Secrets in the Dark

by K D Michaels

  “She’s a sadist…” Ian stopped to look at the items before looking around at the group. “The stick that Cortez is holding is a cane. I’ve never seen one with spikes like that though. The box you’re pointing at, Pratt, is used by some sadists in the lifestyle to punish their submissive if they’ve done something incredulously heinous that warrants it.”

  “They are placed in the box then put into either a holding place that allows the submissive to breathe, but it’s very dark.” Carter finished as he walked into the room, looking at the box, whistling as he looked around the room after a quick glance.

  “Yup, I can tell you now, you try that with Red, not only will the dick get the snip snip…”

  “If she doesn’t slice his throat first,” York said, interrupting Cortez, laughing at the horror in Pratt’s eyes as she looked at the box.

  “I can guarantee once she’s done with that, you will be served with divorce papers.” Cortez finished her thought, trying to hide her laughter.

  “First, it would be the throat. Two, Joe isn’t a sadist, unless I’m pregnant and withholds the dick for nine months.” Pratt glared at her husband in warning.

  Ian watched the husband and wife team in amusement while Carter smirked at the stare down.

  “As I know ye dislike for the dark, lass, I would never even think of suggesting the box. Therefore, ye threat to my dick, that ye love so much, is uncalled for.” Highlander warned his wife, lowering his voice.

  “I didn’t threaten it.” Pratt pointed towards where Cortez and York stood. “They said it, I just answered which one would be more accurate.” Pratt shrugged as she walked away, stopping a few feet away, “What. The. Fuck. Is. This?” Pratt stared at a small area of the wall before moving to the side.

  Ian, Carter and Highlander flanked Pratt as they looked at what she was pointing at. Pratt moved to the side only to stop when she heard a click.

  “Don’t move, lass.” Highlander grabbed his wife’s shoulders to hold her in place.

  Gene, Cortez and Alvarez had just stepped out of the room at the same time as a click sounded, causing the panel in the wall to close, locking them out and the others inside the room. As soon as the large wall panel shut, two small wooden panels on opposite walls opened with two large snakes came out of each panel.

  “Oh my God! JOE,” Pratt screamed, literally terrified as she watched the large snakes fall to the ground, crawling closer to them.

  “Look at me, lass, Look. At. Me,” Highlander ordered his wife in his best command tone.

  Pratt stared into her husband’s eyes, trying to fight her fear that was growing by the second. Suddenly four shots rang out in rapid fire. Highlander yanked Pratt into his arms as Ian and Carter surrounded her.

  Several minutes later, the wall panel for the entrance shattered open as Cortez, York and Alvarez had set a small enough charge to blow the door but not harm anyone inside the room. The three men got Pratt out of the room and out onto the balcony to get some fresh air to help her calm down.

  “Is it safe to be on this balcony?” Pratt asked as she gulped air into her lungs, shaking in Highlanders arms.

  “We eliminated all the threats that were apparently waiting for Candy to get home.” Carter announced softly as he kept watch outside, watching York run to the SUV to grab something.

  “Hey guys, I found another hidden room.” Cortez peeked her head out onto the balcony.

  “Fuck that. You guys have fun. I’ve had my fill of hidden rooms for the day.”

  “I think this is what the bad guys were looking for.” Cortez walked away before anyone could respond.

  Alvarez looked at the three men, then to Pratt, “Looks like Candy liked to film her scenes.”

  “Fuck,” Pratt groaned into Highlander’s chest.

  6

  The group walked into the guest bathroom where the second hidden room was found. Pratt, still reeling from the incident in the other room, stayed inside the bathroom itself, as close to Highlander as she could.

  The second room, smaller than the hidden sex room held a tv screen, a DVD player, a large shelf that was full DVD cases. Cortez hit play on the DVD player, causing sounds to echo out into the room.

  “Holy fuck! Is that Ruiz?” Pratt stared at the TV in shock.

  “He doesn’t look coherent. That doesn’t look like lust or desire on his face.” York noticed Ruiz’s eyes in the video.

