Dusted Star

by Avery Gale

  Chapter Seventeen

  Juan listened as Kyle and Kent related the conversation they’d had with Lakyn’s manager a day and a half ago and the results of their investigation. Seething, Juan silently vowed to make the bastard’s life miserable for the fear he’d instilled in Lakyn. Between his and Trac’s families, they had more than enough resources to make certain the man’s management days were over. It didn’t matter his motive hadn’t been evil. If the dumb bastard couldn’t figure out a better way to keep Lakyn safe, he was too stupid to have a hand in her career decisions. Before he could give voice to his concerns, Lakyn sprang to her feet and began pacing.

  “What brand of crazy do they lace the Kool-Aid with down here, anyway? Am I supposed to believe the manager I’ve had for over a decade tried to kidnap me to keep his ass out of trouble with my brother? I might believe you if you said he was trying to pick Coop up, but this? I can’t believe he’d even have the resources to pull it off. Hell, the only men he knows are so metro they’re almost… well, never mind. As if that isn’t enough to qualify as a full serving of fruit salad, we have to add the nutty news the pissant who tried to smear me up a rock wall has sought the protection of the local police? And they are giving it to him? What the ever-loving hell? Am I the only one who keeps looking for that Funk fellow who used to do Candid Camera? Seriously, this has to be a fucking joke.”

  Juan, Trac, and Cooper all three growled her name, but it was Cooper who chastised her for her deplorable language.

  “Knock it off, little sister. I understand your frustration, but your foul mouth isn’t going to solve anything.”

  “It can’t fucking hurt either, and I have a news flash for you, big brother, you’re not the boss of me.” Okay, so it was a third-grade response, but damn it all to shiny doorknobs, this whole situation was so out in left field, it wasn’t in the damned ballpark. “I can use any language I want, or I can go to the range and blow some shit up—your choice.”

  Juan might not like her talking like a common streetwalker, but given the options, he’d rather keep her from joining the ranks of the other women at Prairie Winds who had a strange attraction to explosives.

  Note to self, keep our woman away from Lilly West.

  *

  Trac’s palm was itching so bad, he’d finally given in to the urge and rubbed it on his jeans. Kent’s chuckle told him the club owner knew the little sub going toe-to-toe with her brother was spoiling for a fight, and a good paddling would go a long way to help both Lakyn and Trac vent their frustration. The next time the little spitfire paced by him, Trac wrapped his large hand around her wrist and pulled her close, so he could whisper in her ear.

  “I’m going to give you the paddling you are begging for. I prefer to wait until your brother isn’t in the room, but you’re really testing my resolve to protect your privacy, Princess.” He was pleased to hear her gasp of surprise before he pulled back and was even happier to see the pink flush staining her cheeks when he leaned back. “That language is beneath you, Lakyn. You are too intelligent to limit yourself to words any kid in junior high school knows.”

  Trac didn’t ordinarily care what kind of language a woman used outside of a scene, but Lakyn wasn’t just another sub he and Juan were playing with for a few days. As hard as he’d tried to keep his feelings for her casual, they’d morphed into something much deeper. After Kyle briefed them earlier, he and Juan discussed returning to New York with her until she could find a new manager. There was only one problem with the plan—he was already so invested in the relationship, he had no idea how he’d ever be able to walk away when Lakyn replaced her manager and returned to jet-setting around the world.

  Refocusing his attention on the woman standing in front of him, Trac pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead, savoring the feel of her warm skin against his lips. Lakyn Storm was a contradiction on so many levels, and he didn’t for a moment believe she’d been the one standing up to Cooper.

  Lakyn Hicks was still the frightened little girl lost in the woods, the one who’d waited patiently and hoped upon hope her big brother would find her. Lakyn Storm was brassy with a façade that defied people to see her as anything less than a force of nature. Her confidence shone through in photographs and the roles she played, but it was built on a foundation of shifting sand. For just a moment, Lakyn Storm had let him see the soul where the two women met, and she’d stolen his breath. Trac still planned to have her bare ass draped over his lap, simply because it pleased him, and he never backed down on a promised punishment, but the gift of her trust—that brief glimpse of her vulnerability made him change his tone with her.

