OnLocation (11 page)

He had intended to bring Teresa to the dungeon below the
mansion and he’d gotten it all ready for her, even surprising her one time by
appearing suddenly from downstairs, but that night he’d ended up having her in
her room instead because he hadn’t wanted to scare her off. But scare is
precisely what he wanted to do to Gallagher. Unless Gallagher was very familiar
with BDSM, the place would look like a torture room.

To Kyle’s relief, Teresa still wasn’t up yet.

He unlocked the “closet” door, opened it and gestured down
the stairs. “After you.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll keep Roger off you if you tell me what I need to know.
We’re not going to have you doing your coke in the living room, now are we? Go
ahead.”

Mention of the cocaine worked as well as Kyle had hoped.
Gallagher walked down the stairs into the dark. Kyle followed, ignoring the
light switch on the side. Gallagher could ambush him, but he was confident of
the outcome of that. The dark would make Gallagher nervous, so the longer it
lasted the better.

Roger closed the door behind them.

“Where’s the light?” Gallagher sounded panicked.
Good.

Kyle flipped on the switch at the bottom of the stairs,
opening his eyes slowly to let the light in gradually and not kill his vision.
Gallagher, not surprisingly, was startled.
I may be the good cop, but the
point here is to make him uneasy so he talks.

Kyle waited while Gallagher looked around. The walls here
were stone, unlike the dark wood and glass that created a rustic ambience in
the rest of the house. There were chains and shackles on one of the walls. A
St. Andrew’s Cross, designed for a sub to be spread-eagled on, stood in the
center of the room. On one wall hung crops, floggers, tawse, canes, paddles,
quirts and even a bullwhip. A padded table was off to one corner, with cuffs
attached to the rings on the corners. Candles sat on a table next to that.
Gallagher probably didn’t know what the spanking bench in the other corner was
for and that was fine. The unknown was more terrifying than the familiar.

“What is this place?” asked Gallagher, clearly off balance.

“Quiet and secure.” Kyle didn’t see how it would help to
explain.

Roger crossed behind him to the wall with the toys on it. He
put the gun in the holster on his belt. He picked up the bullwhip, then put it
back. He picked up the cane, tapped it against his hand, then smiled. Gallagher
paled.

Kyle took the packet of cocaine out and looked at Gallagher.
“So what’s going on? Roger says there was heroin in that box. Where is it now?”

“It’s gone.”

“I don’t think he’s going to cooperate without a little
encouragement, Kyle. Let’s strap him to the frame and I’ll make him bleed.”
Roger walked forward with the cane.

Ordinarily Kyle might have been tempted to take Roger’s
lead. Roger, after all, was the shrink. If anyone could get into Gallagher’s
head, it was Roger. But he knew his friend didn’t want to cane Gallagher—in
fact, he doubted Roger was even willing to go through with it. Consensual
discipline was one thing, although the cane was more Kyle’s style than Roger’s
anyway, but Gallagher was hardly consenting. So Kyle paused and waited.

He didn’t have to wait long. “A boat came and took it,”
Gallagher said.

“To the mainland?” asked Kyle.

“I’d guess, yeah.”

“All done, and you get a little packet of cocaine for your
trouble. You do any heroin, Gallagher?”

“Hell, no.”

“No, they wouldn’t trust you with it if you did, would
they?” Given the way Gallagher kept looking with lust at the hand that held the
bag, Kyle could only imagine what he’d be like if he were a heroin addict. “All
right. Well, the heroin is gone now, so I don’t know that we can do much but
turn you over to the police at this point.”

“Oh, we can rough him up first,” said Roger, taking another
step forward. “We can always say he was into bondage and it happened earlier. I
think there’s more to this story.”

“Okay, okay!” said Gallagher quickly. “I don’t deal well
with pain. Never have. It’s how I got hooked in the first place. Started taking
prescription meds and ran out, then ended up hanging with some people who
dealt. Pretty soon I was going to coke parties, and that’s where I met Stegner.
This is all his idea.”

Kyle’s blood ran cold. He was about to ask a question but
Roger shook his head and tapped the cane against his hand again.

“I’m just a pawn,” Gallagher whined. “Let me go. I haven’t
done anything wrong. And what is it to you guys, anyway?”

“We put our lives on the line for our country—you think
we’re going to let you smuggle heroin into it?” Roger moved forward suddenly,
putting his hand on Gallagher’s throat. “What’s Stegner’s plan?”

Gallagher’s eyes bulged. “He’s in debt from a movie he made
several years ago. So for the last several movies we’ve done shoots in places
like this. Little islands, not far from the coast of some country that either
supplies or has rich users. We set up a base with the movie-making as cover.
Then the drugs get ferried in little boats. This time, he’s got a trireme full
of all sorts of stuff.”

