Tru didn’t like that these agents were targeting her friends. She scowled. “Alex and Jewell run an above-board establishment. As far as I know, no murders have happened there. What, exactly, are you looking for?”
“We can’t disclose that,” Brandy said. “But hundreds of lives and national security are at stake.”
Tru had suspected this investigation wasn’t about one murder. The FBI only took an interest when there were larger implications. She sighed. “I could vouch for you. It might work, but then again, it might not. Alex is picky about who he lets stay. Doms have to be vetted, and if he thinks you hired the sub, like she’s an escort or professional, he’ll throw you both out. Who is going?”
Jordan pointed to Agent Forsythe. “Avery and I will pose as a couple.”
Tru looked from him to the pretty agent, and she didn’t buy it for a second, and not because he was at least ten years younger. “You have zero chemistry. Alex wouldn’t even let you check in.”
“He wouldn’t know,” Agent Forsythe—Avery—argued. “We’ve worked together for years. We can pull it off.”
“I buy him as a Dom, but you’re not at all submissive.” Tru shook her head. “Alex is great at reading people. He’ll sniff you out, and then he’ll call me because I vouched for you, and I’ll have to tell him what I know. Can’t I just tell him? He’ll keep it a secret.” As she considered the validity of Alex keeping a secret, she rethought her assertion. He’d tell Jewell because he told her everything, and Jewell was a gossip. Tru loved Jewell, but there was no denying her friend’s propensity for spreading the word.
“No. It’s imperative that no one know we’re there or what we’re doing.” Brandy set her jaw firmly, ruling out any argument Tru might make. She took a bite of grapefruit, and the table fell silent as the agents frowned while eating.
This was not the breakfast Tru had imagined. She hated goodbyes. She’d anticipated explaining how their lives had intersected for a brief, orgasmic time, and now it was time to go their separate ways. Free from the fog of morning-after bliss, they’d see reason, and then they’d part on good terms. She planned to cherish this memory, and she hoped they’d do the same. Eating breakfast with a herd of agents, all wearing the same pinched expression, had not been on her radar.
She quietly finished her waffle, and then she went back for seconds. This time she targeted sliced strawberries, banana coins, and the walnut syrup. A glance back at the table showed that the agents had begun sharing their various thoughts. Should she return or find another table? It was obvious that they needed to discuss the case and that they couldn’t do it in front of her. On the other hand, Alex was one of her best friends. He’d always been there when she needed anything—a shoulder, a friend, or even a Master. She owed it to him to make sure the FBI didn’t muck up his business.
Conversation dropped off when she returned. She glanced around, noting how gazes fastened on food instead of meeting hers. “What now?”
Liam set his napkin on the table next to his plate. “We were wondering what you had planned for the rest of this month?”
Okay, it seemed like they’d abandoned the topic of Zangari’s and now Liam and Jed were back to looking for a way into her life. Truthfully, a casual relationship wouldn’t be too bad. They were both fantastic lovers, and maybe they could work up to including bondage and impact play. It could be cool to meet up with two hot Doms in random locations around the country for trysts, and their lifestyles precluded the possibility that things could get serious. She didn’t do serious.
“I have two bed-and-breakfasts booked for reviews. I’m staying four days at one and three at the other. Then I’m back home for the last week of September. Why?”
Liam exchanged a communicative glance with Jed before answering. “Instead of going home, how about you pull strings to book you, me, and Jed into Zangari’s?”
Not certain she’d heard him correctly, her brain replayed his request over and over, searching for the part she’d misheard.
“It’ll be fun.” Jed set his hand lightly on her shoulder. “And you’re under no obligation to actually sleep with us. You’d just pretend to be our sub while we’re there.”
Alex would know if they were pretending. While he wouldn’t think twice about the lack of romance—because he knew her so well—he’d notice that they lacked a rhythm that came from familiarity. She pointed out the most obvious hole first. “Alex will figure out that Liam is a beginner.”
