Of All the Luck! Page 6

  “You would torture me, Xavier?” She looked at him in shock. “You have never tortured a woman in the seven years I’ve worked here.”

  “In seven years I have never wanted to protect someone as much as I want to protect Griffin and Victoria. Now tell me where the old bastard is hiding, or I’m going to give you a reason to talk.”

  Angela remained quiet. Without warning Xavier struck like a snake. His hand reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her forward over the table between them. She cried out in fright a split second before Xavier struck her hard on her backside! She was immediately enraged and she tried to escape the hold he had on her arm. “Let me go!” she ordered.

  “Are you ready to tell me where your grandfather is hiding?”

  “No! I can’t! He would kill me!” she said.

  “Too bad,” Xavier said with mock sympathy as his hand landed once more on the seat of her slacks. He continued spanking her while she cried out in outrage and pain and struggled to get free while she made all sorts of threats as to what her grandfather would do to him for treating her so abominably. “Save your breath, Angela. If your grandfather was willing to help you, he would have turned himself in. I know how the man thinks, and in his mind, you failed in your mission. He has no use for anyone who fails in any way.”

  “You’re lying!” she screamed.

  “That is going to cost you, Angela,” he said softly, and then he jerked her pants down and off her body. “Your butt is starting to color, and I’m sure it will color even more without those heavy pants.” He started spanking again, the swats slow and deliberate, and hard. Angela gasped and grunted at each one, but she was still fighting him and Xavier knew she wouldn’t talk until he broke the iron control she had over her emotions. She was in denial regarding the spanking, and he was sure he was going to need to take off his belt before he gained her attention.

  “This is against the law!” she told him.

  “So?”

  “I’ll have you arrested!” she promised. “Stop now!” she cried out. “You are hurting me!”

  “Good! When you feel you can talk to me, let me know. And, you’d best hurry, Angela. I am growing impatient and my belt is going to come off soon and I’ll leave your ass welted raw.”

  “Noooo!” she moaned. “You can’t!”

  His hand slid lower and peppered her sit spots. Angela’s reaction was immediate. She kicked her legs and tried to scramble away. “Stop!” He ignored the order and continued the spanking until her sit spots were a deep, dark red. She was silently crying by then.

  “Are you ready to talk to me, or do you want your thighs colored next?”

  “I can’t take any more of this,” she pleaded with him.

  “Then you know what to do.”

  “I just can’t, Xavier. Grandfather would kill me!” she beseeched him to listen to her.

  Xavier didn’t hesitate for one second. He started spanking her thighs. She tried to kick and evade his hand, but found that he was a lot stronger than she was. He held her down and thoroughly landed spank after spank on her upper thighs, not stopping until she was sobbing and miserable. He knew her backside had to be burning like fire. It was hot to the touch, and the skin on his hand felt scorched, too. He would try once more to give her a reprieve from the punishment he was dealing out.

  “Are you ready to tell me what I want to know, Angela?” Xavier asked.

  “I… I can’t… Grandfather made that perfectly clear. He kills anyone who betrays him! You must believe me. I cannot tell or he will have me killed by one of his men.”

  “So, you’d rather face a strapping that is going to leave you welted and bruised?” Xavier asked quietly. “You already know how sore you are from just a spanking. How do you think my belt is going to feel on your reddened, burning skin?”

  “Please don’t! I’m begging you! Have mercy!”

  “Tell me what I need to know, Angela, and I’ll stop this punishment. Refuse and I promise I won’t stop the strapping until you break and tell me everything I want to know.”

  “I can’t betray my grandfather!” she sobbed.

  Xavier ripped off her panties, leaving her bare and exposed, and then he reached for his belt buckle.

  Angela whimpered in humiliation as her boss took away the last vestige of her dignity. He would do what he promised, she feared, but her Grandfather would do far worse to her. She closed her eyes and hoped she could be strong and keep her mouth shut. The first stripe caught her on the underside of her cheeks and it sent a burning strip of fire across skin that was already hurting and in extreme pain. Angela howled, and she didn’t stop as the belt continued to stripe and leave welts on skin that was already on fire.

