Secrets Uncovered

by Raven McAllan

  Kath bit her lip. “Ah, are you busy or will you chum me into the village? In your car.”

  Jess stared at Kath until Kath knew how a cell under a microscope must feel. Not even in a scene in the club did she feel so on view. Then, just as Kath was ready to scream ‘pax’, Jess spoke. “Give me ten minutes to change.”

  “No time.” Kath was ready to fall on the floor and kiss her friend’s feet in gratitude. “Don’t tell me you don’t have a hoodie in the boot of your car, and the spare keys stashed away somewhere, because I won’t believe you.”

  “Okay, and don’t give me any crap either because I won’t believe you. My ass is going to be red raw for a week after that stunt I’ve pulled. Both David and Jeff have gone off into Glasgow for no reason. The damned joiner said it was nothing big, and I’ve passed the message on as urgent and a mega balls-up. There’s going to be hell to pay when they find out who sent them.” She didn’t sound unduly worried. For someone who not that long before had said the whole BDSM thing wasn’t her, Jess had discovered and embraced her submission whole heartedly and remarkably swiftly. Although, as she freely admitted, if it hadn’t been for David, she’d still be vanilla, still living in the city and still saying the club had nothing to do with her and that she wanted to sell her share to her brother. Diomhair might be built on the site of her childhood home, but Jess claimed she wasn’t sentimental. Kath, who had known her since childhood, thought different.

  “Where to?” Jess asked as she drove her Mini Cooper down the drive as if it was a tank. Kath grabbed onto the edge of her seat and gave thanks for seatbelts and the fact she hadn’t eaten anything other than dry crackers.

  Kath glanced at her, as they approached the end of the drive. “Well…” she began, then jumped as a white blur appeared from behind them. “Watch out.” Kath yelled as a white van sped past them and clipped the driver’s side mirror.

  “Fuck, hold on.” Jess screamed the words as she fought to keep the car upright. It bounced in and out of a newly formed pothole and rocked violently. The van skidded as it left the drive and sped off along the lane in the direction of the village. Even as she held onto the door handle with one hand and tucked the other under her seatbelt and over her tummy, Kath realized its number plate was obscured by thick caked-on mud.

  “Shit.” Jess slowed the car and brought it to a halt a few inches from a muddy ditch, half full of water. “What the hell was that?” Her voice was uneven and her knuckles white as she gripped the steering wheel. “Are you okay?”

  Kath took a deep breath and pushed her hair out of her eyes. Her hand trembled and she felt sick at what might have happened. How she’d managed to keep the seatbelt from cutting into her tummy, she had no idea. “Yes, I think so. But sheesh. Who was that?”

  Jess rubbed her hands up her face and across her eyes. “No idea. Did you see a name on it? As far as I know there were no deliveries due today, and anyway it’s a bit early. If I knew who it was, he’d never deliver to us again, that’s for sure. Hell, Kath, I almost wet myself when it hit us.”

  Kath managed a shaky laugh. “Well I was going to say liquid bowel situation alert, but maybe that’s a TMI sentence. Seriously though, it’s as well Sirs aren’t present. You’ve been warned about your lack of vocabulary.” She touched Jess’ shoulder. “Mind you, in the circumstances, I think you were very restrained.”

  “Yeah, well shit, fuck and bollocks, just for good measure. Hold on, why are you cuddling your tum? Did you hurt yourself when we did the skid pad session?”

  “Nope, now let’s get to the village before we get caught, eh?”

  Jess stared at her, and Kath raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  Jess shook her head. “Nothing.” She put the car in gear and drove off very steadily. Kath was glad she wasn’t the one driving.

  “Damned rain.” Jess skirted another pothole and turned onto the lane. “We need to sort this drive again. I’m assuming this mysterious errand is hush-hush, undercover, don’t tell Jeff, which adds a problem. Do we tell them about the white van?”

  Kath considered her answer. Jess might be her friend, but she was Jeff’s twin and David’s sub. “Hmm, well, we’ll have to, but seriously, I’d hoped to keep this quiet. But in light of David finding your secret passage all swept clean and spiderless, I reckon we’ve got no option.”

