by Mia Luxe
Tanner Strom
“She’s settling in just fine,” I say, eating a bite of roast.
“Good. Jesus, Strom, you have no idea what she was like. Drinking. Almost failing her classes. And then, the icing on the cake. Her… Scandalous blow-up at Mike Fuller’s nineteenth birthday. You know, that incident almost tanked the deal between our families. I had to sell a big part of business at a loss just to stop them from pressing charges.”
I swallow, staring at Emily’s father. I’ve known Dennis since high school and I wonder how he can be so smart at some things and so blind in others.
“It doesn’t make sense, Tanner. Have you found any clue of why she blew up in that way? Was I not giving my darling enough attention?”
I take a sip of water.
“Her boyfriend wasn’t such a nice guy, you know.”
“Her boyfriend? What are you talking about?”
I give Dennis an appraising glance.
“You didn’t know your daughter was dating Mike Fuller?”
“No, she never told us.”
“Well, she was.”
Her mother, Tina, raises her eyebrows.
“What do you mean: He wasn’t such a nice guy?”
“I’m looking into it,” I reply, standing. I push my empty plate away. “Please excuse me, I’ll be right back.”
I walk up the stairs like I’m going to the bathroom and sneak down the hall to Emily’s room. People are always surprised at how silent a big man like me can be.
I slowly turn her door handle, minimizing the creak, and step inside. I go right to the top drawer and pull out her ID badge. It was right where she said it would be.
I step back out, tucking the badge in my back pocket and close the door slowly behind me.
Then I go to the bathroom, piss, flush, wash my hands slowly, and go back downstairs.
“I better be going. I’ve got plenty of work to finish up tonight. Thank you for having me. Dinner was excellent, as usual.”
Tina smiles. “Oh, you haven’t had my cooking in five years. As usual, you try to slip out early for work. Please, can’t you stay for dessert? I made crumble.”
Dennis stands, grabbing my shoulder and looking at me seriously.
“Strom, do we need to have a talk? What did you mean by ‘her boyfriend’s not such a great guy’? What do you know that I don’t?”
I shake my head. “You’ll have to talk to your daughter about that. It’s not my place. Thank you for your hospitality.”
I put on my shoes and leave. I drive back home and open the door to my house.
I smile to myself when I see that there are no shopping bags in the hallways anymore. Emily must have put them all away.
“I’m home!”
I half expect her to be in front of the TV, a bad habit that I hope she doesn’t use in excess.
“Did you get the badge?”
Her voice comes from the kitchen. I kick of my shoes and walk in. I smile because Emily is baking cookies.
“I didn’t know if my mom was going to make dessert, and, well, you have a nice kitchen. Do you want to try one?”
I smile and accept a warm cookie. It’s delicious and chewy. I pull the badge out of my pocket.
“Nice room by the way. I dig the pink.”
She blushes and takes the badge. “My parents painted it that way when I was a kid. I prefer peach now. Oh, good – you got my badge!”
“I need a timeline for tomorrow. I want to know when I have to come and rescue you.”
She puts her finger against my chest.
“You said you would trust me. I can do this. My volunteering is from ten in the morning until noon. I’ll sneak out afterwards and get into the computer room.”
“Do you know where it is? I can get us a map.”
She nods. “I know exactly where it is. My badge even gives me access to the part of the hospital that it’s in.”
“Good.”
She looks down.
“What is it, Emily?”
“I was just thinking I’d be lonely tonight, in your bedroom… If I was alone.”
I laugh. “I’ll keep you warm.”
She beams up at me.
We make love insistently. I’m addicted to the feel of her soft curves against the hardness of my body. There’s something almost religious in the harmony of us together. In the moment of seeding her, I feel like I’m in heaven.
15
Emily Jones
I enter the hospital and say hi to the regulars.
No one suspects me. Luckily for patient confidentiality records, only the doctor on my file knows about the incident at Mike’s party, and no one asks me any tough questions.
I do my volunteering and read Redwall books to the sick kids. They love the stories about the little creatures and the heroic mice. While it breaks my heart to see the weak children, I know I have to be strong for them. When I’m reading out loud they drift into a fantasyland, forgetting for an instant the sadness that they have to endure in reality. If I can give them even a moment’s respite, it warms my heart.
Afterward, I say my goodbyes and slip out. Instead of walking towards the entrance to the hospital, I walk towards the Staff Only area.
I scan my card. It always works, but my heart still skips a beat while I wait for the scanner to turn green. When it does I breathe a sigh of relief and walk into the back hallways. Not many people come back here. It’s an area that used to be used for staff, but now there’s a new area where staff are able to relax that has more modern furniture – so this one has fallen into a little bit of disrepair.
I walk down the hallway, thinking of an excuse if someone questions me.
Am I just exploring? Did I forget something here?
I get to the end of the hall.
The server room.
One of the IT guys showed me the room during my orientation three years ago. He said that this is where all the hospitals servers are. He also said that this is where copies of patient records are kept for safe-keeping.
