Sheltering Reagan

by Avery Gale

  “He’s gone, doll. You can stop playing opossum now.” Taz had known the moment he stepped into the room Reagan was awake. As an empath, he’d felt her rioting emotions before he’d entered. Pain was battering her like a ship in high seas, but she’d somehow managed to maintain the illusion of sleep. “I’ll give him five to get out of the hall, and then I’m calling for the nurse. Don’t fight it, Reagan. You of all people should understand how important it is for your body to heal unencumbered by pain.”

  “I know you’re right, but I was sure he wouldn’t leave unless he thought I was resting comfortably.” Her voice was thready, but he heard the sincerity in her tone. Taz shook his head. Goddess save me from well-meaning submissives.

  “I can assure you, Master Rafe is much more concerned with your health than an extra half-hour rest. As your friend and employer, I want you comfortable so you’ll recover as quickly as possible. But as Rafe’s friend, I appreciate your concern for him as well. I’ll make you a deal. I won’t throw your sweet ass under the bus if you promise to ask for the help in the future when you need it.”

  When she’d agreed, he reached forward and pressed the call button. Once they’d sent the nurse for the medication, he pulled a chair close and sat down, putting himself in her line of vision. Anxiety was coming off the little sub in waves, and he didn’t think she would rest properly until he got to the bottom of the problem. He’d seen soldiers fight the strongest narcotic painkillers until they were able to set aside whatever was occupying their thoughts.

  “What’s on your mind, Reagan?” Her eyes filled with tears, and Taz felt like he’d been hit in the chest with a blast of sorrow and fear. Holy shit.

  “I’m going to lose my job. I’ve been trying to do everything I could to hold on, but this will be the excuse they need to cut me. I don’t have enough money saved up to make it through the winter. And that was before all these medical expenses.” Fuck it all, she was breaking his heart. “And I’m whining. I hate it when people whine. It doesn’t ever help anything…not ever, really. And I’m still doing it.”

  “Stop. Take a deep breath, doll.” Taz was certain she’d respond to the command in his voice and was pleased to see her eyes widen and her mouth snap shut. “Good girl. One of the interesting things about pain killers is they often act as truth serum. Even if they aren’t managing the pain, they can drop all the shields we keep in place. The little bit you’ve been given is scattering your thinking, even if it isn’t keeping you comfortable.”

  Reagan’s eyes were clouded with confusion, and he could feel waves of fear pulsing from her. “I want you to talk to me without falling over the emotional edge you were teetering on—not because I can’t handle it, but because I know you’ll regret it later. You’re a valued employee, Reagan; more importantly, you’re my friend, and I don’t want that between us once you’ve recovered. Do you understand?”

  Tears slid from the corners of her eyes, soaking the sheet beneath her face. “Don’t cry, doll. Kodi will skin me alive if she finds out I caused your tears.”

  “I’m just overwhelmed. I don’t know what I’m going to do. Going back to Texas isn’t an option.” Taz nodded in silent agreement. Unbelievably, the damned Major at the prison where Reagan had been a volunteer still held his position. From what Taz had heard, the man was also making discreet inquiries trying to find out where she’d moved. He made a mental note to ask Phoenix Morgan to give the fucker something else to think about. Maybe if he was busy trying to repair his crumbling credit rating or returning thousands of dollars in sex toys, he might not have time to think about the woman he’d almost gotten killed.

  “Right now, you have one job, and that’s to heal. If you lose your position at the cargo company, that means the Universe wants you to go in a different direction. Nate and I had already been tossing around a couple of ideas related to the expansion, and we’d planned to talk to you about them next month.” He gave a shrug he hoped would appear nonchalant, but her skeptical expression said he hadn’t been successful.

  “Don’t create a job for me out of sympathy, Taz. That would just make me feel worse.” He raised his brow at her in surprise. She’d never called him Taz, always using Sir or Master Taz when she was working. He appreciated the shift and told her so.

  Before they could continue their conversation, the nurse was back and, with a quick press of the plunger, sent Reagan into a blissful slumber. “She’ll rest now. Dr. Morgan expected her tolerance level to be high. Thank you for alerting us. I hate it when our patients think toughing it out is the way to go.” He grinned at the woman who obviously had a big heart.