  Jess burst out laughing, even if it sounded somewhat shaky. “That sounds kinkier than what goes on in Diomhair.” She sobered immediately. “If someone is up to no good on the estate and trying to access the club’s records as well, then yeah, we have to tell the men, and fast. For now I’ll say I nipped into the village to get chocolate.”

  “Well, as long as it doesn’t get you into trouble.”

  Jess rolled her eyes. “Sister, I’m always in trouble. So, tell me where we’re going. I’ll be creative and keep you out of it. I don’t mind the punishment.”

  That was a turn up for the books. Kath giggled. “Oh well then, take me to McFadden’s.”

  “The chemist?” The car missed a tree by inches as Jess dropped her hands and screeched. “Holy hell, you’re pregnant?”

  Chapter Two

  Jeff looked at the joiner in disbelief. “No kidding? Some twat measured it wrong? Fire the asshole.” In all truth, he’d thought the trip was going to be a red herring. No one, but no one could screw something up so well. But it seemed they had.

  “Sorry, Mr Sutherland, yeah, we messed up. It’s that corner. And the result? Bad. We’ll sort it. But I said it wasn’t urgent. We’ll sort it next week.”

  Jeff hoped so. Not serious was like saying Mount Everest was a wee hill. The corner in question was skewed, seriously out of line. He looked over at David and grimaced. It was a major fuck up. No windows and no new dungeon. The mistake was the last thing they needed. Not only would they be unable to finish the viewing area, but also it would put their plans back for weeks. He tamped down his ire and counted to ten.

  David looked at him, and Jeff shrugged. There was no point losing their tempers, they needed the window. However, to say it wasn’t important seemed weird. He went to answer the joiner, but David beat him to it.

  “I think you better,” David said. “Get on to it, get making it and get it finished. By Friday.” He stalked out before anyone answered, and Jeff followed him. Explanations could follow, for now all he wanted was to get back to his lady.

  “What’s with the not important rubbish?” Jeff asked as he drove them away from the joiner’s workshop. “It’s an almighty mess.”

  David tapped his fingers on the door handle. “Not a clue, but somehow Jess seemed to realize it was important enough to tell me. Or I’ll interpret it as such until I find out different.”

  Jeff nodded—he knew how his twin’s mind worked, and she wouldn’t hesitate to bend the truth if need be—and turned the car in the direction of Diomhair. The castle had been his and Jess’ childhood home until a large part of it had burnt down. Then he’d turned it into the BDSM club without her knowledge. Until Jess had met David, she’d had a hatred of all things kink. With good reason, Jeff had subsequently found out. Now? Well, looking at his friend and his twin together, he could see how that hatred had disappeared. Sometimes he felt sure Jess and Kath were vying to see who won brat of the year award. So far, he reckoned it was a close run thing.

  “Lachy mentioned he saw that white van again, over by Keepers cottage,” David mentioned the man who looked after the extensive grounds for them. Lachy had lived in the lodge all his life, as his father had been groundsman before him. There had never been any doubt in Lachy’s mind—or Jeff’s that he’d take over the job when his father retired into the village. Once Jeff had decided to open Diomhair—the club—Lachy had continued in his role, with a couple of helpers when necessary. As he’d said to Jeff, much to Jeff’s amusement, “The wife and I have our own wee way of daein things, and we’ll not need all your posh stuff. Clothes pegs and the washin’ line work fine for us.”

  Until its
popularity was such he needed someone to share the burden, Jeff managed Diomhair alone, with Kath’s support. Jess had been in ignorance of where her extra money came from, and still worked full time as a university lecturer.

  When it had become imperative, he’d made David a partner. As a fellow Dom and Master for years, and someone who could work from home, David had been the quintessential choice. It was the ideal partnership. They each had an apartment in the newly restored castle and split the workload between them. As David and Jeff had different strengths and weaknesses, they complemented each other perfectly.

  With care, Jeff turned the car onto the little used track that led toward Diomhair from the main road that led into the city and negotiated the ruts and dips carefully. Visitors used the other drive, which was shorted and in better condition. They had all decided it was better that way. “Let’s us know where people are,” was Jess’ comment. “After all, if we want a wee scene in the woods, we don’t want the world and their wives giving us marks for artistic merit. Well, not unless we ask them to. And nor do I want to be on the front page of the Herald as ‘lecturer caught tied up in knots’.” As Jeff knew David and Jess enjoyed playing outside, and David was very creative with a Shibari rope, he agreed with her.

