Chapter 1

It was shaping up to be a pretty good day and I had high hopes that my recent run of good Karma was continuing. The desert air was cool and dry on my skin, lapping up the perspiration as I passed the halfway point of my morning run; only five more miles and I could hit the pool for laps to cool me down and stretch me out. The temperature was already up several degrees from the brisk sixty-five degrees it had been when I left my apartment at 5:30. The sky was showing signs that dawn was not far off. Once the sun cleared the mountains it would heat up fast. According to the weatherman it was only supposed to reach the low nineties. Sure, you bet. I ranked the odds he was right somewhere up around pulling an inside straight flush on the last hand of the Friday night open poker tournament at the Luxor.

Weatherman has got to be one of the coolest gigs out there. Where else can you make that kind of money to be wrong so much of the time? I was born and raised in Southern California and hadn't been in Vegas that long but even I could tell it was going to hit triple digits. According to America's most trusted weather guide, the Farmer's Almanac, October was a month of dramatic change for the area and temperatures would indeed hit his target range. He was just a few weeks early, was all.

I was enjoying the cooler morning air though. The low humidity was a big change from the LA Basin and made running a real joy, but I knew that in a few more weeks those brisk morning temperatures were going to drop below the comfort zone and I would either have to start later or, more likely, find a gym with an indoor track that opened early. But for now it appeared as if my good Karma was continuing.

Or not ... my phone rang just as I got back. Normally that worries me early in the morning.

"Hello?" I answered.

"David? Hi, it's Christine. I was expecting to get your voice mail and I was just going to leave you a message, but this is better. I don't have much time; we're about to start boarding."

"I understand. What's up?"

"Well, I was wondering if you were free for dinner tomorrow night. We're flying back in to Vegas tomorrow and I've got the night off so..." I cut her off.

"Christine, I would love to have dinner with you," I said. "But I don't know if we can do that yet. I need to check with Tony and see if he thinks it's okay. Go ahead and give me your flight information and if he says it's okay I'll pick you up. Either way, I'll text you so you'll know, okay?"

"Okay, but if he says it's okay, you have to promise you won't spoil me like last time. No expensive hotels and I'm buying dinner this time, okay?"

"I can live with that," I said. "So when do you get in?"

Christine Payson was a twenty-six year old flight attendant I had met on my initial trip to Sin City. My plans had been rushed to say the least and the only seat I had been able to get on short notice had been in what they called Business Class. Christine was one of the attendants working the Business and First Class section. It actually was the same section; the only difference was my seat didn't fold out into a penthouse. Jamie, my sister-slash-alter ego, thought she was hot and wanted to meet her, and since we actually had a legitimate reason it had been pretty easy. Over the course of the flight, I convinced her to chaperone me around the city, in exchange for lunch, while I did some shopping. Providence stuck a finger in and we ended up spending the night in a palatial suite at the Bellagio before she flew out the following morning. None of it was planned but everyone was very happy with the way things worked out.

Then her asshole of a pilot had to go and ruin it. The entire flight crew had seen us leaving the airport together. They may not have seen the limo the hotel sent to pick us up, but they had seen me waiting in the terminal for her to deplane, and we had walked out together. Naturally, that sparked speculation, and the following day — after she had failed to check in to the hotel room the airline provided for layovers, the others naturally wanted all the details. It was just girl talk but even a big plane is a small place and when he heard where she had spent the night, Captain Wonderful decided to make an ass of himself. Sometime after he hit on her and after she turned him down he actually went so far as to suggest that it was a money thing. Yeah, he called her a whore, in front of not only the rest of the flight crew but at least two passengers. The co-pilot had actually overheard him telling her that he couldn't afford the whole night but how much for just a blowjob? The guy is slime.

According to my sister, Allison, I hover somewhere between Boy Scout and Knight in Shining Armor, so when I finally got the story out of Christine, my overgrown sense of justice went into overdrive and I called my lawyer. He ended up filing two separate lawsuits, one on Christine's behalf against Captain Dickhead and the airline for sexual harassment, the other against him personally for slander and defamation. The idea was that when he suggested Christine was willing to have sex for money, by extension he was labeling me as someone who consorts with prostitutes, and, since the rest of the flight crew had access to the passenger manifest and therefore my information ... well, you get the picture. The airline would conduct their own interviews but just to make sure they understood how badly they were screwed I had dropped in on the passengers who had witnessed the exchange and, using dreams that were carefully crafted to increase their sense of outrage, given them a little over-night encouragement to contact the airline. One sent an email, the other actually called in a complaint. Of course, I hadn't told Tony about that part. He's that rare exception that allows you to use the words 'ethical' and 'attorney' in the same sentence.

As an attorney looking at a potentially huge settlement, Tony, was a little disappointed that I wasn't interested in going after the brass ring, but he liked my approach and respected my decision. About the settlement, I mean, he had no idea of the tactics I was using to pad the odds. I'm not really a lawsuit kind of guy and I was looking at this as a corrective action, not punitive. Of course if the airline didn't take the settlement offer I had prepared for them then the gloves were off and he was free to handle it however he saw fit. He assured me they would take the offer, and since part of that was a hefty fee for him — one way out of proportion with the amount of time he was actually spending on the case but nothing compared to what he would get if we went to court and got a settlement, he was willing to make the effort.