“So?” Jed shrugged away her concern. “Everybody starts somewhere.”
True. She’d started with Alex. Okay, next obstacle. “We have no established protocols. It could get awkward really quickly.”
“She has a point,” Jordan said. “The three of you will need time to practice. I propose they stay with you while you’re at the next two bed-and-breakfasts so that you can learn to work together.”
That would mean seven days and nights with these two. Oh, the dirty and naughty possibilities that ran through her mind made her pussy wet. From the heat traveling up her cheeks, she figured that she might also be blushing.
“They’d have to meet up with her at the second place.” Brandy had finished her grapefruit, and now she sipped orange juice. The woman sure liked her citrus. “We have a lot of work to do before we get into Zangari’s.” She stood and smiled down at Tru. “Tru, please let me know when you’ve made the arrangements. I’ll need to get you registered as a consultant, and we’ll set you up with an expense account to pay for the time there. If you could book at least five days that include the last Tuesday of the month, that would be preferable.” With a toss of her head, she signaled to her team that breakfast was over. Jordan and Avery followed her from the room.
Liam and Jed rose as well. Jed tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “We have to go too, princess, but we’ll check in with you in about an hour. We’ll have a contract and contact information.”
Liam looked like he wanted to give her a hug, but he refrained. “Remember, this is all an act. It’s for show. Neither Jed nor I expect anything except your cooperation in keeping up the subterfuge.”
It looked like Liam and Jed were walking back their earlier press. Though they were technically getting what they wanted, it was business, not pleasure. Somehow his platitude wasn’t as reassuring as he meant it to be, but then again, she hadn’t exactly been giving out signals that indicated she wanted to see either of them after today. She hadn’t technically consented to working with the FBI at all.
The Abiding Tide/Day 3—Draft of overall review
Amenities.......................................5
Food.................................................5
Activities...........................................4
Available excursions......................5
Being forced to eat another meal with FBI agents.......................1*
*Only because the food was delicious
Chapter Eleven
Amy handed over a bottle of beer, sans lid, and set a coaster on the side table next to Liam. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She tossed a saucy smile, and then she crossed to the sofa, knelt down and offered the other beer to Jordan.
His buddy waited several seconds, drinking in the sight of his submissive on her knees with her gaze lowered. Then he accepted the brew. “Come sit by me, babe.” He patted the place next to him. “We’re not talking business.”
She bounced up, excitement bubbling from some place deep and genuine, and took her place at his side. Jordan put one arm around her, and she snuggled against him, a radiant smile lighting her face. Liam wondered if there would ever come a day when Tru would want to be with him like that. The thought of her on her knees, offering his morning coffee, made him have to cover his sigh with an exhale.
This was a rare day off. Liam had spent the morning with his mother. She loved the retirement community to which she’d moved, and it eased his conscience about not being there as oft
en as he should. The community had kept her so busy that she hadn’t dropped by Liam’s apartment to clean it or reorganize his things. This was progress.
“Have you thought about what you want from a submissive?” Jordan sipped his beer and stroked Amy’s hair.
Liam wanted the exact image in front of his face, but he didn’t want Tru to call him Daddy. Sir or Master would be fine. But beneath the surface of Amy’s actions and reactions lay complete trust and deep affection. That’s what he really wanted. How she showed her affection and devotion mattered less. Liam shook his head. “I want Tru.”
“What do you want from her?”
“Everything.” He knew Jordan would make him elaborate, so he continued even though he wasn’t one-hundred percent sure about what he was saying. “I want her to smile when she sees me because it totally made her day. I want her to think of me when I’m gone. And...And...I want her to want to serve me. The more I’ve learned about protocol, the more it appeals to me.”
“You want her to like you.” Amy traced lazy patterns on Jordan’s jean-clad thigh. “She might serve you, but she can’t fall in love with you if she doesn’t like you. When you let your guard down and let people get to know you, they generally like you.”