  Jeff put his mind back to David’s conversation. “That’s what, the third or fourth time he’s seen it, and not been able to find out what’s going on? I’m not happy. Oh, not with Lachy, though I think we need to get him more back up—Donny is a lazy bastard, he needs calling to account—but with the fact that someone is fucking around with my land. And now you’ve discovered somebody—or bodies plural—have swept out the secret passage, I’m even twitchier. Whatever people might say, Diomhair isn’t haunted—unless it’s by the ghosts of BDSM past wishing it had been here when they were—and I smell more than a rat. Someone is trying to find out exactly what goes on here, and who does it. I’m getting fucking annoyed with assholes thinking we’re all weirdoes. Shit, if anyone ever got hold of our member list, all hell would let loose. It’s dynamite.”

  “Well unless I’ve lost my touch, and my computer savvy, it’s not likely,” David said. “That apart, I’m with you on every count.”

  “Then do you fancy cutting over that way to see if we can see anything untoward?”

  David waved his hand in assent. “Might be an idea. It won’t add many minutes on. Jess was going to exercise, and then as she’s not teaching today, we were going to check out the new spanking bench later. Maybe Kath’ll still be asleep. The longer you’re away, the more rest she’ll get.”

  And maybe pigs will fly. Jeff was under no illusion that Kath would have stopped in bed. He’d guess she’d have contacted Jess for a coffee and gossip session.

  “In our dreams. I bet the girls will be together by now.” And that little infringement will be added to the ‘what needs punishing whenever’ list. He’d have to get inventive. Kath enjoyed their punishment sessions rather too much for them to be considered as such. For that matter, so did he.

  “Anyway, I still want to know what’s happening. Then we can work out how to stop it if necessary. Somehow I doubt it’s a group of kids on a nature ramble, or egging each other to sneak into the haunted house. My gut feeling is it’s something more sinister, and I’m determined to suss it and whoever out.”

  “Yeah, kids aren’t very likely. Mind you, it’s strange about the cottage. Could it be a smokescreen d’you think? Lachy didn’t think it’d been entered,” David said. “Although he admits it’s been so long since he’s been inside it, he’d probably not know unless an intruder wrote in the dust.”

  “Who knows?” Jeff said rhetorically. “It’s my fault about the entering, because I told him not to bother with it over much. He said he’d get Donny to keep an eye on it. While I remember, that’s something else to talk about when we’ve got five minutes. Donny might be Lachy’s nephew, but I’m of the mind that if he doesn’t buck up, he’s out on his ear. He might think because I’m not out there all the time, that I don’t know what’s going on, but I do. And what isn’t going on. And his lack of work comes under that heading. He’s a lazy B. Anyway, Keepers Cottage, it’s so far off the beaten track, I reckoned it was safe from intruders and teenagers wanting to play paint ball or war games. Let’s go.” Jeff swung the car off the main track to bump along one that was little more than two ruts between trees.

  He did his best to forget the mental picture he had of a white and shaking Kath as he’d fumbled to undo her. Thank goodness for quick release cuffs. Jeff had never ever felt so helpless, so un-Dom like in his life as when she’d blacked out. His heartbeat hadn’t returned to normal until she’d been tucked up in bed. Now he concentrated on the rutted track. If Kath had needed him, she’d have rung. Wouldn’t she? He couldn’t get that little worm of worry out of his mind that told him he was missing something. However, anything threatening Diomhair needed to be halted before it grew and became a problem. If someone was messing around in the grounds, and it wasn’t related to their castle intruder, it could be anything from kids looking for somewhere to spend the night, or poachers thinking they’d bag some game and be away before anyone realized. Or something more sinister. None of those scenarios appealed to him. He sighed. David glanced across at him.

  “What?”

  “I’ve got that nasty skin crawling feeling that all this crap, you know, white van, no spiders, oh, and those phone calls with no one on the line and the number blocked, are all one and the same thing. And an even worse feeling that it could be something big. And then, I’m wondering who, if anyone, we can involve to help us without going to the police. That would maybe be one step too far yet. Even if you know who is a member.” Even here with David the sole person within earshot, Jeff wasn’t prepared to mention names.

