Chapter 14

When the alarm went off, I didn’t exactly feel rested, but I didn’t feel like I’d spent the night fighting demons.

We all got up and showered together, taking turns at the rest of the fixtures before getting dressed and going upstairs to breakfast.

Mom and Lilly joined us again and the seven of us enjoyed the morning together. Mom still had the phone on her hip, but it never rang while we were at the table.

Once again Dan and I were off to the Garden and I told him that if we didn’t hear anything today, I’d ask Mom to call him at work tomorrow.

When we got to the Garden, we agreed to meet again for lunch and I went off to check in with the trainers. I was using one crutch as ordered and putting down a little weight on my injured ankle with every step, getting used to using it again.

“Given any more thought to your post-injury exercise program?” the head trainer asked me while he had me working on a set.

I’d actually thought about it a lot over the weekend and told him so. “I think I’d like to pick up a martial art,” I said. “Maybe Kung Fu or Karate. As much as hockey’s got a lot to offer, I can’t really play it during the summer as much. Can’t play baseball in winter, so I think something like martial arts works for me.”

“Nothing to do with heading to high school in the fall, is it? Thinking you might get picked on by the Seniors?”

I shook my head. “That thought hadn’t occurred to me, but I suppose that’s possible too. I’m almost certainly gonna get creamed for any of the school teams if I go out. I can pick up a karate class and learn any time though. I don’t think there’s a disadvantage to starting late.”

“Yeah, any freshmen that make the teams are usually the guys that played in earlier grades. I’ll put something together and maybe throw in a couple of extra sets of something to help give you a leg up if you want to go out for teams next year,” he promised.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Chad was there during the afternoon and asked me how my rehab was going. I filled him in, but that was the most exciting thing to happen all day.

I met Dan at the doors and we walked back to the car together, me leaning on my crutch slightly less, having consulted the trainers on how much support I needed.

The evening routine was the same. Dinner and dishes for the girls, this time at our place. Dan and Patty joined us this time and we discussed how we still hadn’t heard any word from Donald.

By the time we’d finished dinner and had let our meals settle, there was a consensus that Mom should try to contact his office tomorrow under the pretense of setting up another meeting with me. I didn’t see it as having a good outcome, but was willing to go along with it. Everyone was in good spirits and I was willing to be hopeful that we’d turned the corner.

That night, the girls and I were a little more playful, but still not ready to resume the sexual portion of our relationship just yet. The intruder last night had them both a little spooked and I understood. We slept holding each other close as we normally did.

The next day was as normal and uneventful as I could have hoped for. Late in the morning, I got the text I’d been hoping for all week. ‘Talked to your father. He’s picking you up at the Garden after work.’ It had come from Mom’s phone and set me in a better mood than I’d been since Sunday.

At lunch, I told Dan about it and he nodded. “You have your phone with you. I’m sure one of the girls will be watching the GPS data,” he chuckled.

“They ARE protective, but then again, right now, I’m not even as much good as normal if something happens.”

It was like a weight had been lifted from my neck and I felt so relaxed that I didn’t think about what this meant for Miranda for once.

The afternoon flew by and I was outside waiting when I saw his Impala pull up to the doors. I opened the door and got in less awkwardly than I’d been able to manage until this week.

He looked surprised at the change. “You look like you’re improved a lot. How’re you feeling?” he asked when I’d settled.

“I’m doing a lot better. The trainers have shaved at least a week off my recovery, maybe more and they’re gonna help me put together a workout so I stay in top shape. Where are we headed?” I asked.

“Well, I thought we’d head back to the mall and grab a bite so we could talk unless you had other plans.”

I thought about it and told him I’d rather go to Dairy Queen so I could get ice cream afterwards.

He agreed and drove to one not far from where we were. We sat in a booth and once we were settled with our meals, I brought up the topic. “So how did Monday go?” I asked quietly.

He paused and considered his answer for a long time. “Monday was a rough day. I’ll spare you all the details, but I had to answer a lot of questions. They grilled me on everything and then they made some calls to look up who signed off on what. Then we went through the financial records on the drive and I showed them the Red Lake Imports entries. Told them that I’d found out she’d tried to set me up with the company.”

