Collaring Their Racy Runaway [Racy Nights 12] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  “So, you never saw exactly what they were doing in the house?” asked Carson.

  “I didn’t see them do anything illegal, if that’s what you mean. But I didn’t feel on solid ground, and it didn’t take a genius to realize that he was messed up in something very bad. So I left. I came back to Racy and hid away in the apartment above my parents’ garage. I don’t think more than a dozen people knew I was back in town.”

  Sean shook his head. “I don’t remember anyone mentioning it. Do you happen to have names or addresses from the places you lived with Ray?”

  Teresa reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded, typed sheet of paper. She unfolded it and handed it to Sean. “I typed it all out. Names, dates, addresses, and places I worked and lived. I added as many names and phone numbers as I could remember, although I’m not sure how current some of the numbers are. These people tended to move around a lot like we did.”

  She pulled out a second sheet and handed that to him as well. “This is a copy of the restraining order against Ray that was filed back in December in Los Angeles County, California.”

  “The one he violated, right?”

  She nodded. “He followed me all the way to San Jose.” She pointed toward the nearly faded bruises on her arms. “That’s where I got all these, and others that I’ll show you if you need to see them. I only got away because he passed out one night from drinking too much. I went to a bar and begged to use their phone, then I called my parents. I’d lost my cell phone somewhere along the line, although I’m pretty sure that’s because Ray took it.”

  Carson glanced up sharply. “Did you call the carrier and have it deactivated?”

  “Yes. I haven’t had a bill since January.”

  He and Sean exchanged a glance. “He might still be using it. He could have had it reprogrammed.”

  Sean nodded, grinning. “Good work, rookie.”

  “Rookie? I outrank you. Remember that.” Carson’s voice was full of indignation, but he was smiling, so Teresa knew he and Sean were teasing each other. Carson turned his gaze toward her again, and Teresa couldn’t stop staring a second time. He was absolutely beautiful. How was it she didn’t remember him? “Is your carrier’s name on that paper?”

  “No, but it’s Verizon.”

  “Okay. We’ll try and track down the phone. Was it in your name?”

  “Yes.” She glanced at Sean. “If it would help, I’ll give you my account details.”

  He handed her the first sheet of paper and a pen, and then she wrote down her account details. “But like I said, they haven’t billed me since January.”

  “The first time you left Colorado, how long were you in Racy?” asked Sean.

  “Not long. My parents were impossible. Not that I blame them, but I was still young, and I thought I could handle things on my own. I found a job in Orlando, Florida, that I thought sounded like fun, and it’s warm down there, so I left again. I got involved with the same kinds of people as Ray and his friends, but I swear to you both I never used drugs or did anything illegal for them. Every time they’d try to make me part of it, I’d move on.”

  She sighed and leaned back in her chair. “This sounds like a story about a really stupid person when I say it out loud. But it was like I just couldn’t meet people who weren’t trying to work the system, or who lived lives that didn’t involve staying one step ahead of the cops, you know? I didn’t go looking for trouble. It just seemed to find me. These people merely seemed down on their luck when I’d meet them, but then it didn’t take long for me to realize they were just crooks.”

  “When did you get hooked up with Ray again?” asked Sean.

  “Not until a few years ago. I moved around Florida for a while, came home briefly a few times, but for no more than a couple of weeks at a time, and then I ended up in California about seven years ago. For a while, I thought I had finally found my own level. I worked in a nice restaurant in Burbank as a server, and I had a few dates with guys who had legitimate jobs. But I never got too involved because I was afraid. Does that make sense?”

  Carson nodded, and another shadow of pain crossed his face. “Some things in our past are difficult to let go of.”

  She wanted to ask what he meant, but felt it would be too intrusive, so she made a mental note to ask Maggie about Carson. Maggie would remember him if they’d been in the same grade at school. “That’s true. I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. People with nice jobs and who weren’t on the run from arrest warrants seemed too good to be true. And I was always looking over my shoulder, afraid that Ray or one of the other people I’d known in the past would show up.”

  “When did he?” asked Sean. “How long ago?”

  “Just under two years ago. He walked into the restaurant one day and I nearly passed out. But when once I recovered, I realized he looked completely different. He’d cut his hair, he was clean-shaven, and that look in his eyes was gone. He’s always looked like someone who was waiting for the monster to come around the corner, you know? And I could tell he was clean. He told me he’d gotten his act together. I asked how he’d found me, and he said it had been a coincidence.”

  “Did you believe that?” asked Carson.

  “I honestly didn’t know what to believe. I still don’t. I never had a Facebook account or anything like that. I only e-mailed a few of my siblings, and I didn’t go online to message boards or anything like that. I had an apartment lease and my cell phone, and I only have one credit card that I use strictly for emergencies. I don’t know how he could have found me. I’ve never even owned a car. I took public transportation everywhere or I walked.”

  “Might have been a coincidence, then,” said Sean. “So what happened?”