  “Wouldn’t put it past her to have drugged him to get this far as alpha as Ruiz tries to be. Especially when he went after Pratt trying to take her out.” Cortez ignored Pratt and York’s gestures to stop her comments, not seeing Highlander getting pissed behind her.

  Highlander leaned down and whispered into Pratt’s ear, “That’s ten, lass.”

  Pratt tilted her head toward her husband, “Hand or paddle?”

  “Do we get the pleasure of watching?” Carter looked at the couple with a smirk on his lips. Seeing Pratt start to panic and walk out of the room as fast as she could, Carter stepped back towards Highlander. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “Nae, ye didn’t know. My lass has an immense fear of public punishments. It’s the reason we haven’t joined any of the clubs.”

  “I blame her parents for that,” Gene informed the two men, angrily.

  York and Cortez looked at each other a little too long, catching the notices of Ian and Alvarez. When Cortez realized that they were being watched, she grabbed a box and started putting some of the DVDs from the shelf into the box and walked out of the room.

  “Renee, look at me lass.” When York didn’t look up at Highlander’s request, Ian walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Detective, please help us understand what put the fear into her eyes like that.”

  York sighed, then looked at Gene. “She never told you about it either, did she? Shit! She probably never told Dominick or Highlander either.”

  “Talk to us, please,” Alvarez pleaded with York.

  York walked out of the room towards the balcony in the guest room. Once everyone was on the balcony, York looked down towards the SUV where Pratt and Cortez were sitting inside.

  “How much do you know about her first marriage?” York looked over at Gene and Highlander.

  “I know he cheated on her with her sister and a stripper. Supposedly smacked her down a flight of stairs when she joined the force.” Highlander looked down towards the SUV where his wife was, worried about her.

  “He did what?” Carter’s voice went low and deadly, something that made the others look at him for a minute.

  “That’s the only thing she admits to. Things were actually worse.” York took a deep breath as she leaned onto the railing and looked up at the sky.

  “When he was screwing her sister, Maria, he would constantly yell at Pratt in public. Telling her in front of others how lousy she was in the sack. If she didn’t move fast enough, he would lock her in a room after removing the light bulb, try to force her to eat dog food, tie her face down to the bed and force her to have sex, call her other women’s name during sex, telling her that they were tighter than she was, and so much other shit. He tried to force her to sign a slave contract shortly after she started the department in a bid to force her to quit.

  Gene, Highlander, Ian and Carter all let out a string of curses. Alvarez gripped the railing tightly to the point of her knuckles going white.

  “Her fear of the dark, and that box has to do with Jon, her ex-husband, tying her to a chair and putting a metal box over her head for hours at a time to get her to comply with his demands.”

  York looked at Highlander for a moment and then looked down towards the SUV where Cortez had Pratt sitting on the curb drinking a bottle of water.

  “The twins are her third pregnancy, not her second.” York shocked Gene and Highlander. “She was pregnant a year after having Cody. It’s the real reason Dominick left the Army and came home.

  Gene and Highlander looked at each other before looking over at
Larry, then all three men looked at York.

  “What happened to the wee bairn, lass?”

  York looked over at Highlander, staring him straight in the eyes. “Her father and ex-husband beat the living shit out of her, nearly killing her, when she refused to quit the department.”

  “Why the fuck are they still free?” Alvarez angrily turned around looking outside into the parking lot.

  “The Senator.” York walked away, headings out of the apartment and out to the parking lot with her other two teammates.

  Alvarez looked at Highlander for a moment. “I know she’s your wife, but in the short time I’ve talked to these women and gotten to know them, I’ve grown to like them. Once we are done with this case, I’m taking those fuckers out.” Alvarez walked out, following York out of the apartment and to the parking lot.

  “You didn’t know?” Carter assumed the answer before asking Highlander.

  “Nae. I knew he caused issues with Cody. But I only knew of him hurting her one time. She always played it off.”

  “Her father really that much of an ass?” Ian glanced over to Highlander, Gene and Larry.

