Byron-4 (9 page)

Taylor reached into her pack, pulled out the jewelers box nestled at the bottom, and opened it.

She had put this on layaway in June for Jamie for Christmas and made payments every week until she paid it off last week. It was a pair of diamond cuff links with his initials on them. He told her once when he became head of his department that’s what he wanted. She had been determined to give them to him no matter what, even going without a few times when the Freedoms forgot to give her a check. She had paid nearly three grand for them even after the discount the owner had given her because she was his daughter’s friend. She wanted him to still have them, but wasn’t sure what he would do if she gave them to him. Closing the box, she put it back in the pack.

Taylor knew that a one-way plane ticket to Florida would be around a hundred and eighty dollars and then she would need to set herself up once she got there. She had emailed Josh and asked him if she came back, would he hire her as a waitress again?

She hadn’t heard from him yet. She pulled out her computer and using the network in the shop, checked her email for messages.

There was still nothing from Josh, but she did have one from Devin. He told her not to get the drives out today and to sit tight until he contacted her. He told her that she should receive a package sometime this morning at the law firm and to call him when she got it. He gave her both his home and office numbers, as well as his cell phone. He told her if anything came up between now and then she was to get to his office or call the police. She didn’t have a clue what he thought would happen, but filed the information away for later.

The last email was from “Tightly Bound.” They sent her the form to fill out telling them what she was interested in, how much pain she could deal with, and the toys she wanted used. It was a standard form, but this one had a place for comments. Taylor wasn’t sure what sort of comments they expected her to make as she had never been there, but figured she would print the form up at work and fill it out on her lunch break. She was also to go to the clinic for a urine and blood test. Again, this was standard procedure.

By the time she was finished, it was nearly time for her to get into her room. She walked the eight blocks to the Y, thinking it was as good a time as any to begin her regimen of trying to save money. Later that same morning, she was walking in the door at just before nine when the courier showed up with the package.

~CHAPTER 9~

Byron’s plane landed at two in the afternoon on Friday. He had had a great exhibit and sales and felt really good about life in general. He was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed and in his own time zone. The last few pieces of his art that hadn’t sold, three of the thirty that he had sent over were going to be on display in the gallery that the show had been held in, so he didn’t even have to make arrangements to have them shipped back. When he exited the plane, Byron was surprised to see Spencer there waiting for him.

“I thought we could have a late lunch. O’Malley is taking Meggie shopping for gifts and I thought you and I could talk about what we’re getting Mom again.” Byron smiled at his brother.

Spencer had remarried this past summer. His wife, Caitlynne O’Malley Grant, was a detective for the local police department. And even though her last name was now Grant, he still called her by her maiden name and she called him Grant. They had a very strange and loving relationship.

They ended up at one of their favorite places, the Cheesecake Factory in the Easton center, and after ordering a beer for Byron and a cola for Spencer, Byron sat back in his chair.

“Okay, what’s going on? I know it’s not Mom’s gift. We both know that Devin already purchased the tickets for their cruise. It can’t be because your wife isn’t at home; she would probably welcome you with her. What has you so worked up that you’d cut class to pick me up in the middle of a school day?”

“What makes you think I don’t want to be...ah fuck it. It’s Jamie. I can’t figure out what’s up his ass. He snaps and snips at everyone. Even the dean has fallen victim to his less than charming attitude. And Mom said that if he doesn’t show up this Sunday for dinner, she is going to be really mad. I think she’s hurt that he won’t talk to her about it.”

“Have you tried talking to him? You and he seem to be the closest. I did try and call him while I was gone and he practically hung up on me. You’re the one who told me that Jamie told Mom that he wasn’t responsible for Taylor. Do you have any idea what he meant by that?” Byron thought that he knew what his brother’s problem was, but didn’t want to voice that just yet.

