by M. S. Parker
Shit like kidnapping a private citizen. A citizen from DC who, according to what I knew about Bryne, had money and political connections. If he had been hoping for a ransom, it still would've been a stupid idea. Doing it to trade for drugs was idiotic. The fact that he made such a dumb move meant he was desperate.
“How did he even find her?”
Bryne Dawkins was the sort of woman who had more strength than people suspected at first glance. With her short stature and delicious curves, guys were more likely to drool over her body and ignore her mind, but I knew that'd be a mistake. She was the most amazing person I'd ever met.
And I'd ruined her life.
“I don't know,” I said honestly and pressed my lips to the top of her head. “I am so sorry, baby.”
Her head nearly clipped my chin when she looked up at me, confusion on her face. “For what?”
“This is my fault.” I rubbed my hand down her arm. She felt so cold. “And I'll do whatever it takes to get your mom back safely.”
“We.”
Now it was my turn to look confused. “What?”
“We, Dax. Not just you.” Her eyes narrowed. “We're in this together. Remember?”
I wanted to tell her no, that this was something I needed to handle on my own, but this new step in our relationship was based on trust. Even if my reasons for wanting to keep her out of it were because I wanted to keep her safe, I knew I couldn't just tell her what to do. She might enjoy me being in charge when it came to sex, but she was independent enough that I knew she'd be pissed if I tried to order her around outside the bedroom.
I tucked a curl behind her ear, then twisted another around my finger. She had gorgeous hair, the color of burnished bronze. Soft skin. Kissable lips. One of those little frown lines between her eyebrows...
Fuck.
I refused to let anything happen to her or her mom. I couldn't bear the thought of her getting hurt like that because of me.
“I'll go to the cops,” I said.
“Won't he hurt–?”
I shook my head. “He never said anything about not involving the cops because he'd never expect me to do that.”
Understanding dawned on her face. “Because if you went to them, they'd want to know why Booker took my mom and what he's asking for in return. Cocaine.”
I nodded. “I didn't steal anything, and I've never actually been involved in any of the shady shit they pull. I'll be okay.”
She shook her head, her fingers digging into my arms. “You don't know that. They could decide to make an example out of you. It happens all the time. Guilt by association. That kind of shit.”
A fresh wave of love washed over me. Her mom had been kidnapped by a gang leader, and she was worried about what would happen to me if I went to the cops.
“Are you sure he even has her?” she asked, hope springing into her eyes. “He could be lying.”
I took a deep breath. “He's not.” I reached over and picked up my phone. “I wasn't hiding this from you. Just waiting until the shock had settled.”
I opened the picture Booker had sent me and tightened my arm around Bryne as I handed her my phone. She made a soft sound that cut straight through me as she saw her mom tied to a chair, a copy of Sunday's paper resting on her lap. I'd only met Allison Dawkins once, but she'd been polished and poised, the sort of woman who appeared to live and breathe class. In the picture, she didn't look hurt, but she'd definitely fought. Her hair, the same color as Bryne's, was a total mess, and her pantsuit was dirty and torn. She looked pissed, and that made the resemblance to her daughter even more pronounced.
“Booker said he hasn't hurt her,” I said quietly.
A tear escaped at last, and I brushed it away, wishing I could erase her pain as easily. I'd known pain, physical and emotional, but nothing like this. Seeing her hurting like this was horrible enough, but the helplessness and guilt that came with it was almost more than I could take.
But I'd take it because she needed me. I'd done this to her, and I had to fix it. No matter what it meant for me.
“I won’t let anything happen to your mom. I'm going to get her back, safe and sound, and no one's ever going to come after either one of you again.”
The protectiveness I'd felt for her before was nothing compared to this. I'd do anything for Bryne. Die for her. Kill for her. I didn't care what happened to me, as long as she was safe.
Booker had no idea what he'd gotten himself into when he took Allison, but he'd figure it out soon enough. Whatever it took, I'd make things right.
Chapter Two
Bryne
Booker had my mom.
The drug dealing bastard who was probably responsible for Dax getting shot had my mother.
I was still trying to wrap my head around it, but I was pretty sure I didn't actually want to wrap my head around it. Accepting it meant that it was real, that this whole thing wasn't just some nightmare I couldn't get away from. And I didn't want it to be real.
It couldn't be real.
Except I'd known it was real from the moment Dax said it. I would've believed him even if I hadn't been staring at a picture of my mom tied to a chair. He'd looked too broken, too guilty, to have been telling anything but the truth. I knew he was beating himself up over all this, and I probably would've been justified in being angry with him, but I couldn't do it. If he'd actually stolen the drugs, then I would've been furious, but he was innocent. This was all on this Booker character.
“I'm going to the police,” Dax said again. His hand was moving up and down my arm, the friction creating a warmth that went more than skin deep. “I'll do whatever they want me to do, talk about whatever they want me to talk about, as long as they get her home to you.”
“You can't.”
“I am.”
I wanted to argue more, but I just didn't have it in me. Looking at the picture of my mom...I'd never seen her look like that before. Yes, she was pissed, but there was something else under it. Something I'd never seen before.
