by Avery Gale
“You aren’t angry that Gage showed up?” Abby’s softly spoken question seemed to surprise him. “Even I could see he was mad and at first I thought he was mad at me, but then I thought about it and knew someone must have called him. It’s going to be like you have two very protective brother-in-laws you know?”
Both Kalen and Logan both burst out in barking laughter that left Abby staring at them. She knew her wide eyes had to be showing her concern and confusion over their reaction. “Oh baby, you have way more protectors than you know. Every man who ever visited the ranch and has met you is going to be calling us out and questioning our motives and intentions.” When she gasped, he pulled her on to his lap so she was facing Kalen. “And that is great because you are right, you are always going to be a handful and we’ll be grateful for all the help we can get in keeping you safe. Now, I’m tired of talking. Let’s move this along because I have a burning desire to seal this deal and that involves Kalen and I both being buried balls deep inside you little sub.”
Despite Logan’s crude words, Abby felt herself relax in his arms. And she could see some of the tension drain from Kalen as well. They were back on more familiar ground and she was much happier to be interacting in a more usual way with them. She knew their relationship was never going to be static, that it would be like all other lifetime commitments in that it would have highs and lows. Kalen took one of her hands in his and pulled it palm up to brush a soft kiss over her delicate skin and then rolled her fingers closed. “Hold that kiss in your heart, love. The most important thing for you to remember always is that we love you. Nothing you say or do will erase that love. And even though there will be times when we don’t agree, it won’t change the basic truth of our love.”
She felt her eyes fill with unshed tears but she could only nod in response. Logan picked her up and when he turned her so that she saw the other end of the long room bathed in the soft light of a hundred candles and the rose petals covering their bed, she gasped. “Oh my. It’s so beautiful. Thank you.” Seeing the look of relief and joy cross their faces seemed to erase the last traces of bad energy that had been left lurking in their minds.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Abby woke up the next morning and knew without even opening her eyes that she was alone in the massive bed. Sighing she rolled over and looked at the clock and was shocked to see that it was nearly noon. There were some habits that were just very difficult to break and she’d been rolled out of bed early to complete her chores on the ranch before leaving for school long enough that sleeping in still made her feel lazy. When she sprang out of bed she quickly realized her body obviously hadn’t been prepared for the shock of being upright and it took her a few seconds to orient herself. “Where’s the fire, baby?” She spun around to see Logan leaning with his shoulder resting against the interior of the door frame. He was wearing sinfully low-slung Levis that looked as if they’d been washed a couple hundred times and with the button open they were tempting her with promises of what lay below. His bare feet were crossed at the ankles and every single one of her girly parts responded with a resounding “Yes” even though he hadn’t actually issued a sexual invitation.
“You keep looking at me like that and you won’t be leaving this bedroom for a very long time, baby. And Kalen and I have a few things to set up for this evening. And you my sweet girl need to get a move on because Ian has a treat for you, Holly, and Callie.” Abby stood blinking at him with what she was sure was a deer in the headlights look. “Still not one of those people who hits the ground running are you sweetheart?” She numbly shook her head and was a bit surprised that he actually remembered that about her. Her brother had teased her that she would never have survived Special Forces training because she always had woken up dazed and confused for several long minutes. Jace had told her that she’d have been weeded out of BUDS for that alone. She’d regularly pointed out that she was a researcher not a soldier and her data didn’t seem to mind how quickly her mind kicked into gear before it was drenched in caffeine each morning.
When she blinked again she realized Kalen had joined Logan and even though his stance was much more Alpha-Dom than Logan’s, his amusement was clear in the way his eyes danced with humor. “She still isn’t a morning person, huh? Amazing when you think about it, because her mind works at Mach speed the rest of the time.” They both stood looking at her for several seconds and she could feel her body responding even though her mind wasn’t fully on-line yet. Her nipples were tightening and her pussy flooding with moisture. Good Lord Almighty they were turning her into a nymphomaniac.
