by Jessie G.
The Protector
By Jessie G.
The Protector
Copyright © 2015 Jessie G.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Special thanks to:
Jessica McKenna, Literary Editor
https://www.facebook.com/JessicaMcKennaLiteraryEditor
Andrew Reyna, Dynamic Craft Studios, Graphic Art
http://www.dynamiccraftstudios.com
My heartfelt thanks to the Kelly Elizabeth, Linda Jude, Denise Dechene, and Jodi Marinich, for taking the time to beta read The Protector and sending me your awesome feedback. Your kind words, constructive comments and overall support are invaluable gifts I could never repay.
Occasionally I ask for help with the little details and I must give a huge thank you to H. Leigh Moore, Carol Dees Workman, and Jennifer Guist for allowing me to borrow important dates from their lives to use as important dates in The Protector.
Published by: Jessie G Books
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, Jessie G Books, [email protected]. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without permission from Jessie G Books.
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The Protector is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.
Author’s Note:
The Protector deals with issues of sexual abuse and forced prostitution. While these acts are not detailed on the page, there are many references to them and the ongoing fight to heal and overcome. This book should not be read by anyone who would be adversely affected by these references.
Trademark Acknowledgement:
Jessie G acknowledges the trademarked status and owners of the following trademarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Audi - http://www.audi.com/
Viagra - http://www.viagra.com/
Bombay Sapphire - https://www.bombaysapphire.com/
Vans - http://www.vans.com/
Google - http://www.google.com/
Wikipedia - http://www.wikipedia.com/
Oreo - http://www.oreo.com
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com
Lamborghini - http://www.lamborghini.com
PROLOGUE
Saul - 2007
“Durango wants to see you in his office.” Tall and rail thin, the butler’s skeletal features gave nothing away. Years of loyal service had afforded him the freedom to be anywhere in the mansion and made him privy to the horrors that went on within these beautiful, deceiving walls. That he remained totally unfazed by any of it made him the most ruthless member of Durango’s team. The mystery, for Saul at least, was in deciding if the man was truly a psychopath or a really good actor with a bigger agenda.
“Tell him I’ll be along shortly.” Brushing off the request for attendance would get another man killed, but Saul refused to be used so easily. It was a futile push against Durango’s authority—even the butler knew that. In the end, Saul would do whatever was asked of him without question or complaint, no matter how abhorrent it might be. That was his role in this little game—yes man, trigger man, willing and well paid executioner.
“He said immediately.” The butler hit him with that knowing look. The one that said he knew the rebuff was all bluster.
“No doubt. It’s the only timeframe he knows.” Without another word, Saul walked around the curious man and headed in the direction of his rooms. It would cost him, but Durango would wait until he showered off his time at the club. It was only after indulging his kinks that he felt the most relaxed and as close to his normal self as he was ever likely to get. That feeling wouldn’t serve him well when dealing with an egotist on a power trip who thought the whole world owed him respect.
By the time he stepped into Durango’s office, without bothering to knock, he not only had the satisfaction of making the man wait fifteen minutes, but was also back in the mindset of a killer. From his perch behind the massive desk, Durango’s eyes glittered with displeasure and it did give Saul a little thrill. Perverse and yet, he had so few opportunities to be amused lately.
“You summoned me?” Bored, a twinge annoyed, and oh yes, another thrill as his boss straightened to his full, unimposing height. There was a very obvious reason Durango needed an army and the height disadvantage would make him a laughingstock if not for the men at his back.
“Remind me again why I don’t have you killed for your insolence?”
“You have no one brave enough or capable enough to try.” Well, except for Miguel, but even with a gun to the head, his brother wouldn’t turn on him. In the midst of this hell, they were the only backup each other had. “That and you like to see me suffer.”
If anything Durango’s expression darkened even more and the other men in the room shifted uncomfortably. Honestly, nothing would please him more than to have them make a move. Unfortunately Durango knew it and apparently wasn’t interested in losing another man tonight. As quickly as they rolled in, the thunder clouds parted and Durango’s annoying laughter filled the office. “You do like to keep me on my toes, don’t you?”
“It’s all the incentive I need to get up in the morning.”
“Despite your best attempts to annoy me, Saul, I like a man who isn’t afraid to stand up to me.”
Or tower over you. Biting back a smirk, he simply nodded. “That’s why I do it, sir.”
Durango resumed his seat and flipped open a file. Just like that, with a properly respectful sir, their little meeting was called to order. “While I am ever fond of your mercenary skills, I have a new task requiring a singular touch that I believe will suit you nicely. A reward, if you will, for years of loyal service.”
In the real world rewards were something to shoot for—a promotion, a raise, a fancy corner office. In Durango’s world, the word reward was enough to send a warning tingle down his otherwise rigid spine. A singular task that would suit him, as a reward? That left only one question. “Who do you need me to kill?”
