As If The Whole World Were Watching (The Dom's of The Cage Series Book 6)

by P Nelson

  “Come on, Calla. You’ve done well.” Flynn held out his hands to help her out of the truck’s cab. “Let go of the taser, honey.”

  “Someone’s well done.” Nick joked. Calla squeaked and spun back around again.

  “You’re so fucking helpful.” Flynn grabbed the taser from Calla’s listless fingers. “Remind me why Linkin hired you in the first place?”

  “Because I don’t mind doing the dirty work.” Nick plucked the taser hooks out of the front of Melanie’s designer jacket and tossed them aside.

  “Calla, look at me, baby. You’re safe now.” Flynn turned her head to face him.

  “We need to make tracks, Flynn.” Nick pointed with his chin back at the warehouses. Flynn could see men running through the buildings even from here.

  “Shit. Move over, baby.” Flynn ordered. As Nick pulled Melanie out of the cab of the truck, Flynn pushed Calla into the centre of the bench seat. Flynn climbed behind the wheel; he pushed the seat back to accommodate his larger body, then shut the driver’s side door and leaned forward to look at Nick around Calla. “We’re good.” He called to Nick who had placed Melanie’s prone body on the pavement beside the truck.

  “Good.” He jumped into the truck and slammed the door shut. “Drive. We go right through those fucking gates.” Nick snapped his seatbelt before making sure Calla, sitting in the center, had her own belt tightened. Flynn slammed on the gas and put the truck into gear. They were off as fast as the old engine could manage.

  “How’s your wrist, Calla?” Flynn asked her not taking his eyes off the road. If they were to ram the gate out of here, Flynn needed to line up the truck.

  “It’s fine.” Calla looked at her wrist. “I tasered your ex sub.” Her voice sounded hysterical.

  “It’s ok, baby. She deserved it. You did great.” Flynn praised Calla.

  “Yeah, awesome. I can’t believe that taser fucking worked, girl. You put Melanie on her ass.” Nick grabbed onto the ceiling handle with one hand. A bubble of nervous laughter caught Flynn’s attention. He glanced down at Calla for a second before putting his eyes back on the road.

  “It’s ok, baby.” Flynn told her.

  “We need to be going a fuck load faster than this, Flynn.” Nick warned Flynn. “Head down, Calla. Brace your head in your arms for impact.” He tried to get Calla to lean forward.

  “No sub better think twice about messing with me now.” Calla declared. “I’m badass.”

  “Yes you are.” Nick agreed and tried to force her down again. Flynn shifted into the last gear, the engine on the old truck whining. They would not break any land speed records, but at least the sturdy old truck could take the brunt of the impact with the gate.

  “No one will ever steal you.” Calla informed him.

  “Great, baby. Brace now.” Flynn pressed the gas pedal to the floor and braced his arms. It was a standard lever gate. There weren’t any cement barriers. He thought it was odd no one had come out of the booth to stop them, but maybe they were asleep.

  “Here we go.” Nick shouted at the same time he shoved Calla down. Flynn held his breath; heart thumping like it was his first public scene in a dungeon. The truck drove up the small ramp and blasted through the gate. Flynn looked over at the gatehouse in time to see Linkin standing in the window.

  “Shit.” Flynn punched the brakes. The tires squealed at he down-shifted as fast as he could.

  “What the hell Banroch?” Nick shouted at him. He threw the truck into reverse.

  “Linkin.” Flynn shot back staring over his shoulder to look for the other man. Calla had turned in her seat. The man in question came busting out of the security booth waving his hand. Flynn slammed the brakes back on. “I bought the leave no one behind line.” He urged Linkin to haul ass.

  “I will send you my fucking chiropractor bill. All this hard braking and shitty shifting is hard on me.” Nick was looking around too.

  “Fuck off.” Flynn swore at him. The door opened and Linkin jumped into the back seat.

  “Drive. Drive. Drive.” He shouted. Flynn didn’t hesitate. He punched the gas again on purpose and the truck lurched forward. “We’re got fifteen minutes before those kids find us on the streets.” Linkin said from the back seat. “Even we can’t hope to hide for long. The local PD will pick us up for nothing more than looking like criminals.

