Topping the Alpha: Trident Security Series (14 page)

His shoulders tensed—a reaction he knew the good doctor hadn’t missed. “What’s there to tell? He was an arrogant bigot and a first-class homophobe. End of story.” It seemed he’d been saying that a lot lately…maybe he should just admit that it really wasn’t the end of the story.

“What happened when you came out to him?”

Jake didn’t answer for a few moments. Pushing off the window frame, he wandered around the office, looking everywhere at once, but not seeing anything at all. “I didn’t come out. At least not to my family. Somehow, dear old dad found out his son was a faggot and tried to beat it out of him. Three months later, I graduated high school and enlisted in the Navy the same day. We spoke maybe a dozen words to each other until he croaked a few years ago.”

“What else happened?”

“Nothing.” The word instantaneously burst from his mouth…no thought needed…or wanted.

Trudy sighed, placing her elbows on her desk and giving him a look which said she was calling him out on his bullshit. “I’ve dealt with many difficult patients over the years, but I have to say, you’re in the top three of the most stubborn. I know there’s more to it, Jake. You know it, too. And until you admit it and deal with it, then you’re never going to get past it. Is that what you want? Or do you want what your friends seem to be finding for themselves lately? The one person who makes your life complete.”

Hell, yeah, he wanted what his friends had found…the question was, did he deserve it?

Mentally rolling his eyes, Nick took the last seat at the restaurant table after Kat, Kristen, and their friend, Kayla London, had claimed their own. He’d spent the past two and a half hours with them in a furniture store, picking out everything he needed to fill his apartment. Kristen and Angie had previously purchased the smaller things, such as kitchen, bedroom, and bath accessories, without him—thankfully. They’d kept the color schemes neutral and masculine for him, but insisted he pick out the furniture, wanting him to be comfortable with the choices. Who knew there were so many fucking options when it came to furniture—style, type of wood, and upholstery. Back in California, his bed didn’t have a headboard and the only furniture he had was simple and functional. When the torturous, selection process was over at last and he’d signed the receipt and scheduled the delivery of the pieces for the six room apartment, he’d been grateful for their help.

As a big thank you, he’d invited them all to lunch at a Red Robin in the same parking lot as the store. But he was now regretting the decision as the conversation turned to The Covenant. The Trident women were all submissives at the club, as well as Kayla, who was a member with her wife/Domme, Roxy. At least the foursome had a table in the back with no one nearby who could overhear their sometimes racy discussion.

“Hi, can I get you something to drink?”

Nick turned his gaze to the pretty brunette waitress handing him a menu. It was obvious to everyone he was the only one at the table she was interested in serving…or servicing, if her flirty grin was any indication. Not encouraging her, he eyed the others. “Ladies? Beer, wine, soda?”

The girls exchanged looks, then laughed as Kristen tossed her car keys at him. “Since we just made you designated driver, dear brother-in-law, it’s margaritas all around.”

Oh, boy.
Shaking his head in amusement, he glanced back up at the waitress. “Looks like a pitcher of margaritas for my ladies, and I’ll have a Bud Light, since I have the feeling I’ll need one.” He would switch to soda or water after the one, otherwise, he’d probably have to call Ian or Devon to come get them all.

While the waitress went to get their orders, Nick opened his menu and scanned the choices. Unfortunately, his mind went where it’d been wandering off to ever since he’d left Jake’s condo this morning. After getting dressed and grabbing his duffel, he’d stormed out and hailed a cab back to the compound. Knowing the girls had already put things away in his apartment, he’d gone there to take a shower and change. But Kristen had seen him arrive and cornered him about the shopping, inviting the others along to help. Angie wasn’t able to join them, having flown to New York last night for a long weekend which included a baby shower for someone. Jenn hadn’t been able to come either since she was working. Figuring it would take his mind off Jake, Nick had reluctantly agreed to the shopping trip. The man’s refusal to open up was getting to him and he had no idea what to do about it. If he was smart, he’d say screw it and go visit his folks for a few days. But that was the last thing he wanted to do when things were so messed up at the moment between Jake and him.

“Nick?”

