by Dale Cadeau
“You know you have to name them soon?” Grandma cuddled the baby as she walked out of the room behind Mary.
“So let get back to it,” Avery said with a wicked grin, reaching for the teapot and filling all their cups. “I think Cyn’s idea has some merit and I’m sure I can think of a few things, too.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Grant sat back, drinking his coffee. He knew he should be interested and concentrating on James and the others as they questioned this John guy, but he couldn’t seem to get his mind to focus.
All he could think of and picture in his mind was Charlie wrapped in Chase’s arms in the back of the truck yesterday. She didn’t even raise her head to look around for him. Gritting his teeth, he looked over at Chase.
Chase was sitting beside Clay and asking the guy questions. Why wasn’t he with Charlie looking after her? What kind of man would leave his woman alone after the traumatic experience that she had just gone through to come out here to question a guy that might or might not have answers?
It wasn’t as if he was part of their unit, no, he was an outsider wanting in. He had stayed home and become the golden boy of finances. If he was anywhere else and did not have the respect he had for James, he would have Chase up against the wall, berating him for him treatment of Charlie.
If Charlie was his, or had given him one sign of wanting to be his yesterday, he would have kept her in bed today. He could imagine her warmth surrounding him as he burrowed balls-deep in her. No way would he be here questioning this guy. No, he would not have let her out of bed for days. The one taste he had gotten of her at the cabin had just whetted his appetite for more.
It hurt thinking that Charlie had only used him as a substitute for Chase. Maybe she was the type that had to have a man on a string all the time. With Chase being gone, maybe she was lonely and had zeroed in on him.
In the back of his mind, he really didn’t think she was that type, but how else to explain her going straight from his arms into Chase’s? Maybe he should pay her a visit and explain that Chase was just a hound dog like Clay liked to call him and he could not be counted on to go the whole nine yards. Not like he would. That thought had him sitting up in his seat.
Charlie had him thinking of picket fences and babies, and surprisingly it did not bother him. He envied James and Angel, even Clay and Brad had it made. They had a life to look forward to filled with warmth and love. God, he was getting pathetic. He had to let her go. He had to realize that it just wasn’t meant to be. He couldn’t even blame Chase. Charlie would be a gift to any man lucky enough to win her.
Brad nudging his leg had him suddenly aware of where he was and the room around him. He looked around and saw all the guys standing up and taking turns shaking hands with Devlen. What the hell had he missed? Taking a sip of his now-cold coffee, he gave Brad a glare and tried to catch up.
He heard James tell Devlen that there were no hard feelings as he shook John’s hand. Brad leaned over. “Want me to update you about what you missed when you were off in space?”
“I wasn’t off in space. I was just think of everything that was going on,” Grant said, trying to cover his lapse.
“Sure you were. Well, to make short of it, James finally concluded that the government would have gotten wind of what was going on and took over anyway, so Devlen is in the clear.
“James is getting soft,” Grant interjected.
Brad just gave Grant a look, and putting it down to his bad mood, carried on. “John told us his part in this whole kidnapping and everyone agreed that it could have been any one of us years ago. General Brown gave the orders, why would he be suspicious? As far as John knew, General Brown was still giving orders for the army. He had no way to have known what went down this last year.”
“Shouldn’t he have questioned the mission, being that it was home grown?” Grant said, not buying it.
“I don’t agree. General Brown had made us out to be the scourge of the army and a black mark on the army’s reputation. In John’s way of thinking, he was just ridding the States of a threat. If the means were not exactly something he would have agreed to, he couldn’t very well complain he was caught. Like any good soldier, he took his orders and carried them out to the best of his ability.”
“So what’s going to happen to him now?” Grant asked, looking toward John.
“Well the general that questioned him this morning told him to take some time off and think if he wanted to continue on in the service. He was on his last mission when General Brown stepped in. If it wasn’t for that he would have been retired, John told us. He seems like a nice enough guy.”
Brad paused and looked with concern at Grant. “James is thinking of offering him a position with Braden Security. But he made it clear that it was up to you.”
“Why me?” Grant asked, “It’s just not up to me who we hire, we all get a say.”
“God, you’re slow today. Why do you think? Can you work alongside a man that held you kidnapped for days?”
“I don’t know. I have to admit that he did treat us for the most part okay. He wasn’t like the other guy. I’d have to think about it.”
“Well think fast. Here comes James.”
James stood in front of Grant’s chair. “Well, you heard it all. What do you think? Can we hire one of General Brown discards? I know it’s asking a lot and probably too much too soon. However, I think the guy needs a break and it seems that he would be a good fit with us. Angel, Clay, and the others agree, but it is up to you.”
Grant got to his feet and looked over at John, who was talking and laughing with Chase, Tony, and Gage. Grant first instinct was to say no, but then he remembered their meals and the aspirin that he was given. No, the guy had looked after them. He hadn’t been a bastard like he could have been.
Could he work with him? Not right away. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t join the firm. Grant turned to James, his decision made.