  “Aye.”

  “Yes.”

  “Unfuckingfortunately.” All three men answered at the same time.

  “When I first met the lass, her parents marched into her place of work, yelling at her, demanding she remove herself from our case. Her mother and sister even showed up at her house, putting her down in front of a complete stranger.”

  “You mean Maria didn’t try to jump your bones in front of Laura?” Larry mocked, clearly hating the woman.

  “Aye, the barracuda tried, but my lass was the only one I had eyes for.”

  “York said the Senator was the reason they weren’t arrested?” Ian glanced at Larry and Gene for an answer.

  “That’s probably true. Jon’s father is a Senator for the state of California. The father is just as sorry as he is. Dominick can confirm, but I believe Laura’s father and the Senator served in the Corps together. Her father made a career out of the military, but the Senator got out, going into politics after doing his four years.” Larry walked over to the railing, looking out into the parking lot, watching Pratt.

  “I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, it’s amazing that Dominick and Laura turned out the way that they did. They are good, kind and putting others before themselves. The kind of parents they had, it’s truly a miracle.” Gene shook his head, leaning back onto the wall behind him.

  “Lord knows the hell my lass went through growing up. The fact she’s proven that she can do her job with her disabilities and do it just as good as we can. My team, and every SEAL she’s come into contact with, are all amazed with her and her team…”

  “Her disabilities?” Carter asked, confused, sharing a glance with Ian before looking between Highlander, Larry and Gene for an explanation.

  Larry and Gene shared a look for a beat before looking over at Highlander.

  “When Laura was a baby, she got really sick. It caused her to lose most of her hearing. She wears two hearing aids to help her function like she’s almost fully hearing.” Larry started letting the others know.

  “Please tell me that’s not why her parents treat her the way they do,” Alvarez requested, voice low and angry.

  “Aye it is.”

  “I’m afraid so. Dominick was favored as the only son, but because he and Laura were close, they started treating him like he was a traitor when he refused to leave her out of things or ignore her like they did.” Gene watched the women standing around the SUV talking.

  “Dom left the Army when he found out Laura had divorced her husband.” Highlander finished.

  “How is she with the lifestyle? She seemed to know a lot about it when we were in that hidden room.” Alvarez wanted to know.

  Highlander smiled slightly. “It’s been a work in progress. She knows the difference between what we do and what the ex-husband tried to push her into. The hard limits, as you already guessed, bondage, whips, blindfolds, public scenes, and dark play. Her absolute hard limit is a third, which is fine with me since I don’t like to share her.”

  “What’s the plan now?” Cortez asked, sauntering onto the balcony.

  “Laura okay?” Highlander asked, not seeing her by the SUV anymore.

  Cortez smiled at everyone, nodding her head. “Yeah, she’s just embarrassed for freaking out like she did in the hidden room. She’s walking with York right now, Cody called to talk to her about something with school.”

  “Alright, so we need to really look at those DVDs to see what’s on them. I’m going to get my two resident geeks on them since they can do the facial recs at the same time.”

  “Good, Sarge is sending Pratt and Diesel back in with Candy when we get back to the station.”

  “Why?” Highlander wasn’t very happy.

  “It was actually her idea. They were also going to see if they can get clearance for either Ian or Carter to go in with them.”

  “Okay, I’m curious, what are they were thinking?” Ian stood straighter, looking over towards Carter.

  “Makes two of us,” Carter agreed with Ian.

  “I’m thinking that with Candy feels she can overthrow a man, control one even. If one of you alpha as hell men come in, it would trip her up. Neither one of you can be controlled or dominated. That will piss her off and she’ll trip up. Hell, you two even scare the fuck out of me when you get that gleam in your eyes when you’re fighting that control.” Both men looked at Pratt, studying her.

  “She knows Highlander and her team, so she knows Highlander is the alpha in our marriage. She’ll be on her guard with him since she knows she can’t entice him away from me. Larry goes in, knowing he’s FBI, she’ll be too focused on cutting a deal with him. Gene, well, with Uncle Gene, being as he lets his grey shine through, she’ll see him as a father figure and refuse to speak or do anything because of her daddy issues.”

