by Tara Rose
Alaina Pembrooke, Taj Durante, and Jeff Raleigh arrived next. Kai knew the men ran the shipping department, and Alaina was a VP in sales, but she didn’t know much else about them. Alaina wasn’t a native. She’d come from California about eight years ago and worked for Sallyanne, who was Jeff’s sister. Tim was their uncle, but Jagger had once told her that it was only Sallyanne who took advantage of that status, not Jeff.
The men were dressed as Papa Ghede, and Alaina wore a costume that she explained was a mish-mosh of what little they could find on female loa in Haitian vodou literature. “There isn’t much written about them.”
“That’s because they kept everything secret,” said Taj. “They had to. They were persecuted by every organized religion out there.”
“But the natives who settled this island before our ancestors came here practiced Haitian vodou, among other religions,” said Jeff. “So we wanted to learn more. Every little bit we can unearth brings us closer to figuring out the curse.”
“Jagger showed me his medallion.” She hoped it was all right to tell them that.
“Estevan has one, too,” said Taj. “I still say the language on those medallions is the same as the writing on the parchment I have, and on the one Nando has.”
“So why can’t anyone decipher it, then?”
“No one knows what language it is,” said Alaina. “They let me take pictures of the parchments, plus the two medallions. I’ve sent them to someone I know at Pepperdine. She’s going to look into it for me.”
“Wouldn’t that be exciting to finally be able to read it?”
Taj smiled. “We might not like what we find, but yeah. It would be great.”
The last triad to arrive was Leta, Nando, and Graham, dressed as zombies. They were covered in amazing makeup that made it look like their skin was coming off. “I think you three win grossest costumes,” said Jagger.
“Definitely the creepiest,” said Ian.
“We were going for shock value.” Nando’s wink reminded Kai of Jagger’s. “How are you three holding up?”
Jagger placed an arm around Kai’s shoulder. “We’ll be fine.”
“And the two of you are ready to tackle the PR machine,” said Ian. “Right?”
“You bet,” said Graham. “Nothing to worry about. Jagger and I have got this.”
Listening to the men talk about the upcoming shit storm as though it was just another day in paradise made Kai almost believe this would all work out.
Other friends of Jagger and Ian showed up as well, as did Brett, but Kai kept her attention on the ménages. As she watched them interact with each other, she was struck by the intimacy displayed more than anything.
The men clearly loved their subs, and the women were devoted to their Doms. It showed in every small gesture and stolen glance. It came off them in waves when they looked into each other’s eyes. Kai longed to have that same closeness with Jagger and Ian. Was that even possible now?
Once this was over, the consequences would remain, good or bad. Would they be so devastating that they’d ruin what the three had started, or was whatever Jagger and Ian felt for her now enough to hold their relationship together through the coming storm?
* * * *
Ian didn’t expect anything to happen tonight with respect to Owen’s arrest, so he was able to relax and enjoy the party. As it wound down and some of the guests left, he, Jagger, Kai, and Brett decided to watch horror movies. The other five triads had also stayed this long, so the nineteen of them pulled in extra chairs and settled around the big screen TV in Jagger’s media room.
They turned on the TV, and before Jagger could switch the channel to the one he used to watch Blu-rays, a reporter for CNN talked excitedly into a microphone in front of a familiar home on the island.
Everyone in the room stopped talking as the scene played out on live television a few blocks away at Gary’s home. He and Jagger each placed an arm around Kai’s shoulders as the reporters told their audience in dramatic tones how Owen Durante, the son of Jesse and Wendy Durante, had just been arrested at a party he’d been attending at his brother Gary’s home, for arson and involuntary manslaughter.
The reporter also mentioned Penn Rosen, a name Ian hadn’t heard since high school. He and Jagger exchanged a confused glance. “What does he have to do with this?”
