by Chelle Bliss
“Geez, he’s so intense sometimes.”
Alese giggled, grimacing and holding her stomach as her body moved. “I knew the Fran remark would get his ass in gear.”
“That was a low blow.”
She shrugged with an unapologetic smile. “It worked.”
“Can I get you something?”
“Nothing.” She patted the couch next to her. “Come sit.”
I hadn’t realized I’d been hovering over her just as much as Ret had been the last two weeks. We went in shifts oftentimes. He’d sleep; I’d watch Alese. I’d sleep, and he’d do the same. When we were both awake, the poor woman couldn’t get a moment to herself.
I sat on the couch next to her, my ass hanging off the cushion because I didn’t want to get too close or hurt her. I’d never seen a couch as big as this, but I still made sure to leave plenty of room between us.
“How are you doing? We haven’t talked about what happened yet.”
We hadn’t talked about the accident at all. After I explained everything to Ret, I didn’t speak another word about it. But I had played the sequence of events in my head over and over again, reliving the nightmare of watching Alese’s body as she flew through the air and landed on the cement.
“I’m okay.” I folded my hands in my lap and twisted my fingers together, dreading going over the day once again.
“I didn’t think I’d survive. When that car hit me, all I could think about was Ret…” Her voice trailed off as she reached for my hand. “And you too, of course.”
My insides warmed because I never expected her to think about me as she lay dying in the mall parking lot. I wasn’t even sure what I’d think about if I were in the same situation.
“You don’t have to say that.” I squeezed her hand gently, careful not to hurt her because Ret had drummed that into my head over the last week. He treated her like a porcelain doll that could shatter if touched too roughly. “Ret was beside himself, Alese.”
“I’m sure he was. I hate that you guys had to go through that.”
“No.” I slid my hand up her arms, stroking her soft, warm skin and feeling completely at peace. “None of that matters. You’re getting better, and we couldn’t ask for anything more than that.”
“Promise me something,” she said, placing her hand over mine as she stared at me.
“Anything.”
“Promise me you’ll distract Ret a bit. You two need to stop staring at me every second of the day.”
I laughed and nodded slowly. “I can promise to try to distract him, and I’ll stop staring. But I can’t guarantee Ret will do the same.”
“We’ll find a way.” She gave me a devilish smile, and I knew she was cooking up a plan to get a bit of normalcy back into our lives. “We always do.”
20
Ret
Alese was right. I needed to go back to work. Not just because they needed me, but for my sanity as well as hers. We’d never been so far up each other’s ass as we’d been the last two weeks. But I couldn’t imagine leaving her behind until I was confident she was better. I knew Nya was more than capable of taking care of Alese while I was gone, but it didn’t help ease my worry after coming so close to losing her.
“Dude,” Morgan called. “It’s been hell without you, man. I didn’t think I’d last another day.”
I had barely made it through the front door when he started walking toward me. That was what I loved most about this place. It wasn’t just a job; we were a family. A very fucked-up one, but still, we loved each other. None of us would ever admit that shit either.
“Pop bothering you?”
Bear didn’t have my ass to be up in while I’d been off. The dude seriously needed to find a new hobby. For the first thirty years of my life, I barely heard from him, but now, he was Dad of the Year and had to know every little thing that was happening in my life. It didn’t help that we worked at the same place, but damn, the man could give me a little room to breathe sometimes.
“Fuckin’ making me crazy. I have enough shit with my mom, but add Bear to the mix, and it’s ridiculous.”
I laughed and placed my arm around my stepbrother. The word was still foreign on my tongue, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to thinking of Morgan as more than a friend. “I’ll take some of the heat off. You can have a little break.”
Morgan stepped away and glanced down the hallway, probably seeing if my pop was eavesdropping like he’d done more than once. “He’s all up in arms about this case he’s working on. He wants me to help, but I’m swamped. Think you can do me that solid?”
“I’ll handle him.”
“Ret!”
I rolled my eyes, but I knew my dad had heard me. I was actually surprised he wasn’t in the waiting room already because he always seemed to know when I was near.
“See.” Morgan tilted his head toward the offices. “He’s going off the deep end without you.”
“I’m on it,” I told him, giving a quick chin dip to Angel as I walked by the front desk. She waved, laughing quietly as she talked to someone on the phone.
I made it within three feet of my dad’s office when he came barreling out the door and wrapped his arms around me. “Thank God you’re here. I’ve missed you, kid.”
“Thanks, Pop,” I said as I tried to breathe through his bear hug. “You can put me down now.”
He lowered my feet to the floor and slapped me on the shoulder, harder than I expected, and I jolted sideways and glared.
“Sorry. Sorry. I’m just so damn happy to have you back. It’s boring without you.”
“Need help with a case?” I skipped over the sappy shit, preferring to get right down to business. I didn’t have all day and night to chitchat like long lost friends catching up after years of separation.
I’d only been gone a few weeks, but everyone acted like I hadn’t walked through the front door in years.
“Yeah. We’re about to have a team meeting about it.”
