Tymber Dalton - Safe Harbor

Mac leaned in and kissed him. “Thank you, Master.” He left, closing the door behind him.

Getting back to his writing wasn’t easy. He heard the shower shut off, then her bedroom door open a few minutes later. The sound of them talking in the living room before the front door opened and closed. Silence descended. Then the sound of Mac’s truck starting and pulling out of the driveway.

Alone.

He tried to throw himself back into his manuscript.

Around three-thirty, he heard Mac’s truck return. The front door.

Voices. Her bedroom door opening and closing. Bathroom noises.

Then…

Nothing.

Sully looked up from his computer and waited.

Five minutes later, he walked out to the kitchen. Mac sat at the counter, a cookbook opened in front of him.

“You guys are back early.”

“She’s tired. She didn’t feel like going out to eat. I told her to lie down and take a nap.”

He watched Mac, how he massaged his forehead, a sure sign of stress. Sully walked around the counter and rubbed his shoulders.

“You okay, Brant?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“No. I want to kill the fucking bastard. Is that normal?”

Sully snorted with amusement. “Yeah. I’d worry about you if you didn’t.”

Mac prepared one of Sully’s favorites, a savory chicken casserole he hadn’t cooked in a while. At dinner time, Sully heard Mac tap on Clarisse’s door.

Nothing.

He tapped again, then finally opened the bedroom door and stepped inside when he received no response.

Sully left his chair and walked down the hall. He stood just outside her doorway and listened. Clarisse’s low voice sounded sleepy. Mac’s soft, warm chuckle. Then Mac reappeared, nearly running into him.

Sully led him to the kitchen. “She okay?”

He looked sad. “Yeah. She was sound asleep, poor thing. It’s caught up with her.”

She joined them at the table a few minutes later. She’d remembered to pull her hair back. That pleased Sully. Mac held her chair for her, which seemed to surprise her.

“Did you have a nice nap?” Sully asked.

“Yes, thank you.”

Mac kept up a nervous running conversation. Sully spotted the deep exhaustion painted on her face. When they finished eating, before she could offer to help with the dishes, Sully stood and grabbed his plate and hers. “Sweetie, you go chill out, seriously.

We’ll clean up. You need to rest.”

Without a word, she slowly returned to her room. The men sadly watched her go. Mac took the plates from Sully.

“Good show, Master,” he snarked.

Sully smiled and picked up the casserole dish. “Maybe I was planning to help you.”

Mac snorted, laughing. “Since when do you do dishes?”

“Whenever I want. I’m the Master.”

Monday morning, Sully left Clarisse with Mac. Mac would take her to visit Tad.

His own destination—the sheriff’s office. He parked in the public lot. It felt weird returning here as a civilian.

He walked in and didn’t recognize the receptionist.

“Detective Callahan, please. Tell him it’s Sully.”

She picked up the phone as he waited. A moment later, she smiled. “Go on back. He said you know the way.” She handed him a visitor’s pass and had him sign in.

“Thanks.”

He did know the way. Jason occupied his old office, although it was arranged differently now. He knocked on the open doorway, and Jason looked up. “Hey! There you are!” He waved Sully inside.

Sully closed the door behind him and hugged Jason, then sat in one of the visitor’s chairs. He set the roll of film on his friend’s desk.

“I need a favor, Jayce.”

Jason frowned. “What’s up?” Sully told him the short version of the story. “Holy fuck.” Jason shook his head. “You’re worried the paperwork might disappear?”

“You know it. If it hasn’t already. Can you stop by tonight and take her statement?”

“You don’t want to bring her in?”

“It’s not like we’d have jurisdiction here anyway. Besides, I don’t think Brant and I together could carry her into a police station right now. She’d fight us tooth and nail. She’s terrified. She’s even scared of me because I’m a cop.”

Jason sat back. “Wow.” He looked thoughtful. “You don’t want her officially in the system, either.”

“Of course not. If his buddies have her plugged in and are keeping an eye out for her, he’ll be down here looking for her. I want unofficial official paperwork on her in case something else happens.”

“I wouldn’t do this for anyone but you, you know.”

“I know. I appreciate it.”

Jason fell quiet for a moment. “So…how is Brant?”

“We’re good. Doing fine.”

Jason snickered. “I heard Cybil filed for divorce from number five.”

Sully slowly nodded. “I heard.”

“Did you ever stop to think maybe she did you a favor? Even as shitty as it was?” He shrugged. “I mean, you know me, my brother’s gay. What people do doesn’t bother me. But…” He shrugged again.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t think I ever saw you as happy with her as you have been with Brant.”

“I know. I wasn’t.”

Sully stopped by Publix on his way home and bought a few things for dinner that night. He didn’t want Mac to have to leave and stress Clarisse out even more by her being alone with him. Jason and his wife, Katie, would come over for dinner. Having another woman to talk to might help Clarisse relax and open up. Mac was in the kitchen making lunch when Sully returned. He leaned in and kissed him.

“I’ve got groceries in the car for you to unload. Where is she?”

Mac looked sad. “She’s asleep again. I got her to eat a little breakfast, and then she went to lie down after we got back from Tad’s. When I checked on her, she was out.”

“Jason and Katie will be here at seven for dinner. He’ll talk to her, take her statement. Just a precaution. Any luck talking her into seeing a doctor?”

Mac shook his head. “She won’t do it. I told her if she showed any signs of a problem, I would force her to go.”

“Maybe we should call Dr. Elliot and get her an appointment.”

Mac frowned. “Your old shrink?”

“You said it yourself, she’s got PTSD.” Sully took a deep breath, prepared for Mac’s objection to his next comment. “I’ve decided that starting today, until we know she can handle things the way they normally are around here, you should stay dressed around her. No punishment. I’ll catch up the ones you still owe me in another day or so.”

Mac’s jaw clenched, his lips pulled taut into a thin line. “I don’t get a say in this?”

“You really think I’m wrong here, Brant? It’s in her best interest.

Frankly, I don’t like beating you for something you shouldn’t be punished for. That’s not fair to me , you know. If you want a session, all you have to do is ask and I’ll gladly give it to you, you know that.”

Sully knew he’d pulled a double-pronged argument out of his ass that Mac couldn’t counter. “When do we go back to normal?” Mac finally asked.

“When I’m sure it won’t scare her.”

He retreated to his office and ignored the way Mac slammed a few things around on the counter. Mac hated it when he made a sudden change to loosen the rules like that. Mac thrived on the strict service and obedience aspect of their dynamic as much as he did the sadomasochism. In this case, Mac would just have to adapt.

Clarisse awoke a little after two. She walked out to the kitchen, and when Mac heard her, he went to help.