Dusted Star

Chapter Eleven

Lakyn watched thevideo and tried to remember what she’d been thinking at various points, but it was difficult to remember when all she could think about was how scared she’d been. Hell, she’d been sure the jack ass driving the boat was going to find his window of opportunity to fling her into the rocks before she could pull her fat ass out of the tube. She hadn’t realizedshe’d spoken aloud until Trac leaned over and whispered, “That’s ten, Princess.”

They took the rule about subs not making disparaging comments about themselves to a ridiculous level if you asked her, but she wasn’t going to add bricks to her sinking ship by telling them so. As soon as the video switched to Cameron Barnes cameras, he stepped forward and began asking questions rather than waitingfor her to walk them through it.

“It looks like the driver yells something to you, Lakyn. I want you to close your eyes and put yourself back on that tube for a moment. Let’s rewind a few seconds, shall we?” She thought he was talking about the video, so she opened her eyes. “No, sweet girl, you keep those eyes closed.”

Lakyn was speechless. Not only did she keep her eyes open, but she was standingtoe to toe with Cameron Barnes before Juan had been able to stop her.

“We met at the hospital. The night I had my appendix out. You were there… but you were older. How is that possible?” A snort of laughter from the back of the room caught Lakyn’s attention, and she looked up to see Mia waving her arm in the air like an errant school kid.

“Ask me… ask me. I know this one.”

Tucker Deitz lookedat his wayward sub and rolled his eyes. “Kodak, you’re going to find yourself over my lap in about a half a heartbeat if you don’t pipe down.” Mia didn’t seem terribly intimidated, and when she mouthed the wordlaterto Lakyn, it had been hard to hold back her laughter.

“What Mia is trying—inappropriately, perhaps—to tell you is I’m ordinarily quite good with disguises although I’ll admit I don’tseem to have done a stellar job with the two of you since you’ve both remembered one of my favorite alter egos.” Lakyn almost laughed at the frown lines forming between his brows as he seemed to be considering the implications of that.

“You told me you were a friend of Cooper’s and you stayed with me until he got home. The doctors listened to you.” Laughter erupted around her.

“Yes, well, Ican be very persuasive, sweet girl. I mentored your brother, so looking out for you until he could get back to New York was important to him, and you needed an advocate because God knows that worthless manager of yours wasn’t doing anything.” Lakyn was so shocked by his words, she felt herself sway before Juan pulled her back down onto his lap.

“Princess, we keep hearing the same thing over andover about your manager, perhaps it’s time to cut him loose.” Cameron Barnes looked at Trac and shook his head.

“Love turns men to mush. This is the reason Special Forces commanders don’t want their man to fall in love.” His words might have sounded harsh, but the tenderness reflected in his eyes let her know there was a kind heart hiding beneath the harsh exterior. As if he’d read her mind,he shook his head, “Let’s get back to my question. Do you remember what the man shouted, Lakyn?”

Closing her eyes, she tried to visualize the scene in her mind, letting the sounds and smells flood her senses. Her mind had blocked some details, but watching it play out on the monitor had helped pull those bits and pieces back to the forefront.

“The motor was so loud, I could barely hear him,but I know he said something about brother and council.” Frowning she strained to pull it all back, but there was something just out of her reach. “Could you run it back, frame by frame?”

“Absolutely.” They restarted the video, and she leaned so far forward, she almost scooted herself off Juan’s knees.

“When is the last time you had your eyes checked,Cariña?” Waving him off, she wasn’t aboutto tell him how badly she needed the contacts they hadn’t given her time to put in before leaving the cabin.Yeah, you wouldn’t want to ride in a car with me driving right now, that’s for sure.A snort of laughter from her side made Lakyn turn in that direction. When the man stepped close enough for her to see him, she wanted to sink into the floor.

“How long have you been here?” She hadn’t intendedfor the question to sound so harsh, but she hated the thought he’d been listening in on her unmonitored thoughts.

“I’ve been standing here the entire time—something you would know if you were wearing your contacts. It’s not safe for you to go without them, you know, and I noted you didn’t have on a hat or sunglasses when you were tubing.”

What the hell? Does this guy work for the Wests or theSurgeon General?When he laughed, she felt her face flush.

“I work for the Wests although I’m sure the Surgeon General would agree that you should be wearing eye protection and sunscreen.”

I swear on my mother’s grave I’d slap him silly, but he’d know it was coming.

Trac cleared his throat, and when Lakyn looked at him, she was surprised to see him glaring at her. “I’m tired of hearing halfof this conversation.” Pointing at Luke, he frowned, “Being a part of the team means you share the information.”

“What he really means is the Doms stick together and rat out the subs at every opportunity.” Lakyn didn’t even need to turn around to recognize Jen McCall’s voice.

“Rat out? Really, Jennifer?” Cam gave her a reproving look. “For a former diplomat, your vocabulary is seriously lacking.”

“Damn, you’re right. Snitch? Tattle? Narc? Help me out here, I’m out of my element.”

“You’re going to be out of your element if you don’t knock it off.” This time Lakyn did turn to the trio sitting directly behind her, just in time to see Sam McCall give his pretty wife a glacial look. Jen’s other husband was shaking his head as if he’d given up trying to keep her out of trouble.

“Lakyn,” KyleWest stepped forward and nodded to the monitor, “if you’ll try to ignore the troublemakers in the peanut gallery and re-focus your attention on the screen. I’d suggest you wear your contacts or glasses in the future as a safety precaution. Not only do you need to be able to protect yourself from abduction, it will probably help you avoid a paddling or two.” She resisted the urge to roll her eyesat the laughter she heard all around her. Kyle shook his head and glared over her head. “Don’t let them bait you, Lakyn.”

“That’s it.” She felt her eyes widen as the piece of the puzzle she’d been trying to grasp popped into her head. “He said something about a council and called me bait. That was the word I heard just as I cut the rope.”

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