  “Behave yourself, and we’ll take you to the range later today. You can shred some targets, maybe we’ll even do a bit of wagering.” The light that sparkled in her eyes made him chuckle. “Don’t give up your career for the poker tour, Princess. How you can be such a talented actress and so amazingly transparent is a mystery to me.”

  “It’s easy… because most people don’t bother to look any deeper than their own preconceived ideas.” Trac was startled by the simple but accurate observation. There was a part of him that admired her wisdom, but a larger part felt his heart clench, knowing it was a hard-learned lesson. For a few heartbeats, Lakyn let down her guard, and Trac saw the pain and vulnerability she usually hid so well.

  Princess, Juan and I are going to show you it’s safe to reveal the woman who fears rejection, the one who is convinced no one cares about anything but her beautiful face, the one I suspect has ambitions beyond the limits society is currently imposing on her. And we’ll always be ready to catch you if you fall, so don’t let anything stand between you and your dreams.

  *

  Cooper Hicks couldn’t remember the last time he’d been more disgusted by another human being. James Cox had to be the slimiest slug in the garden of criminals the Agency often hires to do its dirty work. Most of the lowlifes they recruited were smart enough to keep their mouths shut, but Cox obviously hadn’t gotten the memo, and he’d painted a large, glow-in-the-dark target on his back the minute he’d walked into Parker Andrews’ police station. Of course, he’d already sealed his fate when he tried to hurt Lakyn—Cooper wasn’t the forgiving kind when it came to his little sister.

  “I can practically hear the wheels spinning in your head.” Kyle West stood at his left shoulder, his body language radiating the same frustration Cooper was feeling.

  “The son of a bitch will probably eventually sing like a fucking canary, but you won’t be able to trust anything he says. Frankly, I’m not sure why we’re even here. What’s the point? We already know he was hired by the Council to lure me in.” The burning question for Cooper was how had Cox known she was on that tube? There was only one logical answer, and it burned Cooper’s ass to know how far his employer and their counterparts in other countries were willing to go to control him.

  The subject had been the elephant in the corner of every room for the past twenty-four hours, and Cooper was getting damned tired of everyone walking on eggshells around him because he had a couple of broken ribs and a few bruises.

  As the head of security and resident computer guru for The Prairie Winds Club, Micah Drake also had a very real stake in learning how the man on the other side of the glass had gotten his hands on detailed blueprints of the Wests’ property. But Cooper suspected that wasn’t the real reason Drake was leaning against the back wall of the small observation room.

  After the confrontation he’d had with Lakyn this morning, Cooper had been grateful Juan and Trac had taken his spitting mad sister to the range. Hopefully, she would be more settled by the time they returned. Cooper didn’t blame her for being frustrated, hell, her entire life had been turned upside down and all roads seemed to lead back to him. Fucking hell, he was supposed to be her shelter in the storm, not the fucking wind itself. There was a very real irony in Juan and Trac finding her huddled in a damned dust storm; sometimes, fate had a strange sense of humor.

  “Do
es she know about the chip?” And there it was—the confirmation he’d known was coming but had dreaded hearing. Micah’s voice hadn’t carried any judgment, he’d simply asked a question Cooper was embarrassed to say he hadn’t even considered as a possibility.

  “Hell, I didn’t figure it out until a few minutes ago. I should have, but I was so far past exhaustion when I hit your gates, I was barely functioning.” Cooper had slept for almost twenty hours, more rest than he usually got in a week. “It’s the only explanation of how that prick knew she was on the tube.” Micah nodded as he pushed away from the wall and moved closer to the window.

  “We knew as soon as Trac and Juan drove through the gate with her. They’re aware and have looked—well, hell.” Cooper smiled at the other man’s unease.