The man loved anything that involved the team. Most guys his age dreamed about retirement, but not Pop. He wanted action. He craved adventure, and if it involved watching people banging…it was even better. He loved living on the edge and danger. I wasn’t sure he’d ever have a peaceful day the rest of his life. I’d figured Fran would’ve convinced him to retire by now, but even she didn’t have the power to get him to sit at home and watch television all day.
“Lead the way,” I said, motioning down the hallway, ready to get the day started.
As I followed behind him, I pulled out my phone and shot off a message to Nya.
Me: Things okay?
Pop glanced over his shoulder and eyed my phone. “Texting Alese?”
“Just checking in on the girls.”
“Good idea.”
That was when I knew it wasn’t a good idea. If Pop thought it was…then it wasn’t. When in doubt, do the opposite.
Nya: We’re both dead. –Alese.
I stared at the phone and shook my head.
Me: I’ll text later.
Nya: Very later.
Well, she told me.
She might have been injured and recovering, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be hell to pay. Alese had a short fuse, and after two weeks of nonstop attention, she was done with it.
James, Thomas, and the rest of the ragtag crew of guys sat around the table, shuffling papers around.
“Look who I found,” Pop said, sounding like a total cheeseball, but I knew his heart was in the right place.
“Glad you’re back. We could use another set of hands.” Thomas gave me a quick nod. “Let’s get started.”
James gave me a chin lift right before he started to speak. “The Almeda case. Bear, update us real quick for those who may have missed what’s going on.”
The group seemed to be on edge, but I couldn’t quite figure out why. I didn’t think being away for a few weeks would be awkward, but there was something I was missing, and I wouldn’t stop until I fou
nd out.
Me: Dude, why’s everyone grumpy as fuck?
Sam glanced at his phone before looking down the table as he picked it up.
Sam: Who the hell knows. I think it has to do with Nya. Ask Frisco. He knows more than me.
Nya?
Me: What’s going on with Nya?
Frisco: Some bullshit with that Diego dude.
I breathed a sigh of relief that it had nothing to do with her treacherous parents, but Diego… He was an entirely different animal.
Me: What about him?
Frisco: Another girl has gone missing.
My eyebrows shot up. Not in surprise that he’d found a new victim, but that he did it so quickly without thinking it would set off alarm bells in the BDSM community in Atlanta. Even in big cities, the club community was often tight, and information moved like wildfire. I curled my fingers around my phone and growled, earning me a look from James.
“You up to helping Bear on this one, Ret?” James asked, staring at my hands as I tried my best to crush my phone.
I placed the phone on the table and took a deep breath, trying to calm the fuck down. “I’ll be his point person on it.”
James nodded, but he kept his eyes on me. “Good. Next order of business is Charmed and Diego Lopez.”
I gritted my teeth and pictured the smug bastard with my hands wrapped around his neck, begging for mercy when he didn’t deserve any. I’d known Nya wouldn’t be his last victim, but I’d make sure there wouldn’t be another after this new one. If it was the last thing I did, I’d put his ass behind bars.
“The owner of Charmed contacted me two days ago and said another submissive had gone missing. She had some interaction with Diego but hadn’t committed to being with him before she disappeared.”
I balled my fist against the table and kept my voice steady when all I wanted to do was yell. “How the fuck did he even get back into the club?”
“He didn’t. He lured the girl off site after the owner banned him for life. Another submissive inside the club told her Master what happened, and the information was passed on to us.”
“We should’ve handled him after we found Nya.”
Thomas nodded along with James. We all knew we’d dropped the ball on that motherfucker, but it wasn’t our case, and we thought the local authorities would follow up on his crimes. But Diego had too much money. He paid off anyone and everyone he could so they’d look the other way, and they did it because they were a slave to the almighty dollar more than they were to human decency.
Thomas stood from his chair and started to pace near the windows at the back of the room. “We can’t count on the cooperation of local law enforcement. We’ll be calling in some favors with the FBI through Sam and our contacts in the DEA. I’m sure we’ll be able to find enough dirt on this man to bring him down so he doesn’t have the ability to do this again.
“This is a team project. Once we have enough information and have our contacts in place, we’ll be heading to Atlanta to put an end to Diego Lopez. Anyone have an objection?”
No one spoke as they shook their heads. There was nothing that got the team more fired up than a scumbag who hurt women. I had a bigger stake in this than anyone else. I’d seen firsthand the devastation Diego could and did cause.
“Be ready to move by the weekend. We’ll be acting quickly on this out of necessity. The man has enough money that he could easily vanish without a trace.”
I’d hunt him until the end of time. Eventually, everyone fucked up. I learned that bounty hunting. A person could only stay hidden for so long without a paper trail. In today’s day and age, with everything able to be linked electronically, I’d eventually find him. But I wanted to do it before he ruined the life of another girl, or worse, killed someone.
Diego Lopez was going to pay a price, and this time, no amount of money in the bank was going to save him.
21
Nya
Ret walked through the door in an even worse mood than when Alese forced him to go to work this morning. He’d barely spoken a word to either of us after checking on Alese and making sure we didn’t need anything. He retreated to his office, talking on the phone in whispered tones, and hadn’t come out for the last hour.
