Dark Redemption

by Barron, Melinda

  “Yes, Sir,” Nate replied, bowing his head.

  “Don’t blame him,” Knox said. “Tatum can be very convincing. Don’t punish him for what she did.”

  “Nate knows the rules. No unaccompanied female leaves the building without an escort to her car. No exceptions. That’s what he’ll be punished for.”

  “I’m sorry, Sir,” Nate said. “It won’t happen again.

  “Take them to Knox’s house and get right back here.” Chad turned to Knox. “Do you want me to report the car stolen?”

  “No,” Knox said. “We’ll take care of it.”

  Chad nodded and yelled for another sub to bring down Knox and Vince’s personal effects from room four. While they waited, he pulled Nate aside to talk.

  When Knox and Vince had their wallets, they entered the car Nate had pulled around and took off. Knox gave Nate his address and the big man made record time to the other side of town. He dropped them off and left just as quickly.

  “I’d say Nate is fixing to get his ass whipped,” Vince said as Knox opened the garage door and sorted through helmets.

  “I’d say you’re right.” He handed Knox a helmet. “Here. I’ll even let you ride the Indian. But you wreck it, you buy me a new one.”

  “On my salary? You’re the doctor. I’ve only got one bike, remember? I’m an underpaid public servant.”

  “I’m a physical therapist who had to cancel all his appointments yesterday, and now today. I hope I’m not looking for a new job when this is all over.”

  Knox went into the house, packed a bag with a few of his and Tatum’s clothing, then strapped it on the back of the bike.

  “I packed enough for you,” he said to Vince. “We’re about the same size.”

  They mounted the bikes and hit I-25. Knox was thankful that it was almost three in the morning, and there was hardly any traffic. They could make better time that way. He also knew Tatum would not encounter traffic, either. Hopefully, their little shortcut, even if some of the roads were unimproved, would get them there at about the same time as she did.

  At Rio Rancho, they turned onto Highway 527 and kicked up the speed.

  They’d been silent so far, so when Vince’s voice sounded in his helmet, Knox uttered an expletive.

  “You know,” Vince said. “You’re going to have two choices here. You’re either going to have to give up on her, or punish her severely for stealing your truck and lying to you. I hope you’re thinking about that.”

  Knox adjusted his microphone. “I am. I’m not giving up on her.”

  “And the punishment?”

  “I haven’t decided yet.”

  * * *

  Tatum pulled into the cabin’s driveway and put the truck into park. It was almost six in the morning, and the cabin lay in darkness. No cars were parked in front of her, and from the looks of things, there was no one there.

  She debated about calling Patrick and telling him she was in Chama, asking if she could go into the cabin. But she and Patrick had parted on less than civil terms and she was sure her request would be met with a resounding, ‘hell no’.

  Even after her earlier confidence, it had taken her a bit to find the cabin, so she was later than she’d wanted to be.

  She laid her head on the steering wheel and thought about Knox. The idea of him brought tears to her eyes. She had been looking forward to a decent relationship, and she’d ruined it. There was no way he would want to continue with her after this. He would dump her like yesterday’s garbage. She wanted to rewind the clock, go back to when they’d discovered the note, and tell him the truth.

  Tatum put her head in her hands and sobbed. She’d ruined everything, she knew that now. She should have trusted Knox, told him about the cabin, trusted him to help her discover what happened to Craig.

  Instead, she’d shut him out, pushed him away, and then run from him. Not only had she run from him, she’d stolen his truck. She’d worried the whole way up that a cop would stop her and arrest her for grand theft. She’d passed several, but not one of them had looked twice at her.

  That meant that either Knox hadn’t reported the truck stolen, or he intended to do so in the morning. If he did it today, then when she drove back to Santa Fe later this morning, she would be stopped and arrested.

  She would lose her job, she would lose her house, but worst of all, she would lose Knox. Of course, she was sure that loss had already occurred.