He paused to take a drink and continued. “She actually had the pictures taken at her apartment. She told me she wanted shots of us in our work outfits.” I nodded, having put that together with Patty as soon as we’d found the website.

“It was all just too much. I had an answer for everything they asked, mostly because you did all the research. They kept me at the office till well after midnight until they got some messages and then they told me to go to a motel. The next day all my stuff from Miranda’s place was piled in my office and my boss told me that I’d found out Miranda was seeing another guy and I’d left her. He said she’d been horribly distraught by the event and had written a suicide note and jumped from her balcony.”

I nodded and ate while I considered the situation. “You think you’re on probation though. They’re keeping an eye on you to see if you double-crossed Miranda and are going to make a run for the money.”

He shrugged. “I don’t think so, but better safe than sorry. I got a little ‘Atta boy’ for going to him right away and for the tip you caught on the petty cash entries, so they might be trying to lull me or they might actually think the money’s gone. I know they sent a couple of guys to Chicago yesterday, but there’s not a lot they could find out there. It’s easy to buy a used car cheap and disappear.”

I nodded. “So it’s over so long as none of us is stupid,” I said slowly.

“Seems that way for now, but best to be cautious.” He frowned and looked at his tray, wondering how to phrase the next topic. “Son, I don’t want to see that money again or even know where it went. I’m just glad it’s gone.”

I nodded, getting what he was trying to tell me. “I can understand that. It’s caused our family a great deal of upset. Have you been in touch with Miranda’s other two?”

He nodded. “I called them last night and told them the news, since I was contacted by the police to come identify her. That wasn’t pretty. They’re upset, but coping. I told them I’m looking for a solution for all of us and I think they’re interested. What do you have in mind there?”

“I dunno, honestly,” I admitted. “I have to order another collar this week as it is. I don’t think my girls would take well to me pulling in a third and fourth just for the sake of giving them a Sir to belong to. That’s the new title. Becky thinks ‘Master’ is too Arabian Nights for her liking. Sir seems to suit me better.”

He chuckled and nodded. “It probably does,” he admitted. “If you want, I’ll give them your email and you can chat directly with them. I don’t know what’ll come of it, but at least one of them is starting to unravel without direction. Miranda trained her deeply enough for her to crave it.”

I nodded. “At least this is a problem that we can cope with calmly. Let them know my email and I’ll see what I can figure out. At worst, I can give them some basic orders and see if I can find a club or dungeon or something around here to transition them to new owners. I suppose if I do, I can see if I can locate one for you too. Email me any info you have that might be useful.”

He nodded and we passed the rest of the meal in a more comfortable conversation. He handed me the key to my bedroom and I took it, looking at it for a moment. “I’m surprised they gave it back,” I commented.

“How did you know they took it?” he said surprised.

“I was awake when their guy crept into our room to check the false floor,” I told him. “He’s lucky. If I’d had a gun, I would have just shot him and called the police. Fortunately for him, I’m a little young for that yet.”

“You were HOME?!!?” he hissed, stunned.

“Yeah. It all worked out in the end though. He never suspected he was being watched. He took the pictures of the empty hiding spots and left without leaving a trace,” I told him, draining the last of my drink and then going to get a sundae.

When I got back, he was still surprised. “I figured they’d made a copy so they could double check the house later when it was empty.”

“They weren’t going to let you leave the room while there was a chance that you had the money,” I pointed out. “They didn’t decide on who was going off the balcony ‘til what you told them checked out and what she told them didn’t. Speaking of which, where are you staying now?”

He let out a nervous chuckle. “Miranda’s apartment,” he admitted. “She had me added to the lease when she got the place about 6 months ago. It’s kind of creepy. All her stuff is still there.”

“She have any family that would claim it?” I asked, wondering if this monster had left behind people who might still care about her.

“A brother in Phoenix. I talked to him. He wasn’t surprised she was dead. Asked who killed her. I guess she has a history of taking people for all they’re worth and leaving them holding a stack of bills and no way to pay them. He said to give all her stuff to Goodwill, keep it or sell it to make back whatever she stole from me. He asked me to send him the bills for her cremation and dump the ashes somewhere.”

