The door opened slowly, and Heather poked her head in. "Are you decent?", she asked with a quick laugh.

"I hope you're not", he quipped and sat up in his bed. She walked inside and to his great disappointment she was wearing the same baggy sweat suit she usually wore when she exercised. She did pull off her hood though after she sat down at the foot of the bed. She was once again without makeup, but her face was beautiful anyway. "So how do you feel?", she asked looking him over.

Brian cracked his neck. "Not bad considering the little scuffle we got into."

"You handled yourself pretty well. I think you could have taken two of those guys if one of them hadn't pulled out a knife", she told him.

"Yeah maybe, but what about you? You kicked ass."

She smiled and changed the subject. "Jan told me that you're pretty good at tennis."

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"How alright?", she pressed.

"I got to the semis in the Pennsylvania high school tournament." He didn't mention that he'd gotten beat on a lucky shot.

Heather hopped up off the bed. "Good, you should do fine. Think you can be ready in half an hour?"

"Umm, I mean I'd like to play, but I didn't bring any of my gear. I should have because those courts look really nice."

"Don't worry about that. I'll get it for you, whatever type of gear you like."

"Okay, but its going to take longer than half an hour to get to a store", Brian protested.

Heather paused at the door. "Just tell Azalea what you want and she'll get it for you. The store will bring it over."

Brian just shook his head. "Rich people", he said before he jumped out of the bed. He didn't know Heather liked tennis, but she was probably pretty good at it. He wasn't going to underestimate her. That could be costly.

Taylor and Jan walked up the stairs out of the gym looking like gorgeous twin Amazons. They were dressed in their sweaty workout clothes that clung to their pumped up bodies. Jan had really worked her muscles when her pump became vascular. Taylor's body was equally pumped. Their hips swayed with sexiness and swagger as they came to the side of the house. Jan's mood was her usual ready to take on the day self while Taylor had extra spring in her normally aloof steps. She'd just beaten Jan at sparring. It had been a good match, but in the end Taylor had gotten Jan in a bush league move. Jan couldn't complain because she'd fallen for it. Of course Taylor had to realize that Jan would never fall for it again.

Taylor stopped when she saw Brian heading towards the tennis courts. He saw her too, and even though he wanted to say hello to Jan, he kept walking. Taylor didn't seem all that upset when she looked at him, but with her he could never tell. Taylor always looked bored and or unconcerned with everything around her. Brian didn't know that she was actually paying close attention to everything.

"Is he going where I think he's going?", she asked Jan.

"Looks like it. I told Heather that Brian played tennis. I guess she feels like playing this morning."

Taylor shook her head. "Poor Brian. I thought she told me to take it easy on him. She's the one about to punish him." Jan chuckled, and five minutes later they were in Taylor's room looking out the window down on the courts. Brian was already dripping sweat as Heather ran him from one side of the baseline to the other. He had skills though, and he made Heather work, but Brian's tongue was wagging.

"Heather should be ashamed of herself", Jan observed as she looked at Brian go for a hard forehand. Heather used to be a high ranking amateur. She could have gone pro years ago, but she suddenly quit competing after high school. Jan thought it was a waste of such great talent, but Heather always marched to the beat of her own drummer.

"I think he's doing pretty well", Taylor observed.

"Oh, you're easing up on him? Did you see the look on his face when he saw you? He probably thought you were going to try and rip his head off."

Taylor turned towards her cousin and smiled. "I felt like that last night, but I'm not mad at him anymore, whether he knows it or not. I do hold grudges sometimes, but not on honest mistakes. I think I'll give him the cold shoulder for another day or so, then I'll explain that I'm actually not mad at all."

"Taylor you can be so cruel."

"I'm beautiful and rich, being cruel comes with the territory."

"I'm not cruel", Jan announced with pride.

Taylor lowered her gaze. "Have you forgotten about Bobby Reynolds? You taught me a thing or two on that one."

Jan blushed. "What's old Bobby doing these days?"

"I think he's in seminary. You messed him up so badly he doesn't even want a woman anymore."

"What can I say?", Jan shrugged her shoulders and went back to watching Brian out the window. She turned in time to see him drop a nice volley near the net. Jan was impressed.

So was Heather. She was dressed in a short, sleeveless apricot colored tennis dress which showed off her increasingly pumped up physique. With each swing of the racquet she seemed to get stronger. Brian loved the challenge of playing against her and the thrill looking at her body in action. It was more than wonderful. It was distracting, very distracting.

For the first five or ten minutes Brian could barely return because he was awed by the sight of Heather's long strong body going through the motion of serving the ball to him at over 90 miles per hour. First her calves would bunch when she rose up onto her toes. Then her quads would tense as she straightened her legs. The ball had left her toss hand by now, starting its journey upward. It happened slowly to his eyes, but he didn't follow the ball. He could only look at her. Even through the material of her dress, he could see her abs flex, and not just her six pack in the front, everything drew in creating a suit of armor around her midsection. Her lats grew next. Her chest rippled with power. Heather's supple breasts had to succumb for the moment to the power of the muscles beneath. Her pectorals separated and her cleavage deepened. Her right arm solidified to harness the power of the rest of her body focusing it on a single point. Her eyes could have boiled the ocean. There was nothing else in the universe besides Heather and the ball floating gently in front of her beautiful face. The beauty went away as the webbing came forward to meet its target. Her effort looked to be inhuman. The ball flattened like a saucer for an instant as Heather's racquet made contact. It left the webbing like a green meteor with evil intent. The sound, like a hollow explosion, snapped Brian from his trance. His eyes tried to find the ball, and like a big league baseball player they did. His hands followed, and without an moment to spare he returned the serve over the net.

Heather ran to her left and fired a double fisted backhand smash down the line. Brian gently lobbed it over the net and ran in. Heather ran in too and extended her racquet. Like her sister and cousin, Heather had long limbs, but not long enough. The ball bounced again. Heather's momentum carried her to the net, which she jumped over without breaking stride.

"Nice shot", she told him, swallowing her pride for a moment.

Brian shot her his grin and stepped closer. "Thank you. And that makes it 40-30. I think I'm gonna break you." Heather turned and smiled quickly before she walked around the net. Her next serve was an ace.

Ted Matthews had just finished reading the newspaper, and despite assurances to his wife, had also made a few suggestions for the fund managers under his leadership. He had a wonderful cup of coffee in his hand as he stepped onto one of the many balconies to look out over Lake Worth. It didn't take him long to notice his daughter on the courts with Jan's friend. The boy was pretty good he saw at once. Brian was giving Heather much more of a challenge than he ever did, but Heather wasn't going all out. She rarely did anymore. Ted could remember being shocked when his middle child had told him that she was quitting tennis. At first he couldn't believe what he was hearing, but now thinking back on it, she'd made the right call. It was too bad though, Heather could have really been great.

"Has she run him into the ground yet?", Brice Matthews asked his father.

Ted turned put his arm on his son's shoulder when he came next to him. "Nah. Brian's pretty damn good. He's making her work a little. She likes that. So you know she won't drop the hammer on him. Might make him want to quit playing." Brice and his father watched the semi-friendly game for a minute longer before the dynamic changed.

Heather was still winning, but Brian had finally broken her serve. She hadn't wanted him to, but he was a scrappy player who could pull shots out of his ass. Heather could feel her suppressed hyper competitiveness itching to come out. She was serving again and Brian was up in the game. The smirk never left his face as he bounced around on the baseline awaiting her next offering. Heather wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his face, but she counted to ten and remembered that Brian was actually on the court with her. Most people quickly declined an invitation to play against her. She bounced the ball then held it. Everything felt right, so she started her serve. She took a little off it to place it right where she wanted it. The ball was flying perfectly. It sailed past Brian. He didn't even make a move for it. His head turned and he followed it to the ground. Heather gasped when he looked at her and yelled, "Out!"

"What? That was in Brian."

"No", he insisted. "I'm standing right here. That was out. It's 15-40."

Heather felt the heat rise up her neck. That ball had been right on the line. She'd never hit a more perfect shot in all her life.

"This is going to get interesting", Ted mused.

"Yeah", Brice put in with mounting enthusiasm. Watching Heather play was always more interesting when she was upset.

"Damn I wish I had the gun", Ted said with a snap of his finger.

"Way ahead of you Dad." Brice grinned and raised the radar gun. He aimed it at the court and waited.

Heather was indeed upset now. She bounced the ball on the court a couple of times before tossing it in the air. There was something different about this serve. Brian noticed it even if he wasn't fawning over her body at the moment. Every muscle was flexed hard, almost as hard as they had been the night before when she's beat up three guys. The ball shot off of her racquet like she was trying to make it burst. It was a literal green smear across his field of view. This time its target wasn't the court. It was Brian's left hip, and like usual Heather hit her target.

"Owwww!!!", Brian yelled and jumped to the side.

"109", Brice reported to his father who looked at the reading and shook his head. He felt sorry for that young man.