Most people, including Tony and Christine, know me as David Malcolm, a young and apparently successful young businessman. In fact, I first met Tony — my attorney, Anthony Cicarelli — to discuss setting up a corporation for me. I realized the need when, over dinner, Christine asked me what I did for a living and I had to think fast to come up with something. She had almost choked on her fork when I said, "Bounty Hunter."

I couldn't blame her for the reaction. My most recent growth spurt had left me at the towering height of five-foot-eight and I'm a little on the lean side. Compact is a good word. I'm a lot stronger than I look, but I don't bulge, and according to the people that matter, including Christine, I fill out my clothes nicely. She should know, she helped me pick out most of my current wardrobe. When we met I had two pairs of jeans, several t-shirts, and a couple changes of underwear to my name. I've been running for exercise since I was very young and while I've filled out well, my over-all build reflects it. A year ago I was a bit of a runt, but then, a year ago I was fifteen and a freshman in high school, living at home with Allison and my parents. It's amazing how much my life has changed since then.

I live in the pool-house apartment of an elderly widow that I met while car shopping in Las Vegas. Her husband had developed a gambling problem late in life and left behind enough debt to wipe out his life insurance policy. She also discovered that he had mortgaged their home and now she couldn't afford the payment and was being forced to sell off the house and her husband's car — which was the reason for my visit in the first place — and move in with her daughter. I felt bad for her situation, but it wasn't until I heard about, and saw, the detached apartment and large swimming pool out back that wheels had started turning in my head. The pool had clearly been designed for exercise rather than recreation or aesthetics. Don't get me wrong, it looked great and there was plenty of room to play, but at thirty meters by three it wasn't what you would call stylish. The surrounding patio was all done in stone and if not for the fact that all but the immediate area around the pool was covered it would have been brutally hot in the summer. There were also decorative planters scattered around to give the area some color and life, and misters to cool the area in the heat of summer. He had even had the foresight to hook the misters into the home's water softener so that they wouldn't get plugged up by the minerals in the water.

The pool-house itself was very nicely laid out, but at the moment all I could think was that it still looked empty. In fact, there was very little to suggest that an actual person lived here. I'm not much of a decorator. Go figure. Maybe I should talk to someone about giving the place a makeover. I was sure Doreen would help if I asked her but I didn't think that would be a good idea. Most people tend to stay with what is familiar and comfortable; the last thing I wanted was for the place to remind her of her late husband.

I spent over an hour just putting together a grocery list, and I about died when I got to the grocery store, and realized what it was going to cost me to outfit my new place with just the basics. Thinking of money reminded me that I needed to check on the other account Rene had mentioned before he died. I added that to my list of things to do.

By the time I got back from the grocery store it was almost ten, so I called Tony's office to discuss my conversation with Christine. He confirmed that it would be best if Christine and I didn't see each other just yet. That really bothered me since I had been looking forward to seeing her again, but I could live with it if it meant getting what I wanted for Christine. Tony said that he wanted to meet with her anyway so he would pick her up and explain everything. Well, almost everything; we weren't telling her about the settlement offer we had in mind for the airline.

He also informed me that the preliminary filings for the new companies were done and I owned the names one way or the other. On the advice of my resident genius — my sister Allison — I had asked Tony to set up two new corporations for me. The primary company, Sha-Mar Enterprises, was essentially a holding company for the sub-corporation, Finder's Incorporated, which would be my day-to-day business, allowing me an added layer of privacy to hide behind; ironic, considering David Malcolm wasn't actually hiding but if nothing else, the last six months had taught me that you can't be too careful. Besides, no one knew that David Malcolm owned Sha-Mar; only that Sha-Mar owned Finder's and David ran it.

The names were unique enough that Tony considered it was highly unlikely to hit any obstacles due to someone else already using either of them, or having just thought of a catchy name and licensed it with the idea of selling them if someone else thought of it later. He personally recommended waiting; but said that if I wanted to I could proceed with some of the other steps in getting the business up and running. There wasn't much I could do on the corporate side until I had the tax ID number, but since I was going to have to personally guarantee any corporate purchasing for at least the first year — or until it had established a sufficient credit profile of its own — there was no harm in me spending money.

"Just about anything you want," he had explained. "Within reason that is, can be charged against the corporation for tax purposes and reimbursed if you're paying cash. Just make sure you keep your receipts for your accountant."

He had even offered to recommend a couple. Any city where this much cash was constantly changing hands had to be both an auditing nightmare and a shark-pool for the IRS. A top notch accountant could probably name his price. I decided I'd wait and see what kinds of expenses I was going to be dealing with before I took that step.

The down side of a new identity was that while they had given me some credit, I was still "only" twenty-two — six years older than my actual age — so I didn't have much depth. Not to mention a relatively low limit on my credit card. It's a good thing I'd put all that cash on account over at the Bellagio. My credit card limit wouldn't have covered more than the first two nights. A couple of quick phone calls took care of most of the problem. It's amazing how friendly people get when you throw money at them. Two hundred thousand in a small business account with American Express will get your new Corporate Cards sent overnight, after they talked to your attorney and confirmed all your information of course. I got five cards in the company name. One for me, Allison's under her new identity as Charlotte Montgomery, Lizzy, Amber, and, since things were going so well and I was feeling positive, one for my new secretary. They also gave me a phone number to call if I needed anything before the cards arrived.