“I know who that is,” said Kai. “He and Owen were good friends, even as kids. But he’s a creeper. One of those kids who used to stick pins in bugs just to watch them squirm, or try to put firecrackers inside a cat’s ass. Shit like that.”
Ian turned his attention back to the reporter, who said the police were looking for Rosen in connection with the fires.
Nando swore under his breath, and Ian became alarmed when he glanced toward him. Nando’s face was pale, and his eyes were wide and full of fear. “That’s him. That’s who I saw lurking next to the building where the beam fell on me. That’s the man who punched me. I knew I knew him, but I couldn’t place him until they said his name just now.”
Leta placed a hand on his arm. “Are you sure, Sir?”
“I have never been more sure of anything. I swear to you. That is the man who was there that night, watching the buildings burn.”
Graham took out his cell and handed it to Nando. “You have to call Santos. You have to tell him that’s who was there that night. Maybe this isn’t Owen’s doing at all?”
“No,” said Arizona. “I’m afraid he’s involved, as well. He’s been embezzling from the company for years. They figured that out when they went through his computer and compared the records on it to the company’s accounts.”
“But that doesn’t prove he set the fires,” said Jagger.
Arizona shook his head. “Sorry. I didn’t say anything before, but I guess I can now. Asa told me what they found on Owen’s computer. Not only has he been taking money, but he’s in debt from gambling for close to a million dollars. He’s also been researching incendiary devices and how fast buildings burn at certain temperatures. They have enough to pin all of this on him, even without Penn Rosen’s involvement.”
“Is Rosen involved?” asked Jeff.
“Up to his balls. They found dozens of e-mails between Owen and Penn, detailing the plan. Penn made the devices, but neither man is too bright. Even with all Owen’s research, they thought the devices would melt in the fire and mask any evidence of them.”
* * * *
Kai’s stomach turned at Arizona’s words. “But they wouldn’t deliberately kill people, would they? Surely they knew the workers would still be there.”
“I don’t think he knew. At least two of the e-mails talked about schedules and the best time to plant the devices, as well as set them off. They probably thought everyone would be gone.”
“Oh God…” Kai closed her eyes briefly as a snippet of conversation came back to her. “You’re right. They would have thought that. No one normally works that late. It was an isolated incident due to the hurricane and the roofing materials being shipped late. Shit. Oh, fuck.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ian. “What did you remember just now?”
“The night of the fires was the last Saturday in September. They were all working overtime because roofing supplies were delayed the week before. My aunt was bitching about it to me because Jesse was on edge. They’d had damage from the hurricane, and then something got messed up with the replacement trusses and shingles. I was only half paying attention, but I specifically remember her moaning about how much overtime they were going to have to pay the workers to get them back on schedule.”
Kai sighed out loud as the realization that if Owen had paid attention to company memos, none of those workers might have been killed or hurt. “They didn’t have as much daylight to work in this late in the year, so Davis brought in big spotlights. That meant they could work later and still see what they were doing. Wendy was bitching about how much it cost to rent them.”
“Why wouldn’t Owen know about all that?�
� asked Dallas.
“Owen doesn’t know his own name half the time. Jesse and Wendy constantly complain about how he ignores company memos. He has no clue what’s going on. That would have been easy to overlook. Or he didn’t care. Hell. I don’t know.” She leaned into Jagger’s and Ian’s strong embraces, wishing this nightmare were over. But it had only begun.
“Well, at any rate,” said Arizona, “all this speculation won’t solve the issue. Let the police get the truth out of the two of them.”
Graham reached across Jagger and handed Kai his cell phone. “Santos needs your help. If you know where they can find Penn, he wants you to tell him.”
Kai took the phone and put it on speaker so they all could hear it. After she told Santos about the various conversations she’d just relayed to the rest of them, she told them where he might find Penn Rosen. “He and Owen used to sneak away to the western side of the island, near the cemetery. There’s a way to climb down onto the break wall.”
