“She’ll be right here. She’s in the mobile home up front to the right if you’re facing the trailer park.”
Only a few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Lucas opened the door and let Constance in. “Hi, everybody,” Constance called as she entered the house.
“Hey, Constance. Thanks for coming. This is Basilio, his mate Renata and their son, Kaiser.”
“Hello,” Constance said. Instead of just greeting them, she took the time to hug both Renata and Basilio. “I’m so glad you’re here. I know Roman was worried about you making it safely,” she said. “And he’s already got enough on his mind.” She let go of Basilio and stood back, smiling at him. “I’d know you were Roman’s family even if I’d never been introduced to you. You look just like him.”
Basilio shook her hand gently. “Thank you. I think.”
“Oh, yes. He’s quite handsome,” Constance said. “You know, I was about to go swimming across the street at Riley’s house. But I hate to go alone. I was wondering if anyone would like to go with me.”
“I’ll go!” Kaiser shouted, shoving his arm in the air, raising his hand to be noticed.
“Me, too!” Cristie said, mimicking Kaiser.
“That would be wonderful,” Constance said. “Come along now. I’m anxious to get to the pool. Bring your brownies if you must and let’s get there before everyone else.”
“I been there before,” Cristie said, sliding out of the chair with her brownie in her hand.
“You have?” Kaiser asked.
“Yep. It’s my house. I swim every day.”
“Oh. Cool,” he said.
“Cool?” Renata repeated, looking at Basilio.
“What?” he said, grinning at her.
“Where’d he get cool from?” she asked.
“Who knows?” Basilio answered.
“Mama, I can go right? To Cristie’s house and swim?” Kaiser asked, leaning against her leg with his arms around her neck.
“If you promise to be very, very good. And you promise to obey all the rules, and remember all our rules, too,” she answered, hugging him to her and kissing his temple.
“I know. If somebody that smells like me comes, I have to hide right away and don’t come out no matter what.”
“Be very good, baby. Please?” she asked.
“I will, Mama. Where’s my bathing suit?” he asked, looking down at his shorts.
“It’s packed. Just swim in your shorts and I’ll find the bathing suit later,” Renata said.
“Okay,” he agreed.
“Everyone ready?” Constance asked, opening the door and waiting while the children went down the stairs in front of her. “We’ll see you all later,” she said, before closing the door.
“They’ll be fine and we’ll be there with them shortly,” Riley said, sensing the nervousness pouring off Renata.
“Tell me what’s happening,” Riley said.
“He lied to me. Spun all these beautiful tales of him and me and the baby and how perfect our life would be. I believed him. He worked a lot, but was at every doctor’s appointment, at every ultrasound. He was attentive and loving. When Kaiser was born, I felt like the luckiest woman on the planet. Then he said that it was time we moved in with him. I gave no objection, he was Kaiser’s father and we were in a loving, committed relationship.
The moment we arrived, I knew I’d made a mistake. I was given a suite, with an adjoining nursery. I wasn’t allowed to leave my suite without an escort, and guards were placed outside my room. He came to me later that night. I was upset, but he said that there’d been an attempt on his life and the additional security was necessary for the time being. I believed him. A few days later one of his females managed to gain access to my suite. She made it quite clear that not only was I not wanted, but that if I thought to replace her as first mate, I’d die before that ever happened.
He came to me again that night and when I told him what I’d learned, he became furious. He dragged me out of the suite and through the house to another wing. He burst through the door and dragged me behind him the whole way. There were a lot of other women there. He introduced me as his first mate. Told them I’d supplied him with his first-born son. The son that would one day be Prime. That they were to stay away from my suite, they were to treat me respectfully, and they were to stay far away from my son.
Then he explained to me that they were his women. He said they were the other females required to keep him satisfied. He said they were not loved and revered as I was. They were simply a harem — a luxury allowed to all men of his stature and that I would come to appreciate them as family. He said they’d help raise my child in the way he wanted, leaving me free to follow whatever hobby he approved of me taking up.
I asked if they were all his wives. He told me only I would be his wife, they were his harem. He got angry because he had to repeat himself. I asked if he’d be sleeping with these women. He said no. He only had sex with them. Then he’d return to my quarters where I’d clean him and he’d then satisfy my needs and there he’d sleep.
I told him there was no way in hell I’d live under those conditions. I was taking my son and leaving. He laughed at me and before I realized what was happening, he’d struck me so hard it knocked me down.
He leaned over me and told me in no uncertain terms that I’d live whatever way he chose, and if I didn’t, there were plenty of other females under his roof willing to raise my child in my absence. Then he dragged me out into the corridor and down the stairs where there were a number of his men gathered, and he, he…”
A steady rumble could be heard around the room, the entire time she was speaking. Basilio was doing his best not to shift, but most of the rumble was his and the more she spoke, the more he wanted to kill the fucker that had hurt his woman.
“It’s okay. There’s no need to tell us anything too personal,” Riley said softly.
Renata nodded. Her voice trembled when she started speaking again. “He said I would learn my place just as the others had, or he’d do it again every single day until I learned to be humble and appreciative.” Renata stopped talking for a moment, looking down at her clasped hands in her lap. Basilio put his arm around her shoulders and held her to his side to offer encouragement.