Kyle remembered Teresa telling him it was a penteconter, but
decided not to correct Gallagher. “And you’re the advance party, scouting for
the best places to hide the drugs.”
And not for the best place to shoot a
movie.

“Yeah.”

“Keep him here,” he said to Roger. He didn’t know that he
had any right to give Roger orders, but that didn’t matter. “This is out of our
league and we have enough to call the cops. We’ll see how they want to take it
from here.”

“Don’t you want to know the rest?” asked Gallagher.

Kyle turned. He didn’t like the glint in Gallagher’s eye,
but he nodded. “Sure.”

“Terry’s in on the whole thing. She’s Stegner’s right-hand
woman. Her job was to distract you while I did the work.” Gallagher grinned.
“She’s pretty good at it, isn’t she?”

Fucking hell.

“Do whatever you want with him,” Kyle told Roger and headed
up the stairs. He’d tried to tell himself that he hadn’t fallen for Teresa, but
if that were true, why did his heart feel ripped out?

To his surprise, Roger chased after him, catching him.

“Let me talk to the cops,” said Roger. “I’ve got some
contacts.”

Roger always had contacts. But it made sense. Kyle stood
aside. He knew he wasn’t seeing straight, anyway.

“Just because he said it, doesn’t mean it’s true,” Roger
said.

Kyle barely heard.

Terry put yesterday’s clothes on and went across the hall to
change into something new. Her tummy was rumbling but she ignored it. Breakfast
could wait. She was only on the island for one more evening, then she would go
and the movie crews would follow. That was unacceptable. Either Kyle was coming
with her or she was going to stay. Now she had to convince Kyle of that.

She showered quickly, not wanting to waste time but wanting
to smell good for Kyle. She added a hint of perfume and a bit of foundation.
Normally on location she couldn’t be bothered, but this was an exception. She
spritzed perfume between her breasts and buttoned four buttons on the shirt she
put on over it. She wished she’d brought a skirt, but at least she had one pair
of tight jeans.

And if he wants them off, they’ll come off. I’m going for
it. I may not succeed, but I’m not going to go home feeling I made anything but
my best effort.

She walked downstairs. There was a tall, handsome strange
man in the kitchen, making a phone call. Presumably that was Roger. She was
surprised to see a semiautomatic pistol in a holster at his hip. Now why the
hell would he need that here? She looked about for Kyle and didn’t see him. She
looked outside, but he wasn’t at the pool either. Strange. There wasn’t even
any sign of Gallagher.

“You must be Terry,” said a voice with an Australian accent
behind her. She’d talked to Roger on the phone and the voice sounded close
enough to the same that it was surely him.

She turned. “Roger?” She stuck out her hand and he shook it.
She gave him credit—his gaze dipped down to her cleavage for only a moment, and
she knew she was showing a lot.

“I see why Kyle’s enamored. Pleased to meet you in person.”
Roger stared at her hard and long.

He’s looking after his friend. Enamored, huh?
Terry
smiled in spite of the intense glare. “The pleasure is mine. Do you know where
Kyle is?”

“He’ll be along shortly,” said Roger.

“What did he make for breakfast?” she asked. “It was his
turn, I think.”

“He got busy. Why don’t you make something and I’ll go look
for him.”

“I’ll go look.”

“No.”

Terry frowned. Just because she liked Kyle telling her what
to do didn’t mean she was inclined to take it from anyone else.
But I can
put up with it for a day. I can put up with anything to make today and tonight
work.
She went to the kitchen. She had seen bacon and eggs in the fridge
the day before, so making breakfast wasn’t hard. The bacon wasn’t what she was
used to—there was more meat on it compared to the fat, and it was shaped more
like a leaf than a stick, but it cooked up more or less the same.

She heard footsteps in the living room before bacon was
finished. Kyle, presumably. And Gallagher? They’d both arrived at the same
time. She wondered what business Kyle had with the photographer that was so
urgent he couldn’t take his turn with breakfast. She wanted to see him, kiss
him, not make him and everyone else bacon and eggs. But she could wait, if
that’s what it took.

Breakfast was done a few minutes later and all the men sat
down at the table for it. Having Gallagher as a third wheel had made things
awkward, but with Roger there too she was distinctly aware of the excess testosterone
on the island. Gallagher was watching her intently as well, and she was all too
aware that his eyes were keeping track of her tits. Kyle, on the other hand,
was watching Gallagher, and clearly getting annoyed.

“Where would you like me, Sir?” she asked.

