A Criminal Investigation Exposes Powerful Alliances. But Willow Becomes Free & Legal.
By BurntRedstone. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.
Dan felt completely inadequate for the task of healing Willow. He knew he could love her and was surprised that he was already starting to feel that way towards her. He reminded himself that they'd only met the day before and there'd been a lot of intense emotion involved in that short time. Before he started throwing words like love around he needed to get some perspective. Difficult to get when her soft body was clinging to him.
[[MORE]]Based on her account she'd been held captive by five people and had been raped and tortured multiple times by them and raped by many others starting from a very early age. Now she was with him. Was she better off? He'd already had sex with her, multiple times in the very short time he'd known her. And he'd killed for her as they had. He was willing to grant that in his case at least it really had been kill or be killed and her life was at risk at the time. That said it was easy for him to see how similar he was to previous 'masters'. God, his skin crawled when he thought of himself in those terms. Maybe that was the difference? He didn't want to be her master. He wanted her to be a whole person. He wasn't sure that was going to be possible considering her past. But he knew he would do what he could to help her regain as much as she could. He felt so protective of her! He wasn't clear where that came from but it certainly didn't seem harmful to her so he felt okay about letting her see that.
The first thing he could do to help her was get her identity back. With the information he had an investigator should be able to connect the dots to get back to the start. Then he could get her birth certificate, then a passport, an identity. Maybe it was just his paranoia but he wanted a discreet investigation. There had been at least one police officer involved in her abduction and Percy's gang was not going to be too friendly to someone who killed one of their members. He was again over his head but he knew someone that could help.
"I could stay here all day holding you but I need to make a call and send a note. I have to report Percy's death to the police or things could get messy. And I have to contact Andrei Noskov, the man who owns this house, to ask a favor. I thought we'd cook up a frozen pizza for dinner tonight. Can I ask you to go to the walk-in freezer in the garage and pick one out? They're on the rack to the left and there should be a supreme on top but any will do." She stood and headed off to the garage.
Dan walked into the communications room and checked the signal strength. The storm seemed to be winding down but it still had the potential for affecting the line of sight antenna. He'd prefer not to use the satellite phone to contact the police as he wasn't sure how long he'd be on the line. He used the PC to dial up the nearest state police station and waited for someone to answer. He heard some weird stuttering on the line so he knew his connection was fairly weak. When someone finally answered he asked for Officer Benson or Officer Duncan as he'd met them and his instincts said they were okay. Not the best gauge but it was what he had. Benson was gone for the day but Duncan was just coming on shift so Dan was put through to his desk.
"Officer Duncan." He sounded tired.
"Hello, my name's Dan Bishop. I live at the Noskov Estate off Mountain Road 23 up on Peacemill Peak. I need to report a traffic accident, a shooting, and a fatality."
"Sorry, Mr. Bishop, this seems to be a bad line. Did you say a fatality?" Officer Duncan asked.
"Yes, a fatality. Sorry about the poor connection. The line of sight towers up here on the mountain are having some trouble with the storm."
"Can you give me the details before we lose our connection?" the officer asked. The connection must have sounded worse on his end.
"Sure. I was driving back to the house yesterday when that storm hit. I was just about back to the house when I noticed someone hung up on one of the trees hanging over the edge of the cliff. I stopped and went to see if I could help. There was a trike motorcycle on a ledge 50 feet down and a badly injured man. He'd gone through the guardrail. I tried to climb up to the woman stuck in the tree but the man woke up and started shooting at us. He shot at me and then he hit the woman twice. Once in the arm and once on the side of her helmet. I had to drop the broken guardrail on him to stop him from shooting her. He fell to the bottom of the gorge with his motorcycle. He's dead. Did you get all that?"
There was silence for a bit and Dan thought he'd lost the connection when Officer Duncan's voice came back on. "Yeah, I got it. Is there any access to that gorge?"
"I don't think so. It's very narrow and the river in it is pretty wild most of the year. I have a buddy with a Sikorsky cargo helicopter that might be able to lower someone with a line from above but it would be a long hairy ride down. Anyway, I can send you the GPS coordinates. I had the entire area mapped when we were building this place."
"What about the woman?" Officer Duncan asked.