  “What do we do?” Flynn swapped his gaze between the windshield and the rear-view mirror. Linkin appeared to be tapping something out on a hand held radio. The plastic back was torn off, and he’d pulled all the wires out. The tapping looked like a pattern. Linkin glanced up.

  “Go through the light ahead, Flynn. Stay off the main roads.” Linkin went back to tapping. “And slow the fuck down.” Flynn checked the speedometer and shook his head. Adrenaline pumped through his system. He could see why some people sought adventure sports. Calla nudged him and placed her head on his shoulder. Releasing the steering wheel, Flynn wrapped his arm around her. Calla’s body shuddered. His mind, racing, calmed enough for Flynn to concentrate on the road in front of him and trying to stay off the main thoroughfares.

  “Make a right and a left, Flynn.” Linkin ordered from the back seat. He complied and wondered if they were about to find themselves in another safe house. Poor Calla would never get home. He was wrong. Ahead of them lay a primary school. In the football field beyond the buildings was a black helicopter the blades still whirring.

  &

  “Why am I not surprised?” Flynn pulled the truck up to the chain-link fence and shut the engine off.

  “Because he loves that thing.” Calla commented sitting up in her seat. Her whole body ached. Her hands burned, her wrist screamed and her knees just plain sucked. But the sight of Linkin’s favourite toy made her smile. Flynn undid her seatbelt and pulled her towards the door of the truck. “Delaney told me you have plenty of scenes featuring that thing. It’s your kink.”

  “Delaney will get a spanking.” Linkin was out the back of the truck and waiting for them. Nick had found a way through the fence and Calla saw him greet his team members. She watched Linkin’s eyes softened when they landed on the helicopter. Calla would have to tell Delaney she had some serious competition.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Flynn wrapped his arm tighter around Calla’s body.

  “Good idea. A helicopter in the middle of Delta will hardly go unnoticed.” Linkin scanned the streets around the park. It was dark, only a few streetlights on and the houses were silent. It wouldn’t last long if they didn’t get moving. Calla didn’t want to bring any more heat down on them.

  Flynn picked Calla up and jogged with her in his arms across the field. She pressed her face into his chest, but didn’t cry until she was inside the helicopter. It had seemed stupid of her to be frightened to fly in one the first time. Now she was so damned thankful. The sensation of being pulled from the earth allowed Calla to release all her pent of emotions.

  She allowed herself to cry to get everything out. Watching Flynn go down after the dart. In the cell. Her escape and finding Nick. Melanie. Had it all happened in one night? A lifetime had passed since she visited her moms’ this morning and Sarah drove her away.

  “We’re safe, baby. It’s fine now. We will be OK.” Flynn repeated many promises he couldn’t deliver.

  “Where are we going?” Calla shouted siting up. There was no light in the large helicopter. Linkin sat in the front seat beside the pilot. Nick and a woman Calla had never met before were sitting on jump seats facing them. “Will I be able to get word to my moms? I didn’t leave things well with them today.”

  “We’ll see what Linkin has to say.” Flynn looked down at her. Her heart stopped.

  “I fought to save you.” She reached up and cupped his face. The stubble from his five o’clock shadow scratched her worn hands. But Calla didn’t care. “I wanted to save you.”

  “You did it, Calla.” Flynn grinned down at her. “Nick didn’t get out of his cell. You did. You rescued him and
me.”

  “I got out of my cell.” Linkin yelled from the front seat.

  “We expect the scary ex-military guy to get out.” Flynn shot back. “How is your wrist?” He inspected the t-shirt.

  “Broken.” Calla sighed.

  “We’ll get her medical care where we’re headed.” Linkin shot back. “But we’re in for a few hours ride. So you better settle in." Calla shivered. Nick threw a couple of heavy woolen blankets in their direction. The whir of the blades above them and the motion of the helicopter were making her lids heavy. She knew part of her tiredness was her body and mind’s response to the events of the evening. But she fought the healing sleep.

  “Where are we going, Master Linkin?” Calla asked from the cocoon Flynn made for her in his arms. She added the title as an enticement for him to answer.

