by Mari Carr
Someone was outside.
Please God, let it be Isaiah and Caden.
Chapter Twenty-One
Caden stood outside and leaned against the wall, listening as Priscilla Hancock listed every single one of her evil deeds. Devon was standing next to him, his hand on his arm, holding him back.
The grip wasn’t a bad idea. Even now, though Caden knew everyone wasn’t in place, it was taking all his strength not to run into that room and grab Tess.
Isaiah was ducked behind an old metal desk, only his eyes and the top of his head visible. He was staring directly at Caden, willing him to be patient. Caden drew strength from his partner’s iron-clad determination, wondering where the hell his fortitude had gone. He’d lived a lifetime in complete control of his emotions, his actions, his submissives. He was the steady one, unshakable to the core.
Then he’d fallen in love with two beautiful nerds and suddenly, Isaiah was the rock.
The sound of a whip cracked in the next room, and Caden jerked as if he’d been the one struck. Devon’s hand tightened, but one glance his direction told Caden he wasn’t finding it any easier to wait.
They heard Jayce’s cry of pain and relaxed slightly.
Because of Senator Hancock’s high-profile position in politics, they couldn’t call on any of Devon’s associates at the CIA. Instead, the Grand Master had assembled as much muscle as she could muster from within the Trinity Masters. In addition to Marek, Weston, Devon, Isaiah, and Caden, they’d been met at the airport by security expert Price Bennett and his partner, an FBI agent named Gunner Wells; the most terrifying woman Caden had ever met, some former KGB spy named Tasha; and, much to Caden’s annoyance, Sebastian Stewart, whose brother, Christian, had shot Caden six months earlier.
It should have been a tense twenty-minute flight, packed with too many chiefs, but the whole atmosphere changed when Juliette stepped onto the plane.
She’d taken control of the situation, unrolling a map of the area where they believed Rose and Tess were being held. In true Grand Master fashion, she’d laid out the plan, assigned positions, and then nodded to Devon, who had armed them all with military-grade handguns. Caden had been impressed with her leadership skills and for the first time ever, actually found himself respecting her.
Devon and Caden had earpieces in and they were listening to Price, who had taken charge of outside operations once they’d quietly and efficiently overtaken the four guards Priscilla had watching the building. Price was now setting up a perimeter while Gunner and Juliette remained in the van Devon had arranged to pick them up at the Provincetown airport. The van was outfitted with a parabolic microphone, something Devon had called a bionic ear. It allowed them to hear everything that was being said in the building.
They’d kept the inside team small, only Devon, Caden, and Isaiah on this end, Tasha on the other. Weston and Marek had put up a hell of a fight in regards to their assignments on the plane, but considering Marek was injured and still not steady on his feet, and Weston’s bad leg prevented him from moving quickly, their arguments were quickly quashed. Everyone outside was ready to stop Priscilla or her goons—with a bullet if necessary—should they get past the inside team.
Price had remarked that the building should be fairly easy to infiltrate, given its relatively small size and limited number of exits to cover. In addition to this small front office, there was the warehouse where Priscilla was holding her hostages and then a back storage closet, only accessible from the outside by a tiny window.
That was who they were waiting for—Tasha, also outfitted with an earpiece, planned to shimmy into that room and take position there. Once she was ready, the original plan had been to subdue the two men in the front office, then go in with weapons drawn, Priscilla and her goon outnumbered. They’d discounted the large bay door in the warehouse as a means of entry because it was locked on the inside and it was hardly the type of door that could be opened stealthily.
That idea went to shit when the two men entered the warehouse. Taking down three men and Priscilla while ensuring the safety of Rose and Tess was going to be a lot trickier.
Caden had only managed to sneak a quick peek into the room before Devon pulled him back. Priscilla was standing at the far wall, her back to them, whip in hand, Rose was tied to a chair in the center of the room, flanked by the two men Priscilla had called Jackson and Royce. Those were things they could probably deal with. Three quick shots fired.