  Settling back in his chair, Taz pulled his phone from his chest pocket and fired off a quick text to his brother. I’m sitting with Reagan while Rafe gets some rest. He was dead on his feet & only left because I insisted. She belongs to him, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

  Nate’s response was immediate. Does Rafe know?

  Yeah, I think so. Hard to tell when he was about to fall asleep standing up.

  You tell her about her job at the cargo company? The owner had called them asking if they could put her on full-time. It sounded like he regretted having to let her go, but when Nate reminded him the road to hell was paved with good intentions, the man had disconnected the call. Thank Goddess he couldn’t cancel her insurance until the paperwork was done.

  No, but she knows it’s coming. I’ve mentioned we want to talk to her.

  But she thinks it’s charity.

  Something like that. Did you get Kodi to make an appointment? They’d been trying to knock up their beautiful bride since the moment she’d agreed to marry them. But so far, each time they’d thought they’d succeeded, they’d been wrong. They were encouraging her to see a specialist, but so far, she’d managed to keep herself too busy. Since he could hear her thoughts, Taz understood her fear, but the ostrich approach wasn’t going to get her the baby they all wanted desperately.

  Yes, but she is spitting mad and standing to finish the final edits on her new book. And before you crawl up my ass—charming her wasn’t working. She needed to be pushed, and I obliged.

  You’re an ass.

  Not news. You can be the hero when you get home.

  Count on it.

  Kelsey glared at her boss’s retreating back. After informing her Reagan wouldn’t be returning, the old coot had the audacity to say he expected Kelsey to add her former co-worker’s duties to her own. Was he insane? Kelsey had shifted her own work to Reagan over the past several months and enjoyed having extra time to spend on her own little sideline venture. But now he expected her to pick up the entire workload? Access to the airport and cargo flights was critical to her enterprise, so she needed this job. But she needed to be able to slip the packages on the flights, and that wasn’t always easy.

  Perhaps it was time for a little financial insurance. Scrolling through her contacts, she found the name she was looking for. A couple of drinks and Reagan had spilled the beans about the reason she’d left Texas. It hadn’t taken Kelsey long to uncover the details, and she’d saved the man’s contact information for just such an occasion. Let’s see how badly he wants to know where his obsession landed.

  Chapter Eight

  “Two days. I’ve been stuck in this place for two days. If he doesn’t let me out today, I’m going to go postal. Have you ever had to take a shower on just half your body? It’s impossible. And I want to wash my damned hair…it’s disgusting.” Kodi, Savannah, and Tally all grinned from their respective positions around her bed.

  Thank God Reagan had finally convinced Rafe to let her turn over, because she’d gotten damned tired of talking to people she couldn’t see. “He’s hovering over me like he thinks I’m going to escape.”

  “But isn’t that exactly what you’re planning to do?” Tally gave her a knowing grin. “I’ve seen that look in patients’ eyes before, Reagan. And you can bet your sweet, soon-to-be-flaming ass, Rafe has, too. He knows if he tells you when he pla
ns to discharge you, you’ll jump ship six to twelve hours before. So, he won’t tell you.” She gave a negligent shrug, and Reagan wanted to slap her silly for being right.

  “I got a glimpse of the cuts when I stepped out of the shower before the Nurse Follow-every-order-to-a-tee hustled me out of the bathroom. Evidently, I’m not supposed to see Dr. Newell’s fancy repair work until he gives the okay. There aren’t any stitches. All I saw was faint red lines. How is that possible?” What she’d seen didn’t make any sense to her. It looked like someone had drawn on her back with a red fine-line marker. “I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact one of the most sought-after plastic surgeons in the country is taking care of me.”

  “I’ll bet he’d take care of you in a lot of other ways, too, if you’d let him. And I’ve heard amazing things about his work. I’ll bet you have little or no scaring. There’s a reason people fly from all over the world to go to his clinic. You scored a hottie, girlfriend.” Kodi’s teasing tone made Reagan blush.