He looked up at her, startled for a moment, and then his
face relaxed. “Next to me,” he said softly. “Kneeling, on the floor. Get a
cushion from the living room.”

She had been afraid he’d say something like that. Or had she
been hoping? She went to the living room, got a small cushion and put it on the
ground to support her knees. She knelt.

He shook his head. “Under your bum. It will improve your
posture and take more of your weight.”

She adjusted the cushion. He was right, it was better,
although her knees weren’t fond of the hard floor. Still, at least she had
jeans.

He turned the chair in front of her around and set her plate
on it. Then he reached down and buttoned a button on her shirt. She looked up
at him, questioning. That wasn’t what she had expected. But maybe he didn’t
like Gallagher looking at her. Her position on the floor as well as the chair
blocked her off from him.

Kyle ignored her glance and looked at his food. He tasted a
small bit of the bacon and then a little of the egg, as if he didn’t expect
them to taste right.
Well, thanks a lot.

“Thank you for making breakfast,” Kyle said. “I’ll get
tomorrow and we’ll be good. I suppose you’ll be leaving after that.”

“May I stay, after that, Sir?” She hadn’t meant to blurt it
out. She’d meant to choose the right moment. Maybe when he was inside her,
ready to come. But somehow it came out.

“Don’t you have a plane to catch?”

“Of course you can stay,” said Roger.

Kyle glared at him. Roger pursed his lips and nodded. Kyle
shook his head. For a long moment the two men stared each other down.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Roger said to Kyle.

Now what was that about? It didn’t matter. She was
embarrassing herself, kneeling next to a man who didn’t even want her around.
She could feel tears welling up and that would be humiliating. There was no way
to get up gracefully from the position she was in.

Then Kyle smiled and ran his hand through her hair. “You may
stay, Teresa,” he said softly. She looked up into his eyes. Was that sadness
she saw there? His touch was so gentle. She wasn’t used to it. It seemed more
his style to grab her hair and pull. Maybe he was holding back because of the audience.

She took a breath. She could see Roger at the head of the
table and he could see her too. Was it her imagination or was he studying her?

“The bacon and eggs are good, Teresa. Well done.” Kyle
wasn’t holding back now, eating his food with relish.

“Yeah, thanks for cooking for us,” Roger added.

Gallagher said nothing, which was fine. If he had said
something, she was pretty sure it would have been snide. Something had changed
between the men and the air was heavy with it. She wished she knew what it was.

In five minutes she was the only one with any food left on
her plate. “Excuse me for a moment, Teresa,” said Kyle, ruffling her hair
again. “I need to talk to Roger.”

Don’t leave me alone like this with Gallagher
, she
silently pleaded, but Kyle seemed distracted. She missed having his full
attention, even if that attention was sometimes painful. She watched as Roger
and Kyle stepped outside and slid the door behind them.

Gallagher shifted chairs to where he could see her better.
“You’ll be staying, all right.” The softness of his voice, pitched low as if he
was afraid the other men would hear him, did nothing to conceal the menace.

She didn’t know why that was supposed to bother her so she
ate another rasher of bacon.

“You should have gotten with me when you had the chance,
darling,” Gallagher said. “Now look at you. Good luck with your boyfriend.” He
got up and then smiled suddenly. He looked out the door at Roger and Kyle, who
were conversing intently, and then in the other direction, toward the pier. He
walked that way and pulled on the sliding glass door. It didn’t budge.

“Dammit,” he said. He looked around the door as if looking
for a latch but didn’t find one. He did, however, notice the lock on it.

“Any idea where the key is?” he asked her.

She shook her head. “No idea. Why don’t you ask Kyle or
Roger?” She got up and sat down on a chair to finish her breakfast. She wasn’t
going to stay kneeling while Kyle was out. If he was disappointed, what was he
going to do? Spank her?

She grinned at the thought. Now
that
she could look
forward to.

Gallagher’s eyes went to a cabinet near the door. He cast
another glance over his shoulder at the two men. They were still talking.
Arguing, from the looks of it. He started going through the cabinet. He could
scarcely be more obvious about the fact that he was doing something he didn’t
want them to know about. Presumably he was looking for the key. Something was
going on. She thought of going to tell Kyle, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to
interrupt either. Besides, there was no reason Gallagher shouldn’t be on the
dock as far as she knew. If he actually found the key, she’d knock on the other
door to get Kyle’s attention.