A small smile tugged at that twisted mouth and another tingle of warning skated up Saul’s spine. “While I hate to deprive that thirst for blood, this time I need you to keep someone alive.”
“Are you sure you called the right man?”
“Definitely. How was your time at the club tonight?”
The topic of his sexual preferences or kinks had never come up before. Durango didn’t care who his men fucked as long as they did their job. Though he knew Durango prided himself on knowing everything there was to know about everyone in his organization, the question remained obscure. All he could do was play along until his boss decided to enlighten him. “Entertaining as always.”
“To look at you,” Durango sat back to assess him, “it’s impossible to believe you're gay.”
To look at you, it’s impossible to believe you’re the brain behind the biggest crime
syndicate in Florida. “Looks can be deceiving.”
“It wasn’t an insult, Saul, so don’t get your back up. I don’t care who you fuck...or beat. That’s what you do in your little club, right? Beat orgasms out of other men?”
“Every chance I get.” It was almost painful to carry on a conversation with an imbecile. While the very willing masochist tied to his table did eventually have an orgasm, it had been the least climactic event of that sweet little sub’s evening. It almost made him smile to remember the awed bragging the boy spewed all over his friends at the bar. Almost.
“You really are a sadistic, bloodthirsty bastard, aren’t you?” Which was exactly why Durango kept him around and they both knew it. “As you know I’ve been partially funding this operation with my escort services.”
Durango continued to go on, but Saul stopped listening. No, he hadn’t been privy to that information, a fact his boss well knew. All of his assignments to date revolved around Durango’s expanding drug trade, which was bad enough. Clearly, he was supposed to take this news in stride, but nothing was ever that simple. To become a contender in Miami’s oversaturated flesh trade meant Durango was offering services other pimps weren’t. Depraved services that set off all of Saul’s warning bells.
Saul forced himself to tune back in, not wanting to be caught unaware again. “In addition to my general stable, I have a select group that has been specifically trained to meet the demands of more discerning customers. High paying, discerning customers. My prized whores are the gems of my collection and, as you can well imagine, require protection.” Without any more build up, Durango nodded to the guard on his right. Those beady eyes watched as the guard crossed to the side door, opened it and gestured to whoever was waiting. A well-dressed man entered, tugging hard on the chain in his grip. Seconds later, another man, naked and on all fours, crawled in behind him. They continued forward until the well-dressed man was standing before Saul. Everything about him screamed wealth and privilege. Except his eyes. The evil within exceeded even Durango’s depravedness.
The man didn’t speak, just looked Saul up and down thoughtfully, before jerking one more time on the leash. The harsh pull forced the prostrated man right to Saul’s feet. When he didn’t scramble or cry out, Saul knew he’d been prepared for the move and that he was accustomed to being jerked around. In the second it took for him to take the offered leash, Saul envisioned five different ways he could kill the offensive man with it without unhooking it from the collar it was presently attached to. He had no doubt the prostrated man wouldn’t mind a bit. The small, twisted smile on the offensive man’s face said he knew exactly what Saul was thinking and wasn’t the least bit worried. That could only mean his connection with Durango went beyond just being the scumbag holding the leash. With one final smirk and a respectful nod at their employer, he walked out the way he came in. In the silence that followed, Saul looked down at the sub who was now kneeling perfectly before him.
“Stand and display,” Saul ordered. There was a second of bracing before the sub forced his cramped body up and took the position. Muscles trembled, and Saul could only wonder how long he’d been on his knees that standing would take such effort. “Do you have a real name?”
Saul didn’t want to hear any of the derogatory names the sub was no doubt trained to refer to himself as. As a sadist, humiliation was never one of his kinks. Furthering this obviously abused man’s humiliation held even less interest.
“Yes, sir. Javier, sir.” The sub’s voice was soft and timid, and his eyes remained firmly focused on the ground.
“Turn completely.” As that body turned, showing every bruise and scar, Saul wanted to go after the man who delivered him. Once Javier completed a full turn, he stopped and waited for the next instruction. If standing had been a chore, the next order was going to rock the sub’s world. “Look at me directly.”
The terrified shiver that went through that slender body confirmed his suspicions, but Javier’s dark head lifted slowly until they were face to face. Every club scene flashed through Saul’s memory, every mark and lash he left on a willing, eager sub. They had been proud to wear them and to brag to other subs that they had spent time under his whip. Javier did not look proud. Terrified, brutalized and broken, but definitely not proud.
“Tower,” he ordered and waited until Javier was once again kneeling at his feet. Only then did he look at Durango to demand, “What do you expect me to do with him?”
