Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

B arron lifted two large boxes loaded to the rim with printer paper out of Shifter’s pickup truck. Huffing with the heavy weight, he shuffled through the storage room and down the hallway to where the supply closet was supposed to have its folding door open. A door he’d specifically left open to make his life easier, and some obsessive neat freak, who should’ve minded his own fucking business, had closed on him. Growling, he lifted his knee to balance the boxes on top while attempting a precarious dance as he opened the door one-handed. Somehow, he managed to accomplish the task without stumbling or, worse, having the boxes fall on top of each other and break open, spilling hundreds of sheets everywhere.

He sighed and wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. Two more boxes to go, and he was done. Before he went back outside, he wedged the door open with a stack of file folders. An obvious sign to the neat genius that someone was working and to leave the door alone. As he turned to head back to the loading zone, agitated voices got his attention .

More than agitated: this was an argument. And Shifter, one of the speakers, was pissed.

“I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with him,” Shifter barked. “He’s ruining my wa.”

“Do you mean Barron? What’s a wa?”

That was his good friend Johnny Gun asking. Quietly, Barron slinked down to the computer room and stopped at the door to listen in.

“Fucking A, I mean Barron,” Shifter retorted. “And wa means harmony. Internal peace. I need it to set up the agency’s complicated systems. He’s supposed to be helping me. Instead, he’s walking around with a huge bug up his ass, and the slightest thing sets him off. He needs to get laid or something.”

“That’s not it, and you of all people should know what’s eating him,” Johnny G argued. “Did you forget? Not long ago, you were a huge asshole.”

“That was different.”

“How so?”

“Ginny, man,” Shifter replied. “She was riding my ass real hard.”

“I see. Now that you’ve made peace with your ol’ lady, life is wonderful.”

“Damn right. Barron has to get on his knees and grovel some. Ask her to forgive him. Yoanni is a sweet Little. She’ll take him back.”

Fuck me.

Shifter knew Yoanni was Little? Then Blade had told him the truth. Evidently, every one of his brothers, except himself, had seen what he couldn’t. More than a metaphor, Blade’s comment was fact: he’d been riding around town blind as a bat, an inch away from an accident.

What are you going to do ?

Barron glanced at his watch. Five minutes after seven. Yoanni should’ve been home an hour ago. Okay, Shifter, I get your point.

He stepped over the threshold. “Guys.” Shifter and Johnny Gun startled. “I put two boxes of printer paper in the supply closet. Two more are in Shifter’s truck. One of you better get them. I’m outta here.”

“Barron, wait,” Johnny G said.

“Not now. I heard you, dude. Later,” he said, walking out.

He got on his bike and peeled out of the building’s driveway. It would take him five minutes tops to reach Yoanni’s place. Though she lived in Pooler, her neighborhood wasn’t far from the Johnston Agency in Garden City.

Barron made the turn into her street and slowed to approach her sidewalk without making too much of a racket. His idling hog was noisy enough. He turned off the engine in front of her house and dismounted. Carefully, he opened the side compartment and took out the bag he’d been carrying since he learned Yoanni had returned from Miami. The gift he hadn’t had the balls to show her. He strode to her door and rang the bell.

The door slammed open. Yoanni, her face contorted, rushed out, shouting, “Barron! Oh my God, Barron.”

“Baby?” He held her arm. Concern and fear roiled in his chest. Her face was blotchy and covered in tears. “What happened?” he asked as he pulled her into his arms.

“I—I,” she stammered. “I’m…scared.”

Concern and fear turned to red-hot fury. If anyone had touched or harmed his baby, they would answer to him and might not live to talk about it.

Tightening his embrace, he murmured, “Why don’t we go inside where you can tell me what happened.”

“No.” Whimpering, she buried herself deeper into him. “I don’t want to go. It’s ugly…and scary. ”

The only way to make sense of the situation was to calm her down. Well, he’d brought the magic with him. Barron tore the edge of the bag with his teeth, then carefully pulled out a teddy bear. It wasn’t very big, but it was cute and smiley.

“Here, sweetie. He’s been waiting for you.”

The magic worked. Yoanni stopped sniffling and pulled back a little to dry her face. His heart trembled as her beautiful hazel eyes glanced from the stuffie to him. “For me?”

“Yes, little Nugget. Just for you.”