“I’m not sure she’s living there anymore. I don’t know everything, but when I went there a few days after she checked herself out of the hospital, he told me that she moved out. When I pressed, he snarled at me. I think it has to do with Taylor, though I’m not sure how. I wanted to ask you. You seemed to...I mean, you were able to get through to her faster than anyone that night and she...well, I couldn’t help but notice she called you

‘master.’”

Byron had anticipated this question coming up. He had been thinking about how to handle the question and thought that the best way was the smartest. Give as much information as he could without giving away anything—worked for him.

“If you’re asking if I’ve slept with her, no I haven’t. I do have some experience with some of the BDSM crowd and from the wounds I saw on her earlier that day, I just guessed that was the best way to handle her. She’s a submissive and sometimes just putting the right tone in your voice has her doing just what you want.” Byron could tell that Spencer wasn’t satisfied with the half answer, but he didn’t press.

“I probably don’t want to ask this, but well, you didn’t say you weren’t going to sleep with Taylor, but that you haven’t—as if to say it’s not out of the question. Could that be what Jamie is all upset about?”

“Jamie and Taylor aren’t having sex. If he had been then he would have seen what I did the day I went by his house. She was whipped and the marks were fresh—unless he put them there, which I doubt. And I wasn’t there to put the moves on her. She had hung up on me earlier and I was there to take my pound of flesh. She came out of the bathroom with a towel around her and I saw the marks. Nothing happened.” Their dinner came and the waitress brought them refills. Spencer took a call from his wife and Byr looked over the room. He wanted to get back to his house and rest up and he wanted to see what sort of information Bobby had gotten back from the clinic regarding Taylor. He didn’t want to try and smooth ruffled feathers between his families. He knew he would be spending the evening with some or all of them, but he just wanted to get home.

