Switch Master: 6 (Ink and Kink) (27 page)

His detective liked to snuggle. He was good with that.

“I’m going to help you, Samantha,” he whispered.

“You’ve been helping me since we met.”

“I’m going to help you find out if your daughter’s still alive.”

She breathed in deep and sat up. “I need to know. If it
turns out that I’m wrong to follow a dream, so be it. I won’t leave a stone
unturned in my effort to learn the truth.”

“Are you okay with asking Phalen to investigate what
happened back then?”

“Yes. I think it’s best that way.”

“Do you want Ethan to know?”

“Definitely, he and Morgan should both know about this.
Having the whole Maddox clan on my side would mean everything. But I’m not sure
why she didn’t sense anything about Sarah being alive.”

“My guess would be because you didn’t know.”

“Sometimes I wonder what would have happened to Sarah if I
hadn’t taken Mark’s money and run away. Maybe if I’d been braver or stronger
and told my mom about getting pregnant everything would be different.”

“Can I ask you something, Samantha?” He waited for her to
nod. “Have you forgiven yourself for the mistakes you made in the past? We all
make them, but sometimes it’s difficult to stop blaming ourselves for things
beyond our control.”

“Even you?” she asked.

“Especially me,” he said, shifting to use his free arm to
reach out and stroke her damp hair away from her face. “For the longest time, I
felt responsible for my parents dying.”

“Why? A drunk driver caused their deaths, not you.”

“Do you know where I was that night?” She shook her head no.
“I was at my first high school party I’d been forbidden to go to by my dad. We
had a big fight and I sneaked out when he took my mother to dinner to celebrate
the anniversary of the day they met.”

“You were fifteen then?”

“Yes. I spent so much time making good grades and playing
sports, I wanted to have fun. Admittedly, I’d also hoped to meet up with this
girl whose name I’m ashamed to admit I don’t remember.”

“What happened?”

“I met up with a beer bong. I’d been hugging the toilet when
cops showed up at the house, looking for me.”

“Taran,” Samantha murmured, reaching out to touch his face.
“I’m so sorry.”

“I felt guilty for years after, wondering if my parents
would be alive today if I stayed home. Maybe they’d have stayed home for dinner
that night. Maybe my father and I wouldn’t have argued. Maybe he’d know I was
sorry for accusing him of loving Ethan and Phalen more than me.”

“I’m sure your father knew.”

“Ethan helped me see that,” Taran told her. “We had our
share of fights, to be sure, but when it came down to it, he kept me focused on
living a life that would make our parents proud.”

“Ethan’s a good man.”

“Once I got my head out of my ass and stopped feeling so
guilty, I was able to forgive myself. You can do that as well.”

“You’re right. Doesn’t mean I won’t be sad or question what
I remember from the day Sarah was born. I was so confused and scared and in
pain, emotionally and physically. I’d lost a lot of blood and the medications
they’d given me caused all sorts of nightmares when I was in ICU. I didn’t know
my right foot from my left.”

Taran lifted his head, studying her eyes. “How long were you
in ICU?”

“About a week,” she said, nodding.

“Samantha, no,” he murmured, leaning into her so he could
tumble her down to the bed and hold her close to him.

“James apparently told the doctors I’d tried to kill myself
out of shame for being pregnant and they were keeping me sedated. There was a
nurse, Dr. Solomon’s nurse, who came by periodically to check on me, but I’m
not sure why. By chance, a detective came to see me when I was transferred to
another floor. He’d been investigating a complaint made against James Cormack.”

“Did you tell him the truth?”

“Yes. He believed me. He wanted to put me in protective
custody. I told him I would help the police bring down James Cormack. The cops
didn’t have much on James other than an anonymous tip.”

“Good for you.”

“It’s because of that detective that I became a cop. I saw
the kind of person he was, a good person, heroic, and I wanted to emulate him.”

“What’s the detective’s name?”

“Steve Chamberlain,” Samantha answered. “He’s a captain now.
I still contact him when I need information on a suspect or person who may have
gone to NYC.”

“Look at what you’ve done with your life since then, Samantha.
You’ve done a whole lot of good for a lot of people, including giving them back
their lives and giving families closure. You deserve to be happy.”

“I am happy, Taran. Thank you for looking out for me, for
everything, including what you’re doing for Luke.”