Now that that was handled, I made myself a quick sandwich for lunch and headed out to see about getting a couple of cell phones in the company name. I actually ended up with three: one for me, of course, one for my secretary, and a pre-paid just in case I needed something disposable and untraceable on short notice. That one I paid cash for at a kiosk in the mall rather than purchasing through my new cell provider. And of course I still had the phone the FBI had given me. It's hard to be an anonymous source when your cell phone can be traced, so they had provided me with one that couldn't be tracked. I thought about getting phones for Amber and Lizzy on the company as well, but decided to hold off for the time being. I wasn't sure if Lizzy was under contract or not, and it wouldn't save any money getting her a company phone if we had to pay early termination penalties on hers. I wasn't sure Amber even needed one since she would be spending most of her time with Lizzy, so I decided to wait and see what Lizzy thought we should do. I couldn't get one for Allison just yet without raising suspicion; the credit card would remain locked up in the office until I was able to give it to her in person so she could put it away with her other ID. Besides, getting them all phones on the company would be drawing lines connecting them to me; never a good idea when you're in hiding.

The idea of locking up the credit card got me thinking about security and I realized I didn't actually have a way to lock it up. I called Tony and he recommended a cabinet style gun safe.

"They're large enough to handle just about anything you might want or need secured in a home or small business environment, and they're not really that expensive. You can get a basic one for a couple hundred dollars but I wouldn't trust it for anything even moderately important. If you're only interested in security you can stay under a grand but for about twice that you can get something that would protect the contents even if the house was destroyed."

His next question threw me.

"You do much shooting, David?"

"I know which end to hold," I said cautiously, not sure where he was going.

"Ever shoot skeet?"

"No, never really had the chance."

"You ever want to, give me a call, I'll take you out to my club. It's a nice place; we've got indoor and outdoor ranges for pistols and rifles, and a competition trap range."

"Please?" Jamie implored. I could feel her excitement at actually getting to shoot something.

"Sounds like fun, I may have to take you up on that. Where's a good place to shop for a safe?"

"Castle Gun and Safe, as in 'A man's home is his castle'. They carry just about anything you could want; if it's legal, they have it — including tactical gear, storage, ammunition ... They're even licensed to carry belted ammo for the local machine gun club. You ever want to have some serious fun, go to one of their little get-togethers. You can't believe the stuff those guys collect. I was at one a couple years ago; guy had a civil war Gatling-gun."

A surge of adrenaline shot through me.

"Down girl; behave yourself!"

"Sounds like a blast, keep me in mind next time." I told Tony.

"Well, you know what they say, 'happiness is a belt-fed weapon, ' but for a blast... that's the American Cannon Club. Those guys are fucking crazy! Never been to an actual shoot but I watched a piece about them on Discovery. They shoot fifty gallon drums from like a mile away. Depending on the piece it can cost you hundreds of dollars per shot. Not to mention the cost of getting it there. You can't imagine what it costs to get a permit."

"Well, they've got lots of desert to practice in," I said.

"Are you kidding?" he laughed. "And risk disturbing the habitat of some enviro-nut's pet critter? It's insane what these guys go through to get their rocks off. Tina and I go out to the club a couple times a month, let me know if you ever want to come along."

"Your wife shoots?"

"Are you kidding? Annie Oakley, that one. Shoot the asshole out of a jackrabbit running in high gear."

"Like I said, it sounds like fun. Why don't you give me a call next time you're going out?"

"You'll need a date," he said. "Tina doesn't like to be outnumbered, not when she's shooting anyway."

I decided to leave that one alone. "As long as I have a few days notice."

"Done," he said. "I have to meet with a client; I'll let you know if I hear anything from the airline. Just leave a message with Janelle if you need anything else."

We hung up and I contemplated what shopping I still had left to do. I really needed more clothes but I didn't trust my judgment. I had hoped that maybe Christine and I could go out shopping again, but now it looked like that may be delayed and I couldn't really put it off for long. I'm not really part of the suit and tie crowd, but I needed to dress in such a way as to instill confidence in clients and in casual clothes I still looked too close to my real age. In order for the business to be an effective cover I was actually going to have to find some things, or some people. I wanted to work up as quickly as possible to the higher end of the scale, so I didn't actually have to do as much and could devote my time to other things while still making enough money to cover my lifestyle without attracting attention. I wasn't really sure what those other things might be just yet, but surely I could find something constructive to do with my talent. Maybe I should talk to Bob about some career counseling.

There was a knock at the door and, of course, it was Doreen.

"Hi Doreen," I said, opening the door. "Come on in, I've just been trying to get things organized. Did you need something?"

"No, not really, I just wanted to make sure you were settling in okay. Do you need anything?"

"I probably need a lot of things, but I won't know what they are until I miss them. This is my first time setting up a house on my own. I spent most of the day shopping and I've still got more to do. Man, I can't believe how much some of this stuff costs. Especially spices! I used to shop for meals when it was my week to cook at home, but we always had all the other stuff."

She was chuckling pretty good before I finished. "Boys," she said, shaking her head. "Where did you go?"

I thought she was going to hit me when I told her the name of the supermarket.