He shook his head, muttering how it should have better security.
At the time, I thought he was self-important and trying to boast about how special his job was to be guarding and working with the computers of the hospital. Now I realize that it is a serious flaw in the system – to allow anyone with a volunteer’s badge access to this part of the hospital. Probably, most people never think twice about it, and don’t even go down here anymore. The hospital must have forgotten and not realized they had such a major a breach in their security. That sort of thing happens in large organizations.
I grab the USB that Tanner gave me, and with a sweaty hand I open the door to the computer room. The fans of the server towers buzz. Tanner told me that it’s the fifth row of servers that I have to put the USB into. I go behind the tower of servers and look carefully for a place I can slide the USB in.
I find it and slide the device in, feeling triumphant. The program will load automatically onto the server and now Tanner and his Head of Intelligence can get all the data they need to wirelessly. I’m beaming with success…
…until the door suddenly opens.
“Don’t worry baby. No one comes down here. It’s totally okay.”
“Ooh, you’re so kinky.”
My jaw drops as I peer through the cracks between two servers. A doctor is kissing a nurse. I don’t know what to do. I can’t allow myself to be caught.
I freeze, not know whether to watch or not as the doctor kisses down her neckline and pulls her top off. She kisses him back, and then he turns her around so her ass is facing him. He unzips his pants.
They’re both facing away from me, so I seize the opportunity. I slowly walk out, opening the door and leave.
“Did you hear something?”
I hear the voice through the door and walk as fast as I can without actually running – all the way back to the main area of the hospital.
Whew. That was close!
I leave tri
umphantly. Tanner is in his G Wagon, the engine running like he’s my getaway driver. I hop in.
“Did it go okay?”
I giggle.
“Hey, answer me.”
“It went fine. I got the USB in. But then a doctor and a nurse came in and… Well… I had to wait until they were busy in order to escape.”
Tanner’s eyebrow raises. “But they didn’t see you?”
“No, I was sneaky.”
His phone rings as he pulls out.
“Answer,” he says, and his car answers the call for him.
“Boulder. The USB is in. I’ve got the data and I’ll work on it tonight. We should have the results within a few hours.”
“Great, thanks Hawk. Bye.”
He hangs up and I smile.
“Boulder? Is that because of your muscles?”
He shrugs. “Partly.”
I breathe out as we drive away. The reality of the situation is hitting me. “We’re really going to do this, aren’t we? But what do we do once we get the results?”
He looks over at me.
“You’ll have a choice. You can go to the police with the information. That might feel like the right thing.”
The image of Mike Fuller in handcuffs flashes in my mind.
But then I imagine myself having to testify.
To say how his hands groped my body.
I shudder, hating the pain of relieving that night.
“And the other option?”
He smiles without humor.
“I take care of it.”
I gasp. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt him!”
“I won’t. Not physically. But his whole family was in on it. They used it to force your father into a bad business deal. I can make them pay, financially, and I can make sure Mike Fuller never hurts another woman again.”
“How… How are you going to do that?”
He frowns. “Leave it to me. I’m going to put the fear of God into him.”
For the first time, I’m intimidated by Tanner.
He was always big and powerful, but now he’s righteous, and it scares me.
“Just, please… Don’t hurt him. I know you’re better than that.”
He looks over at me sternly. “I’m not in the habit of repeating myself.”
I gulp. “Sorry.”
“That’s alright,” he says, his face immediately softening.
We go back into his house and the moment we’re inside he presses me against the wall, kissing me deeply. Tanner takes my breath away as he lifts me like I’m weightless, and I wrap my legs against his powerful body as he brings me to his bed.
“I can’t resist you,” Tanner growls, kissing me from my lips down to my neck and pulling my clothes off. I gasp and moan as I’m unveiled for him. I want to see his body, and I pull his clothes off. His muscular powerful form is laid bare – and I devour every inch of his gorgeous body as he slides his huge dick inside me.
He fucks me slowly at first, and then picks up speed. I’m pressed against the bed as he jackhammers me harder and harder – until a powerful orgasm overcomes me. I scream out his name as I cum hard.
“I own you,” Tanner growls as he shoots his huge sticky load inside of me. When he cums inside of me, I finally feel complete.
We wash off and I make him dinner. It’s fun cooking for him. I make chicken parmigiana and I wonder what would happen if I burnt the dinner.
Would he give me a strapping?
I purse my lips, wondering, and decide it can’t hurt to ask.
“Tanner, if I burnt the dinner – would that earn a strapping?”
He looks up from his newspaper at the dinner table and considers.
“That depends on why you burnt the dinner. If you were watching TV and didn’t account for it, then yes. If you were gossiping on the phone and didn’t pay attention, then yes. But if you were trying out a new recipe and simply didn’t have the timing right? Well, you certainly have nothing to be ashamed of then. Unless, of course, we were hosting a dinner party.”
My jaw drops.
“You’d strap me if I burnt dinner for a dinner party?”