  “It’s okay, Micah, I already know about Juan and Trac’s interest in Lakyn. As long as they treat her well and protect her, I won’t have a problem with their lifestyle. My sister is strong enough to say no, and it would be damned hypocritical of me to criticize her interest in dominance and submission when I’m a Dom. I’ve suspected she was a submissive, but she hadn’t shown any recognition until recently.” Sighing and running a hand through his shaggy hair, Cooper looked at Kyle and hoped his smile reached his eyes.

  “To be honest, I was damned suspicious when I learned the Wests’ wife had befriended my sister. Seriously, what are the odds of the two of them randomly finding each other on the internet? I swear that girl has been giving me ulcers since the day my parents brought her home.” Unfortunately, he’d been the only one interested in Lakyn’s well-being until she landed her first modeling contract. Their parents had blatantly exploited their only daughter, and Cooper shuddered each time he considered how much of her money they’d squandered before he’d threatened to contact the authorities.

  Kyle and Kent both chuckled and assured him they’d had similar misgivings when they’d learned the women had been corresponding. Ordinarily, Cooper didn’t believe in coincidences, but this situation was turning out to be anything but average. Overall, the discussion had gone a long way to clear the air, and Cooper was grateful when all three men assured him if he joined their team, Lakyn would be protected as well. He hadn’t talked to Juan or Trac about their long-term plans, but he suspected his younger sister was going to have more protection than she wanted.

  “She had an emergency appendectomy several years ago. I assume that’s when the tracker was inserted. I’d just started with the Agency, and Cam stayed with her after the surgery until I could get there.” Fucking hell, Lakyn was going to go ballistic when she learned his career had cast such a long shadow over her life. He had no idea how he was going to tell her, but he wasn’t going to shove the burden onto anyone else’s shoulders.

  Returning his attention to the men on the other side of the window, Cooper shook his head when Parker Andrews threatened to shove Cox’s ass out the front door and let the vultures have him if he didn’t start talking. Cox leaned back in his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him, and crossed his beefy arms over his chest, the man’s confidence unshaken by the Police Chief’s threat.

  Parker pulled his phone from his pocket, a grin spreading across his face as he studied the screen. When the Chief stood and moved to the door, Cox sat up in his chair. For the first time since the interview started, Cox looked uncomfortable, and Cooper almost laughed out loud when Cameron Barnes stepped into the room. Cooper heard Kent West chuckle beside him.

  “Bet you twenty he just pissed his pants.”

  “Jesus, you’re as bad as Tobi, I swear I’d send the two of you to finishing school if I wasn’t afraid of the lawsuit that would follow.” Kyle’s words might have been critical, but amusement danced in his eyes. Cooper felt himself beginning to relax for the first time in months.

  “Well, he obviously knew who Cam was—hell, did you see how he paled? He’s fucking white as a sheet. It does my heart good to see terror in his eyes.”

  “Call it a preview of coming attractions.” Cooper hadn’t meant to say the words aloud but when the other men in the room howled with laughter, he was reminded he was dealing with a group of former Special Forces operatives who didn’t miss anything. Parker joined them a few minutes later, leaving Cox with Cam—yes, indeed, things are about to get interesting.

  “It’s probably a violation of some ethics clause to leave the son of a bitch with Cam, but in my opinion, Cox signed his life away the minute he accepted the job.” Parker turned up the volume of the audio system, and they listened as Cameron Barnes worked his magic.

  “Your decision to harm the younger sister of a CIA operative was a critical error—one I can assure you was not worth whatever paltry sum you were paid.” Cam sat forward in his chair, leaning his forearms on his thighs, and sighed. “You need to make a very important decision, Mr. Cox. You need to decide whose life you value more. Yours? Or the person who hired you? I’m quite sure your handler didn’t mention Lakyn Storm’s connection to Cooper Hicks and probably didn’t mention the young woman is also a personal friend of mine and under the protection of the Prairie Winds team of contract Special Operatives. Long story, short—they threw you to the wolves, Mr. Cox, and all of those beasts are nipping at your heels.”

