The Reluctant Submissive: Accepting the Change [The Men of Treasure Cove 15] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Rebecca Joyce

“The last time he was spotted, he was coming out of the Best Lay Hotel in Celestial. Cricket IDed him and his room was searched. That was yesterday. He hasn’t been seen since.”

  “So you don’t know where he’s at?” Sasha questioned as that funny feeling in the pit of his stomach started to churn again. Something wasn’t right. Both men were in the area. Violet was home alone, and he and Tristan weren’t with her. It all felt wrong. Grabbing his phone, he dialed the house and waited, praying she would pick up the phone. After five rings, the phone went to voicemail. Sasha knew he set the ringer on high, because he tended to sleep through anything. So, when Violet didn’t answer, that uneasy feeling grew. “She didn’t answer.”

  “She’s probably still asleep or in the shower, Sasha. She’s fine. If something was wrong we’d know about it,” Tristan said, trying to calm him, but it wasn’t working. “Look Sasha, just relax. We’re almost done here and then we can go home. I promise you, nothing is wrong.”

  * * * *

  “Born to be w…i…l…d!” Charlotte and Hazel sang together as they sped down the road. They’d managed to bypass another squad car and several other vehicles on the road. Hazel was pleasantly surprised that with sirens, it seemed everyone got out of their way. She wondered what Steven would do if she asked for sirens on her car, but knowing him, he’d pitch a fit and tell her flat out no…which meant she’d get them anyway.

  Regardless, Charlotte had just made the turn onto Muskrat Avenue. It was a long dirt road, and thanks to Tristan purchasing the lots surround the big house, it was the only one at the end of the drive. Hazel knew Tristan had plans to eventually pave the road, but in the meantime, Hazel didn’t care, because at the rate Charlotte was driving, Hazel had never had so much fun in her life. As the car approached the house, Charlotte clicked off the sirens and slowed down.

  “Whose car is that?” Hazel asked, pulling around to the back of the house. Everyone who knew Violet knew that she preferred visitors to pull around back and use the back door, which she always kept open.

  “Don’t know, but Violet’s gonna be pissed when she sees what they did to her new plants,” Charlotte replied, getting out of the car after turning off the ignition. “Something isn’t right, Hazel, look.”

  Hazel looked in the direction of where Charlotte was pointing to see a small light flickering. To her it looked like the light bulb may be loose, but the flickering was intermittent. “What is that?”

  “The silent alarm Tristan had installed. He said that in case of an emergency, the alarms would stay silent, and the lights would flicker, alerting the police. I’m gonna run those tags on that car out front. Give me a minute.”

  “Charlotte!” Hazel hissed turning around fast. “You can’t do that. You are not the police.”

  “Sure, I can. Braxton taught me.”

  “God, we are going to get into so much trouble for this,” Hazel groaned as she followed Charlotte back to the squad car. Leaning against the car while Charlotte typed a mile a minute, Hazel looked at the house. For all intents and purposes, she couldn’t find anything wrong. If someone was in the house, she would hear noises, or at least she thought she would.

  “The car is a rental,” Charlotte stated. “But it’s not saying who rented it. Did Violet say she was expecting company from out of town?”

  “No.”

  “Well, I better call this in and let dispatch know.”

  “Damn it, Charlie, you are not a cop!”

  “I can be if I want to. Besides, I already have the car.”

  “Woman, you stole the car!” Hazel said, at her wit’s end. “Just because you have the car, doesn’t make you a police officer. Now, get on that CB thingy and let them know where we’re at and what’s going on.”

  “Fine.” Charlotte pouted. “You’re no fun when you’re on your period.”

  “I am not on my period!”

  Charlotte shrugged her shoulders and Hazel wanted to strangle her. But Charlie did do as she asked, well…almost. “Dispatch, this is Officer Anderson. Better send back up to 11324 Muskrat Avenue. Will proceed with caution.”

  “Copy that. Officer Riley on the way.”

  “Now,” Charlotte said after popping the trunk lid. “Let’s go see what goodies Rafe left us in the trunk.”

