Lania's Pet [Soldiers of Passion 4] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Dace Everan

  Ben nodded. “Laird has all my info and anything else you would need. I had asked for his assistance, but he is currently busy with other engagements.”

  Lania nodded. “Yes, he is. Cal and I did not come here to do your dirty work, Ben.” Anxiety rose in her over the knowledge that Frank was associated with that particular place. Was this why she had such a dislike for him?

  Ben nodded, placing both elbows on the table leaning toward Lania. “I know, and I know I ask a lot of you to even be a part of this.” His gaze darted to Cal then back to Lania. “Lorena’s baby sister may be in there. We are not sure as of yet, but if she is and this place is anything like what I think it is, we need to get her out.”

  Lania snorted and tightened her grip on the stem of her wineglass. Her upper lip twitched in angst at the ignorance Ben was showing in regards to what this place was, and what these people were capable of. Her heart thudded and her knees trembled as the anxiety settled in her bones. Was he asking her to take Cal into this place and handle him or vice versa? Her gaze darted to Cal then to Ben. “What are we discussing here?” she demanded. She needed to know straight out what the terms were and what it really was Ben was asking of her and Cal.

  Ben settled back and gave Lania a serious look. She was actually considering going in? Would everything work out? Could he actually get her to go in? He urged himself not to rejoice. Lania was a businesswoman, and if this didn’t benefit her in any way she would be out. Shit, none of this benefited her in anyway. His gaze darted to Cal for a millisecond then back to Lania. “I want you to come with me,” he replied.

  Lania’s heart stopped. Ben wanted her to go in with him! Her heart thudded and she was unaware that she had grabbed hold of Cal’s hand and clutched at his desperately. There was no way she would go into that place with Ben! She trusted him, but not enough to protect her in that place. She closed her eyes. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t going in. Nothing on the face of this earth would ever make her go into that place. She would not ever risk being put into that position again.

  “No.” Cal’s voice was thick and protective. His grip tightened on Lania’s hand to assure her he would not let anything happen to her, to assure her she was in a safe place and he would make sure it stayed that way. “Lania will not go with you. I will go as you and the two of us will go,” Cal answered.

  Lania’s gaze swung around and met Cal’s. “How the hell will you do that?” She was sure he was most excellent at his job and knew how to handle himself well. For fuck’s sake, he made it this far in his life and was still alive. But to take her in his hands and protect her in that place? She had her doubts. Cal wasn’t made of the same breed as those men. He didn’t have it in him to do the things those men would expect to see from him.

  Cal brought her clenched hand to his lips, laying a kiss on her knuckles. “Sweetheart, when I’m undercover, I can do anything.”

  Lania’s heart sang. She would have Cal with her. He would make sure she was safe. Wait. She was going to permit him to take her to a dreadful place that had changed her life. To a place that had been her hell. She was going to allow herself to go back to that hell? Her gaze clashed with his. “Do you have any idea of the things you would have to do to me? Are you ready to face the possibilities of seriously hurting me?” Cal’s face scrunched up, and it was the first time she had seen real unsureness in his face. “This isn’t a place where you take me and make me your little bitch, Cal, walk me around and show me off! You take me there and hurt me physically, mentally. You share me with you fellow Masters. Any Master.” She looked at Ben. “You were ready to use me this way?”

  Ben exhaled a heavy sigh. “Lania.” Oh, the things this woman had seen had made reality a whole new playground. It was different thinking they could fake a good hurt and make it look painful. She knew things he didn’t, and obviously real pain was one of these things.

  Lania shook her head, stopping anything else he was going to say. “Ben. I thought we were friends.”

  “Yes and I thought you were strong as steel and could take one for the team,” he uttered.

  Lania laughed. It was short and shrill. “Take one for the team. Fuck you, you god damn asshole! I don’t play on no team and not ever will I take one for the team!” she stated, pushing her chair back and standing.

  Ben stood. Lorena sobbed, covering her face. “Lania. Please, that was not what I meant. Shit.”

