Gale, Avery - Jenna's Submission [The ShadowDance Club 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)

by Avery Gale

  Colt recognized the signs of adrenaline crash a split second before Jenna’s knees folded. Hell, he’d been so caught up in his own reactions, he hadn’t even considered how she was coping. Talk about all those years of training as a Dominant flying right out the window. Fuck! And right now, all he cared about was listening to his heart and holding the woman who had just single-handedly taken out a rat bastard the rest of them had all missed. Christ, he was so proud of her, even when his palm itched to paddle her sweet ass until she couldn’t sit for a week. Looking into her sweet face, he was overcome with his love for her. “God, Jenna, I’m so very proud of you. You not only did an amazing job of settling a very old score, but you’ve done a service to your country that few have ever rivaled. Fuck, if I have my way, you’ll get your own national holiday!” Smiling down at her he continued, “But I’m still wondering why you are out here? Hmmm? You weren’t thinking of running again, were you?”

  Looking down at her hands as she twisted them together, she finally let out a big breath before looking up at him through her lashes. “No, I didn’t even see a note. I was mad when I woke up alone, then I remembered everything that was supposed to happen here tonight, and I knew I’d left something in my car and I wanted to make sure I had it in case someone took my baby. Face it, my car would be the fastest and most agile vehicle if you wanted to make a quick escape down the mountain…and well…I got so distracted by well…everything…that I forgot about the gifts I’d brought back, and well, one of them is really valuable and I didn’t want it stolen or destroyed.” Her voice had dropped to a near whisper by the time she had finished speaking.

  “Jesus, Jenna, what could have possibly been so important that you’d risk your life to retrieve it amid all the danger that you knew you might face?” He couldn’t believe it. Would she really risk her life for a few gifts she’d brought back from Egypt?

  “Well, I have always remembered you telling me about your dad losing a priceless amulet to thieves during one of his archeological digs…and well, one night years and years ago we were sitting in the kitchen and you drew me a picture of it on a napkin…and…” She had to stop and recenter her thoughts before speaking again. “Well, I saved that napkin, I kept it in my jewelry box for years and then when I started traveling to that part of the world, I always took detailed copies of that picture with me and showed it to everyone, from museum curators to back-alley venders. And this last trip…well, I found it. That’s why I missed my original flight back home, I was buying it back for your dad. I know he isn’t well, and I was hoping this would help.”

  Colt was absolutely stunned, nothing she could have said would have surprised him any more than this had. The amulet had been worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at the time it was taken, and his dad had been devastated by its loss. His career as an archeologist had taken a huge hit. He’d barely retained his teaching position at the university he’d dedicated his entire career to.

  “Jenna, I don’t know what to say, this is the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard. My father will be overjoyed, and I am grateful beyond words, but how on earth can we ever repay you for this?” He knew her family was wealthy, but if it took him the rest of his life, he would repay her.

  She smiled shyly. “Well, it turns out the amulet was given to the thief’s mother as a gift. The family is still very poor, but had never considered selling the piece because it was the last gift the son gave his mother before he died in a car accident later that year. They have just kept it all these years, but now, there are grandchildren in the family, and the grandmother wanted the gift to benefit someone else before she dies. And what she wanted most was to know her two young granddaughters would have American educations. My parents and I arranged for those two young women to come to the US and they will be enrolling at the University of Colorado for this next semester. My parents are thrilled to have them staying at their condo, and the girls are really lovely young ladies and this is means it’s kind of a win-win situation for everyone.”

  “I’m completely speechless. You are the most amazing woman I have ever known. We’ll get the amulet later, your car is in a secured section of the garage, its contents are safe, I promise you. Now, we need to get you out of this cold night air before…” Colt’s words were cut off by the sounds of gunshots near the backside of the garage. As chaos erupted around them, Colt turned and walked up to what appeared to be a flower-covered trellis. He quickly placed his palm on a hidden panel, and a door slid open revealing a hidden set of stairs descending to a hallway. “Go. Follow the hallway straight, don’t take any turns, just go straight, and it will lead you to the mansion’s wine cellar. Grayson is in the Crow’s Nest. He’ll open the door on the other end. Please go straight to Katarina’s suite, that place is more secure than fucking Fort Knox.” He kissed her once with enough heat to be sure she’d remember it until he could get back to her and then he was gone.