"Well no wonder!" she exclaimed. "Now you listen to me, you get ready to go shopping again you bring your list to me and I'll go with you. Lord have mercy, I can't believe your momma let you go out by yourself. Now, while we're on the subject, I've been trying to put together a menu for this week, and I wanted to see if there was anything special you might like to have?"

"Doreen, I'm renting your pool house, I don't expect you to cook for me."

"You are new at this. David, there is no sadder thing in this world than trying to cook for one. Two ain't much better, but it's a start, and there is just no good reason for both of us to be sitting and eating alone night after night. Now I understand that you're a busy young man and I certainly don't expect you here every night but, David," her voice took on a bit more texture, "it would surely be nice if you could join me now and then."

I could hear the loneliness in her voice and I suspected she was working hard to keep the tears back as well.

"Weren't we just talking recently about how much it sucked to be alone?" Jamie asked.

"You know Doreen," I said. "You're right, and I do hate eating alone, but I'll only do it on one condition; I buy the groceries." She started to object but I just held up my hand and kept going. "No, that's it, my one and final offer. I will have dinner with you on the nights I'm available and don't have plans, but only if you let me pay for the food. That's the deal, take it or leave it."

"David, now that just wouldn't be right, you paying for everything. I'm eating too, and from the look of it, I eat a whole lot more than you do. How about if you just buy the meat, would that be all right?"

The meat was usually the most expensive part anyway so I decided it was a good compromise. "Okay, I'll do the meat but you have to let me help with the dishes."

"Oh don't be ridiculous," she began but then she caught the look in my eyes. "Okay, you can help with the dishes."

"Good," I said. "Now that that's settled I wanted to talk to you about a few things. I probably should have brought this up sooner. There are some things I feel you should know about my business..."

I knew Lizzy and Amber were expecting me so I turned in early, locking the door and pulling the shades before stepping across into my own private world. They were in the dorm room, cuddled together on Lizzy's bed. Once again Lizzy was anxious and Amber didn't know why. I closed my eyes and sent Elizabeth a daydream of what I had in mind before calling softly, "Amber."

I watched as she relaxed into sleep and then held her there rather than bringing her into dreamspace. It would be more accurate to say that I sent her to an empty dream space that was dark and quiet with nothing for her mind to focus on and just sort of left her floating there.

Once Amber was asleep Lizzy got up and walked to the closet, opened the door, stepped inside and then turned around so she could see the room. Bracing herself in the doorway so she wouldn't fall, she spoke a trigger and dropped into dreamspace with the vision fresh in her mind and then recreated it for me. I replaced her vision with one of my own and overlaid the two in my mind.

I sent Lizzy back and she quickly stepped to the side where she wouldn't be in the way or interfere with the image I was using. This was a big step; moving from the warehouse to the park was astounding but still a short distance. Going from Vegas to LA to spend the night with Allison had been a lot farther but still less than four hundred miles. This was over five times that distance. I took a deep breath and crossed the threshold I had created in my mind.

"That is amazing," Lizzy said, stepping forward again and cuddling up to my side as I exited the closet. "I think it's the coolest thing you've come up with yet; that and the healing thing. Now I can have you here with me anytime we want."

"Yes, and if it weren't for the whole waiting thing, I'd take full advantage of it," I said.

"If we weren't waiting I'd say you damned well better," she said, giving me a little extra squeeze to my ribs for emphasis. "For now, kiss me and I'll leave you two alone for a while. I need to go spend some time with Carol. I've been spending so much time with Amber she's starting to think I don't love her anymore."

Carol was one of Lizzy's newest friends; I'd met her on my one and only visit to Indiana, which was also the very first time I ever met Lizzy — which was really weird considering we were already engaged by then. Carol was also her patient, or one of them anyway — I keep a safe distance from that part of her life. Carol had some issues from her past that Lizzy was trying to get her over. Carol had never actually mentioned them but that didn't prevent Lizzy from not only knowing they were there, but seeing the pain they were causing her. She had asked me to make her a key that allowed her access to Carol's dreams so she could try and figure out what was going on. It was the same approach we had used to figure out Angela's problem not so long before, but we hadn't talked about it since then.

"I didn't think you'd gotten that far along yet," I said.

"We haven't, and I've sort of been hoping she would miss me enough to move a little farther along. I'm meeting her in her dorm so we can study. Now that she's seen me with Amber there are no more illusions and she can't deny what she sees when I look at her. We've still got a ways to go, but I think maybe soon she'll be ready to let her guard down a little and talk to me. If I could just get her to kiss me..."

"I could send Jamie along; if she does kiss you it'll be a repeat of us at Frankie's that first night. Just whatever you do, don't kiss her while Jamie is inside her!"

"Spoil sport!" Jamie complained.

"Don't joke about that sis. We can't take the chance that I may not be the only one that has that affect on you. It was a damn good thing it was Allison that first time. It scares me to think what would have happened if it had been Britney."

"Afraid she might never forgive you? More likely she'd never let you out of her sight."

"That's not an improvement in my mind," I replied. "It would be rape, Jamie, no different than if I'd slipped something in her drink to make her horny. Even if she liked it and wanted it again, that's not my idea of consensual."

"I know," she said. "And I'm sorry. You're right and I shouldn't joke about it."

