Safeword: Arabesque (Safewords Book 9)

by Candace Blevins

  Cassie shook her head, saying, “I’m happy for you, but I’m not capable of processing the emotions around it right now. I just…I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize.” He pulled her into another hug, careful of her shoulder. “You need time. Let’s get your body healed so you aren’t constantly hurting, and see where to go from there. Okay?”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Isaac awoke, told his lights to turn on, checked his tablet for messages, and reached for his phone to call his partner at the billiard club. The man would be going to bed soon.

  He’d expected the question, which was how long he thought he’d need to be away from the club. He told his partner at least a week, possibly two, and then split his attention as he saw an alert in his email letting him know of news reports containing either Cassie or Clemente’s name.

  He said goodbye on the phone as his heart dropped to his feet at the headline — the media knew Cassie was raped at a private, unlicensed BDSM club.

  He immediately texted Cam to walk outside and call him, and waited for the phone call.

  He told him what was going on, and said, “You need to keep her off the internet, and don’t turn the television on. She’ll need to know eventually, but dear god, not today.”

  “I can’t keep secrets from her, Isaac. She needs to know she can trust me. I won’t have her doubly hurt, knowing about this and knowing I kept it from her.”

  “Can you at least wait until I get there?”

  “I’m going to call Sam, and then go in and talk to Cass. I’ll wait a little bit, but if you want to be here, you need to come soon.”

  Sam answered on the first ring and said, “Yeah, I saw it. Has Cass seen it yet?”

  “No, and I’d like to have someone here to help. Kirsten maybe? She’s so fucking fragile, Sam. This is going to destroy her.”

  “It won’t destroy her, but it’ll to be hard. Let me call Kirsten and see what she has to say. I’ll either call or text back.”

  Cam left just in time to get to his nine o’clock class with a heavy heart. Kirsten had talked to a kink-friendly psychiatrist, and he would arrive at noon to help them talk to her. Apparently, Cassie worked with the man, but since she was on a first name basis with most of the mental health practitioners in town, it was probably better to bring one in who could address the BDSM aspects, even if they knew each other.

  * * * *

  Frisco was on cloud nine after his breakthrough with Cam, but now worried about Cassie.

  He’d decided he could find a way to have a relationship with the people he loved, but it was going to be a lot to break it to his mom he liked men and women.

  However, with the news reports saying the woman he loved frequented BDSM establishments? He wasn’t sure he was ready to be quite so upfront with his family.

  She may not take you back anyway, he told himself. Just focus on helping her as much as you can from a distance.

  Jake had calmed down once Tyler brought the men guarding the house inside for a formal introduction. He was still skittish, though, so when he let Frisco know he wanted to go outside again, Frisco grabbed a ball and went with him.

  Frisco kept up with the game of fetch, even though Jake didn’t seem too interested. However, on the fourth throw the canine retrieved it, took it to the porch, placed it by the door, gave Frisco a look as if he wanted to be sure the not-so-smart human understood, and then ran to the fence line and sniffed the entire perimeter.

  “Okay, I get it,” Frisco said with a laugh. “You have a job to do and don’t have time for play.”

  When Jake was ready to go back in, they went together, and Frisco had to pause his steps and school his face so he could smile at Isaac and Cassie. She was lying on the sofa with her head in his lap again, and they looked so comfortable.

  * * * *

  Cassie talked to Kirsten on the phone about Marcus coming, trying to convince her to hold him off a few days. When that didn’t work, she texted him to tell him she’d be ready to talk to him next week, but needed to heal physically a little before she was ready to deal with her emotions.

  He still arrived at twelve thirty, and she was glad Cam had been able to come home to help act as buffer.

  Isaac and Frisco went outside so Cassie could talk to Marcus, but she insisted Cam be allowed to stay with her.

  When the Doms were gone, Marcus asked her, “Why do you feel you need Cam? And why do you have two well-known Doms camped out in your living room?”

