Out of the Storm (15 page)

Taking a deep breath, she looked up and saw both men looking at her.  “Do you think you could maybe…give me a ride to a thrift store to get some clothes?  I could call my brother when I am finished and he could come pick me up.  That way you wouldn’t have to drive me to the other side of town.”  She felt Kent stiffen beneath her and when she looked at Kyle all she saw was fury. 
Well, seems that option is off the table.
  “Look, don’t worry about it, okay?  I’ll just call Ricky”

Kent had cut her off by demanding, “Who is Ricky?”  Wow, she could almost feel the possessiveness coming off him in waves.  There was a small piece of her that was pleased by that, even if she shouldn’t be. 

“Ricky is my brother.  I don’t have a car or clothes.  Crap on a cracker, I don’t have anything except those two bags of drenched things from my car.  He is the only family I have, so I have to call him even though he’s going to blame me for being in this pickle.”  Her brother had always been the perfect child.  Perfect grades.  Perfect appearance.  Perfect profession.  Perfect wife.  Blah.  It was enough to make her gag and the thought of being told several times a day for the next few months what a burden she was, well…that wasn’t something she was particularly looking forward to either. 

When she realized she’d drifted off into her own thoughts again she looked up to see Kyle shaking his head.  “If we paddle her every time she does that, she’s going to be black and blue before lunch.” 
Huh? Oh fuck a lame duck.

“Oh God.  I can’t believe I did it again.  Geez, I’m sorry.  But you know, it just sort of feels like I’m falling apart from the inside out.  And to tell you the truth, my brother isn’t all that much fun to live with and even though I love my sister-in-law, there is only so much she can do to run interference, you know?”  Sitting up straighter on Kent’s lap as if it would give her a new view of things, Tobi pushed her shoulders back and forced herself to smile.  “But…I’ll be fine and adversity builds character, right?” 

When neither of them said anything for long moments she started to squirm with unease.  “Sit still, sweetness, or you’re going to derail the conversation we need to have.”  His words might have sounded rough, but the gleam in his eyes made her suddenly very aware of the fact his cock was rapidly stiffening against her thigh.  She managed to hold back her giggle, afraid it might end up sounding hysterical, because right now her world was so out of control she was afraid she was about to be flung into space. 

“I’m sorry you’ve gotten caught up in this, I’d tell you that I’m not usually this much of a train wreck…but, well, I don’t want spanked for lying.  Remember those old-time carrousels with the horses and zebras and such that were going around and up-and-down at the same time?”  When they both nodded she blundered on, “Well I feel like I’m standing in the middle of one of those…where things don’t move, but the lights are bright, the music is exceptionally loud, and everything around me is spinning.  I can’t focus on anything in particular because things are moving too fast for me to zero in on any one problem.”

****

Kyle had been frustrated with Tobi’s continued attempts to handle things on her own and her willingness to call her brother, who she clearly didn’t want to stay with until her description of how overwhelmed she was feeling.  Those few words had changed everything, because now he understood that she was simply grasping at straws rather than trying to escape their care.  With things falling down around her so quickly, it was no wonder she was struggling.  He’d been leaning against the edge of the window while he’d been listening to her, but he pushed away from it, walked closer, and leaned his ass against the edge of Kent’s desk.  He was close enough he could once again see the dark circles under her eyes. 
Christ, they look like fucking bruises they are so dark.
“Kitten, thank you for explaining it so perfectly.  I had never considered the implications of everything you’ve been dealing with and that is really a Cardinal Sin for a Dom and absolutely inexcusable for two of them together.”

When she started to speak, he shook his head and placed a finger over her lips.  “Hear me out.  Let’s try to get a little bit more rest because you are exhausted.  Then we’ll meet with Micah and see what he’s got for you and what his investigation is turning up.  In the meantime, I’m sure you realize it isn’t safe for you to go to work because not only would you be at risk, but you would be endangering your coworkers as well.”