"Must be serious if it actually required a conversation with Jamie," Lizzy said, having correctly guessed the reason for my sudden silence. "Are you telling her to behave herself? Because she doesn't have to with me you know."

"I think she does for this," I replied. "Remind me and I'll explain later. Just be damned sure you know where Jamie is at all times."

"Hmmm, sounds interesting. I'd say I'll keep an eye on her but if it's that serious I won't need to. She's may be a bitch but she's a good girl. I'll see you..." she gave me a little poke in the chest and then pulled me in close. " ... later. Tell Amber not to wait up. I love you."

"I love you too."

We kissed, Jamie taking advantage of the contact to merge with her, and they left. I locked the door behind her and then went to wake Angela up. Of course the idea was that she wouldn't be able to tell if it was real or a dream, so as far as she was concerned she was transitioning into a dream with me that just happened to be taking place in her dorm. Lizzy was looking forward to her reaction when she found out the truth in the morning.

Whatever happened with Carol, Lizzy didn't come back until morning. Jamie showed up after a couple hours and informed me that things were going well.

I hid out in the closet the next morning after Lizzy came in and watched through the slatted door as she woke Amber up.

"Good morning Mistress," she said, stretching. "Did I oversleep?"

"No," Lizzy said, bending down and kissing her. "How do you feel?" She asked.

"Tired," Amber answered, stretching again. "It's strange; I don't normally feel this way after spending time with my Master. I usually feel rested and refreshed but this time I'm tired and ... ow!" she said, grimacing slightly. "Ugh, and my legs are sore."

"So you're saying this morning you actually feel like you spent the night getting your brains fucked out?"

Amber made a face and said, "Yeah, I do." She giggled and it was clearly Angela speaking now. It's a subtle difference but I could always tell who she was moment to moment. I often wondered if this was what it was like dealing with someone who truly had multiple personalities. Amber had started as a cover identity while Angela was in hiding, but after Angela's submissive nature became apparent it just made it easier for her to use 'Amber' as the host for that side of herself. Her control was so good that it was like flipping a switch as she moved in and out of character. Most of the time she was Amber, especially when she was with us in public, but alone she was free to be her old self if she chose.

"Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful ache and I wish it was real, but I don't usually react this way to ... you know. Do you think maybe it's because I was Angela all night and she's not used to it?"

It was nice to see that even in the privacy of their room she would not say out loud that it was a dream.

"Well here is another surprise," Lizzy said, pulling the covers back, exposing Amber's naked body. "Maybe this will help explain it."

Even from where I was I could see the signs. Her lips were red and swollen and there was evidence that something sticky had dried on her skin.

"Someone needs a shower," Lizzy said with a giggle.

"Oh my god," she gasped, shock and fear bringing Amber once more to full control. "Mistress, how is this possible?"

"Apparently, your Master's latest trials have revealed new depths to his talents."

"He certainly is talented," Amber said with a grin. "And there is definitely no problem with his depth!"

I found it interesting that in a moment of panic "Angela" had hidden and even though Amber was the 'submissive' side, she now felt safe in the presence of her Mistress where "Angela" had not. Safe enough to make jokes anyway.

"That's not what I meant, you naughty girl," Lizzy said, smacking her with a pillow. Amber quickly grabbed another one to defend herself but Lizzy drew back. "Attend me."

Instantly Amber dropped the pillow and slid to the floor, complacent and attentive, hands folded delicately in her lap, eyes averted. "What is your will, Mistress?"

"I have a surprise for you, close your eyes."

When she did, I stepped out of the closet, and moved to stand next to Lizzy.

"Open your eyes."

For a second it looked like maybe they weren't going to stop opening as they just kept getting bigger.

"Master?" she breathed, not believing what she saw.

"Good morning, Amber," I said, reaching down and lifting her with a finger under her chin. I wasn't actually lifting her of course, the movement was merely an indication that I wanted her to rise and she flowed to her feet like water running uphill.

"I hope you like your surprise," I said, leaning in and kissing her thoroughly, our tongues dancing a good-morning duet.

"I love it," she said with tears in her eyes when we finally broke apart. "I have wanted to be with you, really be with you, for so long. I thought it was all a dream, last night I mean."

"If it had been a dream I wouldn't have been reminding you constantly to keep it down," I pointed out.

She smiled. "You always did bring that out in me; I'm surprised they didn't throw us out of the hotel that night after prom."

"Obviously this is something that is never to be discussed," Lizzy said. "Tell us Amber, do you feel safe, truly safe at all times?"

She lowered her eyes, "No, Mistress. I only feel truly safe when I am with you. I try but..."

"I understand," Lizzy said. "In dreams you know that you can cry out and your Master will come. Not so in the waking world though is it?"

"No mistress, and so I am afraid ... sometimes ... when I am alone."

"Do not feel ashamed Amber; that is only natural. You understand that this has not changed? It is true that if the need were in fact so dire, that your Master could come to you, but only if he revealed himself to others, and that is something that he cannot do lightly. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mistress, I understand," she said and there was a certain resolve in her voice.

"Here's another surprise for you," I said, taking her hand. When I did, Jamie flowed into her.

"Hello, Amber," she said. "You should sit down for this part."

