Shifting his stance, Craig Allen didn’t wither under the Tampa businessman’s glare. “That’s what you get when you don’t leave these things to me. But they recovered your wife’s phone and found Alyssa’s cell number in it. I was able to trace the last few numbers she dialed. The last outgoing call she made was to a number here in Tampa.”
“What?” His boss’s eyes narrowed. “Who?”
“Belongs to Trident Security.”
“What?” Wagner’s face got even redder. “Why would she be calling the company I hired to find her last year?”
“My guess is Trident helped with their disappearance. Or someone who works for them.”
“Donovan.” The businessman pulled a manila file from his desk and flipped through it. “The guy Ian Sawyer assigned to find Alyssa was named Donovan or something. Here it is, Jake Donovan. Start with him.”
Allen nodded and turned to walk out the door. Behind him, Wagner added, “And no more fucking screw-ups. Find my little bitch of a daughter…and kill her. And anyone else who gets in your way.”
* * *
At a quarter after nine at night, a few miles from downtown Maggie Valley, Jake steered the Ford Expedition up a winding dirt road leading to the safe-house. Trident had a deal with one of the men in charge of the small airport in Spartanburg, South Carolina and were able to keep three vehicles stored in one of the hangers for whenever they were needed. On the way over the border into North Carolina, the foursome had stopped at a Walmart to stock up on food and get some clothes and toiletries for Alyssa. The two-hour nap she had on the plane had done her good, but since waking, she’d only said anything when spoken to, and even then it was mostly yes or no answers. Jake knew this was going to be very hard for her to get through. Ian’s goddaughter, Jenn, was considered a niece to every member of the original Trident team, and she’d come to live at the compound after her parents were murdered about eighteen months ago. Her dad had been their lieutenant on SEAL Team Four, and they’d all watched their ‘Baby-girl’ grow up into the beautiful twenty-year-old she was today. She was still seeing a trauma psychologist who had helped her through the aftermath of the horrific crime. When they made sure Alyssa was safe, Jake would look into getting her a therapist to talk to—she was going to need it between the abuse and the murder of her mother. He wasn’t sure if she’d been seeing one in Colorado, but he’d ask her about it later.
As Jake pulled up to the house, Cain whistled in appreciation. The outside solar-powered lights were glowing, along with a light in the inside foyer. “Damn, this is nicer than any safe-house I’ve ever seen that wasn’t catering to someone with at least a half a million-dollar paycheck.”
Sitting behind the ex-fed, Nick snorted while Jake just shook his head. The eight bedroom and bath house had been obtained by the Sawyer patriarch a few months after Ian had joined SEAL Team Four in Virginia. One of the older guys had told him to find a safe place he could retreat to, if needed, and bury it under piles of paperwork, so it couldn’t be traced to him. Chuck Sawyer had found his sons the perfect place here in Maggie Valley. Between the rock formation the house backed up to, the surrounding forest, bullet-proof windows, and Egghead’s security system, the place was as safe as they could get it. Anyone would find it extremely difficult to sneak up on them without some kind of warning. But despite the security measures, the house was warm and inviting, having a ski lodge feel to it.
Jake popped the trunk to grab their shopping bags with Cain as Nick approached the front door and placed his hand on the scanner. It was the same system Trident had at their compound. The youngest Sawyer brother had only been here a few times in recent years, but knew he could use it anytime he wanted. As the others entered behind him, Nick flipped on more lights and gestured to the hallway to the right of the huge living room. “Alyssa, take the room at the end of hall. It’s my folks’ room when they come here.”
She nodded as she eyed him timidly. “Can I take a shower?”
Handing her the bags with her things in them, Jake gently told her, “Yeah, sweetheart. Each bedroom has its own bath. The water should be hot enough by now. We have a friend who keeps an eye on things for us. My boss called him earlier and had him swing by to turn on the stuff we don’t need on while nobody’s here. There’s a TV in your room, too, if you want some time alone.” After watching her trudge silently down the hallway, he turned to the others who were emptying the bags of groceries. “I’m going to run upstairs and arm the rest of the security systems. When you’re done with that, Foster, come up to the loft over the living room. I’ll show you how to run everything and scan your hand in. I don’t think Egghead thought of adding your print to the system up here yet.”
