Unanticipated Complications Read online

  “I have no reason to lie to you, Barrett Collins,” Freddy stated angrily, her eyes flashing green fire. “If that ID was fake, do you think I would have been served alcohol? At nineteen I was in college, and while I did drink beer and wine, I certainly didn’t flash false ID to get into clubs. We drank in the dorms, and older students brought the booze and those of us who were younger brought the food and paid for pizza. Sorry to disappoint you, macho man, but you are in some serious trouble now. So is my father if he hired you to drag me home. I refuse to obey him and legally I don’t have to.” The time in the bathroom prepared her to face him, and she was not going to allow the man to do her father’s bidding… He might be larger and stronger, but she had a mouth and she would call out for help if he tried to drag her through the lobby and to the parking garage. Instead of arguing with her, Freddy was surprised when Barrett took out his cell phone and made a call.

  “Fred, we have a problem. I am with Freddy and her ID tells me she is twenty-four, not nineteen.” He listened for a few minutes, his dark eyes narrowing with displeasure. “Sir, Freddy is an adult, not a child. You have no legal grounds to insist she come home.” He listened again, and then said, “Then I quit.” He listened again, his face set in granite. “I’ll give her the message, and here is one of my own… Send someone else after Freddy and I will send him back in a box. I owe her an apology, and I owe her for punishing her as I would a child. If she’ll have me, I will give her my protection for as long as she needs it.” He disconnected the call, effectively hanging up on Fred Jamison and his means of support. He looked at the young woman who was standing there looking at him curiously. “I owe you a huge apology, Freddy. Your father told me a pack of lies, including the fact that you were only nineteen. He gave me a choice to either bring you home or quit. I quit. He said to tell you that you are cut off financially.”

  Freddy said quietly, “Is that all?”

  “No. He said he would send someone with less scruples to bring you home.” He looked at her steadily and said, “I’d like to offer my services to protect you until he gives up. I owe you that much for taking his word and not checking out the facts. You have every right to be furious with me, and I’ll understand if you would rather I take off and leave you alone, but I would like a chance to make it up to you, Freddy.”

  Freddy was about to say something when there was a knock at the door.

  Barrett raised his hand before she could answer the knock and whispered, “Go into the bathroom and lock the door, no matter what you hear.” He nodded encouragingly, and Freddy found herself obeying him, positive he was trying to protect her. She wasn’t used to that, and it felt nice.

  “Oh, excuse me, sir. I am looking for Miss Jamison.”

  “And you are…?” Barrett demanded, doing his best to intimidate the middle-aged man.

  “I am Dwayne Westerly, manager of the hotel. I have a message to deliver to Miss Jamison.” The man was flustered and uncomfortable.

  The bathroom door opened and Freddy stepped out, looking calm as could be. “What is it, Dwayne?” she asked, although she was pretty sure she knew. One did not defy the great Fred Jamison without consequences.

  “I am so sorry, Miss Freddy, but Mr. Jamison has ordered me to escort you from the hotel premises immediately. He says that when you decide to be reasonable, call him and he will send someone to bring you home. I’m so sorry, but could you come with me, please. I will have someone pack your bags and forward them wherever you say.”

  “Mr. Westerly, I’m sure you can spare enough time for Miss Jamison to pack her own belongings. We aren’t leaving a forwarding address,” he stated firmly, watching the man’s face turn red. “Yes, I know what your orders are and what Fred Jamison is telling you to do is illegal. Miss Jamison is not a child and she will not be treated as one as long as I am by her side to protect her. I hope that is clear?”

  The man nodded like a bobblehead and it would have been funny under other circumstances, but neither Barrett nor Freddy were amused.

  Freddy was quickly throwing her clothing into suitcases and Barrett was surprised that she only had a couple of small bags! She also carried a much larger handbag into which she tossed her evening bag and her cosmetics from the bathroom. “I’m ready, Barrett,” she said, picking up her own bags. “How quickly the fall from grace. Normally there would be one or two bellhops here offering to help,” she stated, giving Dwayne a nasty look.

  “This isn’t my doing, Miss Freddy. Your father—“

  “Is a fucking asshole,” she cut him off to announce as loudly as possible, hoping to shock a few people,

  “Behave, Freddy,” Barrett scolded. “You don’t need to stoop to his level, honey. Let’s get out of here before I decide I have to smash something or somebody.” His temper was raging away deep inside him and he was insulted for the pretty redhead who was being treated as though she did something wrong when it was her father who was causing a problem. He had a sudden thought and then grinned. “Let’s go, honey.” He grabbed her suitcases from her hand and smiled.

  Freddy didn’t know why Barrett thought it was so funny to be escorted from the hotel while people stared at them, but when they were outside, Dwayne said something to the doorman, and the uniformed man frowned. Dwayne hurried back inside, and the doorman smiled at Freddy. “You want me to get you a cab, Miss Freddy?” he offered.