Her eyes filled with defeat and tears flooded their pretty green depths.  “I know you’re right.  But I looked for so long before I found this job.  And this is a guarantee that I’ll be done there.  My brother is gonna rip me a new one and I don’t even know how things went from sugar to shit so fast….and I really
hate
to cry.” 

“Well, sweetness, let’s get some rest and then we’ll tackle each of these problems one at a time.  I think you’re going to find out that things will work out a lot better than you are expecting.”  When Kent set her on her feet, Kyle stepped forward, pulled her against his chest, and held her tight for several seconds before leading her down the hall. 

When she started to climb up on the bed, Kyle put his hand on her shoulder.  “Strip, kitten.  No clothes in bed for you…ever.  We will always want you naked in our bed.”  What he didn’t add was that if they collared her, she would be naked or nearly so much of the time.  And she wouldn’t wear anything inside their home unless they specifically allowed it.  Kyle watched as she hesitated for just a few seconds and then shrugged out of the shirt and climbed into bed.  He wasn’t sure if she had really
complied
or if is she was simply too drained to argue the point, but he knew that time would tell. 

Chapter Twelve

Chris Feldman stood across the street and watched as a man with sandy blonde hair carried out boxes from Tobi Strobel’s charred apartment.  The man had spoken with everyone on the scene except him and the irony of that wasn’t wasted on Chris.  He could hardly believe the bitch had led him on for months and then when he finally got her to go out with him, she acted like she was too fucking good to pay her way.  He’d spent a small fortune scoring the tickets to the Snowball gala and hiring a limo, and she still hadn’t put out.  Most of the women he knew would have been more than happy to “give back a little” for such a sweet ride. 

Then she managed to get into the hottest BDSM club in the state just because she had a hissy in front of the owners’ mother—hell, the absurdity of
that
still chapped his ass.  He didn’t know who the asshole was that was currently cleaning out her place, but he was betting he worked for the two rich boys that ran the club. 
If she thinks she can fuck those two and then come running back to me when they’re done with her without paying the piper, she’s in for a big surprise. 

He continued to watch until the guy and the two that had shown up with the boxes had finally seemed satisfied that they had gotten everything and taken off.  Following at a safe distance, he watched as they headed west and he was sure they were headed to The Prairie Winds Club until they took an exit and headed south. 
Fuck!
  He had not been able to make the lanes changes in time to exit and there wasn’t another one for three miles.  They’d be long gone by the time he got back and now he didn’t know for sure where the bitch was. 

****

Micah had known he was being watched almost from the minute he’d arrived on the scene and  part of the reason he’d called Ash and Dex to bring boxes.  Dex had snuck out the back door of the piece of shit building Tobi had lived in and scanned the perimeter with a pair of night-vision goggles.  The asshole had been so easy to find it had almost been funny.  But for him to think they wouldn’t notice him following them—well, that was just insulting.  They’d lost him easily and then doubled back via back roads to the club. 

Ash had helped him box up what was left of Tobi’s belongings and there hadn’t been much that was worth saving.  She had a cedar chest that looked like it contained a few antique quilts and such, and Micah had been pleased to see that those seemed unharmed.  The wooden box itself was damaged, but he hoped the club’s resident handyman, Don Reynolds, could restore it to a semblance of its former beauty.  Micah had learned a long time ago that almost every personal possession could be replaced, but losing something that had sentimental value rather than monetary value was usually the most devastating.  And in his opinion, the young woman that had stolen his bosses’ hearts had already seen more than her share of heartache. 

Micah had done a quick check into Tobi’s background when he’d known she would be interviewing the West brothers.  What he’d found had been pathetic, but probably all too common.  It certainly was time for this young woman to catch a break.  She had only been seven when her mother had died and by all accounts her father had been a mean drunk who was investigated numerous times for child abuse.  Teachers and the parents of her friends had turned him in several times over the years, but Tobi had always denied the charges.  Officials had noted after each of those interviews that she seemed more afraid of losing her only living parent than she did of his continued abuse. 