“So far, Luke seems to be a pretty good kid who needs a
little guidance. Hopefully he’ll be open to letting me become his mentor. How
about I give Phalen a call now?”

Samantha maneuvered herself around to look at the bedside
alarm clock. “Okay, wow, it’s almost dinner time.”

“If I know my brother, the second we call, he’ll be on his
way over here.”

“Tell him to bring Cassie and takeout from the diner.
Nothing too heavy, soup would be great, or stew.”

Taran hugged her to him. “Okay. I’ll do that.”

“In the meantime, I’m going to put on makeup and do my hair,
especially if we’re going to have company.”

“I can help if you want.”

“I’m sure you can.”

“That’s not a ‘yes, come help me, Taran’.”

“You can help me next time. I’ve some girly things to do.”

Reluctantly, Taran let her crawl out from under him.
Watching her enter the bathroom and close the door, he waited a second or two
before leaving the bedroom to find his overnight bag.

Unpacking while she was doing her girly stuff, he hung
clothes in her closet and found free space in her dresser, then put on clean
boxer shorts and a pair of jeans. Needing to call Phalen, he grabbed a polo
shirt and went to find his phone. He found it in the pocket of his jacket,
pulled it out and dialed his brother.

When Samantha came out of the bedroom wearing a pair of
black pants and a cream-colored sweater, he immediately noticed that she wore
makeup. Her hair was a smooth, dry, silky curtain. She looked…wow…beautiful.

“Baby, want to go on a date Friday night?” he asked, enjoying
the way she sashayed toward him.

Man, Samantha Riley had killer moves and fantastic legs.
Usually she wore jeans or khakis. Tonight she’d made it a point to dress up for
company. She was still a kickass blonde bombshell, yet there was something fresh
and feminine about her. She glowed.

“Would love to, where do you want to go?”

“We can go to Alex and Ryan’s place for dinner, maybe stay
the night in my special room.”

A wicked smile flashed on her pretty face. “Special room,
hmm, what kind of evening do you have in mind?”

“You already know, the kind where you end up flying,” he
countered, grabbing her up close when she came near him.

“I’m game,” she agreed, going up on her toes and kissing him
softly. “Did you talk to Phalen?”

“He and Cassie will be here in about forty-five minutes.”

“I have a Sara Lee pie in the freezer. I’ll put it in the
oven for dessert.”

“That’ll be nice. Sam, sometimes Phalen can be difficult to
deal with when someone he cares about is hurting or upset. I’d suggest we
handcuff him to a chair the minute he walks through the door.”

“I’m sure we won’t need my cuffs. Cassie can wiggle her
finger and make him behave. Got to admit, having Phalen on our side means a lot
to me.”

“I like how you used the word ‘our’,” Taran admitted. “You
look beautiful. Do you know that?”

“Thought I’d surprise you and dress nice. Friday night, I’ll
wear a dress or something wicked sexy.”

Taran looked forward to it. “Wear whatever you’d like, Sam.
I’ll have it off you within minutes of getting you alone in our room.”

“It’s
our
room now?” she asked, grinning.

“Yep, got a problem with that?”

She pretended to think about it. “I’m good, pretty boy.”

Pulling her into his body, Taran bent his head and kissed
her, taking his time to appreciate the taste and smell of her. Letting her go
after a bit, he brushed his lips across her nose then stepped back. Her smile
made his heart thud as if he’d never been with a woman before.

While waiting for Phalen and Cassie to arrive, he retrieved
dishes from the kitchen cabinets and set the dinette table for four. Samantha
took a few minutes to take an apple pie out of the freezer and popped it in the
oven. It wasn’t too long before the cinnamon and apple scent filled the
apartment.

When the outside door buzzer went off on a speaker by
Samantha’s door, Taran went over to confirm that it was Phalen and Cassie,
buzzing them in.

A couple seconds later, he opened the apartment door. Phalen
stomped in, resembling the Incredible Hulk without the green skin.

“Where’s Sam?” he demanded.

“She’s in the kitchen looking after a pie. Hi, Cassie, how’s
my niece or nephew doing today?” Taking a quick scan of his sister-in-law to be
sure she was fine, he noticed she looked prettier than ever in her flowing
green skirt, brown boots and green maternity top.

