Choosing Rena (3 page)

“I hate to interrupt this,
Dickens, but the silent alarm at your residence just went off.”
Rapping on the frame of the door, Ethan WhiteHawk, an old Army
ranger buddy back from their days in the Rangers, entered the room.
As usual, he was dressed casually in jeans and a company polo
shirt, his dark hair flowing over his shoulders, other than the
thin braids on either side of his face. It wasn’t often you saw a
Native American in Chicago, but there was no denying his heritage.
Jackson still couldn’t believe the man had abandoned Louisiana for
Illinois, but evidently Jude had been more than persuasive in his
job offer.
And now he’s brought news of a
breach.

“Fuck!” Jumping up from the couch, his
current issues with Rena went to the wayside in the face of a break
in. He slipped into protector mode with ease. This is what he’d
been born to do. “Details, WhiteHawk. Which alarm? The interior
door or the balcony?”

“Balcony.”

“Shit! That’s like a five story climb.
How the hell did they get up there?”

In the background, he could hear Jude
on the phone with Olivia, checking on his Mistress. Jackson just
thanked the stars above Olivia was already at the club dealing with
vendors, or his friend would’ve torn out of the office like his ass
was on fire, which only left Micah unaccounted for. Where was the
third in Jude’s relationship? After the man had crossed paths with
the wrong Domme in New Orleans three months ago, everyone was still
on edge.

“Any idea if it could’ve been Micah
who set it off?”

Jude joined them, his phone still
pressed to his ear. “Okay, Mistress. Keep him there. Don’t let him
leave. I don’t care if he has a meeting in an hour or not. Tie his
ass to the cross if need be. I need to know you’re both safe while
I’m checking our home.” Jude paused, his face heating. Jackson
could only imagine what Olivia was telling her sub, but judging by
the look on his friend’s face it was something which Jude was
looking forward to. “Of course, Mistress. I remember our deal, but
I promise this is a valid issue. I realigned the sensor on the
balcony after the last false alarm.”

Jackson sighed, remembering the
numerous false alarms over the past several weeks. They’d thought
it had been birds bumping into the glass balcony doors while
pecking at the breadcrumbs Olivia was known to throw out, but
perhaps it wasn’t. They’d moved the sensor higher up, so the birds
wouldn’t be able to set it off but it still had gone
off.

After telling his Mistress to behave,
Jude snapped the phone shut at they exited the office. “Wish I was
in Micah’s shoes.” The longing in his friend’s voice didn’t
surprise Jackson. “Lucky bastard.”

Jackson burst out laughing as the
three of them headed out to the bank of elevators. “I just pray for
your ass it isn’t a false alarm.” He pressed the down button,
waiting for the doors to open. “It’s not that I want someone trying
to break in, but I remember how testy Olivia got the last time we
called a lockdown at the club.”

A loud ding signaling the car had
arrived. “I’d take the punishment if it meant some crazy ass bird
set it off again, but I don’t think so. I moved the sensor to the
top of the door. I came too close to losing Olivia in New Orleans.
I about died when I heard the shot go off before she fell in the
water.”

“You and me both.” Ethan said as they
entered the elevator.

* * * *

Waiting behind Jude as he cautiously
unlocked the condo door, all of Jackson’s senses were on high
alert. He and Ethan had Jude’s back. If there was any chance of the
mess from New Orleans revisiting the trio in Chicago, he personally
wanted to nip it in the bud before it became an issue. Following
his friend into the surprisingly warm condo, he wanted to curse
when the overwhelming stench of urine hit his nostrils. It was
still early in the summer, but an unusually warm spell had settled
over the greater Chicago-land area and it seemed to magnify the
smell. In front of him, Jude began cursing loudly. Ducking around
Jude, he too wanted to curse. The balcony sliders were still intact
but one door had a huge hole in the middle of it. The twinkle of
light off the shards scattered on the kitchen floor mocked them. No
bird would be able to do this.

