Olivia looked up from the paperwork on her desk as Jackson Levough entered her office with nary a knock or even a request.
“Jackson.”
The tall, lean blond stalked towards her. His expression was cold. “What the hell is going on? I trusted you with my best friend. You were supposed to help him. Instead I find out that you’ve banned him from Olivia’s. Consequently I’m now dealing with a break-in that in all rights should be on Jude’s plate, not mine!”
The sub at Olivia’s feet stilled. Glancing down at Micah, she gave him a smile. “Slave, go get yourself something to eat from the bar. I need to talk to Master Jackson for a moment. I’ll call Jolene when you can come back and finish my foot rub.”
He nodded. “Yes, Mistress.” Lumbering to his feet, Micah rushed past Jackson totally unconcerned with his nearly nude body. Other than the collar around his throat and the leather thong covering his equipment, he was bare.
As soon as he shut the door behind him, Olivia focused on Jackson. “Sit.” Her order was met with a stiffening of his shoulders.
She counted mentally to three before tacking on a soft, “please.”
With a growl, he tossed himself into the chair across from her. “What the hell is going on, Olivia?”
“There was a minor break-in this morning. It’s nothing to really be concerned about. The sound of the alarm scared the man off. The best I can figure, it was either a homeless person looking for some place warm to sleep, or a vagrant looking for a free meal.”
He arched a brow. “Really? You honestly expect me to believe that a man wearing a Brooks Brothers suit to be a vagrant? I’ve seen the footage, Olivia. The man was after something specific.”
“Well he didn’t find it.” Olivia could feel the tension building behind her eyes. Now she doubted her decision about forcing Jackson deal to with the break-in instead of Jude. With Jude I could’ve pulled out my Domme voice and he’d have backed down. Jackson is immune to it. The little bastard knows me from a totally different lifetime and isn’t above using it. Damn.
“I’m going to put Olivia’s under surveillance twenty-four/seven for the next couple of days. If nothing else happens I’ll buy the random stranger thing.” He leaned forward and propped himself on the edge of desk. “If there’s even one whisper of unease or one thing out of the norm, I’m assigning a permanent security guard until we catch whoever it is who’s after you, Baroness.”
Olivia stiffened. “How dare you use that against me?”
Jackson’s teeth gleamed in the dim light. “I dare many things, Olivia. Uncle Claude may be gone and you may not be acknowledged by the family as the baroness, but it doesn’t change the fact that you still carry the title.”
“I refused the title, you ass. I gave it back to that bitch of a mother-in-law before I left Northern Ireland.”
A confused look crossed his face. “I should’ve heard about it, Olivia. Aunt Aggie would’ve crowed to anyone who listened if you gave her back the title. Lord knows, she hated you replacing her as the dowager baroness when her son died. But I haven’t heard a word. Who else knew about it?”
She frowned. “Anyone who looked at the registry would’ve known. I went to Claude’s barrister and had him draw up papers to give everything back to her – the lands, the titles, any money made from his various properties and businesses. The only thing I kept was the yearly stipend that Claude left for me. It’s how I financed Olivia’s when I first came Stateside.”
Jackson rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t blame you for not wanting to deal with them. My mother’s side of the family has always been a bunch of snakes in the grass. Claude excluded of course. But we still have to consider that there may be people out there wanting to hurt you because of your tie to them. If I, as part of your family, didn’t know about you giving it back, I can guarantee there are plenty of others who don’t either.”
Tipping her head back, Olivia sighed. “All right, Jackson. I’ll allow the twenty-four hour surveillance on Olivia’s as long as Jude Larson isn’t part of it.”
A moment later, she felt his hands land on her shoulders. “What happened between you, Olivia? I’ve never known you to ban anyone from your club without a good reason. What did my bone-head of a friend do to earn his banishment?”
She stiffened. “I’m not discussing this with you, Jackson. He knows what he needs to do to get his membership reinstated. If you want answers, ask him.”