“Doing just fine and very active,” Cassie said, placing her
hand over her middle.

Cassie came forward, going up on her toes to kiss Taran’s
cheek. “Phalen’s really worried. You’d only alluded to needing his help, but
whatever it is we’re both here for you and Sam.”

“Thanks, Cassie,” Samantha said, coming out of the kitchen.
“And thank you for bringing dinner. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

Phalen, carrying a brown takeout bag of food that smelled
incredible, headed across the room to place the bag on the table. It didn’t
take him longer than that to walk up to Samantha and take her by the shoulders.

“Like my wife said, anything you need, we’re here for you,
Sam. Got it?”

“I got it, Phalen,” Samantha replied, getting swamped by
Phalen’s arms.

“I’m curious to know what you’ve been doing the last couple
of weeks,” Phalen said. “Little brother was worried about you.”

“Sorry about that. I took some time off work to come to
terms with what went down in October with Alisa Bailey. I would do it again to
save Ethan’s life, but the guilt was cloying.”

“Yeah, I know how much that sucks. If you ever want to vent,
let me know,” Phalen stated, still hugging her. “So where have you been?”

“Roller derby,” Samantha answered.

“Roller derby?” Phalen didn’t let go, but he did ease back.
“You mean when women out-skate each other, pushing and shoving and wrestling?”

“I’m a pivot for the Framingham Femme Fatales. It’s a long
story and I’ll fill you in another time. Suffice it to say that some of my
teammates are from Cassie’s safe haven, though they’re not in danger from their
abusers any longer.”

“That’s awesome. I knew some of the ladies were learning
about roller derby,” Cassie commented. “I think it’s great that you’re doing
something for yourself, Sam.”

Samantha grinned. “Thank you, Cassie. I really appreciate
that.”

Taran had just about enough of his oldest brother’s arms
locked around Samantha. He knew Phalen’s actions were platonic, that didn’t
mean he had to like it.

“Hey, big bro, don’t smother my woman, okay?”

“Jealous much, little brother?” Phalen challenged, letting
Samantha go.

“Not a bit. I know where she’s sleeping tonight, with me.”

“Careful, pretty boy,” Samantha warned, barely managing to
hide a distinct flush. “I’m sure Phalen and Cassie don’t need to know any
details about our love life.”

“When Ethan told us you two were going out on Friday night
we were elated,” Cassie said. “So tell us what’s up. What can we do to help?”

“Let’s take a seat at the table and eat before supper gets
cold,” Samantha suggested. “What can I get you all to drink? I’ve got soda,
iced tea, juice and ice water.”

“I’ll have water,” Cassie replied. “Do you have lemons?”

“I do,” Samantha said, heading into the kitchen. Taran
followed, lending a hand in cutting a lemon into wedges.

“Iced tea is fine for me,” Phalen said from the dinette.

When four drinks were placed on the table, Cassie set out
the meal, New-England-style beef stew with buttermilk biscuits. The meal
smelled even better out of the brown bag. It tasted homemade.

When Samantha and Cassie were finished eating and Phalen and
Taran helped themselves to seconds, Samantha opened up about what happened to
her and her baby when she’d run away to New York City.

Phalen was visibly tense, although he stayed quiet while
Samantha talked, ignoring his plate of food. A couple of times, he acted as if
he might jump out of his chair. Taran understood what his brother was going
through. It was difficult as hell to listen to the story.

Cassie asked if Samantha knew how far along she’d been when
the doctor performed the cesarean section. Thirty-four weeks had been
Samantha’s answer. Cassie thought it was certainly possible for the baby to
survive and Sam decided to speak to her doctor and get some advice.

It was then that Phalen shoved himself away from the table
and stood.

“Phalen, don’t rant and threaten,” Cassie warned softly.

“No worries, sweetheart, I’m going to hug Sam again. If I
don’t, I’m going to hunt Mark and James Cormack down and make them pay for what
they did to her.”

He made good on his word, going around the table and
swallowing Samantha up like he’d done at the door. Carefully, setting her away
from him after he calmed down, he held onto her hands.

“Now you listen to me, Sam. I’ll find that doctor. I’ll find
the truth. I’ll even kick James’ and Mark Cormack’s asses for you if you ask me
to, but you make sure you let Taran take care of you.”