  Xavier continued the punishment without let up. He wanted Angela to get the impression that the strapping would never stop unless she told him everything he wanted to know. She was limp and sobbing, and finally she begged him to stop… and when he didn’t, she agreed to tell him where her Grandfather was hiding. Xavier stopped the strapping, thankful to give his arm a respite, but he didn’t permit Angela to move. If she didn’t talk immediately, the strapping would start again, and he would be harsh with her. It wasn’t something he wanted to do, and it wasn’t something he would normally condone, but this wasn’t a normal situation.

  “Talk, Angela,” he ordered in a firm tone of voice. She didn’t hesitate. She was shaking so badly that she could barely speak, but she answered Xavier’s questions one by one, including the one regarding his whereabouts. Xavier released her and told her to get dressed.

  She picked up her panties and cried even harder as she tried to ease them over her swollen buttocks. They were so tight that they held in the heat and caused even more pain. The slacks were also tight and they felt like a second skin. Xavier called for help, and she was taken away and locked in a cell. He warned the guards not to let anyone near her, including relatives, friends, and anyone claiming to be her lawyer. He wanted to clear each and every one who asked to visit. He wasn’t about to give General Weatherby the satisfaction of ordering her death.

  * * *

  Ian Gregory, alias “Jacobson”, felt like kicking Xavier. He hated being stuck in the middle of a battling couple. While the cabin was well built and would be standing for many years if it was well maintained, the walls were still thin enough that he heard the spanking Griffin Conway dealt his tiny little wife. Ian didn’t know whether to stop the man… or congratulate him for doing what a man needed to do to keep his marriage on track. Still, he felt bad that he was the reason for the discipline Victoria received. She’d disobeyed Griffin and permitted him to come inside the hotel room. He thought it important at the time to go inside and protect her, and persuade her and Griffin to come with him. If he’d known that Griffin would deliver such a hard spanking he would have found another way.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in spanking, because he did. There were times it worked and it saved a lot of bickering that could tear a marriage apart. When he was married to Julia, he’d found that giving her a sound spanking when it was deserved changed her attitude and had her singing prettily. Lord, but he missed her. His mind wandered back in time ten years. They were just kids.

  “You were supposed to be home three hours ago, young lady,” Ian greeted his wife of three months at the door of their apartment.

  “Oh, stuff it, Ian. I didn’t trade my Dad for another father! I’ll come and go as I please.”

  “No, you will not. When you tell me that you’ll be studying until 10:30 and be home by 11:00, I expect you to be here by that time. It is two in the morning, Julia Gregory!”

  “Big fucking deal, Ian. I’m a married woman and I can do as I please, whether you like it or not.” Julia’s eyes shot daggers at him and it was pretty obvious she’d been drinking… and driving!

  “How much have you had to drink, Julia?” he asked quietly.

  “Oh good grief! I didn’t keep track; I didn’t think I would have to answer to the inqu
isition when I got home! Seriously, Ian, I am tired and I’m going to bed. You shouldn’t have waited up for me.” Julia tried to shove past him and go into the bedroom, but Ian took her by the arm and hauled her into the living room instead. “Ian! Let me go, damn it! I want to go to bed, and I don’t appreciate being manhandled.”

  “I don’t appreciate it when you are three hours late, do not answer your cell phone, and have been drinking and driving when you do finally come in.”

  “Well, isn’t that just too fucking bad!”

  “For you,” Ian replied as he bent her over the arm of the sofa and started blistering her fanny. “This,” he punctuated the word with a hard spank to her sit spot, “is exactly what you can expect each and every time you behave like an irresponsible child.” He spanked her again and when she cursed him, he took the time to push her short skirt up to reveal the thong she was wearing. “How convenient this is,” he commented, giving her left cheek a hard spank, followed by one to the right cheek.

