were upset and subdued. They promised to do the remainder of their planning at the club, much to the men’s relief.

  As they were walking out of the place, a voice called. “I see you, bitch. You had better enjoy today, you may not see tomorrow.” And then they heard a gunshot. The men threw the women to the ground and lay on top of them. Luckily no one was hurt. The shooter either wasn’t a good shot or had just meant to scare them. Only one shot was fired, but it was enough. The girls were scared out of their wits and the men were pissed.

  Rachel was scared and pissed. It had been her idea to meet somewhere other than the club, now she regretted it. Maybe the men weren’t as overprotective as the girls thought.

  “What the fuck?” Kyle shouted. He had chased the fucker for blocks in the other direction and driven back with Alan. There was no way he could have come back so soon. It had to be one of the other ass-hats.

  Kyle sent Jenna with Rachel and Craig and went to scope things out again. This was not going to happen.

  The men hustled the women back inside, and the police were called. Now, unfortunately, there was something to report.

  Several hours later, Rachel and Craig returned to the club. She was exhausted. It had turned out to be a grueling afternoon and the mental strain was almost more than she could handle. Pleading a headache, she went straight to the bedroom to lie down. Craig made a couple phone calls and followed quickly behind her. The calls he made were to Kevin Hoffman and his brother, Kurt. Alan had recommended the pair to help with some of the club’s activities and extra security. They had both been former Army with Alan, and both had been members of the Rangers. Both men were interested in BDSM and members of the club, though they weren’t at the club often. Alan had suggested they would be a good fit to help with the bar and security and the fact that Kevin was an attorney wouldn’t hurt. The club could use someone with a legal background.

  After speaking with both the men, he had a good feeling and had set up meetings for later in the week. With all that was going on, they needed help with the bar and security.

  By the time he made it to the bedroom, Rachel was sleeping fitfully. She was tossing and turning, murmuring in her sleep. Afraid her nightmares had come back, Craig quickly stripped and lay down beside her, pulling her into his embrace. She immediately relaxed into him and calmed. He couldn’t wait until Hawkins was caught and their life could return to normal.

  When they woke later, Craig decided to tell Rachel the news he had been holding back. “Lamb, I didn’t want to tell you this, but the other two men who assaulted you were released this week. We don’t know that they are involved in anything or that they will be, but I wanted you to be aware.”

  That explained why Craig’s overprotectiveness had kicked into hyperdrive. She’d be lucky if he ever let her out of his sight again. “Does Jenna know?” she asked.

  “I don’t know whether Kyle told her or not. You are not to tell her. Leave it up to Kyle,” he instructed her, reading her mind.

  “She should know so she can be prepared,” Rachel reasoned.

  “That decision is not up to us, leave it to Kyle.” Craig gave her a warning look. The results would not be good for her if she told.

  “All right, I get it.” She gave in.

  Craig hadn’t worked in the bar for several days and was working that night. Rachel dressed in clubwear. She didn’t plan on playing, but wanted to dress up for Craig. She chose a dark green see-through dress that was backless and had a V-neck cut to her midriff. It was very short, and with her long, red hair loose, she looked very exotic.

  She sat at the bar for a while, talking with Craig and some of the other submissives who were in the club that evening. When things got busy, she decided to check on Theresa, who was working reception. She had often filled in when the woman needed the night off, and when it was busy she helped out. She knew Alan was sitting with his wife and would also help, but with Craig busy, she wanted a distraction. Telling Craig where she was going, she slipped away.

  The reception area was packed. It was a small room made to fit four or five people plus the receptionist comfortably. There were easily twenty people crowded in the room now, and they were all talking. Apparently there was a bachelor party that had decided to come in. None of the men were members, and Theresa and Alan had their hands full, trying to explain to the men that they had to be members. The group was rowdy, and Rachel could tell they were going to be trouble. She pressed the panic button under the desk that would not only call the police, but also notify the security office and Craig. She jumped into the fray to help Alan and Theresa.

  One of the men grabbed Rachel, and, putting his hand over her mouth so she couldn’t call out, started dragging her towards the door. Struggling and kicking, Rachel fought as hard as she could.

  “I’ve got you now, bitch. You might as well give in,” the man said, pulling her towards the door.

  Rachel continued fighting and bit down hard on the hand over her mouth. The man moved his hand long enough for her to scream and the chaos got even worse.

  There were several people blocking the door, and the man that held Rachel was having a hard time getting to it.