“Baby, I warned you about that look. And now your body is all but shouting its desire, and as much as I’d like to push you right back into that rumpled bed and have my wicked way with you, we need to get you over to Ian and Callie’s.” Logan stepped forward and took her hand and started leading her to the bathroom. “Get her some coffee Kalen. I’ll get her started in here. Christ, I hope like hell she doesn’t ever have to drive first thing in the morning.”
By the time she’d gotten through her shower and a couple of cups of coffee she was a happy and cognizant camper again. She didn’t know where they’d gotten the curve hugging dress they’d dressed her in but it was the most beautiful shade of sapphire she’d ever seen. And even though her family had always had plenty of money, neither she nor Jace had been allowed to choose anything but what their parents had considered “reasonable” clothing. Abby was fairly certain that a cashmere dress would not have met her mother’s standard of reasonable.
Ian had met them at the door and had studied her closely before nodding as if she’d passed some kind of inspection and turned her toward his housekeeper. “Inez will show you the way. Now enjoy your treat and try to keep yourself out of mischief. And no alcohol of any kind for any of you ladies, it that understood?” Abby smiled and nodded. She understood that he didn’t want her functioning impaired in any way this evening and she agreed. She was going to need to keep her wits about her in order to get the confirmation she needed that John Parsons was in some way linked to the Consortium, and to keep herself and everyone around her safe.
* * * *
“There you are. Damn, girl, I thought maybe those two hunks of yours might have you tied to the bed. I was just getting ready to mount a covert rescue mission.” Callie’s voice rang out above the pounding Caribbean beat of Kenny Chesney’s Guitars and Tiki Bars which was blasting from hidden speakers. Inez had led Abby to the indoor/outdoor pool area behind Ian and Callie’s home.
“Holy shit, Batman, look at this place. This wasn’t on the tour the last time I was here. What’s up with that? Holding out on me?” Abby noticed Holly was sitting in front of a manicurist with her fingers dipped into something that looked like green Jell-O. She made her way over and hugged her new sister. “Hi Holly. Please tell me that green shade I see in your face is just a reflection from the goop your fingers are soaking in.”
Holly looked up at her and started gulping frantically before clasping her hand over her mouth and racing from the room. Abby turned to Callie, “What? What did I say? Fuck a square duck, Jace is going to kick my ass for that.”
“Nah, it’s not you. She’d just pregnant and that sweet baby doesn’t seem to have any respect for his or her mama. Jace told me they’ve been calling it ‘vertical sickness’ because anytime she is vertical she is sick no matter what time of day it is. Oh, fracking fairy farts, I’m supposed to call him if that happens.”
Just as Callie grabbed her phone, Holly shouted from the next room, “Don’t you dare rat me out Callie McGregor. I want to play with my friends today. I’m tired of being stuck in that damned bed. What fun is bed if you aren’t getting laid.” There was a long pause and then Holly stuck her head out of the door and looked at Abby, “Oh shit, sorry Abby…that was probably too much information wasn’t it?”
For several seconds Abby was too stunned by the fact that her first thirty seconds in the room had yielded this much nonsense, bu
t then she couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. “Damn this is gonna be fun.”
Callie looked at her and smiled, “Oh yea, Ian was all about keeping us busy and out from underfoot today so they can plot to overthrow the world without our interference so he has—” She was interrupted by the chirping of her phone. When she looked down at the screen her cheeks turned a nice deep shade of red before she answered in a voice so sweet Abby was worried she might get a cavity just from being nearby. “Hello sweet husband mine…oh, well…yes, Sir.”
Abby watched as Callie’s face flushed even more and her friend started squirming in her chair. She didn’t know what Ian was saying to his errant wife, but he was obviously winding her up as tight as an eight-day clock. After a couple of minutes of listening, it was obvious that Callie was getting perilously close to orgasm and Abby could only stand by in dumbfounded silence. When Callie finally whispered “bye” into the phone without coming Abby suddenly understood what her men had meant by a “variety of ways to punish a wayward sub.”
