Secured Heart

by Measha Stone

  Kelly followed Kendrick through the maze of desks to a small room in the corner.

  “Hey!” An ash-blond officer stood from his desk with a wide grin and a hand outstretched toward Kendrick. “How’s it going?”

  Kelly remained in the doorway, while the two men shook hands and exchanged friendly banter. She watched Kendrick closely. The muscles in his neck tightened when they walked into the small makeshift office. The conversation appeared to be light-hearted, but there was something in the way Kendrick tensed that gave her the impression there was something deeper between them.

  Her attention snapped back to their voices at the mention of her name.

  “Hi.” She strode to the desk and shook his hand. The officer’s grip was soft around her fingers.

  “I’m Jim Peltner. Kendrick tells me you had an issue with Ted.” Watered-down brown eyes focused on her.

  She looked to Kendrick, who had taken a step back from the desk, giving her center stage. His expression was bland. She couldn’t read him.

  “Well, yes. I suppose so,” she answered.

  “Please have a seat.”

  She sunk into the wooden chair, looking over her shoulder, willing Kendrick to take the seat beside her. When he didn’t take the hint, she returned her attention to the officer. Then she felt Kendrick move to stand behind her even before she heard the shuffle of his feet. A sense of being protected flooded her.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “Well.” She rearranged herself in the chair and laid out what she remembered of the previous night, leaving out Ted’s comment about wanting to spank her ass. She didn’t think that was entirely necessary.

  “You met him at a bar?” Officer Peltner clarified, glancing at Kendrick over her shoulder when he asked the question. “Had you been drinking?”

  “One drink,” she answered. Realization sunk in, and she took a deep breath. She could feel the tension in Kendrick’s stance thicken at the officer’s questions.

  “Jim, you know damn well she wasn’t drunk.” Kendrick placed h is palms on her shoulders, as the tone in his voice deepened.

  His hands calmed her unexpectedly. It was as though the mere touch of his fingers enveloped her in a globe of security.

  “I don’t damn well know anything other than Ted’s an ass. That we both know. You also know that if I don’t do it right, he’ll just walk anyway. Time wasted on all sides.” Jim’s eyes settled on Kelly, and he took a deep breath. “If you would like to press charges, we will, of course. But I don’t think much would stick. You had already been at the bar when he met you. His way of the story is that you were intoxicated when you came on to him. That you begged him to—well, do what he did.”

  Kelly stared in disbelief at the officer. Kendrick’s fingers dug into her shoulders.

  “So, he gets off again?” Kendrick let go of her shoulders and pulled her up out of the chair.

  She was beginning to feel every bit the rag doll in his hands.

  “What about a blood test? If I get blood drawn, wouldn’t it show the drug in my system?” She looked between the men. She wasn’t entirely sure she was trying to help catch her attacker or if she was trying to fulfill Kendrick’s need for justice.

  “Even if it shows in your blood. Jim here would have to prove Ted is the one who slipped it to you. And he can’t or won’t.” Kendrick led her to the door. “See you around, Jim.”

  “McFall!” Officer Peltner’s voice faded as Kendrick pulled the door shut behind them. He let go of Kelly’s arm and picked up her hand, dragging her through the precinct.

  She allowed him to pull her along, unsure of what to make of the scene she’d just witnessed. There was more to Kendrick’s involvement with Ted than had to do with her; of that, she was sure.

  A few officers patted Kendrick on the back as they made their way through their desks. No one seemed to be swayed by the dark expression on his face. He nodded his greetings and his departure, flinging the door open to the main hall.

  They stepped out into the hall just as another door opened and Ted sauntered through. He stopped mid step at the sight of them and threw on a shit eating grin.

  Kelly took the lead, stepping right up to him.

  “Did you want something, baby?” Ted’s voice oozed over her.

  She wondered what she had found so sexy about him the night before. His hair was as greasy as his attitude. He was muscular, true, but in the meat-head-stay-all-day at the gym sort of way. Not in the naturally strong because I work for a living way Kendrick was.

  Kelly looked him up and down and shook her head with a laugh. “No. Not from you. Not ever.” She turned on her heels and walked down the hall, leaving Kendrick behind as well. She opened the door leading back to the lobby and waited for Kendrick.

  “Guess, this time you get my sloppy seconds.” She heard Ted’s voice from down the hall.

  Kendrick stepped to him, keeping his hands at his sides but balled into fists. She couldn’t make out what he said, but the loss of color in Ted’s face told her it wasn’t an invitation to tea.

  Kendrick met up with her with a few strides and took the door from her, nudging her along with his stare. She didn’t glance back at Ted because Kendrick was blocking her view.

  They walked to the car in silence, and only when they were inside the car did she look at his expression. Fierce.

  She remained quiet as he pulled out of the lot and back into the main street.

  “Where’s your apartment?” He broke the silence.

  She gave him the address, and he switched lanes to turn at the next street.

  “Look, I’m sorry for all the trouble.” She rested her hand on his arm. The muscles in his forearm were tight, but softened under her touch. “Those cops all seemed to like you. Have you worked with them before?”