"30-40", Heather reported to Brian like nothing at all had happened. Brian glared at her over the net, but got down in his stance. His hip stung like crazy, but he was ready. The next serve was smoking. It just missed the box, but Brian hesitated, almost fearing to call it out. He only did so when he looked up and saw Heather's face. She was daring him.

"Out", he shouted.

Heather looked at the ground, her lips parting slightly as she pressed her tongue to her teeth in anticipation of hitting another scorcher. This one topped the others before it. She'd reached back and blasted this serve really really hard. It blazed right at Brian who tried to jump out of the way while bringing his racquet up. He barely deflected the ball so that he didn't take a full blow, but it hurt nonetheless.

"118", Brice reported with awe.

Brian coughed and his eyes zeroed in on Heather who was smiling, but not sweetly like she normally did. She bounced the ball on the court and tossed it in the air. Brian was ready for anything. Her arm went back; her body tensed up causing her muscles to flex in anticipation of releasing all that stored power, but the ball didn't fly. Her racquet slowed to a stop. She looked across the net and filled her lungs with a very long, very deep breath before she started bouncing the tennis ball again. Her next serve was a rocket, but it hit the court instead of Brian. He returned it, and the game was once again on friendlier terms although Brian didn't let his guard down. He came back in the score because Heather was clearly distracted. After a volley at the net, that she'd won, she reached over and tapped Brian on the shoulder before he got out of reach.

"I'm sorry", she told him without preamble. "I let my temper get the better of me."

"Just a little you think?"

Heather demurred. "Taylor's not the only one who can get a little hot bloodied sometimes. I hope it doesn't hurt too bad."

"It feels like a throbbing mass of bee stings on my hip." Heather looked ashamed of herself. "Of course I can think of something you can do to make it up."

"Anything."

Brian flashed a grin that made Heather wonder if she'd agreed too quickly. They went back to playing while Brian planned.

While all this was going on outside, Jan had finished her shower and gotten dressed. She was planning on going shopping later that morning, so she went to the closet to make some room. She pushed some of the clothes on one of the racks towards the end. Her knuckles hit a panel on the wall and it shifted. She frowned and took a closer look, never noticing before that there was even a seam there. Being somewhat nosey, Jan moved the panel and discovered a hollow. She reached her hand into the dark space, half expecting to find a bear trap, but instead her fingers brushed against a box. It wasn't large and it wasn't attached to anything, so she pulled it out into the light. The shoe box didn't look like any sort of treasure chest, just unmarked cardboard covered in decades of dust. From the weight she could tell that there weren't shoes inside, but without taking very long to think about it, Jan opened the box to see what was inside. It could have been a bomb, she thought with an internal chuckle as the lid came off. Maybe it was some sort of secret documents from the Cold War era. Her mind raced with possibilities. Her face wrinkled up when she looked down into the box and saw women's swimsuits.

There were mismatched tops and bottoms with a few one piece suits in the box too. Jan pulled a couple of them out and got more confused by the second. She knew that two piece swimsuits hadn't been popular before the 60's, so this stuff was no older than that and yet this room had been her father's room in those days. It had gone directly from his room to her room, but these things couldn't be his.

Jan closed the lid on the box and went down the hall to the master bedroom. The door was open so she went inside. "Hey, Aunt Kat I found this box in my closet. I was wondering if it was yours."

Kat took the box and opened it. She pulled out a couple of the tops. Her face was just as confused as her niece's until it hit her. "Jan these are Jack's!", she exclaimed. "They belong to your father."

Jan's face dropped to the floor. "You're kidding!" She held up one of the swimsuit tops. It could barely have fit over her father's arm let alone his chest.

"Oh no no Jan not like that! Your father's not a crossdresser." She sat down on a chair and pulled out a few more tops. "These are trophies of your father's conquests." She paused and her face took on a faraway look, but the smile remained. Jan could tell that her aunt was remembering better times.

"You don't know this, but your father used to be the king of Palm Beach when he was a teenager. One summer we went to Nice for vacation when Jack was about fifteen. He saw the guys in Europe wearing speedos. Jack thought that was the best thing ever, and he bought like ten sets of those things. That same winter when we came down here, Jack put those tiny little briefs on and would go to the beach parties and stuff. Girls were all over him. This box is full of souvenirs from the young ladies who Jack thought were worthy of his time."

Kat laughed again, but Jan couldn't join in. For all of Jan's life, Kat and Jack had been a little distant. They never argued or anything like that, but when Jack was around Kat usually found something else to do. Jan had always thought that it was something from childhood, but now she saw that Jack and his younger sister Kat hadn't always been distant.

"You should have seen Jack walking down the beach Jan! You wouldn't have believed it. He thought he was mister everything. He'd hit his growth spurt and his body filled out. He had the look, and he had charisma to spare. I used to get friends just because I was Little John's sister. That's what they used to call him because they called our father Big John. When he was seventeen, Jack actually waxed his chest. I thought it was stupid, but he had even more girls after him. Every guy was jealous, but no one would mess with Jack." She stopped to think back. "Jack got into it with one guy I remember. It seems like the guy was sweet on Alice Mayfield, but Jack was too. She was a cute girl and they actually got in a fight over her. Jack didn't beat up the guy too bad. He was smart enough to know that too much of a beating was a turnoff. He did just enough. I'm sure one of these tops belongs to Alice."

Jan felt a little awkward looking at these. It was like opening her father's past, but it was interesting at the same time. "Whatever happened to Alice?"

Kat smiled. "Her family sold their place down here. I saw her about a year ago over in Boca. She's on husband number four I think. The current one is a plastic surgeon and not a very good one if you ask me."

Jan had never heard about any of this. "When did Dad stop coming down here?"

Kat sighed and the big smile left her face. "After our father died, Jack wasn't the same. This house sat empty for two years after that, but Mom thought that we needed to be a family again. Jack was in the Army by then, but he came down. He tried to have a good time, but it wasn't in him. He came a few times after that after he married your mother. I guess he wanted to introduce her to the in-crowd down here before he stopped coming altogether." Jan could hear the pain in her aunt's voice. She was trying to hide it, but it was plain to anyone who knew Kat well. Coming to the winter house had been a family tradition for generations. Different branches of the family and good friends would descend on the house in anticipation of the New Year. It was a time for everyone to be together, but Jack had separated himself from that.

For decades during the holiday season, the family would load up on Patricia Ann, and head down the coast from Baltimore and pull into the dock behind the house ready to enjoy themselves. It was all in anticipation of the annual Caufield Cook Out. This year there was a delay in the voyage and the Cook Out because of a big business deal in DC, but soon Jan's Uncle Andrew, the current caretaker of Patricia Ann, would sail south. Jan and her mother had made the trip several times. It was a blast. They would fish off the stern sometimes, and other times they would stop in the little coastal towns to eat or visit old friends. Jan had fond memories of all of that, but her father had never gone with them. Now it was Jan trying to hide something. She put the lid on the box and turned to her aunt.

"So, what do you think I should do with this?"

Kat's smile returned. "You should take it home with you when you go. Give it your father. I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it."

Jan laughed. "I don't think Mom would like that, but it's an idea." Jan made sure she walked out of the room with the smile on her face, but when she closed the door behind her it fell away. She got her phone and dialed her father. She wasn't going to ask him about the box. She just wanted to talk to him. "Hello", he answered after a couple of rings.

"Hey Daddy"

"Hey Pumpkin! How're you liking it down there?"

"The trips been pretty good so far", she answered.

"What's wrong? You sound a little down", Jack noticed from her tone. He was an expert at sensing his daughter's mood.

"I'm fine. How are you? Your phone has a little static or something."

"I don't know. You know what I think about cell phones in general", her father said.

Jan smiled. "So how're Mom and Thomas?"

"Your mother is enjoying a break from litigation, and Thomas just ran outside."

"Why?", Jan asked with a chuckle. "I checked the weather. It's like 10 degrees in Baltimore right now."

"Boys will be boys. So how's everybody down there?"

"Everybody's fine. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Bernstein. They asked about you."

"Ah, that's nice. I haven't spoken with them in a long time. Tell them to give me a call, or better yet I'll call them."

Across town there was a homecoming. The staff at the Hastings' house had come out to greet Slater Hastings. He'd been discharged from the hospital an hour earlier. All of this was his father's idea. Slater's favorite meal would be served that night as well, even though Slater couldn't fully open his mouth and chewing sent waves of pain throughout his body like pings from a sonar.

The car pulled up and stopped. A man quickly opened the door and Slater got out. In the back of their minds, the staff all wondered what he would look like. Some of them were crushed when they saw him. He didn't look too bad really. His face was still swollen and bruised, but not misshapen. Those staff members kept their feelings hidden and clapped when they saw him. He barely glanced at them. He went directly into the house without acknowledging anyone. He went straight for his father's office and closed the door. His father was in there waiting on him. Hugh opened his arms, but his son sat down instead of accepting his embrace. Hugh cleared his throat and sat down. "How do you feel, son?"