"I got her back to the house before she froze to death and patched her wounds which appear to be pretty minor. She's suffering from malnutrition and her weight is very low. She may have some memory loss as she has been unable to recall her name. She did remember the name of the man she was with. Percy Jackson. From the marking I saw on his jacket I think he may have been a member of a motorcycle gang, maybe the Blood Brothers. I have no idea what he was doing trying to drive his bike up this mountain road in a snow storm. Makes no sense to me."
"Damn, that complicates things considerably. The Feds are going to want in on this. When can you come in for a statement?" the officer asked.
"In about four months," Dan replied.
"What?" came the shocked reply.
"Sorry, but the mountain road is closed for the season. It will remain blocked with snow until the spring. We're completely snowed in. I can get extra supplies air dropped in but us getting out is up to Mother Nature," he explained.
"OK, but I can reach you at this number?"
"As long as the storms aren't interfering with the connection, yes," Dan answered.
"Thank you Mr. Bishop. I'll be contacting you once I find out how the Feds want to handle this."
After signing off Dan looked over to see Willow standing in the doorway watching him. He gave her a smile which she returned. "I just have to send a note to Andrei to fill him in. Can you come over here a minute?"
She approached him and sat on his lap when he indicated he wanted her to sit. He turned on the webcam on the PC and they posed for a quick snapshot. Then he asked her to look into the camera and took a close up of just her face.
"I'm going to send these along to Andrei. The family is going to be very curious about you and Andrei will need the close up for his investigator. I'm going to ask him to have them do some discreet searches based on the information you gave me. One thing you should know, as Andrei is a Russian national, all of my communications with him are very likely monitored by Homeland Security. I'm not worried about it but I just wanted you to know as well. Okay?" he asked.
Willow nodded at him with wide eyes. He just smiled at her with wonder at how good she made him feel. He gently pulled her face down to his and kissed her tenderly. She moaned a little and hugged him fiercely. After he returned her hug he had her stand again so he could prepare the email for Andrei. Willow sat on the floor beside his chair and rested her head on his thigh. He was going to protest but she looked so content he turned back to the keyboard. Once he had described the events of the past two days (omitting the racy bits) and included the chronology he'd gotten from Willow he completed the note to Andrei, attached the images and sent it off. He turned back to Willow and ran his fingers through her hair. He felt her purr in pleasure at his touch. He tucked a tablet PC under his arm, helped lift Willow to her feet then they walked back into the kitchen. Dan started the oven, slid the pizza inside, and set the timer. Dan took her hand and they walked into the living room. They sat together on one of the sofas and snuggled under a blanket while they waited for the pizza.
"Speaking of comfortable..." he smiled and continued "I think we'd better order you some clothes and other items you may need."
Willow looked out the window at the continuing blizzard and back at him. "How?" was all she could say.
Dan smiled at her and pulled a tablet PC from under the blanket. "Through the magic of the Internet!" he said with a flourish. All he got for his theatrics was a puzzled expression. "Okay, I'll let you in on the secret. We order stuff and get it delivered to my buddy Wally's place. Then he delivers it by air drop in the meadow just past the small forest to the east of the house. Wally's a pilot and enjoys the challenge of precision payload delivery. I'll set up the target and he drops the delivery bundle on it. If he's within 3 feet of the target I owe him a beer. If not, he owes me one."
Willow was still looking at him like he was a little nuts so he just flipped on the tablet and proceeded to load up the webpage for an online clothing retailer. First he had to figure out her size. He found the help page and saw how he needed to determine her measurements.
He gave Willow the tablet and rushed off to the workshop where he grabbed a cloth tape measure. Granted it had a one hundred foot spool and was used for more industrial purposes but it would work. He grabbed the pencil and pad on the way back to Willow and asked her to stand. Using the tape measure he recorded her measurements on the pad and Willow had a good giggle at how flustered Dan got when he had to measure her for a bra.
Now that he had the details out of the way Dan took Willow through the webpages where she could see the clothes. Dan watched her face to see if she liked any of the clothes but when she didn't react to any of them he started to suspect she didn't realize what they were doing.
"Willow, do you understand I want to buy you some clothes? Have you ever gone shopping for clothes?" he asked.