  “Yeah.” He half-laughed his answer.

  “You also seemed to know Ted pretty well.” She pulled her hand away from him and tucked her hair back in place.

  He glanced at her for a brief moment, his already intense blue eyes darkening. She wasn’t sure if he was throwing angry daggers at her or was trying to shove something away deep inside of himself. Either way, she was annoyed at being the only one not knowing the full situation when the entire situation had to do with her.

  “Look, either you know him or you don’t. Why did that cop seem to know you so damn well? And there seems to be some history between you and Ted; something you’re not saying. I think I deserve to know what the fuck is going on.” Her voice rose steadily as she spoke, and by the time she had finished her rant, she was near yelling.

  Kendrick’s lips curled up at the edges, but he remained silent.

  She growled her frustration and crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring him as best she could.

  A few turns later, he pulled in front of her brownstone apartment. She was impressed he’d found it without directions from her, but she wasn’t going to give him the compliment.

  He shoved the gear stick into park and turned to her. He reached over and held her chin between his fingers and brought her glare to meet his.

  Any fight she might have had in her faded when their eyes clicked together.

  “You’re right. You have every right to know what’s going on.” His voice was soft, no hint of the anger she’d seen in him at the precinct. “Ted and I have history. I was a cop for ten years when I met him for the first time. You aren’t the first girl he’s drugged and tried to have his way with. I tried to make charges stick, but they never do. The last time.” He ran his thumb along her jaw line. “The last time my ex-girlfriend was his target. I wasn’t there that night. No one knew she wasn’t herself, and he hurt her. Bad.”

  “But there wasn’t enough proof?” she asked, not pulling away from him. His touch felt like an electric connection between them, and she didn’t want to break it.

  “No.” He let go of her and sat back.

  “And you blame yourself that she got hurt.” Kelly touched
his arm again.

  He turned away from her, reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out his wallet and produced a business card. “Here’s the club I told you about. Remember, Friday nights only.”

  The topic was closed. He held the card out to her in firm silence. He wasn’t going to add to what he’d already told her.

  She took the card from him and opened the car door. “Thank you, again.” She leaned over the console and kissed him on his cheek, letting her lips linger on his skin a moment longer than she’d intended before pulling away.

  She slid out of the car and waited for him to say something else. To ask her to dinner, to lunch, to anything.

  Silence.

  She closed the door, and before her foot touched her steps, he had pulled out and was gone.

  The sensible man, driving the sensible car, tore around the corner of the street.

  She pressed her lips together, trying to burn the memory of his smell, his taste into her brain.

  The card in her hand held promise. A promise of another meeting. Her smile crept over her lips and jumped into her eyes with a simple realization.

  It was already Friday.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Another Day, Another Dollar

  Kendrick waved off the couple in the elevator holding the door for him and headed to the stairwell. Living on the seventh floor made for extra cardio after his five-mile run, and after the morning he’d experienced, he welcomed the extra burn.

  After dropping Kelly at her apartment, he’d headed straight home, thinking to get some admin work done that he’d been putting off for too long. The apartment had felt empty when he’d returned. Her scent of lilac perfume lingered in the bedroom, embedded in his sheets. It was with some reluctance he pulled the sheets free from the mattress and took them to the washer.

  His years on the force had presented him with plenty of opportunities to rescue damsels in distress, but he had never taken any of them back to his place. Kelly hadn’t been the first drugged woman to cross his path, but she was the first he’d let sleep it off in his bed.

  He’d told himself he was doing Derek a favor—a big favor. The idea of helping out a friend and helping out the lady seemed to squelch the nagging voice that told him to take her to the ER and leave her there. He didn’t need to get involved. He could have simply brought her in as a security officer and left her. At least one or two nurses at County knew him and would take her off his hands with no questions. But he didn’t. He’d brought her home and let her sleep in his bed. Not the guest room down the hall, but his bed.

  He’d decided to skip the admin work and go for a long run to clear his head. Any day he ran into Ted ended with him taking a longer run than usual. He needed to burn off his anger more than calories.

  Kelly had crept into his thoughts as he ran toward the lake. One advantage to living on the Magnificent Mile was being in running distance to the paths around the waterfront, making the runs seem less mundane. The day begged for people to be outside in the warm sun and cool breeze of spring.

  He expected a woman who came face to face with a man who’d attacked her to be angry or scared. Kelly had surprised him by being strong. Formidable. Her eyes had hardened when they caught a glimpse of Ted, her muscles tensed beneath Kendrick’s hand, but she remained completely controlled. She hadn’t made a scene or even raised her voice. She simply hadn’t let Ted get to her, or at least let him know he did. Kendrick had noted how the rise and fall of her chest sped up when she’d walked away from Ted in the hall. Her fingers had rubbed together on each hand as she walked, but never quite balled into fists.

  As he ran, he’d let his thoughts wander over her. Thinking about how much it would take for her to lose her control, to let herself go, got his own wheels spinning with all the of the ways he’d like to make her lose restraint.