  * * * *

  “So what is being done to capture Pavlov?” Tristan asked, more concerned with finding the man who bought Violet for the sole purpose to wed her than his brother. Tristan wasn’t being flippant about James, he just didn’t believe the man was an issue. He still didn’t know why his brother didn’t turn Violet over to Pavlov when he had the chance or why he kept her for himself, nor did he care to find out. He knew that his brother would mess up eventually and would get caught. So as far as Tristan was concerned, Sergio Pavlov was the bigger, meaner fish in the sea and he needed to be caught.

  “Right now, we have agents stationed in Treasure Cove. They’ve been here going on six months or so, blending in and integrating themselves into the community. For their safety and yours, please don’t ask me who these people are. They are here for one job and one job only, and that is to apprehend and arrest Sergio Pavlov. Until that time, they will live as one of you, residents of Treasure Cove,” Angelica Emerson replied. “The main objective is Pavlov. With him in custody, it is our belief that your brother will show himself, and when he does he will be arrested and sent back to prison.”

  “Do you know why Pavlov hired my brother to buy Violet?”

  “No,” Angelica replied stoically. “We don’t. All we know is that he wants her and he’s made a special trip to acquire her. Don’t worry, Mr. Summerfield and Mr. Merrick, the FBI will do everything we can to protect Violet, but until Pavlov is caught, she is our only hope in getting him.”

  “I hate this,” Sasha stated, getting up and pacing the room. Tristan was on the same page, he too hated the idea of using Violet as bait, but they had no other choice. With Violet back in town, the FBI had what they needed to apprehend Pavlov. The sooner they did that, the quicker his life went back to normal. To think only a week ago, he was bitching about fighting with Gabriel over a memorial. God, Tristan would give anything to start that argument up again.

  “So what do we do in the meantime?” Tristan asked.

  “You go about your lives as if nothing is wrong.”

  “Well that’s just great!” Tristan fumed. “There is a mad man after the woman we love, but we’re supposed to go about our lives as if nothing’s wrong?”

  “Exactly, Mr. Summerfield. Nothing is wrong,” Angelica clarified.

  Just then, Zac Phelps walked into the sheriff’s office and said, “Tristan, Sasha, we gotta go, something’s wrong out at your place.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Can I just say, for the record, this is a bad idea,” Hazel whispered as she followed Charlotte up the stairs, moving as quietly as she could. Thanks to Charlotte, both were holding in their hands loaded nine millimeters, with the safety off. They were also wearing bulletproof vests, but Hazel wasn’t so sure that it would protect her brain if someone were to put a bullet right between her eyes, but hey, Charlotte needed backup. What was a little loss of brain matter when a friend needed help? God, Hazel was going to kill Charlie after this. That is, if she didn’t accidently shoot her in the meantime.

  “Stop your bitching and move it, Lacey, we’ve got a perp to arrest,” Charlotte said, moving further up the staircase.

  “Who?” Hazel asked, as she stopped to look at her friend, wondering if Charlie was okay.

  “I’m Cagney and you’re Lacey,” Charlotte replied. “Keep up, girl.”

  “Who the fuck are you talking about?”

  Charlotte sighed, stopped, and turned to face her. “Cagney and Lacey. The 1980s crime drama, featuring Sharon Gless, who played Christine Cagney, and Tyne Daly who played Mary Beth Lacey. It was a highly popular show on CBS. It won like two Emmys for Outstanding Drama, and a slew of others?”

  Hazel had no fucking c
lue what Charlotte was talking about. In fact, she firmly believed her best friend had lost her mind and needed to be committed into an insane asylum.

  “Oh come on!” Charlotte sighed. “Don’t you watch television?”

  “Not really.”

  “Well you need to. There is some awesome shit on TV Land.”

  “The last show I watched on television was Charmed.”

  “Great, the next time a warlock or demon arrives in town, you’ll be our go-to gal. In the meantime, lock and load, Lacey, because I hear movement up ahead.”

  “Dear God, I’m going to die.”

