Siren Unleashed [Texas Sirens 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (22 page)

She flushed just a bit, and Ben knew this was going to be good. Maybe not true, but damn good. “You know how the spa has certain levels? Like anyone can go to the lobby or the restaurant but you can’t get to level three without the right credentials?”

Level three was the dungeon and the playroom. A guest had to have the right access codes to get in. They had to be vetted carefully before Julian allowed them a membership to his club. “I understand what you’re saying.”

“Well, there are some locals who tried to get in at the resort and couldn’t, so the rumor is they started their own club.”

Now that was very interesting. He’d heard Chris Linwood had vetted some potential members from the community and turned down almost every single one for one reason or another. Most because they offended Julian’s sensibilities. “There’s a private dungeon in Willow Fork?”

Christa nodded. “A couple, really. Jack and Abby and Sam have a whole guesthouse with the craziest stuff in it, but they are very, very private. This isn’t so private from what I hear. They don’t just let anyone in, but there’s a whole bunch of them. I don’t know if it’s the whips and chains stuff, but I think there’s a lot of swinging going on, if you know what I mean.”

Chase huffed, his nose turning up slightly. Ben nodded. They were on the same page. They didn’t swing unless it involved putting a sweet little sub in suspension for some play. They were both far, far too possessive to share their subs, and Chase was deeply picky. “No, we wouldn’t consider those types for club membership. The Club and its subsidiaries tend to encourage relationships between Doms and subs.”

“Well, I don’t think they’re real interested in relationships at this place,” Christa replied. “And it’s maybe not the cleanest place. I heard from Genna Sue who works for Doc Bob that they’ve had three cases of the Hep in the last year.”

Hepatitis. Easily caught from unprotected sex or needles. And Stan, it seemed, had been into both. Ben would really like to get an invite to that little club. “Do you have any idea where this not-so-private club might be found?”

“Out on the interstate, a couple miles past the old Haverford place. But I don’t know exactly what place they’re at. There’s a whole bunch of trailers and buildings out there that no one uses anymore. That’s unincorporated territory, so naturally that’s where the bars are and the triple-X stores, if you know what I mean.”

Oh, yes, Ben knew what she meant. He bet the sheriff never got out that far. It would be a strain on his system to drive out there. Ben cast a look at his brother who seemed to be lost in thought himself.

If Stan was into underground sex clubs and drugs, then Nat might be in deeper than they thought. He couldn’t see Nat being involved in either, but someone wanted to drag her down. The question was, who?

Those drugs had been planted. Even the sad-sack sheriff’s office had done its job and dusted for prints. There had been absolutely nothing on the small bag of pure China White heroin. Nat’s prints had been everywhere else along with the other two techs, but the needle that stuck out of Stan’s back and the drug paraphernalia had been mysteriously wiped clean. It was the only reason Nat wasn’t in jail on drug charges. The sheriff couldn’t prove she was the owner of the drugs.

The bell over the door to the café chimed, and Ben heard a restless murmur go through the crowd.

Christa turned, her face flushing. “Damnation. Sweetheart, maybe you should head out the back.”

Ben turned from his place beside Nat and saw a petite woman dressed in a perfectly pressed business suit. She was polished from head to toe, not a thread of her platinum-blonde hair out of place, but her eyes were red and there was a distinct downturn to her artfully painted mouth.

“Christa Wade? Since when did you start serving whores in this café?”

Fuck a duck
. Stan’s wife. No doubt about it. Nat had gone pale, her fair skin turning a chalky white. It was obvious she was scared, but she didn’t reach for him or Chase. She simply sat there, her eyes staring down at the water in front of her, her hands in her lap.

Christa stood. “Don’t you start with that kind of mouth in my house, Juliet. I understand you’ve had a shock, but I won’t put up with it.”

“This place has always been where the trash of the town comes, anyway.” Juliet stalked across the floor, her heels clacking. It was easy to hear her move because there wasn’t another sound in the entire place. Everyone had stopped, not a single person moving a muscle.

