Aryn's Desire: A BOLD Security Novel (Finding Submission Book 1) Page 6

  From that day forward, once Jason was out of the hospital at least, he never touched Alyce again. What pushed my mom over the edge was the fact that Jason denied what he was doing when I beat him up. He told her that I was pissed off and that I’d said something to him that pissed him off and it went from there. Though how it all happened in Alyce’s room never seemed to be a factor for my mother. Regardless of that, my mother decided that it was more important to believe her douchebag of a husband than her own children.

  After she threw me out of the house, which she’d wanted to do for a really long time, Alyce and I always found ways to stay in touch. She had a best friend that lived a few houses down from us and she would send me letters from her house and I would reply back to her at that address.

  This went on for years until Alyce and I both had email and then our communications became more frequent.

  Jason had stopped molesting her and I wished I’d done something sooner. Maybe then Alyce wouldn’t have the problems she has now. Because Alyce was a minor, my mother never believed she was telling the truth, or if she did, she decided her douchebag of a husband was more important than her children. When the investigation happened, Jason and my mother denied everything. In an overworked, understaffed situation, they closed the case citing Alyce had a wild imagination. My mother choosing Jason over her own children made her kicking me out just a little more tolerable. It’s because of all this that I cannot and will never return home.

  Alyce is ten years younger than I am and she is the only reason I went to college while still living at home. I refused to leave her alone, but yet Jason always managed to get his hands on her. Though it only lasted about a year and half before I beat the living shit out of him, she was only twelve when I was kicked out.

  After I beat the shit out of him, he stopped with Alyce, but I often wonder if there is someone else who’s been on the receiving end of Jason’s wrath. After that day, Jason changed his tune with Alyce, changing her environment and altering her perception of him.

  Some would call her a spoiled brat, I call it justice.

  She moved out as soon as she turned eighteen and I don’t know that she’s ever looked back since then. She and I have grown distant these last few years and seeing Alyce is literally the only thing that would drive me back to Billings. I can’t bring myself to do it.

  I shudder, letting the memories of those awful days wash away from me. Bringing myself back to the reality I face daily. The reality of knowing that I left her to fend for herself and the guilt I still feel most days over doing that. In order to stay off the streets, I did what any twenty-two year old would do, I enlisted in the Army.

  ELEVEN

  IT TOOK ME awhile to shake off the memories of my childhood home before I could refocus on getting my shit together and my ass over to Dex and Raine’s.

  I finally rang their bell around nine.

  “About time,” Dex says as he opens the door.

  I shrug it off. “Sorry, got tied up.”

  Dex snickers, “And they let you go?”

  I roll my eyes. “Not like that, fucker.” Dex quirks an eyebrow at me as he hears the unfinished, ‘I wish’ that I don’t say.

  “You hungry?” he asks as I pull my shit into the apartment. He grabs the last of the stuff behind me and pulls it in. I packed my duffle bag for tonight and clothes for tomorrow.

  “I could eat,” I tell him and he nods toward the door.

  “Come on, we haven’t eaten yet either,” he says in a way that sounds slightly irritated.

  When we step into the kitchen, I see Raine’s head over the counter. “Hi Raine,” I call, thinking she’s cleaning something up off the floor.

  She doesn’t respond and I look at Dex as I step closer to the island and I see her kneeling on the floor. Her eyes are red and there are streaks of tears down her cheeks. “What the hell?” I ask.

  Dex gives me a sad smile and looks toward Raine. “Pet?”

  “Yes, Master,” she responds quickly, her voice full of remorse and sadness.

  “Care to tell Beck why you’re crying?”

  “No, Master.”

  I look at Dex, confused, and he jerks his head, indicating for me to come around the island and as I do, my foot crunches on something and Raine jumps slightly. I look down and little white grains are scattered on the floor. The pile grows larger as I draw closer to Raine’s kneeling position on the floor.

  I raise an eyebrow at Dex. “She was being sassy. She pushed me too far,” he tells me.

  “So…she’s being punished?” I ask him while looking at her.

  “Yes, sir,” Raine answers.

  Dex folds his arms over his chest. “Was he speaking to you, pet?”

  “No, Master.” The emotion in her voice is stronger now, but she lowers her head. “I’m sorry, Master,” she apologizes.

  I check out of their conversation, whatever is happening between them is personal and private, and I go back to trying to figure out what she’s kneeling on. My eyes wander around the kitchen and while I see various boxes of things, I can’t pin point it.

  “It’s uncooked rice,” Dex tells me.

  I cock my head.

  “When it’s dry, and you kneel on it, it hurts like a bitch.”

  “But I thought she liked pain.”

  “Pet?”

  “I do, sir, but I enjoy pain that brings me pleasure. This brings me no pleasure, sir.”

  “Ahh,” I say, understanding that this is a punishment for what she’s done, whatever the case may be, that made Dex mad.

  “Can you give me a minute?” Dex asks softly and I nod.

  “I’ll go put my stuff away.”

  Dex nods and I leave the kitchen, leaving him to handle Raine in a way that he sees fit. All I hear as I’m leaving is the sound of Dex’s shoes on the rice as it crunches under his feet and I shudder. I cannot imagine that would feel very good at all.