“I know which spot you mean,” said Santos, “but they’re more likely to fall onto the rocks than land on the break wall.”
“Well, I watched them do it plenty of times. They know how to navigate the hillside without falling. There are three abandoned shacks next to the cleft in the hill where they used to climb down. Try the largest one. They had it set up as a clubhouse for a long time when we were teens. If you can’t find Penn anyplace else, he might be there.”
“Thank you, Kai.” The relief in his voice made her stomach turn again. She’d more than likely just given up her cousin’s friend to the cops.
As she handed Graham his phone and glanced around at the people in the room, she hoped they’d all meant what they said about standing behind her, Jagger, and Ian. Because Kai had a feeling that very soon, her faith and trust would be tested in a way it had never been before.
Chapter Eighteen
Jagger and Ian finally convinced Kai to get some sleep, but they both stayed awake to clean up after the party. Once the news story broke, the guests all left, but not before promising once again that they’d all stand behind the three. Jagger hoped they meant it. “Well, that was certainly the most interesting party I’ve ever had.”
“Not your fault. Gotta love Santos’s sense of humor, though. Arresting Owen at a Halloween party. Nice touch.”
“Santos is an oddball.”
“But a good cop.”
“He’s Asa’s puppet. But yeah, he’s a good cop.” Jagger ran his hands through his hair. “Jesus Christ, Ian. Our families are really fucked up.”
“Yeah. But we already knew that.”
“Will Kai be all right? What can we do for her?”
“Just be there for her.” Ian stared at him for a few seconds, the most desperate longing on his face. Jagger had never seen him look that way. “I have to tell you this. I can’t keep it inside any longer.”
“Dude, just say it. Nothing else can shock me tonight, okay?”
“I love her. I’m so fucking crazy about her it’s not even possible to put it into words.”
“No shit. You think I don’t know that? So am I. I always have been. But I’m a fucking idiot and never told her that.”
Ian’s jaw dropped open. He stared at Jagger like he’d never seen him before, and then he began to laugh. “Holy fuck. Aren’t we a pair of studs?”
Jagger laughed as well, and then the two clapped each other on the back and finally collapsed onto the sofa. “All right. That cat’s out of the bag. Finally. Now what do we do about it?”
“We have to tell her.”
“She’ll flip out.”
“Why?”
“Because of everything going on with Owen. Because of Eden. Because she doesn’t believe Asa will back up JD Construction.”
“Then we have to convince her all that means nothing to us. That she’s more important than anything. I mean, she is, right?”
“Of course she is. She means everything to me.”
“Same here. So we have to do something to show her that Eden is long gone and out of our thoughts forever. And we have to show her that Asa won’t let JD Construction go under. And that no matter what happens with Owen, we’re all behind her.”
Jagger thought for a few moments, remembering the evening. He’d watched her talking with the other subs, admiring their collars as well as their costumes. That was it. “I got it. We buy her a collar. We have a ceremony. Here or your place, I don’t care which. And we collar her. Just like the others are collared. Then she’ll know we’re serious about this. That we think of her as our sub, the same way Arizona, Dallas, and all the others think of theirs.”
Ian grinned. “I love it. Except I’m not sure Kai would like a public ceremony, and I don’t know if I can wait. Maybe we can collar her in private and then throw a party, once the dust settles over this whole mess?”
“You’re right. That’s a better idea. And I can’t wait either. I want to do this right now.”
“I’m ready for it, too. I have been since…well, since that first night, if I’m being honest.”
“Dude, stop looking at me like you think I’m so stupid I didn’t see right away that you fell like a stone for her.”
“You’re not upset?”
“No. I was jealous at first. I may have even hated you a little. But once we decided to give this a fair shot, and I saw how she responded to you, I knew I had a choice to make. Share her with you, or lose her to you.”
“I never meant to come between you two.”
“You didn’t. What we have is better with you here. I mean that. Hey, if the others can do this, we sure as hell can. Why should they have all the fun?”
