Collette pulled off the road and reached into the backseat of the rental car.  She pulled a black jumpsuit from the cardboard box that contained all the items she had asked Carlos to bring her.  With the engine idling and the lights turned off she quickly stripped down to her bra and panties and donned the dark jumpsuit.  It would help to hide her in shadows and was the perfect outfit to wear on her mission.  

    Dressed again she pulled back onto the road and drove the intervening miles towards Kilandra's home.  She made her way closer to her destination.  She drove until she was just about a mile away and found a secluded spot to park the car.  With the car hidden she killed the engine and climbed from the car.  She fastened a belt around her waist and began pulling the devices from the box and affixing them to her belt.

    Her gun was first, fitted with a silencer.  She hoped that she would not need it, but knew from past experience that not having one was always worse than not needing it.  She donned the night vision goggles and switched them on.  Immediately her vision improved; she could see into the woods across the street, the woods that she would have to traipse through to reach her ultimate destination.  She added two pairs of handcuffs to the belt and a small vial of mace.  She continued outfitting herself with the items until she could feel the weight pulling on her.    She shook her head as she loaded up a small coil of nylon rope.  Satisfied that she was prepared she took a deep breath and darted across the street and into the woods.

    Snow crunched under her feet as she made her way towards Kilandra's home.  She was not happy with the fact that her path was being marked by her own footprints but realized that there was nothing she could do about it now; the evidence would be there.  She was happy that she was wearing leather shoes that kept her feet warm as she traipsed through the snow.   

    The night vision goggles illuminated the path through the woods.  She was easily able to dodge the leafless trees as she made her way closer to her destination.  She had an uneasy feeling; something didn't feel right.  The hair on the nape of her neck stood firm.  She had the unmistakable feeling that she was being watched.  But could that be so? No, she chided herself, it is not possible, nobody knew she was coming.  

    Did they?

* * * * *

    "She has broken the perimeter."

    Kilandra looked up from her desk, "are you sure it's her?"

    Christine looked at her boss thin-lipped and admitted, "no.  Not one hundred percent, but the odds are that it is her.  She seems to be coming in from the western edge of the property, coming in through the woods."

    Authoritatively, "make sure she is captured."

    "It will be done."

    "Very good," Kilandra said.  She smiled then and said to Christine, "is Mark back yet?"

    Christine shook her head.  "Not yet.  He in on an airplane returning to Chicago from London.  He is scheduled to land at 11:45.  He should be here before one."

    "Very good," Kilandra said with a nod.  "I want to make sure that I get reimbursed for how much it cost me to get him back."  Her voice was cold.  "And she will repay me."

    Christine said nothing.

    "Notify me when she is detained."

    Christine recognized the dismissal and uttered a curt, "yes, ma'am."  She spun around and left the room.

* * * * * 

    The feeling that she was being watched escalated.  Something wasn't right.  She frowned, her brow furrowed.  Go back, she commanded herself, go back.  You know it isn't safe and discretion is the better part of life in your business and you know it.  Turn around.  

    Until when?

    The question bothered her.  She could not shake the feeling that her arrival was not as secretive as she had planned.  But, she asked herself, if you do delay when would you return?  If Kilandra was prepared for my arrival after less than a day, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that she could be even more prepared after another day?  Of course it did and she knew that if she didn't go tonight, she probably wouldn't go at all.

    She paused and shook her head.  How did she know I was coming?  Did Christine warn her?  Was it a trap all along and if so, why?  Or, she looked around the dark woods, were the trees themselves wired to reveal her presence?  She shook silently, disturbed by the eyes that watched her.  

    Stay and press on or go back?  She asked herself the question again and again.  Indecisiveness could prove fatal and swallowing heavy she made her decision.

    She spun around and quickly made her way back to her rented car.  "Shit," she muttered.  She gripped the steering wheel tightly in frustration.  She knew she had just made the right decision but her mind was spinning in confusion.  How did Kilandra know whe was coming?

    And she did know, didn't she?  Yes, she was sure of it; certain that her arrival would not have been the surprise that she had planned for.  "Shit," she muttered again.  She inserted the keys in the ignition and started the car.  Shaking her head in disgust she put the car in gear and pulled back onto the road.

* * * * *

    "What the fuck do you mean she turned around?" Kilandra screamed at Christine.  

    Christine looked quietly at Kilandra, waiting for her ire to wane.   Kilandra was sitting at her desk, papers spread out before here.  A small brass lamp lit the desk, casting long shadows about the room.  Christine bit her lip and exhaled sharply.  "She turned around," she finally said.  "We watched as she made her way beyond the perimeter of the property."