He lifted his head to see the three women were staring at him. Apparently, he’d zoned out for a few minutes. “I’m sorry, what?”

Kristen laughed. “We were wondering if you wanted to meet one of Kayla’s co-workers. Felicia just moved to the area and is really nice. And she’s vanilla, so we thought she would be perfect for you. I mean, since you’re not exactly into the lifestyle.”

A lightning bolt moment struck Nick and he bit his lip before quickly finalizing his decision. “Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you all about something, but it has to stay between us.” He pointed at Kristen. “Especially you. I don’t want my brothers to know about this conversation. At least not yet.”

The women all glanced at each other in confusion, before turning back to him. Sitting to his right, Kristen placed her hand on his arm. “The best I can do, Nick, is to promise not to tell Devon as long as he doesn’t ask me a direct question about whatever it is. I won’t lie to him. I get enough spankings from him and don’t need to earn any more than necessary.”

His eyes moved to Kat who took a sip of the margarita the waitress had just handed her. “Benny gave me a get-out-of-a-spanking card because he had to break our plans for a night out last week for an assignment, so I’m in.”

Kayla toasted him with her own sweet drink. “I get off on being punished, so your secret is safe with me, too.” Behind her, the waitress’s eyes had grown wide and wary, however, she didn’t say a word about their comments. “But I think this means we better order our food, because I don’t think one pitcher of these babies is going to be enough.”

Shaking his head at them again, he grinned. It was nice to have them to talk to, since anyone else would probably look at him as if he were nuts. After the waitress wrote down their lunch order and practically ran away, he guzzled half his beer for courage, then leaned forward on his elbows. “Shit…um, sorry, didn’t mean to curse. I just realized, I don’t know where to start.”

From his left, Kat softly spoke. “How about at the beginning?”

“Right.” He inhaled deeply and then let it out in a rush. “For starters, I’m gay.”

Silence fell over the table for a moment, then Kayla chuckled while the others grinned. “Well, damn. Didn’t see that coming, but welcome to my end of the rainbow, Nick.”

Kristen opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. “Okay, so that explains a few things, like why I’ve never heard you talk about dating any women. But then again, I never heard you talk about any guys. And obviously there’s a guy who you want to talk about. Anyone we know?” She paused and then her eyes widened. “Oh. My. God! It’s someone from the club!”

A blush spread over Nick’s cheeks as the other girls squealed. Kayla raised her hand in the air like a student in a classroom. “Oh, I know, I know. Is it Matthew? He recently broke up with the Dom he was seeing.”

“Ah, no, it’s not.” His face warmed even more. It was evident they thought he was interested in a submissive. “Uh, damn…um, well…you see…it’s…uh…”

“Oh, just spit it out, Nick.”

“Jake.”

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair as the women stared at him with eyes and mouths wide open before turning their gazes to each other and then back to him again. “Damn, didn’t see that coming, either.” Kayla extended her half empty glass to Kat. “Fill me up, girlfriend, because we’re going to be here a while.”

* * *

Blinking at the sunlight streaming through the high windows of his new apartment, Nick stretched the muscle kinks from his body while lying on the floor of the bedroom. Last night, he’d grabbed the pillows the girls had placed in his closet, along with a blanket, and made an impromptu bed. As a SEAL, he’d slept in far worse conditions, so even without a mattress, it felt like he’d spent the night at the local Hilton. But he would’ve rather have spent it in Jake’s bed.

While part of him had wanted to track the man down yesterday after his lunch with the girls, they’d convinced him to give Jake a little space. Hopefully, the Dom would miss him and want to work things out. So, instead, Nick had gotten a little drunk with the ladies and Ian had not been thrilled when he had to come with Boomer to drive them all home. After crashing in his oldest brother’s guest room for a few hours and sobering up, he’d borrowed one of Trident’s spare pick-up trucks and done some fun shopping, which could only include a visit to Best Buy. An hour and a half later, he’d walked out with two huge, flat-screen TVs, a stereo system, desktop computer for his office, and the necessary accessories for all of them.