There was a shocked look on Amber's face, and it only got worse as Jamie sat them down. Once she was seated Jamie put her to sleep and I did the same with Lizzy as we lay down on the other bed.

I put us in the cabana so there would be no doubt in Amber's mind that we were in fact dreaming this time and it was safe.

"Master, what is..." she began, looking very confused and a little frightened.

Jamie stepped out so Amber could see her.

"Amber, this is Jamie," I explained. "It's a long story but Jamie is a part of me, more importantly for this discussion, she is the dark and dangerous part of me. You remember what happened when Brad jumped me at the mall?"

"Oh yeah!" she answered emphatically.

Brad Russell was her asshole ex-boyfriend from high school. We hit it off the first time we met and over the next six months I pissed him off to the point that one night he and two friends had jumped me outside the local mall. When the dust settled, everyone got a free trip to the emergency room. Driscoll and Elliott had broken ribs and a concussion respectively; I had a sprained wrist and knee, as well as bruises on my hands and forehead. Brad got six hours of surgery to get his arm to bend the right way again. He didn't know it, but he was lucky to be alive.

"Well, that was actually Jamie, only we didn't know it at the time. We didn't understand what had happened or how it had happened. We'll tell you the whole story some other time. What is important is that if you were ever to need me, ever to call out to me, and I was not able to come, Jamie would come to you. Stand up."

As she stood the scene changed and we were on the beach. Four men stood around her. "Jamie is an aspect of me, and as such you must trust her as you trust me, do you understand?"

"Yes Master."

"Good, we're about to see how much you really believe that."

Two of the men suddenly moved forward and grabbed her, pinning her arms behind her back. The third stepped forward and grabbed the front of her shirt, obviously about to rip it off of her. The scene froze and I said, "Are you ready?"

Jamie moved forward, merging into Amber, "Relax, you need to let me have control, okay?"

"I'll try," Amber said out loud.

"I did not tell you to try!" Jamie said sternly. "I told you to relax and let me have control. Who am I?"

"You are..." I could see her take a breath and steel herself. "You are my Master, and you love me, and I trust you in all things." She let the breath out and as she did I could see her body relax.

The scene moved forward and suddenly she kicked the guy trying to rip her shirt squarely in the balls. The fight was short after that and Amber found herself standing over four unconscious bodies. Jamie stepped out of her and she stood staring down at her attackers.

"Wow!" was all Amber could say.

"Wow is right," Jamie said, turning to me. "Boy, once she accepted me it was like it was my body. I had to put Allison in a bubble to get that kind of control."

Suddenly Amber was kneeling before us again, "Thank you, Master," she said, kissing my hand. "For taking away my fear; it is a gift beyond price."

"Only such a gift would be fitting," I said, stroking her cheek, "to one who is priceless to me. Here's a little bonus for you." I turned to Jamie, "Don't keep her too long, I don't want her to be late for work."

Jamie just smiled and pulled Amber to her feet, kissing her passionately before they both vanished. I took Lizzy back to her room where we found Amber stretched out on her bed asleep with a pleasant smile on her face.

"You are just too much. I wondered when you were going to tell her about Jamie."

"I wasn't sure about telling her, but it wouldn't do any good to send Jamie if Amber got in the way. It would probably have scared the heck out of her. This way, if it ever happens, she won't be surprised and Jamie can do her job until I can get here."

"To bad you couldn't see what I saw," she said. "It was pretty amazing to watch."

"How so?"

"Well, at first, it was like there were two of them..."

"You mean you could see both patterns?"

"Yes. You remember how I described what multiple personalities look like before? It was like that. I could see Amber, and at the same time I could see Jamie's pattern sort of like an overlay. But then, when Amber accepted her ... wow! It was like looking at the two of you, the patterns sort of merged into one and ... I can't describe it, but trust me, Amber wasn't kidding when she said she accepted Jamie. Her energy went to this pattern of like total calm. It was sort of like what I told you Father Chris looks like when he prays. She just gave herself over to Jamie. I wish you could have seen it."

Dream time is subjective so while we had only been back for a few moments, apparently more time had passed for them, because suddenly Amber gasped and her body tensed on the bed in front of us. She took a deep breath, her body relaxing as she let it out and I felt Jamie flow back into me. Jamie had that contented, 'cat in a sunbeam' feel to her.

Apparently it was mutual as Amber opened her eyes and smiled a Cheshire grin up at us. "Oh, that was nice. I love you, Master; and right now? I love you a lot." She closed her eyes and stretched, then grimaced as her muscles protested. "Only now I need a massage, and a nap. God, I wish I didn't have to work." Then she sat up quickly and asked, "Are you running today, Mistress?"

Lizzy looked at the clock. "It's getting a little late; I think I'll skip it, why?"

Amber stood and stretched her arms over her head. "I was wondering if you could help me stretch." Seeing her stretch like that caused a very male reaction.

"I think I'd better leave you two to get ready," I said, turning to give Lizzy a kiss. "Have a good day; I'll be making weekend travel plans for you both today." Then I turned back and kissed Amber. A couple seconds into it Jamie came up to join us and I felt Amber react as well.

"Oh, I am really going to like this!" she said when I pulled back. "I am just the luckiest slave on earth, that's all there is to it. I don't wish to overstep myself Master, but if you two don't leave soon I may be a very bad girl."

