The kitchen was coming along nicely. Sally had the dish cupboards almost filled. Gabi was organizing the canned goods.
“You two move really fast,” Anne said.
“Isn’t this great?” Sally bounced on her toes. “Uzuri thought she’d have to rent a motel room for tonight.”
“We’re going to have everything done even before the others arrive,” Gabi said.
“The others?” Anne tossed her coffee cup into the giant box labeled “garbage.”
“The ones who couldn’t get here early.” Sally set a cup onto a shelf. “Master Z was going to come and maybe bring Jessica and Sophia, depending on how they felt.”
Gabi said, “Cat’s gone for the week. Jake and Rainie are buried in puppy and kitten season. Raoul is out of town, but Kim is coming. Marcus and Cullen will be here soon. Olivia was going to arrive this afternoon, too.”
“My Galen is on the way. Vance is in Atlanta for another day,” Sally said. She listened for a second. “Actually, it sounds as if Galen and Marcus are already here.”
Anne glanced at the time on her phone. “My God, it’s after lunch.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun.” Sally grinned. “I’m really glad you came. At Uzuri’s old place, there we were and no one was sure what to do. We were all getting in each other’s way. You cut through the chaos like a hot knife through butter.”
“Not surprising.” Dan walked into the kitchen, followed by Ben. “Anne leads a team of the toughest sons-of-bitches you’ve ever seen. Directing a moving crew—even one with Sam and Nolan on it—is nothing.”
“Well, no wonder then.” Sally pushed the empty box to one side. “I didn’t realize bounty hunters had teams.”
“If the skip has a history of violence, it’s safer for everyone—including him—if we use a team,” Anne said.
“Sounds smart.” Ben’s gaze was speculative, as if he were putting pieces of her life together like a jigsaw puzzle.
“Hey, Ben,” Gabi said as she closed a cupboard door. “You did a great job of rounding everyone up. I’m glad you realized Uzuri needed help, even if she didn’t want to admit it.”
“You arranged all this?” Anne asked him.
He shrugged. “I was the one who found out she had a problem, so I checked with Z and kicked it off. Mostly, I assigned people to notify other people.” He stepped close enough that her shoulder brushed his chest.
Her skin tingled at just the slight contact with his body, and her quick breath brought her his clean, tangy scent. Stop it. She took a step back.
“I saved your call for myself though,” he added.
No wonder no one else had called. But… “Why? Were you afraid I’d be rude if someone asked me for help?” She didn’t have that bad of a reputation, did she?
“No, Ma’am.” When he moved closer again, she frowned him into stopping.
Because touching him was just too tempting.
His gaze was steady on hers, and then he smiled. “I made the call because I get off on listening to your voice. Even when you’re pissed off, you sound like Lauren Bacall.”
“Excuse me?” She couldn’t keep the frost from entering her voice.
“Yeah, like that.” He grinned. “If you ever get tired of bounty hunting, you could have a great career in phone sex.”
Gasps sounded in the kitchen. Ben got worried looks from her friends, who knew what she did to disrespectful males.
Anne set her hand on Ben’s chest. His muscles were pumped up and rock hard, creating a deep valley between his pecs. A wave of heat consumed her.
Annoyed, she pushed lightly.
He instantly took a step back. His hand covered hers, holding it to his chest.
“You’re deliberately being provoking, Benjamin. Do you want me to beat on you?” she asked, only half joking.
“Any day. Any time.” The desire in his gaze couldn’t be misinterpreted. “Please.”
“Jesus, Ben, are you insane?” Cullen asked from behind Anne. “She’ll turn your frank ’n’ beans into ground-up sandwich spread.”
Anne stiffened.
“Enough with the bullshit, O’Keefe,” Ben growled.
The chill in Anne’s heart melted like butter in the Florida sun.
And Cullen stepped back as if he’d been punched. “I—”
“Anne. Benjamin. It’s good to see you both.” As Z strolled in, the power in his smooth voice silenced everyone in the kitchen. He ran his hand down her bare arm in a deliberately affectionate greeting that finished her off.
