I had been fucking bored out of my mind the past couple months. I didn’t know whose idea it was to stick me in a damn suit and parade me around either the Prescotts’ property or their business, but I was on edge and ready to blow.
I normally found peace spending time with my sister, Robin, her newborn twin sons, and her stepdaughter. I’d missed so much time with Robin when I’d been serving as a marine -Special Forces. I had left her with our father, thinking she’d be fine at the time. I’d needed out of that small town we were in. I could not have spent another day watching our dad pine away for our mother who’d walked out on us, so I’d joined the service and had only looked back to visit while on leave.
My sister had ended up in a huge mess with an ex-boyfriend of hers. Thankfully, my connections and the things I’d learned in service had come in handy to help her escape and start over with a new identity. That’s when everything in my life had begun to go wrong. Robin and Dad had moved from Texas to Florida. It had been fine at first, but then I’d received word of him becoming ill and dying before I’d had a chance to take leave to see him—I’ll always live with the regret of not being able to say goodbye. Then I’d been scared out of my wits when I’d heard Robin was almost killed by her douche of an ex. I’d come damn close to losing my sister and being all alone in the world. Sure, Titan Security and Prescott International had pulled me into their world by offering me a job, giving me a place to stay, and making my life fairly easy, but I didn’t deserve any of it.
My soul was tainted with the blood of men I’d killed on the battlefields. I’d failed many…I’d failed myself…and now I was living in hell forced to be in a city bigger than anything I was used to and feeling out of my element.
I volunteered for any assignment that kept me busy and had me following orders. It made me connect with the few good memories I had of my service to my country. The only problem was, as of late, I didn’t want to take orders from anyone. I wanted to be a lone wolf left to my own devices.
Sure, I’d been talking with Prescott’s psychiatrist friend Kent Bradford. In fact, I was just on a mission protecting his brother and daughter down in Tampa, FL, with Derrick Caldwell, the son of Titan Security’s co-owner and founder, Tony Caldwell. I was thankful the coverage I provided was on the outlying parts of town and not in the heart of the city like Prescott’s place had me. I didn’t fit anymore, not at Prescott, not at Titan, and sure as hell not with the military. I didn’t know where I belonged or what I should do.
See? I can’t even manage to keep my thoughts in line as I’m sitting here pondering my next move in life. Dr. Bradford was instrumental in getting to the root of my problem: my feelings of failure and guilt. However, we had a hell of a time trying to find something to help get me out of my head enough to regain some feelings of control in my life.
BDSM seemed like an option. Hell, I’d been in more than my fair share of clubs while overseas; though, I’ll admit that they weren’t nearly as controlled and classy as the joint Bradford, Prescott, and my brother-in-law’s family had. The women in Bradford’s club, The Shanty, dressed fine and submitted freely, and everyone seemed to be able to find their kink…except me.
My dominant side was a given, but the means in which to channel it was now an issue. After everything I’d seen overseas on the fields of battle, the idea of marking one’s skin with a whip, belt, or any implement known to shred even the top surface of skin was abhorrent to me. I’d already caused enough pain to others; I didn’t want to cause more. Nothing appealed to me anymore. I knew I was suffering from PTSD and had to somehow find my way back to some form of normalcy.
I had plenty of submissives willing to do a scene with me, but I was the one who usually called it off, calling out my safeword. I just couldn’t get into it. No one seemed to stimulate my soul. Nothing excited me anymore. I was just a shell of who I used to be.
It wasn’t until I saw a sampling of Shibari rope work done in the club that I knew I’d found a new avenue of release. I was entranced with how the ropes curved and molded to the woman’s body, how I could twist and turn her to whatever form I wanted, and how it brought out her hidden sensuality—yielding all control, along with her pleasure, over to me. So I signed up to take lessons.
That was a few months ago, and I’d devoted all of my free time to learning the different knots and studying picture books with various poses displayed. I hadn’t found a permanent person to play with, because while the rope play turned me on, the women I encountered were lackluster. I didn’t even get a semi-erection from their closeness. They were beautiful, but fake. I wanted a real woman, someone who’d lived on the edge of life and, therefore, appreciated it for what it’s worth. I needed someone who sparked my interest and enticed my body, mind, and soul. But where would I find someone like this?
I was contemplating taking off for a few weeks. I’d inform my sister that I’d return once I was more at peace with myself, and then just disappear into the dark of night. My mind was pretty much made up, when I got a call from Derrick.
“I’ve got a job for you—”
Before he could go any further I cut him off, “I can’t deal with another stuffed-shirt detail. I’m ready to drop off radar for a while and just be left alone. Can you find someone else?” I didn’t want to leave him in a lurch. Hell, I wasn’t that mean. People’s lives were at stake when they enabled the help of Titan Security.
“No one else is available. Shit, even my dad called and begged me to provide input on this, since it’s one of his long-time friends and fellow operative he used to work with before starting Titan. Anyhow, this person’s daughter is the one who needs immediate assistance.”
I let out a frustrated breath and ran my hand over the beard I was just starting to grow out; I was so fed up trying to still fit the idea of a marine that I was letting my hair and the scruff on my face do whatever it wanted. “Let me guess: I need to be a fucking babysitter and keep an eye on her while she roams through the city?”
“Negative, and I don’t like that tone you’re using, Jonas.” Calling me on my bullshit and making me listen to what he had to say, his voice cut through my tough exterior.
“Give me the details. Let’s not beat around the bush.”
