Siren Unleashed [Texas Sirens 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (29 page)

Chase lowered his voice. He doubted anyone could hear them over the loud thump of decades-old Southern-fried rock, but they should be careful. “I’m going to kick your ass if you keep referring to us being undercover.”

Ben sat back, the collar on his shirt open and a decadent smile plastered on his face. Georgia wasn’t the only one of his siblings who could act. Ben looked like he didn’t notice the stench of the place. It smelled like pickles and despair. The minute they had driven into the dirt parking lot and looked up at the dilapidated prefab building, Chase had kind of wanted to run home.

“Hiya, you boys aren’t from around here, are you?” A woman dressed in what appeared to be strings fashioned into some sort of bikini plunked herself right down on Chase’s lap. She was far better looking than Misty Dawn, but that was only because Chase thought he saw all her teeth. He could be wrong. She wasn’t a wide smiler.

God, she was sitting on his lap and he hadn’t offered. He was so offended he thought seriously about dumping her on her not very well-covered ass. She snuggled up, placing a set of not well-done breasts in his face. And she needed deodorant.

His little brother kicked him under the table, a reminder that they were supposed to be two high-rolling city slickers out for a good time and not one reasonable guy and one picky prick.

Yeah, he knew what Ben was thinking, but Chase was perfectly fine being the picky prick. It normally kept him out of trouble and out of the clutches of women who wore way too much makeup and needed a shave.

Still, he had a job to do. He tried to find the best place to put his hand where he didn’t touch too much skin. Nope. He settled back and hoped he looked like he enjoyed the view.

“What are you city boys doing out here? Come on now. You can tell Twilene.” Twilene wiggled on his lap. God, why hadn’t she picked Ben? She was looking for a hard-on. She was trying to get him erect and all he wanted to do was toss her off his lap and run home to Natalie. Natalie would protect him from strippers.

Natalie, who was still lying in bed sleeping because she’d taken his flogger with such beauty and grace. Natalie, who would look gorgeous on a St. Andrew’s Cross. Natalie, with her delicious pink hair and that jewel on her pussy he wanted to play with.

Twilene giggled. “Someone’s happy to see me.”

Ben gave him an encouraging smile.

“Yeah, uhm, I love strippers.” It was the best he could do. This was why Ben did the undercover and Chase just set everything up.

Ben’s smile turned to a frown, which quickly turned seductive when he looked up at Twilene, who Chase would bet was divorced. There was a tan line on her hand where a wedding ring used to sit. She’d been divorced no more than a couple of months. Faint lines on her abdomen were stretch marks from a pregnancy. Likely more than one.

Her husband had left her, and this was the only job she could get to feed her kids.

His distaste was being crowded out by a nauseating empathy. God, what the fuck was happening to him?

“We all love a beautiful woman, darlin’.” Ben poured on the Texas charm. They’d been here long enough that Ben had picked up the accent. He used it when it amused him.

Twilene giggled again, but now Chase could hear the affectation. Before he’d really studied her, he would have put it off as trying to manipulate a man into paying her way. Now he heard it for what it was, a way to feed her kids and keep a roof over their head.

“Come and have a drink with us,” Chase said. He was aware that his invitation wasn’t as charming as Ben’s but suddenly it was sincere.

“Really?” Twilene hopped off his lap. She blushed a little. “What can I get you boys?”

“Whiskey on the rocks for me,” Ben said.

“Rum and Coke.” He was still in the mood for something sweet. “And can you get us all some fries or chips or something?” He winked, a forced move, and gave her a hundred dollar bill. “And you can keep that change as long as you come back and share it with us.”

Twilene ran as fast as her stripper shoes, which did indeed look shockingly like Georgia’s Louboutins, would carry her.

“That was good, brother. Except for the wink thing. It looked more like a tic. I thought maybe you were having a stroke. Otherwise, nice job.” Ben smiled up at the girl awkwardly twisting her body on the center pole. She needed work. And potentially yoga classes. “So we’re going to work her gently into finding out where we can find some pharmaceutical relaxation. Just follow my lead.”