  “You’d better let me go or I’ll have you arrested, Ian Gregory!” she sputtered indignantly.

  “Go right ahead. I’m sure that the Judge will love to hear that I spanked you for driving drunk. I think his sympathies might lie with me.”

  “Owwwwwww! Stop! Please, honey!” She changed her tone, starting to sound penitent.

  Ian knew that it was too soon to stop, and he continued spanking his sweet wife until she was truly sorry about behaving badly and willingly apologized. He carried her off to bed and rejoiced in the fact that she was safe in his arms and not lying in a mangled heap of metal somewhere. The spanking was the first of many, and Ian would give anything if he could take his sweet Julia over his knee again. He lost her at the young age of twenty-five to ovarian cancer. He’d been married only five years, and he’d been a widower for the last four years. It still hurt and not a day went by that he didn’t miss his wife.

  Victoria was a beautiful woman, and he hoped that Griffin knew how lucky he was.

  * * *

  Victoria winced as she sat on the edge of the bed in preparation to stand up. “Oh!” She jumped up and gingerly rubbed her posterior. “Did you have to be so harsh, Griffin?” she asked. “I was sorry enough before you started spanking me!”

  “You will remember to obey me the next time, young lady,” he said with feeling.

  “I remembered then, but I just had to find out if you still loved me,” she admitted.

  “Now you know.” His voice was soft as his eyes caressed her with warmth. “I do love you.”

  “I can feel that, but I do wish you loved me a bit less!” she pouted. He chuckled when she winced once more when she tried to rub. “Oh, I am so sore! You are too strong for your own good, Griffin!”

  “I want to keep you safe, woman. Now that I’ve found you again, I’m going to do everything I can to protect you, including striping your behind if it will help. Go on and get your shower, sweetheart.”

  Victoria didn’t need to be told twice. She was hoping the hot water would ease some of her body’s aches and pains. Sitting down was going to be impossible for the next few days. The hot shower truly felt wonderful, and it did ease some of the muscle soreness she was experiencing.

  While Griffin hit the shower, Victoria ventured out of their bedroom to see what she could fix for breakfast. When she found Jacobson sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee she felt her face flood with color. It was difficult to believe she’d forgotten all about his presence, but she had, and with that came the knowledge that he simply had to have heard Griffin spanking her, and her cries of pain. It was embarrassing as could be, and she wished she’d waited for Griffin to get dressed before she left their room.

  “Good morning, Victoria. Help yourself to some coffee.”

  “You are up early,” Victoria said.

  “I didn’t sleep well,” he answered shortly. He looked her directly in the eye. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I am perfectly fine!” Victoria wanted to hit him.

  “I thought so, but, as a man, I had to ask and be sure.” He saw her face color even more if that was possible. “There is no need to be embarrassed, Victoria. I was married once, and I understand how it is.” He got to his feet and headed for his own bedroom. “I would give anything to be able to be a husband to her again.” He closed the door after him, but not before she saw the sheen of tears reflected in his blue eyes.

  Victoria looked after him for a while, and then decided to start breakfast. She would check on Jacobson then… when she called him to the table.

  * * *

  Xavier answered his cell phone impatiently. “Yes?” He listened and then shook his head in disbelief. The address Angela gave him was vacant, and showed no sign of having been occupied. Xavier’s people covered every inch, looking for anything that would give them a clue of some sort, but they came up empty. Xavier could only come to one conclusion; the girl lied to him. Angrily, he got to his feet and stomped to the elevator to take it down to where she was being held. He was through playing games. Lives were at stake.

  * * *

  “You were right, sir. The house was breeched by agents an hour ago.”

  “I knew that Angela couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She will have to be silenced.”

  “But, sir, she is your granddaughter!”