"Like shit, Dad", Slater replied and reached into his pocket to retrieve the pack of cigarettes that the hospital people hadn't allowed him access to. His first drag was a welcomed one.

"The doctor said that there hasn't been any permanent damage to your facial structure. Maybe a surgery or two will fix it." Hugh tried to cheer up his son, but Hugh wasn't the type of man who was used to consoling anybody especially his son.

"A couple of surgeries?", Slater challenged with his tone. "I need a couple of surgeries to look like a normal fucking human being and you're trying to make it sound alright! You know what I did on the way over here? I had the driver go by the Caufield place. Guess what I saw? I saw Taylor Matthews walking down the driveway with her cousin looking like a super model! She sure as hell doesn't need surgery!"

"I tried son. I sent the boys after her, but it didn't work out."

Slater snickered. "I heard. That was an embarrassment. Our security team got beat up by Taylor's weird little sister and some nobody from nowhere. The people at the doctor's office were already laughing at me, and now they're laughing at you too."

Hugh tried to keep his temper in check. "Nobody's laughing at anybody."

"Are you fucking blind? Even the staff thinks it's funny. Some of them couldn't even look me in the fucking eye. I know what they're thinking even if they're trying to hide it, but I don't give a shit about them. They can all be fired today for all I care and never get another fucking piece of shit job again. What about everyone else? By now everybody on the island has heard what happened. My rep is ruined, and to keep it, all you had to do was take care of Taylor Matthews like all the rest."

"Take care of Taylor Matthews! You dumb little shit, she's not some skank from the gutter! If there's a social latter, Taylor Matthews is on the top rung looking down on everybody else, and her family is connected down here and in Washington and in New York. What the fuck were you thinking? You can't buy people like that off. They'd rather burn the fucking money than accept it."

"You scare them off. It's not the money that does it, Dad. With all the other girls it's not the money itself that keeps them quiet, it's the fear of what might happen if they don't take the money and keep quiet. Since the money won't work with Taylor Matthews then maybe the fear will."

Slater was about to say something else when there was a soft knock at the door. The two men looked at each other before Hugh Hastings said to come in. It was one of their many lawyers.

"Sorry to disturb you both, but this couldn't wait." The man put several folders on the desk. "These were filed in the last couple of days."

"What are they", Mr. Hastings asked.

"These are civil suits filed by several young women in and around the Palm Beach County area. They're all seeking damages for unwarranted sexual advances by Slater Hastings, but those aren't the worst of it. These were filed too." He put some more folders on the desk. "These are four criminal warrants filed as well, and they're going to need immediate attention."

Hugh scoffed. He knew the DA and knew him well. "Mack will never pursue these. One phone call will make all of this go away." Hugh reached for the phone, but the lawyer stopped him.

"That's the problem, Mr. Hastings. Mack Archer has recused himself from this matter", the lawyer said.

"What!", Hugh exploded. "Why? And without a warning, I can't believe it."

"I was told that someone saw Ted Matthews go to city hall with his daughter. They came out about an hour or so later and Mack announced that he was recusing himself on all matters having to do with the Hastings family in the future. Ten minutes later these started being filed. The young women felt safe enough to step forward.

Hugh hung his head while his keen mind searched for options. This was all getting very bad very quickly, and it was Slater's fault. Hugh had always indulged his son. Slater hadn't grown up with a mother. She'd left when Slater was still an infant. She'd been so interested in getting away from Hugh that she'd signed away all rights to Slater without much hesitation. Slater was the only person in the world who Hugh loved. He had never tried to reign in his son. That might have made him weak. Instead Hugh had taught his son how to properly apply power. One lesson that Hugh should have taught his son was to not bite off more than he could chew.

"Now, we have to discuss our options. I have convinced the acting DA in this case to not arrest you if we can work out a surrender circumstance for you both."

"Both?", Mr. Hastings yelled.

"Yes sir, you are being charged as an accessory and for obstruction. I can take you to the police station in a rented car at an off hour to assure anonymity."

"What if we were to get the hell out of here completely?", Hugh Hastings asked, unable to fully wrap his mind around this development.

"That's always an option. You are well positioned to escape to a non extradition country. The government can and probably will find you liable in the civil cases and seize all assets that they can get their hands on. But as a percentage of your total holdings that would be a relatively minor loss." Mr. Hastings found a ray of hope and grabbed hold of it until he looked at his son.

Slater's face hadn't changed during the entire discussion. "I'm not running, Dad. At least not until I'm satisfied. You can go, and I'll catch up."

It took all Hugh had to not hit his son across his already broken jaw. He turned to the lawyer. "How long can you stall the cops?"

He shrugged. "Five days, maybe a week. Nobody likes to ruffle feathers down here, so they'll play ball as long as they don't get wind of you leaving the country."

"Stall them then, until we figure out what in the hell to do." Hugh Hastings sat down in his chair hoping that he'd made the right decision. He could see everything coming down around him. If he didn't handle this correctly then his life as he knew it would be over. Sure he could run away to some nice tropical place, but the action would be gone. He lived for the action of business. No business that had ties to the United States would come anywhere near him. That was almost worse than going to jail, but perhaps not for this. Insider trading or even money laundering was eventually forgiven, but regular people would never forgive him for paying off poor girls who had been raped by his son. They wouldn't forget that he and his money had forced those girls to suffer in silence. That stain would never wash out. He had to make this all go away.

Hugh didn't know that Slater had already worked this out while he'd been in his hospital bed. This little situation didn't bother him in the least. Laws are only for people who are bound by them. Slater certainly wasn't. His father was worried about making more money while Hugh didn't give two shits about that. He'd already seen his father's will. It hadn't been easy, but he'd screwed the secretary at the law office for six months to get access. Once she'd showed it to him, he'd forgotten her fucking name. He knew that his father left some things to charity because he was worried about his name even after he was cold and in the ground. The rest of the money went to Slater, and it was enough to live like a king anywhere in the world. He didn't give a damn about the law. There was only one thing going on in his head. He had to make Taylor Matthews pay, and he knew exactly how to do it.

Taylor and Jan walked down the sidewalk towards one of their favorite stores. In a sea of attractive women, those two drew looks from everybody. Heads turned; eyes bucked, and conversations stopped when they came into view. Men's brains couldn't take that much hotness in one place at one time. Jan had to admit that it was empowering in a way, but Taylor drank it up completely. She loved it. Her attitude didn't change when she walked into the store and every clerk, male and female, came over to see to the needs of the two goddesses who had just walked in the door. It worked out since this store paid on commission, and the two unimaginably beautiful women had plenty of money to spend.

"So have you heard anymore from the Hastings?", Jan asked while they were shopping.

"This is a cheery subject", Taylor replied in her regular tone. She never adopted her rich-bitch attitude with Jan. "He sent some of his goons to attack Heather. She didn't want to tell me, but I got it out of her. She thought that I was going to go off half cocked."

"Was that an unreasonable assumption?"

Taylor grinned and shrugged. "Probably not, but she should give me more credit than that. I had a plan for Slater, and more physical injury isn't part of it, at least not from me. Dad and I went to city hall and leaned on the corrupt DA until he got out of the way. Then I got in contact with all the women who I know Slater has raped. I told them that it's safe to go after him now. They didn't have to keep their mouths shut anymore. I can't do anything to Slater that some guy in prison can't do."

Jan laughed. "Yeah by some 350 pound guy named 'Tiny' who hates rapists." Taylor joined in the laugh. "He'll probably just leave the country", Jan said after a thought.

"Part of me wishes he would", Taylor said with all seriousness, before she walked past Jan to check out some perfume not wanting to talk about it anymore.

Taylor took a glance at Jan from behind her shades. They were a lot alike in temperament. Jan didn't take shit off of anybody. She went through life full speed ahead, but she always tried to fit in. Taylor didn't try because she knew she never would, so why frustrate herself. Even as a child Taylor had been the center of attention. She was the kid who all parents measured their kids against. Were they as cute as Taylor? Were they as smart as Taylor? Were they as talented as Taylor? Were they as courteous and well mannered as Taylor? The list went on and on. There had been jealousy and resentment towards her all of her life. When she was younger she didn't know how to deal with it. People would be surprised with the way Taylor handled the pressure of never being able to have an off day. She couldn't come out of the house dressed down or with her hair a mess. She couldn't afford a misstep anywhere. She was perfect, born that way, destined to be great because the stars had aligned for her. None of it was true. She had problems like everybody else, but she'd learned from an early age that no one wanted to hear about problems from the beautiful rich girl.

There were only two people she knew who had the same issues that she did, Jan and Heather. They had handled their issues in different ways. As a child and teen, Jan could be brooding and intense. Kids were afraid to say the things to Jan that they often said to Taylor. Taylor wasn't perceived as weaker than Jan, but Taylor had acted like she was above it all while Jan would scowl and her eyes would burn like she wanted to tear them to pieces. When she was honest with herself, Taylor realized that neither Jan nor Heather had gotten it as bad because Taylor was older than them and took most of the slings and arrows. Taylor didn't mind that really. She was tough, or had become tough over the years. It was rare that she ever let anything pierce the bubble of blissful arrogance that she surrounded herself with.