  Once she was outside the truck, she sniffled and willed her tears to stop. Then, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

  “Talk to me, Craig. Where did you leave it? What do you want me to find?”

  No disembodied voice sounded in her mind, and no ghostly forms appeared in the dark.

  “Craig, help me!” Good Lord, I sound like a moron!

  She walked toward the cabin and remembered the time they’d spent here, happily hiking, swimming in the pond, collecting firewood, and roasting marshmallows. The vacation was burned into her brain. Her mother and Patrick had kicked them out of the house a few times. Tatum didn’t know why at the time, although she did now. They would have sex while she and Craig played in the woods, and near the creek.

  What had Craig told her? She sat down on the porch steps and closed her eyes, just for a few minutes rest.

  Memories of the trip grew stronger. Then, Craig’s voice sounded loud and clear, as if he were standing right next to her. She opened her eyes. He wasn’t standing next to her, but the memory of him was inside her.

  “Tatum, when I was a kid, we used to come here. My parents would fight like cats and dogs, and Patrick and I would go into the cliffs near here. There are some caves that we used to play in, pretend that we were Indians that lived in this area. We used to have such a great time.”

  Sounds from the highway drifted by. The cabin was only three miles off the road, and in the early morning quiet, car sounds had always drifted up. Tatum knew that the world was coming to life again. People who lived near here would be going to work soon, would be getting on with their lives.

  She closed her eyes and concentrated on remembering Craig’s words from her childhood. The cliffs, the caves. If Craig had left something for her here, it would be hidden in one of those caves. There were only three of them as Tatum remembered. Searching for Craig’s package shouldn’t be too hard.

  “Tatum.” The voice was soft, yet full of urgency.

  “I hear you, Craig. I’ll go there.”

  “Tatum!”

  She popped her eyes open and stared. Knox stood before her, his hands on his hips, his muscular thighs encased in motorcycle chaps, and fire in his eyes.

  “You, young lady, are in a hell of a lot of trouble.”

  Chapter 14

  “Knox, I…” Tatum stood, then stopped when Knox held up his hands.

  “Don’t, Tatum. Don’t try to come up with an excuse or make this any less than what it really is.”

  “I’m sorry.” Her heart lodged in her throat.

  “So am I.”

  “I had to do this, for Craig.”

  “No, Tatum. You did this because you chose to do it. You did this because deep down, you didn’t trust me. You look at me and see Brandon. That’s why you did this.”

  She bit her lip to keep from crying.

  “Have you found anything?”

  “I haven’t looked. How did you get here so quick?”

  “Nate told us you were gone. He’s in trouble, by the way. Just so you know that your actions affect more than you, me, and Vince.”

  Tatum gasped.

  “Master Chad wouldn’t fire him, would he?”

  “He would. Nate broke the rules by letting an unaccompanied female leave the building alone. He may lose his job. I wanted you to know that.”

  Tatum nodded, guilt washing over her body. The idea of sweet Nate being fired made her stomach roll. She knew that to protest about it would do no good. From the look on Knox’s face, things were pretty much done between the two of them.


  The silence stretched on. Finally, Knox cleared his throat.

  “You have somewhere you want to search?”

  “Yes. There are some caves near here. I think that would be a good place to start.”

  Knox nodded, then turned to wave Vince over to them. Tatum felt bad that she hadn’t even noticed that the burly blond stood near the motorcycles, letting her and Knox have time alone.

  “I’m sorry I’ve ruined everything. I seem to be pretty good at that.”

  “You’ve put a huge dent in it; that’s for sure,” Knox replied. “But I’m sure I can think of a proper punishment. Or two. Or three. Or more.”

  “You’re not…”

  “Don’t even say it, Tatum. Have you uttered your safe word? Hmm? Do you want out?”

  Tatum shook her head furiously.

  “Then hush. But I’m warning you, Tatum. This is it. You pull another stunt like this and I’ll whip your ass. And it’ll have nothing to do with Master/sub, and everything to do with good old-fashioned discipline, which you are sorely lacking. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes,” Tatum said softly.