“I fought it for as long as I could. Every day he’d drag me down those stairs, some days stripping me before hand, and beating me almost senseless. Then he laid me out and… and it didn’t matter how many watched. After a very short while I figured out if I ever wanted to escape, I’d have to play his game. So, I did. I waited for him in the evenings. He’d show up and go straight to the shower where I’d bathe him, then he’d insist we have sex, and then he’d spend the night in my bed.” Renata looked up to meet Riley’s eyes. “But at least we no longer had an audience, and I was no longer being beaten.
I played the part well, and when Kaiser was nine months old, I finally got my chance. He went out of town on business, with strict instructions that I was to remain in my suite, and meals would be delivered with the exception of going to the kitchens to prepare Kaiser’s meals. It was much simpler than I thought. I simply opened my door and walked down the hallway to the service elevator with Kaiser in my arms. When it came to a stop, it opened in the kitchen on the ground floor. There was no one there because all the servants were in bed or given the night off after tending to me because he wasn’t there. I walked out of the door and never looked back.”
“You’ve been running since,” Riley said.
Renata nodded. “He’s come close to finding me several times. I’ve managed to get away each time, learning from my mistakes as I went. The last time I got away, I did not open a bank account, I did not buy a car in my name, and the apartment I rented… I showed the title of the car as proof of my name — it still has the girl’s name I bought it from. I’m a contract worker at the stadium so I was paid cash each night, rather than on their payroll. There was no way for him to trace me and Kaiser until Basilio attra
cted attention to me and the TV station filmed the whole thing.”
“And now you’re here,” Riley finished for her.
“Yes. After he wouldn’t go away,” she said, thumbing at Basilio, “and wouldn’t get out of my car and wouldn’t stop calling me honey, I finally relented and let him ride along, thinking at some point this big-shot, professional baseball player would get bored with the chunky, single mother and simply drift away,” Renata confessed. “And he’s a shifter! Just like the one who decided I needed to be in his collection of women before. Yeah, that’s what I need in my life. Another one!” she finished on a high note.
“I’m not going away,” Basilio all but growled. “And you are perfect, curvy.”
“Hell yeah, she is,” Lucas contributed.
Basilio glanced at Lucas who raised his hands palms out toward Basilio. “Just an observation, dude, everybody knows she’s yours.”
“Shifters ain't bad,” Lazarus said. “At least not all of us. Some need to be put down at birth, but the rest of us are just like everybody else pretty much. Leave us alone, we leave you alone.”
“I’m sorry, I meant no offense to shifters in general. I just only have so much to go on. I knew at some point, I would need to find someone who was a shifter to help Kaiser as he grew, but when I realized Basilio was a shifter and he kept insisting I was his, it scared me,” Renata explained.
“You are mine,” Basilio said in her ear, barely restraining himself after hearing her story in more detail. “I will not ever treat you as he did. I want you happy, not imprisoned. There will be no other. And that sonofabitch will die. He will die by my hand.”
“I know,” Renata answered quietly, though she still didn’t meet his eyes. “I just don’t want you hurt either.”
“You don’t want him to go away now, do you?” Roman asked, watching, waiting to see what she’d say.
“This is all so new for me. I’ve learned to shut everyone out and hide myself and Kaiser away. I don’t rely on anyone, and the male every single woman who even glances at him wants, wants me. It just seems too good to be true. Just like it did last time.”
“But, do you want him to go away?” Roman pressed.
“I’m afraid. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But, no. I don’t. I don’t want Basilio to go away anymore. He got us to safety. He brought me to a place that could possibly lead to exactly where I’ve worked to be these last three years. And I like the way I feel when he’s near. I don’t want him to go. And all of a sudden, maybe I don’t have to do it alone anymore,” Renata said.
“Never alone,” Basilio growled into her ear.
“Tell me about your ex,” Riley said.
“He’s older than I am. Very accomplished, successful in business.”
“What business?” Lucas asked.
“I don’t know. He said he was in sales. He said he left the country regularly for meetings to arrange imports and exports of fine goods. After he moved me into his home, all communication stopped, so I never learned anything else about him.
“What’s his name?” Lucas asked.
“Erick Konrad.”
“Do you believe he’s dangerous?” Riley asked.
“Yes. Two of the women threatened to drown Kaiser so that Erick’s heir would be gone and he’d get rid of me, allowing them to retake their spot as first and second mates. One evening I told him that earlier in the day while I was waiting for my escort to take me to the kitchen to make Kaiser’s formula, they threatened Kaiser and me in the hallway. He was furious and left me to take care of it immediately.”
“Why did you insist on making Kaiser’s formula and food yourself?” Riley asked out of curiosity. “You mentioned he had servants, why not just allow them to prepare it?”
“I’d have been afraid to feed him anything anyone else prepared. The other females were almost as dangerous to me as he was, at least I knew he wouldn’t kill his own child. I was very careful about everything I ate, but Kaiser being a baby, all it would take was one sip or bite that had been tainted and it may have killed him. It took a little while, but he finally agreed to let me get Kaiser’s formula ready because I convinced him it was a matter of pride for a woman to prepare food for her own child.”