It wouldn’t be pharmaceutical. It would likely have come straight out of a trailer park meth lab.

“And don’t blow the cover,” Ben said.

Chase looked down at his phone, trying to ignore the horrors around him. No texts. Kitten was supposed to text him the minute Natalie woke up. The last thing he wanted Natalie to think was that he didn’t care enough to watch over her.

He should have stayed. Ben could surely handle one small-town drug ring that had already killed someone. Ben didn’t need him. Right?

“She’s fine.” Ben put a hand on his shoulder. “She’s safe. We need to keep it that way and this is where we start. You’re the brains, man. You know that.”

“Here you go.” Twilene’s smile was a little more genuine as she set the drinks in front of them. She had a tray in her hands and set the table with the ease of a woman who had done it a million times right down to napkins and properly placed knives and forks. “I brought out some fries and chicken wings and mini corn dogs. I know it’s not fancy, but it’s actually pretty good.”

And Twilene was hungry. He noticed the way her hands shook just slightly. There was nothing about her eyes that told him she was on drugs. Her pupils were the right size for the low light. And she didn’t put liquor in front of her, just a tall glass of iced tea.

“How much of that hundred did you have to turn over to the boss?” Chase asked.

She went still. “What?”

“Don’t mind him,” Ben said, obviously trying to smooth over what he felt was a
faux pas
.

Chase didn’t care. Now that he actually understood what the word “sympathy” meant, he couldn’t help himself. “I want to know how much he took and if you might need some more.”

She looked over her shoulder. “He took it all, but it’s okay. He also told me I could get off my feet for a while and I could eat with you. Usually that’s not really allowed, but not many people flash hundred-dollar bills around here.”

Chase knew where this was going. “You’re supposed to figure out who we are and where we come from and how to get more money out of us, aren’t you?”

“Chase.” Ben hissed the word.

But Chase thought he had a good hold on Twilene. She slumped down into her seat. “Yeah. Sorry. If you want me to, I’ll leave.”

He slid a hand over hers. It felt okay now because there was nothing sexual about it. He’d seen Natalie hold Gretchen’s hand, comforting her when she should have been the one given comfort. Natalie had been through hell, but she still reached out. Natalie would try to help Twilene. “Not at all. Please stay. We’re having a good time. We just like to have all the cards out on the table. I’m Chase. This is my brother, Ben.”

Twilene granted them an enormous smile now, and Chase had been right. All her teeth were there. “I kind of figured you were brothers, what with being twins and all.”

Ben snorted. “I’m much better looking. And we’re going to be here for a few weeks. We’re with Texas Oil and Gas. We’ve had some geologists scouting locations, looking for natural gas pockets like the one on that ranch. What’s the name again?”

Twilene’s eyes widened. “Barnes-Fleetwood? That’s the biggest ranch around. It’s how old Jack Barnes made all that money. I don’t believe the other rumors. I don’t really think he sold his soul to Satan for a hundred million dollars.”

“He’s worth far more than that,” Chase muttered, wondering what century he’d landed in.

“Yes, that’s it. We’re looking for more wells like that one. The geologists are almost certain we’ll find a couple. Maybe even something as big as the Barnett Shale.” Ben sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

“Wow. That could be real good for the economy. How nice and you boys are going to be here for a while?” Twilene dug into the mini corn dogs. She glanced up at the current entertainment and shook her head. “Poor Sally Lyn. She always puts on too much body glitter. I’ve told her it makes the pole slippery.”

Sure enough, Sally Lyn took a header toward the back of the stage. Another girl took her place. Wispers was a well-oiled machine.

“Does the owner know he’s missing an
h
?” Chase couldn’t let it go. It offended his sensibilities.

Twilene waved that off. “Oh, Cooder, doesn’t believe in silent letters. He says they’re just a way to make a man pay more for his signs.”