  Lorena stood. “It’s our daughter, Lania. I have no sister.” She could never tell Lania the truth. Ben would kill her. “Our daughter is in there and I don’t know what they are doing to her. I asked Ben to say it was my sister…the shame of knowing my little girl is in there.” Her words trailed off as she sobbed, tears rolling down her face. Ben fell back in his seat and covered his face with his hands.

  Lania stared at Lorena, then looked at Ben. Dread poured over her. “Your daughter is in Venice,” she argued, slowly settling back into her seat. That was the last she had heard of sweet little Charlotte. She was abroad studying. Oh God, sweet little Charlotte, alone in a cage, terrified. Lania’s hands trembled. Charlotte was too young to be exposed to that. Lania’s heart crumpled. Charlotte had been studying so hard, had dreamed of being a pediatrician. That place was good at tearing a person down to wanting to do nothing with their lives but end it. Would Charlotte be able to come back and embrace life again?

  Ben rubbed his eyes and straightened out. “We sent her there and she snuck back and got mixed in with the wrong crowd and Frank brought the fucking photos of her.”

  Cal perked up. “Do you still have the photos?”

  Ben nodded. “Yes, Frank has been quite helpful with distributing new ones to us each week,” he replied sarcastically.

  Lania narrowed her eyes. “What the hell game is Frank playing here?” she demanded. She should have known that fucker was behind all of this. Fuck, she wouldn’t doubt it was him who brought Charlotte back and put her in that hell. The fucker was going down.

  Ben took hold of his wife’s hand and held it to his chest. “He tried buying me out last year. I said no. I know you don’t like to deal with him alone.” He looked at Lania. “He’s trying to get me out to get closer to you. He wants your empire.”

  Lania snorted, and that was followed by a shrill laugh. “That little fuck wants my empire! Ha! There will never come a day that he will get anywhere near that,” she stated matter-of-factly.

  Lorena sobbed. “We said the same thing and look where we are now,” she pointed out, wiping at her tears. “He will find something to get to you and tear you down and you will be in the same place we are.” She cried, tears still rolling.

  Lania’s heart melted for her friend. “Frank will never find anything like that in my life. I have no family or children. He’s screwed.”

  Cal shook his head. “Don’t fool yourself, Lania. If Frank is behind Ben and Lorena’s daughter being in there, he knows exactly what he’s doing and he will find something, someone close to you to get what he wants.”

  Lania snorted. “There is no one that close to me.”

  Cal raised a brow. Wow, that was heartbreaking. Even as his Mistress, she showed plenty of love toward him. Had Frank picked up on that? Would Frank make a move on him? He needed to get a hold of some of his buddies and keep tabs on his own ass.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cal eased the door closed and set the dead bolt. He fell back against the door and watched Lania cross straight to her bar and pour herself a glass of amber liquid. Whiskey, he assumed. Her hands trembled as she brought the glass to her lips. “I can do it, Lania,” he assured. Her gaze met his and she downed the liquid. Cal stayed against the door, waiting for her to speak, to make a move, anything. He knew she was vulnerable right now. He could only imagine the scenarios whirling through her mind right this moment. What hell was she reliving? Ben had opened old wounds that had been tightly sewn and buried deep.

  Lania put the glass down gently and turned her back to Cal. She looked out the v
iew that her room offered and tossed around her options. As a human she should have the compassion to get the hell in there and get Charlotte out. As her torn and broken self, absolutely fucking not! She had promised she would never be near people like that again. Yes, the places she frequented had sadists, but the men in that club were more than that. They were sick, demented people using the lifestyle as a cover to do the things they really wanted to do, which was hurt innocent people and wreck them. This was Charlotte, though. She had watched that girl grow from gangly, buck-toothed little nerd to beautiful, elegant young lady. Her stomach lurched. Had they hurt her? Oh God. She hugged her tummy, urging the bile coming up to go back down.

  “Shh, Lania, it’s okay.” Cal’s voice soothed her and his hand that rubbed her back offered strength and comfort.

  “The things she could be going through, Cal! Oh God.” She darted from him and made a beeline for the bathroom.

