by Avery Gale
Ian quickly explained everything he knew about Callie and Senator Westmore’s son. He also recounted the good senator’s continued efforts to discredit her. And ended by explaining what had happened this evening. When he’d gotten to his office, they had switched to video-conferencing and included Zach Lamont and Mitch Grayson as well.
Not surprisingly, it was Mitch who offered the first useful piece of information he’d gotten since Callie’s meltdown. “You know she probably feels like she’s just handed the old bastard exactly what he’s been after all these years, right? If your spy took video or pictures, Callie is going to see the damage to her reputation as devastating. That was all she thought she had left. Even though her mother had told her it was her fault, there was that tiny part of her that believed she was still a good girl. If these pictures hit the media, it’s really going to hurt her.”
Ian’s question was the one he knew they were all asking. “Can you stop them? Is there any possibility that you can preempt their release?”
“Not really. But if they release them digitally, they’ll leave a footprint, and no matter how faint it is—I’ll find them. I’m already on it, I’ve got several guys here and contacts around the country as well as a couple in Europe watching for them, and we’re making a lot of noise about the fact that we’re watching. Our hope is, if they know we’ll be on their trail, they’ll think twice about stepping over that line. If they’re going to do it, it’ll be quick.” Mitch had barely even slowed his typing the whole time he’d been talking.
“Thank you, my friend. I know this is lousy timing for you and I appreciate you taking the time to help. I’m worried you are taking too much time away from Rissa.” Ian had no sooner said her name than she stepped in to the frame.
“Ian McGregor, don’t you think a thing about that, I may be pregnant, but I’m not a selfish wench…well, not most of the time. As a matter of fact I’d say that for a Weeble, I’m damned reasonable.” Rissa smiled when she heard Alex, Zach, and Mitch all groan.
Bryant Davis stepped up and kissed his wife on the check and smiled at Ian. “Ian, nice to speak with you, I wish it was under better circumstances.” And then looking at Mitch before returning his focus to Rissa, he said, “I’m going to be the smart husband tonight and not respond to that comment, but I am going to caution our lovely wife about her language. Remember the list, love? We have more paper you know.”
Ian nearly laughed out loud at the stricken look on her face and the bright crimson of her blush was plainly visible even through the monitors. But she quickly turned to Ian and said, “You know, Ian, if you think it might help, maybe Kat, Jenna, Tori, and I could do a ‘Girls’ Night In’ party remotely with Callie. We’ve all been through some pretty nasty shi…stuff, and we’d be happy to help if we can. It’s not a perfect plan, but it might do until you all can visit us.”
“Thank you, Rissa, you are every bit the princess your husbands say you are. I think you might have a very good idea there, and I’ll see about getting that set up if all the men are in agreement. Now, I can tell that Bryant is anxious to get you off your feet, so off to rest you go, sweetness. Take good care of my future godchild.” She waved, and Bryant whisked her out of the room quickly.
Alex spoke up first, “Damn, don’t any of you repeat this—hell, I’d never hear the end of it, but that really is a good idea. I’ll mention it to Katarina as well. I’m sure she’d be happy to make the arrangements, God only knows what kind of decorations and music we’ll have to come up with.” He laughed, and Ian was happy to see how marriage and parenthood had softened one of the few men who had been more hardened than himself. “Now, Dad and Mom are on their way to DC as we speak, they’ll be at your place by noon tomorrow. Dad wants to get closer to the ground so he can connect with a few friends who are likely in the know, and Mom will help with Callie. It doesn’t sound like she has ever experienced how healing a mother’s love can be, and it won’t much matter if she’s resistant. Catherine Lamont is fairly persuasive when she sets her mind to something.”
Ian laughed when he heard Zach say, “Yeah, like a freight train. Persuasive my ass. When did you get to be such a fucking pussy anyway?” Ian was grateful for his friends, and even though he’d helped them with a number of things over the years, he had never expected anything in return, so their help was truly appreciated. They wrapped up their call quickly with Mitch promising to forward any news as soon as he had it. Mitch had promised him that if there was a chink in either John or Grant Westmore’s armor, they’d find it.