“It will take time for us to be best pals, but if you all agree, especially Angel, that he’s a good guy and needs a break. I’d say go for it. That might have been one any one of us, like you said. I’d like to think that there would be someone ready to give us a break.”
James put a hand on Grant’s shoulder and squeezed.
“We’ll keep an eye on him and make sure that you have the room you need to get accustomed to him.” James turned and walked back to Angle and Clay. After they talked a bit between themselves, they all made their way over to the others.
“Welcome to the firm. You’re going to have your work cut out for you to make us trust you completely. But we are willing to give you a chance.”
John held out his hand toward James. James grasped his hand and shook it.
“You won’t be sorry. But first there are some people that I have to ask forgiveness.”
John left the group and walked over to Grant and Brad, both standing just outside of the group.
“I know it’s not much, but I am sorry for my part in all this. I would never had had any part of it, if I would have known.
“I know not being in the know is not much of an excuse. I should have asked more questions and looked into things myself. My only excuse is that I was bushed after my last mission and looking forward to moving back to the States. I couldn’t grasp the thought of one of our own doing crap like that on our own soil. It was just too much for me. I wanted to take any bastards out that would go against their own country.”
“Stop, John, I understand. I really do. It’s just going to take some time for me to flip over and think of you as a friend and not my kidnapper,” Grant told John.
“Don’t worry, I’ll give you room.”
James and the others turned to them. “All okay?
At Grant’s nod, James continued. “Then let’s got home.”
All the men said good-bye to Devlen as they walked out of the office and piled into the trucks, John making sure that he wasn’t in the truck with Grant.
Chapter
Thirty-Two
“Okay, now that we don’t have to worry about our language, let’s put out heads together and think of how we are going to get Grant’s head out of his ass and thinking clearly,” Avery said, looking around at the other women.
“I know you all mean well and I appreciate your wanting to help. I want Grant, only I don’t know if tricking him is the answer. I would like to think our time together meant as much to him as it did to me. Maybe I should just back off, give him space,” Charlie told them, hesitation in her voice.
“Charlie, one thing I can say, I think, for all of us, is that the men of Braden Security are a stubborn lot. They are protective, loyal, and are always trying to do the right thing. Sometimes their thinking is wrong. Well, most of the time, that’s where we come in,” Avery said to Charlie with a sly smile going on.
“If Grant thinks that you’d be better off without him or with someone else, he will be noble and step aside. I find the more I get to know all the guys, I realize that being discharged from the army makes them second guess their own worth. You would never know it with their take-charge attitude, but they are just like other men, little boys who don’t want to get hurt.”
“Avery’s right, Charlie. The guys will go out of their way not to hurt anyone,” Cyn added.
“Ask Laura and even Raven if they agree. Sometimes we women just have to nudge them in the right direction.”
“I went as far as to agree to set up my own kidnapping so Clay would come to his senses.” Laura spoke up with a wide grin. “Best decision I ever agreed to.”
“Okay, you convinced me. So what should I do?” Charlie asked, getting into the spirt of things. “I kind of like Cyn’s way of thinking.”
“What, you want to tie him up?” Cyn asked.
“Well, you have to admit that it would allow Charlie to persuade him and keep him in one place long enough for her to get through to him.
“Kind of kinky, don’t you think?” Raven added.
“Well it might be good for him. Grant, being so reserved, needs to be taken out of his comfort zone. I think he is even worse than the others. He never says much and seems to keep things bottled up inside,” Avery said.
“Yes, I noticed that,” Raven interjected. “Brad seems to be the closest to him, and even he has remarked that Grant is too closed up. He won’t share his thoughts or feeling, just goes with the flow, not making any waves.”
“So we agree that it has to be something drastic?” Avery asked the others.
“Well I’ll help any way I can,” Janet said, putting her cup on the table.
“Maybe we can get Jared and Stan to help?” Avery asked.
“I don’t know about that, Avery. We have already pushed them a bit hard the last few days. They love me and all, but I think we should let them off the hook this time. There has to be another way. What about Brad? Maybe he would help?” Janet asked, looking at Raven.
“I think this would be right up Clay’s alley. He always told the guys, payback’s a bitch. Well, maybe this is his way to get back,” Laura said, breaking in.
“Brad will help. I’m sure of it,” Raven added.
“Okay, Cyn, how can we pull this off?” Avery asked.
“Why are you thinking I can do this?”
“Well you can’t do it alone, but I’m sure Lance will help us out if you ask him. What better way to do this than at a BDSM club?”
“We do have a good supply of rope, handcuffs, and gags.” Cyn laughed. “Lance might get a kick out of helping us.”
“So call and see what he says. We need a place to pull this all off,” Avery told her, impatient to get the plan in place.
“Well the club is closed on Sundays.” Cyn picked up her purse and pulled out her cell phone. “Let’s see what I can do.”
The girls listen to the one-sided conversation as Cyn explained to Lance what they wanted.
“I know we’re closed, Lance, but I think if we left a few lights on, Grant wouldn’t know the difference. He’s never been to the club on Sunday.”
“Great! Could you set a room up for us?”
“Well, we will need a bed, or something that we can tie him to. Rope, cuffs, and a gag. Not much else.”