Fear.
I was ten when my father died, so I'd seen her devastated before. Grief-stricken. Heart-broken.
But not scared.
Never scared.
But the woman on Dax's screen had fear in her eyes, etched on her face. Booker might not have hurt her physically, but he'd made her afraid, and it was that thought that cut through everything else.
And now I was pissed.
“You are not walking into a police station and telling them that your former boss is holding my mom hostage for drugs he thinks you stole.” I straightened, then pushed myself off his lap. I loved the feel of his arms around me, how safe I felt, but I didn't want to feel safe right now. I needed to be strong, and for that, I needed to be standing on my own.
“Where are you going?” Dax stood too, and I suddenly remembered that he wasn't wearing pants...or anything else for that matter.
“Not me,” I said. “Us. The two of us.”
A plan was starting to come together, a course of action at least. We needed to figure some things out before we acted. Nothing good would come from being rash. No matter how terrified I was for my mother, impulsive behavior would only make matters worse.
“Get dressed.” I grabbed my clothes from the floor and pulled them on, trying not to think how much I would've liked to get a shower before I did this. “Come on. We're not going to get my uncle and aunt up while we're naked.”
“Your unc–Gavin? Why are we waking up Gavin and Carrie?”
I didn't blame him for sounding nervous. Carrie had fired him once, and Gavin had threatened to beat the shit out of him not more than six hours ago. Dax may have been a tough guy, but I was pretty sure my uncle could still kick his ass.
“They can help.”
He gave me a skeptical look but picked up his pants.
“Gavin's dealt with people like Booker before,” I explained. “The dangerous kind of people. And Carrie's a lawyer. They can give us some idea of what we should do.�
�
The silence that took up the next couple seconds made me look over at him. Despite everything that was going on, a bolt of lust went through me. His jeans hung low on his hips, showing off those impossibly sexy v-grooves as well as all of his tattoos. His dark hair was a mess, his cobalt eyes filled with myriad emotions.
One of those was anxiety. Another...fear.
I didn't like seeing people I loved afraid.
“Dax?” I took a step toward him.
He shook himself and grabbed his shirt. “Let's go.”
I grabbed his hand. “Talk to me before we go. I need to know we're on the same page.”
“I'll do whatever you want,” he said. He raised our hands and kissed the back of mine.
I frowned, reaching up to push back his hair. “What's wrong?”
“It's not impor–”
“It is to me!” The words came out more harshly than I'd intended, but I didn't apologize. He needed to tell me what was going on so we could move on to what we had to do.
“It's my fault!” The words tore out of him, but all of the anger was focused at himself. “You're so amazing for not blaming me, but I know the truth, and once we tell Gavin and Carrie, they'll know it too.” He ran his hand down his face. “If they didn't know how much I don't deserve you, they'll know it now.”
I stared at him, unable to reconcile the vulnerability I saw in him now with the cocky, confident man I'd first seen in DeMarco's & Sons a little over a month ago. This man – the one who took control even in situations where I sometimes wished he wouldn't – looked at a loss.
“Hey.” I yanked on his hand until he looked at me. “I love you. All of you. And I know my family will respect my choice.”
He pulled me to him, hugging me tight to his chest. Without my shoes on, the height difference between the two of us was more pronounced, and he had to bend his head to kiss the top of mine.
“I'm sorry, love,” he murmured. “All this has happened, and I'm here whining about what your aunt and uncle will think about me.”
“It doesn't matter what they think,” I said. “Especially not now. Let's deal with that after my mom's home safe.”
I looked up, pushing myself onto my tiptoes to brush my lips across his. Some women – some people – might've felt like Dax was making it about him, and might've been angry about it. Oddly enough, though, I wasn't. Somehow, knowing that he needed my reassurance, that my comforting him was something I could do when I was helpless otherwise, eased something inside me.
He brought his hands up to cup my face, his mouth surprisingly gentle on mine as he kissed me. We'd told each other how we felt, had made love, but there hadn't been much in the way of gentleness between us.
“Let's go talk to Gavin and Carrie,” he whispered the words against my lips. “And if they say that we should go to the cops, I'll do it.”
His gaze was intense enough to make me catch my breath.
“Whatever it takes, Bryne.”
I nodded, then took his hand as we headed to Gavin and Carrie's room. Less than ten minutes later, we were in the kitchen, and Gavin was making coffee. Carrie had already poured us all something stronger.
“Start from the beginning,” Carrie said. Her voice was calm and clear despite the fact that it was still a couple hours before dawn.
Dax looked at me, and I squeezed his hand. He told them what he'd told me, leaving out the parts about our relationship but enough for them to know that Booker knew how important I was to him. I felt the tension radiating off of him as he talked, and focusing on that kept me from freaking out.
Gavin and Carrie stayed quiet, blank masks slipping over their faces the more Dax spoke, but when he got to the part about the call from Booker, Carrie let out a gasp.
“You little bastard.” Gavin took a step toward Dax. “You got my sister kidnapped!”