©Dakota Trace All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.
“Jackson.”
The tall, lean blond stalked towards her. His expression was cold. “What the hell is going on? I trusted you with my best friend. You were supposed to help him. Instead I find out that you’ve banned him from Olivia’s. Consequently I’m now dealing with a break-in that in all rights should be on Jude’s plate, not mine!”
The sub at Olivia’s feet stilled. Glancing down at Micah, she gave him a smile. “Slave, go get yourself something to eat from the bar. I need to talk to Master Jackson for a moment. I’ll call Jolene when you can come back and finish my foot rub.”
He nodded. “Yes, Mistress.” Lumbering to his feet, Micah rushed past Jackson totally unconcerned with his nearly nude body. Other than the collar around his throat and the leather thong covering his equipment, he was bare.
As soon as he shut the door behind him, Olivia focused on Jackson. “Sit.” Her order was met with a stiffening of his shoulders.
She counted mentally to three before tacking on a soft, “please.”
With a growl, he tossed himself into the chair across from her. “What the hell is going on, Olivia?”
“There was a minor break-in this morning. It’s nothing to really be concerned about. The sound of the alarm scared the man off. The best I can figure, it was either a homeless person looking for some place warm to sleep, or a vagrant looking for a free meal.”
He arched a brow. “Really? You honestly expect me to believe that a man wearing a Brooks Brothers suit to be a vagrant? I’ve seen the footage, Olivia. The man was after something specific.”
“Well he didn’t find it.” Olivia could feel the tension building behind her eyes. Now she doubted her decision about forcing Jackson deal to with the break-in instead of Jude. With Jude I could’ve pulled out my Domme voice and he’d have backed down. Jackson is immune to it. The little bastard knows me from a totally different lifetime and isn’t above using it. Damn.
“I’m going to put Olivia’s under surveillance twenty-four/seven for the next couple of days. If nothing else happens I’ll buy the random stranger thing.” He leaned forward and propped himself on the edge of desk. “If there’s even one whisper of unease or one thing out of the norm, I’m assigning a permanent security guard until we catch whoever it is who’s after you, Baroness.”
Olivia stiffened. “How dare you use that against me?”
Jackson’s teeth gleamed in the dim light. “I dare many things, Olivia. Uncle Claude may be gone and you may not be acknowledged by the family as the baroness, but it doesn’t change the fact that you still carry the title.”
“I refused the title, you ass. I gave it back to that bitch of a mother-in-law before I left Northern Ireland.”
A confused look crossed his face. “I should’ve heard about it, Olivia. Aunt Aggie would’ve crowed to anyone who listened if you gave her back the title. Lord knows, she hated you replacing her as the dowager baroness when her son died. But I haven’t heard a word. Who else knew about it?”
She frowned. “Anyone who looked at the registry would’ve known. I went to Claude’s barrister and had him draw up papers to give everything back to her – the lands, the titles, any money made from his various properties and businesses. The only thing I kept was the yearly stipend that Claude left for me. It’s how I financed Olivia’s when I first came Stateside.”
Jackson rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t blame you for not wanting to deal with them. My mother’s side of the family has always been a bunch of snakes in the grass. Claude excluded of course. But we still have to consider that there may be people out there wanting to hurt you because of your tie to them. If I, as part of your family, didn’t know about you giving it back, I can guarantee there are plenty of others who don’t either.”
Tipping her head back, Olivia sighed. “All right, Jackson. I’ll allow the twenty-four hour surveillance on Olivia’s as long as Jude Larson isn’t part of it.”
A moment later, she felt his hands land on her shoulders. “What happened between you, Olivia? I’ve never known you to ban anyone from your club without a good reason. What did my bone-head of a friend do to earn his banishment?”
She stiffened. “I’m not discussing this with you, Jackson. He knows what he needs to do to get his membership reinstated. If you want answers, ask him.”
©Dakota Trace All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.