Time didn’t exist for him. Yoanni’s old nickname slipped out easily, as if the painful separation of endless months had never existed between them. Unable to stop himself, he caressed her forehead with the back of his fingers, then, brushing his hand down her long, silky hair, he dropped a soft kiss on her head. Might as well enjoy this tender intimacy while it lasted. Once she calmed down and remembered how he’d acted, her fiery Cuban temper would let him have it.

Capturing the teddy bear fast against her chest, she tilted her head with a quirky expression. “You won’t take him when you leave, right?”

Uh-oh. Change the subject.

He jutted his chin toward her door. “Okay, what happened in there?”

She sighed. “Not what happened, but what I found.”

“Show me.” Pulling her hand, he moved forward. But she refused to budge. He frowned. “I’m here. And no one is going to hurt you.”

“It’s not what you think.”

“Yoanni. Move. Now!”

The barked order got her walking. Oh, yeah. More revelations for him. His Little’s response to dominance was natural and lovely to behold.

My Little .

Yielding at last to the concept he’d refused to accept gave Barron strength and purpose. He grasped her hand more firmly and entered her foyer. She followed without resisting.

But the sun was on its way down, and natural light was quickly waning. It was dark inside the house. He flicked the light switch.

From where he stood, Yoanni’s home hadn’t changed since his last visit. She kept a neat home. Its fresh scent traveled through his system with a sense of familiarity and comfort he’d missed. The memory twisted his stomach with guilt and regret. Shit, he hadn’t been here in a long time. How could he go through life pushing aside what mattered most? After all the sweet words and tender moments they’d shared, he’d left her hanging. It would take him years to make it up to her.

Meanwhile, back to the current situation. “Forgive me, but I don’t see anything that could…”

“It’s in the kitchen.”

The sharpness in her voice put him on edge. “Show me.”

Yoanni took the lead. She walked to the kitchen, stopped at the threshold, and thrust out her hand. “See for yourself.”

Barron blinked. It took him a second to process the strange-looking item. He walked closer. The thing had been made of some kind of rough cloth, then twisted and sewn to give it a human shape with arms and legs. Yoanni had a rack of copper pots and pans, mostly decorative, above her kitchen island. Attached to a pan, the object, the string wrapped around the supposed neck, dangled over the center of the island. He moved even closer and winced back with disgust. Blood stained the cloth.

“Imagine how I felt when I came from work and found this thing,” she murmured behind him.

“Shit, I don’t know what to say. This figure reminds me of…”

“A Voodoo doll. Caribbean black magic. Palo. Santería.”

Barron pulled her back to the living room in a hurry. “I’ve heard of Voodoo and black magic, but the other words mean nothing. I need context here. A little definition helps.”

Sighing, Yoanni gestured at her sofa. “Why don’t you take a seat?”

“Hold that thought. I’ll sit and listen, but first, I’m taking that fucking thing out of the house. Sorry, excuse the language.” He frowned, pointing back to the kitchen. “I don’t believe in magic and all that other crap, but I know hate and evil are real. And that thing is loaded. It made my skin crawl when I saw it. Do you keep your trash bags in the same place?”

“Nothing’s changed. You’ll find everything where you saw them last.”

“Sit down, Nugget. Be right back.”

Yoanni watched Barron disappear into the kitchen, feeling like she’d entered a dream or a different dimension. Of all the difficult moments in her existence, the love of her life, the man she couldn’t stop thinking about, had come to her when she was alone and scared out of her wits.

But why? What did he want with her? What should she do, accept or reject him? Her heart answered a resounding yes to the first. But her wounded ego wasn’t ready to open the door and let bygones be bygones. She needed space and time to think about this. Barron had to open his heart and tell her what he wanted. After all, the gift of a stuffie didn’t explain a thing. She smiled at the teddy bear pressed to her chest. Lord, but he knew how to melt her heart.

The sounds of cabinets opening and closing, pots and pans moving around, and the distinct sound of her kitchen door opening reached her.

Yoanni giggled .

Evidently, he hadn’t picked up the tone of sarcasm when she’d said, “Nothing’s changed.” Not quite a true statement. Her kitchen had remained the same. Not her. In her loneliness, a twinge of bitterness had hardened her soul a bit. Naive Yoanni, who’d accepted people’s statements and honesty as facts, was gone. She’d grown hesitant and careful.

Can anyone blame me? And that was another change. She’d stopped caring about other people’s opinions.

“All done.” Drying his hands with the dishrag, Barron appeared at the doorway. He tossed the rag toward the sink and returned to the living room. “You were going to explain.”