Everybody saw it. She moved and acted like she was on a different plane completely from the people around her. She didn't deny the fact that she was an extremely attractive woman who like being healthy and beautiful, but she was a human being too. Unfortunately Jan's friend Brian had figured that out. He still didn't have any idea about Taylor's true personality, but he knew that there was more to her than she let on. Taylor wouldn't call her persona an act. It was more of a security blanket, but Brian had found one of its weaknesses. He'd find another before the day was over.

"Here take this", Heather said and held out an ice pack to Brian who placed it gingerly against his sore hip. Heather stood over him in her apricot tennis dress. Her body was still pumped up, but her face was contrite. "I really am sorry", she told him for the third time.

Brian smiled. "I'm a big boy I can take it. Besides, you said that you're going to make up for it. There is one thing bugging me though. Why aren't you a pro? I saw your game today. I kept trying to find holes in, but I couldn't. Not saying that I could have exploited them even if I had found them."

"Oh come on. You're pretty good too. I was going to ask you if you played in college."

"I played football in high school because my Dad wanted me to, and I played tennis growing up because my Mom wanted me to", Brian said quickly. "My parents weren't the worst, but I never really loved tennis and they knew that. I liked football better, but I was much better at tennis. It didn't matter. As soon as I finished my last tournament, I was through with competitive tennis. I've only just met them, but your parents seem cooler than that. So why are you playing me instead of Venus or Serena, and stop trying to deflect. "

Heather sighed and sat down on the wall next to Brian. "I'm not trying to deflect. I just don't know what to tell you. I didn't even know what to say to my parents to explain to them that I was quitting. It hit me at a tourney one day about a year and a half ago. I'd hurt myself in the match before that one, but I had recovered enough to play the finals, but while I was about to serve, I realized that this wasn't going to be a part of my life going forward. That was my last tournament. I've moved on.

"But you seem to really love tennis."

Brian watched a strange look come over Heather's face. There was something banging on the inside of her mind. It wanted out so badly. She looked away from him. Just like before on the court, Brian watched Heather conquer her desires. She was able to look up again. "Yeah, I really enjoy it, but like I said. I've moved on."

She stood up and downed the last of a bottle of Gatorade. She wiped her face with the sweat band on her wrist, and forced herself to feel like smiling. "Are you going to the club tonight?", she asked.

Brian knew she was deflecting again, but didn't press. "Are you?", she shot back.

"Actually I think I will. This place is really cool. It's called Rein. All the cool people are there. I like seeing mega stars as much as the next girl." She held her hand and helped Brian to his feet.

He couldn't help, but watch the biceps muscle of her right arm tense up when he pulled against her. He had ideas for those muscles, but that could wait. "Who sets up our clubbing agenda anyway?", he wondered.

Heather laughed as they started towards the house. "Who do you think?"

Taylor looked annoyed as she stood in an unavoidable line at the front door to the hopping club. The entire group had already gotten past the self important guy at the door without much problem. Brian had hoped that he wouldn't be singled out as the weak link in their group. It didn't happen. At a place like this, Taylor was a true queen. She got what she wanted when she wanted it. The fact that Brian was in that group was all it took. Jan wasn't so haughty. She had simply never been turned down at the door to a club so she expected to get in. Sara was in a slightly different frame of mind. She was still getting the hang of being hot. She'd grown up rather shy and far from sexy. The fact that men ogled her was still unsettling. She wondered how other women put up with it.

The line started to move finally, which caused Taylor to roll her eyes. She entered the club as if it was drag. She took a quick look around and zeroed in on what she wanted to do. This place was a step up from any of clubs Brian had been to since he'd come to Florida. It was a true jetsetter's place. As they moved forward and more people got through the inner door, Brian could make out the green neon trimmed interior. He could already hear the music, and now he could see the women dancing all over the place on platforms and stages. The lights changed colors and so did the reflections from the outfits they wore. It was a simple trick, but when executed right, it was pretty cool.

One by one the group peeled off and entered the club. When Brian looked ahead, he couldn't see any of the women he was with. He'd meet up with them on the inside he was sure. It was only a couple of more steps from the inside. He got a little nervous when a security guy came and stopped the line. "It'll just be a second, sir", the security guy told him in a respectful, but businesslike tone. The security guy walked back into the club, but left the rope closed. Brian looked around him while he waited. Rein was really two clubs in one. The guy at the front door chose who got in and who didn't, but there were two levels. Those of sufficient coolness got to walk between a path of velvet ropes that lead directly to the inside of the club. The second group gathered in the large ante area. Those people were deemed worthy only of standby status. They were cool, but not quite up to the level of a Rein patron. They weren't good looking enough, or they weren't dressed quite right. There was no hard and fast rule, just the guy at the front door. There was a chance for standby people to get into the club, but rarely. Only the people who walked between the velvet ropes were assured of getting in. For Brian, it was just a matter of time.

As he looked around, he noticed that the outer club wasn't so bad. They piped in the music and even had two bars. The outer area of Rein was better than most clubs, but everybody on standby wanted to get between the ropes. They were on the outside looking in. All of them took glances at the people who walked between the ropes wondering what those chosen ones had that they didn't. With the five women who had just gone inside it was evident, they were gorgeous, but a group of guys were looking at Brian quickly realizing that he didn't have a damn thing that they didn't have. At best he was standby and that was being generous. He should be out in the parking lot. They couldn't understand how he'd managed to get in. One man decided to ask.

"Hey buddy", he called out. Brian looked around before noticing the guy standing on the other side of the ropes. Brian pointed to himself. "Yeah, I'm talkin to you."

The guy was a few inches shorter than Brian. His shirt was partially unbuttoned showing off a nice physique. His head was bald and he had a beard trimmed into an immaculate chin strap. He couldn't help his height, but he made up for in other ways.

He looked around at his friends before he asked Brian, "How the hell did you get between the ropes?" Brian could tell that the guy was trying to provoke him so he just shrugged and looked around for the security guy to let him in.

"Naw man really." The guy teased. His friends laughed and Brian felt blood rush to his head.

"I'm just lucky I guess." Brian didn't want to make a scene. He was between the ropes, but he wasn't inside yet. He didn't want to get put out.

"Dude, you're not that lucky. You don't even look lucky. Who'd you fuck to get between the ropes?"

Brian didn't respond. He took a step forward looking around for someone to let him in.

"I bet he sucked the guard's dick", one of the other guys put in. They all laughed, and so did some other people standing nearby.

Brian finally turned and pointed at the bald guy and his friend. "With all this talk of suckin dick, you guys must be experts. Which one of you is the pitcher and which one's the catcher?" A couple of people near him laughed, so he went on. "You two might have gotten between the ropes if your breath didn't smell like his ass. I don't know if you guys were born losers or worked at it, but either way I'm between the fucking ropes and you ain't ever gonna be. Now fuck off."

The short guy looked pissed. Brian could see the steam rising up his neck. The other guys were pissed too. Brian had a way of doing that to people. They stepped up to Brian, making him back up. The security guy was nowhere to be found, and Brian was on his own with these guys. There were four of them and one of him. Visions of a beat down flooded his head. One of the guys poked Brian in the chest to punctuate his words. Brian swallowed a lump. "You're gonna pay for that", he told the teen.

"No, he's not", a voice said from the doorway. Brian turned to see Taylor leaning against the door with her arms crossed. Her countenance was that of a goddess being forced to talk to peons. "Come on", she told Brian who started towards her.

The ring leader took him by the arm. Brian pulled against him, but he had him tight. "We're not finished with you, smart ass. I don't care what your girlfriend says."

Annoyance turned to irritation when Taylor stepped up to the ring leader. Her 6'1" body towered over the 5'7" guy, but he held his ground. He wasn't going to be intimidated by some chick no matter how tall she was or how hot she was. Looking at her this close, he realized that she was hot enough to melt a fucking glacier. He was getting a hardon just standing there. "Let him go", she ordered.

The guy craned his neck and laughed. The smile left his face when Taylor slapped both of her hands against his lapels. He rocked back from the force. Her features set and her bottom lip curled a little as she pulled her elbows in and lifted up. People's faces dropped to the floor as the guy's feet rose off the ground. Her entire upper body flexed like there was a bodybuilder hidden inside of her. It wasn't hidden anymore. Just like her cousin, Taylor's muscles expanded mightily when she used them hard. Brian could hear the material of Taylor's dress straining against her ever expanding torso. The guy watched Taylor's body transform before him. By the time she stopped, he was looking into Taylor's beautiful blue eyes.

"I don't think you heard me the first time pee wee, so I'll say it face to face", she said as if she was talking to a child. "He's coming with me", she enunciated slowly. "Do you have a problem with that?" The guy shook his head. She looked at his friends. "What about to the rest of you assholes?"