  Cassie was speechless, but Marcus smiled and said, “It’s okay. I’m in the lifestyle; it’s why Kirsten thought I’d be a good choice.”

  He sighed and looked at Cam. “I need to know the nature of your relationship before we start.”

  “It’s complicated,” Cam told him.

  Cassie laughed and said, “No shit. Can’t we just say he’s a good friend?”

  Marcus shook his head. “Good to know, but I need more.”

  Cassie let Cam talk without interrupting.

  “I used to be in a training relationship with Frisco. Cassie and Frisco saw each other a while, and he topped us both. At the same time. We grew close to each other, and had sex when he instructed us to. However, my training period ended and I moved in here, and we’re just friends. I’m gay, but apparently turned on by Cassie when a Dom tells me to be. However, when it’s just the two of us, we’re close, and maybe even intimate? But it’s just cuddling. No arousal for either of us.”

  Marcus nodded. “That’s what I needed to know. Thank you.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes and said, “I texted you to let you know I’m not ready to start dealing with my emotions yet. I realize I’ll need to, and it won’t be pleasant, but I just can’t right now. Not until I physically heal.”

  “Your friends asked me to come in to help you deal with something else. I’m going to hand you my tablet and let you watch, and then you and I are going to talk about it. Okay?”

  Cassie’s heart fell into her stomach and she thought she might be sick. If they’d brought Marcus in to help her deal with the news, it would be bad. “Okay.”

  She saw the BDSM club on the screen, and then a reporter talking about the illegal, unlicensed BDSM sex club Cassandra Smith had gone to of her own free will.

  Cassie handed the tablet to Marcus, ran for the bathroom, and puked her lunch into the toilet. Having her picture on the national news as a victim had been bad enough, having people debate whether she’d asked for it by jumping in to help Kirsten at the restaurant was awful... but this? It was more than she could take, and every time she thought she was through, more came from her stomach.

  When she finished, Cam offered her a cool washcloth and she thanked him.

  “Brush your teeth and I’ll put some water on to make you some ginger tea. Talk to Marcus, okay?”

  She turned to the toilet, puked again, and when she didn’t think she had anything left to throw up, went back into the main room.

  “I think I need a pain pill. Damn, that hurt fucking everything.” Her shoulders, ribs, and the stitches in her bottom.

  Cam put his arm around her and walked her to the sofa. Her stupid cushion was there, and he helped her sit. “I’ll get a pill. You talk to Marcus.”

  “Is this going to affect my position?” Cassie asked Marcus.

  “If it does, it won’t come from me. It’s possible some of your guests’ families may object to you being in charge, but I’m betting most will rally around you.”

  “I need to get back to work as soon as possible though, to try to stay on top of what’s being said. I love my job. If Clemente makes me lose it, on top of everything else? I’m not sure I’ll survive.”

  Marcus leaned forward but didn’t touch her. “You’ll survive whatever’s thrown at you. We’re going to take it one day at a time, and deal with one thing at a time. You already know you aren’t ready to start dealing with your emotions. I’m happy you’re acknowledging the need to do it, and as your body heals, yo
u and I will talk.”

  Cam came to her with some water and a pill. “I thought you weren’t supposed to counsel someone you’re friends with?”

  “We’re more work acquaintances than friends, but you’re correct. The problem is that Cassie has a working relationship with every mental health practitioner worth their salt in a hundred mile radius. Since I’m a Dom, and it appears Cassie is submissive, Kirsten thought I was the best choice, though I didn’t know about the submissive part until I arrived.”

  He looked at Cassie. “You’re compartmentalizing things. Deciding what you can deal with and what you need to ignore for now, until you’re ready to take it on. How are you compartmentalizing the media’s spin on where you were?”

  Cassie shook her head. “I’m not. I mean, I don’t plan to go out into the public anytime soon, and Sam hired an attorney to look out for my interests. I’m going to call Sam when you leave, talk to her about any legal ramifications I need to be aware of, and then I’m just going to set it to the side until I need to deal with it.”