He nods. “You know better than to try a new, elaborate recipe for a dinner party without testing the recipe for us first.”
I gulp. It makes sense, but it seems quite harsh.
My cheeks burn red as I consider something else.
“You’d wait until we’re alone, right?”
He thinks. “Yes – if all you did was burn the dinner by accident. If you did something worse, like embarrass me completely in front of dinner guests, I wouldn’t hesitate. I’d bring you upstairs and strap you.”
“But everyone would know!”
He gives me a thoughtful glance. “Consider yourself warned.”
I feel the first inkling of doubt.
It sounds… Exactly like what I want.
If I do something I should be ashamed of, I’d want him to teach me a lesson.
But this isn’t normal! Normal people don’t get into relationships like this, do they? If no one else is doing it, maybe I don’t know what I’m getting into.
I serve the dinner, still in the afterglow of the powerful orgasm that Tanner gave me earlier.
Tanner’s phone rings.
“My apologies, Emily. It’s rude, but Hawk is calling. I have to take this.”
“You’re excused,” I reply, and he stands, walking into the other room while talking on the phone.
He comes back with a look on his face I don’t understand.
“What is it, Tanner? What drug did Mike use on me?”
He shakes his head.
“Emily, the report came back clean. You weren’t drugged.”
I gasp, then tears fall down from my eyes.
“So, he wasn’t trying to drug and rape me. I embarrassed myself all on my own.”
The guilt wracks me. I feel so stupid.
I was just a dumb girl who couldn’t handle her alcohol.
I probably asked for it.
Tanner holds me, stroking my hair.
“No. I heard your story. You were blackout drunk. That’s why you passed out. He tried to force himself on you. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t drug you. He still tried to rape you.”
I stand, pulling away from Tanner. I know he’s so strong he could stop me easily if he wanted to, but he lets me go. I stalk down the hallway and go into the bedroom, slamming the door behind me.
I lay in bed and cry, feeling so stupid.
If I got it wrong about the drugging, did I get it wrong about everything else?
Did I even remember correctly? Did he force himself on me, or…
My thoughts are all jumbled.
The door opens, and Tanner comes in. He sits down and I put my head in his lap, crying as he holds me.
“Emily. He chased you down. He tried to break the window of his car to hurt you. And you told me he didn’t try to save you when you were underwater. Mike is a monster. You didn’t ask for any of this to happen. It’s not your fault.”
I sniffle, trying to regain my composure.
He’s right, of course.
I was just so convinced that I was drugged that everything came crashing down when I realized I wasn’t.
All that risk, for nothing. Having Tanner go to my parent’s house to get the pass. Me going into the server room and almost getting caught.
Tanner growls. “I was hoping to have more leverage, but I’m going to have to do this anyways. I’m going to go pay Mike a visit tonight.”
“No, please. Can’t you stay with me tonight? I need you.”
He hesitates.
“I need to get this done.”
16
Tanner Strom
I speed to the Fuller residence and stop at their front gate.
They’re all in on it. It wasn’t just Mike Fuller who helped cover up his first date rape allegation. It was the entire family.
They’re all guilty.
And they all need to know I’m serious.
I look into the camera, narrowing my eyebrows. A voice comes through the speaker.
“What do you want?”
I growl. “We need to talk. I know about what your son did.”
There’s silence on the line for a second.
“You’ll have to be more specific.”
I squeeze my steering wheel hard.
“The night of his birthday. How you used it to broker an unfair business deal. How another… Scandal of his has been swept under the rug. Unless you want consequences, you’re going to let me in.”
The gate opens. I drive up to the driveway and get out. The massive mansion door opens and a man in a suit with silver hair greets me.
“I’m Thomas Fuller. I believe you have some wild notions that need to be rectified. And your name?”
“I’ll stay nameless,” I growl, pushing my way into his home. His wife stands, red-haired.
“This is Samatha Fuller, my wife. We were just having wine with our son. Please, come in.”
I enter the dining room of enemy and sit down. I wave away a glass of wine that Samantha proffers.
“Now, you had some libelous statements…”
I stare across the table at Mike Fuller. He has a bowl of melting ice cream in front of him. I want to leap over the table and wring his neck.
“You. You hurt a girl on your birthday.”
“My son did no such thing!”
“Cut the shit. You assaulted a severely-inebriated girl. You chased her down. You almost let her drown!”
Mike gets a weird smile.
“You know, you’re…”
His father puts a hand on his shoulder.
“Son, you know the rules.”
“Right, Dad. Lawyers first.”
Samantha steps forward.
“You have no proof. If Emily wanted to press charges, she would have done so already.”
Got you. I didn’t say her name. So, you’re all in on it. Well, now that the cards are on the table…
“You’re right. I don’t have anything hard on you. And you’re also right, I’d rather save Emily the embarrassment of testifying against you. But know this: I know about the first girl that claimed you raped her, the one that you guys tried to cover up. My investigator will uncover more.”