  When I’m done putting my duffle bag, my laptop and finally my gun bag into the bedroom, I return hesitantly to the kitchen and when I come to stand in the doorway, Dex has his arms wrapped around Raine and she is snuggling into him. If he was mad and punished her, this is a side I do not understand.

  After a couple of heartbeats, Dex tilts her chin up and claims her mouth in a chaste, yet ridiculously passionate kiss that I almost turn away from before he releases her. “Thank you, Master,” she says and her voice is lighter, the opposite of what it was a few minutes ago while kneeling on the rice.

  “Thank you, pet,” he tells her with a smile. “Now, can you finish dinner?”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “Say hi to Beck.” She turns toward me, a smile spread across her face, almost like she’s been replaced with someone happier and more like the Raine I know in a matter of minutes. Almost as though her punishment didn’t happen.

  “Hi Beck.” She smiles a little wider. “How are you?”

  I give her a skeptical look. “I’m fine, and you?”

  “Perfect.” She smiles again before going back to the stove. The rice is cleaned up off the floor as she walks through that part of the kitchen.

  I shake my head in disbelief. “Punishment and reward,” Dex states matter of factly. “Something was bothering her, which is why she was getting snippy with me. Rather than discuss it with me, she got snippy, which is why she was punished. The idea is to teach her to communicate with me, rather than let things bottle up inside her.” He smiles as he watches her at the stove. “We have this discussion about once a week. Though in most cases it doesn’t result in rice punishment.”

  “I don’t know how you can do that to her.”

  He gives me a knowing smile. “I can’t. But I know, just like she knows, that communication is very important to both of us and our relationship and when she holds things back from me it can cause more tension than necessary.” He leans on the island between us. “In this case, what was bothering her was the packing and making sure we had everything together but r
ather than sharing that concern with me so that I could help her, she got pissy.” Raine slumps in sadness as she works on dinner. “Ordering me around is not something I take very kindly to, is it, pet?”

  “No, Master.”

  “So, she refused to tell me what was bothering her when I gave her the chance to do so, which means that she got punished until she told me. But in this case, she spilled the beans in an attempt to avoid the rice.” He snickers at the memory in his head. “But it didn’t work, did it, pet?”

  “It never does,” she mutters.

  “What was that?” He pushes up off of the counter. It’s almost like watching a spooked cat whose hackles rise on the back of its neck.

  “I’m sorry, Master. No, it didn’t work, Master.”

  Dex lets the subject drop and he goes over to help her finish up and plate dinner. It’s nothing fancy, spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread. Comfort food and a common food before we take off on trips. Why is always beyond me, but I think it has more to do with cleaning up the meat in the fridge and making something simple and easy.

  As we go through dinner, both Dex and Raine seem to have forgotten what it is that happened before I walked in the door and I envy that type of relationship. The ability to let things slide off your chest and move on with someone.

  Fuck envying that kind of relationship, I envy a relationship, period. I do my best to not let that part of me show. I’ve done a great job of holding it in so far, I don’t need to let it out now.

  TWELVE

  “YOU MUST BE Beck?” one of the guys meeting us at the airport says as he approaches me. He’s dressed in a suit, but it is obvious that he’s one of Derek’s security guys.

  “I am, and you are?”

  “I’m Sean. Mr. Hunter’s head of security.”

  “Great to meet you, Sean.” Sean is tall, well built, slightly darker skin complexion with pitch black short hair and muscles that rival Mills’. Judging by his stance, he’s ex-military too.

  “Likewise. Mills speaks very highly of you.”

  I can’t hide the quizzical look I give him as I wonder how he knows Mills. “You know Mills?”

  “I do. We’ve worked together in the past. We were on the same MARSOC team.”

  “So how’d you end up in this gig?”

  He gives me a very poignant look. “Who do you think?”

  I snort. “Yeah, he has a way of doing that.”

  “He does. So, I understand you’re on these two?” He points to Dex and Raine as they’re getting their luggage loaded into one of the three town cars parked near the plane.

  “I am. Dex and Raine.”

  “Great, if you want to ride with me, I’ll go over some of our rules, some of what we do around the house and for Derek and give you a little bit of a rundown of what’s happening over the next couple of weeks.”

  “Sounds great,” I tell him and go back to getting my stuff off the plane. When my gun case comes off, I unlock it and strap up.

  “Impressive,” Sean says as I strap on my ankle holster.

  “Thanks,” I think.

  “These two really that much trouble?” he snickers.

  I snort. “God no, though it’s never them I worry about.”

  “Well said. Can I help with your stuff?”

  “Absolutely. Thanks.”

  Sean and I load up my stuff while the other two men I’d seen when I got off the plane load up bags and then get into the car with Dex and Raine, leaving me and Sean alone and climbing into another car. “What’s the third car for?”

  “Not sure, not ours. We checked it when we got here. It’s locked up. I sent the plate back to my guy at the house. He came back with another owner who operates from this airfield, so we let it go.

  “Gotcha.”