"No no, no problems."

He stumbled when Taylor dropped him. She walked away without saying another word. Brian followed right behind her. The security guy came up as Brian walked in the door, but he didn't say anything. Brian was inside now. The club was amazing, but he wasn't thinking about that now. His mind was totally on Taylor. He knew she was strong, but damn that had been amazing. He was getting excited just thinking about it. Her muscles had been so hard. Her body was just as impossible as Jan's.

"Thanks", he yelled to her over the din of the music.

She stopped suddenly and turned. "You should have said something when you didn't come in with the rest of us. You're lucky I came back at all." She sounded angry or at least frustrated. She didn't wait for him to respond. She turned and walked back towards a group of friends. Brian was left to find his own path. It wasn't hard. There were plenty of things to get into inside Rein.

Inside clubs in this area, it was a running game to see who could get Taylor's attention long enough to sit with her at her booth or table. So far no guys were up to the task, or at least Taylor wasn't in the mood to entertain their advances. She ended up in a booth with Heather and no one else. Taylor had gotten drinks for the two of them. "So are you enjoying yourself better this time down?", Taylor asked and sipped some of her drink.

Heather downed half of her mojito in one long pull. "It's not bad. Much better than last year."

"Good. That way I don't have to hear you complaining incessantly." Taylor took another sip. "And I am SO glad you've dressed like a regular person for the last couple of days instead of your normal trash bag look."

Heather turned slightly red, but she grinned when she saw Taylor's face. "Why are you trying to get a rise out of me?"

"Because it's fun. And you know I'm telling the truth." Taylor was about to say something else when she tapped Heather on the shoulder and pointed. They both laughed when they saw Alisha with several guys around her. She was on a dancing platform moving quite seductively to the hard driving music. Her already stressed top was threatening to burst spilling her glorious breasts out. Each guy was hoping that would happen.

"I couldn't imagine you doing something like that", Heather told her sister.

"Nope. I wouldn't hold my breath, no matter how long you can. That's not going to happen."

"I like Sara and Alisha. I even like Brian. I'm glad Jan invited them down. They're pretty cool", Heather stated before polishing off her mojito.

"Yeah, but we're still going to have to get rid of them if we're going to go through with what we plan to do. I think this is the year, but we can't have too many ears. Just family would be preferable."

"What about Thomas?", Heather asked.

Taylor smiled without realizing it, and she thought for a moment. "He's family now too. He should be there."

Heather nodded. "Okay, hopefully it'll go as planned."

Taylor sighed. "Nothing ever goes to plan, but we can just pray for the best."

Slater Hastings lit a cigarette and sat in the semi darkened motel room near Miami. He was alone and in a car that he'd gotten from a friend of a friend. It was usually used to score drugs or girls, but Slater would take his chances. It wasn't registered to him or anybody who worked for his family. There was a knock on the door. Slater turned his wrist and nodded slightly. The men he was waiting for were right on time. "Come in."

They pushed the door open and walked inside, or rather sauntered. The two men wore big hoodies and baggy pants that could hold all types of weapons and more importantly hid their faces and their body types. They stepped into the room and closed the door behind themselves. They didn't say a word. They waited on the man in the shadow to speak.

"I have a problem, and I've heard from reliable people that you two can fix my problem."

The two men looked at each other and nodded. "What kinda problem you got?"

Slater grinned despite the pain. "I'm having girl problems, gentlemen. And I don't think a dozen roses or a box of chocolate can fix this. I need you guys to do what you do."

The men didn't need to think about it. They knew what sort of meeting this was. They had plans of their own and this played into them quite well. There were some heavies who they wanted to work for, but so far this pair had only smoked low and mid-level gangbangers and thugs. Working for some dude like this would up their profile, and so would offing some society girl. "You just tell us where she gon' be and when she gon' be there. Me and my man will handle business."

"No doubt", were the only words the other guy uttered.

Slater could just make out the tattoos on the men's necks in the light. He felt uneasy around them. That was a great sign. These two men gave off a very bad vibe, and that was very good for prospects. "I was told ten now and ten when the deal is done." Slater slid an envelope across the table. The two men thumbed through the bills for a second. In the back they found a wallet sized picture of the target. The two men looked at it for a little longer than necessary to commit her face to memory, but hell they'd never killed anybody as good looking as her before. She was even smiling on the picture.

"I don't have to tell you guys not to miss. Her sister is going to be there, and I want her unharmed. I want her to see all of this happen."

"Won't be a problem", the men told their new and very temporary boss as they turned to leave the room. Slater grinned as he watched them saunter out with even more menace to their steps. They were quite a bit richer at the moment. He wondered what they were going to do with the money. He didn't give a damn as long as they did their job when the time came.

The next day, everyone was slow to wake up. Even Jan who normally got up earliest was still in bed as lunch time approached. Ted and Kat Matthews were on the patio enjoying the sunny morning remarking about how quiet it was with all the kids either sleep or hung over. It must have been a good night. Ted and Kat had both had days like that in their pasts, but not so much anymore. Neither of them could find much enjoyment in getting shitfaced. That was for young people.

The day was lazy and sunny. Brian couldn't think of a better way to spend a December afternoon. He was at the table with his laptop working on his photographs. Alisha was painting down the street, and Sara had gone to Boca Raton with Kat. Taylor, Jan, Heather, and Brice had driven to Boynton Beach to see a friend of theirs. They all came back for dinner together.  Everything was subdued, and strangely normal considering the nature of the family. Taylor made a crack about how Heather had dressed and Jan had defended her.  Brian was still a bit wary around Taylor. He couldn't quite understand her. At the table she barely looked at him and didn't say a single word to him, and yet at the club she'd actually jacked a guy up in order to protect him. She hadn't told anyone else about it because no one had mentioned it.

"Are you guys planning on going anywhere tonight?", Kat asked as dinner was coming to a close. "Martin is having his charity event tonight."

Taylor looked at her mother then waved dismissively. "I don't know. I went last year."

"So you're not going?", Jan asked from across the table. "I always wanted to go to Martin DeBraya's event and get auctioned off. Last time I wasn't old enough. Now I am, and you don't want to go."

"I… I don't know. He just has this event to have the women come over. I think a guy his age hanging out with girls our age is kind of… I don't know creepy", Taylor replied.

"He's not that old. Besides people don't worry about that at the Playboy Mansion."

Taylor gave Jan a plaintive look, but Jan didn't let up. "Come on, I was telling Sara and Alisha about the DeBraya fund raiser. It's epic, and you know it."

Brian had never really heard Jan be deferential to anybody except her parents, but she was to Taylor. They bantered and challenged each other, but in the end here it was on display. It was a strange dynamic. Jan was usually the out front leader in any sort of group of peers, but Brian knew that if Taylor put her foot down and refused to go, that Jan wouldn't go either. She'd probably be upset, but with her cousin around, Jan didn't take the lead.

Taylor looked at Heather quickly before looking at Jan. "If you want to go so badly, fine, but I don't plan on staying long."

"I'm not going", Heather announced proudly. Brian had to quickly wipe the grin from his face. This was perfect. He had plans for Heather.

After the group had left to go to Martin DeBraya's house, Brian knocked on Heather's bedroom door. "Can I come in?"

"Brian?", she asked as he pushed the door open. "You didn't go? Did Jan not explain that Martin DeBraya's party is full of beautiful women?"

"Yeah, she did", he said flippantly. "I'm only interested in one beautiful woman tonight", he said seriously. "You remember how you said that you were going to make up for you smashing tennis balls into my unprotected flesh?"

"Umm yeah, Brian I remember, but what do you have in mind?" Heather rarely let herself get at the mercy of others, but here she was.

Brian smirked. "Can you turn on the lights on the tennis courts?" She nodded. "Good, then get dressed in one of your tennis outfits. Bring your racquet and stuff. Meet me down at the court."

Heather had no idea what Brian wanted, but good things usually happened on the tennis courts for her. Maybe he just wanted a rematch.

When she got to the courts, Brian was already there. The professional quality lights were on making great conditions for some night time tennis, but Brian didn't look ready to play. She saw the serving machine out on the courts with the return netting right next to it. Brian was standing behind the endline with his back turned. He was hard at work setting up something. Only near the end of his endeavor did she notice that it was a light stand that he was working on. She frowned and approached. "Brian what are you doing?", she asked, starting to feel apprehensive for the first time.

"One sec", he replied without turning around. He finished putting the pole into the stand before he turned to face Heather. When he did, he couldn't describe what he felt. He looked her from head to toe. She was perfect. She was wearing a dark colored dress this time that brought out her eyes, contrasted with her skin, and complimented her gorgeous auburn hair, which was tied into unruly bunch behind her head. She hadn't bothered to take off the small amount of make-up that she'd been wearing that day, and it just accentuated the great lines and structure of her face. She stood glaring at Brian with her racquet in one hand and her other hand resting on her hip, looking like a modern amazon gladiator. That was perfect too.