  Chapter 32

  Rissa stood at the railing of the balcony overlooking the main room of The ShadowDance Club with a mixture of fear, horror, and exhilaration. She loved special events at The Club and had always dreamed of attending with her own Dom rather than standing on the sidelines just watching. She’d been disappointed when no one had asked her to attend with them. Hell, who am I kidding, I was hoping Mitch Grayson would ask me, but he obviously isn’t as interested in me as I am in him. Time to move on, Clarissa Jean…dreamin’ don’t make it so. She laughed to herself when she realized her self-talk sounded an awfully like her sweet granny.

  Rissa had grown tired of waiting for someone to walk her to her car and had decided that if her bosses got their shorts in a wad, they’d just have to cope. She wasn’t staying cooped up all night reading and rereading the same damned magazine articles when she could don the outfit and feathered mask she’d purchased weeks earlier and have a look-see at the action before making her way to the employee parking lot behind the garage and heading home. Between the jet-black wig covering her auburn-colored hair and the phony sub collar she’d bought from the Internet, she was confident no one would recognize or approach her. She just wanted to watch for a while without worrying about her mother hen bosses or those other overprotective zealots on their security team.

  Sighing to herself, she was lost in thought while she gazed out over the crowded Main Lounge. She knew Mitch would be up in the Crow’s Nest during tonight’s event, and good God, just thinking about him made her pussy flood with her cream soaking her panties. Hell, she taken to keeping spares in her locker in her spa because she’d grown tired of having to work with wet drawers, as her granny had been so fond of referring to women’s underwear. Just thinking about her sweet granny always made Rissa smile. Damn but she missed that woman so much. It seemed a whole other lifetime ago that she’d been able to sit on Granny’s sofa watching old reruns and eating popcorn and talking about anything and everything with the woman who had always been the most stable influence in her turbulent life. Shaking off the melancholy, Rissa descended the stairs and headed for the back door. She passed several of the security staff and even more Club members, and none had recognized her, but several had taken second glances, something that would not have happened if she hadn’t concealed her identity. Damn Mitch Grayson had made sure not one single man in The Club would give her more than a one-word answer to a question about anything but the weather. She’d evaded his advances for two years, but the man was tenacious, she’d give him that. But she had decided that perhaps it was time to at least consider going to dinner with him. She’d even been trying to find out a bit more about him. Suddenly she had to wonder if her behavior wasn’t just a bit too close to stalking. Even if he wasn’t interested in anything more than a casual relationship, she knew it was time to move on from her fear of being alone with a man. I wonder…exactly how you distinguish between a man’s tenacity and stalking? Hmmmm.

  Just as she reached the back door, Rissa felt a firm hand grasp her upper arm, and gasping in surprise, she turned to
see Bryant Davis looking at her with curious, brilliant blue eyes. Holy Mother of all things angelic, the man was so beautiful it was almost frightening. His hair was jet black, which made his electric-blue eyes seem like an even bigger anomaly. He was easily six and a half feet tall and moved with the grace of a tiger. Bryant had only recently returned from some bridge project in Japan. He had been gone for almost a year, and every Club member she knew was thrilled he’d finally returned to ShadowDance. From what she’d heard, he was one of those rare people that everyone seemed to like and admire. Rissa knew that he and Mitch were known to share women in the past, but she’d never been close enough to speak to him until now. His touch on her arm sent electric tingles zipping through her, and it took her a second to realize he had actually spoken to her. “Miss, answer me. Where do you think you are going? That collar tells me there is a Dom somewhere in this room who will be looking for you, and I’d like to have an answer to provide. So, I’m going to ask again, where are you going and where is your escort?”

