Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“This is heavenly,” Daphne said, stretching her legs in the heated water. Amber sat across from her in the spa’s hot tub while Callie sat on the edge, only her feet dangling in. While prenatal massages were a thing, soaking in a hot tub was a no-no; even Daphne knew that.
“Are you feeling better?” Amber asked.
“Getting there,” Daphne responded. “It will take time. I just need to keep moving my body. Not working it, just moving it.”
“The massage after this should help,” Callie said.
Daphne made a hmm noise and slid up to her neck into the water.
While she’d napped, Lovell had texted Callie and Gabe about booking the appointment.
Gabe had taken over and booked all three of them the deluxe package.
She had no idea what the men were doing, but they’d agreed to meet for dinner at the lodge restaurant before she headed to Harper’s cabin.
She swirled her arms, half stretching them, half enjoying the heat soaking into her bones.
A twinge of something tweaked her conscience when she thought about staying in the cabin alone.
Harper was meticulous about security, so it wasn’t that.
And she spent 90 percent of her time alone anyway, so it wasn’t that either.
“You’re looking very pensive over there,” Callie said.
“Why do you think Weeks shot Beeks?” she asked, not wanting to convey any of her curious thoughts to her sister.
Callie’s dark eyes lingered on her. Her sister was no fool, but thankfully, she dropped her gaze to her toes and gently fluttered her feet underwater.
“Hard to say,” she replied. “Maybe they got in a fight and Weeks had the bigger gun. Maybe Beeks threatened him. Maybe there’s a woman back home. There are a lot of potential reasons for two criminals working together to have a falling-out.”
“Any updates from Ryan?” Amber asked.
“They found Beeks’s cell phone about twenty feet from his body. They’re going through it now,” Callie answered.
“Not HICC?” Daphne asked.
“Ryan’s team is taking the initial lead. If they need help, HICC is on contract with them,” Callie answered.
Daphne eyed her sister. Aside from the obvious reasons—Gabe and the baby—her face reflected a little extra glow. “You love working for them, don’t you?”
Callie looked up. “HICC?” Daphne nodded.
Callie smiled. More reserved than Daphne, Callie’s easy smile told Daphne all she needed to know.
“I do. I didn’t know companies like them existed when I was in college.
I learned about them while in the FBI, but never considered making a jump.
I was so focused on being an agent. It was all I’d ever wanted to do, and I wasn’t interested in looking elsewhere. ”
“Philly changed that?” Amber asked.
Callie shook her head. “No, he was an added bonus, but not the reason. We weren’t even speaking when I moved here.
” Callie paused, a shadow of sadness flickering across her face.
“I wanted to investigate the death of my best friend, and the FBI wouldn’t let me.
Couple that frustration with the worst boss in the history of bosses and one day, well, over a couple of days, I kind of snapped.
I reached out to the owners of HICC, Stella and Hunter, locked down a job, then quit.
I was supposed to work out of their DC offices, but they moved me here because, supposedly, they were doing renovations. ”
Daphne and Amber both laughed. “You think they weren’t?” Amber asked.
Callie paused, then huffed a laugh. “I don’t know.
Stella and Sabina are tricky that way. Regardless, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Moving here was the best thing for me, in ways I never could have imagined.
” She paused again, then flashed a wry smile.
“Which, admittedly, is not hard since my imagination isn’t that great. I’m more the left-brain type.”
Amber smiled. “Amazing job doing what you love, husband who adores you and looks at you like he wants to drag you to the bedroom every chance he gets—”
“Which he obviously did. Or maybe she dragged him,” Daphne said with a grin. “It didn’t take long for that little bean to come into play.” She nodded to Callie’s still-flat stomach.
Callie dipped her eyes, not quite in embarrassment, but she’d never been one to talk about sex much. “Yet another added bonus,” she conceded.
“On that note, what is going on with you and Lovell?” Amber asked.
The way Callie’s eyes shot up to Amber gave Daphne pause.
There was nothing going on between her and Lovell—well, except the massage that might have strayed into more-than-massage territory—but she couldn’t decipher the sharpness in her sister’s expression.
“Nothing is going on,” she said. “He feels guilty that I’m a part of this.”
“It’s more than that,” Amber pushed. Callie’s gaze shifted to Daphne.
Daphne shook her head. “It’s not. We’re two reasonably attractive people who got thrown into a high-stakes situation.
Things—emotions, reactions, what have you—can be interpreted in ways they shouldn’t be.
” She hoped. Lovell was a delicious-looking man, and if the situation were different, if they weren’t so closely connected through Callie and Gabe, things might play out differently.
But that wasn’t the case, and she had no interest in bringing any awkwardness to her sister’s life.
Especially not when she finally seemed settled and happy.
Daphne might be selfish, but her sister came first. Always.