She struggled to keep her voice level. “Z. Is Jessica here? And the baby?”
“Jessica wanted to come, but she’s fighting off a cold. Kari’s staying with her and Sophia, but she sent along a platter of her brownies. I also brought a cooler of beer and soft drinks.”
“Brownies?” asked one of Andrea’s high schoolers. When everyone looked at him, he flushed so deeply his ears turned red.
“Indeed. In the living room.” Z chuckled when the boy disappeared. “I believe your pizza has arrived as well. I saw the delivery van looking for a parking spot.”
“That’s perfect timing. Excuse me.” Anne hurried out—a complete retreat—to deal with the delivery.
A few minutes later, most of the helpers were sitting on the couch, chairs, and the floor, gobbling down pizza. After handing out napkins and drinks, then finding food for herself, Anne regarded the room with pleasure. They’d done well.
A car door slammed outside, and a minute later, Uzuri appeared in the doorway. She stared at the spotless room and the people filling it. “What are you…” She put her hands over her mouth. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She looked at Anne. “I didn’t… Everyone is here.”
Retriever at his feet, Ben was frozen in place, holding a framed picture.
Anne looked at him, expecting him to explain.
Instead, he looked appalled. And silent. Tough guys and tears. So not a good mix.
“Come here, baby.” Anne set her food down and pulled Uzuri close as the meltdown started. “The minute Ben said you had a problem, everyone wanted to help.”
Uzuri pressed her face into Anne’s shoulder…and cried.
Anne simply held her and stroked her shoulders comfortingly. Nothing else to be done—sometimes a girl just had to cry.
Sam and Holt came out of the bedroom. Sam saw Uzuri and gave Anne an approving nod. There was one man who wasn’t worried about tears.
Holt took a step toward them, concern in his eyes. After a second, he shook his head and glanced at Anne. “Bed is put together and ready to be made.”
“Thank you.” She surveyed the room for new additions to the crew. “Kim, when you’re done, can you and Linda unpack the bedroom wardrobe and make the bed.”
“Of course.” Kim had tears in her eyes when she looked at Uzuri.
On the other side of the living room, Nolan strolled in the front door and nodded to Anne. “Truck’s empty.”
“Here, Sir.” Beth rose from her chair and handed her Master pizza on a paper plate.
He took her place, opened his legs, and she settled between them on the floor. After leaning forward and taking a quick kiss, he accepted the bottle of Corona from her.
They really did look perfect together. Anne smiled slightly. Almost three years ago, she’d told Nolan that having a more permanent submissive was worth it. Since then, he’d found Beth—and she’d lost Joey. Now she was the lonely one. And wasn’t that just pitiful?
In Anne’s arms, Uzuri lifted her head.
“All right now?” Anne asked.
Uzuri nodded and whispered, “Thank you. I’m sorry.”
“Not a problem.”
“Come with me, girlfriend. There’s still more work to be done and food to eat.” Gabi tucked a handful of tissues into Uzuri’s hand.
Sally slung an arm around her waist. “Come and see your kitchen. You won’t recognize it.”
The two dragged Uzuri away, setting
her to laughing—and giving her time to recover her composure away from everyone else.
Nicely done.
After picking up her abandoned food, Anne settled into the chair Gabi had vacated.
To her surprise, Bronx dropped down at her feet. At the entreating look in his eyes, she plucked a piece of pepperoni off her pizza. His tail thumped the floor as he delicately accepted her gift.
At the sound of a familiar, hearty laugh, Anne looked up.
Laughing at a comment one of the boys made, Ben was choosing slices of the meatlover’s pizza. His face fell at the sight of the empty brownie platter.
After looking around, he walked over and joined Bronx at her feet.
“Ben.” Her voice held a warning he completely ignored.
He set his plate and Coke on the floor, turned sideways, and positioned her left foot on his thigh so he could edge between her legs. His left shoulder leaned on the couch cushion—almost on her pussy; her right leg was behind his back.
With a contented sigh, he picked up his drink.