Tobi’s brother was a decade older and had done little to protect his younger sister because he’d left for college a few months after their mother passed and had rarely returned home after that.  The brother had become a successful attorney and had evidently called in a lot of favors to keep his father’s death in a barroom brawl last year out of the news. Even though Richard Strobel had married well, he still struggled to be accepted into the social circles that he aspired to.  Rumors abounded that he was currently considering running for state office. 

Tobi, on the other hand, seemed to be well liked by everyone who knew her.  Her neighbors had described her as outgoing and genuine.  They had been quick to point out that Tobi was the first one to volunteer to help if someone needed a helping hand and that she had often brought groceries to those less fortunate despite the fact she was obviously living well below the poverty line herself. 

Breaking in to her employee record at the magazine where she worked hadn’t been difficult despite what he was sure the small publishing group believed were adequate safeguards.  Her attendance record was nearly perfect and each of her performance reviews had been glowing, but she was still slated to be laid off at the end of the month even though it didn’t appear they’d bothered to tell her yet.  And now the little subbie had lost most of her possessions at the hands of some jerk. His interview with Tobi’s neighbor, Gracie, had given him a name and not surprisingly, it had matched the black SUV sitting just down the street.  Dex had found the guy almost immediately and when they’d run his license number and it came back registered to Chris Feldman, Micah hadn’t been surprised.  His guess was that Feldman was probably trying to get her “down” enough that he could ride in on his white horse and be her knight in shining armor. 
Good luck with that, fucker.  Even if things don’t work out with my bosses, I’ll help her stay away from you.

Micah had asked Ash and Dex to do a perimeter sweep before heading back to their cabin.  It had only taken Micah a few minutes to set up some of the tables they kept in the shop for picnics and then spread Tobi’s meager possessions out so they could air out.  Flipping on the massive overhead exhaust fans, Micah hoped he had managed to salvage enough that she wouldn’t feel as though everything she owned had been incinerated.  Glancing at his watch, he winced knowing it was going to be a short night.  He fired off a text to Don Reynolds about the cedar chest before shutting down the lights and locking up.  Micah made his way down the short path to the cabin he used on the weekends and hoped he’d get at least a couple hours of sleep before he met with Kent and Kyle.  He didn’t like driving into Austin after the club closed because at that time of day it seemed like the streets were filled with crazies.  Everyone knew that the percentage of drunks behind the wheel was exponentially higher during the wee hours before dawn and Micah had lost too many friends to that particular brand of stupidity to take any chances. 

So much of what he did was internet based or already involved travel that Micah was considering closing his small office in Austin and trying to find a place closer to Prairie Winds.  The ranch the elder Wests had just purchased had a large building toward the front of the property, which would be perfect, and he planned to talk to Dean and Dell about that possibility soon.  With Jax heading their way next week, it was time to start putting some things together.  Stepping into the small cabin, Micah looked at the tiny kitchen and shook his head.  Jax McDonald was barely going to fit in the small space and he was going to curse like the sailor he was when he got a look at the kitchen here and at the one in Micah’s apartment in town. 

Their SEAL team had teased Jax mercilessly about the fact his last name was indelibly linked to fast food, yet he hated it with a unique passion Micah figured was reserved for truly dedicated athletes.  While Jax wasn’t the gourmet cook that Ash and Dex were, he was still extremely talented and Micah had always been amazed he could make healthy food seem so appealing.  Micah was a stereotypical computer nerd, perfectly content to guzzle sludge that had been baking in the coffee maker for the past ten hours and surviving on nothing but greasy burgers with an occasional breakfast eaten out at the local Denny’s thrown in for good measure. 

At six foot eleven, Jax was so tall his appearance alone was enough to intimidate most people.  He was also built like a block of solid brick and mortar.  He’d been a power lifter in high school and college and had been one of the few men who hadn’t struggled at all with the physical demands of BUDS.  Every guy in their class had wanted on Jax’s team because the only thing more impressive than his physical strength was his ability to pull the best from everyone he worked with.  The man always looked like he had a suntan and that along with his deep black hair and crystal blue eyes, the guy was a serious chic-magnet.