Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Derrick

"You'll need to send a cleaner."

We'd driven north all night, and dawn had just come up to the east of us when I decided to call. Aubrey had curled up in her seat and fallen asleep, so I kept my voice low and used my earbud to mute one half of the conversation to hopefully not disturb her.

Colbie sighed. "I suppose I should've expected that as a potential outcome."

"If not for him, then me."

"I believe I said I never doubted your ability to take care of yourself."

"Yeah, and you also said you'd hate to lose a valuable asset to a random fluke."

"But that didn't happen, did it?"

"Nope, but you hedged your bets."

"We both know that's the appropriate course of action in our business."

I didn't answer, because even though he was right, I didn't feel the need to stroke his ego and confirm it.

"Where are you headed now?" he asked.

"I think I'll hedge my bets and keep that to myself."

Colbie chuckled. "Tut-tut, Ric. I've no intention of giving Mr. Delgado any further information on your whereabouts. I gave him what he asked for the first time as a gesture of goodwill. Next time he'll need to earn it. Besides, as much as your treatment of Ms. Taryn angered him, his passions burn quickly, and right now he has more pressing matters to attend to."

"I'm sure," I replied drily. "Please thank the team for the use of their home," I continued. "We had a pleasant stay."

"We?" There was a tiny pause. "You still have her with you?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "I'll never quite understand your fascination with taking them. There seems so much potential risk for what appears to be such little reward."

I stared as the rush of tall, thick firs lining each side of the highway slipped past the truck. "As you've said, we all have our vices."

"True enough." For a moment there was only the hum of road noise as the SUV continued north. "Well, safe travels, Ric. I'll be in touch," Colbie added, then hung up.

As the call ended, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Aubrey yawned, uncurling herself as she stretched and looked around outside of the vehicle.

"Where are we?"

"Just south of Klamath Falls, Oregon."

"Oh." For a minute she stayed silent as we slipped through the Hansel-and-Gretel forest surrounding us. "Where are we going?" she eventually asked.

I smiled tightly. "I'm not exactly sure, but I'm about to find out." I tapped at the phone screen setting in the cup holder next to me until I found the number I wanted.

"Mr. Deverell."

"Mr. Cane," I replied. Eventually, I'd have ended up standing on Devlin Cane's doorstep with Aubrey, but this was far sooner than even I'd expected. Circumstances dictated that. There was a tinge of caution in his voice, and I understood why; it hadn't been that long ago I'd made this drive with a young woman named Lindsey in tow.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

I glanced over at Aubrey. "I have something I'd like to show you."

The line went silent before he responded with, "Interesting. I hadn't expected to hear from you this soon."

"An opportunity presented itself."

"I see. How fortunate for us both."

"It is," I agreed. "However, before I share my good fortune, I need something."

His voice grew cautious once again. "And what would that be?"

"A place to stay. For a week, two at most."

The call went quiet for two beats before he came back, saying, "That could be arranged."

"I want it to be someplace preferably off the grid. Where my companion and I can be alone. No company."

"Now I'm truly intrigued."

"You provide me what I'm asking for," I suggested, "you're going to be more than intrigued. You're going to be very, very happy."

"Well, then…"

I waited, listening as he tapped away at his phone. A few seconds later my own phone pinged. "Here. Will this suit you?"

I looked down to find a Maps pin in my messages. A quick look after tabbing it up and I replied, "Perfectly."

"Excellent. I look forward to hearing from you when you're ready to show me this… item that's going to make me so happy."

I smiled. "It won't be long, as I said."

"I'll be on pins and needles," he replied, then my phone went silent.

I glanced over to find Aubrey staring.

"Sounds like we have a new place to stay?"

"We do," I acknowledged with a nod.

"I heard you say no company. Is that possible?"

I pursed my lips before replying. "As much as I have it in my power to control, yes."

Aubrey said nothing in response, turning to gaze out of the window.

"Are you okay?" I asked after a moment of quiet.

She turned back to look at me. "Weirdly enough… yeah. Maybe it's shock."

I chuckled. "Probably, but I also know you're a much stronger woman than anyone's ever given you credit for. Including yourself."

She didn't reply, and we both sat wordlessly as the miles disappeared beneath the SUV's wheels. When we reached Klamath Falls, I pulled through a MacDonald's drive-thru, buying each of us the first full meal we'd had in twenty-four hours. Then we were back on the road, continuing to bear north. Eventually, she began asking me questions about the country which we were driving through, where we were headed, and I answered as much as I was comfortable with and could. There were longer periods where she simply sat gazing out of the window at the passing scenery, and though it could easily have been a sense of tension inside the cab, there wasn't.

Acceptance. It felt like acceptance, and that was another thing that had come far sooner than I'd expected.

Almost three hours had passed since my phone call with Devlin when I took the designated offramp from the highway and bore onto a small, two-lane road. The trees which had lined much of our route to this point now closed in even tighter, forming almost a canopy above us. The road wound through the forest, climbing upward before topping a small pass and dropping into a narrow valley on the other side. Twice more we did that until the automated voice chimed, "In one point five miles turn left onto Forest Service Road Five Eight Nine Nine." That road wasn't paved, but a well-maintained gravel path that snaked even deeper into the conifers. Four more miles passed until the voice came in once more: "In one thousand feet, turn left. Your destination will be on your right."

