Adjusting Addie

by RJ Gray

  Chapter 10

  Yesterday had changed everything for Brad. Addie was already his girlfriend, but the events of the day had sealed the deal. She had taken her discipline like a champ, and he'd had the best sex of his life. She was a good student, learning exactly what would bring him the most intense pleasure. Brad was thrilled to find out that Addie was very much a submissive. Not submissive to the world, heck no, not his Addie, but she was willing to let everything go and be submissive to him. He loved it. He wasn't a ropes and chains dominant, but he liked a little kink mixed in with domestic discipline. He felt like he had won the lottery by finding Addie. He would do anything to protect her, protect them. He also knew that Ben had his back, always.

  Ben met Addie and Brad out front. Brad and he exchanged quick handshakes, and then Brad introduced Addie to him, "Ben, this is my girlfriend, Addie." Brad noticed how wide Addie smiled. That was the first time he had introduced her as his girlfriend, and he liked the sound of it.

  "Nice to meet you. Why don't you come with me to my office?"

  The pair followed Ben back to a corner office, where he quickly shut the door for privacy. Once they had settled into the large chairs, Addie spoke. "Is being large and in shape a requirement for the Marine Corps?" she asked. Ben was even taller than Brad by an inch or two and also had an extremely muscular build. He was much darker than Brad, with dark black hair, brown eyes and a tan complexion. "You actually look like a Marine." Addie continued. "Or at least what I would imagine one to look like—short hair, clean shaven face. Are beards even allowed in the Marines?" This question was aimed back at Brad, but both men laughed.

  "It isn't allowed for most jobs," Ben replied. "You didn't tell her what we did in the Corps?"

  "No…" Brad paused "…but then again, she didn't ask." Brad realized they had talked about a lot of things over the past month, but he hadn't given her too many details about his military career. He was shocked to realize she hadn't asked. Most women he dated oohed and ahhed over him being a Marine.

  "I have to admit, I'm not up to date with much to do with the military," Addie said.

  Both men laughed again. It was refreshing to find a woman not interested in them just because of the uniform.

  "Brad and I were part of a fourteen man, Marine Special Operations Team as part of the Marine Corps Special Operations Command. We served in the same tactical element, and Brad was my element leader," Ben said.

  "Is that what your tattoo on your back is for? 'Always Faithful' something or other?" Addie asked Brad.

  "Always faithful, always forward!" both men said in union. It was more than just words to them. Brad would always abide by the motto to the best of his ability.

  "Yes, and the names underneath are my men who died in combat," Brad told her, and the room got quite for a moment, heavy with the emotion those words evoked. Brad thought of each name, each man, each friend, the ones who gave their lives to keep them safe. They had paid the ultimate price, and there wasn't a day that went by when Brad didn't see their names on his skin and think of them.

  "Anyway," Ben said, breaking the silence, "not only are we Marines, we were the best of the best. Keeping in good physical shape was part of that. I guess, old habits die hard." He quickly changed the topic. "I hear you have a problem that you might need me to look into for you?"

  Addie spent the next hour catching Ben up on the situation. Ben interjected occasionally with questions, and Brad sat, listening intently. Brad picked up on added details that she hadn't given at dinner and found it hard not to get angry with Addie again. Everything in her had told her not to be alone with that man; she had said those very words, and yet she went. Ben spun in his chair towards his computer and started typing in some information. He frowned, looking at the screen.

  "Did you say you were alone with Mr. Whitehall at the park?" he asked Addie.

  "Well, I mean, there were other people around," Addie answered. "We weren't completely alone."

  "Don't ever do that again," Ben said firmly, turning away from the computer and looking at her. "I can tell, based on the report from the investigating detective, that he is extremely dangerous."

  "She won't. Will you, baby?" Brad said, pinning her with the look. Addie's squirming in her chair hadn't gone unnoticed by Ben, and he grinned knowingly at Brad. The two had been as close as brothers for years. In fact, it was after Brad told him all about domestic discipline that Ben had also taken up an interest in spanking. He hadn't been in a relationship for over a year, but his past relationship did have domestic discipline undertones.