“Son of bitch! Let’s spread out and do
a perimeter check,” Jude ordered as he knelt to free his knife from
its ankle sheath. Rising with it in hand, the sun glinted off the
blade, leaving no doubt about how serious he was taking the break
in.

Jackson nodded, freeing his gun from
his underarm holster. Unlike Jude, who no longer carried a firearm
because of Olivia’s unease, he had no problems carrying one. His
need to protect wouldn’t be limited by the whims of a woman.
Although honestly, Jude was more than deadly with his razor sharp
blade. They split off into separate directions, Jude slipping down
the hall towards the master suite, while Ethan ducked into the
guest room. Taking the dining room, Jackson was just rounding the
large oak curio holding Olivia’s china when he caught a glimpse of
something out of the corner of his eye.

Spinning back towards the kitchen,
Jackson saw the long shadow of a man move across the hardwood floor
in the hall before the crunch of glass hit his ears. Silently
stalking the sound with his finger poised on the gun’s trigger, he
approached the kitchen door just in time to see a man in dark
clothing disappear over the railing.

“Son of a bitch. Jude! He’s
escaping!” He rushed into the kitchen and through the broken
balcony door, only to find an abandoned rope swaying in the breeze.
Smacking the wrought iron rail it was attached to, he let loose a
long string of expletives at their stupidity. Obviously, they
weren’t quite as sharp as they had been considering they’d missed
the rope when they’d first come in.
Unless, the perp tied it off before he went over the rail.
But damn, is it even possible? He only had seconds to clear the
railing before I got in here.

He felt Jude come up next to him, even
as he heard the apartment door open. “The damned perp just scaled
down the building using this.” He tugged on the rope. “But I can’t
see him now. Damn trees.” Frustration built in him as he glared at
the dense brush and foliage surrounding the building. Even if he’d
wanted to spot the man, the summer foliage prevented it.

Joining him at the railing, Jude
growled. “Ethan headed downstairs. Maybe he’ll have some luck.”
Despite the hopeful tone, Jackson knew Jude was expecting miracles.
The intruder had been a ghost. Slipping past not just one but three
highly trained ex-Rangers was damned difficult, if not impossible.
It took some serious training – more than likely of the government
kind.

Looking back into the kitchen, Jude
rubbed the back of his neck. “Mistress is going to be pissed. Not
only did the perp break the balcony door, he tore up our room.
Shredded our bedding, pissed on it by the smell of it, and slashed
all of her work clothes. There was not one corset, one pair of
leggings or leather garment left untouched. I think he was
attacking her Domme persona because he didn’t touch any of her
street clothes.”

Placing his hand on Jude’s shoulder,
he gave it a squeeze. “We’ll find him, I promise. Olivia won’t be
hurt again. Besides, it may not have been aimed just at her. Did he
shred any of your clothes? Or Micah’s?”

Jude shrugged, looking a bit lost. “I
have no idea. I only got as far as her closet when you
yelled.”

He heard the door open as Ethan
re-entered. The Indian had his familiar shit-eating grin on his
face as he joined them.

“Either you caught him or found
something, but considering, you’re empty handed it has to be the
latter. So spill it, before Jude here has a nervous breakdown.”
Jackson returned his gun to its holster.

“A partial license plate number.”
Flipping open his notebook Ethan handed it to Jude. “It’s a
start.”

Chapter Three

Exiting the CTA station
located on the ground level of the State of Illinois Building, Rena
entered the Atrium Mall. Around her, masses of people were either
heading to work like her, or were shoppers already seeking refuge
from the near record high temperatures outside.
Hard to believe it’s already kissing ninety and it isn’t even
nine o’clock yet.
The mall was bustling
with activity and even as crowded as it was, she had to fight the
urge to check over her shoulder.

It had been nearly a week since the
incident with Jackson, but instead of tracking her down again as
she’d expected, he hadn’t shown up. Whether it meant he’d finally
given up or was just biding his time, she didn’t know. Either way,
she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. Pushing
his lack of presence from her head, she skirted a woman pushing a
stroller. Maneuvering through the crowd, she headed for the
escalators to check in for her shift when a voice from her left
stopped her.