Jordan kissed Amy’s forehead. “Dare is a lot like you, babe. He can be blunt, and since he spends a lot of time in his head, he doesn’t always recognize other people’s boundaries, but he means well.”
Liam had only come to know Amy since Jordan had become his mentor, so he couldn’t say he knew her very well, but he liked her so far. Then he thought of Jed, and he wondered how this was going to work. Sure, they’d partnered well for a great ménage experience, but what did that mean for the other twenty-three hours and fifteen minutes of the day?
He sipped the beer, enjoying the icy liquid as it slid down his throat. “How is she going to serve two Doms? What does that look like?”
Jordan pursed his lips thoughtfully. “That’s a great question.”
Amy’s busy fingers moved to play with Jordan’s shoulder-length black hair. “You’ll have to be careful that you don’t give her conflicting orders or punish her for carrying out a task the other gave her when you want her to do something for you. It’s important to set her up for success, or she’ll leave.”
Liam had heard that Amy gave great advice. Perhaps he ought to tap her for insight into submissives. “Jed and I have talked a little about this. He isn’t concerned.”
“He’s a smooth talker. I remember once when we stopped to pick up coffee, he ran into three women he’d been juggling who turned out to be friends. They were not happy, but somehow he came out of it with plans to take two of them out at the same time. The third one held out for a solo date.” Jordan chuckled. “You’re not that suave.”
He also didn’t think that Tru would buy Jed’s bullshit lines. In that way Liam had an advantage. He didn’t have any lines.
“You need to designate alone time with her.” Jordan continued. “Jed’s going to need that as well. That way you’ll both get to know her.”
Liam didn’t know if Jed was interested in having more than a fling with Tru. At the end of this, no matter what Jed decided, he wanted to continue to see Tru. He beat tracks through his hair with his fingers. “I think I’d be jealous, knowing that they’re together when I’m not there.”
“But if you don’t, then she’ll never get to know what you’re like when it’s just the two of you.” Amy stopped playing with Jordan’s hair and nailed Liam with a steady gaze. “Women don’t fall in love with two men at once. They fall in love with both of them separately.”
Jordan parked his hand on Amy’s ass and squeezed. “Babe, you’d better not be thinking of falling in love with someone else.”
She giggled. “You’re more than enough man for me.”
“What if she falls in love with Jed and not me? As you’ve been saying, he’s the smooth talker.” This was a legitimate fear. Women swooned in the presence of Jed’s movie star good looks and powerful, charismatic personality.
“Then she isn’t good enough for you.” Amy went back to playing with Jordan’s hair. She reminded Liam of a kitten or a kid, which made sense with what he knew about their dynamic. Liam didn’t understand it, but he wasn’t about to judge. It worked for them, and that was the end of the story.
“What if she decides she wants us both?” Liam fussed with his hair some more, a nervous habit that he only controlled when he was at work.
“Isn’t that what you want?” Jordan finished his beer and set the bottle on the coaster Amy had provided.
Liam had to admit that he liked aspects of sharing a woman. The sex had been phenomenal, and when she’d become stubborn and contrary, the other Dom had stepped in to defuse the situation. There were upsides, for sure. But there were downsides as well. Then again, there were downsides to every relationship. Was this a deal breaker? No. Before he could respond, his phone went off. Jordan’s went off barely a second later.
“That’s work.” Liam set his beer on the coaster. He’d barely touched it. He and Jordan checked their messages. He found a text from Brandy, ordering them all to the Detroit field office.
Amy was already digging in the front hall closet. She handed a jacket and holster to Jordan, and she gave Liam his jacket. “Be safe.”
Jordan donned his holster and jacket, and then he snatched Amy to him for an open-mouthed kiss. “I love you, babe.”
“I love you too, Daddy. Text me later if you can’t call.”