  "I won't," Addie said. "And, I do have a copy of his criminal record. We always get those with our cases. It didn't seem terrible; it wasn't anything more than what I normally see. He had a couple of domestic violence charges that were dropped and a DUI, a couple of years ago—nothing outrageous."

  "That is because you only get the formal records that have gone to court and have had charges presented. He has been accused, literally hundreds of times, of violent crimes, but he always gets off. It appears that his lawyer manages to get them all dropped, or witnesses recant, mostly women. His record goes back to high school; he was eighteen and a senior when his first stalking charges were filed against him. He likely has a juvenile record, but those are sealed, and without a judge's order, I can't see them. Based on what I'm looking at, he stalks his victims before convincing them to get into a relationship with him, and that's when the abuse starts. He is manipulative and has been caught in a couple of con schemes, as well."

  "Stalking?" Addie said in almost a whisper.

  Brad looked at Addie with a raised brow. He wasn't sure he liked the tone she was using.

  "Yes. Is there something you need to tell us? Has he been stalking you?" Ben came around and sat on the front of his desk in front of Addie and leaned forward, looking directly into her eyes. "Addie, look, if you are Brad's girl, that makes you my sister. We take care of our own. Is this bastard threatening you?"

  "No. Not exactly. I mean, I'm not sure," Addie said.

  "Addisyn." Brad's tone was even, calm, and held a mixture of promise and threat in it at the same time. He was ready to snatch her up right there and shake some sense into her. This was a serious situation, and he couldn't help but think that she was holding something back. "What are you not telling us?" He squeezed her knee gently.

  "Just some of the things he said yesterday had me worried that he had been watching me. I'm sure it's nothing." She tried to shrug it off. Neither of the men was about to let her.

  "What exactly did he say, Addie?" Ben asked gently, with a shake of the head towards Brad. They had known each other for a long time. Brad knew that Ben recognized the telltale tic in his jaw, the tension in his shoulders, and the narrowing of his gaze. He had seen Brad angry many times over the years. Brad was in control of his emotions, but his tells were consistent.

  "It started as something stupid. He knew my regular order at Shugas. I thought, well, maybe he saw me there one day at lunch or saw my food on my desk. It was weird, because he knew everything I had on my plate. But then, he knew what I order when Brad and I go to lunch, and he knew the drink I get at my favorite coffee place, not just the names of the dishes, but the way I customize them. He knew Brad was a chiropractor, too," she said.

  "Why the hell didn't I pick up on that?" Brad said, remembering how the man knew his specialty. "Why didn't you tell me any of this?" He was infuriated with her. If there was one thing he couldn't abide, it was lying. He had made that clear to her from the beginning. His ex-wife had lied to him over and over during their marriage. She had lied to him, betrayed him and damaged his ability to trust other women, all other women—before Addie, that was. Here she was, lying to him, too. Lying by omission is still lying.

  "I didn't want you to worry about me," Addie said softly. "And I thought maybe it was nothing and I was over reacting."

  "It is my job to worry about the woman I love!" Brad said incredulously.

  "With all
that information, I would assume he has been following you. Now, this is important, have you noticed anything weird happening recently? Anything strange that you just couldn't put your hand on?" Ben asked. Both men saw the color drain from Addie's face.

  "What is it?" Ben asked. "Addie, please don't hold anything back."

  "Addisyn, so help me God, if you don't tell Ben every single detail…" Brad's threat hung in the air.

  "I thought I was losing my mind. I kept forgetting my cell phone, but half the time, I swore I had grabbed it. I put it in my purse, and then it wouldn't be there. I put it on my desk, and it would end up gone. I mean, I had left it on the charger at home or Brad's work, but these were times when I knew I had grabbed it. Each time was either at a restaurant or right after coming back with lunch. Do you think…"

  "It's possible," Ben said. "If he was following you and knew you were getting food, and say, you went to the bathroom, it wouldn't be unlikely."