“Rena MacAllister – is that
you?”

She wanted to groan as she recognized
her ex’s mother. With every silver hair professionally coiffed, and
wearing an ivory short-sleeved cardigan with a tan pencil skirt,
Elizebetta Vayarti was the epitome of a New York socialite out
enjoying a warm summer morning.

Stepping out of the stream of traffic,
she motioned the woman to join her – just wanting to get the
confrontation over with as quickly as possible. “Mrs. Vayarti, what
a surprise. Are you in town to do some shopping?” She quickly
scanned the crowd, hoping she wouldn’t spot Louis. It wasn’t
uncommon for him to escort his mother on one of her art shopping
trips. While she doubted her former Dom would care one way or the
other at crossing paths with her, she personally didn’t want to see
him or whichever sub he’d brought with him. Instead the only person
she recognized was Dieter, Elizebetta’s right hand man and
assistant.

She smiled. “You could say that, but
I’m not shopping for art this time.” She glanced at the slender,
expensive Swiss watch gracing one wrist. “I know it’s not near,
teatime but I was wondering if you’d join me for a coffee or tea
over at the Bonjour Club.”

Shock rolled through Rena.
The last place she’d expected to see a high-class society matron
like Elizebetta Vayarti was in a casual food court restaurant
specializing in breakfast and brunch items.
For Christ’s Sakes, they don’t even take reservations nor
have a dress code.

“Ah, I wish I could, but I have to get
to work.” Plastering a smile on her face, Rena turned to leave when
Elizebetta caught her arm. Glancing down at the slender hand on her
arm, she was flabbergasted. The woman never touched anyone other
than her son.

“Please, Rena.” A look of desperation
crossed the other woman’s face. “I need to talk to you. Louis
won’t…”

Fury washed over Rena. How dare the
woman come to Chicago to dump her problems with Louis on her? She
was no longer his sub, so she didn’t have to deal with this shit
anymore. “If it’s about your son, I don’t want to hear it. If
you’re having issues, talk to Sabella or whichever woman he’s with
right now. They’ll have more sway over him than I will.” Pulling
free, she made it only ten feet when Dieter appeared in front of
her. She sighed.

“Listen, I don’t have time for this.
I’m already running late because some idiot on the L decided
mugging a sweet little old woman in my car was a great
idea.”

“I’m assuming you disabused him of the
notion?” Rena nodded. Still willow thin, Dieter was nothing like
what his name implied. Instead of being a huge German beefcake, the
man was so skinny it bordered on obscene. While she’d been with
Louis, she’d wanted to fix his mother’s assistant some of her
Gram’s chicken and dumplings to fatten him up, but at the moment
all she wanted to do was shove him out of her way when he opened
his mouth. If she’d expected another plea, she was mistaken. The
first thing the man did was inquire about the mugging victim. “Is
she okay? Did you report the person to the police?”

Rena nodded. “Just a bit roughed up
and the asshole is being escorted by two of Chicago’s finest down
to the local precinct.” She winced as she caught sight of one of
the clocks on the wall. “Shit, I’d love to stay and talk, but I
really have to go. I’m already late.”

“I understand. Just meet us
after you get done with your shift, Rena.” His plea wasn’t lost on
her.
The damned man always did know how to
talk me into anything.
“We’ll make it worth
your while.”

She shook her head. “Now, Dieter, when
have you ever known me to be swayed by money? What’s Louis done
that’s so damn bad his mother flew half way across the country to
find me?”

Dieter pushed up his silver framed
glasses, reinforcing his bookworm appearance. “It’s what he hasn’t
done. Mrs. Vayarti has a business proposition which has nothing to
do with him - other than the fact he’s forbidden her to open
another art gallery.”

“So you’re telling me this is
business? Not some ploy to have me talk some sense into the
bastard?”

His eyes softened. “If it was, I
wouldn’t have come. The way Mr. Vayarti handled the situation
between you two leaves a bitter taste in my mouth….”