  He decided he would start with kissing the tempting diamond shaped mole on the inside of her ivory thigh, then he’d move higher…

  The club was quiet when Kendrick arrived for his shift. The two roundtable discussions were wrapping up, and the members hadn’t started arriving yet for the evening festivities.

  His security staff was already on site setting up near the doors and planning out their evenings. Four men rotated throughout the dungeon once it was in full swing. One stayed at the front door behind the dungeon staff, in case any outsider tried to sneak his way into the private club.

  Gallant Domination allowed anyone to join their ranks, but they had to sign up and pay their member dues first. A quick background check was done on new members trying out the club for the first time. To gain full access membership, they went through a more thorough check, and it was up to Kendrick’s company to provide that service as well as keep the club safe for all of its members.

  “Kendrick.” George, the primary owner of the dungeon waved him over to the main office. “Hey, I heard about last night,” he said by way of greeting. He picked up a handful of envelopes from the corner of his makeshift desk and began sorting his mail. “Still chasing Ted’s tail.” He shook his head.

  George had purchased the club in his twenties, wanting a place to play without having to worry about his neighbors. At first it had been just a small group of friends that pitched in to pay for equipment and share the mortgage payments, but soon it took on a life of its own.

  Before he was thirty, the club had over five hundred members, and he began organizing large events and educational sessions. Kendrick had been a member while he was on the force, before he opened his company and became the security team for the club.

  Nearing his forties, George still held on to his youthful looks. His playful blue eyes sparkled when he tangled himself in the right sort of mischief, contrasting with his salt and pepper hair. The shoulder length locks had been shed for a tighter cut once the salt started to appear more rapidly around his temples.

  Being a club owner at night gave him plenty of time during the day to get his workouts in. He always told the new members of the club that you have to have muscle and stamina if you were going to have a sub pressed up against the cross for a good flogging.

  “Fuck his tail. I want his ass.” Kendrick raked his fingers through his hair, looking out the large window into the main play space.

  “I’d chew you out for even getting involved with Derek’s house parties—they are fucking reckless—but it looks like you did some good by being there.” George tossed the mail back on the desk on to a larger pile of discarded, unopened envelopes. “The girl okay?” He sunk into his chair and laced his fingers behind his head.

  Kendrick turned around at the mention of Kelly. “Yeah. Yeah, she’s fine.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets.

  “I heard you took her home.” George smiled. His eyes sparkled in their playful way, and his eyebrow raised in challenge.

  “Yeah. Derek didn’t want the ambulance there, and she was okay. Just needed to sleep it off.”

  “And better in your bed than in a hospital bed or her own?” His words matched the sarcastic lift of his eyebrow as he said them.

  “Yeah.” Kendrick matched his gaze, moving his hands from his pockets to his sides.

  “Gonna see her again?” George asked, not backing down from Kendrick’s glare—one of the few who were immune to it.

  “Not likely.” Kendrick shook his head. He had given her the card for the club, but he figured once she had rested more and thought it through, she’d stay away. The idea didn’t set well with him, but he knew it would be better if she stayed in her own world.

  “But you’d like to.” George continued to speak the words that Kendrick felt.

  The two sat in a deep silence. Talking about one’s feelings was a way to find clarity and move forward; Kendrick didn’t follow that train of thinking.

  After several moments of a silent game of chicken, Kendrick stood from his chair; the grating sound of the movement filled the room.

  “You really should get a secretary for all your crap.” He opene
d the door, letting in the sounds of the dungeon.

  “Yeah.” George looked over all of the paperwork that came with running his business and sighed.

  Kendrick didn’t envy his friend; more time running the dungeon meant less time playing in it.

  “Gonna make a quick round.”

  “It wasn’t your fault, you know. You’re going to have to stop blaming yourself at some point.” George’s voice struck Kendrick’s chest as he stepped out of the doorway.

  He paused a moment, holding the door open while he stared out into the dungeon before him.

  Women and men half-naked being slapped, spanked, loved, desired, and worshiped. Sounds of pleasure, mixed with the hint of pain, lofted through the space.

  “Yeah. I know.” The door closed with a soft click behind him as he entered the place he felt most alive, the atmosphere that made his heart pump with meaning.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Keep Truckin’

  “Tell her she’s crazy.” Jessica patted Royce’s hand and pointed across the table toward Kelly, who sat with a glass of wine.

  “I’m not crazy.” Kelly grinned and put the glass to her lips.

  “What’d I miss?” Alex put his beer down and took his seat.

  The weekly gathering of old college friends had commenced, and Kelly was once again the subject of discussion. She should have been used to it, but every time Jessica started to play mother hen, Kelly wanted to throw her drink across the table at her.

  “Kelly has lost her mind.” Jessica threw a glare at Alex. “I blame you.”

  “Me?” Alex shot her a wounded look before turning his gaze toward Kelly. “What did you do this time?”

  “Nothing.” Kelly concentrated on the menu before her, doing her best to hide her irritation.

  “Where is Erin and Jonathan? This is their pick, and they aren’t even here yet.” She looked around the crowded tapas bar at all of the couples sitting together at small tables, holding hands, laughing, and genuinely enjoying themselves.