  "But why?"

  "It only takes a couple of seconds to download information and hack phones if you know what you are doing. You can also download apps that record what a person is saying and doing without them ever knowing of it. Stalkers today have some of the best technology around to use, and they don't hold back. Addie, is there anything else?" Ben was gentle with her.

  Brad knew how it had to appear to Addie. Good cop, bad cop. He was the bad cop, currently, but he was seething with anger and disappointment. He'd thought Addie was different.

  "No. It couldn't have been him. I mean, I'm sure it wasn't," Addie said.

  "Addisyn Marie Gabriel, you tell us everything, right this instant!" Brad demanded. "We will help decide if it was or wasn't him." He turned his body to face Addie directly. Both men were pinning her with their gazes. It was a neat little triangle of bodies, now, with Addie at the tip. Brad could only imagine how intimidating it was for a woman to have two, very large, very intimidating, Marine Corps Special Forces Operators staring at her. Good, he thought, we can cut the bullshit and get the answers we need to keep her safe. "You know how seriously I take your safety." Brad stressed the word and Addie squirmed again. He knew his point was made. His palm was aching to get her alone and demonstrate to her exactly how he felt about lying, but they needed to finish up here.

  "Yes, Sir, I do," she said.

  Ben's laughter broke through the tension. "She's perfect for you."

  "I think so, too," Brad replied, winking at him, the tension breaking some. She was perfect for him, but they had to have a serious discussion about truthfulness.

  "Are you…do you?" she stuttered at Ben, catching the look that had passed between the men. "I mean, does he?" She turned to Brad.

  "If you are asking if Ben takes naughty little girls over his knee and spanks them, the answer is, yes, he has been known to do so on occasion," Brad answered, noticing the blush that crawled up Addie's cheek. "But he makes his girls call him 'Daddy'," Brad teased, looking past Addie to Ben. Brad was not a Daddy Dom. He liked to keep the parental titles out of the bedroom, but to each their own. If Ben wanted to be 'Daddy' behind closed doors, who was he to judge? His last girlfriend had slipped and called him that at dinner one night, and Brad hadn't missed an occasion to privately rib him about it.

  "You are never going to let me live that down, are you?" Ben said before turning back to Addie. "What happened, Addie? We need to know everything."

  "Stuff started going missing or being moved around in my place. I really thought it was just me being tired and working a lot. My driver's license isn't in my wallet anymore. I thought maybe I took it out somewhere, but I can't think of anywhere I would have taken it out. I was going to go get a new one the next time I had time to do so. I had a photo on my fridge with a magnet, and it's gone, too. I assumed it had fallen at some point, half expected it to be between the fridge and the stove. Oh, my makeup bag was missing from my bathroom. I never did find it. Also, my login for my email has been giving me some issues. I've had to reset it twice in the last week."

  "He's been in her house," Ben said definitively.

  Brad nodded in agreement. "You are staying with me until he is in prison," Brad declared.

  "I don't think so," Addie said, getting irritated and standing. "I'm quite capable of taking care of myself. We've only been together for a month, Brad. Be reasonable. You aren't ready for that much of a commitment with me."

  "Addisyn, I'm ready to marry you. I know it has only been a month, but I fell in love with you quickly. We've spent countless hours together. We are pretty much together when we aren't working, anyway. I don't feel comfortable with you staying at your apartment by yourself with this creep stalking you. It isn't safe."

  "I'd like to say that I could put surveillance on your place, Addie, but I can't do that until we have proof he has been there. I'd encourage you to get some security cameras installed. I'd like to dump your phone, too, and I think you should get a new one with a new phone number. There are a few other suggestions I have for you," Ben added. They spent a few minutes going over everything they could do to keep Addie safe while Brad fumed next to her. Ben got a call on his phone and stood up.