“Very smart,” Riley said, nodding. “What about the women who threatened you? What did he do to them?” Riley asked.
Renata swallowed visibly, then met Riley’s eyes. “He gave them to his men. The only requirement from the men was that when they were through, they be killed.”
“Was it carried out?” Riley asked.
“I don’t know. I heard screaming and begging when Erick first stormed from my suite when I told him about it. But the sounds faded as they moved down the stairs and away from my suite. I never saw them again. And another thing, all of his men, men like ya’ll, big strapping men, bowed to him in fear. I can’t believe he achieved that level of submission through mutual respect and kindness,” Renata said, her hands shaking now, her lip quivering as she became visibly shaken while telling her story.
Chapter 11
“Take your time, Renata. I’m sorry to make you go through all that again, but I needed to know what kind of male we’re up against if he finds you,” Riley explained.
“He’s mine,” Basilio said and his tone brooked no argument. “I don’t mean any disrespect, but he assaulted my mate. He’s hunting my mate. I kill him.”
Riley nodded. “I understand. If you need backup, you’ve got it. In the meantime, you’ve got a place to relax and unwind. Try to make a new start if you like, or just lay low for a while.”
“Appreciate it,” Basilio said.
“Once you’re ready, come on over and join the kids in the pool,” Riley said, smiling at them both. He got up and shook Basilio’s hand, then walked over to the door. “Don’t worry a single moment about it, Renata. I have no doubt your male can handle this. If needed, we’ve taken care of just as bad, if not worse. Males like that don’t deserve to breathe the same air the rest of us do. He won’t get to you or to Kaiser.”
“Thank you,” Renata said, still sitting beside Basilio with his arms around her.
“Just out of curiosity. What exactly is it you worked toward all these years? Where is it that you see yourself?” Riley asked.
Renata shrugged. She didn’t want to offend Riley by telling him she didn’t want to belong to an organized group of shifters.
“Go on, hon, tell him,” Basilio urged.
“I wanted to find a piece of land somewhere out in the country where Kaiser would have room to run and play without fear of being discovered by anyone who’d be threatened by what he is. I hoped to be able to find someone who could help him at puberty and afterward as he learns the other side of himself. I will be of no help to him in that area. All I know is what Erick told me. For all I know, he made that up, too.”
“What did he tell you?” Basilio asked.
“That at puberty Kaiser would begin to shift. That he’d need a strong male to help him through it. That if I didn’t stay with him and allow him to guide his child into being the next Prime of his organization, Kaiser would never forgive me and I’d lose him anyway.”
“He’s a real fucking dick, isn’t he?” Lucas announced.
Renata laughed through her tears. “Yes, he really is.”
“First, you have a strong male at your side, already calling Kaiser his. Second, his great uncle is one of the strongest, most honorable males I’ve ever known, and he’s sitting right there. Third, there’s all of us. That boy is going to be strong and independent and honest and reliable. There is no reason for worry there. You’re not alone anymore. Basilio has brought you into the middle of a family of shifters. We’re Panthers, Wolves, Bears and Gorillas. Hell, we even have a close friend that’s a Tiger shifter — you know how rare those are?” Riley asked. “Your boy will have plenty of guidance. As for some land, far enough out for him to run on and grow on without being discovered… we’re out in the cou
ntry, surrounded by acres and acres of available land for sale. Not mine, mind you, but there’s no shortage of it nearby. Maybe me and Basilio will see what we can do about that. The rest is already covered.”
“Thank you,” Renata said, watching Riley where he stood in the doorway.
“You’re welcome. Now, put on a swimsuit and come get in the water with your boy. Let him see you happy instead of worried for a change,” Riley said, grinning at her before leaving Roman’s house.
A sharp whistle sounded outside, and Lucas and Lazarus got to their feet and headed toward the door. “We coming, boss,” Lucas said as they headed down the stairs following Riley.
Roman went to the door and stuck his head out. “I’m cleaning the kitchen, then I gotta make a phone call. I’ll be there.”
“Alright, but don’t forget we waiting on you,” they heard Riley say from outside.
Basilio sat there, his arms around Renata, holding her close to his chest now that she’d turned into him rather than facing Riley while he was speaking to the others. He pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner,” he whispered.
“You couldn’t have stopped it, Basilio. Don’t even let yourself go there. It is what it is and all I can do is go forward and protect Kaiser with all that I am.”
“I know you don’t believe me yet. But I love you. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Basilio said soothingly.
Renata didn’t answer, but she pressed herself into Basilio and held him as tightly as he did her, feeling safe for the first time in a very long time. Then it occurred to her she should tell him exactly that. “You make me feel safe.”
He tilted his head back to get a better look at her face when she looked up at him. “Good. I want to make you feel loved, too. Because you are.” Basilio stopped talking and canted his head slightly toward the front wall of the trailer. It was obvious he was listening to something. He was quiet for only a few moments, then he smiled.
Safe On Base Page 9
