Ben gave him an odd little smile. “Welcome to my world, buddy. It’s going to be fun to watch you deal with this shit for once.” He sobered a bit. “Seriously, Chase, I want you to be sure about her.”
Because she was fragile. She was delicate. She was on the cusp of reemerging into the world. It scared the shit out of him. He’d chosen his lovers with care before, for their ease and lack of long-term need. Natalie was different. He’d known it the minute he’d looked across the dungeon. He’d seen that pink hair and his world had shifted from a flat vision of black and white to a vivid 3-D Technicolor that he didn’t completely understand. He could walk away now and live the rest of his life in the meager comfort of knowing that his heart was meant to pump blood through his body and nothing else. Or he could finally try to figure out why Julian looked at Dani and Finn, that odd light in his eyes. Julian had changed, becoming more than he had been before he’d found Finn and Dani.
Natalie could make him into something more.
“I’m serious, Ben.” He looked at his brother, hoping his will shone through.
“Be sure because this girl needs some help. She might be better at hiding it, but she’s just as damaged as Kitten.”
Chase didn’t like the way Ben was talking. “She’s more than a mental disorder.”
Ben’s face went the red he got when he was really pissed off. “I never fucking said that. I said we have to be careful with her.”
“I think everyone has been very careful with her. I think she’s been treated like she’s made of glass and maybe she needs a firm hand again. There was a reason she was interested in D/s in the first place.”
Ben softened a little and sighed. He scrubbed a hand across his face. “I don’t know.”
“You didn’t have a problem with her until you knew who she was.”
“Finding out that the girl I just slept with had been kidnapped and forced into slavery does affect me, Chase.”
And it affected him, too. “But she wasn’t a little victim when she was riding your cock. She was a woman who knew what she wanted.”
Ben smiled a little. “Yeah.”
“Me.” Chase had to admit it was fun to dig that particular knife in.
Ben shoved up his happy middle finger. “Look, I get it. She’s trying, but she’s also fragile. Are we in this together or not?”
He was still worried that Ben would come out on top. Natalie had been through a lot. She needed Chase now, but what would happen when she inevitably moved on? Would she love Ben’s easy affection and put up with Chase because they were a team?
He turned and looked out the window. Yep. He fucking hated feelings because now he was well aware that he didn’t really want a life that didn’t include his brother. He’d never really thought about it, the future a hazy thing he didn’t need to worry about, but he was thirty-five. If this wasn’t the future, then maybe he didn’t have one. And when he really thought about it, he couldn’t imagine a life that didn’t include Ben.
He needed Ben in ways he wasn’t sure Ben needed him.
“I hope you don’t shut me out, man. Because you’re right. She made the connection with you,” Ben said quietly. “I really like this girl. Maybe that’s coming from you. Maybe I’m just picking up on your emotion, but I don’t give a shit. This feels good, Chase. This feels right.”
“I want to go after her.” He turned to his brother. “I want her. I don’t intend to leave this place without her.”
Ben smiled, a broad show of even teeth. “Excellent. Then we’re in agreement. We need to figure out a way to take that little piece of sugar down.”
“First we need to figure out who wants to ruin her life.” He’d walked every inch of the tiny apartment and hadn’t come up with anything other than the shoes. Even if the sheriff had given a damn, he doubted the perpetrator would kindly show up in the AFIS database. A career criminal would likely have been smarter than this chick. “I want to put some surveillance around the building.”
“Gaby might not like that,” Ben pointed out. “According to Chris, the employees here value their privacy.”
Chase shrugged. “I didn’t intend to tell them, so they’ll still think they have privacy.” Ben needlessly complicated things with morality. “I’m not intending on spying on them. I just want to see who keeps watch on Natalie’s door. I’ll have Logan do it. He would probably enjoy the time away from watching Georgia.”
He turned back to the window. She had a decent view of the courtyard. Even this early, a few families were out by the pool, including Callum Reed and his two kids. The big bad Dom didn’t look so nasty today. It was hard to look truly intimidating with a small toddler girl clinging to his back and shouting, “Give me a ride, Daddy.”
A vision of a little pink-haired girl running with her arms outstretched assaulted him.
Good god, he was really going soft.
“We’re not letting our daughter get pink hair,” Ben said, his voice choking up a little before he laughed. “You really are in deep, aren’t you?”
He was. And he was right about Natalie. She wasn’t a little victim cowering in her room because she hadn’t stayed where they’d put her. He frowned as he watched Natalie stride through the courtyard, her head down like a charging bull. She glanced up briefly, seeing Cal and then hurrying along.
“Little brat. Logan is in so much trouble. Do you think the girls tied him up so Natalie could get away?”
Ben grinned a little, looking down at her. “Georgia might have tried, but Kitten would never tie him up. I’ve heard he gives the best spankings.”
Kitten tended to think whoever was her current Master gave the best everythings.
Nat stopped, her whole body halting and nearly pulling back as another form walked in from behind one of the retaining walls. Big and well built, the man’s arms came up as though in greeting. Chase couldn’t see the man’s back, but he could tell the fucker worked out because asshole wasn’t wearing a shirt. Just a pair of board shorts that sat far too low on his hips.
Why bother wearing shorts at all? The fucker’s ass cheeks were nearly showing off. And he was interested in Natalie. Every muscle in the man’s body screamed “hey, fuck me.” Chase wasn’t an idiot. He knew when a peacock was showing off, hoping to get a little action.
Nat smiled, her face beaming at the man. She freaking lit up the world when she smiled. Chase found his stupid ass smiling along with her when he should be ready to kill.
“Who the fuck is that?” Ben asked, puffing up like he was about to start a fight.
At least he wasn’t alone. Ben pulled him right back into assassin mode. “He’s the asshole we kill next. I think we should make an introduction.”
Ben’s face went fierce. “Yeah. I don’t like to kill people when I don’t know their names.”
Yeah, he liked having his brother at his side. Maybe this could work. He turned and walked out, knowing Ben had his back.
“Hey.” Nat stopped in her tracks as Tate walked from behind the hallway that led to the single-male portion of the building.
Tate grinned, his all-American hotness rolling off him. He was wearing a pair of swimming trunks that showed off his ridiculously toned body. Tate Evans had a six-pack and pecs that would make an athlete blush, but all Nat could see was the Dawson brothers’ bodies. There were two of them. It kind of kicked Tate’s ass. Tate might be hot, but he didn’t have a superhot clone of himself.
“Nat. I was just thinking about you. Hey, Gretchen was saying something happened at the spa. What’s going on? Do you need some help?”