  She continued kicking and fighting, struggling for her life. The man had put his hand back over her mouth and was now covering her nose also. “Bite me again, and you won’t take another breath. Nod if you understand.”

  She nodded and relaxed. The self-defense classes Craig had made her take after she had been assaulted were starting to kick in. She remembered the instructor telling her if someone was holding you, that if you went limp, they often relaxed their hold for a moment or two and you could get away. Rachel let her body go slack, and her knees bent.

  Her attacker, surprised, muttered, “What the fuck!” and released her to try and get a better hold.

  Rachel took advantage of his movement and elbowed him in the solar plexus, diving for the safety of the crowd.

  She could hear the man behind her, shoving and yelling at people, trying to get to her. She frantically fought her way through the crowd, trying to get to Alan or one of the security
people.

  There had to be thirty people in the room by now, and Rachel could hardly move. Screaming to be heard over the din, she fought her way towards the desk. She could hear the man behind her, cursing, but she didn’t dare look back to see where he was.

  Continuing to fight, she worked her way towards the desk. The men in the crowd all appeared to be drunk and were grabbing at her and trying to hold her. After what seemed like hours but was probably only a few minutes, she looked up, and there was Craig. Grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder, he pushed his way through the crowd and the door to the club, locking it behind him, just as they heard police whistles.

  He sat her at the bar beside Theresa and kissed her hard. Then he and Alan went to deal with the mess.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Theresa grabbed Rachel in a tight hug and asked, “Are you okay? I was so scared. I’ve never dealt with anything like that before. Alan threw me in here right away, and I didn’t see anything that happened. I feel like I’ve been sitting here for hours.”

  “I’m okay, one of the jerks tried to pull me outside, but I got away and found Craig.” She started calmly, but by the time she said “Craig,” she had tears running down her face.

  “Was it that Hawkins guy that grabbed you?” Theresa asked.

  “No,” Rachel answered.

  “Do you think it was one of the other jerks?”

  “I don’t know, I’d have to look at the pictures again, I tried to block their faces from my mind,” Rachel answered, worried now that it had been one of the jerks.

  Theresa could see the distress on her friend’s face. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. The guys will figure it out.”

  Rachel took a deep, cleansing breath. She grabbed Theresa’s hand and said, “Come on, let’s go to the suite, I need to get out of here.”

  Theresa nodded, and Rachel called over the bartender. Tim was behind the bar. He was part of the security team and had been instrumental in saving Jenna when she was kidnapped. Rachel quickly told him where they were going and asked that he make sure Craig and Alan know where they were. Nodding, he went back to what he had been doing.

  The girls went back to the suite and sat talking, waiting for their men. After several hours, they heard the sound of the men coming down the hall. As the door opened, both women launched themselves at their men, holding on for dear life.

  Rachel ran at Craig and jumped, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. Theresa did the same with Alan.

  The men stood and held their loves for a moment, glad nothing worse had happened. They didn’t know about the man who had tried to abduct Rachel. She hadn’t had a chance to tell them.

  Rachel started sobbing, and Craig looked down at her with concern. “What’s the matter, little lamb? Everything’s fine.”

  Seeing how upset her friend was, Theresa quickly related what Rachel had told her had happened. The more she told, the redder Craig’s face got. By the time she had finished, he was on the phone to the cops, quickly relating the pertinent details.

  “Do you feel up to going and trying to identify the man who took you, love? The police have most of the crowd in custody.” He really didn’t want to put her through that, but wanted to find the ass.

  One of the things Tina had stressed with Rachel was the importance of making sure that people were held accountable for their actions. This was something she had to do. “Yes, I want to,” she answered firmly. “I’d like to try and call Tina again. It would be great to have her there with me.”

  Craig was sure the woman was still away or she would have contacted them after all the messages that Rachel had left over the past several days, but he indulged her and let her make her calls. When she once again got the answering service, she left more messages and nodded she was ready to go.

  Looking at Alan for permission, he gave a slight nod of his head. Theresa asked, “Rachel, do you want me to go with you?” She hadn’t seen anything, but she could offer moral support.

  Nodding, Rachel hugged her friend, and they all went to the police station so that Rachel could do what she needed to do. On the drive there Theresa sat in the back with Rachel and held her hand being as supportive as she could.

  Having experience with the police and not happy experiences with some of them, Alan called his friend Kevin Hoffman to meet them. He wanted Rachel to have all the support she could.