She glanced at him and shook her head.
"So people just brought you clothes and you wore them whether you liked them or not?" he asked.
She nodded but had a puzzled look on her face.
"OK, I'd like you to try imagining yourself in one of the outfits you see on this page and let me know which one you think might look good on you and be nice to have."
Willow looked at the models on the page and turned her eyes back to him. "Which ones do you like?" she asked.
That stopped him short. He realized that she couldn't make this kind of decision. She'd been basically a living dress up doll for quite possibly most of her life and only wore clothes at the whim of her 'masters' to please them.
Well, he wasn't going to make her feel bad about it now. He turned his eyes back to the page and studied what the models were wearing. He finally clued in that he had no idea how to dress a woman. Guys were easy; undershirt, shirt, underwear, pants, socks and you're done. Mixing and matching? Please. He needed help. Female help.
He heard a chirping and realized he had an incoming call on the PC. He got up again and hustled into the communications room. Willow was right behind him. He sat and she sunk to kneel next to his chair. He suppressed his annoyance as her reaction might just be an automatic reaction for her. He'd talk to her about it later. Dan answered the call and Kira Noskov's face appeared on the screen. At her elbow was her youngest daughter, Katya. The picture was choppy as the signal was weak but that didn't diminish the brilliance of the woman's smile as she greeted him.
"Hello Daniel! We received your message and I wanted to call you immediately to congratulate you two! You make a beautiful couple! I've been telling you for years to find yourself a woman. You've finally taken my advice!" she laughed.
Dan realized that Kira read more into the photo he'd sent of Willow sitting on his lap than he'd intended. He looked down at Willow and saw the smile on her face and knew he couldn't try to explain it now. "Thank you Kira! And hello Katya!"
"Svetlana is crying, DanDan. She is not happy," Katya said, using her pet name for him.
Kira looked pained then apologetic. "Not to worry Daniel, Svetlana has been holding onto her hero worship too long. She will grow from this and her tears will dry."
Dan's expression froze and twitched as he realized he'd fucked up again and hurt the young girl unintentionally. He knew she'd had a crush on him. They had a strong bond from what they'd gone through together. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt her." His PTSD surfaced with a series of twitches.
Kira's voice grew firm, "Daniel, stop this. You are not responsible for Svetlana's happiness or tears." She turned to Katya and said something quietly to the girl who vanished out of the frame. Willow got worried at Dan's stricken expression so she stood and took his face in her hands and turned his face to hers so she could look into his eyes. He was slightly dazed but his eyes came back into focus when they were looking into the vibrant green depths of Willow's eyes. He heaved a sigh and came back to the present.
Kira witnessed the transformation with a satisfied smile on her face. There were tears in the corners of her eyes as she saw her friend pulled back from an attack. She was convinced that this young woman was just the medicine her Daniel had been missing all of these years. She didn't approve of his self-imposed solitude but he hadn't listen to her protests. She didn't know anything else about this woman but she was good for him, this much she knew.
Svetlana appeared in the picture and took in the shaken expression on Dan's face and the beautiful woman holding him. Her jealousy flared terribly to see another woman touching Dan. She'd vowed she'd marry him so many years ago when he'd saved her and her family. But she couldn't bear the thought that she'd caused him pain. Above all else she knew the scars he carried from that day and how long he'd struggled with them.
"Da, Daniel! I am so pleased to see you looking well! Please know that I am well and happy for you! Do not worry about me! I have many friends here and many boyfriends- I mean many who would like to be my boyfriend!" she corrected herself before her mother could protest. She looked at the annoyed expression on her mother's face then gave Daniel one more forced smile and left the picture."
Kira came back into the picture. "If there is anything we can do Daniel please let us know."
Dan pulled himself together and looked at Willow with gratitude. "First off, I'd like to introduce you officially to Willow."
Willow smiled uncertainly at the screen but Kira graciously took the conversation from there. "Hello Willow! My name is Kira. I am so pleased to meet you!"
Uncertain what to do as she'd never spoken to anyone over a computer before much less been allowed to speak without permission Willow just nodded her head towards the screen. Dan rubbed her back and felt her jump slightly at his touch then she climbed up and snuggled on his lap.