Around the room were snorts of amusement and giggles.
Pushy submissive. Anne set her pizza down, put a hand on his shoulder, and fisted his hair, tilting his head back.
Heat flared in his eyes, and like a wolf facing its alpha, he exposed his neck even further.
She loved the way he responded to her. Nonetheless…
“Benjamin, did I ask you to sit at my feet.” Her voice carried to his ears and none other.
“Ma’am, no.” He gave her an easy smile and moved his plate before Bronx could get to it. He didn’t lower his voice. “After that bullshit of Cullen’s, I wanted to make a point.” His brows drew together. “If you really don’t want me here, I’ll move.”
Across the room, Cullen frowned. “Ben…”
“You know, Anne, he deserves to lose those balls,” Dan called.
“What’s going on?” one of the youngsters whispered to another.
“Estúpidos babosos.” Andrea slapped her Dom’s arm before glaring at Dan. “My workers are here.”
Cullen winced at the reminder.
Dan gave her a repentant chin lift.
“What’s going on is that Cullen thinks I’m too pushy with this woman.” Even as he offered Bronx a sausage tidbit, Ben grinned over at the boys, not uncomfortable at all. “You ever get that from your friends?”
Two of them turned to the third and started teasing him.
A perfect diversion. Anne gave Ben’s hair a tiny tug of approval.
His shoulders loosened under her hand.
The young lads were nudging each other and trading insults, and she could see where boys that age could certainly turn a person’s life upside-down. Yet, even in all their teenaged idiocy, they really were cute.
As the conversations floated around her, she finished her pizza and wiped her fingers on the napkin. Ben had already cleaned his plate.
“Good pizza, Ma’am,” he said. “Thank you for feeding all of us.”
“You’re welcome.” She picked up her other plate from the end table, knowing—knowing—she shouldn’t give him any encouragement. Nonetheless, her heart wouldn’t let her set the dessert back down. “Despite your extremely pushy behavior, I think you’ve earned a reward. You did a nice thing today for Uzuri.” She uncovered the big chocolate-frosting covered brownie.
His gaze held the delight of a man getting a tasty treat as well as the pleasure that she’d thought of him when others were grabbing their food. “Thank you, Mistress.” Before he took a bite, he paused. “Did you get some?”
“I know better. I’ve had Kari’s brownies before. If I ate one, I’d have to run an extra mile tomorrow morning.”
His eyes glinted golden. “I could be of service in working off calories.”
Well, she knew that for a fact. And the desire to burn a few calories with him was growing overwhelming. “Well, in that case, maybe I should indulge.” She leaned forward, letting her breast brush against his face as she grasped his wrist and pulled his brownie to her lips. She took a small bite.
“Oh, now, Ma’am, you know I’m good for more calories than that,” he murmured.
She choked.
Her cell rang. Saved by the bell. She checked the display and answered. “This is Anne. What’s up?”
“We have a pickup for you, if you have time,” Loretta said. “Do you remember Jane? However, she sounds nearly hysterical. You probably should take some backup.”
After getting the location, Anne frowned down at her phone. Dammit, Jane. Why’d you go back to that asshole?
A big hand closed over hers. “Problem?” Ben studied her, eyes concerned.
“I’m afraid so. I need to give someone a ride.” But both her brothers were working today, and she didn’t have any trained female friends she’d feel comfortable risking in a possibly dangerous situation.
“Just a ride wouldn’t make you so worried. Can I help?”
“I…” Could he? He was ex-military. And Z did extensive background checks on anyone setting foot in his Shadowlands, so he’d be safe. Even better, as a guard in a BDSM club, he’d have seen and dealt with emotional meltdowns. “If you don’t mind leaving now, I’d love some help.”
“If Bronx can come too, I’m in.”
* * * *
Anne was delivering a woman to a battered women’s shelter? The woman had more facets than a diamond. Ben stared at her as she drove her Ford Escape to the designated pickup area. “Why aren’t the cops providing transportation for the woman?”
“They do sometimes. But all too often, a woman won’t call the police, so the shelter calls in volunteers.”