“That was just cruel,” was all Abby got out before Callie leapt to her feet and slapped her hand over her mouth and shook her head violently.
Callie leaned close and whispered so quietly Abby barely heard her, “Be careful, this place is wired up so they can hear a fly fart and I already lost one piece of clothing for tonight and unless I want to look like a boiled egg waddling around the club tonight I’m going to have to be careful. And unless you want everybody to see your ass – etc., you’d better zip it quick girlfriend.”
* * * *
Ian watched Callie on the monitor in his office and shook his head. “Damn she is the light of my life, but there are times when I wonder what the hell I was thinking.” He hit several keys on the screen and the image of Callie whispering to Abby faded from the screen and he turned to the men sitting in his office. “There is a part of me that would like nothing more than to fulfill that fantasy for my sweet sub, but there is a much larger part of me that has no intentions of letting the general club membership see her round with our child. And having John Parsons in my club tonight is just plain pissing me off. Tell me we have everything in place for tonight and I can be sure that the members are safe as well as the three women out in the pool area that own our hearts.”
Jace understood his boss’s frustration. And there wasn’t a man in the room who had more of a vested interest in protecting the women his friend mentioned than he did. “Well, since you are talking about my wife, my sister, and one of my dearest friends, I’ll agree that everything we have at our disposal needs to be in place tonight. I’ve outlined everything in a timeline and you all have copies of that.” He indicated the papers he’d handed each of the men in the room. “What some of you may not realize is that Alex Lamont sent his regrets to Parsons yesterday and he is sending Mitch Grayson to fill in. As I’m sure you can imagine, this is not an accident. We are hoping Mitch can read Parsons. Having that inside information would be tremendously helpful, but a man in Parson’s position likely knows all about Mitch’s abilities by now, so it may not be as easy as it could have been.”
“Why tell him so far in advance of the change?” Logan asked.
“Parsons is solid gold obsessive-compulsive. If the change had been sprung too late, he’d have probably cancelled and we would have missed this window of opportunity. Something about this whole mess fucking reeks and Abby isn’t going to be safe until we unravel it. Now, here is the latest development and I haven’t even had a chance to brief Ian on this yet.”
Jace tapped a few keys on the laptop resting in front of him and turned it around for everyone to see. “For those of you who don’t know, this is Sergio Fantella.” He heard Kalen and Logan both growl in anger and he held up his hand to still their protests. “Hear me out. Fantella called me several hours ago and wanted to meet me in a neutral location. I met him at a small coffee shop near Capitol Hill. He took a huge chance to meet with me for several reasons, but mostly because I know he played my sister and I wanted to kick his ass for that alone. But I listened to him and I’m damned glad I did. Quite frankly I’m not too sure we shouldn’t hire him.”
Laughing at the incredulous looks he got from his team, he handed out another sheet of paper giving a brief overview of the information the man had provided. “As you see, he was hired specifically to befriend Abby and lure her to work for the Consortium. The group made it clear he was to ‘get the girl by any means necessary’ but it seems Fantella genuinely liked Abby and kept stalling—claiming that he needed more time to establish himself in her inner circle, but he admitted he simply wanted to spend more time with her. Anyway, long story short, he is convinced Abby’s kidnapping was orchestrated by Parsons who is evidently working both sides of this and several other projects that will be very lucrative for him.”
Everyone in the room studied the papers in their hands for long minutes and when they all seemed to come up for air, it was Ian that spoke. “You all know what’s at stake tonight and I’d love to keep Callie home under lock and key but I know any change in routine is going to set off Parsons’s alarms. Fuck, I don’t know whether to warn her so she’ll be cautious or keep her in the dark so she doesn’t run to the roar.”