  “She has her father’s blood coursing through her veins, and has become a serious liability. I would rather see her dead than have to anticipate what she will do next. See to it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Weatherby coughed and the pain was excruciating. He had very little time left and he needed to see Victoria Conway suffer before he could die in peace. “Hire as many people as you need to track down Victoria Conway. Money is no object.”

  * * *

  Angela was exhausted, but she hurt too much to sleep. Xavier was thorough, and he punished her until she simply had to tell him everything she knew. She wept. Betraying her grandfather was the last thing she wanted to do and she was ashamed of herself. The door to her holding cell suddenly opened and Xavier stormed inside, his face nearly purple with anger. She cringed and backed away from the cold fury radiating from him.

  “No one was at that address, Angela, and that gives us a little problem, doesn’t it? You see, I can’t tell if you are playing games with me, or if he got wind of this and moved.”

  Xavier’s voice was so low she could barely hear him and Angela knew the man was at his most dangerous. “I gave you the only address I had!” she offered.

  “I don’t believe you. You lied to me for seven long years and I believe you are lying now. You should know better than to do that, girl. I’ll give you five minutes to think about what is going to happen if you don’t talk to me. You’ll either talk then, or wish you had.” He turned on his heel and left her cell. He gave orders as he walked down the hallway.

  Angela cried; she feared Xavier, and she feared her grandfather even more. She wished with all her heart she didn’t know where the General was hiding, but she did know. She’d overheard a conversation she wasn’t supposed to be privy to, and if Xavier punished her again, she would eventually break and tell him all she knew. Her grandfather would die alone in a cell such as this one, and it would be all her fault. The door opened again, but instead of Xavier, it was two men she’d never seen before. They got on either side of her and grabbed her arms and marched her into one of the interrogation rooms she’d never seen before. Her eyes widened in alarm as she looked around. She struggled to get free, but she was no match for the two men. Within seconds she was stripped from her waist down, and tied face down over a padded bolster that lifted her feet off of the floor. There was no way she could escape whatever they planned to do to her! But, her worst fears did not come to pass. The two men left the room, leaving her in the humiliating position. All she could do was wait and dread whatever was to come next.

  The door opened once again, but she couldn’t turn her head to see who had come into the
room. The person simply stood there for what seemed an eternity before Angela felt the jab of a needle into her right buttock. “The price of betrayal is death!” were the last words she heard. The poison spread through her system quickly, causing excruciating pain! Death, when it came, was a blessing.

  Xavier entered the interrogation room after giving Angela some time to think about her situation. His men reported to him that her butt and upper legs were welted and flaming red, and he hoped the fear of more punishment would serve to loosen Angela’s tongue and it wouldn’t be necessary to use the wooden paddle he had in his hand. It was an unpleasant task, but one he couldn’t delegate to someone else. As soon as he glanced at Angela, Xavier knew she was dead. He quickly felt for a pulse, but there was none. Angela was dead, and now he knew for certain that another one of his agents was in the employ of General Weatherby!

  * * *

  The smell of cooking food brought Ian from his bedroom. “Something smells wonderful.”

  “Breakfast is almost finished,” Victoria told him with a smile. “I made a fresh pot of coffee, too. Help yourself.”

  Ian didn’t need to be told twice. He was well aware that his cooking skills left a lot to be desired. Even his coffee was terrible.

  “Victoria is an excellent chef, Jacobson. Best of all, she loves to cook; but that means we get stuck with the cleanup afterwards. I’d say it was worth it, however.” Griffin smiled as she put a platter of bacon on the table. Next came scrambled eggs and hash browns with onions and red and green sweet papers mixed in. Toast and orange juice were also part of the basic meal. “This looks wonderful, sweetheart.”

  “You’d better help yourself, Jacobson, before Griffin eats everything in sight.” She grinned to show she was teasing.

  Ian wasn’t shy, and he helped himself to hefty servings. The food tasted every bit as good as it smelled. “This is really good, Victoria. Thank you. It’s been a long time since I had two home-cooked meals in a row.”