  The first question Rachel asked was if any of the crowd were the men that had attacked her and Jenna. The police refused to answer until she identified her attacker.

  It was a grueling experience at the police station. First, several different detectives asked Rachel the same questions over and over until Alan and Kevin put a stop to it.

  Rachel was finally taken to a room where she could observe the men without being seen. The only person the police allowed with her was Kevin, and she was glad of his presence. He was very supportive and didn’t allow the police to bully her.

  The man that attacked Rachel was easy to identify. She hadn’t seen him that well, but he had a bandage wrapped around the hand that she bit, and she knew his voice.

  After she identified the man, a detective came in and told them that the man was not part of the eight, but they weren’t sure he didn’t have some sort of tie to the group. They were going to do some further investigating and promised to notify them when they found something out.

  By the time they made it back to the club, it was late. Evan and Dave had been called when everything had happened, and they had closed the place early that night. They were sitting at the bar with the security team when the group arrived back. The girls went to the suite, and the men, including Kevin, went to the bar for a quick debriefing.

  Rachel was exhausted and just wanted a hot shower and to lie down. Theresa assured her she could entertain herself and sent her off to shower.

  After her shower, she felt much better. She wrapped herself in Craig’s robe, the next best thing to being in his arms. Then she and Theresa raided the refrigerator and found a snack, sitting and talking until the men came back a couple hours later.

  Alan took his wife home, and Craig took Rachel to bed. He held her, talking and cuddling until she relaxed enough to fall asleep.

  The next day, Craig sat Rachel down, standing in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest. He told her, “We need to talk about last night.”

  “Okay,” she answered.

  “Alan told me how you jumped into the crowd to try and calm things down.”

  “Oh,” she answered. She could tell by the tone of his voice she was in for it. “I was just trying to help. I guess I didn’t think.”

  “This is the second time you’ve done something to put yourself in harm’s way. What do you think I should do about that?”

  “I guess the correct answer would be that I need to be punished, but I did it with good intentions.” She had tears in her eyes. What a fuck up she was.

  Craig could see her emotions in her eyes. “Lamb, you’re not a screw up. It’s a testament to your emotional fortitude that you’re willing to put yourself in danger to spare others, but I want you to start thinking more about the consequences to your actions. I don’t want you to change who you are. I just want you to try and look out for yourself. I hope I’ll always be there to rescue you, but if something would happen to you, I’d be devastated. That’s all I ask.” He told her pulling her up from the chair. Sitting where she just was, he pulled her into his lap and held her tight.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Craig sat and held her for several long minutes before standing her up. “In the bedroom, strip, then I want you across the bed, punishment pose. We might as well get this over with.” He gave her a hard swat on her bottom to send her on her way.

  Rachel scrambled to the bedroom and quickly followed Craig’s instructions. She knew she needed this, and dragging it out wouldn’t help.

  Craig was right
, she didn’t think her actions through. She had always been impulsive, and it had always gotten her in trouble. She needed to learn to think before she acted, no matter how good of an idea it seemed like at the time. One of these times she could get hurt, badly, if she didn’t learn the lesson he was trying to teach.

  Rachel lay on the bed, face down, ass up, legs spread, waiting on Craig and the punishment he had promised. She thought about all the stupid things she had done in her life and the results of all those actions. She needed this punishment, and she needed to figure out a way to think first and jump in second.

  Craig gave her several minutes to think about what was to come. He always liked to use anticipation as part of the punishment.

  Craig walked into the bedroom and without a word went straight to his toy closet. He was not going to make this pleasant for her. He got the things he wanted, and placing them on the bed where Rachel couldn’t see them, he moved to stand between her spread legs.

  “Tell me why we need to do this again, little lamb,” he said in a deep, booming voice.

  “Because I did something stupid. Again.”

  She sighed, muttering to herself, “just get it over with, we both know I’m a dumbass.”

  “What was that last part? I didn’t quite hear what you said,” Craig said, amused. He could guess what she had muttered, but wanted her to tell him.

  “I was just talking to myself, Master.” All he needed to hear was her comment, and then she would really get it.

  “I think you need to tell me, love, or I’ll paddle you until you do.”

  “Shit,” she thought, “I’ll never learn.”

  “I was just thinking that some of the things I’ve been doing are not very smart and that I’m glad you are going to help me.” That sounded good, not the exact words, but close enough.

  “I’ll accept that this time, but from now on, either say it loud enough for me to hear or don’t say it at all,” he told her, smacking her ass for accent.