  “It didn’t take long. If he wasn’t clean the day he walked into the restaurant, he disguised it well. And if he truly was clean that day, he went back to his old habits soon after. I let him move in with me because he said he had no place to go, and we became intimately involved again. I honestly believed he’d turned his life around. About three months after that, things started happening again, just as they had in Denver. He’d stay out until odd hours, he wouldn’t tell me who he was with or where, and people I didn’t like the looks of started showing up at the apartment.”

  She pointed toward the paper she’d handed Sean. “The reason behind my being able to obtain the restraining order against him is detailed on there. I had no choice but to move. And because he trashed the apartment before they kicked me out, I lost my security deposit. I had to quit my job, and even though I found others in fast-food places mostly, he kept finding me.”

  Sean picked up the paper. “He beat you up twice, then?”

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes. The first time I ended up in the emergency room. That was when he trashed the apartment as well. The second time was when he found me in San Jose.”

  He and Carson exchanged another glance, and Teresa was glad to see it contained more anger than pity. She didn’t want anyone in Racy feeling sorry for her. She needed them to protect her, and help her reclaim the life here in her hometown that she should have had all these years.

  “And that’s when you called your parents for help to come home?”

  “Yes. And here I am now.” After nearly three months of working with Julie, that was.

  Teresa had heard from Rafe that Sean shared Julie as a sub with Maddox McCree, who ran the local BDSM club in his home. Rafe said that since Julie, Maddox, and Sean were out to the entire town, they wouldn’t mind him telling her. Rafe had thought it terribly important she know that before seeking Julie’s help, although Teresa didn’t care what Julie did on her private time, or with whom.

  Teresa remembered Sean, Julie, and Maddox. They’d been one grade ahead of her, along with Rafe. But she’d been surprised to realize that Julie was now in the BDSM lifestyle. She’d been a shy, mousy girl in school, so the one thing that hadn’t surprised Teresa was to discover Julie was a shrink. It fit her so well, and
she was very good at it.

  “What would you like us to do for you, Teresa?”

  She stared at Sean, trying to imagine him with Julie, just as she always tried to imagine Julie with both Sean and Maddox each time she and Julie met. It wasn’t that she thought it impossible. She was merely all mixed up about what they did during their BDSM play versus having the shit beat out of her by Ray.

  Julie was currently helping her understand the difference. Teresa didn’t judge the community. She only wanted to better understand it. She’d finally asked Julie one day, after telling her that she knew her brothers and Ria were in the lifestyle and she wanted to know more about what they did.

  And since Ria was now pregnant, Teresa wanted to be able to show her support to her sister, as her child would be their parents’ first grandchild. They didn’t know which Rohan twin was the father, and they didn’t care. Ria told her it didn’t matter to them. Wyatt was an attorney in the public defender’s office, and Trent was a paramedic. She was so happy, as were Rafe and Luke, and that made Teresa more than curious about how they all lived.

  “I wanted to tell the whole story for two reasons. One, to ask for protection in case Ray finds me here.”

  “Done. He won’t get past the state line if we can help it.”

  “What’s your second reason?” asked Carson.

  She studied his face carefully. She swore there was a trace of doubt on it, and she was sad to see that. Not that she could blame him. If even half of what her parents had told her over the years was true, the people of Racy had long ago made up their minds about what Teresa Rodriguez had been up to during the times she wasn’t living in Racy. She hoped one day to change all that, but realized as she glanced from Carson to Sean and back again, she had her work cut out for her.

  Chapter Two

  Carson watched the emotions cross Teresa’s pretty face. He was torn between wanting to protect her by vowing to be her champion, and the overwhelming cynicism that lurked at the fringes of his consciousness. He’d heard the same story from so many people over the years that he found it difficult to believe this woman hadn’t known what was going on inside her own home. More than once, yet. And for years.

  Then again, any man who hit a woman out of anger deserved to be publicly castrated and forced to watch his own balls barbequed while he slowly bled to death. She was a victim, and clearly she had trusted everyone she’d met. She probably still did. She needed stability right now, not judgment.

  “I want to dispel the rumors once and for all,” she said.

  Her voice had lost some of the shakiness that it had first held when she’d walked into the station, but her eyes still looked haunted. They reminded Carson of an animal in the woods that wants to trust the person sneaking up on it, but also knows it’s probably in mortal danger and should run.

  “I want the people of this town to know the truth. I never did drugs, I never sold them, and I was never arrested for doing either. I made bad choices, but I’m not a criminal.”

  Carson and Sean both nodded. Carson wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted to believe her. She’d been a withdrawn girl in school whom everyone had thought odd. It didn’t surprise him that her life had turned out this way. Instead it made him sad. How much untapped potential lurked underneath the surface, just waiting for someone to help her find it and put it to good use? She’d come here looking for help. Wasn’t that part of what they were sworn to do?

  Sean spoke up before Carson could. “All right. We’ll do some checking on the cell phone, and we can also check for outstanding warrants on any of these people. Obviously Ray has a few. We’ll contact the local police departments if we find any, and that way we can help them out a bit.”

  Teresa stood. “Thank you. I can’t ask for more than that.”

  “One more thing,” said Sean. “Are you all right if we share this with the rest of the department? I want everyone to be on the lookout for Ray, and this way word will spread. It will help dispel the rumors floating around about you.”