“I am.” She inhaled. “When I came back from family leave… Did you know I was in Miami?”

Barron’s face twitched, and Yoanni swallowed. This wasn’t the way she wanted to start.

“Forget that comment.” She waved a hand. Please sit. Nodding, he took the chair in front of her.

“When I returned to the office, I found my desk empty.”

“Empty? All of it?”

“Everything was gone. Pens, pads, pencils, notes, paperclips. I mean, every single doodah, including the silly junk I kept, was gone. That included the desktop calculator Papi gave me to celebrate my first day at the station.”

“That’s weird.” He pressed his lips into a line. “Go on.”

“For obvious reasons, the locked drawer was left intact. I told the captain. He explained that during my absence, he’d tested people to work in an assistant capacity. The city and the station were growing, and he needed a bigger staff. The captain wanted to pull the office surveillance tapes. I insisted that it wasn’t necessary. He didn’t like it, but we dropped the matter.” She paused, letting out a long breath.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. Today was a bad day. Just after lunch hour, the jewelry store on Main Street was robbed at gunpoint. A store clerk died, and the owner is in ICU.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“The activity at the station was nonstop. Betty and I worked late, helping Captain Weaver deal with the situation.”

Barron leaned forward. “Betty?”

“She’s new. The captain hired her a few weeks before I came back. She’s nice enough.”

“And?”

“She held her own throughout the day, but she’s not used to this kind of pace. I sent her home before me. The captain and I spoke for a bit. I went to get my car…” She was back in the moment. Ice returned to her veins. Yoanni dropped her face into her palms. The teddy bear rolled to the floor.

“Hey, hey.” Barron jumped to her side, putting the stuffie on her lap. His hand on her shoulder melted the ice in her veins. “Easy, Nugget, you’re with me. No one is going to hurt you. I swear.”

She finished the rest quickly. “I found the missing calculator sitting on the hood of my car.”

“What?”

“That’s not all. This time, the captain pulled the parking lot’s surveillance videos, which showed someone dressed in a black hoodie and wearing gloves putting the calculator on the car.”

“I imagine their face was hidden,” he grumbled.

“In a way. Their face was lowered, and their back was to the cameras at all times.”

“This was an inside job,” he muttered. “This person knows the station’s schedule and systems. The fact that the parking lot is out in the open doesn’t help. Anyone can slink in unnoticed.”

“Captain Weaver has someone studying the video, in case there’s a reflection in a mirror or something useful.”

“Smart move. But then you came home and found that someone broke in and hung that thing from one of your pots. That pushed you over the top.”

Yoanni hugged the teddy bear. “I don’t want to freak out, but it’s too much to be a coincidence. Either this person is Cuban or has done enough research to know about Palo, Caribbean black magic, and Santería. That’s what that figure represents. If this is an attempt to scare me, it’s working.”

“You lost me with those terms.”

She took a deep breath. “I’ll give you the short version. The Spanish brought African slaves to the Caribbean islands to farm and work in the sugarcane fields. The slaves brought their own religion, but the priests disapproved. So to keep priests off their backs, they used the saints’ names to worship their own gods. Today, we know this as Santería. There are other forms. In Cuba, one is known as Palo, meaning stick, because tree sticks are used in sacred items. The Haitians have Voodoo. There’s a lot of mystery and misconception regarding these religions. In popular culture, some people believe the worshippers of Santería, Palo, and Voodoo make humanlike figures to represent their targets and engage the dead and evil spirits to do them harm.”

“Hmm. There’s a pattern here, though it sounds to me like a load of crap. I’m impressed, baby. You’re pretty informed.”

“It’s a big part of my culture. Ask any Cuban anywhere about Santería, and they’ll tell you. For me, it’s a bit different. I was raised in the States, away from that nonsense. But folks who grew up on the islands aren’t so sure it’s bullshit. The majority doesn’t totally believe, but they won’t test it either.”

“I see. The person who left that disgusting thing knows or learned about your culture and is using it to frighten you. Right?”

“You have to admit it’s pretty creepy to see one of those figures hanging by the neck in your kitchen. Plus, they broke into my home.” She squeezed the teddy bear. “Why? ”

Barron stood. “I’ve heard enough. When are you due back at the station?”

“Captain Weaver’s expecting me in the morning.”

“You’ll be safe enough in the station.” He folded his arms. “Pack a few things. You’re coming with me.”

“What?” She stood. “Have you lost your mind?”