  Vince walked up and winked at Tatum. “Hey, car thief. I brought my handcuffs.”

  “Good,” Knox replied. “We’ll need them later. Now, where are these caves?”

  Tatum’s heart beat painfully. He wasn’t pushing her aside. She’d done about the worst thing she could do to Knox. She’d lied to him, stolen his car, and he was still standing by her. Did people like him really exist? All her life people had left. Her mother had always been there, until she’d found a new husband or boyfriend, then she’d let Tatum languish by her side until the man was gone, only to push her aside again when a new one came along. And they always did.

  “The caves?” Knox asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Over there.” She pointed toward the north. “There’s about three of them in the side of a mountain.”

  “Let’s go,” Vince said. “I’ve convinced my captain that I’m searching for evidence on Tatum’s break-in today, but he has no idea where I’m at. I need to get my ass back to Santa Fe by the end of shift, which is in seven hours. And it’s a three-and-a-half-hour drive.”

  “You can take the truck,” Knox said. “Tatum and I will ride the bikes.”

  Knox walked back to the bike and retrieved two water bottles, and they started into the woods. It didn’t take Tatum long to find the caves.

  “No footprints,” Vince said, bending down in front of each cave. “We’ll have to search them all.”

  They explored the first cave for an hour before giving up after finding nothing. During a break for water, Tatum rolled her head from shoulder to shoulder.

  “Maybe somebody’s already found it, or maybe he never made it up here to leave anything.”

  “He did,” Vince said. “There’s evidence somewhere about something illegal. The person who attacked you knows that. And they want it.”

  They’d been inside the second cave for about ten minutes when Knox’s voice broke the silence.

  “Something tells me this isn’t an Indian artifact.” He held up a black backpack. It seemed very flat.

  “Where did you find it?” Tatum asked.

  “Buried under the large L painted on that rock,” Knox said. “Some people might have thought it was a lover’s mark, like carving your initials in a tree. I figured it was L for Tatum.”

  He handed the bag to her and she opened it quickly. Inside she found a letter, and another key.

  “To Tatum Jensen, or to whoever finds this. I have stored evidence of a crime in a safety deposit box at Western Bank in Albuquerque. This key opens that box. If you are not Tatum, please take this key to the Albuquerque Police Department.”

  Vince checked his watch. “It’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive, and it’s almost noon. If we left right now, we could just make it before closing without having to go to the trouble of getting a warrant. We’ll go faster on the bikes. We have a friend who has a cabin not far from here. We can leave the truck there, if that’s okay with you, Knox?”

  “Of course,” Knox replied. “The truck’s already been stolen once today.”

  Tatum winced and bit her lip. She was rewarded with a grin from Knox.

  “Let’s get going,” Vince said.

  They parked the truck about ten miles down the road, then took off on the bikes, Tatum riding behind Knox on the Indian.

  “Lucky you brought an extra helmet,” she said to him through her microphone.

  “Luck has nothing to do with it,” Knox replied. “I always carry a spare.”

  Tatum settled herself closer to him. He felt warm and secure between her thighs, and it had nothing to do with sex, and everything to do with security. She wrapped her arms around his waist, tightening her grip, and placing her chin on his shoulder.

  He gently squeezed her left hand with his own, and Tatum felt his heat spread through her body. She was grateful to Margaret for introducing them, for knowing exactly what Tatum needed in her life.

  “Shit! Margaret. And Marcy. And crap, Briscoe. I was supposed to be at work by eleven today.”

  “You’re late,” Vince said with a laugh.

  “What I am is fired. There is no way Briscoe will allow this. He’s such a hard ass.”

  “I’ll call him,” Vince said. “Explain everything to him.”

  “Great,” Tatum replied. “I don’t think Briscoe will let me keep my job just ’cause I have a note from my mommy.”

  “I’m not your mommy; I’m a cop. I had you in custody for stealing a car.”