He’d spent the evening hooking everything up, then searching the web for anything he could find on BDSM. While he had done some basic reading on the subject a few times after that first night with Jake two months ago, he’d been denying he was a submissive, so he hadn’t really concentrated on the information. During his talk with the women earlier in the day, he’d realized there was a lot more to the lifestyle than what he’d observed at the club. Sometime around one a.m., he’d shut down the computer with a new appreciation for the life Jake, his brothers, and their teammates had found.

His research also cemented what he’d come to realize by now—he was a sexual submissive. If someone had told him that three months ago, he would have laughed his ass off. But it had taken someone as mentally and physically strong as himself to make him realize that, and also to top him. Emotional strength was needed as well, but Jake clearly had some things he needed to work out before he got to that point. However, Nick was willing to wait because he believed the man was worth it. Now he just had to convince Jake of that fact.

* * *

Jordyn Alvarez threaded her way through the throngs of travelers at Tampa International Airport. To the people around her she appeared to be just a weary businesswoman returning from or heading to another meeting in another city. She doubted anyone would believe she was a former jewel thief turned U.S. government spy and assassin. But that was the whole point. She could blend into any situation with ease and no one would be the wiser.

She’d come so close to not returning that bastard’s phone call. Most women in this messed-up world may think T. Carter was God’s gift to the female gender, but she wasn’t one of them. At least that’s what her brain and heart said…her body seemed to disagree whenever he was within fifty feet of her. And that sexy, baritone voice of his tended to vibrate in her pussy no matter how much she hated it.

The son-of-a-bitch had known how to press her buttons and get her to help his friends. He’d played the female-teenage-abuse-victim card and she hadn’t been able to refuse. Child molesters and abusers were the cockroaches of the earth in her book—and Oliver Wagner was now on the first page of said book.

With her carry-on bag on her shoulder and not needing to retrieve any luggage from the baggage claim carousel, she headed to the rental car area to find a nice, non-descript vehicle. While she loved fast cars, they tended to be attention-getters, and in her profession, it was the last thing she needed. Maybe after this unsanctioned gig was done, she’d take some time off and do something fun—like beat the living daylights out of Carter. But it would mean she’d have to get close to him and that was something she refused to do ever again.

Twenty minutes later, she was exiting the airport, en-route to Wagner’s residence to do a drive-by and reconnaissance. Carter’s buddy, some guy named Brody, had emailed her dummy account with the floor plans and alarm information. The only data she still needed was a definite time when the pervert wasn’t going to be home. If worse came to worse, she could do it in the middle of the night, and pray the guy was a heavy sleeper. She’d done that numerous times, and while it was riskier, it ramped up the thrill and her adrenaline—stuff she lived for.

If anyone from her long-gone youth had told her back then she’d one day be working for a covert United States government agency as a secret agent, she would’ve told them they were crazy. Growing up in South America, the daughter of a wealthy businessman and a former Miss Argentina, she’d rubbed elbows with the upper echelons of society. But no one knew what was going on behind closed doors until her world came crashing down around her. Orphaned at fourteen and having her inheritance stolen by greedy relatives had changed her life forever.

Jordyn shoved the unwanted memories, which popped up every so often, from her mind as she steered the vehicle down the street where the target lived. Time to get her head back into the game and figure out how to help another young teenage girl whose life had been turned upside down.

Jake stood at the back of the crowd outside the courthouse where Oliver Wagner was giving a press conference concerning the death of his wife. The Trident operative had woken up to the news report of Carrie Wagner’s homicide and heard the bastard was going to issue a statement at 11:00 this morning, so he added it to his agenda for the day. The businessman’s lawyer and his friend, the mayor, were in attendance, as well as a few others. Noticeably absent was the Chief of Police, making Jake wonder if the man had wised up to the fact his supporter was a wife abuser and involved in a murder conspiracy.

What surprised Jake, though, was that he recognized a man standing off to the side of the reporters, staying out of range of the cameras. If he wasn’t mistaken, the man was Craig Allman from the Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Bureau. Jake had met the undercover agent about two years ago during a joint operation between the feds and Trident. But that was in Puerto Rico, so what was the guy doing here? A light bulb went off in Jake’s mind. Craig Allman…Craig Allen? Could they be the same person? Could the feds have planted one of their own in Wagner’s lair? And why? What was the businessman involved in which had brought him to the attention of the ATF?