“If a man has hit his wife, what keeps him from attacking a driver?”
She smiled. “It’s not as dangerous as it sounds. We don’t meet women at their work or houses, and we only do pickups from public areas.”
Still didn’t sound particularly safe. Ben sat back. At least he was here. “Do you know who we’re fetching?”
“Actually, I do. Jane and her daughter, Paige, stayed at the shelter for a while, but when her husband agreed to counseling, she went back to him.” She scowled.
“You don’t approve of a guy getting a second chance?”
“Well, sometimes an abuser is shocked at his actions and realizes he’s got a problem. He’s the type that can learn.” Her lips tightened. “I met Jane’s husband. He’s a manipulative bastard and sure not interested in amending his behavior. He used every trick in the book to get her to return to him.”
Considering Anne’s experience as a Domme, she had probably read him correctly. He sounded like a real bastard. “So she loved him and went back.”
“Uh-uh. I think the love is long gone. I’d say she was afraid of being on her own and of having to turn her life upside-down. Of how much she’d have to change.” Anne’s fingers clenched and loosened on the steering wheel.
She’d spat that word out—change—as if it had a foul taste. Interesting.
“This is the place.” Anne drove through a mall parking lot, pulled over to the curb in front of a department store, and turned the parking lights on. She jumped out.
Ben hand-signaled Bronx to stay put and joined her on the sidewalk. “Where do you want me?”
“Can you wait by the car?” Her lips curved. “You can be a scary lad at times.”
Ben winced. Although he’d come to enjoy being a big guy, he didn’t like that his face could terrify children.
She noticed and ran her hand up his arm. “It so happens that I appreciate scary lads, you know,” she said in her husky voice.
When she looked at him as if he were a delectable treat, his ego expanded to fill all of Pinellas County. He cleared his throat. “I’ll wait here.” Unless there was a problem…then all bets were off.
She strode briskly into the store, and he’d known her long enough to read the tension in her body and the way she was alert to the people nearby. She’d tried to act as if the pi
ckups weren’t dangerous, but she was obviously ready for action.
A minute later, she walked out, her arm around a woman’s waist, supporting her.
Jesus.
The limping woman had a black eye and a golf-ball-sized swelling on her cheek. A fat lip. Her stiff torso indicated her ribs were bruised or busted.
Anger roused and lifted its ugly head.
He took a step forward, then saw a young girl trailing after Anne. She couldn’t be more than twelve. Tears streaked her dirty cheeks.
Ben throttled his rage back. She’d seen enough violence. Trying to look harmless, he opened the back seat door and stepped away.
As the women approached the SUV, a man shouted. “Found you, you bitch. Stop right there.”
Like a terrified bird, Jane froze.
“Oh, honestly.” With a huff of irritation, Anne glanced over her shoulder. “Jane, get in the car.”
The woman didn’t move.
Her husband headed toward them with the narrow-minded focus of a fanatical insurgent.
So much for a safe pickup. The asshole had white dust on his ragged jeans and sweat-marked T-shirt. He probably worked in construction. About six feet and well over two hundred pounds, the man was muscular with a good-sized beer gut.
His expression was…off, and Ben figured he was high on either drugs or alcohol or both.
“Incoming, Anne,” Ben warned as she helped Jane to the side of the car. “May I take him out?”
“I’d rather do it myself.”
Fuck. Ben suppressed the need to intervene. Down, Haugen. Anne wouldn’t give up her toy easily, and he had to trust she knew what she was doing. “Figures.”
Anne gave him a grim half-smile, released Jane, squeezed the kid’s shoulder, and walked toward the store.
Ben stepped in front of Jane and the child to shield them from the sight of the abuser. “Get in the car, please, while Anne deals with” the fucking shithead “any problems.”
After a blink, Jane focused on him and, if anything, looked even more frightened.
“I—” She actually started to retreat.
To Ben’s relief, her daughter piped up. “Get in, Mom. We need to leave.”
Good kid. Terrified, wide-eyed, dead white—and she still kept her head.
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