  The track became boggy, and the ruts deeper. Not for the first time, Jeff was thankful for his sturdy off roader. There was another track to the cottage in somewhat better condition, but it would have meant driving past the main house and across the other side of the grounds. This was easier, and less obvious.

  “Look.” David pointed to where the ground was churned into a muddy mess. “That’s recent.”

  “Well done, Sherlock. Now if we had plaster of Paris and a camera we could take molds and pictures and check out every white van we see.”

  David laughed. “Okay, Einstein. You knew fine well what I meant. If Lachy did see a van and it was up to no good, then this is probably how it got in and out. The main track would be too noticeable.”

  “Yeah, well let’s have a look. Hold on.” He stomped on the brakes. The car slid sideways and came to a halt less than a foot in front of a log that was blocking the track. “Well, that buggers your theory then.” He put the car into neutral and they both got out and walked to the log.

  “Or not.” Jeff looked closely at the half tree trunk, which still had some of its branches and leaves attached. “This is recent. We haven’t had that much wind lately, have we?” He hunkered down and looked more closely. “Hell and damn, the blooming thing’s resting on a wee roller log so it can be shifted. Yeah, something stinks.” He pushed at the wood and, although it didn’t move easily, it moved. Together he and David tugged and pushed until they got it skewed across the track, so there was enough space to drive past. They were both sweating heavily by the time they’d finished.

  “Shit, I’m out of condition.” David wiped the sleeve of his shirt over his forehead. His jacket had been discarded several minutes earlier, along with Jeff’s body warmer. “I need to act like a Dom and say no more puddings.”

  “You mean they’re edible? That’s progress.”

  David laughed. “I suspect they come from the bakery in the village, but it’s my weakness, apart from her, of course, and she knows it. I’ll wait while you see if you can get past now.” He stood in the undergrowth and waited whilst Jeff got back inside the vehicle.

  Jeff saluted. “Gee thanks, mate.” He drove past the tree trunk with scant inc
hes to spare. The ground was very boggy, and the mud dragged at the car’s wheels as if it was loath to let it go. However, two faint tracks of harder earth could just be seen, and he aimed for them. He would freely admit it wasn’t the easiest bit of driving he’d ever done. His shirt clung to his back as fresh sweat joined the perspiration already there.

  “Let’s put it back, but be a bit more creative, eh?” Jeff said as he joined David on the ground. He frowned. This was his land, and he wasn’t best amused. “Nothing too obvious, except we’ll make it harder to move. And we’ll get Lachy and the young assistant Donny’s taken on to keep a watch.”

  “That’s a girl,” David said as they played round with the log until they were satisfied it didn’t look any different than when they’d come across it. “You could have knocked me down with a Finnan haddock when Finn turned out to be Finula.”

  “And your point is?” Jeff rounded the final corner until they joined the main track to the cottage. “So is my sister, a girl, I mean, but didn’t I see you tracing little red patterns over her back, and pushing her to her limit? Some would say that’s dangerous.”

  David flushed. “There’s no comparison, that’s consensual.”

  Jeff rolled his eyes. “And so is Finn doing her job. Lachy doesn’t say much, but I reckon he thinks she’s getting a raw deal from Donny. When I asked him how he thought things were going, he shrugged and said he’d keep an eye out for her. I can’t put my finger on it, but I distrust Donny. I have an itch about him, and it’s growing by the day. I’m sure Lachy feels the same, although he’s not saying anything. However, Finn? She can cry her own version of red at any time. And do you honestly think Lachy would put her in a dangerous position? He treats her like a daughter. And to quote him, ‘The lassie can shoot better than a lot of so called master marksmen I know,’ unquote. He’d have your balls if he thought you thought otherwise.”

  David held his hands up in a manner that suggested appeasement. “Okay, you’re right, but you see this slip of a girl, and it rocks your ideas somewhat. Yeah, I should know better, especially when you see some of our subs and Dommes. I can think of a couple I’d much rather have watching my back than a lot of blokes I could mention. Plus, before you say it, Lachy is an old hand, so if he says she’s good, I’ll buy it.” David stretched his arms high above his head. “God, I’m stiff.”