  Cooper wanted to laugh at the ashen look on James Cox’s face. Cam hadn’t raised his voice, he’d simply outlined the situation with unerring accuracy. What Cam hadn’t mentioned was he’d already gotten a call from the Agency to bring Cox in—somebody in D.C. wanted their hands on the man sitting in the next room, and Cooper wanted a name.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lakyn disconnected the call and shook her head in disbelief. She’d never been called back for a re-shoot a month later. She couldn’t even ask Reggie what was going on because he’d been MIA since Cooper showed up—and Lakyn didn’t believe for a second that was a coincidence. She’d asked Cooper, Trac, and Juan several times over the past few days if any of them had spoken with her manager, and they’d all insisted they hadn’t talked to him, but she still had the nagging feeling she wasn’t being told the truth.

  “What’s wrong, Cariña?” Juan was already walking toward her, his eyes darkened with concern. “You look worried and confused.” She recounted the odd phone call she’d just gotten from one of the smaller fashion houses she worked with and wasn’t surprised to see the questions in his eyes.

  “It’s very unusual… actually, this is the first time I’ve been called back this long after a session. Most photographers and agencies are on a very tight timeline, so they can’t wait this long for a re-shoot. They also know models are continually traveling, so asking one to return for a re-shoot more than a day or two after a session is unheard of.” She’d barely finished speaking when she noticed Trac at the other side of the room with his phone pressed to his ear.

  Juan was silent for so long, Lakyn was beginning to worry he was joining the ranks of those people who had decided she was more trouble than she was worth. It was always painful when friends walked out of her life, but she had the feeling it would be soul-crushing this time.

  You knew it wouldn’t last… no one stays forever, even Cooper disappears for months on end. Stop whining and deal.

  Tilting his head to the side, Juan studied her so closely she was starting to feel like a science experiment.

  “What didn’t you think would last, Cariña?” Damn it, when was she going to learn to keep her mouth shut, so her thoughts didn’t tumble out? “Did you think we’d abandon you the first-time things didn’t go exactly as planned?”

  “That’s exactly what she thought because it’s happened before, hasn’t it? Princess, we need to talk. I believe we’ve done you a great disservice. Juan and I have been waiting until we’d had more time to establish trust between us to broach this subject, but now I’d have to say that was a mistake.”

  Lakyn was still reeling from the realization she’d spoken her disappointment aloud that she was having trouble tracking Trac’s comments, and sinc
e he hadn’t asked her a question, she decided to err on the side of the angels and stay quiet. They must have known why she hadn’t responded because they both smiled.

  “Cariña, this is a discussion between lovers, not a D/s scene, so please don’t hesitate to speak. We want you to feel comfortable with us, no matter the situation. If you can trust us with your body and your pleasure, you can surely trust us with your questions and comments.”

  “As long as you are respectful, we’ll always be open to hearing what you have to say. Remember, we don’t speak disrespectfully to you, and we expect the same in return.”

  Trac was right, they’d never spoken harshly to her, and now, she regretted the lack of respect she’d shown them. When she thought back over the time since they’d met, she was embarrassed to admit they’d treated her much better than her behavior warranted. Good grief, when had she become such a diva who didn’t treat others with common courtesy?

  “I don’t know what to say except you’re right. So many people have walked away, I’ve come to expect it. Cooper has gone above and beyond, I don’t want to give anyone the impression I’m not grateful… because I am. His job took him out of the country so often and for such extended periods of time, I often laid awake wondering if I’d ever see him again. The prospect of being truly alone in this world was terrifying.” When Juan started to speak, she held up her hand, wanting to finish before she lost her nerve.

  “My career seems glamorous to those on the outside, but I assure you, it is anything but. I’ve been toying with the idea of starting my own fashion line in the future, but…” When she faltered, Juan stepped closer and lifted her chin, so her gaze met his.

  “Cariña, if there is one thing Trac and I learned while we were in the military it was how short life can be.” He brushed a stray strand of her hair back over her shoulder and smiled.