by Avery Gale
Chapter Five
Tobi West paced the length of the living room of the suite they’d rented. Even though it was a beautiful place to stay while they were staying in Houston, she was antsy and bored—a dangerous combination for her. “Will you please sit still? You’re making me a nervous wreck. And your pacing is about to make me dizzy—if I throw up again, Jax and Micah are going to pack me off to the doctor—again. And I’ll hold you personally responsible.” Gracie was lounging back on the large sofa so surrounded by the pillowed cushions, Tobi wondered how her friend planned to get up without help if she had to make a fast trip to the powder room.
“Close your eyes and don’t watch if you can’t take it. And don’t think for a minute I’m taking the rap for your husbands being anal…that’s just a Dom thing—they were like that before I met them.” Hell, every Dom Tobi knew was all tough-talking-macho-man until he found the right sub and then they all seemed to turn into mother hens almost overnight. But in Gracie’s case, Jax and Micah’s concerns were well founded, Tobi’s best friend had struggled throughout her first pregnancy so everyone was worried this time around might bring the same challenges. Their mutual OBs had threatened to hospitalize Gracie more than once if things didn’t improve the first time, and both of her husbands had been beside themselves with worry since discovering she was pregnant again. Both Tobi and her mother-in-law, Lilly, had spent a lot of time at the McDonald-Drake house making sure Gracie stayed in bed whenever Jax and Micah both had to be away from home during her first pregnancy—and would likely do the same this time around.
“It won’t matter, I’ll still be able to feel the wind whipping around the room. Good God Gertie, knock it off. When you are walking so fast I can feel the air moving and it makes me…oh shit—help me up…quick!” Tobi looked over and just as she’d figured, her friend was windmilling all four limbs trying to roll out of the plush pillows.
“Oh duck it.” Tobi hurried to Gracie’s side pulling her quickly to her feet. “Holy hell’s bells and cottontails, you are sorta green there, girlfriend.” Most of her words had been spoken to Gracie’s back as she sprinted down the hall to the closest power room.
“Good save, kitten.” Kyle’s deep voice sounded right behind her and she squealed in surprise as she spun around slapping at his chest.
“Damn it all to donuts, you scared me. I swear you do that just for shits...umm, szitsus and giggles.” Well crap, she probably hadn’t covered that last curse quickly enough, but he’d nearly scared her to death.
“Oh, and you were so close.” Kent’s teasing voice sounded behind Kyle, she should have known they’d be together since they were working out of the suite. “Where’s Gracie?”
“Ummm, she’s in the powder room. She’ll be back in a few minutes. Where are Jax and Micah?” When they stepped side by side, and crossed their arms over their chests without answering, Tobi babbled on, “I was just curious. I don’t need them or anything. I just wondered if they happen to be around.” Damn her rambling, it always gave her away.
“You know, brother, if I was the suspicious type I’d think our sweet wife was lying through her teeth.” Kyle might have been talking to Kent, but his eyes never left her.
“Yeah, I would too, or at the very least I’d think she was not telling us something we probably ought to know.” Damn, she hated it when they did this. Unless Lilly was around it was always two against one and sometimes that just made her dig her heels in deeper. Not that it was ever a good plan, but there it was—sometimes she just wanted to go down fighting.
She didn’t answer other than to cross her arms over her own chest, keeping them low enough to raise her breasts, making them strain toward the revealing neckline of her shirt. She wanted to tempt them enough to shift their focus—and there it was. She wanted to do a happy dance when both of their gazes dropped to her chest, their eyes dilating, she was sure she’d gotten the distraction she’d been hoping for. Tobi knew exactly what they were seeing because the loose shirt she was wearing over her shorts was almost indecently low cut and without even glancing down, she knew the lacy bra she was wearing wasn’t hiding anything from their view. “I know what you’re doing, kitten. And unless you want us to take you up on that offer right here in the living room—where any member of our team could enter without warning, you might want to rethink your strategy.”