Quickly shooting off a group text to Ian, Devon, and Brody, Jake refocused his attention to the podium. A lot of the reporters were questioning why Carrie Wagner was living under an assumed name, was Alyssa with her before the murder, and where his daughter was now. Aside from a brief statement, probably written by a P.R. specialist, Wagner hadn’t said a word, leaving the talking to his attorney. And that windbag was putting the usual spin on things—Oliver was a grieving husband and father, who had no idea why his wife ran away. He also added enough speculation that Carrie had taken off with another man and turned Alyssa against her father for no sane reason. A mental breakdown was also alluded to—anything to shift the suspicion off where it belonged.

Wishing he could take the man down now, but knowing he had to wait for Jordyn to break into Wagner’s home safe, Jake put mental restraints on his desire for justice. The woman had texted him a few minutes ago, letting him know she was in Tampa and scouting out the residence. He didn’t expect to hear from her again until she had what he needed. Adjusting his stance, he stared at Wagner with venom.
Your time will come, you son-of-a-bitch.

The lawyer wrapped things up and ignored the rest of the shouted questions. He hurried Wagner to a waiting vehicle and after the two jumped in, the driver accelerated, leaving the press behind. Glancing around, Jake noticed Allman had also slipped away. Hopefully, by the time Jake got back to the office, Boss-man or Egghead had some information for him about what the hell the undercover fed was doing in Tampa.

Striding back to where he’d parked his truck, he pulled out his cell again. He wasn’t really surprised Nick hadn’t contacted him, but he was kind of hoping he would.
Why should he, you asshole? Even if you weren’t the top, it’s still your responsibility to fix what you screwed up.
Opening the door of his vehicle, he climbed into the driver’s seat and made a decision. After he took care of a few things at the office, he’d track Nick down and apologize for being a jackass. Maybe if he groveled enough, he could salvage what might be the best thing that had ever happened to him.

When he entered the Trident offices, twenty minutes later, he was surprised yet happy to see Nick standing at the reception desk, talking to Colleen. At the sound of the front door opening, the younger man turned his gaze toward Jake and gave him a small smile. “Hey. You got a minute?”

Trying not to alert the secretary that there was a problem between the two men, Jake nodded. “Sure. But first, we’ve got to talk to Egghead. Something’s going on with Oliver Wagner and I hope Brody’s got some info for me.”

Following him into the computer geek’s war-room, Nick pulled over a straight-back chair, turned it around, and straddled it, while Jake remained standing. Brody held up a finger without looking up from his massive computer set-up—the team often teased him that he could probably launch a NASA rocket into space from this room. “Give me a sec to cover my tracks in the system I just hacked into.”

Jake snorted. “I don’t even want to know what system. When it comes to you and your hacking, I want plausible deniability.”

Shaking his head, Nick chuckled while the geek finished typing and hit the ‘Enter’ button on his keyboard. Spinning around in his swivel chair, Brody crossed his arms and stared at Jake. “As you’ve already figured out, Allman is undercover.”

Nick’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Who’s Allman?”

Leaning back against the wall, Jake hooked his thumbs on the belt loops of his jeans. “Craig Allman is ATF. We met him on a joint op last year in Puerto Rico. I spotted him at the press conference Wagner held this morning with his lawyer. They were announcing Carrie’s death and trying to cover up any suspicion that he may’ve had something to do with it.”

“Yeah, I saw the ‘Breaking News’ alert before I walked over here.”

Nodding, Jake continued. “When I spotted Allman at the edge of the crowd, the name clicked, and I was wondering if he was the Craig Allen that Todd was talking about, so I asked Egghead to check it out.”

“Didn’t take long to confirm it either,” Brody informed them. “As a matter of fact, I went through channels first and called one of our contacts. He just got back to me a few minutes ago. Allman wants to meet with you.”

An eyebrow went up. “Really? When?”

The geek shrugged. “Don’t know. I passed on your cell number. He’ll call you when he can set something up without drawing any suspicion from Wagner.”

“Okay. So which is it? Alcohol, tobacco, or guns?”