    Kilandra said nothing.  She wore a stern face, obviously agitated that her prey slipped past the net that had been set.  Through clenched teeth she said, "get her back.  I don't care how."

    Nodding quickly, Christine said, "okay."

    "Good.  When Mark gets...."

    A gunshot stopped her sentence short.  Beyond the door a second shot rang out.  There was a thump and then the sounds of people running through the narrow hallway.  

    "What is going on?" Kilandra demanded as she climbed to her feet.

    A scream followed a third gunshot.  Kilandra and Christine raced from the large office and into the hallway.  Together they turned and made their way to the end of the hall.  Staring down the staircase Kilandra stopped short.  Two of her guards lay dead, lying lifeless at the bottom of the stairs.   Standing over his body was Collette, staring up at Kilandra and Christine.  

    "Shit," Christine muttered and turned to flee.  

    "Don't move," Collette commanded, her voice tight.  She fired a shot, this one silent, to Christine's right, stopping her in her tracks.  

    To Collette's left a sound pulled her attention and she spun, fired, and another guard dropped.  Collette's gun was equipped with a silencer, the shots that had sang out had been fired at Collette.  Reacting quickly Collette refocused her attention on Kilandra and Christine.  Collette began to ascend the stairs, motioning her captives with her gun.  "That way," she said, indicating the hallway that Christine and Kilandra had just came from.

    Both Christine and Kilandra followed Collette's command.  At gunpoint Collette led the pair back to Kilandra's office.  Collette's face was red and her eyes pinpoints.  Her body was tense, alert to her surroundings.  Collette motioned the pair with her gun and Kilandra took a seat at her desk with Christine standing behind her.  Collette kicked the door shut and reached behind her to lock the door.

    "Now," she began.  "Why am I here?"

    Kilandra said nothing.  She eyed Collette with a look of malice, her lips pressed tightly together.  Christine was equally as quiet, following her bosses lead.  Kilandra's fingers were laced together on her desk as she stared at Collette.  Her neck was taut and her pulse raced.  She gnashed her teeth and sneered.

    Again Collette spoke, "I recognize you," indicating Christine.  Turning back to Kilandra Collette said, "and you must be Kilandra.  It is obvious that my meeting with Christine was arranged.  The question is why?"

    Silence greeted her.

    Collette raised her eyebrows and smiled, "tell me or she dies," Collette said to Kilandra.

    "You'rebluffing," Kilandra said.

    Collette fired and Christine fell to her knees.  Christine gasped once and her hands grasped her throat.  Blood seeped from he neck and through her fingers.  Her eyes fluttered as she fell to the floor.  She gasped once and was then silent.

    "Now," Collette said, "tell me what I want to know or you die."

    "If you kill me you will never know."

    Collette exhaled sharply, "before I came here you had never even entered my thoughts.  You sent Mark to alert me that something was wrong and Christine was sent to get me here.  Now," she said matter-of-factly, "if I kill you I am back to where I started and you won't be on my mind.  Last chance.  Why am I here?"

    "You won't kill me."

    Collette fired and Kilandra fell over, a single bullet hole in her head.   

    "I don't bluff," Collette said to her dead body.  

   The house was quiet, any guards that had been searching for intruders have long since disappeared.  Perhaps it was the sight of the guards that Collette had to kill as she breached Kilandra's security.  Whatever it was, she was able to push Kilandra's body out of the way and search the desk unhindered.  

    She began by looking over the desk; pouring over the papers that Kilandra had been perusing when Collette had arrived.  There were stacks of papers showing the incomes and running costs of Kilandra's legitimate businesses.  She had been the owner of two dozen dance clubs throughout the Chicago area.  Collette did not see anything that seemed untoward in the first batch of documents she perused.  

   She searched the desk drawers and found nothing of interest.  She had no clue what it was she was looking for anyway, and to find what Kilandra had hinted at not knowing what it was would turn out to be an impossible task.  She sighed once and with her pistol in her hand she made her way from the house unmolested.  

    She made her way back to the rental car and with no other destination she made her way back to Graham's.  He was asleep when she knocked on the door.  His hair was unkempt and his eyes squinting against the lights of the room.  His face lit up when he saw her, "you came back!"

    "Yes."

    "I'm glad."

    Her body was tense, the last few hours having set her nerves aflame.  She had killed and her mind relived the destruction.  Her body dictated her words, "I need to hurt you.  Right now!"

   Graham stepped aside and said nothing.  He pulled the dark blue shorts he was wearing down and stepped out of them.  He spun around and bent over whispering, "please beat me."