  Cal rubbed his temples as the sounds of her retching filled the room. She had been so upset she hadn’t even been able to close the door this time around. He inhaled a breath and stalked to the bathroom. He knelt down behind her and reached out and pulled her hair away from the rim of the toilet bowl. “I know a few girls who can be done up to resemble you. All we would have to do is let them observe you for a few days. To at least pick up on your quirks. Frank will probably be there and he’ll know it isn’t you. We’ll have to get him out of the picture immediately.”

  Lania gagged and retched once more, shaking her head when her stomach was empty and only dry heaves existed. “You can’t let another woman go through that, Cal. You have no idea what that place is like I do,” she uttered, grabbing a towel and wiping her face. She struggled to rise and fell into the counter, shaken from the events of the evening.

  Cal was quick to hold her steady. “Easy, Lania,” he coaxed, aiding her as she bent to wash her face. “I’m not letting you in there alone with Ben. No way no how,” he vowed.

  Lania splashed her face and took the towel Cal held out to her. She patted her face and inhaled a few shaky breaths, trying to calm her nerves. When her gaze met his, the tears flowed freely. “I don’t want to go there, Cal!” She shook her head, her nerves fraying, her body shaking and dread filling her, fear taking over her every thought.

  Cal hugged her close. “You don’t have to,” he assured, tightening his grip on her.

  Lania shook her head. “I have to! Charlotte is in there. They will ruin her. She’s so young, and oh God, Cal.” She buried her face against his broad chest and sobbed. Images of men hurting Charlotte filtered through her mind. The nasty, unmentionable things that girl was going through brought her to her knees and full-blown wailing.

  It was pitch black when Lania woke, her breath sharp and heavy. She lay still, listening and obtaining her bearings. Even breathing came from beside her, as well as a radiant heat, a heat she was familiar with. She urged her breathing to slow. What had woken her? She listened more and heard nothing. Wait. Was that a tapping at the window? She furrowed her brow.

  “Lay still, Lania,” Cal whispered so softly she wasn’t sure if she had even heard it. She relaxed her body and let her head fall toward him as if in content sleep. He heard it, too, and was trying to figure out what it was she was sure of it.

  Twenty minutes passed before Cal dared move. He slipped from the bed, keeping low, creeping to his bag, and grabbing his pistol. He surveyed the dark room and wished he’d left the bathroom light on like Lania liked every night he had spent with her so far. He looked toward the windows and saw nothing. He wasn’t sure if it had been someone trying to break in or the wind. Either way, it had his hackles raised and he didn’t like this. They should have stayed in his room. Frank came to mind, and only a bad feeling filled his veins. He made a loop around the room, his eyes scanning the dark spots. His gaze glanced back toward Lania’s still form on the bed, over to the windows, back to her, and back around the room. When he had made a thorough look, he crossed the room to the sitting area and flicked on the light.

  Lania eased up and looked around the room, eyes widening and horror filling her. “Oh my God.” She gasped, eyes glued to the wall next to the bed where Cal had just been lying.

  Cal crossed back and looked at the wall Lania’s gaze was glued to. Holy motherfucker! The gory mess sent his instincts into overdrive. He backed up to his bag and grabbed his cell, dialing his trusted friend Trig’s number. “Hey, I’m up in wine country. You know the coordinates. Can you get here?” Trig was a private detective and tended to take jobs out of the city. Cal prayed he’d taken one near his present coordinates.

  “I’m an hour away. Do you have time?”

  “Yup, gonna send some pics and run them through the database. I want to know if this is territorial or just for me.” Thank fuck! He’d have to give his friend a big-ass hug when he arrived.

  “You bet. Chateau room 1244?” he asked, confirming Cal’s location from the GPS on Cal’s cell.

  “Yup.”

  “I’m on it.” Click. The line went dead and Cal ended the call. He looked at Lania. “Get dressed, Lania. Black jeans, sweater. You got any boots, real boots and not those high-heeled ones?”

  Lania nodded, tearing her gaze away from the gory symbol on the wall, and shakily opened her drawer and dug through for requested clothes. She shimmied into her jeans, pulled a black wool sweater over her head, and went straight to the closet for her hikers.

  “Wait,” Cal called from behind her, stopping her from opening the closet doors. He moved her behind him using himself as a potential shield. He had his gun drawn and ready in case anything hid in the closet. He eased the doors opened.