“Cold. Sounds like the brother is decent enough though, just glad it’s over so he can get on with his life without wondering when the next scheme comes along. She have a lot of bondage stuff or was that a convenient way to find marks?”

He grimaced, but answered. “She had a lot of gear,” he admitted. “Some of it was kind of nice.”

“Keep it. I’ll take a look at it at some point. Anything I don’t want or can’t use, you can take to your new Mistress once we find you one.”

He nodded and after that, he turned the topic toward me, asking about Lana and Becky and how I managed to run it past my mother.

“I don’t run things past her,” I corrected the impression. “She’s given me a lot more latitude because of what’s happened. Between the separation and the accident and how I’ve handled this whole mess, she’s come to see me as more adult than she has any right to expect, so I get to govern my own life. She sees me make good decisions, take charge without going crazy and accepting input from her when I struggle with things. With the increased responsibility, she figures I deserve to be treated like an adult.”

He nodded. “This has been hard on you in particular,” he said, recognizing the burdens I’d been under.

“It has, but if I hadn’t been ready for it, I would have broken under the strain. Instead, I’ve got my head on straight, I’m way ahead of schedule on my recovery, I’ve developed some insight into what I want to do later in life and I’ve got two beautiful girls that love me and each other. How many people my age or even ten years older could keep all that from flying apart while dealing with Miranda?”

He nodded. “True. I think you should consider adding a third. Colette really isn’t doing well without someone to focus on.”

“I’ll consider it, talk to my girls and to her and I’ll make a decision. She’s a lot older than we are and she’s been trained to submit to a woman and god knows what else Miranda’s got crammed inside her head. Email me everything you know about her dynamic with Miranda, scene specifics, her slave role, her habits, allergies, intelligence level, everything you can think of and keep a notepad for anything you suddenly remember about her so you can send it to me.” I checked my watch and sighed. “Time for us to be headed back to the house.”

I put the empty sundae cup on my tray and awkwardly took it to the trash on the way out. I had to admit that it felt good to be down to one crutch and I was looking forward to being off the other one by the end of the week.

He dropped me off in the driveway and I told him to email me his contact numbers and we could stop making Mom be our go-between. He said he would and I went into the house. To my surprise, everyone was there waiting for me.

I closed the door and nodded. “It’s over.” I confirmed. “Donald was informed that he’d had a fight with Miranda and had decided to spend the night in a motel. She wrote a suicide note and jumped from her balcony. Her employers are pursuing a lead on their embezzled funds to Chicago, but between the airports, bus companies, car rentals and the possibility that the money was laundered in the city, there’s not much hope of them tracking the lead from there.”

Relief spread across all their faces. “So we’re rich?” Lilly asked, hopefully and we all laughed, the mirth fed by the relief we all felt that it was done.

“No,” I said firmly. “It’ll be years before we can spend it freely. For now, we can afford things. We can all go to college without having to work or worry about the cost. We can pay for things that need repair or replacement like my bike or the car. We have to be careful about how much we spend and how we spend it. Spend too much and the government starts asking where the money came from.”

She pouted. “That sucks!” she spat. “We went through all that and we can’t even spend it? Why bother?”

That brought another round of chuckles. “We bothered because now we have the freedom to pay off debts and expenses without struggling as a family.”

“I suppose,” she allowed grudgingly and I sat down to tell them the details about the conversation with Donald.

“Wow,” Patty commented when I was done. “Sounds like the woman was pretty vile if her brother wanted nothing to do with her even in death.”

I nodded. “I guess it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to have a traditional burial and funeral. That would have been a cheery event with the mourners bringing sticks to poke her and make sure she was dead. One good thing about that is that I ... I don’t feel good about what happened, but I feel a little less awful. It’s less like I ended her life and more like I ended her pain. The pain that must have made her like that, the pain she inflicted on others.” I frowned and shrugged. “It’s a complex emotion to express. I guess it’s a relief that I made the right decision. If her brother couldn’t find enough good in her to bring her home, then none of us could have.”

