Free Of All the Luck! by Joanne Locker Page A

“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