The problem was Tess. The goon, Giles, had a firm grip on her, and he was holding a knife to her throat. Because of where they were standing, Tess blocked any shot they might take at Giles. And Tasha offered no hope from her end because Priscilla stood in the way.
“I’m in,” Caden heard in his earpiece. Tasha was in place.
“Hold,” Devon whispered in response. He stepped around Caden and took his own two-second glance into the room. The man’s CIA skills were good because he’d obviously seen the same thing Caden had.
“We can’t storm in,” Devon mouthed.
Caden nodded in response. Running into the room right now would be the height of dangerous. There was no saying what the goon with the knife would do.
“Untie the girl,” Priscilla demanded.
Caden struggled to breathe, the air going in too shallow. Isaiah’s face looked as if it was made of stone, his jaw set.
Though it took every ounce of strength Caden had, he remained motionless even after Priscilla said, “I think it’s time you see exactly what it is your new lover is going to expect of you, Tess. Caden is a demanding master, a true sadist.”
If Tess replied, Caden didn’t hear it. His heart was thudding too loudly, deafening him to everything except the cold fear pumping through his veins.
“Bring me the cane, Jackson.”
Caden closed his eyes, his only recourse obvious. Then he looked at Isaiah. “I’m sorry,” he mouthed. “Leave.”
Isaiah frowned and tilted his head, but Caden looked away, facing Devon. “Go outside. Give me five minutes,” he whispered, reaching into his waistband to grab the gun before he pulled out the earpiece.
If Devon planned to protest, Caden didn’t stick around to hear it. Instead, he handed him the gun and earpiece, stepped into the large warehouse room and walked straight over to the wall holding the whips. “Let me save you the trip, Jackson.” Caden picked up the cane, ignoring the guns both Jackson and Royce pulled on him. He knew neither of them would pull the trigger unless Priscilla ordered them to.
“Search him.” Priscilla recovered quickly from her momentary shock at seeing Caden walking in.
Jackson frisked him and found nothing.
“How did you get in here? I have guards positioned outside.”
Caden smiled. “You don’t pay them enough.”
“You bribed them?” Priscilla didn’t look convinced, but she also didn’t appear ready to relinquish any of her bodyguards to send them out to check. Caden figured it helped that Priscilla understood greed more than anything else. She was more likely to accept that answer than the idea that he’d overpowered four men on his own.
“Keep your weapon trained on Mr. Anderson, Jackson. If he moves a muscle, shoot him. Go check the office, Royce. Make sure he’s alone.”
Caden prayed Isaiah and Devon had followed his orders, had cleared out. Tasha was still in place in the storage closet and, in truth, that felt like enough. The woman was scary as shit.
Royce left for a minute, then returned. “There’s no one else in the office.”
“And outside?” she pressed.
“I looked around. Harper is still in position where he’s supposed to be.”
Caden schooled his features, impressed by Price’s quick thinking. They’d subdued the guards, tying them up and stashing them out of sight of the office. When Caden had gone rogue, the team had clearly reacted perfectly. He wondered who’d been hiding from sight, holding the gun at Harper’s back to ensure the man didn’t give them away.
&nbs
p; Priscilla visibly relaxed, thinking he truly had walked into her spider’s web alone. “I’ll deal with Harper and the other guards later.”
Her attention returned to Caden, who knew it was best to claim the higher ground first.
“You stole my submissive,” Caden said, looking directly at Priscilla.
She grinned, a malicious gleam in her eyes as she considered her newest captive. “Are you certain that’s what she is? After all, your fathers had to train Rose for you. Perhaps I should train this one.” She stroked the front of Tess’ naked body with the whip.
“I want her back.”
Caden didn’t dare let himself look at Tess’ face. As long as he focused on Priscilla, he could maintain the façade, slip back into his role as the cruel, unfeeling man they’d tried to make him.
“Your refusal to assist me was most distressing. After everything our families meant to one another.” Mercifully, Priscilla walked away from Tess, over to Rose. Priscilla uncurled the six-foot whip and, with a flick of her wrist, made it dance on the floor.