“It makes perfect sense,” Dan said. “If you found out she was going to use the money to house and clothe orphans in Africa, you’d have been devastated. Knowing that she cared about no one else in the world makes it easier. She wouldn’t have done anything good with the money or with the rest of her life. You’re right. Her death ended a lot of pain. Don’t ever doubt that and try not to think about it too often.”

I nodded and somehow we were all suddenly hugging. The seven of us stood in the living room with our arms around each other and I was overwhelmed. I don’t remember them taking me downstairs or my girls undressing me and putting me to bed or them curling into me to hold me while I slept.

I woke in the early morning hours feeling refreshed and empty at the same time. The knot of emotion that had been burning in me had burned itself out. I felt calm and relaxed, but at the same time energized. Miranda had hung over all of us, but I’d felt her claws at my throat and that was gone. I felt better than I’d ever felt in my life and I looked forward to the future with hope and anticipation rather than the dread on fighting against her machinations to destroy my family.

I was feeling so free that I felt like all things were possible. I slipped out of bed about ten minutes before the alarm went off and was showered by the time that the girls were awake. I kissed them both deeply and sent them off to the bathroom while I dressed. I’d neglected them terribly lately and I promised myself to make it up to them. They deserved better, deserved all of me.

I was upstairs and out the door before they were, heading next door, still wishing that we had a gate in the fence. I didn’t bother with knocking and slipped into the house to the smell of sausage and eggs.

Patty poked her head out of the kitchen and blinked. “Alone this morning?” she said surprised.

“I woke up early and full of energy,” I said. “After a night’s sleep without this hanging over me, I feel like I’ve had two weeks rest.” I kissed her cheek and hugged her before going to the fridge for some juice.

“Good,” she said with a laugh. “I was getting sick of you looking like you wanted to cry every time you tasted coffee.”

I laughed with her and felt like we had a lot to laugh about. The girls joined us a few minutes later along with Lilly and Mom and we all crowded around the table as Dan came downstairs straightening his tie.

“How come you didn’t wait for us?” Becky asked. “We were only a few minutes behind you.”

“I was in a good mood and I wanted to share it,” I said simply. I was all smiles this morning. I hadn’t had to shoulder anything more complicated than my life in over 12 hours and it felt liberating. I knew there were things still on my plate that no fourteen year old should have to cope with, like finding my father a new owner, but that was a minor concern at the moment.

We chatted over breakfast and I asked them where the money had been stashed. They laughed and told me it was in the old luggage carrier that Patty and Dan had in their garage.

I laughed with them and agreed that was likely the best place they could have stored the cash.

Dan and I left for work with kisses from Patty and the girls and he commented on how much better I seemed since last night.

“You’re almost giddy,” he said with a smile.

“I got the best possible outcome,” I said simply. “We have the money, Dad made it out alive and Miranda’s not going to haunt us. It’s sad that she died, but more sad how she chose to live. I’m almost ready to walk on my own without the crutch and I’m in a position to do a lot of good for our family. It’s a good day.”

He nodded and clapped me on the shoulder. “You’ve been calling it ‘our family’ for a couple of days now. That’s how you see us all?”

“Absolutely,” I told him. “If I had my choice, the seven of us would go looking for one house that meets all our needs and sell off the two we’re living in. Short of that, I’d settle for a gate in the fence between us so we can come and go more easily.”

He nodded. “Well I think the gate is doable. Buying a house that big might run counter to your caution about spending carefully.”

“I know,” I assured him. “It’s a fantasy, but it’s a pleasant thought.”

We said our goodbyes in high spirits and I went to start my day.

I noticed a change in the routine today almost right away. The head trainer was doing a lot more to familiarize me with the fitness program he’d planned for me for after my injury was cleared. We spent the day on that and he gave me a crash course on nutrition and how it fit into the plan.

“I don’t expect you to follow it religiously,” he assured me. “You’re a teenager, after all. You’ll end up spending too much money on fast food and junk, but the more you eat like this, the better you’ll feel and the easier your workout will progress. It won’t hurt how you look for the high school girls too,” he said with a smirk.

“I’ve already got all the high school girls any guy has a right to want to look good for,” I laughed. “But I do want to look good for them.”