Shit. I'd been so focused on my mom, and how I thought Gavin and Carrie would react from my point of view, that I hadn't even considered the fact that my mom was Gavin's half-sister, and that he would see it that way.
“He offered to go to the cops,” I cut in before tempers started making matters worse. “And getting pissed won’t help things.”
For a moment, I thought Gavin was about to snap at me, but after a second, his expression softened, and he grabbed me in a warm embrace. In that moment, I remembered what it was like to be held by Papa, and further back, by my father. A sob caught in my throat.
“Bryne.” Dax's voice broke behind me.
“We'll get her back.” Gavin ignored Dax. “I promise.”
I nodded as I tried to control the tears that were running down my cheeks. I knew all three of them would do whatever it took to get my mom back, but I knew that some things were so far out of people's control that promises could only go so far.
“I have a couple ideas,” Carrie murmured. “What's the timetable Booker gave you?”
“He said he'd call me at seven tonight,” Dax answered, the words sounding hollow. “Said I needed time to consider where my priorities were.”
“Give me that time,” Carrie said. “If I can't get us something by then, we'll go to the police.”
Dax stayed quiet, but I assumed he was agreeing because Carrie didn't add anything else. Gavin, however, had more to add.
“When this is over, Dax, you and I are going to have a serious conversation.”
If my world hadn't been in danger of falling apart, I might've thought the father-like threat was kind of sweet. Now, at least, it brought a half-smile to my face and gave me what I needed to stop crying. I could do this. I was strong enough to get through this.
Chapter Three
Bryne
My fingers were shaking so badly that I couldn't fasten the buttons on my shirt quick enough, and I could hear the rest of the cast already on the stage muttering about where I was. We opened this Friday, and I couldn't get my damn costume change done right. Tears blurred my vision, and I cursed again.
Carrie and Gavin had tried to convince me to call off, and Dax had offered to go in and speak with the director. They all reminded me that Todd would have my back, and that no one would blame me for needing time to deal with a family emergency. No one could expect me to concentrate while my mom was being held hostage. Except me. I expected it.
I told them that I needed something to keep my mind off of things while Carrie did whatever magic she planned to do, and that was partially true. Since we decided to wait to go to the police until Carrie did her thing, there wouldn't have been anything for me to do at home except pace and worry. At least here, I'd have something specific to do, to focus on.
What I didn't tell them was that I needed to be here because I didn't want to let down the rest of the cast. I already felt guilty for how often I'd been distracted by the drama between Dax and me, missing an entire rehearsal would've been too much. If I had a minor role, maybe I wouldn't have minded, but I was one of the two leads. Everything was on mine and Todd’s shoulders. It wasn't only my career, but Todd's and August's and Ofelia's and Eolan's. The director and writer and casting director and producer. All of the people who were counting on this job were counting on me to do my part. And do it with the very best of my ability.
And I couldn't even button my fucking shirt!
“Dammit!” The word came out as a half-sob.
Footsteps approached me from behind. “Bryne?”
I rubbed my hands across my face, grateful that we weren't required to be in full make-up yet. “I'm almost ready.”
“Come here.” Todd took my hand and led me into the little room where our costumes were kept between performances. He turned on the light, closed the door behind us and looked down at me. “What's wrong?”
I shook my head. “I'm okay.”
“Bryne, half of your buttons are done up wrong.”
I didn't stop him as he undid the ones I’d screwed up and started doing them up the right way. His fingers brushed against my skin, my bra, but there was no
heat, no electricity. Just safety and comfort. As much as I loved Dax, I loved having Todd in my life too. It was nice to be here with him and not think about sex...or his role in what was happening.
Immediately on the heels of those thoughts came the guilt, the self-accusations of betrayal. Dax had done so much for me. He wanted to change his entire life so he could be with me. He hadn't taken my mother, and he hadn't taken the drugs that Booker wanted. It was all on Booker. I told Dax that I didn't blame him, and I wasn't going to change that.
“After this scene, I'll ask if we can break for lunch.” Todd’s usually cheerful demeanor was somber.
“I'm okay.” I wondered if I said it enough, I'd start to believe it.
“You and I are going to that place around the corner.” He kept talking like I hadn't even opened my mouth. He tucked some hair back into the up-do that was coming undone before meeting my eyes. “Are you good to go now?”
I nodded. My stomach hurt, and I was pretty sure that my eyes were red, but I could get through this scene. I had to.
I kept my eyes on Todd as we walked out of the room. As we stepped onto the stage, I felt everyone watching me.
“Wardrobe malfunction,” Todd said brightly. “But we got it taken care of.”
“You know, Todd, sometimes I wonder if you're really as gay as you claim,” August piped up. “You and Bryne seem to spend an awful lot of time alone together.”
August was a nice enough guy, but I knew there was more to his comments than just teasing Todd. When we first started rehearsing, he asked me out. He'd never been ignorant about me turning him down, but he made it clear more than once that he'd still like to get to know me better.
“Want me to help you with your wardrobe next?” Todd winked at August, and a laugh eased some of the tension on the stage.