  “Then he’ll really fire me,” Tatum said.

  “Probably,” Knox replied. “But, you know, I’m late for work too, Tatum. We could both be out of a job.”

  “Really? Oh shit.”

  Knox’s laugh was evil. “Not really. I called a friend at ten and asked him to cover for me.”

  “That was mean of you to scare me like that.”

  “No meaner than what you’ve done today,” Knox said. “By the way, Vince, know any good punishments for a car thief?”

  “You mean besides jail time? I’m thinking a whipping.”

  “I’m thinking you’re right. A big one. In the public room at Jaguars.”

  Tatum’s stomach plummeted. “Knox, please, no public.”

  “I’m sorry, Tatum, but this type of behavior warrants public punishment. I’m sure that Master Chad will want to punish you, too, for breaking club rules.”

  “You would let him punish me?”

  “Yes, Tatum, I would,” Knox said. “Do you forget that your theft had consequences for Nate, too? Master Chad has every right to punish you. He practically has to, so that people can’t think they can do things like that at Jaguars. And, I guarantee you, everyone knows what happened.”

  “I don’t want to…”

  “You have to trust me on this one, Tatum. If it doesn’t happen this way, I can guarantee you that Master Chad will never allow you back in Jaguars, even if you’re with me.”

  They’d entered the outskirts of Espanola, about an hour from Albuquerque. Knox’s words had been like ice water poured all over Tatum. She’d thought that Knox had forgiven her; that he’d punish her for a while, and all would be well with them. Now she found out that he was going to hand her over to Master Chad for punishment.

  Not that Tatum could blame him. What she’d done was a terrible thing. But still, knowing that she would be punished, and by someone other than Knox, scared her half to death.

  “I want to stop and call Pablo, ask him to meet us at the bank,” Vince said. “Then we can go to the SFPD and examine whatever we find.”

  They pulled into a convenience store long enough to top the tanks, make the call and get something to drink, then started back off. They pulled up at the bank five minutes before closing.

  Tatum had been prepared to fight for the right to get into the box. She silently blessed Craig when she found out her name was on the le
ase, too, and the bank gave her no problem. Inside they found notarized documents and two DVDs.

  At the police station, Pablo popped the DVD marked one into his computer and they all gathered around to watch.

  When Craig’s face appeared on the screen, Tatum began to cry. Knox pulled her backwards into him, the wall of his chest comforting to her as he wrapped his arms around her.

  “It’s okay, baby. Think of this as his legacy. He’s going to right a wrong.”

  Tatum nodded, and wiped at her tears as Craig started to talk. He gave his name, his age, and the date. The DVD had been made two weeks before Craig’s death.

  “A little over a month ago, I found out that my boss, Alan Malfee, has been operating a drug smuggling ring out of his package pickup service. I found out entirely by accident, and when I confronted him, he offered to cut me in on the profits. Then, he told me, even though I might not have known it, I’d carried drugs on more than one of my runs.”

  Craig went on to discuss how the ring worked, how certain drivers would make trips on the books to cities near the Mexican border, make an unscheduled stop along the way and load up with drugs. And on some loads, Craig said, drivers would pick up what they thought were legitimate hauls and not know that there were drugs in their shipment.

  “I believe several of the drivers are in on it,” Craig said. “I’ve enclosed a list of names on the sheets provided, along with an affidavit of my statement, given to a stenographer that I know in Santa Fe. In two weeks, I’m scheduled to make another run down state. I’ve convinced Alan that I’m in on the plan. When I pick up my load, I’m going to check it on the open road, to see what’s there. If there are drugs, I’m going straight to the police station with them.”

  “I’ve made this recording in case something happens to me. The other DVD is a recording I made of Alan and Rodney Baker unloading drugs at the warehouse.”

  Tatum gasped. “Not Rodney. He was so nice to me when Craig died.”

  “Nice Rodney probably killed Craig,” Vince said. “And, he probably attacked you, too, Tatum.”