Chapter One
“And plié, then relevé… that’s it, girls! Up on those tippy toes. Good job,” I call out over the music playing from the stereo system in my ballet studio. “Now take your booow. Aaand… lift.” All their little cherub faces come back into view as my tiny ballerinas strike their final pose at the end of the routine they’ve been practicing for months for their recital coming up next week.
I clap for them, startling a bit when applause also sounds from behind me, and I spin toward the door. I grin when I see my sister Twyla and my brother-in-law Seth there, and I glance at my watch, surprised it’s already nearly 7:00 p.m. Time flies when I’m teaching these little ones. They’re so much fun, and I hope to have a whole brood of my own one day.
I glance to where Josy is sleeping in her carrier next to the wall of mirrors a few feet away from me. My husband Neil and I became proud parents almost six months ago, and we couldn’t be happier. If someone told me five years ago that I would be married to the most loving, handsome, intelligent, and incredible man to ever grace this planet, I would’ve laughed in their freaking face. Because five years ago, my sister hadn’t come to steal me away in the middle of the night from my horrible, abusive ex-boyfriend yet, and it would’ve taken a lobotomy and several exorcisms to turn him into any of those positive traits.
At that time, I never would’ve believed I could make it as far as I’ve come. I had been broken down and beaten, literally, isolated from every friend I ever had, and with my parents having moved across the country, that only left Twyla, my brilliant little sister, as my only ally. Although she was busy most of the time being a genius chemical engineer, she still made time to visit me a couple of times a month, and it was during one of those visits the truth came out. A tight hug goodbye made her aware of the slashes across my back that went all the way down to the backs of my knees. Brandon’s handywork with an extension cord.
And that’s when Twyla decided enough was enough. Because after nearly a decade in that relationship, I had given up on life. I was so far gone that I didn’t even daydream of a better existence anymore.
Thanks to countless sessions with my wonderful therapist husband, I rarely even think back to the time before that night Twyla showed up in the dead of night while Brandon wasn’t at home. I threw my meager belongings into her trunk and hopped in the passenger seat, and when we were hours away and forced to stop for gas, we finally pulled out our dad’s old road map, closed our eyes, and picked a spot. We let Fate decide where to take us, and homegirl did not disappoint.
Twyla and I both ended up finding our soul mates where we landed, the two men on this earth who were truly meant to be ours. And they just happened to be best friends. More like brothers really. And they had secrets of their own, secrets they entrusted us with and that we keep to this very day.
On the outside, Dr. Neil Walker and Seth Owens, along with their colleagues Corbin Lowe and Brian Glover, are the owners of a legitimate private security firm named Imperium Security. On the side, behind closed—dungeon—doors, they are also the co-owners of Club Alias, a high-end, members-only BDSM club. But the real secret, the one we will keep past our dying breath, is that they are a mercenary team. They have a code—a life for a life—and never break it. They don’t kill anyone who hasn’t taken an innocent’s life. Their specialty: Vengeance for the families of sexual assault victims who didn’t make it out alive.
Yeah, Fate has quite the sense of humor. Two girls from California who hadn’t done much living, and we were tossed into a world of vigilantes and sex clubs. It’s like we’re living in an episode of SVU or Criminal Minds or something. But hey, at least we got our happily ever after. Sure, it took some fucked-up situations to get here—really, really fucked up—but that’s all in the past.
“Daddy!” my niece, Luna, squeals as she takes off toward Seth in her little ballet shoes. He squats just in time for her flying leap into his arms, and Twyla beams next to them as he leans Luna over to give her mom a kiss hello. As they step farther into the studio, I see the rest of the parents behind them who are ready to pick up their kiddos.
My family hangs out next to Josy in her carrier until everyone else leaves, and when I call out a final goodbye to my last little munchkin, I spin around in my own ballet slippers to face my sister. “You sure you’re up for it? She’s still not sleeping all the way through the night. She demands a bottle at exactly two o’clock on the dot—”