  “No, David. I don’t want you to get into trouble and lose your job. You are too good a friend for me to allow that to happen.”

  “I been here a long time, but I don’t kiss ass like doodle-head does. You okay with money, Miss Freddy?”

  “I am fine. I promise. Goodbye for now, David.”

  “You take care, honey. Mister, you look after this child,” he begged the other man.

  “I intend to,” Barrett said, nodding in respect as he loaded the redhead and her luggage into the taxi.

  “Where to?” the driver asked, giving them a toothless grin.

  Freddy was shocked when Barrett answered the man, but the look he flashed her warned her to be quiet. She didn’t know why she obeyed, but she did. While they were in the cab, he took her cell phone and shut it off. He did the same with his cell, too. Once they arrived at the large, glitzy hotel and casino, Barrett paid the driver and tipped him well. He then took her bags and insisted they enter the hotel. Once inside, he led them through the casino and then down a very long hallway until they reached the train area. He put them both on the train and they took it to another hotel, exited on the street, and the flagged another taxi. By then Freddy realized that Barrett was doing everything in his power to make it impossible for her father to track their movements.

  Barrett flipped out a card that he’d never before used, but there was enough money on it to buy a new vehicle, and he carefully picked out a 4Wheel drive. It didn’t take long to put temporary tags on the black vehicle, and then he stowed Freddy’s bags in the bag and they took off, driving out of Las Vegas instead of taking a plane and flying anywhere. “Your father is angry right now and not thinking clearly. We need to give him time to come to his senses.”

  “Do you think he’ll send someone else to fetch me home?” she asked, annoyed at the very idea.

  “I’m sure he will. Anyone who takes the job now will be offered a lot of money to bring you home. Fred doesn’t realize that the type of man willing to do that would also be willing to hurt you in the process.”

  “Like you did?” she accused. Sitting was so painful that it was all she could do to sit without squirming all over the seat. Riding on that train was the worst, however, and she was convinced he was trying to torture her.

  “I didn’t hurt you, Freddy,” he said softly. “I know I warmed your pretty sit upon darn good, but I didn’t harm you. Remember when I pulled you from the wash room and took you to the bed…? You were afraid I was going to rape you…? There are plenty of unscrupulous men who would do just that, honey. I thought you were a half-grown kid playing with fire. Your father
is a convincing liar.”

  “Yes, he is. And that is one of the reasons I left home, Barrett. I don’t like being used to increase his wealth, and that is all I am to him; a commodity he can exploit to gain more power.”

  “I wouldn’t like that either,” he agreed, slowing down when a car in front of them suddenly changed lanes and cut them off. The young woman was talking on her cell phone and not paying attention to her driving. “If I was her husband she would be going over my knee for a sound spanking,” he muttered.

  “You would spank your wife?” Freddy asked, her green eyes wide with dismay.

  “For risking her life in that manner…? Yes, I would. And, if that didn’t cure the situation, then I would take away her driving privileges. My brother lost his wife because of her cell phone,” he added.

  “Oh, I am sorry to hear that,” she expressed sympathy. “It must be hard on your whole family. Did they have children?”

  “Yes. Stanford is raising them by himself because he doesn’t want to go through the pain of loving another woman and losing her. The accident was three years ago, and he’s doing a great job with the kids.”

  “Who takes care of the children while he works?”

  “Our Mom does most of the time, but when she can’t, he has a neighbor that he trusts. Mom quit her job to stay home and be an anchor for the kids.”

  “She must be very special. Not every woman would be willing to do that.” Her mother wouldn’t even stand up to her father and give her support. And, she’d already warned Freddy that she did not wish to be a grandmother. “My mother told me when I graduated from college that she hoped I wouldn’t be in any hurry to make her a grandmother because she wasn’t the type to bake cookies and babysit!”

  “Mom isn’t like that,” Barrette said with confidence. She spent lots of time with Brandy and Stevie before we lost Denise. Now, she spends even more time with them, and she is happy.”

  “Does Stanford pay her? I mean, is it a hardship for her not to work?”

  “She won’t take money from Stan; she doesn’t need it. He does things for her, however. He gave her a brand new kitchen while she was away on a cruise. He had it all planned for months, and she was surprised when she walked in the house and went to make them a cup of tea. She could have done it for herself, but it was special because Stan did it for her.”

  “Your family sounds so wonderful,” she said, a wistful tone to her voice.

  “They are pretty special, and hopefully you’ll get to meet them someday. Right now, though, I’m afraid that is where Fred would expect me to try and hide you. We’re going to go somewhere that no one knows about. Stan will keep an eye on the home front for us.”

  “He is a detective, too?”

  “Yes. There is an entire group of us. We’re good at what we do; we get results; we don’t work cheap.” He smiled at her. “You won’t owe me a thing, Freddy. I wronged you and I owe you. Every act has consequences, and while I don’t regret spanking you for swearing, part of that spanking was for a nineteen year old trying to act older than her years… drinking and gambling, and coming on to a man my age! I’d love to turn back the clock and be smart enough to check out Fred’s claim that you were just a kid. I promise I have learned from this mistake.” He paused and then asked, “Do you think you could forgive me, Freddy?”