So Cooder was a philosopher.

“Anyway, we heard this was the place to come to party.” Ben easily smoothed the path back to where they needed it to go.

“Oh, yeah. We’re not actually in the county here so they leave us alone. We’re unincorporated so we pretty much do as we please,” Twilene explained.

“I like the sound of that.” Ben took a sip of his whiskey. “We’re not used to being out in the sticks and away from civilization, if you know what I mean.”

“Where are you boys staying?”

“We have a nice suite out at the spa.” It was time to dangle some more bait. The spa was the most expensive place in the county. It would also be interesting to whoever was running the underground club.

Twilene’s eyes went wide. “Really? I’ve always wanted to go. I’ve heard it’s real pretty. I know some of the employees come out here from time to time.”

That was interesting. And he couldn’t pounce since he was a bored oil and gas executive who probably shouldn’t give a crap about what the employees of his hotel did with their time.

Ben didn’t pounce either, but Chase was sure he hadn’t missed that little fact. “I’m surprised they would come out here. I walked into that dungeon the other night and thought I might never leave. It’s really nice.”

And there it was, a little flaring of the eyes that told Chase Twilene knew something. There was a hint of distaste, but she was smart enough to cover it up. “I’ve read about places like that.”

Chase shrugged. “I’ve done it all. That dungeon is a little rigid for my tastes. Too many damn rules, but how else am I supposed to amuse myself out here?”

Twilene’s eyes drifted back toward the bar where a burly dude was staring at her. She turned back. “I don’t know, though in a place like this you can probably find something fun to do.”

Chase slid his brother a look. They might not be totally in, but someone was interested in some cash.

Twenty minutes later, they headed out of the parking lot with five hundred dollars’ worth of pot and a number to call if they wanted to really party.

They also left with a tail, a nondescript brown sedan that followed them all the way from the club to the closed gates of the spa.

Chase didn’t like that tail at all.

* * * *

Nat woke up cuddled up to one of her men. She groaned. She had to stop thinking that way. And then she realized neither Ben nor Chase had boobs. Yep, those were boobs against her back, soft breasts, and there was nothing soft about the Dawson twins. She felt her lips curl up. “How long was I out, Kitten?”

Kitten hugged her from behind. “Not long. Oh, Nat, you subbed out.”

She had. She’d heard that thud, felt it like hard rain on her back, and gone to that place she was sure she’d lost forever.

“Can we start looking at collars?” Kitten asked, rubbing her nose against Nat’s neck.

It wasn’t surprising. When they’d been in the cage, Nat had often awakened from a troubled sleep to find Kitten pressed against her. In the days after they escaped, Nat had slept with Kitten to get her through the night.

She put a hand on Kitten’s, trying to get her to slow down. “Hon, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Just because a flogger still works on me doesn’t mean I’m going to throw myself into another D/s relationship.”

Kitten sat up. “You haven’t been in a D/s relationship before.”

Nat turned, hugging the sheet although it wouldn’t bother Kitten at all to see her naked. She turned and found Kitten staring at her all big, sad eyes and tense mouth. “Sweetie, I do know what you’re saying, but I had a little experience before.”

“But you never had a Dom. Not a long-term one,” Kitten pointed out.

“Neither had you.” It had been worse for Kitten. Katherine Taylor had no training before Hawk morphed her into Kitten. “And I haven’t had a real Dom, not one who belonged to me.”

“A Dom doesn’t belong to you, Natalie. It’s the other way around.” A new voice grumbled through the room. Gretchen turned the corner and entered the playroom. She looked around, her eyes taking in everything. “Wow. Playroom deluxe. Hope it’s okay. They told me you were up here. Is there something you guys want to tell me?”

Gretchen grinned a little, pointedly staring at their undressed forms.

Nat sighed. Naturally Kitten had tossed off her clothes, too. “I fell asleep. I assume the Dawson brothers had something to do so they probably asked Kitten to watch me.”