“O’Malley said to tell you we are having a late dinner at our house. Devin and Ronnie are bringing the baby over and we are to give suitable oohs and ahhhhs over her and shower her with gifts. Did you get her something in France?” He had, actually, a gift for everyone. But he had gone a little overboard on the gifts for the new baby. He loved having nieces and nephews; it made him smile to think of the way they acted like their fathers. He thought about his brother having a daughter and smiled. He wondered how protective Devin would be of the girl when she got old enough to date someday.

~~~

Taylor went to “Tightly Bound” at four-thirty. She stood outside the doors and debated about going in. Her invitation was for tomorrow night and wondered if they would just let her sit in the open room and watch. She went to the door several times before someone coming out held it open for her to go in, taking the choice from her.

The woman at the front told her to wait after she had asked to see Taylor’s ID.

Lynn, her name tag had said, was on the phone and smiled at Taylor several times as she listened to whoever was on the other end. This was stupid, Taylor thought. She needed to go home and get her crap out of the car so that the junk dealer could pick it up tomorrow. While she was debating the sanity of coming here, her stupid cell phone went off. It was Devin again, of course.

The package that Devin had sent over was the cell phone currently in her pocket.

He had put a note inside the box telling her who was programmed into it and the corresponding number to push to reach them. The stupid thing was even fully charged.

She called him from the office phone when she called to tell him she had gotten it.

“Is there something wrong with the phone? The guy at the kiosk said it was top of the line. It even has Internet service.”

“No, not that I know of. You said to call you when it got here and I’m doing that. If you wanted me to call you with it, then you should have said to do that. Hang on.” She hung upon him. Smiling, she called him back. She could hear him sputtering about being hung up on when he answered.

“It wasn’t necessary for you to hang up on me, Taylor. I could have waited until you had to call me again.” She didn’t tell him she had no intentions of calling him unless there was no other recourse. But she kept that little bit of information to herself.

“I’ll be sending you emails over the next several days and I want you to stop making copies of things. I don’t want you to get caught nor for the Freedoms to have any reason to mistrust you. All right?”

Taylor had already decided to stop making copies, but again, kept that thought to herself. She debated all day as to whether or not she should tell him of her plans and had decided she wouldn’t. It wasn’t as if they were close, so what did it matter that she was going back home as soon as Christmas was over whether this was finished or not?

“You know, I haven’t talked to the Freedoms in a month as much as I’ve had to talk to you today. Don’t you have a kid or something you can be with? I have a life and it’s hard to enjoy it if you’re constantly calling me,” she told him in way of answering.

“I’ve just got off the phone with the FBI. They’ll want to speak to you in the morning and they want to know if eight o’clock is all right. You can meet with them at my office if you feel more comfortable that way. I’ll be there, of course.” Her throat closed up and the room started to roar around her. Swaying, she reached blindly for something to hold onto when she touched the man behind her. Clutching his sleeve, she didn’t even look around, but held on tightly. He guided her through the doors and suddenly, she was on a sofa with her head between her knees. She could hear Devin and his shouts from the phone, but she still couldn’t get past the word FBI.

“Here, drink this,” the man said as he shoved a small glass of something into her hand. She didn’t even look or ask, but threw the contents to the back of her throat all at once. Her face felt as if she had lit a torch to it and her throat felt like someone had taken a sandblaster to it. Coughing hard and trying to catch her breath, she looked at the man on the floor in front of her. He nodded to the cell phone while he smiled at her.

“Damn it all to hell and back, something’s happened to her. I haven’t a clue...Taylor!” She had put the phone to her ear and jerked it back when he shouted her name.

“Christ, I’m right here. I had a...moment. I don’t want to talk to the...I don’t want to talk to them. Why the hell are they involved anyway? You said that you’d make sure that I was covered.”

“This is a serious case of insurance fraud. Are you alone? Damn it, this is not a conversation that we should be having where people can hear us.” She looked at the phone in her hand and nodded once then put it back to her ear.

“You’re absolutely right. Good-bye.” And she turned off the phone after she closed it. She didn’t call him; he called her. Taylor was getting sick of his bossiness anyway.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” The man grinned again. She wasn’t sure, but she felt like he was sizing her up for some reason.

“Bobby. We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow night. The owner said to tell you to wait here and he’ll be more than glad to come in and talk to you.”

“I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ll just come back tomorrow night. Maybe. I don’t know. I just...what’s so funny?” She found herself wanting to smack him. His knowing grin had her feeling like she was in trouble and he was going to enjoy watching her get her punishment. Seeing that they were in a bondage club, she thought he wasn’t far off the mark.

“Nothing. You are gorgeous, aren’t you? The boss said for you to wait. I don’t think he’ll be too happy with us if you leave.”

Taylor stood up. She would leave when she wanted to, not when some boss decided she could. Bobby stood too—close.

“I want to leave. I don’t want to have to hurt you, but I will if you don’t back off.

I’ve had a really shitty day and I wouldn’t mind in the least to take it out on you. You can tell your boss whatever you want. If he wants to revoke my invitation because I didn’t wait, then I guess that’ll be fine too. I’ll be leaving the area soon, so what do I care what he does?”

“He should be here soon and you can tell him yourself. I think it would be in your best interest to wait for him.” Taylor didn’t like where this was going. She had the feeling that she didn’t want a meet and greet with the owner.

She pushed the man away from her and he crashed over the little table behind him.

He was moving to get up when she turned on her heel and left the office. She was out the front door and into the street before the man could catch her. She was darting down a side street when she thought she saw Byron coming toward her.

~CHAPTER 10~

When Bobby had called Byron out of a deep sleep, his first instinct was to rip the man wide open. Then he realized what he was saying. Taylor was there.

“Keep her there. I don’t care if you have to tie her to something to do so, you keep her there.” He was pulling on his jeans as he barked the order.

“Lynn said she’s been outside for a good ten minutes talking to herself and it looked like she was debating on whether or not to come in. Lynn said that she finally sent Joey out to ask her what she was doing when she came in on her own. Lynn called me as soon as she realized who she was. Shit! Gotta go, boss. Hurry, she looks ready to pass out.”