    It was that simple and she did.  She began with her hand, slapping his naked ass with her hand over and over until her hand throbbed and his ass was a bright pink.  Breathing heavily, her pussy growing damp at the sounds of his painful gasps, she said "don't move."

    Looking around the room she frowned, not seeing anything to beat Graham with.  A grin crossed her face as she made her way to the kitchen.  She dug in the drawers of the kitchen and found a slotted spoon.  She carried it back to the entryway where Graham was still bent forward.  His ass was not as pink as it had been and Collette decided to remedy that.  She stood behind him and began to slap his ass with the spoon.

    His gasps turned to grunts as the pain of his spanking escalated. Collette swung the wooden spoon over and over, growing more and more excited as Graham rocked forward against the force of her blows.  She continued to beat him until his ass was a dark red, bordering on purple.  Breathing heavily she dropped the spoon to the floor and took a seat on the couch.

    Graham crossed to her and on his knees he placed his head in her lap gently and whispered, "thank you for beating me."  He knew she had needed it.  That need, a palpable desire that was as evident as her footprints had been in the fresh snow outside Kilandra's property, had burned in her eyes and on her beautiful face and he melted with happiness that he had been there for her.

    For her!

   He loved the thought of that and he was elated that she had returned.

    Collette rubbed his hair tenderly, thanking him with the gentle motion of her hand.  She thanked him for being here when she needed to hurt someone and that was a gift that she cherished more than any she had ever received.  And she knew it was a gift that he gave freely and moreover was glad to give.  "Let's go to bed," she said warmly.

   Together the two of them made their way down the stairs.  They were passionate as they lay together, their hands freely roaming the others body.  It was savage and tender at the same time as they reveled in the pleasure of the other.  When each came, Collette more loudly than Graham, they simply lay together with their fingers entwined. 

    "I will probably be flying home tomorrow," Collette admitted.

    Graham whispered, "then I have you for a day."

    Collette rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep almost instantly.

   Graham held her in his strong arms.  He listened to her breath and felt the warmth of her body as she slept next to him.  He smiled a faint grin as he realized that he had not been this happy in a long time.  Here she was again, after how many years, once again sleeping in his arms.  He remembered the day she left to take her "new job," and how he had went home and cried himself to sleep as he felt a large part of himself slip away.  It wasn't a part of his life that left him, but an actual, tangible piece of himself that had left with her.

    Now, that piece was back, and no matter how briefly she would be in his life he would cherish this time as he had always cherished her.

    He pulled her closer to her and briefly wondered what her job was.  What was it that kept her out at odd hours and prevented her from talking about it?  He answer was always the same when he asked her occupation, "I'd rather not say."  What did that mean?  Was what she did against the law?  He knew not to ask her and with her body pressed against his, he really didn't mind.

    He kissed the top of her head and then shut his eyes.

    Together, they slept.

* * * * *

    "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to O'Hare.  From the flight deck we welcome you to Chicago.  The local time is 11:57 and the temperature a cold thirty-one degrees.  On behalf of the our airline we thank you from flying with us.  If this is your final destination, welcome home.  For those of you connecting, I have some connecting gate information.  Flight 2151, nonstop service to Los Angeles...."

    Home, Mark thought as he listened with less than half an ear to the flight attendant droning on with the connecting gate information.  She had a nasal quality in her tone that irritated him.  No, he corrected, it wasn't her voice that irritated him; he was irritated already.  The unbelievable long flight coupled with his short incarceration at the hands of that bitch!

    He had suffered and he was looking forward to meeting with Kilandra so that he could plan his vengeance.  He owed Kilandra everything; she had paid a fortune to retrieve him from his fate.  And he knew he would pay dearly for that.  He was still a slave, only now he was a slave to Kilandra instead of the faceless man that had raped him twice.   The lesser of two evils, without a doubt.  And his debt to Kilandra would escalate when he sought his revenge.  

    He had been raped and his vengeance would commence with the same fate for her.  He would take her forcefully and he would savor her tears and her screams of pain.  She would feel what he had felt, the shame, the terror and the humiliation.  And, he promised himself, she would feel it tenfold!  

    The plane taxied to the gate and slowly the cramped interior dumped its passengers into the jet way.  Mark made his way through the concourse and onto the street.  He hailed a taxi and gave the driver, a Caucasian he was surprised to see, Kilandra's address.  He could only imagine the pain and suffering he was going to foist upon Collette for what she had put him through.  He was smiling as he paid the driver. 

