Siren Unleashed

Chapter Twelve

“She subs so fast.” Ben watched Nat’s eyes glaze. Twelve strokes of that flogger in and her gaze went soft and unfocused, her lips curling slightly. Her eyes drifted closed. She practically sank into the bed.

The thudding noise of the flogger continued. Chase was working his magic, the flogger swiveling, moving across her skin. His brother’s arms moved in a perfect symphony. “She’s a sub. She needs this.”

Chase had relaxed, too. Big brother had been deeply worried. Ben had felt it. So much was riding on whether or not Natalie could handle D/s play. Ben knew Chase thought he would be perfectly fine living a vanilla life, but he was fucking wrong.

Ben needed this, too. He needed the deep connection between a Dom and a sub. He needed that trust. Natalie wasn’t thinking about her past. She wasn’t thinking about horrible things. She wasn’t worried. She was…asleep.

“Bro, she’s out.”

Chase laid one last perfectly thudded slap to her shoulders and pulled what Ben liked to think of as the pussy-assed starter flogger back. He sighed with a deep contentment. “I don’t think she goes to sleep easily. I bet this is the first time she’s simply fallen asleep when she didn’t mean to in a long time. It’s a breakthrough.”

“I’m not so sure. Let’s get her to let us tie her up and we’ll see, but it’s obvious she trusts us.”

Nat’s back rose and fell with her breath. Her arms were wide spread, as though embracing the bed. Her round ass was still a delightful pink.

And he was still scared she wouldn’t be able to pull this off.

“How is this going to work if she can’t stand to be tied down? We can’t take a submissive in who balks when we bring out the rope.” He didn’t want to take her in at all. He wanted to take her straight back to Dallas. He and Chase had a large suite in Julian Lodge’s supersecure building. She wouldn’t ever have to leave. They could take years to work on her issues. She would be safe and they would find a way to keep her happy. They would find a way to be happy.

He was rapidly becoming sure she was the key to their happiness.

Chase walked around the edge of the bed and pulled the covers down. “Lower the lights. She doesn’t get much sleep as it is. I heard her pacing last night. I think the whole ‘not sleeping with her’ thing isn’t working. I get why Janine wants us to take it slow, but she hasn’t slept really well since that first night when we were with her. I don’t want to wake her.”

Ben crossed the room and turned the little round button that lowered the lights. Late-afternoon sun streamed through the windows, caressing Natalie’s skin, lighting up that perfectly colored hair of hers. With more tenderness than Ben had ever seen him use, Chase lifted her up and put her under the covers.

Her eyes opened briefly. “What happened?”

“Nothing at all, sweetness.” He kissed her forehead and her eyes closed again. She snuggled down.

Chase stood up, his face turning toward Ben. That face Ben knew so well was completely open for the first time, his brother’s eyes filled with a heartbreaking need. “I don’t want her hurt.”

Ben motioned his brother over. For the first time in forever, Chase needed him for more than a way to smooth over his rougher parts. He felt the good parts of the connection for the first time in years. He let his voice go soft as Chase got close. “We can protect her.”

Chase didn’t shrug him off when he put a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t we protect her by taking her back to Dallas and locking her up?”

Ben sighed. When it was said out loud, it was damn easy to see why it wouldn’t work. “She’s already been locked up, Chase.”

“Damn it, we’re doing it for the best of reasons. She doesn’t belong out in the field. We can take her out of here and no one will give a damn about who killed fat, obnoxious Stan in a few years.”

Ben laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Have you watched cable TV lately? There are whole channels dedicated to unsolved murders. It would never end. We have to clear her. In order to clear her, we need her to come with us. We need her to back us up. We need her to figure this out so we can all move forward.”

Chase stared back at her. “I don’t know if I can leave her.”

“I hope we won’t have to.” The flogging gave him some hope. And that little diamond on her clit. She’d marked herself. It was a way of taking back her power. She’d started taking steps before she even realized it.

She was more ready than she thought.

But they had to get through the dangerous shit and clear her name before they could even think about starting anything serious with Natalie.

And the first thing to do was figure out how to get into that damn club. The drugs were tied to the club. Every instinct in his body told him it was true. According to all the rumors, the real drugs hadn’t shown up until six months ago. Before it had been all pot and a little low-grade meth. Now there was heroin in the area. And it all happened as this club showed up.

“You have your thinking face on,” Chase said with a frown.

“I have a thinking face?”

“Yes, but don’t get excited. It’s also your ‘I need to take a piss’ face.”

His brother was such an asshole. He wanted to share Nat with him, why? He shoved his middle finger his brother’s way. “I was thinking that we need to find out where the drugs are coming from.”

He didn’t mention that he was also thinking about using the bathroom. He was going to hold it, damn it. Stupid coffee.