Jace couldn’t contain his laughter because Ian’s concern was all too real. Callie was a tiny little thing but she was a fierce warrior. Hell she’d gotten in a couple of good jabs on him and he’d been a damned SEAL. “I totally understand your dilemma, but can’t imagine Abby won’t have given her the four eleven on the situation by the time their little spa party is done. I want double trackers on each of them. We’ve got a couple for Dee and Lizzy as well because I want them working the bar. Holly won’t be there because she’s battling nausea with everything she has but it’s still kicking her ass. Daphne will be with her in our apartment. She’s going to be pissed but so be it.”
Jace wound up the meeting after they double checked on the women and found them all enjoying massages. Hearing the grumbling around him when the other men saw what they’d been missing, he just shook his head and headed down the hall with Gage to retrieve Holly. He’d seen her race for the bathroom earlier and knew she’d been sick again. He heard Gage grumbling, “She didn’t call us. Damn it, we told Callie to call one of us if Holly was sick again. I swear she is begging for a couple of swats and I may call her bluff tonight.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Where’s the rest of it?” Abby was holding up what looked like a very colorful piece of fabric that would be better used as sheers under drapery than as a dress. When neither Kalen nor Logan responded she looked from one of them to the other. “No, seriously. Where is the rest of it? You can’t seriously expect me wear a section of somebody’s curtains to the club…this isn’t going to cover my girly bits and I really don’t want John Parsons seeing my whoo ha. He’s seriously creepy even if he does look like a Greek God.”
Both Kalen and Logan’s eyes were instantly full of fire. Oops, that was probably over the top Abby. Deciding it was time for damage control, she smiled and then sighed when they both just stood and glared at her. “Listen, I know my brother is going to be there tonight and I really don’t want to flash him either. And I need something that will protect me in case things go to hell. Besides, where are you going to hide the wire?”
Logan finally grinned and she knew she’d been pranked. “Baby, that is for later. And I see your eyes flashing fire but just remember neither of us said that was what you were wearing to the club tonight—you jumped to that conclusion all on your own.”
Kalen’s voice wasn’t as amused as Logan’s but he was clearly enjoying her discomfort. “Love, any other night you would find yourself going to the club stark naked after that little performance. But tonight you’ll be wearing a much more conservative dress for the reasons you already named. Now, your dress is in the closet. The wire is already inside the dress and we’ll test it before we leave the apartment. We wouldn’t use a separate wire, but we
don’t really want every fed on the planet knowing all the juicy details of your collar. But remember little sub, each and every word you say will be recorded, so think carefully before you speak. Don’t taunt or entrap Parsons. According to intel we received today, it sounds like he has every intention of leaving this island with you in tow.”
Logan’s large hand wrapped around her upper arm. “That isn’t happening, baby. You are not to be out of our sight—is that crystal clear to you? Because I don’t want there to be any excuses later. Even if you need to use the ladies room one of us goes with you.” Seriously? They are going to watch me pee? Oh Cracker Jacks.
She heard herself sigh before she nodded her head. Got it, I need to report all personal needs to the P3.
“P3? What does that mean?” Logan’s voice had gone from teasing to Arctic. Abby jerked her gaze up to his. Crap, I can’t believe I said that out loud. “You did indeed say it out loud, baby. And you better explain it quickly. There is no room for error or misunderstanding tonight.”
Abby took a deep breath and tried to smile, but knew she’d failed when they both continued to stand with their arms crossed resolutely over their broad shoulders looking like they’d eaten glass for dinner. “Piss Police Patrol. That’s what my sorority sisters always called it when they wouldn’t let me go to the bathroom alone at parties. There was always one girl who didn’t drink and always escorted me to the bathroom because I was so much younger than the rest of the girls. Even though I didn’t actually live in the sorority’s house until I was eighteen they never forgot I was one of them, and they tried to include me in most of their crazy adventures when they could. Our campus had a lot of sexual assaults that seemed to happen in or around bathrooms so it was kind of a safety thing. Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