    The taxi departed and Mark made his way into the house.  Two dead bodies lay at the foot of the stairs and as soon as Mark saw them he backed out of the doorway to regroup.  What the fuck? He asked himself.  What had happened here?  He listened intently and no sound greeted him; it was as quiet as a tomb.  And, he realized as he peered into the house at the two dead guards that it was a tomb.  Wasn't it? Yes, it was, he thought.

   Mark cautiously entered the house.  The blood of the two dead men mingled together into a large pool and he stepped around it, avoiding the mess.  He looked left into the dining room and spotted a third dead body lying in a pool of blood.  What has happened? He shook his head.  He could not fathom what had transpired.  "Kilandra?" he called out.

    Silence greeted his query.

    Louder this time, "Kilandra?"

    Still silence.

    Shouting, "Kilandra!"

    He listened.  No sound answered his call.  The house was dead.  He stepped over the two dead bodies and slowly ascended the stairs.  He turned to his left and made his way to Kilandra's office.  The site of Christine lying dead next to Kilandra's corpse surprised him.  Whoever had done this had taken the guards and Kilandra by surprise.  Again he asked himself what could have happened.

    It was obvious that the desk had been ransacked with papers lying haphazardly in the thickening pool of spilled blood.  The drawers were pulled from the desk and their contents spilled onto the floor.  Somebody had searched through the desk, but for what?  He could not answer his own query.  He searched the desk and did not see anything out of place.  

    He spun around and left the room.  He turned to his left and made his way to the end of the hall.  He slowly pushed the door open; breathing easier when he found the room empty.  A dozen small television sets were arranged in a square, each of them displaying a different view of the property.  He scanned them all for motion and verified that he was alone.  He could see the two dead guards lying at the foot of the stairs on one of the monitors and the pool in another.  

    Mark took a seat and started rewinding the video tapes that were made of the property.  He searched the tapes and his mouth fell open when the picture of Collette fell onto the monitor.  "How?" he asked shaking his head.  

   He could only stare at the woman frozen on the screen.  She was the reason for his hatred and she was the reason for the death of Kilandra and Christine and the guards lying lifelessly on the ground.  But, he asked himself again, how did she come to be here?  What turn of events had brought her westward and into Kilandra's home? He could not even begin to reason why.  

    More importantly, he said under his breath, where is she now?  He still wanted his revenge, he wanted her to pay for the pain and humiliation that he had endured.  Without Kilandra's help it would be harder for him to find her, but he promised himself that he would find her.  And she would pay, and pay dearly.  Mark popped the video tape and carried it from the room. He would need help finding her, help Kilandra could no longer provide.

    But there were others who could help him.

    What was she doing here?  The question vexed him.  

    Mark returned to Kilandra's office and searched her body.  He found what he was looking for, a small silver key.  He left the office and worked his way to the master bedroom where a small safe was embedded in the wall behind a picture above the bed.  The key fit the lock and he pulled the surplus cash that was stored there.  There was roughly a quarter of a million dollars that would prove useful to track down the woman that had upended his life and that of his employer.  With the cash in hand Mark left Kilandra's house...

    ...tomb...

    ...and headed out of the city.  Having worked for Kilandra for three years he knew her allies and her enemies.  There were other groups that could help him for a fee and he now had that fee.  It would not take long for her whereabouts to be revealed to him and already he was anxious to find her.

    * * * * * 

    "Good morning," Graham whispered to Collette as her eyes fluttered open.  He was smiling, once again waking up with her by his side.  He missed that, waking up with this beautiful creature by his side.  It had been too long, he thought shaking his head slightly with a silly, happy grin on his face.  

    "Morning back," Collette said sleepily.

    "Hungry?"

    "A little," Collette admitted.

    "Good," he smiled warmly at her, "I'll make breakfast."

    Collette sat up and Graham couldn't help but stare at her soft breasts.  "Sounds good," she said, "then we can shower."

    "Sounds good," Graham aped.

   Graham climbed from the bed and ascended the stairs into the kitchen.  He rummaged though the refrigerator and pulled out some eggs.  Being a bachelor his kitchen was not well stocked and he had to make do with what he had.  He quickly scrambled the eggs and added some cheddar cheese.  He fixed some coffee and with the eggs cooking he popped some bread into the toaster and browned the bread.  He scooped the eggs onto two separate plates and framed it with the toast.  

    Grabbing a tray he set the two plates on the tray and poured two cups of orange juice.  He poured two cups of coffee and set it next to the orange juice.  He placed some silverware on the tray and carried their breakfast downstairs and served Collette breakfast in bed.  