Chase grinned just a little, as though he could read his brother’s mind. “Well, we know that one of the Barnes-Fleetwood ranch hands was a customer. Barnes didn’t investigate likely because he didn’t want to fire anyone else. Good hands are hard to find, but they also tend to stick together. If one was involved, someone knew the details, even if they weren’t using themselves.”

“And the drugs could lead us to the club.”

Chase nodded. “We’ve been in almost every bar in a fifty-mile radius. So I’m up for trying anything. It’s a reasonable assumption that someone here knows something. So we should try talking to the ranch hands.”

Yes, those salt-of-the-earth men would immediately open up for his erudite prick of a brother. No. “Uhm, I think we need someone else to get them talking. They won’t talk to us. They wouldn’t talk to Barnes. They’re going to be worried about their jobs. Whether or not they took the drugs, they’re going to cover their own asses.”

A truly dumb plan was forming in the back of his head. Yes, it might be the stupidest idea he’d ever had, and that was what made it just the tiniest bit brilliant.

Chase sighed, conceding the point. “What do you suggest?”

Ben felt a smile cross his face. “Well, first we call Kitten to come in here and stay with Natalie. I know this is a safe location, but I don’t want her left alone even for a minute.”

Chase shrugged. “Natalie will wake up cuddled up to a naked Kitten. She’ll be thrilled.” He frowned. “Could we take pictures?”

“Use your imagination.” Though he understood his brother’s inclinations, he didn’t think Natalie would pose for some lesbian fantasy pictures anytime soon.

“Fine. So we leave Kitten behind as an alarm and then do what? I don’t seriously think either one of us could pass for a new hand. I don’t do cattle.”

Chase wasn’t the outdoorsy type. None of the Dawsons were really, but there was one Dawson who might have a chance to get a lonely cowboy talking.

“No.” Chase went a little pale. “Brother, you’re insane if you think Georgia can pull this off.”

Insanity did run in the family. And it was time to put it to good use.

Twenty minutes later, he sat huddled with Chase and Logan as Georgia twirled her blonde hair and did a giggle thing that kind of made him want to vomit. The bile was there because his baby sister had managed to thrust her boobs out and they jiggled with each laugh.

He turned from the monitor they had set up in the kitchen. Luckily Chase always carried around some surveillance equipment, this one a very small camera they had placed in the living area of the dormitory.

Georgia had been terrifically excited at the idea of going undercover, and so far she’d done her job. She caught a couple of cowboys with her “woe is me, I need a drink of water” routine and she’d perfectly set them up to get caught on tape.

“OMG, this place is so cool,” Georgia said, leaning over and touching one of the cowboys on the arm. “Did y’all decorate it yourself?”

The cowboy, who couldn’t be much past twenty-one, swallowed visibly. “No, ma’am. That was Mrs. Barnes. She did a great job making sure we’re all comfortable. We’re very grateful to have her take such good care of us.”

“Mrs. Barnes is a wonderful lady,” Cowboy Number Two said, his shoulders up near his ears. It was brutally obvious neither of the young men were used to female visitors.

Georgia giggled, and Ben wondered why she’d bothered with that tank top. It barely covered anything at all. He turned and noticed Chase had a look of revulsion on his face, too.

Logan, however, was practically drooling.

Ben quietly slapped Logan upside the head. “Dude, sister.”

Logan shrugged. “It’s not like I want to look, man. My eyes just go there.” He frowned as he looked back down. “And if you want to slap somebody, slap that motherfucker. The cowboy hasn’t stopped staring since they let her in the dorm. I don’t know that they’re supposed to have females in there, anyway.”

“They’re not underage and Barnes isn’t running a prison,” Chase said, his eyes back on the screen. “And I’m way more worried for those two poor boys. Georgia would eat them alive. Why can’t she get to the point? Did she just start talking about her makeup?”

“She’s doing fine. If she just went in and started asking for drugs, they would guess something was up.” Ben was actually a little impressed. Georgia’s dumb blonde routine had nicely baited the hook. “She’s an actress. Give her a little credit.”

Chase rolled his eyes. “Dude, she’s done a couple of plays so far off Broadway it was on the West Coast. One of them she didn’t even have a line in. And a commercial for hemorrhoid cream. I had to explain to her what a hemorrhoid was and then all I got was a hearty ‘ewww.’”

And sometimes her dumb blonde thing was more than an act.

“So, what do you guys do around here for fun?” Georgia asked, her smile wide and seemingly innocent.

Cowboy Number One took a deep breath, as though he needed to fortify himself in order to speak. “Well, miss, we do enjoy the rodeo.”

“OMG! Me, too. It’s my favorite street. I just love Louis Vuitton.” Georgia bounced a little. And so did her breasts.