“He’s received the best training and will be a top earner. Now he’s your responsibility, he’s to be with you at all times. You will take him to and from clients, collect the money and ensure my property. When he is not earning his keep, he is to be kept caged in your rooms at all times.”
“Caged!” The man was out of his fucking mind. “He’s not an animal.”
“Sure he is.” Durango waved that objection away. Another file was produced and Durango held it out to him. “You will make sure he does the job and you will keep him alive.”
Even before he flipped open the file, Saul knew what was inside. Durango wouldn’t ask this of him without having leverage first. The message was simple. The lives of his parents and brother were on the line if he failed. At his feet, Javier jerked back enough to draw his attention and he held up the picture of a strange little girl that was among the photos of his family. “Do you know who this is?”
“Lily, sir...that’s my sister, Lily.” Those dark, terrified eyes met his frantically. “Sir, please...please…I’ll do anything you say, sir, but please...oh god, not Lily, sir….”
“Oh, shut him up!” Durango’s annoyed shout barely registered.
The guard on the right stepped forward, hand raised, but Javier didn’t curl away from the threat, just continued to stare up at him, pleading with those bottomless eyes. Without looking away, Saul reached over and knocked the guard back a few steps. Before Durango could object, he snarled, “You want top dollar for this prized whore? We do this my way and that means no one touches him but me. If I find out anyone has laid a hand on him, I’ll kill them and leave a trail of blood through this whole fucking horror house!”
Durango considered that and nodded. “Fair enough. You do your job and no one will interfere. But if you fail, if he kills himself, all of you will die.”
Javier reached up a trembling hand and took the pictures from him, looking at each one before meeting his gaze again. The defeat was palpable even before he offered himself in sacrifice. “I won’t fail you or them, sir.”
Eliciting that promise was the biggest mistake of Durango’s pathetic life. Up until this point, Saul just hadn’t been angry enough to send the man to hell. Now, with incentive staring up at him, Durango had just signed his own death warrant.
CHAPTER 1
Saul – 2014
You’re failing him as his Master. Those words followed him wherever he went. Though Saul knew Bull had never actively lived the lifestyle, he wore his dominance naturally. Without titles, protocols or scenes, Bull was their unified leader and in Red he found a partner happy to follow. In return, Bull was happy to encourage Red’s independence and never restricted him. Saul’s lines were much more defined, with no flexibility, which he could privately admit made Bull the better man.
For a few years Saul enjoyed the game of it, arranging scenes with eager subs who wanted an hour or two of intense protocol. Those fleeting encounters allowed him to explore some aspects of sadism with willing masochists. Learning what fed his internal desires had allowed Saul to be more selective in the subs he played with and many were willing to pay handsomely for the kiss of his whip. At the time, he’d been content with his solitary life, taking fleeting moments of enjoyment where he could and selling his mercenary skills to the highest bidder.
He recognized a kindred spirit in Bull immediately, despite those differences, and it could have gone south very quickly if not for the healthy respect he had for his employer. No, that didn’t begin to cover what he felt for the man. Brother migh
t not even cover it. When he showed up on Bull’s doorstep with their wild story and his demand that Javier be secured, Saul forced aside his natural tendency for privacy. That honesty had paid off even if it left him more than a little humiliated, and Bull had moved mountains for them. When Javier was released from prison two months later, Saul was waiting at the gate and Bull bore witness to their reunion.
Those months after Javier’s release had been worse than the two years they spent in separate prisons. Having steadfastly refused to testify against Durango, no one was willing to help him keep Javier close and that failure on his part left his boy floundering alone in the unforgiving Florida prison system. Even now Saul doubted he knew everything that happened to Javier in those two years.
“You in there?” Javier nudged him. “Saul, you’re staring at this engine as if you’ve never seen one before. What’s the deal?”
Drawn from the unwanted reflection, Saul focused on Javier and offered a grateful smile. “Sorry, Javi, my mind’s elsewhere today.”
It was impossible to believe after all he’d been through, but Javier had a true nurturing demeanor. Nothing made Javier happier than taking care of Saul and their little makeshift family, and he knew the other men viewed him as a pseudo-maternal figure. It was a role his boy truly cherished and right now all that nurturing was focused on him. “It’s lunch time anyway. Why don’t we take a break?”
“Is it?” It seemed like they’d just arrived. Saul looked at the car he was supposed to be working on and realized he didn’t remember what, if anything, he’d done to it.
“I took over when you just stood there staring,” Javier whispered, as if helping him was supposed to be a secret. In this garage they all helped each other in so many ways it shouldn’t have mattered, but Saul understood that his moment of introspection had shaken Javier. Until his boy was assured that all was well, Javier would focus all that concern and nurturing onto Saul as a way of protecting the only security he’d ever known. “Maybe walking away for a bit will help and you’ll still be able to finish it before the customer comes back this afternoon.”