Performing a drum roll with his hands against his thighs in dramatic fashion, Egghead announced, “Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding…and the winner is…illegal weapons. Fully automatic AK-47s to be exact. Apparently, Wagner has gotten himself involved with an old friend of ours from Colombia.”

Jake paled a little. “Aw, fuck. Don’t tell me. Wagner’s involved with Emmanuel Diaz?”

“Yup. Remember Carter telling us Emmanuel was busy trying to rebuild after Ernesto’s death?”

Glancing between the two other men, Nick interrupted, “Wait a minute. Isn’t Ernesto Diaz the big-time drug lord from a few years ago? And the reason you guys had targets on your back last year?”

Several years ago, in addition to drugs, the Diaz cartel had quite a few lucrative side businesses which included white-slavery and arms dealing. Several members of the Trident team and a few other retired SEALs had ended up being targets of an assassin after a U.S. senator realized they’d been on a mission years ago involving Ernesto. He was a distant cousin of the now-deceased drug czar, whom SEAL Team Four had a hand in killing, and was worried the team would make the connection when he ran for President. Three former Team Four members and a civilian had been killed before Trident figured out who wanted them all dead. Two of the victims were Jenn Mullins’ parents, and while Nick wasn’t privy to any of the classified information, he did know the basics.

Both of other men nodded, but it was Jake who spoke. “Yeah. Looks like we’re going to cross paths with his little brother who took over the business. He’s been trying to bring the empire back to where it was when Ernesto was running it.”

“Shit.”

“Exactly,” Brody acknowledged. “From what I was told, something big is about to go down, but I couldn’t get any details.”

Jake straightened. “So, this is the feds chance to catch them both red-handed. Does Ian know?”

“Not yet. He’s on a conference call with the Pentagon again. I’d love to know what that’s all about. Any ideas?”

“Not a clue.” With everything else going on, Jake couldn’t care less about whatever Ian was up to. “So, now we have to wait for Jordyn to hit his safe and Allman to fill us in. Let me know if you hear anything else.”

“You got it.”

Moments later, Nick followed Jake into his office and shut the door behind them. “Shit’s getting deeper, isn’t it?”

Jake snorted as he leaned against his desk. “That’s putting it mildly, but, yeah, things are getting worse by the minute. Hopefully, the only casualty in all this will be Wagner. I have to wait until I hear from Allman before we do anything else, though. I don’t want to fuck up a federal investigation, especially when this might be our chance to send the bastard to prison without Alyssa’s situation being made public. The last thing I want is for her to have to testify.”

He paused. Regret was eating at his gut, and he needed to clear the air between him and Nick…again. Rubbing his hand down his face, he took the bull by the horns. “Look. I’m sorry about yesterday morning. I was an ass.”

Smirking, Nick took a step closer, crossed his arms and repeated the words Jake had said seconds earlier. “That’s putting it mildly. But tell me, are things going to get worse between us or better? I understand this is all new, but, Jake, I need you to talk to me. I’ll let it go for now, but when all this with Alyssa is over, you better be able to come clean. I feel like I’m fighting your ghosts, but I can’t fight what I can’t see.”

Well, fuck, when he put it that way, Jake felt even shittier. “You’re right. And I’m going to do my best to straighten things out in my head, because that’s the first step. But for now, will you forgive me…again?”

Nick took another step forward and Jake pushed himself off the edge of the desk. Lust flared in the Dom’s eyes and groin when his submissive grinned seductively at him. Nick lifted his hand and brushed his fingertips along Jake’s jaw, sending pinpricks of electricity through his skin. “I don’t know what it is about you, but I can’t stay away. Yeah, I forgive you.” With his other hand, he reached into his back pocket and took out a folded piece of paper and held it out for Jake to take. “Here’s my completed limit list. I also got a copy of the submissives’ protocols.”

Holy shit!
Jake was stunned. It was not what he was expecting, but, damn, did it turn him on. Taking the paper, he tossed it on his desk, his gaze never leaving Nick’s face. He stepped forward and slowly backed his sub up against the wall. “Fuck, Junior. If you only knew what you do to me.”

“Show me, Sir.”