“God, I hope she doesn’t.” Kent’s words were a reverent whisper that sounded more like a prayer than a real comment. Damn, the two of them were forces of nature when they wanted to be, and as much as she hated to admit defeat, she slowly lowered her arms to her sides. Kent’s soft curse was negated by the mischievous grin on his face.
“Such a good girl. Now, tell us what’s up with Gracie that has you skittering like you’ve just been caught with your pretty little paws in the cookie jar.” When Kyle poured on the charm it practically oozed out every pore. Damn his voice was enough to make her panties wet and from the unholy gleam in his eyes, he knew exactly what he was doing to her.
Since she couldn’t think of a good reason to get a paddling for not blabbing, she said, “She didn’t seem to be feeling well.” She paused and realizing she’d dropped her gaze to the floor—shit-shit-shit—she looked to up see them both studying her like she was some sort of science experiment. “What?”
Kyle let out a sigh she recognized as his ‘I’m almost out of patience with you’ sound and grabbed her wrist pulling her close. It didn’t escape her attention that his fingers were right over her pulse point. “Now, let me tell you what I see. I see a beautiful young woman who for some damnable reason still thinks she can lie by omission to the two men who know her delectable little body far better than she does. Your breathing is faster than it was a minute ago and that’s saying something since I’d startled you enough to have you spitting out your faux curses. Your eyes are constricting, your chest is flushing, and your pulse is speeding up with every beat of your heart.” He paused for a few seconds for effect and then simply said, “Talk.”
“Geez, alright already, keep your hair on. Dang, you’re gonna have a stroke if you don’t lighten up a little.” Neither of them seemed amused and over their shoulders she could see that Jax and Micah had entered the room, they glanced around for their wife and then zeroed in on her. Fuck a fat fairy, sorry, Gracie, but I’m throwing your sweet toosh under the bus. “Gracie is in the powder room because she’s throwing up—again.” Jax and Micah both cursed and took off down the hall, and Tobi felt like a slug.
Kyle’s fingers came under her chin and lifted so her eyes met his. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? Love, that was important information for her Masters to have, don’t you think? Part of the problem Gracie had during her last pregnancy was because she’d gotten terribly run down before Jax or Micah knew how sick she was. If they can get ahead of it this time, hopefully she’ll fare better.” Well drown him, when he said it like that it made perfect sense, even if she knew Gracie was going to read her the riot act for selling her out.
“Yeah, I know. It just seems wrong because it really isn’t my story to tell, you know?” Tobi and Gracie had been friends and neighbors before she met the West twins, and they’d been through some pretty scary things together over the years. Hell, they were closer than many sisters Tobi knew, so tattling on Gracie just didn’t seem right.
“Come on, let’s see if we can’t make a snack that will help settle her stomach when she comes back out. We ought to be able to come up with something.” They moved to the kitchen and Tobi noted that Kent placed a phone on the bar before pulling out a tall stool and lifting her up onto the seat. Both men were always quick to help her up onto anything higher than a normal chair, they’d seen her grace in action too many times to trust her to manage alone. I swear I’m going to be tall and overflowing with willowy grace in my next life. Oh, and model thin…with great teeth…and hair…well, hell. I need to start a list.
While he prepared a snack for Gracie, Kyle watched Tobi and wondered
why she seemed out of sorts. She’d been edgy since her conversation with Lara yesterday and he wasn’t sure why, unless she was simply worrying for her friend. She and Gracie had been so wrapped up in planning yesterday’s festivities, he’d wondered if there wouldn’t be a letdown period when it was all over—so maybe that was the issue. Deciding to let her know what they needed from her might at least get a conversation started, but as usual she beat him to the punch. “Whose phone is that?” Tobi had pointed to the phone Kent had set on the counter in front of them.
Kent grinned at her, “Lara’s” was the only thing his brother said, the rat bastard was obviously going to play with their wife and risk pissing her off. They needed her on board with their plan in case Lara got the call Eric Roberts was convinced was coming.
