Savage Tracker by Maggie Cole

20

Selena

Obrecht's quietwhen we get in the car. I don't ask a lot of questions. I'm still not sure what happened to Kora and Sergey besides the Petrovs were a part of it, but he assures me my friends are all right and resting. Whatever did happen, he says it's best if we don't talk about it right now.

I don't argue. I trust him. As long as they are safe and healthy, I don't need to know all the details if Obrecht thinks it can harm me.

"Are you seeing Carla this morning?" he asks.

"I'm supposed to. We usually meet in about an hour at the cafe."

He nods. "Let's go grab a coffee. I have things I need to take care of once she shows up. Matvey can take you home after."

I put my hand over his heart. It's racing. "You seem stressed."

He pins his icy-blue eyes on me. "I'm fine, my dorogaya. You don't need to worry."

"Did something happen between you and your cousins?"

"We're fine," he says, but it doesn't convince me.

I straddle him and slide my hands under the neck of his shirt and knead his shoulders. "You're tense." I dig my thumb into a knot.

He arches his eyebrows. "Have you been holding out on me? Do you have massage skills I'm unaware of?"

I wiggle my eyebrows. "Maybe tonight, I could put on one of the outfits I bought thinking of you. You could tell me to kneel. Then you could give me orders to show you my skills."

His lips twitch. He squeezes my ass. "Now I'm going to be distracted all day."

The car stops, and I glance out the window at the cafe, then back at Obrecht. "Will you be gone all day?"

He sighs. "Possibly. I'm not sure yet."

"Should I make us dinner tonight?"

He tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. His face turns more serious. "You know what we discussed in the bathroom this morning?"

The hairs on my arms rise. I know what Obrecht is capable of, and although I'm not afraid of him, I don't like thinking about it. It worries me he'll be in a dangerous situation. Whomever he's dealing with, I assume is a bad person to receive his wrath. "Yes."

He pauses, as if struggling to figure out his words. I patiently wait until he says, "There will be times when I need to be gone for several days. I won't have the ability to call or text you. It'll pop up, and there won't be a warning. When that happens, I want you to stay with Aspen, Anna, or Nora. Matvey and Vlad will still watch over you when it happens."

My stomach flips. "I've never met Nora."

"Yes, I know. In all reality, the three of them will probably be together during these times."

I ignore the anxiety forming in my chest. He wouldn't have me do something if it weren't in my best interest. There isn't a bone in my body that doesn't believe this. "Okay. Can you tell me why I would need to do this?"

He tugs me closer to him. "I'll feel better knowing you aren't on your own for several days in a row, wondering when I'm coming back. Aspen, Anna, and Nora have gone through it before. There will be additional security."

My chest tightens. "So you'll be in danger?"

He shakes his head. "No."

"I'll be in extra danger?"

"No, baby girl. But we take precautions when necessary."

There's no question about what I will do. If he wants me to stay somewhere else during these times, I won't question it. "Okay. Does that mean I shouldn't make dinner tonight?"

He smiles. "No, please make it if you wish. But if something comes up, I don't want you to be upset. I don't control these timelines."

I take a deep breath and put on my most cheerful face. I don't want Obrecht to worry about a missed dinner. If I make it and something comes up, it's not the end of the world. "Thank you for explaining to me what can happen. I understand. And you don't have to worry about me getting upset over a missed meal."

"I don't like the thought of you going through all the effort and me bailing on you."

I tilt my head. "Bailing?"

"Yeah."

"Are you leaving me for good or just a few days to do whatever it is you need to take care of?" I ask.

He blinks, and his head moves back. "No, baby girl. I'm not leaving you."

I shrug. "Then it's a missed dinner. As long as you come back in one piece, it isn't a big deal. They call it leftovers for a reason."

He gives me a chaste kiss. "Thank you. You're amazing. Let's go inside." We get out of the car, and Matvey follows us. Obrecht says, "Why don't you get a table, and I'll get the drinks. Do you want something to eat?"