  “Your sub needs a spanking.” Linkin turned around in his seat to stare at Flynn. “But since you asked, so, north. We’re going to a remote cabin close to Prince George. In an area named Reid Lake. It’s in the middle of butt fuck nowhere. But that’s the point. And we’ve got an in there.”

  “I’ve already been to Prince George in the last week.” Calla grumbled. She looked up at Flynn. “You’re a billionaire. Can’t we go somewhere new once in a while?” He stared at her for a second before his chest rumbled. Flynn held her closer and kissed her mouth a few times before great peals of laughter transformed his face. He looked younger.

  “I love you, Dr Calla Jones. If you hadn’t already agreed to be my wife I’d ask you again.” He smiled down at her. Happy to play the game and pretend they weren’t hurtling through the night towards the unknown.

  “Well it’s good for you I’ve already agreed. Because if I’d known this was how it would be, my answer would’ve been different.” She pretended to grumble and laid her head on his chest. The warmth of his body and the blankets caused her eyes to close.

  “Spanking.” Linkin shouted from the front seat reminding Calla they were not alone. She stuck her tongue out at him. “I saw that. I have eyes in the back of my head. Ask Delaney.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from the big bad Dom, sub.” Flynn relaxed back and her body curved into his.

  “Who will protect me from you?” Calla joked back. Unconsciousness pulled at her mind. This was as safe as she could get at the moment. Flynn was out of immediate harm’s way. All of their problems would wait for them in the morning.

  Calla forced her body to relax and thought of how she had saved everyone tonight. Linkin might try to take credit. But she was the real hero.

  &

  Flynn knew the moment Calla fell asleep in his arms. Pride and love filled him when he thought of how she’d fought to save herself and them. There were no words for him to express his gratitude to the universe for sending her to him. All the years he’d been alone, even when he was with Melanie. Now the woman in his arms was his equal in every way. She might submit to him in the bedroom, but her place was right beside him.

  Nick grabbed a blanket from one of the storage boxes and fell asleep. His soldier life must accustom him to getting rest no matter the circumstances. Flynn wasn’t as resilient. The events of the evening played over and over in his head. Linkin glanced back and said something to the pilot before standing up. He grabbed water bottles and some protein bars out of a storage box and came to sit in the jump seat next to him. Flynn took the water with a nod and drank the entire bottle down.

  “They taste terrible. But it’ll get you to where you’re going.” Linkin offered him the protein bar.

  “Thanks.” Flynn used his teeth to rip open the package.

  “You’ve got one hell of a fighter there.” Linkin sat back in the jump seat chewing on his protein bar. “Used one of her high heels to dig her way through the wall of her cell.” He was silent for a minute. “Makes me almost consider wearing heels from now one if they will be that useful.” Flynn shook his head.

  “I like the humour on you.” He announced taking another bite of the protein bar. It tasted like a mix of cardboard and peanut butter. Flynn weighed his next words. “You met Melanie at the same time as me.”

  “You want to know if I thought she was a Russian spy.” Linkin finished for him. He crumpled the wrapper in his hand and shoved it in his pocket. “A Russian spy? No. A crazy bitch who had an ulterior motive? Yes. Would you have taken my advice and dropped her? No. You were in a weird place.”

  “My dad had just died. I guess I was looking to build a legacy. One not built on lies and infidelity like my own parents.” Flynn reflected on his time with Melanie. “Truth was, I was just like him. I chose Melanie because I thought she was the perfect sub.”

  “And now?” Linkin prodded.

  “I wouldn’t change Calla one bit. She challenges me and stands up to me. She is the perfect sub.” Flynn admitted.

  “Delaney is a pain in Martin and my ass.” Linkin said. It wasn’t often the hard man opened to anyone and Flynn listened. “But she’s perfect for us. She gets her share of licks in, but none of us would change her one bit.”

  “Why are we going to Prince George?” Flynn remembered Chamberlain’s family was from the area and wondered if there was a connection to the MIA detective.

  “Chamberlain has been in contact.” Linkin let out a long breath. “That’s all we could decipher from his coded message. He’s alive and to meet us at the homestead. I’ve assumed the homestead is his family’s old settlement cabin. They only use it for hunting these days, but it’s where the Chamberlain’s settled when they came west.”

