Twisted Freedom

by J Grayland

  Driving up the gravel driveway the next morning, I saw the white house come into view. Nerves rumbled in the pit of my belly with anticipation. We’d only been here once before, but it felt so familiar, so comfortable, so homely. Nate pulled the Audi up at the front stairs, and as we climbed them together up onto the front porch, the smell of the sea in the breeze seemed to envelop me in its essence. Nate took my hand and pressed the keys into my palm. I looked into the depths of his eyes for just a moment before unlocking the door, turning the handle, and pushing it open. I was hit with the smell of fresh paint combined with a woodsy aroma. Walking inside, I made my way down the long hallway, which opened up to the kitchen with its large expanse of tri-fold windows. I stood there, silently taking in the beauty of the wide, wraparound deck overlooking the picture perfect view of the blue ocean. Standing beside me, Nate unlocked the wall of glass and slid it open to where the smell and sound of the crashing waves seemed to go right through me and infiltrate every part of the house.

  Nate pulled me into his arms as we just stood and looked out at nature’s wonderful painting in front of us.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked, stroking a hand down my back.

  “I’m wondering if this is all real,” I said. Nate’s hand moved under my chin, tilting it up to him.

  “I ask myself that same question every time I look at you,” he said, his voice low. Swallowing hard, I felt my eyes start to well with tears from his words and the overwhelming feeling of belonging somewhere and to someone. I felt a tear slowly slide down my cheek. Nate’s thumb caught it gently before his lips touched mine softly.

  “I want to give you everything,” he breathed against my mouth.

  “You already have,” I said, closing my eyes and pressing my cheek against his chest.

  We spent the morning exploring the rest of the house. It wasn’t huge, but it certainly wasn’t small either, I had no idea what we were going to do with all the empty rooms. The largest bedroom had its own bathroom and more large glass windows that opened up to its own spectacular view of the ocean. Most of the walls were painted white, but Nate assured me that we could repaint them any color we desired, and my mind started envisioning splashes of color everywhere.

  Locking up the house, we went back to Paxton’s for a late lunch before we headed back to the penthouse. Nate had a huge workload to catch up on now that we were back, and I had some organizing to do. We talked about the move on the way back. Nate didn’t want to take much with him from the penthouse as we would be traveling back and forth between the beach and the city. Turning slightly in my seat to look at Nate, I said, “What do you think about giving the beach house a name?” He glanced at me, one brow arched with amused puzzlement.

  “A name?”

  “Yes, you know, like ‘The Manor’ or ‘Beach Villa.’ Something other than ‘The Beach House.’”

  “It’s entirely up to you, baby,” he said, smiling. “Do you have something in mind?”

  “Kind of.”

  “And…?” he urged.

  “Well, back home, we have these really beautiful trees called jacarandas. They’re strong, with a sturdy trunk, and have the most beautiful, lilac-colored flowers…”

  Before I could finish, Nate jumped in. “Sounds perfect. That description reminds me of you.”

  Looking down, feeling my cheeks warm slightly, I said “So, you think ‘Jacaranda House’ sounds okay?”

  “Absolutely,” he said, smiling.

  “You are just too good to me, Nathanial King.”

  “I love it when you say my full name in that sexy accent,” he said with a wicked grin.

  “You are just too easy to please,” I laughed.

  “When it involves you naked and me inside of you, I’d have to agree.”

  “Dirty boy,” I said, smacking his thigh playfully.

  “Oh, believe me, baby, I intend to be very dirty when we get back.”

  “You do have work tomorrow, remember?”

  “And your point is?”

  “I just thought you would turn in early tonight.”

  “I am, with you,” he said with an almost serious look on his face.

  “Do you have a lot to catch up on?”

  “Yeah, I need to finalize the security plan for the bank contract, and I need to go over to the club. Apparently, they’ve been having some issues with the alarms.”

  “What, at the Bizarre?” I asked him.

  “Yes, it seems the Bizarre is going to be a huge pain in my ass,” he said, shaking his head.

  “I’m sure you’ll work it out,” I said, smoothing my hand over his forearm.

  Once we got back to the penthouse, Nate retreated to his office to make some calls, and I made us a simple chicken salad for dinner. Dinner was followed by a shared shower where Nate kept his promise of being a dirty boy. We started in the shower and continued into the bedroom. Sated and sweaty, I cuddled into his strong embrace, where the last thing I felt before falling asleep was his kiss on the top of my head.

  Nate’s kiss was also the first thing I felt when I woke, except his mouth was on mine. Warmed by waking in such a wonderful way, I stretched my arms above my head, then rubbed the sleep out of my eyes to find him dressed in a white button-down shirt and a pair of jeans, smelling delicious as usual and leaning over me.

  “Morning,” I said sleepily.

  “Morning, beautiful.” The deep rumble of his voice combined with his freshly showered and clean linen smell made my thighs clench. Rolling over onto my stomach, I groaned in frustration. I felt his hand grab my ass cheek and squeeze before he said, “You need to get up, babe. You have a guest downstairs.”

  “What? Who?”