  “I’m fine with that. Thank you.”

  Carson stood as well. “I’ll walk you out.” He wanted to get to know Teresa Rodriguez again, but what if she’d lied about all this? What if they found out she’d been just as involved? He was a cop. A cop who had never let his dick do the thinking. But damned if he wasn’t so attracted to this girl right now that he was ready to ask her out, and offer any help she needed.

  He walked her out to the parking lot. The night was cool, but not as cold as it had been in recent weeks. Spring was finally on the way to northwest Indiana. “Where is your car?” he asked, glancing around.

  “I still don’t have one. I walked. My parents just live on Ash Lane.”

  He knew where her parents lived. Everyone in town knew that. And hadn’t she told them that she’d never owned a car? What the hell was wrong with him? “Then I’ll walk you home.” It was dark out already, and he wasn’t going to let her roam the streets of Racy alone at night. Not after the story she’d just told them. “Just let me tell Sean I’m going.”

  “No, you don’t have to do that.”

  “You are not walking home alone.” Good grief. He sounded like her father.

  She laughed softly, and he was grateful for that reaction instead of the one he’d expected. “Yes, Sir. I’ll wait right here for you then.”

  His dick jumped to attention at the way she’d addressed him, although he doubted she knew he was a Dom at Maddox’s club. He’d better get his emotions under control and quickly. “That’s Sergeant to you. Come on back inside. I’ll just be a minute.”

  He really didn’t need to do anything more than get on his radio and tell Sean he was walking Teresa home, but Carson pretended that he needed to go back inside so he could take a moment to collect his thoughts. After letting Sean know he’d be gone for the length of time it took to walk her home, he went into the back of the station where he knew he’d be alone this time of night, and leaned against the wall until the urge to kiss Teresa in the dark behind her parents’ house passed.

  What the hell was wrong with him?

  When he finally returned to where she waited, he watched her for a few moments. Her back was to him, and she stood so quietly just inside the door. So patiently. Was that it? Had he guessed right in that she simply trusted everyone she met? She was only two years younger than him. How does a woman reach thirty-six years old without developing any instincts on who to avoid?

  Then again, look at Garrett, his best friend. Garrett Amato was also a Racy police sergeant, and he had been completely blindsided by more than one woman. He’d also been in with a rough crowd when he was younger. It happened, even to people who supposedly should know better. Garrett hadn’t been a bad person when he was younger, simply a poor judge of character.

  Who was he to judge Teresa for her past? She’d come to them tonight for help and to clear up the rumors circulating about her. The very least he owed her was the benefit of the doubt.

  He crossed to where she stood looking out at the April night, her face as serene as if she were sitting at home, watching TV. “You ready?”

  When she gazed up at him and smiled, his damn cock started to twitch again. He’d spent so many years burying himself in work that he’d forgotten how pleasant it was to simply look into a woman’s eyes. And what pretty eyes she had. Dark, like the rest of her siblings’, and she possessed the same mess of curly dark hair that her sister Ria did. Only Teresa had a calmness about her spirit that Ria had never possessed. “Yes, I’m ready. Thank you for walking with me, although it’s not necessary.”

  “It is until we find Ray Hammond and make sure he can’t hurt you ever again.”

  They stepped outside, and Carson breathed in the scent of daffodils and grass. It would be good to have sunshine and flowers in Racy again. The winter had been long and brutal, and he was ready for warm nights and green trees.

  “Do you really think you can find him?” Her voice shook again, and he fought the urg
e to put an arm around her as they walked toward Ash Lane.

  “Yes, I do. Sean is part bloodhound, you know.”

  She laughed, and the sound floated past him in the night air like the tinkling of wind chimes.

  Oh, he was in trouble here. Deep, deep trouble.

  “You and Sean are good friends, aren’t you?”

  “Pretty much. Sean is a tough person to get close to. I’d say he and Chad Bristol are closest, as far as anyone on the force. Do you remember Chad?”

  “Vaguely.”

  He wasn’t sure if she knew who Racy’s triads were, so he didn’t say anything about Chad being one of Annalise Kerr’s Doms. Three of Teresa’s siblings were in the lifestyle, but that didn’t mean she discussed it with them. And he already knew Julie would never divulge names. “He and Harrison Kelly are the other two detectives.”

  She glanced up with a question in her eyes. “I remember the Kelly family. Is Patrick, their father, still the middle school principal?”

  He nodded.

  “Speaking of families, I think I may have said something back there that upset you. When I mentioned growing up the way I did, with hypercritical parents who think none of their children can do anything right. If I touched a nerve, I apologize.”

  He swallowed hard. She must not have heard, which made sense. If she’d left Racy when she turned eighteen, she was already gone by the time his parents died. “When I was twenty, my parents were killed by a man who was high on crack.”

  Teresa stopped walking and looked at him with so much pain in her eyes, this time he couldn’t stop himself. He touched her arm, caressing it tentatively, and then he pulled her close for a quick hug. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.” He released her and took a half step back, hopefully before she realized that his damn cock was rock hard.

  “I am so sorry. I hadn’t heard about that.”