"But then I would have to punish you," I said.

"I know," she said, smiling and shrugging her shoulders. "But right now that thought isn't likely to help me be good."

"I think you're a little too eager," I said, slapping her hard on one butt cheek. Unfortunately that caused her to twitch closer against me and that didn't help the problem either. Fortunately Lizzy realized that too.

"That's not helping," she said. "Amber, attend me."

Amber dutifully dropped to the floor and Lizzy turned, kissed me again, and said, "You should go or we'll never get out of here." She turned and sat on the bed, stroking Amber's hair as she knelt at her feet.

I turned and opened the closet door, overlaying the image of my bedroom in Vegas on the other side and stepped through. A few moments later my phone rang. I don't usually get calls at four in the morning.

"Hello?" I answered tentatively. I hoped I sounded convincingly like I just woke up.

"It's me," Lizzy's voice said. "I wasn't paying that close attention when you arrived but I was expecting at least a little pop when you left. You know, sort of a miniature thunderclap from the air rushing in to fill the empty space?"

"And?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said. "Either you don't displace enough air or there is something else going on here. Just thought you'd like to know."

"Thank you, that is good to know. I'm surprised Allison didn't say anything the other night."

"Are you kidding? Little sister was so happy to have you there she wouldn't have noticed a brass band."

I chucked and said, "Have a good day, sweetie, I love you."

"Love you too."

The rest of the week passed quickly and I found myself getting nervous about the weekend. I had booked the girls on a flight into Vegas, they arrived late Friday night — I spent the night cuddled between them — and we left early Saturday morning. It's only about a three and half-hour drive and since we're all early risers we were on the road by six. I don't think Doreen even knew they were there.

Rebecca had arranged to meet with Angela's family, telling them she had some news she wanted to share in person. I was meeting her at Bob's place. She would take Angela from there, and then Lizzy and I were going to Palm Springs for the day. Angela had made it clear that she did not want to spend the night at her parents' house — the idea of spending a whole night 'alone' without Lizzy or myself to protect her was still too much for her to contemplate without panicking, so Rebecca and Bob were going to bring her out to the hotel, where we would all have dinner. If Angela felt it was a good idea, I would take her back on Sunday and she would spend another day with her parents before returning to school.

I would have preferred to be able to spend the day with Lizzy someplace like Disneyland or Six Flags, but since I was still listed as missing —and there was at least a chance that someone who knew me might see me at a venue like that — we would have to save that for another time. Besides, Angela's stress level had been climbing steadily as the weekend approached and I needed to be available in case she needed to get away. I promised her that if she started feeling insecure or vulnerable that all she had to do was call and Jamie would come, but it was going to be a real challenge for her. Her parents didn't, and couldn't, know about Amber, and this was the first time she had been just Angela for so long at one time since she first went into hiding.

Rebecca

Usually this was the sort of trip I dreaded. It was always the same; more bad news for the family and the best you could hope to offer was closure. Today I was really looking forward to it. I had Wascoff and Evans scheduled to meet Bob at his place a half hour after Jimmy dropped Angela off. They would follow us over, and Bob would stay with Angela in my car until time for her to come in. I had a text message typed and ready to send telling him when to have her come in. Yeah, it was going to be a little more dramatic than it needed to be, but hey, you don't get to do this very often in this business and I wanted to savor every second.

Angela's brother, Tim, answered the door when I arrived and took me inside. He introduced me to his girlfriend, Cindy, and offered me a cup of coffee. Mr. and Mrs. Osborne sat together on the couch holding hands in mutual support. After delivering my coffee, Tim took a seat on the love seat with Cindy. I took a sip of my coffee (ugh) set it down and started.

"This hasn't hit the papers yet, and I wanted to tell you in person before it does. He's dead."

It took a minute for it to register, and while I was waiting I hit the send button on my phone. Suddenly Tim looked away and the parents started hugging. My phone buzzed twice in my pocket, signaling that Angela was on her way up the sidewalk.

"Thank you," Mrs. Osborne said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "I know it may not seem like much but it is good to know that..." She was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Now who could that be?" her husband asked.

Even as he was asking the question the door opened and then closed a moment later. Due to the layout of the house the front door was not visible from the living room.

"What the heck?" He asked, rising to go see who had just barged into his house. He was only about half way to his feet when Angela turned the corner.

"Hello, Daddy," she said.

David Osborne turned white and fell back onto the couch next to his wife, who if anything was even whiter than he was. Tim and Cindy were just staring dumbfounded. Tim recovered first, standing up and walking to her. I could hear him trying to say something but apparently it wasn't working.

Tears were now leaking from Angela's eyes as well as she said, "Yes, Timmy, it's really me." And then she stepped forward to hug him. Back on the love seat Cindy was crying, and over on the couch, Mrs. Osborne burst into a wailing fit and buried her face in her husband's chest.

Tim stood like a statue until Angela was close enough to touch and then rushed to meet her, swinging her off her feet and spinning her around the room, knocking over and shattering a tall floor lamp in the process. Cindy was still crying but there was a smile on her face and the sobs were starting to sound a little giddy as she rose and joined Tim in hugging Angela. She only stayed for a second, kissing Angela on the cheek before heading off to the kitchen. She returned a moment later with a dustpan and a little hand broom. She pulled on Tim's sleeve to get his attention, then jerked her head toward the parents and handed him the broom and dustpan. He glanced at his parents and released his sister to go to them, then reached to stand the lamp back up while Cindy began gathering up pieces of broken glass.