  Oh shit, hadn’t thought about this wrinkle. Damn, stop staring at the man and think, Clarissa Jane. “Um, well, I wasn’t feeling well and asked his permission to just step right outside the back door and get a bit of fresh air. I won’t go more than just around the corner, I promise.” She didn’t think he was buying it, but then someone at the other side of the room called to him, and she knew she’d been saved.

  He looked at her for a few very long heartbeats before speaking, “I am trusting you to go no farther than just outside the door. You are stay close, do you understand?” God, the man really was too yummy for words, and his deep voice resonated low in her abdomen the same way Mitch Grayson’s did. She felt like someone had started a small fire inside of her, and with just the right amount of tending, it would quickly become a raging inferno…Mentally shaking herself back to reality, Rissa nodded her head and slipped out the door as he headed back to the bar. Yikes, that was close. Time to hightail it to my car and get my happy ass home before he decides to check up on me. Rissa started walking at a brisk pace, damn, should have worn a jacket, the wind had picked up, and the temperatures were dropping fast. That was a very close call. If anybody in The Club found out she’d just left against orders and lied to a dungeon monitor, holy shit she’d be in deeper trouble than she could dig out of in a month of Sundays. Hurrying along the walk, deep in thought about how big she’d just messed up, she didn’t even see the two men hustling a woman toward the garage until she was right behind them. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you. Hey, wait I don’t recognize any of you, what are you doing out here? This area is off-limits to everyone except employees. You’ll need to go back to The Club’s designated play areas and…Hey, let go of my arm. Who the hell do you think you are? You can’t go manhandling me like that, Christ, are you fucking deaf? Let go of me!”

  Petrov had signaled the driver to bring the nosey intruder along, and it didn’t seem like she was going to go quietly either. “Shut her up or shoot her, I don’t particularly care which at the point.” Petrov was furious that it was looking more and more like he was going to have to walk away and regroup. Fuck it all, he’d never seen so many people who couldn’t stay out of other people’s business. What the hell was with these people anyway?

  The driver didn’t let go of her arm and continued to drag her down the path behind the guy who was giving the orders. The other woman was obviously not going along voluntarily either. Rissa had always cursed her tendency to chatter when she was nervous. Frack she just couldn’t seem to be quiet even though it would no doubt be prudent to stay silent. “Where do you think you’re going? You can’t get in the garage, you know, and Grayson will be on you like white on rice when he sees you out here on the monitors.” Speaking loud enough that she hoped somebody nearby noticed a problem or that the motion- and sound-activated sensors kicked on, she continued even louder. “Oh yeah, Mitch and the other guys are so gonna be pissed big time when they find out you’re out here, and I don’t think that lady with you looks any happier than I am about suddenly becoming your date for this evening. What do you say, let’s all head back up to The Club and get something warm to drink?” Rissa knew if the men managed to get them around the corner, it was going to be pitch dark, and there was a really steep drop down to the lower level of the parking area, and falling off that in the dark sounded way too painful to her. Time for some distraction.

  * * * *

  Bryant Davis’s earbud clicked, and Mitch’s voice filled his ear. “Who was the little sub that walked out the back door just now?”

  “Don’t know, she said her Master knew she was going for fresh air and she promised to stay right by the back door, why?” Suddenly Bryant was on alert, something about the little sprite had seemed familiar, but he just couldn’t place her. He’d been gone so long, was she someone he knew? He just wasn’t sure.

  “Well, she straight-up lied to you. She’s headed toward the garage. I’d bet you anything that was Rissa, I had the spa checked, and she isn’t in there, and that little bit of a thing is the right size and walks just like the woman I’ve been telling you about for a year. Our target’s tracking devices put her right in Rissa’s path. I am so going to paddle her ass bright cherry red for this. Fuck! Isn’t there a single woman in this Club tonight that can follow a blessed instruction? Head that way right away. I’m grabbing a comm unit, and as soon as I get somebody up here to replace me, I’ll be right behind you.” And after a brief pause, he added. “Be careful, my friend, we just got you home, don’t want you to go getting yourself splattered or anything.”