  “I have to run, text me if you need me, okay?” he said quickly, exiting the bedroom and ignoring my question. Guest? What the hell did he mean? Feeling a little confused but curious, I jumped out of bed and headed for the bathroom to wash, brush my teeth, and pull my hair into a ponytail before pulling on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I slowly headed downstairs to see just who this guest was.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Nate

  Leaning back in the chair behind my desk, I never thought I would ever feel excited to be back in my office, but I was. Damn, what has this woman done to me? “Fucking made you domesticated, that’s what,” I answered myself out loud just as a knock came at the door. Paxton walked in carrying an arm full of folders, dumping them in front of me.

  “Okay, where do you want to start?” he sighed.

  “I’m all yours to direct,” I told him.

  And that’s what we did over the next few hours, taking a quick break for lunch before continuing. This bank contract was a huge deal for the company, and it was extremely important to get it right. I didn’t want any mistakes like it appeared we were having with the night club. Paxton had been filling me in on the different issues the club had been having since its opening night, but the more he talked, the more suspicious I became. It was clearly way more than just a faulty alarm system. I let Paxton know I would get on to it once we had the bank deal wrapped up, and it seemed to ease his anxiety over the whole situation.

  The next time I glanced down at my watch, I realized we had been deep into the bank contract most of the day. Paxton and I agreed everything was in place to launch the takeover, so I went to the bar. Grabbing a couple of tumblers, I poured each of us two fingers of scotch and handed one to Paxton.

  “So, now that we’re done with that, we need to discuss Casey,” Paxton said, grabbing my full attention.

  “What about Casey?” I asked carefully.

  “Chill out, nothing bad. Just concerning her work visa.”

  Instantly relieved by the subject, I nodded for him to continue. “Well, I have started the ball rolling, but first, they will want to verify her medical degrees and relevant paperwork. She wi
ll need to sit for the US medical licensing exam to start with before moving into a residency program. I’ve also got someone looking into getting Casey some volunteer work at one of the free medical clinics in town. It will probably help with her visa application, as well.”

  “Fuck me, Paxton, that’s a lot,” I said, sitting forward in my chair.

  “I know, but I’m afraid that’s what it’s going to take. The US has very strict rules where foreign doctors are concerned.”

  “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but you really need to be talking to Casey about all this, not me. Hell, I don’t care what it takes to get her a green card as long as she gets one.” Taking a moment, I ran my tongue along my bottom lip with a thought, then asked, “What if we get married?”

  Paxton’s head whipped up so fast I’m sure I heard a crack. “What?”

  “You know, marriage. Wouldn’t that help?” I said, ignoring his shocked look.

  “You, married?” Paxton said, tapping both his hands against his ears. “Sorry, could you repeat that? I think my hearing just went out on me.”

  “Fuck you, asshat, why is that so shocking to hear?”

  “Because Nathanial King and marriage are just three words I thought I would never hear in the same sentence…ever.”

  “Yeah, well things change, life changes. I mean, I didn’t expect to meet someone like Casey,” I said, glancing out the large windows, lost in thought about her and what she had brought into my life. It was true, marriage was something that had never been on my agenda. I never wanted to have the extra responsibility of having someone in my life, someone else to have to think about when making any decisions. That all changed when I met Casey. She changed everything, and I would do anything for her. If that meant getting married earlier than I had planned to make sure that nothing could take her away from me, then I would do it in a heartbeat.

  Turning my gaze from the outside view back to a now shocked-looking Paxton, I said, “I don’t care what it takes, Paxton, just make it happen.”

  “You know I will, but you are right. This conversation needs to be with Casey.”

  “Yeah, I’ll just have to tread carefully with that one. If she thinks I only want to get married to keep her in the country, she will dig her heels in, and most likely kick me in the balls.” I chuckled at the thought.

  “I think we should try my way first, and I’m pretty sure you like your balls too much at this stage to lose them,” Paxton laughed. “Besides, I think she would much prefer it if you proposed marriage for the right reasons, don’t you?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Once we finished our drinks and Paxton went back to his office, I picked up my phone, scrolling through the contacts until I found Alonzo Reed, the Bizarre Club owner’s number, and pressed it. It rang three times, and a deeply accented voice answered. “Hello?”

  “Alonzo, its Nathanial King.”

  “Ahh, Nate. Glad you called. We need to meet, my friend.”

  “Yes, I agree. I’ve heard you’re having some problems with security?”

  “Yes, too many,” he sighed into the phone.

  “Okay, when are you free to meet?” I asked.

  “As soon as possible, if we could?”

  “Well, where are you? I have some time now. I was just going to head home.”

  “That sounds perfect. I am at the club, come on around.”

  “Okay, give me about twenty,” I said, ending the call. I shut down my computers for the night and headed down to the garage.

  Pulling up outside the club, it looked completely different in the daylight. Quiet and empty, almost like an abandoned building. No glittering lights, half-naked bodies, or circus acts swarming around the front entrance. I walked up to the huge double glass door and knocked loudly, hoping someone was close enough to hear. Waiting a few minutes before knocking again, I saw Alonzo striding toward the door. He flipped the lock to open it.