Dan was uncomfortable with such a display in front of Kira but couldn't scold her for the damage that might do. Kira seemed to be enjoying his blush as she wore a big grin on her face. Then he thought of something. "There is one thing I would like to ask of you actually. I have no clothes for Willow here at the house and we're snowed in. I was going to order some online and have Wally airdrop them but I have no idea what to order. I've never had to buy women's clothes before and Willow hasn't ever chosen her own clothes. If I gave you the credentials for my online account could I ask you to shop for the clothes she'll need for the next 4 months?"
"That I can do! Send me her measurements and I will place the order," Kira said with a smile.
"Thank you so much! Please speak to Svetlana for me! You know I think the world of her, and Irina and Katya! I would never do anything to hurt them!" he blurted and glanced awkwardly at the blond curled on his lap.
Kira made placating gestures. "They know you do and they all love you for it. Some a little too strongly. Not to worry Daniel. Because they love you they understand. I will speak with you soon as will Andrei. Goodbye, Willow!" and she disconnected.
Dan pulled the keyboard towards him and banged out a quick email to Kira with the measurements and the details of where to get the secure credentials. He maintained an online repository for such details and he knew she had the credentials to access that. Once that was sent he pushed back his chair and stood up with Willow in his arms. She snuggled her face into his neck. He carried her into the kitchen and checked on the timer for the pizza. It was almost ready. Dan walked over to the kitchen table and set Willow down on a chair. She seemed reluctant to let go but when he asked her to she did immediately.
He set the table and poured some drinks. The oven chimed and he took the pizza out. He ran the cutter over the pizza to ensure the slices were separated and brought it over to the table setting it between them.
"If there are any toppings you don't like feel free to pick them off," he said.
Apparently Willow had a lot of experience with pizza so Dan was free to just watch her devour slice after slice. Finally she pushed back from the table and rubbed her tummy which showed just the slightest bump.
Dan tidied up and wrapped up a few sliced that were left over. These would be good for her mid-morning snack tomorrow.
It was still early so he asked Willow if she'd like to see a movie. She got a strange look in her eye which Dan wasn't able to interpret but she nodded hesitantly. Dan grabbed the tablet PC and pulled up the listing of movies they had on the house server. He thought he would start out really light. He had no idea what she liked or what kind of movies she had been exposed to. This would be a good experiment. He took her hand and led her through the living room grabbing up the blanket they'd left on the couch. Once they were comfortably seated on their recliners in the theater room he used the tablet to activate the projector.
She watched the screen with some hesitancy until she saw it was an animated film about dogs. She glanced over questioningly.
"Have you ever seen 'Lady and the Scamp'?" he asked
She shook her head, eyes wide and riveted to the screen.
Dan leaned back and enjoyed the movie. He especially enjoyed watching the innocence in Willow's face as she became thoroughly involved with the story. He saw her delight, her tears, and once heard her laugh out loud before she clamped her hand over her mouth and looked at him nervously. He only smiled so she turned back to the film. When it was over she was looking at him and practically vibrating with excitement. He smiled and gestured for her to come closer. She leapt from her chair and climbed onto his to smother his face with kisses.
"So you liked that?" he chuckled.
She nodded vigorously with a big grin on her face.
"I'm going to read in bed before I go to sleep. I suppose we should discuss sleeping arrangements," he said.
Willow looked a little nervous.
"From the fact that you snuck into my bed this afternoon, may I assume you would prefer to not sleep in your own room? I want you to know that I won't be offended, hurt, angry, or disappointed if you would like to have your very own room and sleep in your own bed. I respect your need for privacy and personal space. I also want you to know that the offer for having your own room will ALWAYS be there even if you don't choose to do it right away."
Willow's voice got really quiet. "May I stay with you?"
"Yes," he simply said.
She beamed at him and rubbed her body against his.
He could feel himself responding so he sat up and lifted her to her feet. They walked out of the theater and made their way back to the master bedroom. He put new sheets on the bed and dug out a long t-shirt Willow could use for pajamas. He was going to run out of clothes himself if he had to share so much of this wardrobe with her.
He slipped off his clothes and stepped into some shorts he slept in. When he turned back Willow was in the t-shirt and had her dirty clothes in her arms. They put their clothes in the bin and brushed their teeth together, an activity which seemed to delight Willow.