Chapter 14
Callie woke up alone in Ian’s massive bed feeling like she had been run over by a truck. And her mouth was dry enough she was sure she could cough up dust. Her head was pounding like it had the one and only time she’d ever taken a prescription cough medicine. She had learned the hard way that her body didn’t handle medications containing certain narcotics very well. As soon as she tried to stand, she realized her mistake and dropped to her hands and knees as wave upon wave of dizziness swept over her. She didn’t know how long she’d been in that position but despite the fact she was starting to get chilled, she was too afraid to move.
“Callie! What the fuck? What happened? Why are you on the floor? Here, let me help you up. Good God, you are ice cold.” She heard Ian’s voice, but she didn’t want to lift her head or the dizziness would return and throwing up would only add to the humiliation she felt over what had happened last night at Club Isola.
“No, please don’t move me. I am so dizzy, I’m afraid I’ll be sick. I’ll be all right in a bit. Please just leave me alone. It’s just so embarrassing…please.” She could already feel the tears starting to fall, and she really wanted to just curl up in a ball and have a good cry. But she needed to get her shit together and get out of here as soon as possible. Hopefully she could sell enough of what was left in her apartment that she would be able to scrape up enough money to get by until she moved back to Kansas. Her aunt and uncle had always told her she had a home there if she needed it, and she was pretty sure that time had come.
Ian scooped her up, and the dizziness pulled her under and her stomach was heaving as soon as he sat her in front of the toilet. He held her hair and rubbed small circles over the tender skin on her back as she relieved herself of the last vestiges of her dignity. “Pet, what happened? When I left you, you were sleeping so peacefully. I was only gone a few minutes.” She could hear the concern in his voice, and she felt bad for worrying him.
He handed her a small glass of water, and she took tiny sips and then rinsed out her mouth. “Oh God, I’m so sorry. I don’t really know what’s wrong. I am so rarely ill. The only time I’m ever this sick is if I take medication, I have to be very careful. I rarely even take an aspirin. Anything with certain barbiturate properties, according to the doctors, will illicit this response. But I didn’t take anything yesterday, I swear it.”
Ian picked her up as if she didn’t weigh anything at all and settled her on his lap, pulling her against his chest, and just held her tight. “Oh, pet, I’m so very sorry. There was a doctor at the club last night, and after you woke up and were so unresponsive, he gave you a small dose of a tranquilizer to try and get you to rest. We had no idea you couldn’t take the medicine. Jesus, it scares the shit out of me to think what might have happened to you.” He rocked her gently back and forth for long minutes, and Callie wasn’t sure which one of them was more comforted by it. Finally he stood without setting her down, and she let him gently slide her to her feet. “We’ll be having company soon, so you need to get in the shower, pet. I’m going to stay right here so I can be sure you’re all right. I swear you took ten years off my life when I came through the door.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he placed a finger over her lips. “No arguments, you belong to me the rest of the month, remember? And I take very good care of my possessions, pet.”
Something about his words saddened her. She had always hoped to find the fairy tale. The prince who would ride in o
n his white stallion and save her from all of her enemies, but it seemed Ian McGregor was just going to enjoy a plaything for a month and then she’d be gone. Deciding to put aside her sadness and just do what she needed to do, Callie pulled herself together and moved out of Ian’s embrace. As she showered, she promised herself she would work hard to keep her heart out of this whole mess from here on. She couldn’t afford to have it broken again, the news about her sister’s lies and betrayal had been the final straw. She was tired of being a victim, it was time to “pull herself up by her bootstraps” as her uncle used to tell her. Okay, Callie, you had your little pity party, now it’s time to be a big girl and move on. You can’t undo the past, but you can damn well control your future and your attitude. See, Aunt Abbie, I was listening after all.