“Oh, come on, Lance, it’s for a good cause. I’ll get Clay to call you. Does that make you feel better?”
“Can you arrange it for around eight tonight?”
“Lance, I owe you one.” Cyn closed her phone and looked around.
“Well!” Avery asked, “Will he help us?”
“He doesn’t mind tying up subs, but Grant was a different story. These men like to stick together. I think Clay being on board helped,” Cyn said, putting her cell phone back in her purse.
“He’s going to make it look like the club is open. The vanilla bar will be ready, and he’s going to ask Robert to work the bar and ask a few of the employees to come in for free drinks.”
“How is that going to help?” Charlie asked.
“Well we want Grant to be at ease and not suspecting anything when the guys cuff him. That’s why the bar will be open and look like business as usual.”
“So we get him to the bar and the guys grab him, what next?”
“Lance is going to fix the main stage for tonight’s performance on the Spice side. That’s where the guys will tie him up.”
“I don’t want anyone looking at us. I don’t think I could go that far,” Charlie said with a blush.
“I was thinking of a few thing to persuade him and having an audience is not one of them.”
“No, of course, Charlie, none of us would go that far. Well, Lance would, but Clay and Brad will make sure that you are totally alone,” Cyn reassured her.
“The main stage is the best place to do this. Lance has it rigged up with a hidden signal that if used, blares a loud noise all over the club. It’s a new security system that Clay suggested to Lance, after hearing some other clubs’ problems.”
“We have the Doms monitoring the action, but sometimes things might be overlooked in a crowded club. That where this comes in handy. No matter where the security men are at the time, this alerts them. Thank god we haven’t needed it yet in the club. Lance is very particular about who gets a membership. But we have all hear of horror stories for some unsupervised clubs. Just think of this as this being insurance if you need us.”
“Okay, that makes me feel better. If things go sour, at least there will be someone there for Grant.”
“Don’t think that way. Grant will totally bowl over when he gets a look at what we are going to dress you up in.”
“I need a costume, too?” Charlie asked, a bit overwhelmed.
“No, not a costume, just some bits and pieces that, shall we say, entice him.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea, Cyn. Let’s go shopping.” Avery got up and picked up her purse.
“What about the kids? We just can’t leave them,” Cyn told Avery.
“Cyn, we have been with the babies since they were born. I’m sure Mary and Grandma will look after them. This will be fun.”
“Don’t you think we are getting ahead of ourselves?” Raven asked. “We haven’t got Brad and Clay on board yet.”
“Yes, you’re right. Maybe you should call Clay and tell him what we want.” Cyn turned to Laura. “Your turn. He’ll listen to you. Maybe Raven should call Brad now, too. We have to get the guys to agree for this to work.”
“I’m sure the guy will agree. Let’s go,” Avery said, already walking to the door.
“We’ll call while you go shopping and we’ll update you,” Laura and Raven said.
“Well you two can stay. I’m going with Avery and Cyn. I just might pick up a few things for myself,” Janet said, getting to her feet.
“What about Jared and Stan?” Raven asked, looking toward the kitchen where the men had stayed out of sight.
“Tell them we’re going to the grocery store. But wait until we’re gone. Those men of mine won’t let us leave if they know,” J
anet replied, not stopping on her way to the door.
“So we’re sneaking out?” Avery laughed with glee.
“I wouldn’t be too gleeful, Avery. Neither James nor Angel will like you and Cyn taking off,” Laura told them.
“Look, maybe it’s not a great idea if it gets all of you in trouble with your men.” Charlie hadn’t risen from her seat.
Avery looked at Cyn. “She doesn’t know us very well yet, does she?”
Cyn turned to Charlie. “Don’t worry, half the fun is getting into trouble. Sometimes the rewards are more than worth it. Right now, the guys can’t do anything with us just having the babies. They have been treat us like glass. Scared that we would shatter if everything didn’t go just so. So we’ll use that card if they’re too pissed. Come on, don’t worry about us.”
“Okay, if you say so.” Charlie got up and followed the woman out the door, being careful not to make any noise. She didn’t know what she had started, but if getting Grant was at the end of it, she was all in.
Chapter Thirty-Three
When the men made it back to the office, Angel and Clay were biting at the bit to go and see their wives. James hated being away from Avery also. But he knew that they needed to discuss everything that had went down while it was still fresh in their minds.
With a few curses, they all went up to the office of Braden Security. Madge was staffing the front desk and James asked her to order sandwiches for them as he led the way into the conference room. As they all took their seat around the big table, Madge hustled in with a carafe of coffee. She poured each of the men a cup. When she came to John, she just nodded at him, looking like she wanted to ask questions, but didn’t, leaving as soon as she was done.
Clay leaned forward, scowling as he put his hands in front of him on the table. “The way I see it is that we got fucked over again.”
“Devlen was trying to help. You know that, Clay.”
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t help us now, does it? Why couldn’t he just stay out of it?
“Look, I’m as pissed at this as all of you. But need I to remind you that it was us that brought him in on the job,” James said, running a hand wearily over his face.