Caden crossed his arms, filling his voice with haughty disdain. “I didn’t appreciate being kept in the dark and treated like your errand boy.”
“You hadn’t earned the right to know all our secrets.”
Caden knew how to play this game. “I didn’t need to earn that right. I was owed it.”
Priscilla nodded, as if conceding a point. Then she raised the whip. The crack of the whip was actually the sound of the fast-moving tip breaking the sound barrier, and echoes of that crack drowned out Tess’ scream as the whip struck Rose, cutting across her thighs.
Rose jerked once, but didn’t make a sound.
Blood welled from the cuts the whip left, and Caden’s blood ran cold. He didn’t let it show. “Crude,” he said.
“You disapprove?”
He shrugged. “She’s no longer my submissive. It doesn’t matter to me, but I never had to resort to a whip or anything so overt.” He gestured to where Jayce was strapped to the St. Andrew’s cross.
Priscilla raised a brow, and he got the sense that she was enjoying their game of cat and mouse. “Oh, and how are you training your new sub?”
Caden wandered over to the wall of implements. He picked up a paddle and a cane.
“How pedestrian,” Priscilla said with a frown, studying the paddle.
“Perhaps you’re not doing it right. A demonstration?”
Priscilla laughed lightly. “I’d enjoy that. It will be like seeing Elroy in his prime again, but not the paddle. That bores me.” Priscilla pointed toward the canes. “Use the cane on her. Prove to me that you’re your fathers’ son.”
Caden had anticipated her demand. It was one of the reasons he’d grabbed the cane as well as the paddle. If he hadn’t gotten it first, he didn’t doubt Priscilla would have forced him to watch the other men use it on Tess. He preferred it this way. Preferred having the control, the ability to protect her.
“Don’t hold back, Caden,” Priscilla warned. “I’ll know if you do.”
Caden heard a sound of distress behind him. Rose was trying to talk with the ball gag in her mouth. Given the obstruction, he couldn’t tell if she was cussing him or telling Tess to run.
He took stock of everyone’s position, trying to figure how best to choreograph this part. He needed Tess out of the line of fire, needed Tasha to have a clear shot at the two armed men first. If she could take out Jackson and Royce, he’d dispatch Giles. He was ready to tear the man apart with his bare hands for daring to touch, to hurt, his Tess.
With her goons gone, they’d only have Priscilla to deal with. She would be trickier because the Grand Master had insisted Senator Hancock and his wife be taken alive. Caden couldn’t understand why Juliette was so determined to save the assholes, but she’d made certain they all knew that if either of the Hancocks were killed, she would make their lives a living hell.
He jerked his head toward a spanking bench to his right. “I want her bent facedown over that.”
Priscilla considered his request, then gestured for Giles to move Tess into position. Caden white-knuckled the grip, fighting not to use the cane on Giles as he strong-armed Tess across the room and shoved her onto the hard wooden frame. Caden counted every gasp of pain, kept a tally. Giles was going to feel a hundred times more pain before Caden was finished with him.
Giles strapped her arms to the front of the bench, then moved to the back, clearly intent on binding her legs as well.
“Leave it,” Caden said, summoning every ounce of Master Anderson he could. “I’ll finish.”
Giles looked toward his mistress. He looked like a man forced to give up his favorite toy.
“Step away, Giles. Let’s see how Master Anderson handles his new pet.”
Giles returned to Priscilla’s side. Unfortunately, Jackson and Royce had moved, no longer flanking Rose, but him, their weapons pointed directly at Tess. They took up positions several feet away, giving him room to work, but leaving no doubt they’d pull the trigger if commanded to do so.
Caden forced himself toward the bench. Tess was facing away from him, her forehead pressed against the rough wood. She was visibly trembling, her entire body shaking.
Caden placed the cane on the floor as he knelt at the foot of the bench. He expected her to jerk at his touch when he took her ankle in his hand. What he hadn’t anticipated was her sudden stillness.
She turned her head, looking at him over her shoulder. She gave him a sweet smile and then, God help him, a quick wink.