They took Liam’s car for the forty minute drive, and Liam did a lot of thinking about what he wanted from his relationship with Tru. He and Jed were due to leave in a few hours to meet her at the bed-and-breakfast where they’d spend the next three days working out as many kinks as they could. Of course sex wouldn’t be part of the equation. Tru would be a consultant. She wasn’t there because she wanted to be with him or Jed. She was there to help stop an organization that murdered people and threatened the security of her nation. He would have to use this opportunity to make her like him. Borrowing a little of Amy’s faith in him, he tried to envision a future in which Tru belonged to him, but he failed.
“Have you told her that you like her?” Jordan broke through Liam’s pessimistic internal tirade.
“I told her that I want to see her again. Well, Jed did, and I confirmed it.” Traffic on I-94 was backed up at the US 23 interchange, which did not surprise Liam. If it didn’t clear quickly, they’d strap the siren onto the dashboard and use government authority to barrel through. “She was against the idea.”
“She didn’t seem so against the idea when she agreed to go undercover as your submissive.” Jordan opened the glove box and took out the siren. “Brandy said to be there in thirty minutes.”
Liam opened the windows to let the shrill noise escape. Ten minutes later, they were in the open, and he turned off the sound. “I guess we’ll see. I have the next six or so days to win her over. If Amy’s right, and I have the ability to grow on a person, then I hope it’s enough time.”
“Just be open and honest. She knows you’re new to the lifestyle, and she’ll forgive a lot.”
“If she doesn’t?” Did Liam worry about fucking up? Yes.
“Then she’s not worth it. People mess up in relationships. It’s human nature. The way you deal with it reveals character.” Jordan’s phone rang, and he answered. “Monaghan. Yes, Chief.” He checked the roads and their location. “Twenty minutes. Got it.”
Liam kept his eyes the road as he weaved through slow-moving cars that wouldn’t get out of the left lane. “What did she say?”
“Everybody else is already there. Use the siren.” Jordan turned the sound back on, and Liam rolled the windows down again. Now people in the left lane cleared the way, and they cruised downtown without an issue.
Liam and Jordan rushed to Brandy’s new office. After taking down the head of the Detroit field office who was also the head of The Eye’s Detroit arm, she’
d been offered many positions, including Miguel Lawrence’s old job. Brandy hadn’t wanted to run the entire Detroit branch of the FBI. Instead she’d jumped at the chance to head this task force, and that job came with an upgrade to a ginormous office. Jordan and he took their places at the short conference table.
Brandy breezed into the room, looking as if she hadn’t bothered to spend her day off outside the McNamara Building. “You’re all here. Great. Let’s get started.” She set a stack of papers in front of each of them. “I didn’t have time to have it bound, so you’ll have to make do with loose copies.”
Liam preferred loose copies. It enabled him to reorder things and compare photographs. He opened the folder to find a list of robberies. Each had been committed in the past three days, and they all involved petty amounts. One consisted of the theft of a dozen candy bars and a rack of sunglasses. Yes—they’d taken the rack too.
“I don’t get it.” Avery flipped through her stack of reports. “They have nothing to do with The Eye. Why are we seeing these?”
Brandy set a stack of photographs on the edge of the table and, with a dramatic push, scattered them down the center. “Because every place that has been robbed is one I’ve visited in the last six weeks. Each incident was reported to local PD. There may be others where thefts occurred, but they didn’t report it for whatever reason.”
“They might not have noticed.” Jed examined a photograph.
Liam picked up several that had landed near him. Each featured Brandy in the center, unaware that she was being photographed. The mystery photographer had captured the image using a telephoto lens—otherwise Brandy would have noticed someone snapping pictures of her. Some of the photos showed her clearly, but most featured partially obstructed views. “Every place you went was robbed?”
“I don’t know yet. That’s what you’re going to be doing. Flip to the last two pages. That’s a list of every place I’ve visited since we’ve been back from California. Avery and Jordan, take the first page. Jed and Liam, take the second. Visit every place I’ve been. Double check the police reports, if there are any, and see if anything has been stolen from the places that didn’t report a robbery.”
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