"Whoa." Aubrey's voice broke the silence as we bumped down a narrow dirt track.

I could see what she was responding to.

Devlin Cane was a rich man, and this home spoke to it. It was more than just some secluded cabin in the woods; it was a large, log-cabin-stylized structure of wood, steel, and glass—A-frame shaped, with huge glass-paned walls facing outward to a clearing that stretched from the road back to the front of the house. It was something out of Architectural Digest, and if I'd ever wondered how well Devlin's businesses were doing, this showed me.

After pulling up to a small carport, I shut off the SUV and sat for a moment in the sudden quiet. As the faint smell of the forest surrounding us crept inside the truck, Aubrey craned her neck around, taking in what she could.

"Come on, let's head inside."

The side door was locked, but a glance at my phone showed Devlin had texted me a code to open it. If the home's exterior was impressive, the interior was even more so. Rich, stained wood walls and stone facings, tiled and hardwood flooring, and stylish rugs strategically placed tied every room together with a subtlety that spoke of wealth and comfort. Devlin didn't do things by half measures, and this place proved it.

"Is this another safe house?" Aubrey asked in an awed tone.

"No," I replied quietly. "This is your future."

She looked over with narrowed eyes, but I ignored it, continuing to explore the home. Everything was immaculate, pristine, and I owed Devlin a debt for this, because for what I had planned for the next week or so, this was going to be perfect.

Having eventually figured out the lay of the land, I drew Aubrey back into the main living room. She followed wordlessly, stopping to stare out of the huge front windows as I sat down on the long leather couch that faced the same direction.

"Aubrey," I beckoned, bringing her head around to look at me. "Sit. There." I pointed to a chair sitting at a slight angle facing the couch.

She moved silently, following my order.

"So," I began, "I know I've told you before you're going to be introduced to a world you couldn't possibly imagine. Well, the process of that starts today. Now, in fact."

She shot me a look of confusion.

"This home… A moment ago you asked if this was a safe house and I told you, no, it was your future. Well, it is."

"Okay?"

"This home belongs to the man I'm going to sell you to."

I watched as she swallowed. "Sell me to."

"Mmhmm. Once he has possession of you, he and his associates will finish your training, and then you'll be put up for auction. At that point another man—someone who thinks of themselves as a taker—will purchase you."

"Purchase me," she replied, her eyes going wide.

"Yes. He'll pay for the privilege of owning what few men ever will: a perfect submissive."

She blinked rapidly. "Is that what I am?"

I shook my head. "No. It's what you'll become , at least in their eyes. But I want you to remember this; to me and people like me—anyone with truly discerning intuition—we'll see you for your true value. Those things that are intrinsic in your very nature. The qualities that make you so incredibly special. Something to value beyond measure. Something to cherish."

Aubrey's lower lip quivered, her eyes glistening. "Is that the way you see me?"

"Of course."

"Then keep me," she whispered.

I drew a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "I can't."

The tears began to fall. "Why?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer, Sir," she replied, her voice tight.

I leaned back into the leather. "When we were at Antonio Delgado's home, when I'd finished doing my job, I had two options available to me. Do you know what they were?"

"I could guess," she answered, brushing the back of her hand over her cheeks.

"I'll save you the effort. I could have left you behind with Ms. Delgado, or?—"

"Or?"

"I could have killed you," I finished. "I thought about both. Each would have been an easy option, but even before I set foot in that house, I knew I wasn't going to do either. I knew I was going to take you, and I knew exactly why. Admittedly, I didn't know how perfect you were going to be, but I did know you were far more than simply some pretty young woman who'd had the misfortune of being the friend of a drug lord's daughter. And you proved my intuition right even better than I could've foreseen."

"So, you took me, and now you're just going to get rid of me in a different way," she said bitterly.

"I believe I made it clear from the beginning what I was going to do."

"I… I just thought…" She took a breath, then continued. "The way you treated me after leaving Sonja's, and then at the house last night…"

I leaned forward, staring deep into her eyes. "Aubrey. You're a very beautiful, very sexy, very smart, and very desirable woman. I enjoy fucking you, but make no mistake, there will come a time when I won't. Just as you can't escape your nature, neither can I escape mine. And you deserve a man who'll cherish you in a way I'll never be able to. You deserve your forever Daddy. The men I'm selling you to will ensure that happens. That's the business they're in. They've done it before, and I've helped them. Along with others, I've provided them with women like you who have gone on to have lives beyond anything they could have anticipated. A future where you are valued in your totality, not simply as a convenience of the moment."

"I thought you wanted me." The tiniest tremor cracked her voice.

"I do. Just not forever."

"But for now?" she asked.

"Yes. For now."

She gazed down at the floor in front of her, lips pressed together so tightly they turned white.

"Come here, Aubrey."

She snapped her head up and stared for a long moment before rising silently to obey my command.

"Kneel," I ordered softly as she came to a stop in front of me.

And she did.

"Do you understand what I've been trying to tell you?"

"Yes." She nodded, then immediately shook her head, words tumbling out of her. "Or no. Maybe a little."

"That's more than enough for now," I replied quietly. "Are you ready to start your journey?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what I want you to do?"

"Yes, Sir," she whispered. Reaching for my belt, she began unbuckling it, proving that she did.

I couldn't help but smile.

"Good girl."