“What about you?” she asked Amber, deflecting the conversation.
“Me?” Amber blinked.
Taking advantage of the surprise, Daphne pushed on. “Yes, you. Are you back in the saddle? Any sexy time in your life? I hear there are any number of men in the club—those not taken, of course—who are willing to accommodate.”
“What? How did you hear that? And what does that mean?” Callie asked.
Daphne chuckled. Amber blushed. “It means that helping people leave abusive situations isn’t the only freedom the Falcons are known to facilitate,” Daphne replied.
“Still not following, and still don’t understand how you know this,” Callie said.
“I have a friend in France who does similar work. Her sister is part of the same network as the Falcons. I did some research.”
“Research into their sex lives?” Callie asked.
Daphne laughed. “For as brilliant as you are, little sister, you are sometimes a little slow. When you and Gabe started mending fences, I knew you’d end up here.
Of course, I did my research on him and the club.
I wanted to be sure you were landing somewhere…
good, safe, somewhere that would value you.
One thing led to another, which led to a night of drinking until three in the morning with my friend and her sister, and it came out that some of the Falcons have helped more than one person regain their sexual confidence. ”
Callie blinked, then turned to Amber, who smiled before saying, “It’s true, they have.
” She paused. “When you’ve been in situations like mine, everything gets taken from you.
Your freedom, your sense of self, any enjoyment you might find in life, everything.
Including whether or how to enjoy sex. And it’s not uncommon for sex to be weaponized by the abuser, which, as you can imagine, is scarring in a whole different way.
Some women who come to the clubhouse want to reclaim that part of their life.
They want to learn to enjoy sex, maybe for the first time or maybe regain what they’d lost. A couple of the guys are happy to help with that.
” She paused, then added, “It used to happen more frequently—not all the time, but enough that it wasn’t uncommon.
Since the guys started partnering up, though, first Mantis, then Stone and so on, it’s happened less and less.
I haven’t heard of it happening in months, actually. ”
“I had no idea,” Callie said.
Amber shot Daphne a concerned look. “Should we not be talking about this?”
Callie waved her hand. “Both Gabe and I had lives before meeting again last fall. And honestly, it’s easier to think of him helping a woman heal, reclaim her power, than to think about him in love with someone else—”
“He’s never loved anyone else,” Daphne interjected.
“Maybe he has or maybe he hasn’t, but he loves me now, and I don’t question him or our commitment to each other,” Callie responded.
“I just didn’t know, and it seems like something I should have.
Not about what my brothers-in-law are doing, or did, but, well, about sex being part of the recovery process for some people who’ve been in abusive situations.
It makes me feel kind of shitty I didn’t think of that. ”
Amber shrugged. “Why would you? You’ve never had cause to dive into the nitty-gritty of this kind of recovery. If you worked in the field, sure, you should know. But you’re a financial crimes wonk. All I can say about your world is that money laundering is a thing.”
Callie made a face, but her brow softened as she accepted the truth of Amber’s words. “So are you going to take any of the willing guys up on it?” she asked.
Amber shook her head. “Not brave enough.” She hesitated.
“Spill it,” Daphne chimed in, pulling a smile from her friend.
“I’m not going to lie and say I don’t find the idea…
intriguing. Especially after seeing the bonds between the guys and their partners.
I’m not sure I’ll ever have what you have, Callie, or what Mantis and Charley, or Lina and Viper, etc.
, etc., etc., but sometimes, well, sometimes it seems like it would be nice.
Sex is obviously a part of that bond, and maybe someday I’ll work up the courage to ask for help. Not now, though. Not yet.”
Daphne didn’t want to minimize Amber’s comments, but she sensed the conversation had grown heavier than her friend wanted, so she posed a question.
“Who would you pick if you did? Hawkeye has that serious sexy thing going on. Marley seems like he’d put the fun back in ‘profundity.’ Juan, well, I don’t think he earned his nickname as a joke. ”
“Then there’s North, whose sense of direction might be helpful in ensuring he always finds…” Callie winked and dipped her chin south. “And don’t forget Scipio and his amazing ability to strategize.”
“So many to choose from,” Daphne said on a laugh. “Assuming they’re all willing, of course.”
“Stop,” Amber said through a laugh. “It’s not going to happen.” Daphne arched a brow. “Fine, it’s not going to happen now,” she clarified. “Can we go back to talking about Weeks and Beeks and Daisy and Lovell?”
“As much as I love a good conversation about murder for hire and criminals, I think our time here in the hot tub is up, ladies,” Callie said, nodding to the door.
Three therapists stood in the opening. One looked wary, one was pretending she hadn’t heard Callie talk about killers for hire, and the third looked avidly curious.
Daphne laughed and pointed to the third. “I hope you’re my masseuse. I think we’ll have an interesting conversation.”