“Sweetness, I think it’s probably time we left,” Chase said, his voice a laconic roll. “I think I’ve lost my appetite anyway.”

Nat nodded and started to scoot out of the booth.

Before anyone could move, Juliet bolted across the diner toward Nat. Before Ben could pull her back, Juliet’s hand flashed out, the smack across Nat’s cheek ringing through the café.

“You fucking whore. You got him into that shit. You think I don’t know what goes on there? You think I don’t know about that disgusting club? You ruined him, you piece of filth.”

Nat shrank back, Ben finally able to get her in his arms, but he didn’t have much of a place to go. He put his arms around her, ready to block whatever the insane chick decided to throw next.

Chase stood, his six-foot-four-inch frame seeming larger as he stood over the petite blonde, and Ben prayed he didn’t actually kill the bitch.

“Chase,” a deep voice called out. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t get yourself thrown in jail.”

The whole café seemed to stop at the sound of Jack Barnes’s voice. He stood in the doorway, all six foot four inches of pure muscle blocking out the sun. A well-worn Stetson sat atop his dark hair, and there was a toddler version of himself clinging to his side. Ben searched his mind. Josh. The kid had a hand on his dad’s jeans, but his eyes stared out of his small face, dark like his father’s.

“Why is that lady hurting my Nat?” Josh asked.

Nat sniffled a little, wiping her eyes as she shoved herself out of the booth. “I’m fine, sweetie. Don’t you worry about me.”

Ben followed Nat out because he didn’t give a flying fuck if that woman had just lost her husband. Juliet didn’t get to lay a hand on his sub. He knew he shouldn’t think of her that way. It was too soon, but he couldn’t help it. She was theirs, and they wouldn’t let anyone lay a hand on her. Nat raced around the petite blonde, and Josh let go of his father and actually put his little body between her and Juliet Kirkman.

Yeah, that was Jack Barnes’s kid.

“You okay, Nat?” Barnes asked, his voice low.

She nodded, her hand reaching for Josh’s. “I’m just fine. It was an accident.”

“It wasn’t an accident,” Chase said. His eyes didn’t leave the blonde, and she’d started to get the idea that this was serious.

Juliet’s shoulders squared. “I’m not going to apologize to that piece of…”

“You finish that sentence in front of my son and we’re going to have a serious problem, Mrs. Kirkman,” Jack Barnes swore. “You watch what comes out of that mouth in front of children.”

Juliet turned, her face beet red. “You’re a good one to talk about children, Jack Barnes. You flaunt your perversions in front of everyone. You think you’re such a big man, but you’re going to hell. You just think you can take the rest of us with you, and I won’t allow it. I’ll take you down if it’s the last thing I do.”

The little bell over the café door jingled as she stomped out.

Josh looked back at his dad. “Daddy, I don’t like that girl. She’s mean. We should take Nat home with us.”

Barnes ruffled his kid’s hair. “I think you might be right, buddy, but we’ll have to take those two with us, too. Christa, could you get my to-go order ready? I think we need to take this conversation out to the ranch.”

Nat picked up Josh, letting him hug her. She looked sweet and frail and deeply maternal, the last bit pulling at Ben’s heart, an odd longing taking over.

Chase stared at the door, his voice going low. “Did you notice her shoes?”

Hell yeah he’d noticed. Juliet Kirkman liked stilettos. And she definitely seemed to have a problem with Nat.

“I’ll have Logan dig up everything he can on her.”

Whatever happened, he wanted to keep an eye on Juliet.

* * * *

Nat sniffled a little as she walked into the ranch house owned by Jack Barnes, his partner, Sam Fleetwood, and their shared wife, Abigail.

It was a place she knew well. She often stayed out here with their two kids, Olivia and Josh, when they travelled or needed a night out. She also made house calls.

Sam Fleetwood’s eyes widened and a big grin crossed his face as he walked in from the kitchen. “Nat! Damn, it’s good to see you. You’re an angel from heaven, darlin’. Did Jack tell you what I did to my shoulder?”

Ranchers, Nat had discovered, were a veritable goldmine for the massage therapist profession. They were always pulling muscles.