  “I blame my father for pointing you at me, Barrett. I don’t feel you should have spanked me, and as for soaping my mouth… That was awful!”

  “So was what you said about my Mom,” he told her matter-of-factly, and watched her cheeks turn red with embarrassment.

  “I am sorry for that. I was so angry at the time.” She paused, then added, “When I get that upset and in a temper, I’m not responsible for what comes out of my mouth.”

  “Yes, you are responsible. You can control yourself if you want to, and that is why I used the soap. Perhaps the next time you are upset you’ll watch your mouth.”

  “Take the next exit and let me out of this car!” Freddy stated, raising her voice. She was perilously close to losing her temper again.

  “No, I can’t do that. You’re still too close to Vegas and your father would find you before morning.”

  “I am not helpless. Pull off and let me out, damn it!”

  He drove right by the exit, just as if Freddy hadn’t said a thing.

  “How dare you ignore me, you infuriating know-it-all? When I say something, I expect to have my wishes honored. You are basically kidnapping me, and just how do I know you are taking me to my father while pretending to keep me safe?” She was angry and her word were spilling over each other, spilling out as quickly as her thoughts changed direction.

  “Do you want another spanking?” Barrett asked the steaming redhead.

  “You just try it, Mister, and I’ll pull out every hair on your head and leave you bald!”

  Barrett chuckled. Freddy was a tiny little girl and there was no way she could best him in a physical confrontation unless he allowed it, and he doubted he would ever do that. No, the feisty little lady needed another good spanking. He suspected she was pushing and testing him how, anxious to see if he would take her over his knee now that he knew she was grown up. He would, and he would punish her in other ways, too. Miss Freddy was the type of woman who needed boundaries and lines drawn. She needed to know that the rules would be enforced with a firm hand across her pretty ass. He would love the challenge, but first he had to get her somewhere safe. “There is no point in threatening me, Freddy. I’ve decided to keep you safe until I know you will be safe, and I won’t go back on my word, even if you do get angry and tell me to get lost. I couldn’t live with my conscience if I let your father force you into a loveless marriage.”

  “Do you honestly think he would go that far?” she asked in a small voice.

  “The fact that he lied to me tells me he is serious. He’s a man who is used to being obeyed, and you are defying him and I quit rather than use force to take you to him. I would say he is pretty darn serious about getting you to bend to his will.”

  “I would just say ‘no’!” she insisted. “He might put me in front of a justice of the peace, but I would say ‘no’. I would never agree to marriage… At least not to a man he picked for me!”

  He glanced at her and then asked, “Wouldn’t you rather avoid being put in that situation, Freddy?”

  What Barrett was saying made sense. “Of course, but I wish you would stop talking about spanking me! I don’t like it!” she stated. “I’m not a little girl and I don’t want you to talk to me like I am a child in need of scolding.”

  “Okay, I won’t scold you, provided you act like the adult you claim to be.” He glanced at her and then said, “Why don’t you find some music on the radio station for us to listen to. I like almost anything but rap. To me that isn’t music.”

  Chapter Three

  Freddy found a station that played oldies from the sixties and seventies. It was way before her time, but she loved the tunes from that era.

  “That’s the music my mom loves,” Barrett commented, and then he started singing along.

  Freddy thought she was going to swoon! Barrett was not only handsome, but that voice of his was heavenly and intoxicating! She knew she could listen to him sing forever. She leaned back against the seat and focused on the music and did her best to forget that her bottom was hurting so much that it was all she could do to ride without complaining.

  Barrett smiled when he realized that Freddy was sound asleep. He knew she was in serious pain, but the drive to the ranch was going to take a few hours and if she was asleep then she wouldn’t be suffering. Once they arrived at the ranch he was pretty sure they would be safe. No one knew where it was, and the paper trail would lead to nowhere. In short, Fred’s money wouldn’t be able to track Freddy. The ranch was so remote that no one could approach without them knowing far in advance. He and his brothers hadn’t yet lost a client they were protecting. He shrugged off the weariness that threatened
him and resumed singing with the radio. It gave him something to do as he knocked off the miles besides think of the little redhead and how attracted he was to her. He still felt she needed to be taken in hand and he wondered how he felt about the job. Miss Freddy was a handful, and that was the pure and simple truth.

  It was the stopping of the car that finally woke Freddy, and she looked around her, trying to figure out where they were. A quick glance at her watch told her she’d been asleep four hours! She needed to get out of the car and go to the wash room. “I’m going inside,” she announced. “Do you want something to drink or snack on?” she asked.

  “I don’t want you to go inside at all. I’ll find a rest area to stop at as soon as possible,” Barrett promised.

  “Would you want me to pee all over your brand new car?” she asked caustically.