Ian chuckled. “Yeah. Fuck them. We’re Doms, too. Seriously, Jagger, I’m honored that you and Kai let me into your lives. I’m also happy we’ve become friends again. In fact, you’re my best friend, dude. And she’s…well, she’s perfect.”
“Yes. She is. And we are friends again. I like that. A lot. Who’d have thought we could share a woman again and make it work, eh?”
Ian shook his head. “No one. But we proved them wrong.”
“Now we can prove it to Kai. Tomorrow morning we’ll go into town and find her the most perfect collar imaginable.”
Ian high fived him. “Deal.”
* * * *
Kai woke Saturday morning with a slight headache. She hoped coffee would take care of it. The guys weren’t in the house, but they’d left a note that only said they were going into town. But that wasn’t what had her staring at Jagger’s neat script. It was the fact he’d signed it, Love, Jagger and Ian.
Don’t go reading anything into it.
Yeah. Right. Like she could simply pretend it meant nothing.
She made coffee then cleaned up the dishes they’d left after making breakfast. They should have woken her so she could have done that for them, and she wondered what was so important that they’d let her sleep and gone off on their own. Had something else happened with Owen? Had the cops found Penn?
She debated whether to call someone and ask but finally opted instead to turn on the news. There were no stories about the island, so she assumed nothing had happened overnight, or at least that it wasn’t dramatic enough for them to air it nonstop.
Then she decided to take a shower. When she finished, the guys still weren’t back, but she needed to go to her apartment because all her clean clothes were there. She’d taken them home to wash them a few days ago. This was getting ridiculous. The three of them lived in three separate residences, but each time the guys joked about moving in together, nothing was actually decided, so Kai assumed they weren’t ready yet.
Was she ready for that? She was, but until all this was resolved, she didn’t feel as if she could suggest any life-changing decisions. Once she was in her apartment, she glanced around. There was nothing in it now but furniture and a few odds and ends she didn’t need in her day-to-day life. She might as well have moved out already.
Her gaze rested o
n the photo albums in the bookshelf, and now she took them down and sat on the floor. Leafing through the pages, she frowned at the pictures of her as a kid and as a teen with Jesse, Wendy, and her cousins. How had everything become so complicated and ugly? Or had it always been that way and she’d never noticed because she knew nothing else?
Jesse and Wendy had always been odd, and Asa’s name had always been associated with anger or envy when it was mentioned in their home. Owen had always been in trouble, and his friends had always been just like him. Gary had always been flighty, and Merrick had always been the glue holding the three boys together. They were still the same people. She simply saw them through different eyes now.
And she saw other people differently now as well. Jagger and Ian, for starters. No longer part of the golden children, as Wendy had called most of the Durantes and Raleighs, Jagger and Ian were her Doms. The men she loved and wanted to spend her life with. The two who gave her everything she’d ever dreamed of having, and so much more.
Even Asa was no longer the demon she’d once thought him to be. He might not ever come to dinner regularly or be their best friend, but he’d accepted her and wasn’t going to let Davis and Jesse lose their business. That spoke volumes about the aspects of his character he kept hidden.
As Kai paged through the books, she realized that by keeping her love for Jagger and Ian to herself, she was doing them as much of a disservice as Jesse and Wendy had done to Asa and the rest all these years. The foundation behind the feud between Jesse and Asa was her uncle’s doing, after all. And yet it was Asa who had extended the olive branch, not Jesse.
Just as it was she who needed to make the first move now. It was time to tell Jagger and Ian that she loved them. They’d assured her more than once that none of what was going on with Owen would change how they felt. Last night, fifteen people, including Asa’s son, had reassured her that they would stand behind the three.
What more proof did she need?
Sure, it was scary to trust someone. But to live without Jagger and Ian was worse. To lose them because she couldn’t say three little words that threatened to bubble over each and every time she looked into their eyes was insanity.