  “There’s a sensor, once you step in the light turns on,” Lania offered.

  Cal waved a hand in, and as Lania said the lights came on. “Go on,” he ordered after taking a quick peek, returning to his own bag and gathering his belongings. “A friend of mine that I served with is coming. His name is Trig. He knows more about symbols like that than I do. He’s worked on many gang-related jobs.” He could really use Trig’s help about now. Not knowing what was exactly going on did not sit well with him.

  Lania nodded, returning to her drawer for socks. “Who do you think did this? Was it Frank? I bet it was him. That one symbol at the bottom looks familiar,” she rambled as she pulled her socks on, shoving her dainty foot into her hiker boot. Of course it did! It was so close to the insignia belonging to the club. But what of the other ones? It looked like someone had just put the other ones there to fuck with them.

  Cal looked at the symbol. None of them looked familiar to him. He only knew a few, but these looked territorial to him. He knew what it was like to be on someone’s territory, unwelcome. He’d experienced that on past jobs. “Trig will have the equipment to help us figure it out.” He looked her over, a smile tugging at his lips. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” he gushed.

  Lania raised a judgmental brow at him, her gaze filled with disapproval. “We had some crazy fuck sneak into my room and draw this shit on the wall next to where you were lying in sleep, and all you can think of is how gorgeous I am?” Was he losing it?

  Cal grinned. “Woman, I always think you’re gorgeous, and rest assured I was conscious the whole time that crazy fuck was drawing on the wall. His marker woke me up. It’s an odd scratching sound on the wall. Especially against the wallpaper.” He crossed to her, his hand cupping her cheek. “I’ve never seen you look so casual. You’re beautiful.” He leaned close, lips just barely touching hers. “You knew he was here, too. The moment his pen touched the wall, your breathing accelerated and nearly scared him away. You were dreaming again, sweetness.” His lips touched hers then. When he pulled away, her lids were at half-mast and her breath wispy. He caressed her lower lip with his thumb. “You know how to shoot, right?”

  Lania nodded before opening her eyes fully and was surprised by the cold metal being place in her hand. Her heart rate accelerated, and her hand trembled around the cold metal. Cal
’s hand tightened around hers on the weapon.

  “I want this on you at all times. If we’re ever in the dark, I will make one sharp whistle. That way you know not to shoot that way. Trig knows the rule. One sharp and then two. After that silence. Got it?”

  Lania nodded. “One sharp and then two then silence and you’re on your own.”

  Cal nodded. “Usually by that point I will be next to you,” he assured.

  Lania swallowed the lump in her throat. This just got serious. She looked down at the black gun with the steel-grey barrel. She bit her lower lip between her teeth and looked up at Cal. “Laird has a cabin about forty miles out of town. I’m sure if I call him he’ll let us stay.”

  Cal shook his head. “I already know about it, and yes that is where we will be going. I just want Trig here, and then he can be with us up there until we figure out what the hell is going on.” He ran a hand through his hair and looked around the room. “Grab a couple days’ change of clothes. Not sure what my next move will be,” he warned.

  Lania shook her head. “We need to talk to Ben.”

  Cal shook his head. “Ben’s on the back burner, baby. You were threatened tonight. You are on the front, and anything else will have to wait.”

  Lania shook her head. “No, no one is going to make a move on me, or you! You can’t say this is all me. This could be meant for you, for all we know!” she argued, grabbing a black duffle bag from her closet and shoving clothes in. “For fuck’s sake, Cal. There is a little girl stuck in that hell, and you’re going to take me up in the mountains to hide. Shit, we can go hide but tomorrow I’m contacting Ben to see if his acceptance has been approved.”

  Cal stopped and looked at her, a concentrated look on his face. “How did you get into the club, Lania?”

  Lania stopped and looked at him. “I used my wealth,” she answered simply. Duh! How the hell else would some naive dummy get in?

  Cal nodded. Fine, he didn’t need Ben. All he needed to get into that place was Lania. And it wasn’t to go save Ben’s kid. There was something more here, and he would get to the bottom of it. “Ben knows nothing more of what we are doing, got it?” he ordered.