"I'll ask again, Brian. What the hell is all of this?"

Brian cleared his throat and smiled. "This is my set up for your photo shoot."

"Photo shoot? Are you serious?" Heather didn't know whether to laugh at him or go back into the house. "I thought I was coming out here to play tennis and you want to take my picture?"

"I don't just take pictures", Brian shot back. "This is what I love to do. You might have bought a camera this expensive for shits and giggles, but this camera and my editing software is why I don't have a car. You might see me as full of shit, but you ask anybody who's worked with me. Here look at some of my work." He leaned over and pulled open his laptop. Heather couldn't stop her eyes from looking at the album of photos on the screen. He moved the screen closer, but he didn't have to bother. Heather had better than 20/20 vision. She looked at the images then scrolled down.

"I gave these to your mother." He handed her some prints of the landscape photos he taken. They were stunning. He could capture a moment and make the viewer feel like they had been there. "I was going to give these to Taylor, but she'd probably just punch me in the face." He reached down and handed Heather some shots that he'd taken at the Baro's Bikini Party. Her face softened as she looked through the small stack. All of them were of she and Taylor laughing and conversing with each other. It was almost like the photos had been staged, but they hadn't been. Heather wished that Taylor was standing next to her to see them. She actually wiped the corner of her eye.

"I'm serious about this, Heather. It hurt like hell when you hit me with your serves this morning, but I'd take a hundred of those to get you in front of my camera. You're the most amazing athlete. You have everything: beauty, power, grace, personality. You're going to eat this camera up, all I need you to do is pose for me. Please."

Heather handed Brian back his photos without saying anything. His face pleaded with her, but he didn't say another word. He'd said all that he could. The ball was in her court. Heather thought about it. Brian wasn't the first guy to want to photograph her, but looking at just a small sample of his work let her know that Brian was good. He had talent for this, and Heather always respected someone willing to develop their talent. "Okay. What do you want me to do?"

Martin DeBraya had a reputation for keeping beautiful women at his place. He had his own personal revolving harem of beauty, and his night was all about beautiful people. Martin had been throwing this charity event for more than a decade and every year it got bigger and bigger. There was a silent auction of some ultra luxury items and a concert, but the central focus of this event was the real auction. People were waiting anxiously for it. Jan was one of them. She'd already signed her name to the list and had coaxed Sara and Alisha to do the same. She didn't bother with Taylor. She figured that Taylor would add her name too at some point, but at the moment she was a bit distracted.

Jan was loving it here. DeBraya's home was a restored mansion that had just enough of the old and the new to make it lovely. Martin was a gracious host, and the people were in their element. Every guest was a child of money. Most of them were generationally rich going way back. This was a sampling of the true jet set group. The young people in Martin's house couldn't have been anywhere in the world. They could have hopped on private jets to be at parties in Europe, Asia, or South America, but this was the place to be tonight. Alisha and Sara fit right in. Both of them came from extreme wealth, but Alisha was having a better time than her blonde friend. After about an hour at the event, Alisha found Sara standing with a contemplative look on her face.

"What's wrong with you?"

Sara sighed and shrugged her bare shoulders. "I was just talking to some girls over there. They were saying how a family they know had gotten caught up in the tech bubble explosion a couple of years ago. The dust has just settled, and that family was left with only 10 million dollars. Yes I know, only 10 million. I got all prepared to lecture them about how the average American family lives on 40 thousand, and how it was completely elitist to scoff at ten million dollars."

"So, did you?", Alisha asked.

Sara looked at the floor. "I couldn't. I didn't even say a word. I thought about what would happen if somehow my family lost our money and were left with… only ten million dollars. I feel like such a snob. How could I lecture them when I would probably go catatonic if that happened to my family?"

To Sara's surprise, Alisha didn't laugh. She put her arm around Sara. "Your heart's in the right place, but we are what we are. You aren't a snob. For people like us the best compliment you can get is if other people don't know how much money you grew up with until you tell them or whatever." Alisha paused and made Sara raise her head. "Now stop thinking about serious stuff. This is fluff; enjoy yourself."

A man worked his way through the crowd of people discretely telling the participants that the auction was about to start. He had to get on his toes to whisper in Jan's ear. When he was finished she started towards the back of the house. This was going to be fun. Jan wondered if she was going to fetch the highest price. All the best looking girls from the best families were here, well except for one.

Heather squeezed her eyes tightly as she launched the tennis ball like a rocket. She could hear Brian's shutter clicking, capturing her every motion. He was in a zone as he documented her. He made comments about her as he took photos. He whispered them, but she could hear him as he looked at her through the viewer. She was fierce with her next shot. The light cast dramatic shadows as Heather's pumped muscles hit this ball hard enough to sheer off the felt. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like this on a tennis court, like she owned it. The very laws of nature bent to her will when she had a racquet in her hands.

"You are so pumped right now", Brian said under his breath as he captured Heather sending a forehand over the net. His image captured the muscles of her body in their full authority and glory. Her face made the shots though. For a split second her extreme beauty succumbed to the herculean effort of hitting the ball as hard as she possibly could. Each shot was harder, fiercer than the one before. Her body exuded power with every single stroke, and Brian was getting it all.

Heather took another serve from the machine and she served it towards a net which made it come back to her. Her legs moved quickly, but not too quick that Brian's lens couldn't capture the small fibers of her calves and quads and hamstrings firing as she moved. Her feet weren't heavy on the court though. She glided as much as ran. She settled for her shot, pulling her arm back for a forehand. This shot broke all of her records. She fired it at the net so hard that the entire apparatus tipped to one side. The ball came back. Heather looked at the ball out of the corner of her eye, but her attention never left the return machine. She gathered herself for a backhand. Brian's camera focused on her powerful arms and the caps of muscle at her shoulders. Her delts were out of his world, writhing and flexing as she started to swing. She had to hurry. Her grunt was erotic and deep as she followed through. The ball fired again, this time hitting the side of the return machine. It teetered for an agonizing second before it fell over completely with a loud crash.

"Arrgghh!!", Heather yelled in triumph at knocking the machine over with just the power of her returns. Her eyes burned and her body pulsed with power. She brought her arms up, and without thinking, curled into a double biceps pose that made Brian's breathing stop. Her arms were huge, pumped, and cut. Her biceps were granite hard and radiating their hard earned strength. Brian clicked furiously. The flex only lasted a second or two, but he'd gotten some good shots.

"Wow!", he exclaimed and finally took a breath. Heather grinned once she realized what she had done. She looked at Brian through her lashes and held up her arm. He started shooting again. She let him look at the shape of her unflexed muscle. He zoomed in, anticipating the flex, but he wasn't ready for what he saw. When she started to curl her arm it was like watching the heavens part. Her biceps muscle bunched and rose into a mountain top while veins were forced to the surface. She squeezed her fingers into a fist. A lifetime of tennis had turned her forearm into a hard mass of tendons and muscle that solidified at her command. It was counterpoint to her massive biceps and triceps. Her arm was amazing, a perfectly formed hunk of female muscle perched on the arm of an astonishingly beautiful woman. It was easy to see how she'd broken a grown man's wrist with just her fingers. Heather's body was all muscle, and it was only going to get better.

"Like what you see?", she asked while still holding the flex of her right arm.

"Wonderful in all senses of the word", Brian replied, trying to stay somewhat professional about it, but she was turning him on completely.

"So do you want me to really flex then?", she asked. Brian's eyes widened and he took his eye away from his camera. The look on his face made Heather laugh. "Yeah, let me show you what a real flex is." Heather shook her arm out and leaned down a little. She turned her head away from Brian towards her arm as she brought it up. This time she flexed hard from the outset, the muscle bunched and ballooned as her elbow bent. More and more muscle seemed to be fed into her upper arm from places unknown. It rose higher and higher, but her peak wasn't the most impressive thing. It was the sheer size, thickness, and girth of her arm. Her bicep looked like it had been transplanted from some super hardcore bodybuilder to Heather. The thin veins that had graced her muscle like little creeks were now like swollen rivers pumping blood to Heather's thirsty muscle fibers. Brian could see the striations on the heads of her muscle. Each degree of movement brought the muscle more and more into prominence until finally she got to full flex. Finally she stopped. Her arm was a completely transformed mass of muscle that made Brian's head swim. She was so thick, and he already knew how strong she was.

Heather didn't wait for direction. She switched to the other arm. It didn't take her long to get it pumped as well. Heather worked hard to balance her body. Tennis tended to do the opposite, but Brian saw that her efforts had been well worth it. Her left arm was as completely huge and ripped as the right one. She toyed with Brian as he moved to get the best angles to show off the complete insaneness of Heather's arms at full power. He moved to her back to get the rear. Her arms were massive and vascular and cut to the bone. Her shoulders were so thick, but they had to be to balance out her arms. Brian could only see the upper part of her back because of her dress, but he didn't say anything. He just kept working angles finding new shots and new breathtaking views of Heather's body.