  “How long do you plan to insulate yourself?”

  “It’s a valid question. One I’d ask, too.” Cassie considered it a few minutes and finally said, “I don’t know how long I’m going to hurt. My guess is the worst of it should begin to fade in at least a week, maybe two weeks? I won’t let myself completely ignore what’s going on longer than a week to ten days, but I’ll add things in slowly. I promise you I don’t intend to keep my head in the sand forever. Just until I have the strength to handle all the shit I’m going to have to deal with.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Cam put his two-week notice in at the restaurant, and they told him the entire two weeks weren’t necessary, but asked him to work the rest of the week.

  He pulled into Cassie’s driveway a little before midnight and knew something wasn’t right. His gun was in his holster, and he untucked his shirt to be sure he could get to it.

  He texted Tyler to let him know something was off, and Tyler texted back to let him know there was someone in a tree in the backyard, and Tyler would check in with him.

  He hit send to call Tyler and said, “All the lights are off. I can see a little light, like maybe the one over the kitchen sink filtering through the living room? Something isn’t right.”

  “I can’t get my man in the back yard to respond, either. I have someone enroute, they’ll be there in about eight minutes.”

  “I don’t see Isaac’s car, so it’s only Frisco and Cass. They don’t have a weapon and I do. I’m not giving him another eight minutes with her. I’m going in now.”

  “I wish you’d wait.”

  Cam hung up and made his way to the downstairs side door. He made it inside, and had to stop and breathe because it was dark down here and he was so close to a damned panic attack, but Cass needed him.

  He slid his shoes off and slid along the wall because he didn’t dare turn a light on and let Clemente know someone else was in the house. He went up the inside edge of the steps to keep from making noise, and made it to the top without giving himself away.

  The stairs had originally come up in the back of the kitchen, but Cass had hired contractors to close it off as a pantry.

  He looked around the corner, through the kitchen, and saw Jake lying on the floor of the living room, his eyes closed. Cam’s heart went into his throat with worry for the dog he’d come to love, but also with terror for Cass and Frisco. He didn’t know what was wrong with Jake, but something was, which meant this wasn’t a false alarm. Clemente was here.

  He’d drawn his gun and taken the safety off already, and he held it in front of his body with both hands as he put his back to the kitchen wall.

  He heard Cass squeal in pain, heard a sadistic chuckle, and he crossed the kitchen so he’d be on the right wall to curl around the doorframe of her bedroom.

  He cleared the door, brought his weapon up, aimed at the man who hadn’t seen him yet, and fired.

  Clemente was leaning over the bed, so Cam had to shoot into the side of his rib cage.

  The bastard stood up, turned to him, and took a step towards him, so Cam fired again.

  He aimed for the Clemente’s chest but the man lunged as Cam fired, so he only hit the fighter’s arm. Didn’t matter though, because the lunge caught him off balance, and Clemente fell and struck his head on the armoire’s edge, and crashed to the floor.

  Cam looked around, saw Cass’s wrists fastened behind her back, her feet bound together, and Frisco on the floor unconscious.

  He stepped to Frisco, felt for a pulse, and breathed in relief when it felt strong and steady.

  He went to his knees on the bed beside Cassie, saw the bastard had used zip-ties, and cursed because he had no way to cut them. He took the cloth from Cassie’s mouth and realized they were her panties as he tossed them to the side.

  “I need to call the police,” he told Cass, apologizing for having to leave her like this one second longer, but he knew he needed to make the call.

  She nodded and said, “I know. He didn’t injure me. He was planning to take me with him and wanted me in good shape for the trip. A boat was going to pick him up somewhere near Pensacola and take him to Mexico.” Her voice cracked, but she kept talking. “He thought he was going to turn me into a sex slave and he wanted me in good shape for the trip.”

  Several unused zip-ties were on the table, and Cam used them to secure Clemente’s hands and feet.