  * * * *

  Violet thanked God when Master removed the cuffs long enough to let her get dressed. She was taking her time, but she knew not to push him. When he wanted her to move, he had ways of getting her to do so that weren’t pleasant. He hadn’t said much since he let her up, as he was still sitting on the edge of her bed, watching her like a hawk. After putting on her jeans and a sweater, she grabbed a pair of socks from Sasha’s top drawer and found a small hand gun lying inconspicuously under Sasha’s underwear. Turning slowly, Violet checked to make sure Master hadn’t moved. She knew that gun was the only thing she would have between life and death, but she’d never fired one, let alone held one.

  “Where are we going, Master?” Violet asked cautiously, pretending to be rummaging around looking for socks.

  “Back to where it all began,” Master simply stated. She knew by his annoyance that he wanted to get the hell out of this house quickly. He kept looking at his watch, over and over again. His erratic behavior was making her nervous, but she knew if she let Master get her out of this house, she was going to be in real trouble.

  “Will sneakers do, Master, or will I need something more durable?” she asked, trying to stall him. Grabbing the gun, she placed it down the front of her jeans before she grabbed a pair of socks from the drawer. She slowly walked toward the small chair in the corner and sat down, the gun digging into her stomach. God, she forgot to check if it was loaded.

  “Sneakers will be fine,” he replied, then asked, “Do you know why I bought you?”

  “You never said, Master.”

  “Because someone else wanted you. I saved you and you repaid me by running away. Then you had me arrested. I thought about you a lot since I was in jail and you know what I figured out?”

  “No, Master.”

  “That you’re nothing but fodder. Maybe I should have let Pavlov take you. Besides, Merrick didn’t really sell you to me. It was Pavlov’s name on the procurement document, not mine. I was just the middleman.” Everything in Violet stilled. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. It had to be wrong. It just had to be. “Merrick, Master?”

  “The man who procured you. The man who sold you. His name was Sasha Merrick.”

  And just like that, Violet’s world fell apart. Not her Sasha. Not the man she loved and adored. Not the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

  Dear God, please don’t let it be that Sasha Merrick.

  “He owned a club in downtown Seattle. He was highly sought after. A procurer of fine delicacies, Merrick was the go-to guy for anything in the underworld. If he couldn’t find it, then it didn’t exist. He was hired to procure you, because the man I owed money to wanted you for his wife. I was sent to take possession of you and then hand deliver you to my boss. However, when I saw you, your innocence, frailty, purity, I knew I had to have you for myself. So, I switched the names on the document. When the deal was final, you belonged to me. That was, until you ran away.”

  “I’m sorry, Master,” Violet said softly. “I didn’t know. Thank you for saving me.”

  “Save your apologies. It doesn’t matter now. Tonight, you will meet your real master and I will be richer than ever. So you see, cuntcake, it’s a win-win situation for me. I had you first, and I’m still getting the money for acquiring you. So hurry the fuck up before I show you what I really want to do to you.”

  Violet looked at the man she called Master for a major part of her life. He did look like Tristan but older, much older. His once blond hair was now graying at the temples and his ice blue eyes looked hard and old, like they’d seen way too much in his lifetime. For all intents and purposes, this was not the man she remembered. He was no longer that scary formidable being that frightened her. In fact, she kind of pitied him in a way. He wasn’t as domineering, or mean. He just looked…tired.

  As for what he just said to her, Violet tried to forget about it, but she couldn’t. She knew Sasha had been hiding something from her and she thought he had finally come clean last night, but she guessed she was wrong, because she would have remembered Sasha telling her that he sold her into slavery. It was a hard pill to swallow, but she couldn’t do anything about it now. Right now, she had to figure out how to get away from Master and find help.

  Movement out in the hallway caught her eye, as she slightly turned to see Charlotte waving happily at her and Hazel rolling her eyes. Violet slowly moved her head to warn them that she wasn’t alone. Hazel understood immediately, however Charlotte didn’t and burst into the room. “Hands up, you fucking piece of shit slime ball bastard!”

  Everything happened so fast. One minute Charlotte was pointing a gun at Master, the next she was in his arms, with the gun at her temple. But what shocked Violet the most was that she had Sasha’s gun in her hand and it was pointed directly at James Master Summerfield.

  “Well now, cuntcake.” Master grinned. “This is a side of you I’ve never seen. I must say it’s rather enlightening and I am very turned on.”