  “Fu…dge, did you see that blush? Woo hoo. We’re going to have a front seat to this one. Somebody order a case of popcorn and soda.” Savannah did a little happy dance in place, making the others giggle.

  “Good save on the cursing. Your Master is making progress. But consider yourself forewarned; Masters are sneaky. They’ll bait you then paddle you when you mess up. God knows mine are straight up evil when it comes to that trick.” Kodi smiled, but Reagan noticed it didn’t reach the pretty woman’s eyes.

  “When is your next book coming out? I’d be happy to beta read for you.” Tally’s laughter gave away the fact her offer wasn’t entirely benevolent.

  “You just want to know what happens with the East twins…not fooling me this time, girlfriend.”

  “Dammit. Those cliff-hangers are just plain mean, Kodi.” Tally’s lip was pressed out so far in her mock pout Reagan wanted to warn her about a pigeon swooping in for a landing.

  “Reagan, do you like to read? I have a pretty extensive collection of books I could share.”

  Reagan felt the heat of another blush work its way over her cheeks. “I do. And I loved your first book. I’ll probably be stuck in my apartment for a couple of days so…” She stopped talking when the other three women burst out laughing.

  “Do you really think Rafe is going to let you go back to a freezing apartment?” Tally was looking at her as if she was a dim-wit.

  “An empty, freezing apartment.”

  “Kodi, you are going to be in so much trouble.” Savannah shook her head at her friend.

  “Fuck-a-dilly circus. I forgot.” Kodi didn’t sound at all repentant, and Reagan wondered what she was up to.

  “What do you mean ‘empty’?” Reagan heard the squeak in her voice as she tried to hold her panic in check.

  The door opened, and Taz stepped into the room, his gaze zeroing in on his wife. “Baby, you are in big trouble.” Kodi ducked her head, but not before Reagan saw her sly smile. “Nanna-son is meeting us for dinner, but she’s staying at a motel so she won’t be around to save you from the punishment you have coming.” Kodi’s eyes went wide and were suddenly wary. “Oh, baby, you are so very easy to read. Of course, I knew. You thought she would be your get out of jail free card. You forget how well my brother and I know you, baby.”

  Taz turned to Reagan and smiled. “You look much better today, sweetness. And what my lovely wife wasn’t supposed to mention is that we’ve cleaned out your apartment. Your landlord has no intention of turning on the heat. He was trying to drive you out so he could remodel and rent the space out to skiers.”

  Reagan felt her stomach drop. “No job. No place to live. What am I going to do?” How did I fall so far? I tried to do everything right…and still… The room was starting to spin around her when she felt warm hands close over hers.

  “I swear, Kodi, if you weren’t pregnant I’d paddle you myself for upsetting her.”

  “What? I’m not…”

  “Of course, you are. The changes in your skin are easy to see.” Shifting his gaze to Taz, he smiled. “Congratulations. I’m sure your grandmother is going to tell you the same thing when you see her later, but you should stop and pick up a test on your way out of town.”

  The whole room erupted into a flurry of happy chaos, and for a few minutes, Reagan forgot about the fact her life was spiraling down so fast she couldn’t seem to stop it. Rafe leaned down to whisper against her ear, “I think Taz and Nate knew, but were afraid to trust what they were hearing. They’ve wanted this for so long they were afraid it was just wishful thinking. But I’m not kidding about the changes in her skin.” He brushed away her tears and raised a brow in question.

  “I’m so happy for them. I know Kodi was worried this day would never come.” She was grateful for their good news for several reasons. The Ledeks were going to be wonderful parents. Reagan saw the way they took care of their employees and the members of the club, and she envied their future children. But she was also happy to have an excuse to cry. Knowing she had nowhere to go was terrifying.

  Taz had been hugging his crying wife, but he turned to her so quickly Reagan felt herself tense at his scrutiny. “Sweetness, I said we moved your things. I did not say you have no place to go. Get that out of your head right now.”