“You worried about something?” Alese asked as I stared down the hallway toward Ret’s office.
“He’s grumpy, no?” I dabbed the end of the nail polish brush against the bottle before I went back to painting Alese’s toes the most beautiful shade of pink.
“He’s moody like a chick sometimes. All men are, but they’ll never admit it.” Alese closed her eyes and yawned. “Just ignore him. He’ll tell us when he’s ready.”
As I dabbed her last toe, covering the tiny nail somehow without getting any on her skin, I felt a sense of accomplishment. “Why don’t you rest, and I’ll get dinner together.”
She didn’t open her eyes as she pulled the blanket closer to her face and made herself more comfortable. Well, as comfortable as she could be only able to lie in one position because of her incisions. “That sounds like a plan.”
I quietly cleaned off the coffee table, careful not to make too much noise so Alese could get some rest. I had an ulterior motive too. I wanted to talk to Ret without Alese around and try to see what was bothering him before we had dinner tonight.
I never did well when people were upset. I was a people pleaser and would do anything to bring a smile to their face, especially Ret’s. When Alese finally started to snore, I tiptoed down the hallway toward his office.
I knocked softly and took a deep breath, nervous that he’d bite my head off for disturbing him.
“Come in,” he said quickly, but there was no malice in his voice.
Turning the knob, I shook out my nervous energy before walking into his office with a smile on my face and my shoulders pushed back. I’d exude confidence. Something Alese and I had been working on since that day in the dressing room. “Can I get you anything? A drink maybe?”
Ret sat at his desk, sweeping his eyes over me as he propped his chin on the back of his hand, his elbow resting against the wooden surface. “I have some already.” His eyes dipped to the half-filled glass sitting next to his arm. “Would you like a glass?”
I hated whiskey. Nothing about the taste or burn as it slid down my throat appealed to me. “I’d love some,” I lied because I figured this was my way in.
He turned his chair, grabbing the bottle and glass off a small table behind his desk. “Sit for a bit. I want to talk to you,” he said as he turned back around and motioned toward the chair across from him with a dip of his head.
I relaxed into the chair, watching him closely as he filled the glass with more whiskey than I wanted or needed. When he slid it across the desk, I grabbed the crystal glass and placed it on my knee. “Everything okay?”
I figured he wanted to talk about Alese and her recovery—the long road we both knew was coming the day she was released from the hospital. Once her incisions healed and her cast came off, she’d have physical therapy to regain strength and full movement.
“I don’t know,” he admitted before taking a sip of his whiskey, staring back at me over the rim.
“That doesn’t sound good.” I lifted the glass to my lips, letting a small amount of whiskey slide over my tongue. Based on the look on his face and the tone of his voice, I figured I’d need a little something to get me through the rest of the conversation.
“I don’t want you to freak out.”
I moved the glass away from my mouth and stared at him. There was nothing about that phrase that exuded positivity. Saying he didn’t want me to freak out did exactly that. “What’s wrong? Oh God,” I groaned. “Is it Alese? Do you want me to leave?”
Every bad thought I could imagine crossed my mind. Maybe since she’d been released, he realized I was a drain on their relationship. Maybe my welcome here was about to be revoked, and he was plying me with alcohol so I wouldn’t flip my shit and have a complete meltdown
.
“No. No. It’s nothing like that. Drink the whiskey first.”
I took another sip, staring at his beautiful face and turquoise eyes, seeing the storm behind their peace. “You’re killing me, Smalls.”
Ret cracked a smile. “I have to leave town for a few days this weekend. Think you’ll be okay with Alese on your own?”
“Of course.” Like I’d say no to something like that. I’d do anything for Ret and Alese, and it wasn’t like I had to watch her like she was a child. She was starting to be more mobile, barely needing help getting to the bathroom anymore. “She’s a lot better than she was a few days ago.”
“I feel confident you can handle things. I know she isn’t your responsibility, and I…”
I waved my hand in the air, silencing him. “Don’t say that. I love Alese. I would do anything for her and for you too, Ret.”
His smile returned, matching my own. Saying the words out loud was easier than I imagined. I’d thought them a million times since the day Ret and Alese welcomed me into their home, making me feel part of something special. “We adore you, Nya. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you the last few weeks.”
“You would’ve managed.”
Ret was the type of guy that really didn’t need help with anything. He was a giver and not a taker, but it was nice to think that he felt I did my part in assisting with her recovery.
“I wouldn’t have gone back to work so soon. I wouldn’t have slept in weeks either. You do more than you think. You mean a lot to us both.”
I hoped I did. I knew the way they moaned, and I wanted more. The last thing I wanted was not to be part of whatever they had, even if it was a small piece of that special something.
“Thank you. I’ll take good care of our girl.” I paused for a second and glanced down at the glass I’d rested on my leg, wondering if I overstepped my bounds by referring to her as mine. She wasn’t. I knew that, but I liked how it sounded sliding off my tongue.