    "Your breakfast, Madame," he said in a poor French accent.

    She giggled.

    Graham set the tray at the foot of the bed and climbed under the covers, his naked body brushing lightly against hers.  He gasped subtly, certain that a spark had leapt from his body to hers.  No, he reasoned, there was no actual spark, it was just that he felt more alive with her body lying next to his.  Sitting up he pulled the tray higher up the bed and handed Collette her breakfast.

    Together they ate.  A comfortable silence enveloped them and Graham enjoyed her company.  

    They finished breakfast and Graham gathered up the breakfast dishes and quickly carried them up the stairs.  When he returned to the bedroom he found Collette lying naked on the bed, the covers thrown to the floor, with he legs widespread.  Her fingers were dancing playfully over her clit and she was moaning softly.  Graham watched her for a moment, waiting for her to command him.  

    She opened her eyes and whispered to him, "eat me."

    Graham crawled to the foot of the bed and climbed between her widely parted thighs.  He could smell her excitement, could see the moisture of her arousal glistening in her soft pubic hair.   He ran his hands along her shapely legs, feeling the heat of her body in his hands.  An electric spark raced along his body as he felt her skin on his hand.  He was alive with pleasure and with pleasuring her.  

    She purred at his touch.

    Graham sat down and lifted her left leg.  He kissed her calf and trailed his tongue up her leg to her knee.  He kissed her softly, gentle pecks to her hot skin.  A kiss, a spark and his heart raced.  A smile spread across his face that he could not control, a smile of complete contentment; he was where he wanted to be and was happy to be there.  He ran a trail of gentle kisses down her leg from her knee to the heel of her foot and back up again.

    Collette giggled when his lips pressed against her foot and moaned merrily.

   Graham grew hard at the sound.  He set her left leg down gingerly and lifted her right.  He repeated his worshipful caresses of his lips over her leg; kissing her leg and calf and heel and knee.  His pressed his lips firmly against her body and she responded behind closed eyes with moans of delight that only spurred him on.  

    He draped her right leg in his left arm and gathered up her left leg in his right hand.  He tugged and she slid towards him.  He pulled and lifted her hips from the bed.  He rocked side to side as he continued to pull until her pussy was staring him boldly in the face.  He could smell her arousal and whispered, "you smell wonderful."

    Collette giggled again and said, "thank you."

    He held her in his arms and pressed his mouth onto her wet pussy.  He shook his head from side to side, massaging the folds of her womanhood with his tongue.  

    Collette gasped in pleasure.

   Graham raised his arms and lowered her legs onto his shoulders, freeing his hands.  He gingerly inserted two fingers into Collette's pussy as he tongue continued to massage the excited nub of her clit.  His began to scissor the fingers that were pressed into her sex, parting them and sliding them back together.  He massaged the silken folds of her pussy with his fingers and his tongue continued it's tantalizing strokes over her clit.

    Collette gasped and her hips bucked, pressing her pussy forcefully into Graham's face.  

    Graham felt her pussy contract around her fingers and she screamed loudly as she came.  Her hips rotated in circles over his fingers and tongue; her body convulsing in pleasure.  Her orgasm swept over her body, her toes curling behind Graham's head, her fingers digging into the soft bed sheets.  

    "That was wonderful," Collette purred.  "Thank you."

    Graham beamed at her response, "thank you, mistress."

    She purred as she said, "I love the way you say that."

    Graham lowered her legs to the bed and lay down next to her.  He placed his head softly on her shoulder.  "I love saying it."

    Collette shifted her head against his.  She could feel the heat of his body next to hers and she enjoyed the feeling.  When Graham shifted his arms to envelope her body she pressed herself against him.  They were comfortable together and for the first time in a long time she wondered if she could once again have a normal life.  Could she move to Chicago and live with Graham?  Or could Graham pack up and move east to live with her?  The questions surprised her.  Would the answer be even more surprising?

    Graham softly stroked her shoulder with his fingers, a tender caress against her skin.  "Don't go," he finally said.

    Could he read her thoughts?  Did he know what she had just been thinking?  Finally, "I might stay for a while."

    Graham's heart leapt into his throat.  He swallowed heavily twice and said, "really?" 

    Collette could hear the excitement in her voice.  She nodded, her head rubbing against his, "really.  I can take some time.  Enjoy a vacation.  What about you?  Can you take some time off?"

    "I have about a month's vacation saved up," he revealed, "and I can take in immediately."

    "Will you be at my beck and call?"

    "Yes, mistress."

    And it was decided.