  Nate pulled Kodi into his arms and kissed her before smiling at Reagan. “That’s not how we take care of our friends, Reagan. You should know us better than that by now. We’ll let Rafe explain. I’d like to get that test and hit the road. Being late to dinner with Nanna-son isn’t an option. And remember, we’re going to need you full-time now more than ever.”

  “Oh yes, please. I really do need you, also. When you see my office and the mess I’ve made of my social media accounts and advertising, you’ll understand why I’m so desperate.” Kodi’s tear-stained face was filled with such joy Reagan couldn’t do anything but nod. Their friendship humbled her, and seeing their happiness made her heart clench with longing.

  After the room emptied, the silence was almost deafening. Reagan had realized she’d become increasingly reclusive after the attack, but she hadn’t fully understood how much it had affected her until now. Everyone assumed the attack had been the worst part of trauma she’d endured, but it wasn’t. The betrayal of trust had hurt more than any of the knife wounds. Knowing the officers charged with her safety cowed to pressure from the Major and administration had cut her to the bone. Pulling in a deep breath, Reagan pushed the pain aside. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized Rafe was still standing beside her bed.

  Rafe watched emotions chase over Reagan’s face and wondered what it would take to make her feel safe again. She seemed to recognize the fact she was physically safe, but the damage to her soul was going to be much harder to heal. Since his first conversation with Nate, Rafe had spoken with Taz, as well as Kent and Kyle West. The more he learned about Dick Merrett, the more contempt he had for the son of a bitch whose relentless pursuit of Reagan had terrified the young physician’s assistant. She’d lost everything in the aftermath. Her friends had abandoned her when she’d refused to stop fighting a battle she couldn’t win. She’d been forced to give up the career she loved when the review board in Texas sided with the Department of Corrections staff and pulled her license for “unspecified reasons.” What the fuck did that even mean?

  Rafe had already contacted the physicians she’d worked for in Texas. Luckily, Kirk Evans and Brian Bennett were members of the Prairie Winds Club, so they’d understood exactly what Rafe meant when he’d said Reagan was his. He’d also enlisted help from Sage Morgan, whose political clout in Montana would go a long way to persuading the local board to review her case. Once she’d gotten her license in one state, others would follow suit. Empowering Reagan would help her heal.

  “You didn’t ask them where they moved your things, Peach.” He wanted to chuckle when her eyes widened in realization.

  “Oh fudgesicles. I got so caught up in their happiness I forgot. I c
an get the name of the storage facility later, I guess. Boy, oh boy, I sure hope it’s climate controlled. But that means it’ll probably be expensive. Shoot, I’d better call Nate or Taz and find out. I don’t really have the money to spend on a storage unt…well, unless they’ll let me live in it, too. Aside from a bathroom, it probably wouldn’t be that bad.” She was rambling, and Rafe found himself smiling at the randomness of her thinking.

  “Peach, our friends moved your things to my house. The guys moved everything, and the ladies unpacked what they could into your suite. The rest has been stored in the basement for you.” He saw her lips part, but didn’t wait for her to argue before shaking his head. “Don’t start. You need a place to stay, and I will appreciate the company. You’ll also be a wonderful house sitter when I have to return to the west coast in a few days.” He was pleased to see something close to regret flash in her eyes when he mentioned leaving.

  “As much as I know I should protest, I’m too grateful to put up any real fuss.” Relief swept through him, and suddenly, he couldn’t wait to get her discharged and back in his home. The lacerations on her back and legs were healing quickly, and there was no reason to wait.

  “Perfect. I’ll finish up your discharge paperwork, and we’ll be on our way within the hour.” He had big plans for her once they were home. He’d seen the desire in her eyes when she didn’t think he was looking, and it matched his own. They were several days past what he’d originally planned, but that didn’t mean he was giving up.

  Rafe would need to be careful with her, but he could still show her some of the mind-bending pleasure of BDSM. He wanted to spend quality time with Reagan before he was forced to return to San Francisco—he needed to know if his instincts were right about her. And she needed to know whether or not the lifestyle was for her. He’d seen the longing in her eyes when she watched her friends with their Masters. The tighter they held their spirited subs in check, the more intent Reagan’s observation.