  "I'm really sorry, but I have to go. We can continue this discussion later? Brad, call me and we can catch up over dinner sometime this week. Addie, I'm going to investigate some more and see what I can find about Mrs. Whitehall. I don't like her sudden disappearance, either. Please keep yourself safe, okay?" he asked.

  "I'll keep her safe," Brad said, and Ben nodded. Brad knew that Ben wouldn't question his statement. He had served with him long enough to know that predator look in his eyes. Brad was not happy that his girl had been threatened, and he wasn't going to stand by and watch it continue.

  Addie and Brad walked to Brad's car together in silence. When they got into the car, she turned to him and started to talk. Brad held up a hand. "Not right now," he said firmly. He needed time to calm down before he said something he didn't mean.

  "But, Brad, I—"

  "Not right now, Addisyn. I need time to decompress and think." He didn't leave room for argument, and Addie sat back in her seat. They drove back to his place in silence and walked inside.

  "Addie, I'm too upset with you right now to spank you. I swear I wanted to tear your hide up in Ben's office. Safety and honesty are my two biggest rules, and you violated both of them in the same twenty-four-hour period of time."

  "What? I didn't lie to you!" Addie said defensively.

  "You lied by omission. Why didn't you tell me any of this? I would have put things together pretty quickly. That is a lot of coincidences to occur over a short period of time! Why didn't you just tell me?" Brad said.

  "I thought…I thought I was being careless and irresponsible. I thought I was working too hard and was too tired and you would be disappointed in me. I didn't think anyone would be threatening me. I'm not anyone important. I work so much that it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities that perhaps this was all of my own doing. I didn't want you to stop liking me because I was making idiotic mistakes."

  Brad caught the desperation flash across her features. She was desperate for him to believe what she was saying. He did. He felt some of the pain disburse. She hadn't meant to lie to him.

  "Addisyn! Look at me. Right now!" Brad all but yelled at her. "I won't stop loving you because you make a mistake. I won't stop loving you because of anything you mentioned. Don't cheat on me. That is the only thing that would make me walk away from our relationship. Do you understand me? We can fix anything else that happens between us, but I can't go through that betrayal again."

  Addie started crying. Brad rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms. "Baby, I'm not one of your foster families; I'm not going to leave you. I love you, Addie. I know it’s been a fast start, but I know myself, and I know that I love you. When I give my love, it is unconditional. You don't have to earn it or worry about losing it because of something you do." He pushed her hair back from her forehead and kissed it. "I see you weren't
trying to lie to me, and I'm not going to spank you for this. I am a reasonable man and I believe in open communication. That means you have to talk to me, though, baby. I need you to tell me what's going on in your life, okay? I'm concerned that you've been working so hard that you didn't think any of this set off any alarms, but we can discuss that at another time. Addie, please come stay with me…at least for a few days? I'll call one of my guys, Jeremiah—he was on my team with Ben—to go sweep your place for any devices that might be there. He is one of our best. He specialized in surveillance and recon. He lives in Denver now, so I know he could be here in a couple hours. He'll come if I call him. We can set up our own devices in the house to monitor activity. If there isn't anything suspicious for a few days, you can go back. Addie, I was serious when I said I want to marry you. Yes, I already know that. Yes, I am sure. I don't want to scare you or move too fast, but I want my intentions known." Brad could see the emotions crossing across Addie's face, and he pulled her over to the couch. He snuggled her into his arms, gently pushing her head down onto his chest.

  They sat like that for a few minutes, in silence. He rubbed her back and her hair. After a few minutes, Brad broke the silence.

  "Addie, I am aware you are still sore from last night and I'm not going to spank you for discipline, but I think you could use an emotionally releasing spanking. Would you like me to spank you?" he asked gently.

  "Yes," Addie said with all the enthusiasm she could muster.

  Brad chuckled. There had been no hesitation at all. "I want to hear you ask for it Addie. In the future, if you ever need a spanking, all you have to do is tell me."