My boyfriend
. That’s what Gallagher had called him,
but was he? And if he was—well, was he her Master as well? She’d heard stories
about people in such relationships, but didn’t know any personally unless that
one singer-actress was involved the way the rumors said. She didn’t know her
well, anyway. Was that sort of thing really practical? But she couldn’t imagine
a relationship with Kyle going any other way. That only made him more
attractive to her. There wasn’t any doubt with a man like Kyle. He was going to
be in charge.

She didn’t know any other men quite like Kyle either. Maybe
Roger had a little of the same thing in him, but it was different. She
suspected Roger would be gentle, even if he insisted on having his way. Kyle
was rough and demanding, and would put her over his knee as soon as argue with
her. Probably sooner.

She saw Kyle glance over and breathed a sigh of relief. He
saw what was going on. Good. She didn’t need to worry about it anymore. She
finished off her eggs, instead.

A few moments later, Kyle and Roger came back in. Gallagher
made a show of having been just leaning against the cabinet, for all the good
it did him.

“Hey, Gallagher,” said Kyle, “come with me.” If he noticed
or cared that she had gotten up off the floor, he didn’t show it.

Gallagher paled. He clearly didn’t want to go but he
followed Kyle anyway.

Roger sat across from her rather than resuming his seat. “Do
you love him?” he asked.

She blinked.
Yes, I think I do.
“Kyle? Shouldn’t he
be the first to know?”

Roger chuckled. “Right you are. He told me you were smart. I
suggest you tell him, if it’s true. In fact, I suggest you tell him everything.
He’s going to want to hear it all from you and not from anyone else.”

All what? That I love him? That I want him to keep doing
those wicked things he does to me—whenever and wherever he wants?
She
didn’t understand how he could possibly hear that from anyone else but her.

Suddenly there was a thump from upstairs, and another. She
got up and ran toward the stairs, and Roger moved just as quickly to grab her
around the waist.

“It sounds like they’re fighting up there!” she cried, trying
to get free. His arms were about as movable as steel bars.

“Do you have any doubt about the outcome, if they are?”

Terry glared at him. “I guess not. But I want to be at his
side.”

“Hostages only confuse things.” Roger’s expression went
dark. “If anyone knows that, it’s Kyle.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think it would be best if you heard that story from Kyle
himself, if at all. But don’t press him too much. It may take him time to be
willing to talk about it, if he ever does.”

“I meant why am I a hostage?”

“You’re someone he has to look out for.” He looked up and
listened. The thumping had stopped. “Looks like they’ve worked out their
differences. Gallagher’s a damn fool.”

“You just met him.”

Roger raised his eyebrows. “Do you disagree?”

I have to watch it with him. Every question and every
statement he makes is designed to get some kind of response out of me. He’s
testing me. Maybe he’s just looking out for his friend.
“No, I don’t
disagree. I just wonder why you’re so sure.”

“Doesn’t matter. The question is, are you a fool too?”

Her eyes narrowed. She wasn’t sure what the right response
was to that one so she kept it simple. “No.”

“Sometimes smart people can be more foolish than less gifted
ones. And less able to admit their foolishness.”

She frowned, trying to figure out what he was getting at.
“You think I’m a fool to get involved with Kyle?”

Score one for me
, she thought as he looked surprised
at her response. He smiled slowly and shook his head. “No, I think that’s very
brave. Being brave isn’t always foolish though.”

The sound of feet on the stairs brought an end to the
awkward conversation. Kyle appeared. She checked him over for black eyes or
cuts, but he appeared fine. Maybe the bruises were underneath his clothes.
Maybe
I’ll get to look soon.
He didn’t look ruffled though.

In fact, he grinned, although it didn’t look entirely
sincere to her. “Gallagher fell on the last step, but I helped him to his room.
He’ll probably spend the rest of the time he’s here in bed.”

She didn’t buy the bit about the last step for a moment. “Is
he okay?”

Roger and Kyle both looked at her and Kyle quit grinning.
She had the impression that she was being studied.

“I mean, he’s a jerk and all, but if he needs medical
attention, he should get it,” she said.

Kyle frowned. “He’s fine. Just a bruise or two. But good
point. Roger?”

Roger shrugged. “All right, I’ll go check on him.” He shook
his head, amused about something, and walked up.

Kyle turned to her. “Kneel,” he said.

Her heart melted suddenly with the words. Her knees went weak
too. Maybe her body obeyed before her brain consciously decided to. She found
herself on the floor, looking up at him. She glanced at his crotch and was
disappointed. He wasn’t aroused, or at least his cock wasn’t hard.

“Why do you want to stay, Teresa?”

She remembered what Roger had said.
Because I’m falling
in love with you.
But she’d much rather he say it first, even though that
seemed unlikely. “Because I love—the things you do to me. I want more. And I
want to please you too.”