And still he had to admit there was an open enthusiasm for life his sister had that was infectious. He would give a lot to see Natalie smile the way Georgia did, without a single reservation.

Making Natalie smile was rapidly becoming his reason for living.

Cowboy Number Two scratched his head. “Uhm, I don’t rightly know anyone on the circuit named Louis Vuitton. He sounds a little foreign to me.”

Cowboy One leaned over, his eyes wide. “The diner in town is real nice. They have great pie. I really love pie. Cream pie, especially. You should come with us.” Though the monitor was black and white, there was no mistaking the way the boy blushed. “I mean, we could take you into town. Not make you come.”

“Darryl,” Cowboy Two hissed.

“Idiot. Someone needs to teach that boy some manners,” Logan muttered under his breath. “This isn’t working. I should go and get her out of there now. This could get dangerous.”

Ben stared at Logan. Supposedly he had some law enforcement experience. If the kid couldn’t see that those two cowboys couldn’t even talk around a girl much less assault one, he needed to change professions. “I think she’ll be fine.”

“That might be fun, but where can a girl get a glass of wine around here?” Georgia asked. She was actually damn good. She never paid attention to one more than the other, giving both sweet smiles. She wasn’t overly seductive, just the right amount of sex appeal and innocence.

It was obviously working on Logan.

Cowboy Two gave her a weak smile and pulled a little at his collar. “Well, miss, we’re really more beer drinkers.”

Ben looked at Logan, who had crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Georgia’s marks like they could see him through the screen. “You know, I could arrange a date for the two of you.”

Logan sighed. “That’s not happening. She’s a brat. I don’t need that kind of tension in my life. Though I will admit, she’s awfully hot. If she could keep her mouth closed, maybe. Nah. She does this thing with her eyes that makes me feel like an idiot. Besides, I’m not doing the whole love and marriage thing. Do you know what happens to dudes in Bliss who fall for a chick? Bullets happen. Every man I’ve known who went loopy for a girl in Bliss got his ass handed to him. Rye took a baseball bat to the head. Max, shot. Nate, shot, Caleb’s truck got trashed. Don’t discount that. It was a nice truck. Alexei got shot numerous times, and on more than one occasion after he met Holly, but I think he deserved every fucking bullet. Hell, Alexei fell for Holly and I got tortured. Nope. Ain’t happening to me. My momma sent me a note just yesterday talking about a new trio in town. Seems like the new mechanics hooked up with some girl from New York City. Yeah. Jesse, shot. Gemma nearly drowned. Cade nearly damned drowned. I’m playing it safe. No hearts and flowers for this boy. Bachelor for life.”

Georgia was going on and on about some terrible jogging accident she’d just had. Maybe Chase was right and this was going to be a horrible bust. “The good news is you aren’t in Bliss so it’s safe to give it a try.”

Logan huffed a little. “But I’ll go back.”

It was the first time he’d heard Logan talk about going back to Bliss. Everyone was making progress today. “I thought you couldn’t live in the same town as that Russian dude who got you tortured.”

Georgia had her ankle out, letting the cowboys inspect it. Where the fuck was she going?

The former deputy shrugged. “I’m not going to let him keep me out of my home. He can stay on his side and I’ll stay on mine.”

Ben wasn’t sure how that would work out.

Chase laughed a little. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

Georgia was sighing. “It really hurts. And I haven’t been able to sleep for days. I need to relax a little.”

“Yeah.” Number One couldn’t seem to get his eyes off Georgia’s cleavage.

“Do you know where I could get some valium or something? I would smoke a little weed, but it’s illegal here. Can you believe that?”

Both cowboys stared at her.

“It’s illegal everywhere,” Two sputtered.

Georgia threw back her head, all those blonde tresses shaking. “No it’s not, silly. It’s totally legal where I come from. In California we use it in guacamole.”

Ben let his head hit his hand. Seriously. She’d gone through college. No wonder his father stopped paying for tuition.

“Y’all put marijuana in guacamole?” Logan asked, scratching his head.

They really were a good match. “No, in California medicinal marijuana is legal to treat glaucoma. My sister sometimes gets things wrong.”

Chase snorted. “I wish we were taping this. This is some family Christmas viewing.”

“You’re looking for drugs?” Two asked, his eyes narrowing.

Damn. She’d just stepped on a minefield. Logan stood up. It was his job to get Georgia out when the time was right.

“Give her a minute,” Ben said.

Georgia sighed as though she could feel the judgment. She stood up, managing to hobble just a little. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. Where I’m from I guess it’s not so serious. I just wanted to be able to sleep. I’ll see you guys around.”

“Little sister, I do not give you enough credit,” Chase muttered.

One reached for her hand. “Hey, we weren’t judging you. I’m sorry. We’ve just seen meth hurt some of our friends.”