  “Let her go,” Violet said, her voice shaking. She knew she should have taken a deep breath first, but he was holding Charlotte at gunpoint, a woman who had been nothing but sweet and kind to her since she arrived in Treasure Cove. Violet had dinner with Charlotte and her family several times, she even played on the floor with little Joc. Charlotte had everything to live for, whereas she didn’t. She was alone, unmarried, without children. Violet was expendable and she knew it. Getting Charlotte out of harm’s way was Violet’s only concern, and she would do everything in her power to see that Charlotte made it home safely, without a scratch.

  “Put the gun down, Violet, now,” Master ordered harshly. He rarely if ever used her real name. When he did, Violet knew he was beyond pissed and generally that didn’t bode well for her. But she didn’t care. She was tired of this shit, tired of looking over her shoulder. Tired of being bullied and made to do things she didn’t want to do, but mainly she was tired of doing what everyone else wanted her to do.

  “Fuck off, James. You don’t scare me anymore.”

  “You insolent little bitch. When this is over, I am going to beat you within an inch of your life and then fuck you until I am sick of seeing your face. When Mr. Pavlov gets his hands on you, you will be nothing but a dirty, washed-up whore.”

  “I may be a whore, but I am a loved whore. You are nothing but a lifeless, deranged son of a bitch that preys on young women. You beat them and rape them. You are scum and you will die a lonely death, knowing no one ever loved you. I pity you, James, and I hope when you leave this earth that you get to experience what you’ve done to me, ten times over. I hope you burn in hell.” Violet knew she’d pushed some major buttons but she didn’t care. Enough was enough. She let James torment her for so many years. So much so that she couldn’t have a normal life. Well, she had one now thanks to Sasha and Tristan, and she wasn’t going to give it up without a fight. James was her nightmare, but Tristan and Sasha were her sweet dreams.

  “You fell in love with him.” James laughed. “God, and you call me deranged. The man you love sold you. He found you out of a crop of women, and sold you to another man. A man like that doesn’t love anyone. All he cares about is the money. You were nothing but a financial transaction to him and that’s all you’ll ever be. Wake the fuck up, Violet. Merrick doesn’t love you. He’s just trying to cover his ass. He is manipulating you so he can atone for
his past sins. I, on the other hand, know my sins and make no excuses for them. Can you say that about Merrick, or my brother for that matter?

  “Shut up,” Violet seethed. “You don’t know them.”

  “And neither do you,” James shouted back, pressing the gun harder against Charlotte’s skull. “Now as much as I love reminiscing with you, we have to go. So put down the gun or I will shoot this woman.” And just for emphasis, James pressed on the trigger a fraction. Charlotte moaned and Violet cringed. This was not going well. She needed to put an end to this quickly. James meant what he said. He was going to kill Charlotte and take her to this Pavlov person.

  Violet saw Hazel standing in the hallway, in the shadows, pointing her gun at James. It helped knowing that she was there, because left with no other choice, Violet knew if she didn’t do something fast, this whole mess was going to explode soon.

  She’d lived in Treasure Cove for just over six years now and in that time, she’d seen many things, experienced many things and befriended everyone. She’d been out at the Quinn Ranch with Emma, watching her with her men wrangle horses and cattle. She stood with Pandora and watched as Garret Riley and Zac Phelps trained the new recruits at the sheriff’s station. She helped Macie in the kitchen after Tomas’s death. She babysat little Joc, so Charlotte could have some alone time with her men. She volunteered with Kelly to help the veterans acclimate to civilian life and she laughed with Hazel and Antoinette as they played pranks on their husbands. Through it all, she laid witness to some of Treasure Cove’s strongest women. Each unique in their own way. Smart, stunning, strong, and determined women who loved life and those around them. She admired those women and she wanted to be like them, to know that she too was strong enough to do the unimaginable. To stand on her own two feet and shout out to the world, she wasn’t a wilting flower, that she too was strong and independent.

  The women of Treasure Cove were amazing women and soon Violet would be, too. She didn’t want to live in fear anymore. She wanted to claim her destiny. Focusing solely on James, Violet knew what she had to do. She only prayed that someday God would forgive her for what she was about to do.