  “Keon has grey too…” Ian pointed out.

  “True, but he’s FBI, and the top dog. Her attorney will find that information out, then she will too. He needs to stay in the background. Gene won’t tell her who he is, so she’ll assume authority figure and her daddy issues will come out. She’ll either go coocoo for cocoa puffs or try to fuck him in front of everyone.”

  “And she won’t with Ian or Carter, lass?”

  “Oh, she’ll go coocoo for cocoa puffs for them. They ooze alphaness like you do. The difference is she doesn’t know them. They will be a challenge for her. She doesn’t know their spouses. Me, she knows, I’ll lay the badge on the table and stab her fucking ass where you’re concerned. I haven’t met Ian’s wife, but I already know that Alvarez will slit her throat without thought.”

  “Damn right!” Alvarez agreed. “Angie would too, where Ian is concerned. I’d give her the knife.”

  “My kinda gal.” Pratt laughed.

  “Okay Harley Quinns…” York cut in, “Why don’t we just have Pratt go in with both men? Pratt can lose her cool, one of them suggest in their ‘Dom voice’ for her to cool off, she leaves the room then Ian and Carter tag team her together…not like that dipshit!” York quickly added when Pratt started to hold Alvarez back. “I meant with the way their own special way of interrogation that makes Candy fuck up and spill without realizing it.”

  “She’s right.” Pratt stared at Ian and Carter for a minute. “How about me not even going in, they go in, just the two of them?”

  “Do we get a say in this?” Ian questioningly mocked.

  “Please?” Pratt begged. “I hate to admit it, but we are desperate. Until Brody and Nathan look at those DVDs or find out who or what this Ares is, we have nothing. Dakota needs any and all help, even if it means going out of our comfort zone and begging for help.”

  Ian and Carter shared a glance for several minutes, in silent communication. The three women of Alpha Squad did the same thing, only difference their looks were almost of despair. After several minutes of making t
he three women squirm, Ian and Carter turned towards the three women and nodded their heads it agreement.

  “We’ll do it. Detective Pratt goes in with us. Since we aren’t law enforcement, her attorney may use that in court to get whatever we get out of her thrown out.”

  “Thank you, Ian. Thank you both!” Pratt happily smiled, nodding to her two teammates.

  York walked back into the room, after she had stepped out briefly to take a phone call. “We have a problem.”

  “Fuck!” echoed from Cortez and Pratt seeing the look in York’s face.

  “Huh?” Highlander responded, hearing his wife’s huff.

  “What?” Larry asked, confused by the outburst.

  Pratt looked at York, both women with their hands on their hips. “Suicide?”

  “Swift is going with homicide since she was placed in gen-pop instead of solitary as ordered.”

  “I thought she was supposed to be in PC?” Cortez tried to confirm.

  “She was, but we think she either bragged to someone that worked for Ares on the inside…”

  “Or her court appointed attorney let Mr. Godfrey know that she was going to rat his client out.” Pratt finished for York, looking over at the men.

  Ian pulled out his phone and sent Brody a text. I’m having Brody check into he jail staff and the court appointed attorney as we speak.”

  “Can you have him check on Godfrey as well? He may be our other link to finding out who or what Ares is.” Cortez asked Ian, shrugging.

  “Sooooo, at the risk of sounding repetitive, now what?” Alvarez asked the room, hands in the air.

  Pratt, York, and Cortez held each other’s eyes for a moment before looking around the room. “We go back to the drawing board. Now we can help Brody and Nathan with the DVDs. Go back over the files and look into both Peter and Candy’s death. We still need to find Asia, as of right now, he’s our only link to Dakota’s disappearance.

  “Let’s go back to the compound. We can get everyone, both my Alpha Team and Alpha Squad together with the rest of our guests, go over everything you have with fresh eyes. We can brainstorm everything. We will figure this out.” Ian told the group, determined.