“She’s not here to work.” Chase stalked in. He’d been brooding since the moment Juliet had walked into the café.

Nat swallowed down bile. God, how was she going to stay here in this town? Even with all the amenities at the spa, she had to go into town sometime. She couldn’t just stay out there. She wasn’t dumb. She knew how this town worked. Juliet had money and power. If she wanted to, and it seemed like she did, she could make Nat’s life unbearable. Nat had heard the rumors about Abby Barnes’s childhood in this very town. She’d been run out of Willow Fork. She hadn’t been allowed to shop or buy gas because she’d pissed off a powerful family.

“Natalie, sit down.” Chase’s low rumble brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up and he was pointing to a chair, a plush little sofa she’d sat in many times before reading a story to Josh or Olivia. She really did feel a little light-headed. She started to move toward it, but both Ben and Chase took places on the couch. They were really big men, gorgeous bookends with broad shoulders leaving no real room for her. She stopped.

“Sit down, Natalie,” Ben commanded. He patted the seat beside him. “Jack, I think she could use some lunch. We didn’t even get to order.”

Natalie looked around, but then thought better of it. She was a little worried that they would simply pick her up and place her where they wanted her. They seemed to enjoy lifting her up and proving just how freaking strong they were. She wasn’t exactly overweight, but she wasn’t tiny either. But when Ben picked her up and hauled her to his chest, his arms surrounding her, she felt delicate and fragile and more than that, it felt all right to be both because he would take care of her.

It wasn’t a good idea to think like that. Those types of dreams would just get her in trouble. And she didn’t want to get involved with a damn Dom, much less two. She sat between them, attempting to hold herself apart, but their hips touched hers, her legs sliding against theirs, making her wonder what it would be like to be tangled with them.

A big hand reached around, sliding under her hair and cupping the back of her neck. Chase. Heat flashed through her. Another hand, this time Ben’s, found her right knee, settling possessively there.

“Daddy, why are those men touching my Nat like you touch my momma?” Josh asked, his little mouth a firm, stubborn line. Josh had trouble with boundaries. He didn’t have a single issue sharing his toys or his treats. He would give those up in a heartbeat. People were another matter entirely. Josh was deeply possessive and protective of anyone he loved. She’d once watched a three-year-old Josh slug a five-year-old who had thirty pounds and a half a foot on him because the other boy had said something nasty to his sister, Olivia.

Josh had a little crush on Nat. He liked to hold her hand, and once he’d asked if he could marry her when he grew up. Of course, given his family life, she hadn’t been surprised when he’d promised to find them a third, too. Given how her life had been going up until yesterday, she might still be single by the time Josh was old enough to get married and settle on a friend to share a woman with.

She tried to pull away because the last thing she wanted to do was to upset Josh. Two big hands tightened on her.

“Josh, son, I think we should go and have a talk. Why don’t you help me find Benita?” Sam put a hand on Josh’s shoulder and they walked into the kitchen.

Nat turned to her two crazy cavemen while Jack Barnes settled into the seat across from them. “You didn’t have to do that. He’s just a kid.”

Barnes chuckled a little. “I don’t know about that, Nat. Josh is a little precocious to say the least. And he’s sure he’s going to marry you. He’s even talking to little Jared in his preschool class about potentially sharing you one day. Yeah, that was a parent-teacher conference I never expected to have.”

“The kid needs to understand that you’re taken,” Chase said as though he was talking about an actual real adult rival and not a kid who had trouble with tying his shoes. “He needs to learn not to horn in on other men’s women.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Nat shot back. “He’s four.”

Chase shrugged. It seemed to be his go-to move to indicate he didn’t give a shit. Chase shrugged a lot. “He needs a woman closer to his own age. Like a fetus, perhaps.”

Ben smiled, a little uptick of those gorgeous lips. “We’ll give him the number to Dani’s womb.”

“How about you two tell me what kind of trouble Nat’s in? We just got back into town this morning from visiting my daughter. Why the hell was Juliet screaming at Nat?”