"No, I'm okay. I'll take a double espresso hazelnut latte." I turn and walk toward the back corner, where I usually have my discussions with Carla. The table next to the window has a blonde lady and man at it, so I pull out the chair for the table across from it.

"Selena!"

I spin. Hailee is with a man I don't recognize. His hair is a brownish-red, and his eyes assess me. He has an aura of bad-boy danger about him, with tattoos all over his arms. If he weren't with Hailee, I might be afraid of him.

She rises, and we embrace.

"Hi! How are you?" I ask.

"I'm good. This is Liam. And this is Selena," she says to him.

He rises and holds out his hand, continuing to study me, as if he somehow knows me.

I take it. "Hi."

"Selena. It's nice to meet you," he says, and I can't shake the feeling he's aware of who I am.

I'm paranoid. How would he know anything about me?

"Are you here by yourself?" Hailee asks.

"No. I came with Obrecht. Do you know him?" I ask.

Her face lights up, and I can tell she wants all the details. She chirps, "I do. How do you know him?" She pulls the chair out next to her. "Please. Sit and join us."

I glance back at the line. Obrecht is ordering with his back to me. I take the seat. "We live in the same building. We just came from..."

Does she know about Kora and Sergey? Is it okay to say something?

She raises her eyebrows, waiting for me to finish.

Liam clears his throat. "You came from the hospital. So did we. Well, I had Hailee go home to get some sleep then I picked her up."

"How do you know where I was?" I ask.

Liam smiles. "I was there and spoke with the Ivanovs."

My face grows hot. I don't recall seeing him. "Sorry. I must have been distracted and not paid attention as well as I should have."

"No worries, lass. I came after you had already left to find the others." He picks up his cup of coffee. His tattoo catches my eye. It's Celtic with two hearts. One is upside down and one right side up. The middle has a Celtic H.

"Oh. That makes sense." I point to his ink. "I like your tattoo. Are you Irish?"

He chuckles. "One hundred percent purebred."

"Guess you can't get more Irish than that," I state.

"Do you know Nora? He's her cousin," Hailee informs me.

I shake my head. "I've not met her yet."

"Selena," Obrecht's voice rings out in a deadpan tone.

I turn in my seat. "Hey. Look who I ran into."

Obrecht's jaw clenches. "Hailee. How have you been?"

She smiles. "Good. Here. Take a seat." She motions next to Liam.

Obrecht and Liam pin their hardened gazes on each other. Neither moves.

Hailee and I exchange an uncomfortable glance, but I'm not sure what's wrong.

Liam pulls the chair next to him out. His voice is as flat as Obrecht's. "By all means. Sit."

Obrecht sets my latte on the table in front of me then his coffee. He finally takes the seat. I put my hand on his thigh, and he puts his palm on top of it. "Hailee, don't you have school today?"

"Yes, but we're delayed for a few hours due to the fog," she replies.

An uncomfortable silence occurs. Obrecht studies her then refocuses on Liam. Obrecht finally says, "I'll need Finn's number."

"I'm meeting him in an hour. You can come with me. He won't talk over the phone," Liam replies.

Obrecht rests his arm on the back of the chair. "Fine."

"Selena said you live in the same building?" Hailee asks.

Obrecht nods. "Yep."

More silence ensues. I attempt to think of something to say. Liam's tattoo catches my eye again. I ask, "What's the H stand for?"

"Hailee." He stares at her as if we aren't sitting next to him, and he's undressing her with his eyes or could screw her right on the table.

Her face turns beet red. She swallows hard. I turn to Obrecht, feeling like I'm invading their personal space or a private moment. It surprises me when I see him scowling at Liam.

I grip his thigh to divert his attention off Liam. He tugs me closer to him and sips on his coffee. He asks, "You teach kindergarten, Hailee?"

She tears her eyes off Liam. "Yes."

"In the inner-city, right?"

"Yes."

"But you've been offered positions by other schools?"

She furrows her eyebrows. "How do you know that?"