  “Nate, please come in,” he said, standing to the side for me to enter before locking the doors again. “This way,” he gestured before walking ahead of me, beckoning me to follow. We arrived at a back office that I knew was his, and he gestured for me to sit in one of the chairs as he sat opposite me behind his sleek, black desk. “I’m glad you could come. Can I get you something to drink?”

  “No, thank you. I’m driving,” I told him.

  “Paxton told me you have been on an overseas trip. A holiday?” he asked with a slight grin.

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  “No?”

  “My girlfriend is from Australia, and we needed to go back and deal with some…family issues.” I didn’t want to go into detail with Alonzo. I liked the guy, and he checked out, but I was always of the conviction that in my line of work, one can never be too careful.

  “So sorry to hear that. I hope everything is alright now?”

  “Yes, everything is fine, thank you,” I said, giving him a reassuring smile before quickly changing the subject. “So, tell me what’s been going on around here. Paxton tells me you’ve been having some problems with the alarm systems that we put in place?”

  Alonzo leaned back into his chair and rubbed a finger back and forth over his bottom lip in thought. “Yes, the alarms have been going off unnecessarily and at inappropriate times,” he said, but it was what he wasn’t saying that got my attention.

  “Alonzo?” I said, drawing his attention back to me as he seemed to drift a little looking down at the top of his desk. “What is it?” I asked him, but he waved away my question.

  “Nothing. I think maybe we just need a new alarm system.”

  “There’s more to it though, isn’t there? Because the words that just came out of your mouth sounded more like you were trying to convince yourself more than you were me.” I gave him a questioning look. I needed to know what was going on, or what he thought was going on before I could fix anything. Sighing, he turned his computer screen around to face me and started moving the mouse around, clicking on different files before pulling up a video screen that was broken into four separate squares. This was of what looked like footage from the security cameras around the club. I looked at it, then at him.

  “I think the alarms are being set off as a distraction,” Alonzo said suspiciously.

  “For what?”

  “Watch,” he said, motioning to the screen and clicking the cursor on one of the squares, making the picture bigger. He zoomed into one of the smaller bars at the back of the club. Moving closer to the screen, I watched as the barman served some drinks to a couple of young women sitting at the bar. A guy walked to the end of the bar, right in the corner, and sat on a stool. He looked around, then up toward the camera, then quickly back down again as the barman walked over to him, placing an open bottle of beer on the counter in front of him. The guy pushed what looked like a large wad of cash to the barman, who took it, pushing it into his pocket before walking away to serve someone else. Alonzo clicked pause.

  “So, tell me what you saw,” he said.

  Taking a moment to go over the video, it didn’t take a brain surgeon to work out what had just transpired. “Well, it looks like you have a crooked barman, who is either pocketing your money or running drugs,” I said matter-of-factly.

  “Drugs?” Alonzo looked pretty shocked at my analysis of the situation. “Pilfering money, yes. But drugs?”

  “Yes, did you notice the large pile of cash he handed over for the beer? I know your club is pretty top end, Alonzo, but I don’t think your beer charges are that exuberant, do you? I am pretty sure that guy,” I said, pointing to the nervous looking customer, “has only a few bills in his hand, but it’s what’s wrapped up in the bills that’s more suspicious. I think he is passing drugs to the bartender, who is most likely selling them to your patrons and making some extra cash on the side.”

  Alonzo leaned back into his chair and
pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and finger, closing his eyes and shaking his head in what I was hoping was shocked disgust. He took a moment to think before he slammed his fist down on his desk. That’s when I knew it had definitely hit home. “That little bastard! I’ll have his balls,” he seethed.

  “Yes, I agree, but I think maybe we should play this one a little smarter. First, catch the bartender with the goods, then take out the supplier. Otherwise, you might get rid of him, but not the actual problem. You want to make sure none of your other staff are involved, as well, otherwise it will be an ongoing issue that you’ll never get rid of.”

  “You’re right,” Alonzo said, nodding in agreement. “I don’t want this garbage in my club. Once it gets in, it’s like getting rid of the stench of a dead rat in the walls, and I don’t want that smell in my club or on me.”

  “Okay, well, I know this will be hard to sit on for a couple of days, but give me time to work out a plan, and we will clean out the stench, okay?” Alonzo smiled a little and seemed to relax at my words. As I stood, he extended his hand and shook mine.

  “Thank you. Please let me know when, okay?”

  “I’ll give you a call very soon,” I reassured him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Casey

  Walking down the stairs, I could hear movement coming from the kitchen, and the soft, low humming of a female voice, followed by the sound of water running in the kitchen sink. Tentatively, I made my way down to the bottom stair and looked over at the kitchen…which was empty. Confused, I walked closer to the marble bench, when a head popped up from the other side, making me jump with a little squeak and a hand to my chest. We just stood for a moment, looking at each other. The elusive Mrs. Winters wasn’t very tall. She had a slight frame with short, wavy, dark hair streaked with a few strands of grey. She looked to be in her late 50s with beautiful, pale skin and warm, brown eyes.