“Okay, I’ll bite, but just so you know…I’m aware you are baiting me. Why do you still have Lara’s phone?” Any other day Kyle might consider paddling her lush ass for copping an attitude, but he intended to let it slide today since she actually had a valid point, and they probably deserved to be called on it.
By the time he and Kent finished explaining their concerns and those of the representatives from the various government agencies they’d been consulting with, Tobi was twisting her fingers together and her brow was creased with concern. She didn’t say anything for several minutes, Kyle and Kent just sat quietly letting her process everything they’d said. One of the things they loved about Tobi was the fact she was smart as a whip as their dads liked to say. She rarely rushed into decisions, contrary to what most people would have guessed, and she was actually very methodical when considering a problem and liked to gather as much information as possible before making a call one way or another. She might be impulsive in her personal behavior, but anytime they’d asked her to make a decision she’d looked at all the angles before making a call.
“So basically, everybody thinks the parents have either gone into hiding for whatever reason, or they’re already dead. And if they are dead, then it’s because of something Lara may or may not know.” Damn, she’d given an amazingly accurate summation of several hours work—and she’d done it in two fucking sentences. Uncle Sam didn’t know what he was missing and Kyle hoped Eric Roberts didn’t figure it out.
Kent looked as stunned as Kyle felt but he managed to answer, “That pretty much covers it.”
“Wonder if she really knows what they think she does? Because I can’t see her failing to mention it before now. Lara is a straight-shooter. I’ve never seen her do anything that made me think she wasn’t being one hundred percent honest with me. But she is also pretty naïve sometimes, so I can see her not realizing she knows. Then again, maybe it’s something they think she has, like a special decoder ring or something. Maybe some super-secret recipe for a food weapon—no that can’t be right, I’ve heard the stories about her cooking disasters. Heckle and Jeckle she’d give me a run for my money on that front.” Kyle was working hard to suppress his laughter because he knew Tobi had slipped from conversation to thinking out loud, but he let her continue because God knew he and Kent often got very valuable information while she narrated her thoughts. More often than not it got her in trouble, but he didn’t expect that to happen in this instance.
Watching her eyes clear, Kyle knew she’d come back to the moment and he couldn’t help but smile down at her. “Kitten, I do love the way your mind works. I swear it’s no wonder you and our mom are so close.” Analytical brilliance wrapped in beautiful soft silk. He and Kent thanked their lucky stars every day their mom had met Tobi and sent her their way. They’d been avoiding Tobi’s calls and emails for weeks because she’d been working for a local magazine and had wanted to do an article on The Prairie Winds Club, and they, on the other hand, hadn’t wanted the publicity. But when Mama West put her foot down and insisted Kent arrange a meeting with the reporter she’d met during a visit to the magazine’s office, they’d complied. From the first moment they’d met the pint-sized dynamo, they’d been grateful for their mother’s insistence. And the fact the two most important women in their lives loved one another as if they really were mother and daughter was a huge bonus.
She grinned as if he’d just handed her the deed to the universe, “Thanks. I always take that as a compliment even though I’m not convinced it always is.” Her grin was so infectious, Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle and, he could see Kent’s shoulders shaking with silent laughter as well. After a few seconds of silence, Tobi moved her thoughtful gaze between the two of them and said, “Okay, now I know there is more, so out with it.” Damn, maybe she was spending too much time with their mom.
“Careful, sweetness. You don’t want to let your mouth start writing checks your sweet little ass will have to cash later. I’d much rather fuck you than punish you.” It always amazed Kyle that everybody thought Kent was the more easy-going of the two of them, when in fact he was far stricter. Kyle might talk more, but his twin was all about action.
“Sorry, Master.” Kyle had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing because she was laying it on pretty thick, though he had to admit when she dipped her chin and looked up at him through her long lashes, it went straight to his cock. “I just want to know what it is the two of you aren’t saying, because I know you, and it’s there…I can feel it.”