* * * *
Ian knew she had immediately started to pull back after his comment—what he didn’t know was why. She had already agreed to belong to him for a month, so what was her problem with him referencing what had already been discussed and settled? Suddenly he was very grateful Catherine Lamont was on her way.
Chapter 15
Callie walked into the kitchen after her shower feeling much better—at least she had been until she came face-to-face with several new faces. She stopped just before crossing the threshold and considered returning to the safety of the master suite despite the fact she was starving. Damn her loud, growling stomach anyway, it had given her away before she had a chance to retreat. The stunningly beautiful woman who Callie guessed to be in her forties or maybe her early fifties looked up, and a smile lit up her entire face.
“Oh, there you are, come on in here and get something in your stomach, dear. I’m Catherine Lamont, and this lovely lady preparing our luncheon feast is Inez, Ian’s housekeeper extraordinaire. She is a treasure and grossly underappreciated I am sure.” There was just something about the woman that immediately put Callie at ease. Even though she looked like a runway model, she seemed very down to earth and genuine.
The large man sitting nearby spoke up just then, “Don’t be making trouble, my love, or you’ll get us both thrown out into the bay.” He turned to Callie and smiled before saying, “It’s nice to meet you, Callie. I’m Daniel Lamont, and I believe you have already met a friend of ours, Mitch Grayson.” Something about Daniel Lamont seemed so familiar, but she couldn’t get her mind to grasp onto whatever it was. It wasn’t his looks or his name, she was sure she would remember those, it was more about his presence. Suddenly she made the connection, Daniel Lamont was a Dom. It seemed odd that she suddenly seemed to be surrounded by them. Was she just now noticing that personality type or was she just now recognizing the men she met for who and what they were? She couldn’t help wondering if she’d met a lot of Dominants over the years and just hadn’t realized it or maybe it was that Doms tended to stick together—like a flock or something? She gave herself a mental slap for her absurdity then started thinking about what a great angle it would be for her story. Then the realization that she wouldn’t be writing the story after all slammed into her. The depressing reality of what had happened last night brought her back to the present and with it all the details of that unpleasant memory.
Realizing that Daniel had moved to stand directly in front of her, she automatically dropped her gaze to the floor. She felt his finger under her chin and looked up at his urging. His words surprised her. “I see the same sadness in your eyes that I saw in our daughter Jenna’s eyes years ago. I made a huge mistake when I let her hide the truth—a mistake she paid dearly for—for far too long. I won’t let Ian make that same mistake, I promise you.”
When Callie looked over at Catherine Lamont, there were tears in her eyes, a fact that her husband hadn’t missed either. Callie watched as he pulled his sweet wife into his arms and gave her a comforting hug before swatting her ass and grinning. “When’s lunch, love? I’m starving.”
Just as they were sitting down to eat, Ian and Jace walked into the room. Both men leaned down to ask her how she was feeling before sitting on either side of her. Thanks to Catherine’s bubbly presence, Callie felt more at ease and it didn’t seem so obvious that she wasn’t really participating in the conversation. She’d tried to surreptitiously look out the window toward the small boat dock. She was trying to see if her small rowboat was still tied there. Ian leaned over and placed his hand over hers, stilling the fingers she hadn’t even realized she was tapping nervously. “It’s no longer there, pet. Jace had it returned several days ago, and your deposit is with your belongings. Stop fidgeting. And don’t even think about leaving this island without my permission.” When she looked at him openmouthed and wide eyed, he laughed out loud. “Don’t look so shocked, pet. It was written all over your lovely face.”
After lunch the men excused themselves to Ian’s office, pleading business, which left Callie in limbo. Catherine looked over at her and smiled. “I asked Jace to leave us a golf cart so we can go exploring. I do my best thinking when I’m moving. Come on, let’s go play.”
Callie learned quickly that Catherine Lamont was not a woman who was easy to ignore. She also discovered that the woman’s gorgeous body and face hid a wicked sense of humor and a Mensa-worthy IQ.