She worked with him. After he'd seen her arms and shoulders from every angle, she relaxed her arms and thrust out her left leg. She flexed it at once causing her muscles tighten and bunch from the top of her sock to the hem of her dress. Brian drooled as she flexed her legs for him, pointing hard to show him the cuts of her calves. Heather had great legs. She had to have them. Every woman in her family had them, and Heather worked hard to make sure her legs measured up. She'd taken it one step further. Like the rest of her, Heather's legs were powerful and muscles leapt to the surface at the slightest movement. Brian circled her again, taking in power of Heather's lower half. When he came around to the front, Heather leaned down slowly and traced the lines of her muscle from her calf to under her tennis dress. Brian's shutter went click, click, click as she moved, but he kept panning up even after he passed her legs. He stopped at her face. She was hot, sweaty, sexy, and maddeningly beautiful. He had to get some pictures of her eyes. The light was perfect for him to capture the complex nature of Heather's beautiful ultra blue eyes. She worked it for the camera, until Brian had to stop.

He sighed in frustration and took a step back. "Card's full", he explained and hurried to the case to get another. It took less than a minute for Brian to take out the full card and substitute an empty one. He was hurrying so he wouldn't lose the mood. He shouldn't have worried. Brian turned towards Heather in time to see her toss her tennis dress to the ground near the wall. She rolled her neck and shoulders to get out some stiffness. Her face was neutral. Her eyes read Brian's face as he took in Heather's body. She stood there in a black sports bra that encapsulated her ample breast, nothing to cover her midsection, and black panties that rode low on her waist. She didn't try to look sexy or sultry. She didn't have to. She was all that and more. She just stood there letting Brian's mind work out how best to photograph her body. While he was thinking, Heather reached behind her head to pull her hair loose.

"No! Not yet. Let's use that." Brian grabbed his camera and got ready. Heather looked right at the camera with her devious smirk as she reached behind her head again. This time she tightened her muscles. Brian had to pull back a little so he could take in her impressive abdominals. Heather yanked the tie from around her hair had shook it loose with a big smile. Brian couldn't allow himself to think about how sexy she was. He just worked. While Brian was taking shots of her upper body, Heather grabbed her tennis racquet and held the head between her hands. She started squeezing. Brian watched Heather's pecs come alive. The separation and density of her muscle became plain. Her bra was forced wider and higher on her neck as her traps flexed too. Her arms and shoulders and abs were flexed hard too. It was almost too much at one time. Heather brought her arms out and flexed again harder. She snarled playfully at the camera. Her beauty and muscles were fogging the lens, but her power was otherworldly. The webbing of her racquet was going slack as she warped the shape of the head. Her muscles popped and flexed until she could make them no harder. She rested for a beat then assaulted the racquet again. Her pumped muscles burst with strength and determination. Her once nice racquet was losing ground. She knew that once she got to a point, it would never be right again, but Heather had smashed racquets before. Besides this was loads more fun that bending a head against concrete. She was crushing this one like a vice.

Heather held her breath and squeezed like she had when she'd broken bones with her bare hands. Brian knew as he looked in her eyes. She was beyond giving up. He couldn't believe it though. This wasn't an old wooden racquet. This was the top of the line best, but it was being bent like a cheep hoop between Heather's hands. Her biceps were surging with thick vascular detail, but her pectorals did the heavy work. Finally the racquet could take now more. It gave. Her hands moved close together and that was that. Brian gasped, and Heather poked her lip out. "That was too easy?", she said and tossed her ruined racquet to the side. She dusted her hands then hit a crab flex hard. Heather's upper body swelled like Brian couldn't believe. Every muscle group was hard and defined and dripping with sweat. Nothing was weak. Nothing needed work. Heather was a complete package, but Brian hadn't seen everything.

"Abs", he directed her with a coarse whisper. His mouth had long since gone completely dry.

Heather looked at him with a smirk and slowly rolled down the elastic of her panties. Brian's camera caught every move, but he didn't snap the moment when Heather rolled her body forward and crunched down on her abdominals. His finger couldn't move; none of him could move. He watched in pure awe as Heather's six pack morphed into a maze of shredded muscle. Every detail was razor sharp and every block of muscle was thick and deep with ridges like cliffs and valleys. Brian quickly wiped the drool from the side of his mouth and snapped the first photo of Heather's abs.

"Wasn't expecting that were you?", she teased him and slowly crunched her abs again before playing with her flex causing her muscles to dance and tense in different ways. "You thought Jan had the best abs in the family I bet. It's debatable maybe. Jan's are pretty damn awesome, but nobody blows these away." She flexed her abs harder, making impossibly deep ridges. Brian was sure a moan escaped his lips, but he kept clicking away. He couldn't stop now.

Jan was bubbling with excitement as she stood with the rest of the people waiting to be auctioned off for charity. Some guy was gone to spend lots of money on her that would eventually help in the fight against human trafficking. That was a cause very close to Jan's heart. Sara and Alisha had both had the same experience with human traffickers. It felt like a lifetime ago, but it had only been a couple of years since the incident on the Gulf of Mexico. That had been a bloody affair.

"What are you thinking about?", Sara asked her tall friend.

Jan looked down and smiled. "Don't you know already?"

"If I want to", Sara replied with a twinkle in her eye. It left when she did do a quick search of Jan's thoughts. "The Riault. Don't bring that thing up."

"I heard they broke that fucking ship up", Alisha told the group.

"Good riddance."

"Yeah. I'll drink to that." The girls toasted. Taylor was standing some distance away. She could have eaves dropped on the conversation if she'd cared, but she didn't. She'd been distracted since she'd stepped foot on DeBraya's property. She'd called Heather three times since she'd gotten here, but Heather hadn't answered. She was on the tennis courts with Brian. Taylor wondered what the hell they were doing, but finally she stopped calling. Heather did keep an eye on Jan at all times though. She watched out for Sara and Alisha too. She was jumpy though and on edge. Jan noticed it, but didn't say anything. Taylor could get into one of her moods and usually Heather could bring her out of it. Heather wasn't here.

Jan stopped thinking about serious stuff as they started calling up the first people to be auctioned. "You know", she began to her friends. "This trip has been pretty calm and relaxing. Aside from the stuff with Slater Hastings this trip has been just what I needed. No exploding construction equipment."

"Or armored car robberies", Alisha put in.

"Or jail time", Sara said and nearly spilled her drink laughing.

Jan shook her head. Sara was the first of the group to get called on stage to be auctioned. The petite blonde went for a nice sum to a guy Jan knew. Peter Cooke was pretty cool. Sara would have a good time. Taylor was next, and she broke her record from the year before despite the trouble she was having forcing a smile. Jan was a few spots behind her. The lights were bright. The catcalls were loud and the bidding was heated, but in the end Martin DeBraya outbid everybody. Jan's total set a new record for the event. Alisha joked with her when Jan came down from the stage, now the temporary property of Martin DeBraya himself. The girls of his 'harem' were quite jealous of the tall girl who would be spending some time with them that night. She met Martin in person for the first time.

"Ah you are even better looking close up. I'd have to say you're a good investment." He held out his hand. "Martin DeBraya", he announced unnecessarily.

"Jan Caufield." They struck up easy conversation. He was smooth, but not creepy like Taylor had warned. Jan could tell how he wooed beautiful women. He made them feel safe and comfortable and never like a trophy or a piece of meat. Jan only paused their conversation to look at Alisha get purchased. She'd gotten the fourth highest total of the entire event. She'd bared enough cleavage to come in first place, but that spot was Jan's. She wouldn't brag about it, but it did feel pretty damn good.

"Miss Caufield, you have run of the house while I get back to hosting", Martin told her. Jan got a couple of drinks and found Taylor.

"Congrats", Taylor told her cousin.

Jan bowed and smiled. "Thank you Taylor, the once and probably future queen."

Taylor shrugged. "I don't know."

"Oh come on, you might have nipped me today if you weren't a space cadet. What's going through your head right now?"

"I don't know, Jan. I have a weird feeling. I'll be all right, but just be careful."

Jan stopped smiling. "I'm always…", she caught herself. "I'm usually careful. Don't worry about it Taylor. Everything's going to be fine." Jan patted Taylor on the arm then went into the crowd looking for Sara and Alisha. She found them, but they didn't stay long. Alisha's owner was about to go to a party in Miami, and when Sara's buyer heard that he decided to go. There was some club in South Beach that was all the rage. Usually it would have been hard to get in, but the guy who owned the club was here at the party and had just bought Taylor for the night. So in the end a huge group of people decided to head down to Miami. It was a pretty long drive, but they could party on the way there and back. It was a win win for everybody. Even Martin DeBraya decided to go to Miami.

People started leaving. Martin sent most of his harem down to Miami with the club owner, and Taylor. Every woman in the stretched limousine was just as jealous of Taylor as they were of Jan, but Taylor didn't even notice. She found Jan. "Are you coming with us?", she asked. Her voice sounded almost normal, like whatever she'd been going through had run its course.