His mind raced for a way out of this, a way he could get them out of this room without having to take the cane to her.
“I’m yours, Master,” Tess said softly, but with a strength that took his breath away.
“I didn’t give you permission to speak,” he said, gruffly, recalling their first night together when it had been so difficult for him to figure out who he was with her, with Isaiah.
He expected Tess to respond in turn, to give him that adorable, impish smile as she told him to “hurry up and give her permission.” Mercifully, she didn’t.
If she had, he would have had no choice but to pick up the cane and use it, or risk Priscilla taking over in the face of his weakness.
He used a strap attached to the bench to bind her, then he drew her legs apart, strapping down the other. Her bare ass was exposed to him, her body open, his for the taking. Jackson and Royce moved, trying to get a better view of Tess’ naked and exposed body. Caden tensed, fighting the urge to lash out.
Rose screamed into her gag. Everyone looked at her. She was shaking her head side to side, dark hair flying around her head.
Caden spared a second to glance toward the storage closet. The door was cracked. Tasha was ready to move. Damn it, Jackson and Royce were still too close to Tess, who was now an immobile and totally vulnerable target.
Priscilla walked over to Rose. “Does it hurt to see your man, your master, with someone else?” She raised the whip, and this time it opened up a long cut along Rose’s midsection. Rose screamed.
Caden blinked. She was faking it.
She raised her head slightly, catching Caden’s eye, and winked as well.
Wait, what?
He looked at Tess, who was watching him. She nodded slightly, as if she knew what was going on.
Then it hit him. Rose was trying to provide a distraction, to give him a chance to take Tess and escape.
“Untie her,” Priscilla said. “We’ll let her watch.”
The goons untied Rose, dragging her to her feet and hauling her closer to the spanking bench. Rose sagged, forcing one goon to hold onto each arm.
Priscilla slapped Rose a few times, then forced her chin up. “Watch, you little whore!”
Rose turned her head slowly to look at Priscilla, raised a brow, and then let her gaze travel down the other woman’s body.
“Enough,” she snapped, whipping around to face Caden. “Hurry up so I can get started on this bitch.”
&n
bsp; Caden twirled his wrist, the cane whistling in the air. “You’re mine, aren’t you, Tess? You belong to me.” And Isaiah. He didn’t say that part aloud, but he felt it. Knew it to be true.
He started circling her, cracking the cane against the legs of the spanking bench. The noise made Tess jump, and he felt ill knowing he was scaring her.
He stopped, positioning himself at Tess’ side, where he would have the perfect view of the storage room door. It was opening slowly, but no one in the room noticed, all of them watching him as he lifted the cane.
Now the goons were away from Tess, but Rose was trapped between them. He had no idea how good a shot Tasha was, but he didn’t want Rose to get hurt. He needed her out of the way.
Caden smiled.
He ran the tip of the cane down the center of Tess’ back. “After I finish punishing you, I expect you to kneel.”
He barked the last word, sinking every bit of command he could into it.
Rose dropped to her knees, jerking her arms out of the goons’ holds.
“Now!” he yelled as he whirled around, his arm swinging outward, rather than down. The cane cracked Jackson across the face, his cheek splitting, blood spurting.
Caden didn’t give Jackson a chance to recover from the shock. Instead, he knocked him backwards, shoving him against the wall, knocking the gun from the injured man’s hands. It hit the floor with a clatter.
He heard a gunshot and Tess’ scream. He prayed Tasha had hit her mark, taking Royce down. Especially when he heard another shot fired.
Giles howled in pain and dropped to the floor.
The room erupted into noise as more people ran in, Price’s booming voice shouting for someone to freeze.
Caden punched Jackson, three hard blows to the right side of his head, and the other man’s eyes rolled back as he crumpled to the floor.
Caden intended to pick up the cane, intent on issuing the revenge he’d sworn to dole out to Giles, but Isaiah had beat him to both, swinging the wooden rod as Giles tried to crawl away, leaving a trail of blood behind him on the floor.