Late in the afternoon as they sat dangling their bare feet over the edge of the dock, Catherine told Callie about why they had started the domestic violence and sexual assault centers they founded in Denver. How they had found a young, badly abused immigrant cowering in an alley one night and how that woman had become a member of their family for all intents and purposes. Callie had laughed until she’d cried at Catherine’s stories about how Selita managed to completely butcher common American slang. But it had been the story about her daughter’s rape that had touched Callie’s heart. The monster who had raped the young woman was a member of the Lamont brothers’ Special Forces team and had used Jenna’s love for her brothers to keep her silent. He’d assured Jenna that her brothers would not make it home from their next mission if she told anyone what had happened. The madman had returned recently to silence her once and for all, but he’d come up against a very different woman this time. Callie’s tears of empathy and compassion for Jenna had been replaced by admiration at how she had trained tirelessly in self-defense so she’d never be a victim again. Jenna Lamont had even competed at the collegiate level and had beaten most of her brother’s fellow teammates before word had spread and they all but quit sparring with her.
Callie had tilted her head back and was laughing when she heard what sounded like a firecracker and then felt air rush by just in front of her chin. Catherine had grabbed her and thrown them both in the water just as she heard another shot and the roar of a boat motor a split second before she’d gone under the water.
When both of them surfaced, Catherine had grabbed her and asked, “Are you all right? Can you swim?” Callie had only managed to nod quickly when Catherine pulled her close. “Hang on to my shirt and stay under the water as long as you can. I know the men will be here soon.” They ducked under the water and moved so they were under the planking of the dock. By the time they surfaced the second time, Ian and Daniel were shouting their names. Callie was still too stunned to respond, but thank God Catherine had her wits about her. “Down here, Daniel. We’re both fine, but we’d sure appreciate getting out of this water. Damn, I just had my hair done, too.” She looked at Callie and winked. Callie shook her head, Catherine Lamont was the second-best thing that had happened to her in a very long time.
* * * *
While they waited for the women to finish dressing, Ian and Daniel met with Jace and several other members of the security team. They’d reviewed the tapes and forwarded the images of the boat to the local Coast Guard station. Of course the registration numbers on the side of the boat and the name on the back had been covered so it was unlikely they’d ever be able to get a positive identification of the vessel. Daniel had already called Alex and Zach, and no one doubted all the resources of the Lamonts were fully in motion. Ian didn
’t imagine either man had taken the news very well that their mother had been in the line of fire.
When Ian heard doors opening and closing upstairs, he moved into the hall just in time to see Catherine emerge from the guest suite and join Callie. “Well, I don’t know about you, but that’s the most excitement I’ve had in a very long time. You, my dear, are a very interesting person to, as the girls would say, ‘hang out with.’” Catherine looked like she was enjoying all the excitement, but Ian could tell Callie had been deeply shaken by the incident.
Seeing Callie’s eyes fill up with tears and her entire body start to shake, he moved quickly to her and wrapped her in his warm embrace. Catherine looked up mortified at Callie’s distress. “Oh my, I didn’t mean to make her feel badly about what happened. I just wanted you to know we are with you on this thing.”
Callie pulled back and smiled at her. “I’m just sorry that I’ve brought trouble here. And I sure don’t want someone else getting hurt because of me.”
“Oh posh…I meant what I said. I never get to see any of the action. The girls back at ShadowDance have had all kinds of adventures, and I feel like a stick in the mud. But, now? Oh, sister, now I have a great story to tell at the next girls’ night in ’rita party.” She giggled, and Callie had to laugh at her new friend’s outlook.
As they all sat around Ian’s office discussing this afternoon’s events, Mitch Grayson called and asked to be put on the video feed. “I think I might have something for you. I used the face recognition software I’ve been working on and think I may have a possible on the woman at the club.” Looking at Callie, he asked, “Do you know a woman by the name of Trish Simmons?”
Ian watched as Callie paled visibly. “Yes, she was Charlie Ives’s girlfriend in high school. I thought I heard they’d gotten married, but I’m not sure about that.”