Obrecht shrugs. "I read the article last year in the paper about your award."

"What award?" Liam asks.

Hailee's face turns a deeper crimson. "It's not a big deal."

Obrecht snorts. "I thought it was when I read about it."

"Hales, what award?" Liam repeats.

"Just something the district gave me last year."

Obrecht shakes his head. "And the previous three. I think you're acting a bit modest."

"Hailee, what was the award?" I ask.

She sips her coffee. "Honestly, it's not a big deal. Those award banquets don't mean anything. It's just an excuse for the bigwigs to get together for free drinks and a meal. It's not like it helps the kids."

"Hales, what was the award?" Liam asks again in a stern voice.

"Teacher of the year," Obrecht informs us.

"Wow! Hailee, that's a big deal!" I exclaim.

"No, really. It's not. It's—"

"Of course it is," Liam insists.

"No, it's not. The district doesn't give me any more resources to help the kids or anything. I wish they would give me the money for the plaque to buy a few coats for the kids or something," she states.

Liam reaches for her hand. "When was this?"

"You were still inside," Obrecht says.

Inside? As in prison?

Liam freezes. His face hardens and he turns his head. He scowls at Obrecht.

Hailee shifts in her seat. She firmly says, "Spring. It's not a big deal though."

"It sounds like one. That's amazing, Hailee. Congratulations," I tell her, not sure why Obrecht put Liam on the spot.

"It's a huge accomplishment. You should be proud," Obrecht adds.

"Let's change the subject." She takes a long sip of her coffee.

Liam is about to say something when his phone rings. He removes his hand from hers and answers it. "Killian. What's the situation?"

Obrecht stiffens, staring at Liam.

"Tell my dad to meet me outside of Morning Java." Liam hangs up. "Sorry, Hales. I need to cut coffee short."

"It's okay."

"Obrecht, you should come with me," he says. "Can your driver drop Hailee off at her school?"

"Sure."

"I can take an Uber," she claims.

"No," Liam and Obrecht say at the same time, as if it's the worst idea they ever heard.

Hailee smirks. "I was only teasing."

Obrecht kisses me on the cheek. "Matvey will take you home when you and Carla finish talking. I'll text you when I know what time I'll be back."

"All right, but before you leave, can you give me your mom's phone number?"

He arches his eyebrows. "Sure, but why?"

"It's my secret." I want to get a list of dishes and recipes of Russian food Obrecht likes and learn to make them. I thought his mom might teach me.

He chuckles. "Okay. I'll text it to you when I get in the car."

"Thanks."

He pecks me on the lips, and he and Liam leave. Hailee asks, "So how long have you and Obrecht been together?"

My face heats. "Not long. What about you and Liam?"

"Same." She takes a sip of coffee. "Who are you meeting?"

"A woman named Carla. She's..." I contemplate whether to tell Hailee the truth or not but decide to trust her. "She's a therapist. My ex-husband did a lot of not-so-nice things to me, both physically and mentally. Obrecht knows Carla and introduced us."

Hailee's expression turns sympathetic. She hesitates for a moment. Her voice lowers. "I'm sure it's not the same thing, but..." She pauses, and a line forms between her eyes. "My father wasn't very nice to my mom. I don't remember everything, since she fled with my sisters and me when we were little, but what I remember is pretty violent. I'm sorry you experienced anything horrible."

I take in her words. Images of Hailee as a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, scared, pop into my mind. "I'm sorry, too. Is your mom okay?"

She smiles. "Yes. She's dating a nice man right now."

"That's great."

She nods. "She refused to see anyone until she met him. It's nice to see her happy and not by herself."

"Morning, Selena!" Carla's voice chirps behind me.

I spin in my seat. "Hi, Carla. Hey, this is my friend, Hailee."

Carla slides into the seat next to me and holds out her hand. "Carla Conway."

"Hailee O'Hare. Nice to meet you."

"You, too." She leans forward. "So, what are we talking about, ladies?"