He shook his head. His expression was dead serious. “Have not.”

“Barron…”

“You’re not staying here, Yoanni. You’re coming with me.”

“I can’t.”

“Course you can. Go to your closet, choose clothes to wear for a couple of days, and pack them in a bag with a toothbrush. I have everything else you’d need.”

“I’m not going.”

Stepping forward, Barron got in her face. She blinked under the intensity of every little gray line in his beautiful blue eyes and… My oh my, the scent. Barron’s masculine scent devastated her resolve to resist him. Clean, lemony, and sensual, his aroma traveled to her pussy. Her clit twitched with desire, and she squeezed her legs together. When he spoke, his tone was demanding, curt, and so excitingly dominant. “You’re not staying here alone. If you think I’m going to leave my girl in this house without protection, you don’t know me very well.” He was melting her slowly.

But she still had some backbone left in her. “Apparently, I don’t,” she snapped. “You left me before. Why should it be any different this time?”

“Because I’m not fighting my feelings or yours anymore.” He grasped her shoulders. “And to set the record straight, you broke up with me .”

“Oh, you can be?— ”

“Just stop. I know you want me as much as I want you. I’m here to claim you. You’re my little girl, and that’s decided.”

Little girl? His little girl? Claim me? What is happening here?

Yoanni’s brain spun. Was that an honest declaration? She couldn’t handle heartbreak again. If she let him in again and he left her, she’d die.

“You hurt me before. I can’t let you do it again.”

“I won’t. I can’t. I hurt us both deeply. I’ll regret the pain I caused you forever and hope to make amends. Here is my truth: you are everything. My soul loves you, my heart worships the ground you walk on, my mind can’t function without you. I’ve ached and stumbled every minute spent away from you. That ends now.”

He bent his head and crushed his lips to her mouth, long and slow. Suddenly, she was whole again. The contact she’d missed blotted out the pain and emptiness. Wild elation filled her mind, and, exhaling a hitched breath, she gave up any resistance. She opened her mouth, inviting Barron’s tongue to take and plunder. To explore her starving depths as he saturated her senses with his masculine flavor and his presence. Yoanni felt the room twist, and a strange lightheadedness struck. She clung to his neck with one hand. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing her breasts to his chest.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he murmured over her lips.

Well, here it was. She’d come to the crossroads. Did she push him out the door or plunge into the loving whirlwind he offered? Where was her bruised ego? She needed the reminder of acute pain to stand firm. But could she continue to deny her feelings? And what was the point?

Her heart won out.

“So have I, Barron.”

“Daddy,” he corrected .

Though she couldn’t see his lips, she could feel them curving into a smile over hers.

He knew. Somehow, he’d guessed her true nature and the secret wishes of her heart. How could he?

“Daddy?” She tested the word.

“Mmm-hmm.” His free hand lightly slapped her butt.

She jumped and wiggled. “Oh?”

“Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“But, Barron?—”

He slapped her butt harder. “Call me Barron again, and I’ll give your sweet cheeks the spanking of a lifetime. You won’t be able to sit for days. What’s it going to be?”

Damn, if that didn’t sound wonderful to her. She’d never confessed the erotic fantasy, but the idea of Barron spanking her bare butt had been a constant wish.

Dropping her forehead to his chest, she murmured, “Yes, Daddy.”

“Oh, Nugget. You make me so happy.” Pressing her tighter against him, he rocked her side to side. She could stay in the safety of his arms until the end of time. When he stopped, she wanted to protest and ask him to continue, but his expression warned her to stay quiet.

“Okay, go pack a few things. I’ll wait for you here.”

Sighing, she gave up the fight. Daddies always had the last word.

“I’ll take my car and meet you there.”

“Fat chance in a blue moon.” He grinned. “You’re riding with me, angel. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the station in my truck. After that, we’ll figure something out.”

“I thought you had to stay away from the station and the captain?”

He shrugged. “People don’t associate me with the truck. I’ll wear a cap or something and drop you off. No one will recognize me. After that, we’ll figure out a schedule. Hurry up. I’m anxious to take my little girl home.”

The words she’d waited so long to hear were heavenly music. Yoanni rushed to her room. Funny how the inspiration she didn’t have this morning was now alive and well. She knew exactly what she’d bring to Daddy’s house. Her pink overalls and the unicorn T-shirt were the first items she tossed into her bag.

“Oh, Daddy, I hope you’re ready for me.” She giggled quietly.