The new guy nodded. “Okay. I’ll be up in a sec.”
Twenty minutes later, the full security system was up and running, Foster’s handprint was entered into the computer, and Alyssa was watching television in her room. The men sat in the living room, watching a west coast basketball game on the widescreen TV. Three frozen lasagnas and two loaves of garlic bread they’d picked up at the store were heating in the oven. Jake called Ian to let him know they arrived without incident and to see if there were any updates, which there hadn’t been. Until the rest of the team arrived back in Tampa tomorrow, the three of them would stay here with Alyssa. Also tomorrow, Ian was sending Travis ‘Tiny’ Daultry to Maggie Valley, along with one of Chase Dixon’s operatives, to keep the teenager safe. Then Jake, Cain, and Nick would return to the compound and figure out how to get Oliver Wagner’s ass thrown in jail for life—without Alyssa having to testify, if possible. The girl had been through too much for someone so young.
“Who’s Tiny?” Cain asked, settling into a couch across from the one Nick was occupying.
Jake flipped the feet rest up on his recliner. “Friend of mine from my high school football days. We played for rival schools, but before that, we’d been on the same Pee-Wee team. He went to the pros for two seasons before a career-ending leg injury. He’s now the head of security at the club and does some bodyguard work for us, too.”
“The man’s a fucking gorilla,” Nick added with a chuckle. “Taller and wider than Jake. Nicest guy in the world, but can squash anyone who decides to take him on.”
Jake snorted, but acknowledged Nick had spoken the truth with a nod of his head. At six-foot-eight and about two hundred seventy-five pounds of solid muscle, Tiny was far from the childhood nickname which had stuck. “Yeah. When we spar, I have to use a lot of dirty tricks if I want to last more than a few minutes against him. But the women call him a teddy-bear—he has them eating out of his hands.”
After taking a sip of his soda, Cain raised it toward Jake. “So, tell me about the club. I haven’t had the pleasure of checking it out yet, and was going to take a look around tonight. But apparently plans change fast at Trident.”
“It’s a great place. Nick’s brothers and cousin, Mitch, did a nice job planning the layout. Plenty of open spaces for public scenes and there are twelve private rooms, but they’re talking about putting on an addition for some more. Alcohol is limited to two drinks if you’re going to play and everything is computerized, thanks to Egghead.”
“How’s the membership?”
Jake stretched his arms before tucking his hands behind his head. Without looking at Nick, he felt the kid’s heated gaze and willed his cock not to react. The two of them were going to have to find a way to work off some of the sexual tension which had increased between them since their conversation this morning. “Last I heard, we were at about three-hundred and fifty members. Some are seasonal, but on most weekends there will be at least a hundred and thirty members at any given time. Sundays and Wednesdays are the slowest, but you’ll still be able to find whatever you’re into. Mondays and Tuesdays it’s closed. Every member is completely vetted, and checks are done on a routine basis to weed out any trouble makers.”
“A lot of single subbies?”
“There’s plenty of unattached sub
s to play with, with a wide variety of limits.”
The door down the hall opened and the subject of the BDSM club was shelved as Alyssa shuffled into the living room. Her short wet hair had been combed out, and she was wearing her new sweatpants and a hoodie over a T-shirt. Jake flipped the recliner’s foot rest back down and sat forward. “You hungry, sweetheart? You didn’t eat all day.” On the plane, she had declined to eat her sandwich after awakening from her nap.
Shrugging her shoulders, she sat on the opposite end of the couch from Nick. The distance she kept between Nick, Cain, and herself wasn’t lost on anybody. Jake was the one man she seemed comfortable with, and that was simply because this was the second time he’d come to her rescue—she was also aware that he was gay. When he first met her, he figured telling her would ease her worry about driving back to Florida alone with him.
“I don’t know. I guess.”
He stood and stepped into the kitchen area. The house had an open floor plan, so the only thing separating the kitchen and living room was a large island/breakfast counter. “Dinner’s almost ready. In the meantime, Nick, why don’t you pull out the Xbox. Alyssa will kick your butt in Need for Speed.”