  “Thanks, man, your concern touches my heart.” Bryant hoped Mitch understood that even though their exchange was all about snarl and sarcasm, he really did appreciate the reminder that things were not business as usual for tonight’s event.

  Just as Mitch was ready to leave the Crow’s Nest, he heard Rissa’s voice loud and clear. “Mitch and the other guys are so gonna be pissed big time when they find out you’re out here…” Holy shit! She’d just told him Petrov had them both. He quickly set off the alert to every man working in The Club and started giving the team location and intel when he heard a gunshot and then a blood-chilling scream…Rissa!

  * * * *

  As Rissa was falling backward over the retaining wall, she thought how odd it seemed that everything was happening in slow motion, she’d tried to yank her arm free from the big gorilla that was apparently half leach, and just as she felt his grip loosen slightly, the woman had thrown herself at Rissa. The momentum had sent them both over the edge, and just as they were losing their footing, she’d seen a flash a split second before she’d heard the sound of a gun. The woman had made a sick grunting sound, and at the same time Rissa had felt a burning in her shoulder. She’d looked up to see the woman grimace in pain, and then everything went blank.

  Dylan was the first to round the corner, coming to a dead stop when he remembered the retaining wall. He looked all around and couldn’t see anyone. What the fuck? He knew this was where the sound had come from, damn it all to hell, four people could not simply vanish into thin air. Just then in the distance he heard what sounded like dirt bikes. Oh hell no. He radioed for men to intercept and then called the Crow’s Nest for a location on Mia’s tracking devices. “What do you mean they show she’s behind the garage? I’m behind the garage’s main building, and there is no one here.” He heard what sounded like a soft whine and yelled, “Somebody get me some damned light back here.” In less than a second the entire area was flooded with enough light to mimic high noon. Typical Lamont overkill. Looking down, his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. Mia lay atop another woman, holy fucking hell, she’d been shot!

  Dylan hit his radio with the alert and request for the first responders from The Club and also ambulances. Running to the stairs, he was beside the women in mere seconds. He could hear Zach telling the team that he had grabbed his medic bag and was on his way, after that he tuned out everything but his too-still woman lyin
g facedown on top of an equally too-still form. Dylan was afraid to move Mia without a backboard, fearing neck and back injuries. From what he could see, the bullet had gone in through the fleshy part of her shoulder. If it was a through and through shot, likely the other woman would also have a wound and likely the bullet would have lost enough velocity that it would be lodged in her upper torso somewhere. Shit, he really was getting mighty tired of women getting hurt in his jurisdiction, and it really tanked that one of them was his.

  Sending up prayers to a God he hadn’t been on a first-name basis with for many years, Dylan looked up in to the terrified eyes of Mitch Grayson and Bryant Davis. Mitch was white as a sheet. “Is that Rissa?” was all he managed to ask around the lump in his throat.

  Dylan looked at him, a frown creasing his forehead as he answered his friend. “I thought she was supposed to be in the spa? This woman has black hair.” Reaching down, he slid his fingers along her hairline dislodging the wig enough to see deep auburn beneath before looking up in to the terrified expressions of Grayson and Davis and speaking the words they’d been dreading. “Oh shit, it is Rissa. Where the hell is Zach with that damned medic equipment?” He had no sooner spoken than Zach and Jamie Creed moved up beside them and motioned him back. Jamie had been a sniper on the Lamonts’ team and had joined the ShadowDance contract team a while back. Dylan knew Creed had been stationed in the surrounding evergreen trees so he wasn’t surprised to see the lanky young man had fallen in with Zach as they made their way through the gathering crowd to the injured women. Someone handed down a couple of backboards that were kept in The Club’s small medical ATV. With a flurry of motion both women were secured to the boards and moved into the heated garage for assessment and then transport. Even though the property had a helipad, the coming storm was packing a powerful punch, wind speeds were already picking up quickly, so there was no way anyone would attempt an air lift.