  “Hop in,” he tells me and I climb into the passenger seat.

  He climbs in after me, throwing the running car into drive as we follow Dex’s car out of the airfield, through the security gate and on to the open country road.

  “The two guys in there with them are the best in the business, fully vetted. You can relax a little, big man,” he tells me.

  “Sorry, it’s habit.”

  “Never apologize, not around me. I’d be more concerned if you weren’t worried.”

  “Thanks,” I mutter.

  He starts into some detail about the house. The information he gives me isn’t pertinent to just anyone and I remind myself to give Mills a text, to thank him for helping ease Sean into me. Oftentimes joining forces can be a pissing party between the two teams. Usually resentment from the stationed team having the inconvenience of someone else to look after. I guess Mills made a point to tell him that I could stand on my own two feet.

  “We have a series of parties going on at the house. The first one is tomorrow night, though it’s a party I’ve been asked to let you loose on.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Derek has asked you to be a guest, not a statue,” he snickers. “It’s one of his ultra-private parties, usually meaning security is light and stuck to the outside of the house.”

  “Ahh,” I nod in understanding. I wonder idly if this is a private play party.

  I’d done some more research, though I haven’t had time for much, and it talked about private play parties among good friends. Usually meaning Doms and subs are invited and well, it turns into a play night.

  “Does he host these private parties often?”

  “Not that often, but usually only when we’re here in town. Have you ever been to one of Derek’s parties?”

  “No, sir,” I tell him, and it’s true, I haven’t, but I can speculate, based on what Dex and Raine have said Derek’s relationship is like with Dacotah.

  “They’re small, usually only ten to twelve people, and Ms. Miller and Mr. Hunter handle all the catering during the event. Leaving them and their guests in the house.”

  “Do you know what kind of parties they are?”

  He looks at me as he comes to a stoplight. “I do.”

  “So why aren’t you telling me?”

  “Because I figured you already knew.”

  I shrug. “Yeah, I suppose. Though I haven’t actually been invited by anyone.”

  “I imagine Derek will be doing that. He asked that I not steal you away when we get back to the house. Though as of right now, you’ll be sleeping in our quarters.”

  “I’d figured that part.”

  He nods and the light changes and we make our way through a small town. It reminds me of Montana, small one and two story buildings lining the main street. Trees, though mostly leafless now, line the street on either side and cars are parked along the curbs. It’s early afternoon on a Friday so there are plenty of people roaming around with bags in hand as they make their way from one store to the next.

  “The next party is Christmas Eve. Mr. Hunter throws a huge extravaganza. Inviting friends and some of his employees to the house. There will be several people staying in the house through Christmas day. One of which is your boss’s boss.”

  “Cami?” I raise an eyebrow at him and he looks at me.

  “Yes, she’s one of Derek’s reps, among other things. Her husband and their son will also be here. It’s my understanding that they’re staying through Saturday. Then Sunday morning Mr. Hunter, Ms. Miller, Mr. Harris and Ms. Montgomery, along with you, and myself, will be traveling over to Nashville where we will stay through New Year’s.”

  “Perfect.” I can’t help letting a little excitement into my voice about Nashville. I am just sorry I have to wait that long to get to that point.

  He continues on, talking about security procedures in the house, the fact that Christmas has a very tight guest list and no deviations are allowed. That of course is for security purposes and while there are no announced metal detectors, everyone is screened on the way in. I find it odd that a private party like that would cause that kind of search, but I realize that because of the amount of people it is necessary. Sean inf
orms me that there are five-hundred people plus who are scheduled to be in attendance.

  I can’t help wondering what kind of estate this man has in order to accommodate that many people in his house.

  My question is answered not long after that as we drive down a mile long driveway that leads to a massive mansion set in a wide open field. As we draw closer to it, I am completely blown away by the sheer size of the three story residence in front of me. “Good god,” I groan and Sean laughs.

  “Impressive, isn’t it?”

  “You can say that again. How many guys do you have on staff?”

  “On a normal, vacant day, two. When Mr. Hunter is in residence, we have seven. On party nights, we have up to seventy-five who come in. Many of which belong to Mr. Hunter’s guests. It’s a coordinated effort. Mr. Hunter often has politicians, celebrities, and the like in his home. So I’m sure you can imagine how that all goes.”

  “And you lead all of this?”

  He snorts. “I do. There are three of us that live on site. Myself, obviously, and one man and one woman, whom you’ll meet later. They’re my right and left hands. If you can’t find me, reach me - though unlikely- they’re your go-to.”

  Sean pulls up in front of the house, right behind the other car as three people dressed in livery suits exit the front door and head over to tackle the luggage. Dex and Raine exit their car and head for the front door “I’ll have Sal bring your stuff to your room. Why don’t you follow those two in?” Sean says as he hands me a card. “Program that. We communicate with radios, but until I give you one, you can just call me. When you’re done with Mr. Hunter, feel free to call me, and I’ll come get you.”

  I nod, unable to speak and overwhelmed by the sheer size of the house and the feeling of inadequacy that is coursing through my veins. Here I thought guarding a rock band was hard work.