Grinning, Nick jumped from the couch and knelt in front of the cabinet under the large flat-screen TV where the gaming console was stored. “Awesome. It’s about time there’s some competition worthy of my skills.”
Alyssa gave him a smile and Jake saw her shoulders relax a little. There were plenty of other video games in house’s collection, but the racing competition was the first one he’d thought of that wasn’t full of shooting and blood. She didn’t need that less than fourteen hours after her mother was murdered.
It wasn’t long before the four of them were laughing at each other’s competitiveness. They took turns playing the game and eating the dinner Jake had served up on the large, square coffee table. He was surprised when he glanced at his dive watch and noticed it was close to midnight. Jeez, no wonder he was tired. It felt like days since he’d woken up in his bed and not hours.
From her spot on one couch, Alyssa cheered, while on the other one, Cain groaned in defeat. But the girl’s laughter faded quickly as the horror of what she had been through came rushing back to her. Jake could see the pain and guilt in her eyes. “Sweetie, it’s okay to laugh. I know you’re hurting, but your mom wouldn’t want you to stop living and laughing.” He stood and pulled her up into a hug. “Why don’t you get some sleep, hmm? I think we’re all pretty tired. And in the morning, we’ll figure out what to do next.”
She buried her face in his broad chest as her tears made a reappearance. “He’s never going to stop looking for me. He’ll either kill me or make me—”
“Oh, sweetheart, neither of those things are going to happen. I won’t let him within a mile of you. None of us will.” Jake was about to say something else, but was interrupted by an alert emanating from the security system. The three men froze for an instant. The distinct sequence of beeping meant someone breached the sensors fifty yards in from the main road on the way up the long winding driveway.
Shit.
CHAPTER 10
Gently pushing Alyssa away from him, Jake’s eyes met Nick’s. “Take her downstairs to the panic room. We’ll check it out.”
Nick nodded, but before anyone could move, Jake’s phone, sitting on the coffee table, notified him of a text. A quick glance at the screen had him calming again as he sighed. “Never mind.” Giving Alyssa a reassuring smile, he gestured to the hallway leading to her bedroom. “It’s okay. It’s a good friend of mine and he’s here to help. Why don’t you hit the sack and I’ll introduce you to him in the morning?”
The girl nodded, but by the way she was biting her bottom lip, it was apparent she was still wary. Nick took several steps toward her room. “Come on. I’ll double check the locks on your windows, then you can get a good night’s sleep.”
“Thanks.” Her stance relaxed at the offer to make sure she was safe and secure. She gave Cain and Jake a little wave. “Goodnight.”
Jake waved back. “Goodnight, sweetie.”
“Goodnight,” Cain added.
As she followed Nick down the hall, Jake strode over to the front door. A few moments later, headlights appeared and a non-descript sedan followed. By the time the vehicle parked and the driver emerged, Jake was descending the front steps with Cain at his heels. “The video game was a great idea. She seems more comfortable around Nick and me now. Is this the guy you told us about?”
“Yeah. Mr. Black-Ops himself.” Jake raised his voice so Carter could hear him. “Hey, jackass, a phone call would have sufficed.”
The thirty-eight-year-old, six-foot-four, physically fit man grinned at him while retrieving a duffel and twelve-pack of beer from the back seat. “What’s the matter, pretty-boy? Did I scare the shit out of you setting off the alarm?”
Jake grunted at the teasing. His friendship with the spy spanned many years after the team ran into him on several missions while still in the SEALs. They would do anything for the guy and vice versa. In fact, Carter had saved their asses on several occasions. “Yeah, well, the seventeen-year-old girl whose mother was murdered this morning was a little freaked out about it.”
Stopping in his tracks, Carter’s face fell. “You shitting me?” When Jake somberly shook his head, the man grimaced. “Fuck, dude, I’m sorry. I was on my way here to crash for a day or two and only checked my messages an hour ago. I just figured we’d talk when I got here.” He took four more steps and extended his hand to Cain. “You one of the new guys?”
The former Secret Service agent shook his hand. “Yeah, Cain Foster.”
“Carter.” He eyed Jake. “Please tell me you’re going to feed me while giving me a sit-rep. There was no way I was stopping for fucking drive-thru crap at this hour.”