  “You think he has news?” Flynn needed something to hang onto. A charge of treason was hanging over his head. “Do you know if Alwen dropped the corporate conspiracy charges?”

  “Yes.” Linkin confirmed. “And no.” Flynn opened his mouth to demand answers and Linkin cut him off. “She’s dropped all the charges pending on an ongoing investigation into another matter.”

  “The treason.” Flynn muttered.

  “Yes. But not to worry your sharks are off their leashes as you have been out of contact. By now every news media outlet has picked up that you and Calla are missing.” Linkin explained. Flynn hadn’t even thought about what his absence would cause. “Your presence at the club tonight was missed. Every member who could get his or her butts down there tonight did. They wanted to show you the respect you deserve. When you didn’t show, and no one knew where you were given the state of the elevator and the parking garage, well, your lawyers have scented blood and even I’m a little terrified of Sophia.”

  Flynn smiled. The situation was crazy. But he smiled. “She’s a fucking ball buster.”

  “She’s demanded your safe return. Said they had kidnapped you and laid the blame on the prosecutor’s office. Alwen.” Linkin recounted. “They filed the countersuit.”

  “What is the prosecutor’s office saying?” Flynn adjusted his hold on Calla.

  “You’ve skipped bail and are on the run for your life.” Linkin replied calmly.

  “I’m not allowing Banroch to buy that pipeline so the Canadian Government can fix a mistake they should never have made.” No one would bully him.

  “It’s all bullshit.” Linkin muttered. “I’ll put a plan together that will see you out of Canada with new identities as soon as we land.”

  “There’s no way I’m leaving like a coward.” Flynn looked down at Calla. “I won’t put her through it.”

  “You might not have a choice. Things have progressed to where the feds kidnapped you and tried to force you to align with them.” Linkin waited until Flynn stared up at him. “This isn’t a James Bond film. We need to look at every angle and considered every single option you have.” Flynn broke his stare with Linkin and rested the back of his head on the back of the seat. The vibration of the rotors came through the metal. He was so tired. For the first time in his life, he knew what he wanted. But it was just out of his reach. For a Dom it was an impossible situation.

  Flynn had to go again
st his nature and give up control. There was no forcing this round peg into a square hole.

  &

  Calla started awake. She took a second to realise where she was. Flynn’s face swam before her and blinked several times to get him in focus.

  “We’re here and Linkin wasn’t kidding. We’re in the middle of butt fuck nowhere.” Flynn’s face showed the strain of the evening. He hadn’t slept at all either.

  “You’d know about the butt part.” Calla said without considering.

  “I expect regular spankings are in order for you.” Flynn shook his head. “You are becoming more brattier by the hour.”

  Calla listened as the blades of the helicopter wound down. “Let’s go.” She pushed the blanket from her and made to stand up.

  “Are you steady?” Flynn kept a hand on her as Calla got to her feet. All the aches and pains from before came screaming back.

  “I could use some Advil.” Calla stared out the door of the helicopter and looked around at the forest. “I don’t suppose there’s an x-ray machine and a doctor around?” She held up her wrist.

  “We’ll get you in to see someone.” Flynn assured standing up behind her. “Now let’s get inside, there’s food.” Calla noticed they were the only ones left in the chopper as she stepped out. Flynn was down beside her in a second, taking her elbow to steady her.

  “You have no shoes.” Flynn commented and picked her up.

  “I can walk.” Calla resisted.

  “Over my dead body.” Flynn walked towards a weathered log cabin, made up of several builds and added to over the years. But the eclectic style gave it a homey feeling. It reminded her of somewhere her moms would go for a weekend away. Linkin or Nick had left the front door ajar and there was an old white pickup truck in the front yard.

  “I left groceries on the kitchen sink. Eggs, milk, bread.” A female voice carried outside. Flynn stepped up onto the porch and set Calla down. She pushed open the door to a cosy cabin, a fire already burning in the potbelly stove. “There’s plenty of firewood in the woodshed and the keys to the truck are over by the door. If you need any other supplies, you can go into town and get them yourself.” The woman threw Linkin a stubborn expression. “I’m not your maid.”