Georgia’s eyes widened. “Meth? Oh my god. No. I would never touch that stuff. It’s horrible. I seriously wouldn’t touch it. I had a friend who died because of heroin.” She actually got teary. “I’m sorry I asked. It’s just really bugging me, and I don’t have health insurance. I’m just going to go.”

Son of a bitch, but the two cowboys stared at each other like they were making a decision. It was working and maybe Georgie had left acting too soon.

Two cursed under his breath. “Look, we’re not involved in any of that, but the rumor is if you see the owner of the strip club out on the highway, he can hook you up with a lot of things. But it’s dangerous, darlin’. I can’t let you go in there. Let’s just talk to Mrs. Barnes. She’s a nurse and a damn fine one.”

And Georgia seemed to know just when to let the fish off the hook. The smile she gave them damn near lit up the screen. “I hadn’t even thought of that. You two are so smart.”

“Logan, you can go get her now,” Ben said, watching his sister work her magic.

“He was out the door the minute they said strip club. That boy has it bad,” Chase said with a shit-eating grin. His brother had smiled more in the last couple of days than in the year before. “I’m starting to think Georgia can handle him.”

Ben winced as Logan walked on screen.

“Do you two mind telling me why you’re alone with my wife?” Logan stared the very startled cowboys down as he strode into the room.

“Wife?” Georgia’s screech threatened to break the monitoring equipment.

Logan didn’t argue, simply shoved an arm under Georgia’s knee and hauled her to his chest. He turned back to the door. “I catch you boys with my wife again and we’re going to have a problem. You understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Both cowboys took a step back.

“We didn’t know she was married,” Two said.

Logan got her out of the dorm before she could say another word.

Chase was already on his computer. “Found it. Wispers. Without an h. Classy. It’s on the highway about ten miles out of town. And they have a buffet. Strippers and public food. What a combination. I think I’ll wait for dinner.”

Ben looked over his shoulders. Wispers had a website but it was clunky and did nothing more than give a phone number, address, pictures of girls who would never in a million years work a strip club in rural East Texas, and a single shot of the owner, a man named Bill “Cooder” Jones. He was a large, bald man dressed in jeans, a Western shirt, and suspenders. He was shaking hands with another man, both smiling at the camera like the good old boys they were. Or used to be. “That’s Stan.”

Stanley Kirkman, pervert, was standing next to the owner of the strip club. Connections. They were on the right path.

“I thought you would say I was your sister,” Georgia complained as Logan walked into the kitchen. He was still carrying her. Ben couldn’t help but notice she wasn’t trying to get out of his arms. Nope. She was snuggled close, though her bratty mouth was running full-steam ahead. “I couldn’t possibly be your wife. I’m too pretty. And smart.”

“Yeah, I really got the smart part. Smart-ass, maybe.” Logan set her on her feet.

Georgia practically vibrated with pleasure. “Benny? Chase? Wasn’t I good? It’s a strip club. I totally got the information. I’m going to be a private investigator. I finally found my life calling!”

Ben shuddered at the thought. Still, she’d done what they needed. “You did a good job, Georgie. Thanks. Chase, can you write down that address? We can get out there, scope out the place, and still be home for dinner.”

“And I can get a job as a stripper,” Georgia said with a brilliant smile as though she was talking about something cool and awesome and not threatening to begin a new life as a pole dancer. “This is perfect. It’s in my blood.”

“You are not stripping.” Logan ground the words out of his mouth. He turned to Ben. “You’re her brother. Tell her.”

“You’re not stripping.” Chase didn’t look up from his notepad. “Go check on Nat. We won’t be gone long. This is going to take a day or two. We can’t just walk in and ask to be invited to the supersecret underground club. We’ll go in, spread some cash around, and then show up again tomorrow night and the night after until someone starts talking.”

Georgia frowned. “But I have the shoes.”

Ben glanced down at her feet. Well, at least he knew where their dad’s cash had gone. Georgia wore crazy high platform shoes with gold spikes coming out the sides. “Those are Louboutins.”

“Hello, all top-selling designer shoes are really based on stripper shoes. Well, unless they’re based on tranny shoes, but seriously, it’s one of the two.” She gripped the bar and shoved her backside out. “Watch me. I’ve taken cardio striptease. I can throw down with the nastiest stripper around.”

“Ready?” Chase stood, shaking his head at the sight of his baby sister grinding on a barstool. “I don’t want to leave Natalie for long.”

“What are you doing?” Logan asked, watching Georgia. “I don’t think that’s right.”

Oh, he was so ready. “Yep. Bye, Logan. Take care of Georgie.”

“You’re an asshole, Ben.” Logan frowned his way.

But he was the asshole with keys to the car and a plan. They finally had a plan. He followed Chase out the door. It might take a day or two, but they would figure this out. They would save Natalie and they would find a way to keep her.