He’d never worked a case when he couldn’t track someone within days.One small sliver of information was all it took to blow a case wide open.Factoring in access to government and private security cameras, facial recognition software, and the ability to network worldwide with the push of a few buttons, the world suddenly became a very small place.It wasn’t impossible to hide, but it took a tremendous amount of money and pre-planning to pull it off.
“Thank you.I promise you won’t regret your decision.We’ll do everything we can to ensure your safety.One of the first things I’d like to do is call Cameron Barnes.He’s a friend and fellow club member.He’s also a retired agent, or as retired as the intelligence community will allow.If your parents were a part of that world, Cam would know the details.”
“If there’s a puzzle involved, we’ll ask Cam to bring along his friend and partner, Carl Phillips.Carl is a cryptologist, and I don’t think a puzzle has been made, he doesn’t love solving.Cam and Carl have a unique poly-relationship with Cam’s wife and submissive, Dr.Cecelia Barnes.”
“The pediatric surgeon?”
Carson shouldn’t have been surprised Fallon had heard of CeCe; the woman was legendary in medical circles.At their nod, she let out a breath and flushed.
“Is this the doctor Ben was referring to, the doctor who is looking for a pharmacist?I didn’t make the connection when it was mentioned earlier.I’d forgotten she had facilities in this area.Holy cats.”
Carson grinned at her fan-girl moment.She was going to be surprised when she met CeCe—there wasn’t a pretentious bone in the gifted doctor’s body.
“So… Carl Phillips is good with puzzles, and he is partnered with a world-renowned surgeon and a not-so-former American version of 007.I feel like Alice… my world has turned upside down.”
Carson leaned his head back and laughed.Fallon continued to surprise him at every turn.
“Wait.”Fallon started pacing again, the shirt she wore doing little to hide her bare ivory flesh.
Damn, the woman was a fucking work of art.She needed to put back on the weight he suspected she’d lost during her cross-country travel.From what he’d seen, she had left with little, and knowing how hard she’d worked to pay for her education, he doubted she spent much on food.
At his core, Carson was a sexual dominant to the depths of his soul, and knowing she’d driven a piece-of-shit car from New York to Texas without spending money on food or a safe place to sleep made him want to pull her pert ass over his knee.Warming those lovely round ass cheeks might help her remember to take better care of herself in the future.Unfortunately, he nor Silas had earned that level of trust yet.
A sub had to be willing to place themselves in their Dom’s hands for discipline or punishments to be effective.Without that relationship, the spanking wouldn’t be anything other than a painful humiliation.The goal was to show her what she could gain in a D/s relationship, not what it would take from her.
“I’d like to talk to Lilly West tomorrow.She and my mom were friends.I’ve only met her a few times, but I sense she wouldn’t be an easy woman to fool.If my parents were leading double lives, I suspect she knew or at least suspected.If she knew, I have to wonder if she is trying to protect me.I don’t know… I need time to think… to sort this out.”
Carson saw Silas’s brow arch, the small shift in his expression the only outward indication Fallon had made a point neither of them had considered.Before he could say anything, she spun around.Facing them, he watched her entire body language shift.
“I think best when I’m busy.I’ll be ready to go downstairs in half an hour.”
“Kent and Kyle asked me to make the call about whether or not you work tonight.”Silas deliberately paused, giving Fallon enough rope to make a mistake, but Carson saw the moment realization blossomed in her eyes.Damn, I love smart women.She didn’t take the bait.Instead, she simply stood in silence and waited.“I told them it would be your decision, Fallon.I know you feel the electric pull arching between the three of us, so it’s important for us to be completely transparent.I know I speak for Carson when I say we have no desire to control you.We only ask that you always consider your safety when making decisions.”
This time, Fallon’s body language shift was as obvious as it was welcome.Her shoulders relaxed, and she turned, so she fully faced them, a soft smile tilting the corners of her lips.
“Thank you.Knowing you aren’t planning to micromanage my life is more important than you know.One of my ex-boyfriend’s worst habits was the belief he was entitled to dictate my every move.In hindsight, I understand it for what it was, but it didn’t start out that way.”Waving her hand in the air as if it would erase the bad memory, she shook her head.“I’m not going to get into that now.Life is too short to focus on things we can’t change.I now recognize the early signs of emotional abuse and know how to avoid it.”
Carson started to respond, but something about her body language made him hold back.Fallon was winding herself up, and he wasn’t sure why.His grandmother always swore women pulled energy from those around her.He’d talked to her about a girlfriend who was acting strange, and she told him to look at his own actions for the answer.It hadn’t taken him long to understand what the older woman had been trying to tell him.Gray eyes, so much like his own, had glittered with satisfaction.His grandmother was cagey.She’d made little effort to hide her dislike of the girl Carson brought home several times during his sophomore year.It was humbling to admit the Scott matriarch had been right.The woman he’d been dating was a gold digger and as phony as a three-dollar bill.A decade later, Carson was mature enough to admit he’d been led around by his dick and was grateful he’d finally seen the light.
“While you’re getting ready for work, we’ll set up a time for you to talk with Lilly.You’ll probably want to sleep in after working late, so we’ll see if she’d be interested in a late lunch.The woman loves to entertain, so we’ll make certain one of us is available to drive you.”Silas grinned when her mouth flattened.Shaking his head, he added, “Your car hasn’t been fixed yet, sweetheart.I won’t bother repeating what the Wests had to say about the state of your transportation.If you have an issue with how they’re dealing with it, talk to them.”
“I will do just that.I can’t afford to put a bunch of money into a car.A fancy car is not something I care much about.I’d rather invest in a business or home.My car needs only get me from point A to point B.”
“Safely.”Carson couldn’t hold back the addition.She didn’t argue with his small caveat, giving a sharp nod without responding before walking from the room.He let out a slow breath and grinned at Silas.“I’d pay big bucks for that ticket.Watching her argue with Kent and Kyle about her car would be damned entertaining.Throwing their bossy asses under the bus was an inspired decision.”
“It’s only fair since they sent it to the crusher.It will be fun to watch them battle with her.They’ve had it too easy with Tobi and Lilly lately.I swear the subs at the club have become borderline predictable and boring.”
Carson threw his head back and laughed.
“You’ve done it now.Didn’t your New Age community teach you about the dangers of speaking intentions out loud?”Looking out the window, Carson grinned.“And a full moon to boot.Damn.Make sure you let the Doms know this is on you, not me.Call Lilly.I’m going to see if Cooper has a way to contact Cam.I hate to pull him into the middle of this, but if anyone can get an emergency message thru, it’s Hicks.”
“He and Catalina are on the other side of the damned planet on a special assignment.No one, not even her brother, knows how to contact them.”If Austin Adler couldn’t get to his sister, there wasn’t anything to do but wait.
Silas was usually a patient man, but in this case, nervous pinpricks of awareness and dread were making him antsy.He’d already asked Micah Drake to find out everything he could about Hagan Brody.The little he knew didn’t add up.In Silas’s experience, when a man’s interest in kink met rejection, it was easier to walk away than pursue a woman who wasn’t interested.He’d have never chased one across the country.
If Brody was willing to pursue Fallon, there had to be another reason, and Silas needed to find out what it wa