“Yeah, come on in. There’s some leftovers.”
Forty-five minutes later, Carter was fed and filled in about the situation. Taking a sip of the beer he’d brought in with him, he sat back in his chair at the rustic-style dining table. “Well, safe-cracking isn’t my thing, but I know who we can call. One of my associates. She has several talents and that’s one of the ones she excels in.”
Nick raised his eyebrow at the older man he’d only met a few times before. “She?”
“Yes, young Sawyer…she. Jordyn is the best person for the job.”
“But will she do it?” Jake queried, knowing it was useless to ask for the female spy’s last name. Hell, none of the men at Trident even knew Carter’s first name…only that it started with a ‘T’.
A smug expression spread across the operative’s face and his baby-blue eyes danced in amusement. “Oh, she’ll do it. Especially when I tell her I don’t think she can.”
Jake barked out a laugh, then remembered Alyssa was sleeping and lowered his voice again. “Let me guess, jackass. Either you’ve tried to get into her pants or you’ve been there and now she hates your guts.”
“Yup, to the latter, although I can’t figure out why.” He scratched his temple. “The woman’s a firecracker in bed and I set her off many, many times the one night we hooked up. You’d think she’d love me for that alone.”
“Must be your charming personality she hates then. When can you get a hold of her?”
Draining the last of his beer, Carter stood and brought his empty plate to the kitchen area. “Her system’s like mine. I’ll give her a call now and leave a message. Hopefully, she’s not in the middle of assassinating anyone and can get back to me pretty quick.”
Across the big space, Cain groaned and the spy glanced over his shoulder at him. “Problem?”
Snorting, Cain shook his head. “I resigned from the Secret Service two weeks ago. Any form of the word ‘assassination’ still makes me nervous.”
“Well, if it helps,” Carter replied as he dried off the plate he’d just washed, “Jordyn’s on Uncle Sam’s side.”
“Always good to know. And on that note, gents
, I’m hitting the sack. See you in the morning.”
A few minutes after Cain went upstairs to the bedroom he was using, Carter grabbed his duffel and did the same, while Nick and Jake made sure the house was secure for the night. Nick usually stayed in one of the rooms upstairs as well, but since they were being cautious with Alyssa’s safety, he was sleeping in Ian’s downstairs bedroom tonight. Jake was taking the room next to the teenager, but instead of walking down the hallway, he followed Nick into his room and quietly shut the door behind them. Nick’s eyes widened in surprise, but Jake cut off any hopeful thoughts he might be having. “I’m not staying…” He took a few steps forward, backing the kid up to the wall. Reaching down, the Dom cupped Nick’s denim-covered cock and a satisfied leer appeared on his face as he got the reaction he wanted. “Just wanted to remind you, this…” He gave the growing crotch a squeeze, causing a low, sexy growl to emanate from Nick’s throat. “This is mine and you will keep your hands off it tonight.”
“Fuck! Are you serious?” He somehow managed to keep his exasperated voice low. “You come in here, get my fucking dick hard as a rock, and then tell me I can’t do anything with it?”
Jake leaned forward and licked the shell of Nick’s ear, pleased when a shiver coursed through the man’s body. “I’m very serious,” he whispered. “This is mine, Junior. Keep your hands off it or there’ll be consequences. And believe me, I’ll know if you disobeyed me.”
He smirked as he backed away and pivoted toward the door. “Sweet dreams.” As he exited the room, a chuckle escaped him when Nick’s head thudded against the wall in frustration. Jake eased the door shut behind him. Educating his new submissive was going to be so much fun.
* * *
When the men came back inside and she heard Jake’s calm, rumbling voice, Alyssa completely relaxed again and climbed into her bed. While Nick and Cain were nice, the real reason she trusted them was because Jake did. The company they worked for had been hired by her father last year, but once Jake had discovered why she ran away, he immediately offered to help her and her mom get away from her perverted father. Alyssa had been very leery when her mom called and said some man was coming to pick her up in Georgia, where she was staying with her mother’s old college friend. Oliver Wagner had hated Joanna Lynch and forbade his wife to continue their friendship, but the women had gone against him and secretly kept in touch.
Topping the Alpha: Trident Security Series Page 7