Jan didn't get a chance to reply. Martin stepped up to her and took Jan by the shoulders. "She's going down with me personally. This young lady is going to be by my side all night." He looked at Taylor and took her by the chin. Most people wouldn't have notice her shutter from head to toe, but Jan did. "I should have bought you too. The two of you are truly the belles of the ball, simply exquisite. There are entire villages of ugly people because God has so much beauty tied up in you two." He chuckled, but Taylor didn't. She just stood there until people started calling her name. Still she didn't respond or move. A couple of girls she knew finally came and pulled Taylor towards the exit.

"Come on Taylor, we have to hurry." Taylor looked at Jan for a long time before her hand went to the cross around her neck. It was a nervous habit. Jan didn't see it. She had already turned and walked away with Mr. DeBraya.

He handed her a drink and Jan took a sip. "So are we going to leave soon? It's a good long drive to Miami from here."

"Who said we're driving?" He paused and turned to one of his men. "Tell Occi to get the helicopter ready. We'll land at the penthouse. It's only a mile or so from there to the club, so tell them to have the car ready for us when we arrive." The man left quickly to do his boss' bidding. When Martin turned around, Jan looked impressed. "It will only take a very few minutes to get the copter ready. In the mean time, enjoy yourself. My house is yours for this night." Martin disappeared down the stairs.

Jan walked around the upstairs. He had all sorts of ancient artifacts up here. Most of them dealt with mythology from all over the world. Jan wasn't an expert, but she could make out artifacts from Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, Near Eastern, and Native American mythology. There were pagan Celtic religious artifacts there as well as far Eastern artifacts as well. His collection was quite extensive and Jan walked around in awe of the craftsmanship of ancient people. There was no mass production so each piece was one of a kind.

She pulled open the double doors that lead to DeBraya's personal office. It didn't look like an office at all. In the low light, Jan wouldn't have even known it was an office at all if she hadn't bumped into the mouse on the desk and the computer monitor had come on. Jan didn't mind that. It gave her more light to look at the ancient fragment of parchment lying on the desk near the computer. It was written in latin. Jan's AP Latin teacher in high school would have been quite disappointed that she wasn't able to read it at first glance. She wasn't going to bother with that. She didn't want to rack her brain, not tonight. She was just about to stand up straight when a voice boomed, "Get out of here. What were you doing?"

Jan turned so quickly that she spilled some of her drink. "Nothing, I was just looking at stuff." She hurried out of the room and the security guy closed the doors behind her. He shadowed her towards a more common area of the house.

"I hope I didn't… I mean I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

The big security guard smiled at Jan. "No, you're fine. Just stay where we can sort of see you."

"Umm okay", Jan agreed. She wouldn't do that again.

"Do it again", Brian urged Heather, who growled and thrust her leg out and slowly brought her arms down in another crab. Her most muscular pushed her body to its limits. Her fists shook. Her muscles bulged like crazy. She poured everything she had into it. She was hulking out before his eyes. She set her teeth on edge, and looked into Brian's camera. Her lips curled slightly as she dug down deep. She let the camera take in her body in all of its glory. Brian was close to her. He could feel the heat of her body. He could feel the power radiating from her bursting muscles. Brian focused on her arm. Heather stopped the crab and flexed her arms. Her delts were so sliced that waves of muscle passed from front to back as she tightened her thick bicep. "Touch it", Heather urged in a breathy voice.

"What?", Brian asked and looked up from his camera. He stared at her arm, but she didn't have to ask him twice. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her upper arm. It was hot to the touch and harder than a gun barrel. He gave her muscle a squeeze. Not a hard one, but it made her tighten her flex. She loved the feel of resistance, of the challenge. It wasn't enough for her muscles. She forced his fingers open. Heather's eyes narrowed and looked Brian in his eyes before she flexed as hard as she ever had. Brian let his camera hang from the strap. He put both hands on her arms and shoulders. He ran them over her smooth skin and unbreakable muscles. He could feel the lust taking over. He'd tried to stay professional, but no man could, not around her. He moved closer to her. They were face to face. His hands moved over her body, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her face. She was so beautiful. She had it all. He moved closer again. Their faces were almost touching, and then they did. Heather took Brian by the face and pulled his head to hers. She tilted her head and kissed Brian deeply. They stayed locked in the passion of the moment. Brian was ready to explode. Heather's tongue slipped past his and just kept going. There was only one part of Brian as hard as Heather's muscles, and it was aching with need. Then Heather broke it off. "Not bad", she told him.

Brian came back to himself and instantly looked around for witnesses. "What… What was that for?"

Heather smiled tenderly at him and took half a step back. She was still close enough for Brian to feel her body, and to see the striations of her muscles. He was in a daze as she began to speak, "I'm sorry for losing my temper earlier. I hope this makes up for it."

"Oh it does. We're even", Brian said happily, wondering where this was leading.

"Good", Heather said softly then turned to retrieve her dress and ruined racquet.

"That's it?" Brian looked at Heather's ass when she bent down to get her things. "You're just going to leave me like this?"

"Yep", Heather answered without turning around.

"That's harsh."

She bounced to a stop. "I have some lotion for you if you need it later." She laughed and continued towards the house. "Goodnight, Brian", she called out.

"Goodnight", he nearly whispered. He sighed and pulled out the memory card like it was pure gold. It wasn't, but the photos on it were. He was so glad that he hadn't gone with everyone else. There was no way anybody at the DeBraya's charity event could have had as much fun as he did that night.

Jan was back downstairs with Martin. He really knew how to make a girl feel important. They were laughing about some of Palm Beach's more peculiar residents when a man came up. "Sir, the copter is ready."

"Very well." He motioned for Jan to go towards the back of the house. It wasn't hard to find the helipad. She could hear the blades even though it was very quiet for a helicopter. He ushered Jan towards the copter, but stopped without getting in.

"You aren't coming?", Jan asked, more disappointed than anything. Martin was such a good host and good company. She wanted to talk to him more on the way down.

"I can't. I have to take a business call. That sort of thing never waits, but I will be in Miami. Have no fears of that."

Jan pouted and stepped into the chopper. "Okay, but don't be long."

"I won't", he assured her. "And you men better take good care of her."

"Yes sir, we will."

They took off and the pilot did a quick circuit around parts of Palm Beach before he started towards Miami. At first Jan had been in the middle of the smallish copter, but she'd requested a seat near the door because of the view. She'd never seen South Florida like this. It was dark out and the lights below almost looked like some sort of puzzle. It was really nice. They were flying at over 3000 feet, but Jan's better than perfect eyesight allowed her to make out details that others would have needed binoculars to see. Their route took them out of the populated areas and into the swamp. Even without much more than moonlight, Jan could see how impressive the wetlands were. She could understand why people would work so hard to preserve them.

"It's beautiful down there isn't it?", the man sitting next to Jan yelled over the sound of the rushing air and whirling blade.

"Oh yeah this is wonderful!", Jan yelled back. "I should have done something like this a long time ago." Jan searched the horizon and she could just make out the lights of Miami in the distance. She was sure that they were still a hundred miles away, but from this high the lights were barely visible. "I can't want to see the skyline of Miami", Jan told him.

She finally turned and looked at him. He wasn't a bad looking guy and Jan could tell that he'd been checking her out while her head was turned. He was probably fantasizing about what he would do to her if he got in her pants. Well that wasn't going to happen.

"I have to ask you a question, Miss Caufield", he said and Jan turned to face him again. The little smirk on his face was gone. "What were you doing looking at Mr. DeBraya's computer?"

"I wasn't", Jan defended herself again. "Like I told the other guy, I got a little carried away looking at the ancient artifacts. That's all."

The man seemed to relax. "So you didn't look at the computer?"

"No", Jan stated strongly. "I never looked at the screen once!"

The man sighed and shrugged his shoulders as if to drop it, before he pushed Jan with all of his might. She flew out the partially opened door. "Mr. DeBraya's not willing to take that chance", the man said as Jan's body left the chopper. A long lingering scream was all that remained of her. "You know what to do", the man told the pilot who quickly altered course.

Jan reached out for anything, trying in vain to grab hold of the air itself. It was all useless. She was falling, faster and faster towards the unseen ground. Fear and sheer terror turned to thoughtless panic as she fell. She screamed and begged and prayed, but only the rush of the wind entered her ears. Never had she felt more helpless and scared. Every comfort of body and thought had been stripped away as she hurled towards the ground below. The wind ripped at her body and her clothes, tearing off parts of her dress as she went. Images of loved ones filled her head like a merciful distraction, as she plunged towards the ground below.

The distraction wasn't enough. Jan felt a tree branch slice across her face. She opened her eyes wide, finally seeing the world rushing up at her like a train out of control. "God help me", were the last words to leave her trembling lips before her fall ended abruptly. Only a single thump and a cloud of dust marked the spot were she'd fallen. The dirt settled. The echo faded, and then the swamp was as it had been before.

... to be continued...

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