Angela moved quickly to kneel between her parents on the floor, hugging them both and crying softly, her tears mingling with theirs.

"Surprise," I said. Mr. Osborne just gave a barking laugh and glared at me, tears choking him and preventing him from saying what I knew he wanted to say. "Okay, before the happiness wears off and you all realize how pissed you are at being deceived, let me just say, 'Yes, I know I have some explaining to do.'"

"Damn right you do!" her father said, suddenly finding his voice, strong emotions shift quickly and while it wasn't there yet, you could tell the anger was surfacing.

He would have said more but Angela caught his hand and said, "No, daddy, you don't understand. Please, just listen to her before you say anything. Please?"

He looked at her and apparently whatever he saw in her face was enough because when he looked back at me his expression had softened and he just nodded his head once for me to continue.

"Thank you," I said. "The reason we couldn't tell you that Angela was alive is that her life was still in danger. The man — if you can call him that — who took her, was not just a killer, he was a professional killer. At one time he was the most wanted assassin in Europe. They thought he had killed himself when they had him cornered five years ago. They were wrong. We still don't know the whole story — probably never will — but before he was an assassin he actually worked for Interpol until something went wrong on an undercover assignment. Something snapped and he went rogue. Apparently, after faking his death, he came here to America, where he killed a man named Kenneth Riley, assumed his identity, built a life, and then began stalking and killing teenage girls just like Angela. I actually got Angela out only seconds before that house exploded, but he had fled already and didn't know that. Based on the information we discovered, some from Angela herself; we were able to determine whom we were dealing with.

"This man, this killer, was obsessive to a degree that is hard to believe. If he had known that Angela was alive he would have done anything he could to find her and get her back so he could finish what he had begun. If he thought, even for a second, that you might know where she was, he wouldn't have blinked at torturing or killing any or all of you to find her. Mr. and Mrs. Osborne, Tim, believe me, if we had told you the truth, he would have known, just by watching you, seeing your reactions, that something was wrong. Your lives, and your daughter's life, would have been at risk. The only choice we had was to let everyone believe that she was dead. She spent the first couple of weeks in a special hospital where she underwent surgery to try and correct some of the injuries she had suffered. Most of the rest of the time she was in a rehabilitation center where she received physical therapy and counseling to try and deal with everything that had happened to her, as well as learning a completely new identity that she would have to live under until such time as the man who had hurt her was eventually either captured and brought to justice or killed. Just a week ago she moved to Indiana to attend school and start a new life.

"There's more to the story, but those are the basics. We hid her to keep both her, and all of you, safe."

"Why couldn't you have just assigned someone to watch her here?" Mrs. Osborne asked. "Don't you have people that do that sort of thing?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Not from someone like this. He didn't take being found and forced out of his carefully crafted life very well. He really didn't like it when I said in an interview that I would find him and stop him once and for all. To say the least he was pissed off; he took it as a personal challenge in fact. So personally that he actually began stalking me, broke into my apartment to leave evidence that he was in fact watching me, and broke into my fiancé's house and bugged it so he could keep tabs on me. Once we had identified him, Interpol sent an agent over to assist us in capturing him and she was assigned as my partner. A couple of weeks ago, she was kidnapped and has not been seen or heard from since. There were two agents assigned to safeguard her, they were found dead the morning she disappeared. She was a trained agent with two other trained agents protecting her and he got to her anyway, so no, we couldn't protect Angela here, not from someone like this."

There was a lot more to that particular story, but at the moment only a very few people knew the truth, and that truth had no bearing on this part. Which is good, because I would have hated to lie to them about it.

"Now do you understand?" Angela asked.

He wasn't happy by any means, but apparently her father did understand, nodding his head and saying, "I'm sorry."

"No problem," I said. "Now, I'm going to leave you all to spend some time together and then I will be back to take Angela somewhere..." I held up my hand to stop the question Mrs. Osborne was about to ask. "Please, I know what you're going to ask. Yes, she could stay here, but you have to understand the ordeal your daughter has been through, and how vulnerable she feels as a result. Angela, now that you're here, do you think you could..."

She was shaking her head violently 'no' before I finished asking the question.

"She's still trying to adjust to not being surrounded by armed agents twenty four hours a day. She 'knows' he's dead and that she's safe, but it's going to be some time before she feels safe again."

"But you said she was away at school already, how is that any different? At least here she would have her family around her."

"I'll leave that for her to explain," I said, standing up again. "Angela, there will be two agents nearby at all times until I come back for you, but if you start feeling insecure, you know what to do, right?"

"Yes," she answered, standing up and hugging me. "Thank you for everything you've done. I'll be okay."

"Okay," I said. "And if you change your mind and decide you want to stay here for tonight..." Again I hadn't even finished the sentence before Angela was shaking her head no, a half-panicked expression on her face. I knew this was how the kids had planned it, but the fear looked genuine. "Okay then, call me when you're ready." I turned to her parents. "Don't worry; she can come back again tomorrow if she feels up to it. I know it's hard but trust me, this is going to take time and the best thing you can do is to give her that time."