  He found scissors and cut Cassie’s hands loose while he talked to the nine-one-one operator. It didn’t take long for him to get ticked at some of the questions he was being asked, and to realize she wasn’t worried about the people needing help as much as she was trying to start building a case against someone who shot an intruder.

  He was about to let the woman on the phone have it when he saw cars drive up out front. He looked out the window, saw men in Drake Security shirts heading towards the front door and around the house, and told the lady on the phone there was a security guard in the backyard who hadn’t reported in, and his people were here now, and Cam was going to talk to them. He made sure she had ambulances on the way, hung up on her, and opened the front door.

  “I shot him,” he told the man in the Drake shirt. “He’s on the floor of the bedroom.”

  Tyler had also sent a medical person, who quickly ascertained Clemente was alive. He cut his shirt off and put a big piece of plastic on the man’s chest, but left the zip-ties Cam had put on the fighter’s hands and feet.

  When the ambulance arrived the Drake guy rattled a bunch of medical stuff off to paramedics and told them they needed to rouse him long enough to find out what he’d given the men and the dog. Apparently, they’d found their other employee unconscious in the backyard.

  The ambulance guy said nothing about the Drake medical dude squeezing Clemente’s balls until he told them what he’d used to knock everyone out.

  Paramedics were working on Frisco, so Cassie had gone to Jake and was on the floor with him, crying. It broke everyone’s heart.

  They revived the men first, and as soon as Cam saw Frisco awake and pissed, Cam got Jake’s leash. The dog was going to wake up groggy with his house full of strangers — he wouldn’t be happy, either.

  The medic gave Jake a shot and waved something under his nose. As Cam had expected, the dog awoke growling and snarling, but as soon as he realized Cassie was okay and she wanted him to chill out, he calmed. He still wasn’t happy, but he stopped fighting the leash and trying to get at the strangers.

  Between the police officers, the paramedics, the Drake people, and everything else, Cam thought he might go crazy. He answered questions, gave his gun to the police, and was surprised when an attorney showed up to tell him he was representing him.

  “I didn’t hire you.”

  “No, Samantha Levi did.”

  Cam smiled as he remembered Sam telling him if he had to shoot Clemente she’d make sure he had a good attorney.

  Chapter Twen
ty-Seven

  Frisco didn’t want to have this conversation with his mother, but he wasn’t going to put it off any longer, either. He didn’t know any other way to prove to Cam how serious he was about accepting him into his life.

  His mom sailed into the restaurant, hugged his hostess, and was led to her favorite booth.

  “Alright boy,” he told Cam, “you’re up. Go sit with her and woo her. I’ll take care of a few last things, make sure the server has our orders, and I’ll be out.”

  * * * *

  “You want me to go talk to her without you?” Cam had only been working for Frisco again for a few days, and he was still getting the hang of things again. Frisco had always kept Cam away from his mother before! All the rules seemed to have changed.

  “I do,” Frisco said. “I want her to like you before she sees us together. Can you please do this for me?”

  Cam nodded, swallowed his nerves, and walked to the booth.

  He introduced himself and said, “Frisco had a few loose ends to tie up, and he asked me to come on out and keep you company.”

  “Oh, I recognize your name. You’re the young man who rescued my Frisco from that awful cage fighter.” She leaned forward. “Do you have your gun on you now?”

  Chuckling, Cam shook his head and sat across from her in the booth. He did, but he wasn’t going to tell anyone, and he shook his head as if it was a crazy question, not as if he were answering the question.

  “I’m just glad they were okay,” Cam told her. “He’d used a tranquilizer to knock Frisco and the dog out, and I was terrified they were seriously hurt when I came in.”

  “So, you’re friends with my boy, and with,” she scrunched her face, “that woman?”

  “You mean Cassie? Yeah. I used to rent the apartment over Frisco’s garage, and I live with Cassie now. I’ll graduate with a graphic arts degree in the spring, but until then I’m stuck being a waiter and finding inexpensive housing.”