Hailee rises. "Nothing too exciting. I should go to work and use my extra time wisely. It was nice meeting you."

"You, too," Carla says.

I rise and hug Hailee. "It was great seeing you. Will you be at yoga Saturday?"

"Yes. I'll see you then."

"Okay. Bye."

She leaves, and I sit down across from Carla.

"How's it going today?" she asks.

"Good. I have some things to tell you."

She leans forward. "Oh?"

My stomach flutters thinking about last night. "I told Obrecht I can't be his bottom."

Her smile falls. She slowly nods. "I see. What did he say?"

"He said we could be whatever I wanted."

Her lips twitch. "Well, I'll be. Obrecht Ivanov finally commits. And what did you tell him you wanted him to be?"

I tap my fingers on my coffee mug. "We haven't labeled it. But I think he's my boyfriend and my Dom? Is that possible?"

"Sure." She drinks her coffee. "There aren't any rules. You two can create whatever type of relationship you want."

I take a deep breath. "We also used the neck-wrist restraints last night."

She tilts her head. Her eyebrows raise. There's concern in her expression. "How did it go?"

More heat floods my cheeks. "I liked it. A lot."

Her lips twitch. "That's great. Did you negotiate before you started?"

"Yes. Obrecht told me I did a good job."

"It doesn't surprise me. He's very good at keeping boundaries and making sure he's clear on them," she says.

My jealousy ignites. "You've seen him negotiate?"

"Yes. I was his mentor, but you already know this."

I glance out the window and stare through the fog that has barely lifted off the ground. Pedestrians move through it, and I can barely make out the building across the street.

Carla taps my hand. "It was before you."

I meet her gaze. "Yes, I'm aware."

"But you're jealous?" She arches an eyebrow.

I bite on my lip for several moments. She drinks her coffee, allowing me to gather my thoughts. I finally reply, "Should I be okay with the thought of him being with other women?"

She huffs. "I didn't say that. I'm sure if you asked him how he feels when he thinks about you with Jack, he'll tell you he's got a lot of emotions as well."

"So I'm not irrational?"

She puts her hand on her chin. "Lots of people are territorial when it comes to their partner."

"You aren't?"

She sits back in her chair. "I'm different from a lot of people, and especially women."

"How?"

She smiles. "I don't see male or female. When I look at someone, I try to figure out what they need, like what gets them off mentally and physically. It's about an exchange of power for me and making my sub or subs happy."

"Subs? You have two subs at a time?" Jack made me watch him take part in orgies with multiple women, but he wasn't a Dom the way Obrecht or what I imagine Carla would be. He just did what he wanted to them, and I had to kneel the entire time and view it all.

She softly laughs. "Yeah. It usually is more of a sub and service sub."

"Service sub?"

She glances behind her. She lowers her voice. "Sure. All submissives want to be controlled and please their dominant partner. Some subs, their desire to please is deeper. They enter a session, knowing they are there to please their top, Dom, or Master and the other sub involved."

The other sub?"Why?"

"It's what they want."

"Sounds like a big orgy."

She shakes her head. "No. It can be extremely intimate between a couple."

"How?”

Something passes in her expression, as if she knows secrets others don't. "The Dom does it for his sub. Everything is about her or him. The service sub is there to comply, and it feeds everyone involved."

I attempt to wrap my mind around what she's saying, but it's challenging.

"Anyway, I don't get territorial, but I've also never found the person I want to commit to, either. So maybe it would change if I did. But this isn't about me. It's about you. So let's move on to my next question."

I take a drink of the latte and it slides down my throat. "Okay. What is it?"

Her eyes drill into mine. "You told me you're having dreams about Jack and being back in the cage. Are you still having them?"

My insides quiver. "Yes. And he was in the restaurant we were at last night. Obrecht saw him and whisked me out the alley door."

Her eyes widen. "He knew you were there?"

"Obrecht said he thought it was a coincidence."

She studies me. "You don't appear convinced."

A chill moves down my spine. "How can I be? Nothing with Jack is ever by mistake."