There wasn’t going to be any arguing her point because she was dead on. But this time it was Kent who answered, “You’re right, sweetness. We do need your help. We’ve kept Lara’s phone because we’re hoping to be able to backtrace any calls she may get about her parents. There are several things that don’t add up, but no one wants to say anything to Lara just yet.”
Kent had barely finished speaking when Tobi squealed and was literally bouncing up and down in her chair. “Oh, tell me what you want me to do—I’m going to be the best operative you’ve ever had, you just wait and see. Want me to ferret out information? I’m really good at asking nosey questions. Or maybe you want me to find out who her parents really work for…they might work for the CIA or something. Heck, maybe they were spying for Uncle Sam and got busted trying to steal top secret missile locations or vials of germ warfare stuff.” Kyle looked at Kent to see the same horror reflected in his eyes that Kyle was feeling. How on earth had they lost any semblance of control over this conversation so quickly?
Obviously Tobi had noted their response, because without skipping so much as a beat, she added, “Maybe they know where Jimmy Hoffa is buried…yeah, that’s probably it. You want I should find out, Boss? Huh? That what you want?” She’d ended with the corniest mafia gangster accent he’d ever heard and before they could even respond, raucous laugh sounded behind them and they turned to see Jax and Micah leaned back howling with laughter. Gracie stood between them, and even though she looked pale, her grin said she’d heard Tobi’s outburst as well.
Kyle walked over to Gracie and wedged himself between Jax and his wife before grasping her elbow and leading her carefully over to the bar. Helping her up so she was seated beside Tobi, he slid the small plate of crackers and mild cheese he’d prepared for her over before moving to the refrigerator to get her a glass of milk. “Here you go, Gracie, hopefully this will help settle things down for you. I hated to see you stranded over there between those two laughing hyenas.” She smiled and thanked him, but he noticed she only nibbled at the snack and even though neither of her husbands mentioned it, he knew they’d also noted she wasn’t eating. They all settled into a relaxed conversation as they bantered back and forth about the best way to handle irreverent subs and he was grateful Gracie seemed to relax.
Jax took the lead explaining to Tobi what they had in mind when they’d asked her to answer Lara’s phone. She seemed disappointed that they wanted her to simply listen as much as possible, and to follow any instructions they gave her during the call. They were all wearing earbuds and would be able to hear everything the caller said so they’d be able to coach her during the conversation. “Tobi, it’s important you say as little
as possible in case whoever is on the other end knows Lara well enough to realize you aren’t her. We’ll feed you questions so you won’t have to worry about that. The thing I want you to focus on is keeping yourself in character, it’s awfully easy to say ‘she thinks’ for example instead of ‘I think’. A small slip-up like that can blow an entire operation.”
Kyle was impressed with how attentively she’d listened to Jax’s instructions and he was glad they’d decided it would be better to let someone besides he or Kent coach her. Too much would be riding on the call, which the alphabet agencies expected, so they needed Tobi to listen and follow orders, and everyone agreed it would probably be easier for Jax to impart the information. Hell, everybody knew how much the little imp liked to challenge both he and Kent, so handing the job over to Jax had been an easy call.
Just as they finished cleaning up and prepared to move into the suite’s living room, Lara’s phone lit up the word “Dad” and began playing “Papa was a Rolling Stone” by The Temptations. God save me from subs with quirky senses of humor. Micah took off running to the small room where they’d set up their computer equipment and Kyle nodded to Tobi, “You’re up, kitten.”
Chapter Six
Lara relaxed under the hot water as the shower rained down in muscle massaging pulses gently driving out the tension in her shoulders. Her ass was throbbing from the punishment Fischer had meted out earlier, damn he’d been tough on her and even though she wasn’t thrilled with him, she understood what he’d been trying to do. Lara knew she tended to bottle up her fear and she’d felt herself locking up her emotions as soon as she’d heard her parents were missing. Shuttering her feelings was a habit she’d learned as a child—her parents had been relentless in the admonishments to show no fear and to hold her temper in check.