Derrick laughed on his end. I missed hanging out with him and Jesse. “Now you’re sounding like my friend again, Jonas.”
He paused a moment, “You know who Ivan and Sophia are, right?”
I chuckled, “You’ve got to be kidding me, right? Everyone knows who they are. They’re legends in the security world. Why?”
“And you’re aware of their time working with my dad when they were deep undercover, and then forced to go into hiding, thanks to an operation gone wrong?” Derrick’s voice was all serious.
“Yes. They’re admired and revered for their talents and their patience. I don’t know many people besides them and Dr. Bradford’s brother, Mr.Tennison—or maybe he’s going by Bradford now that he’s out of hiding—who’d tolerate being hidden for that length of time. What gives?” Now he had me nervous. Were they in trouble?
“Their daughter Erica Jamieson just graduated from college and was on a road trip up the coast to New York to celebrate in the Big Apple with her friends, a last hurrah before starting their respective jobs…” Derrick trailed off, which wasn’t normal for him. This must be some serious shit they got into.
“What’s wrong?”
He let out a frustrated breath on the other end of the line, “They recorded a video of where they were in Manhattan and sent a copy to Erica’s parents so they’d know the girls had arrived safely. However, they unintentionally filmed two people being killed as they exited a bank. The robber stole the victims’ briefcase full of money and a high-end piece of technology that has the potential, if it falls into the wrong hands, to bring down the wireless industry. Sophia honed in on the images in the background and tried to warn her daughter, but the thugs had already taken action.”
My heart rate was up. I loved Sophia and Ivan as if they were an aunt and uncle to me. Their other daughter, Dawn, had been extremely gracious around me, welcoming me into their family network when Robin married Dawn’s husband’s former brother-in-law. I’d met Erica once, only briefly; she was nice and all, but a bit frumpy and too focused on schoolwork for my taste.
“What kind of action?” I hated this suspense thing Derrick liked to pull. His brother, Rick, was much the same way. Give me the facts and give them to me fast; don’t build it into a suspenseful explosion.
“One of her friends was struck down in the crosswalk and died en route to the hospital. Another took a bad tumble down three flights of stairs and is in critical condition at the hospital, and her third friend present at the scene was found beaten and left for dead next to a dumpster. She’s on life support, and it doesn’t look good. Erica realizes she has incriminating evidence. She’s ready to turn it over to the authorities, but the problem is the criminals in the video—one of the men is related to a well-known crime syndicate in the New York area that was supposed to be inactive. I don’t know if their group is in the process of reemerging or if it was just a fluke, but given the accidents these girls are having, I’d bet the Bratva group is reorganizing, and they seem to have someone in the FBI on their payroll. This all seemed to escalate as soon as the FBI was contacted.”
Holy hell! These people just got out of hiding and now their daughter has to go back in? Shit, this was a cluster fuck of astronomical proportions. “You need me to retrieve her?”
“Not necessarily. We have an operative in the area who’s already taken her to a safe house. We’ve uploaded a copy of the video to a secure private server. My dad and Ivan are trying to find who the leak is in the FBI and trying to figure out whether this threat extends beyond the one guy or if he’s acting alone.”
I was nodding, to whom I don’t know. “Sure, I can keep her hidden for a while. It’s better than wearing a fucking suit all the time.”
He laughed, “Then you’ll love your assignment. I’m going to fly Tennison’s, I mean Mr. Bradford’s plane up to collect her. It will be obvious, and I want it that way for a bit. I’ll bring us in near Tampa, but we’ll have another plane, with no flight plan, ready for you to head south toward Miami. You’ll be given further directives with a longitude and latitude for your final destination. I can’t say exactly where you’ll be, not yet, in the event we have ears and in case the plans I have in mind fall through. All I’ll say is you’ll be in a remote, isolated location with limited communication with us, and you’ll be set up with security in and around your perimeter to watch for any incoming threats. Your mission is to keep her alive, keep that cell phone away from everyone, and to relax and refocus yourself. This is a twofer mission—client protection first, self-reflection second. That’s not a request, but an order.”
“Yes, sir.” I knew I’d said that with too much enthusiasm, but I didn’t care. “What time do you need me in Tampa?”
Derrick’s laughter was infectious, causing me to laugh too. “I know you’re having a hard time transitioning into civilian life. It’ll get easier. It took us all different lengths of time to feel comfortable in our own skin again. Hell, I hadn’t felt really comfortable until Jesse walked into my life. This is the perfect opportunity to help us out and get the tranquility you need away from city life.”
“Thank you, man.” I was elated, grabbing my things as we finished up our talk.
“Be at the longitude and latitude I’m sending you at 0200 hours. It’ll keep you on the outskirts of Tampa. We want to break her out of her holding place in the dead of night and get her rerouted. If we can’t get to the final destination before daybreak, we have a secure house waiting with information along the way. You’ll have Titan Security contacts identifying themselves with identification and the other way we’ve developed. Trust no one and make sure to watch your back. See you soon, my fellow brother-in-arms.”
The line went dead. I hated that Sophia and Ivan were hurting trying to protect their youngest daughter. The irony of it all was mind-blowing, but I’d do my job, especially if it meant getting out of here. I needed the peace and quiet an isolated location would provide, time to reflect on my soul, to attempt to become one with nature, and to seek redemption for my sins by releasing them out into the world. I just prayed Erica wouldn’t get in my way and be the wimpy person I remembered. In order to keep her safe, she needed to willingly follow my orders.