Soon they were tucked into the bed, he reading the news from his tablet and she stretched out against his side. Dan managed to read for an hour before his eyes grew weary and he put the tablet away. He slipped down under the covers and Willow snuggled in after looking at him for permission. He'd have to work on that. Then they drifted off.
Chapter 4
Dan arranged with Wally to do some deliveries for him. His friend was also delighted to hear his best buddy had found some female companionship. The pilot made two separate drops over three days, the first being extra groceries to tide them over until spring thaw and the second was the clothes for Willow.
Kira really came through with the shopping spree and Willow was set. So many beautiful outfits and some seriously sexy underwear. Willow delighted in trying them on for Dan to see and he delighted in taking them off. She enjoyed that too.
A few weeks later Andrei got back to Dan to say his investigator was having some difficulty following the cold trail but was still working on it. The people in question had lived secretive lives and even the information on their deaths was often limited.
Officer Duncan called back and said that the Fed's would wait for Dan and Willow to come in for an interview.
Dan worked on two projects for customers during those months and was very pleased with his productivity. While Willow was often a distraction and a delightful one, he was far more focused when he was working. His clients were very happy as well.
He determined that she needed a hobby. She was fascinated when he built prototypes for his projects in the metalworking shop so he started teaching her how to work with metal, including welding. She showed an immediate aptitude for it and began building small sculptures with pieces of scrap metal as practice. Once he was confident that she understood and followed all of the safety precautions he would leave her to her creating and go back to his work. She wouldn't stay away from him for long though. She'd pop her head in to see him every 30 minutes or so and the anxious look would slip from her face when he smiled her way.
The next few months flew by. Dan kept up the calorie and nutrition rich diet for Willow, combined with some light exercises and she responded very well. Soon the gauntness left her features and her curves began to fill out.
Sooner than he expected the winter months passed and the snows began to recede. Spring rains began in earnest and did their best to wash away the rest of the snow. Dan received notification from the highway patrol that the mountain road would officially open in a week. This gave him time to make preparations and setup appointments with the various government officials in the city to begin the process of building Willow a new identity.
Andrei had gotten back to him with the disappointing news that his investigator had been unable to identify Willow's mother. There had been a surprising number of unidentified dead Jane Doe's in the rough geographic area and time frame the investigator had been given. There was a good possibility that the woman had been renting her apartment on a cash basis from the original owners so there were no records. There were no work records they could trace back either so he'd reached a dead end.
Dan sat down with Willow to discuss next steps. They sat on a couch in the living room before the fireplace watching the flames dance across the logs. He asked her how she wanted to proceed. Willow just asked him what he thought she should do. She had no emotional connection to her past. What she'd gone through had scoured that away.
Dan held Willows hands as he looked into her eyes and felt himself falling into their depths. She'd become such an important part of his life over the past few months. He'd come to the realization that he could no longer see his life without her in it. He was still dealing with his PTSD though the flash back episodes were less frequent now than they'd ever been. Dan was amazed that this beautiful, damaged woman could make his own broken mind feel so strong and complete.
"I've set up some appointments to get you identity documentation so we can get you a passport so you can travel with me. It hinges on your having a name."
"My name is Willow," she smiled at him and he felt his heart skip. He really did love this woman!
"If you would have me, I would like you to be Willow Bishop. Will you be my wife?" he asked holding his breath.
Willow's eyes went large and her mouth opened in surprise. Tears welled up in those beautiful eyes and she flung herself against his chest as the tears burst forth. "Yes! Oh, yes!" she wailed.
They clung to each other and shared tears and kisses, both feeling more complete than they'd ever felt apart.
Once they'd got control over their tears they sat back on the couch holding hands and watched the fire. "Normally I'd present you with an engagement ring but there's a shortage of jewelry stores in this neighborhood," Dan said, smiling.
"You don't need to buy me a ring," Willow whispered, still in shock over Dan's proposal.
"Yes I do and you will have the most lovely and dazzling ring we can find but it's still going to pale next to your beauty," Dan insisted.
She snuggled into his arm and purred.
The following week was especially warm for spring. They climbed into the Jeep for the first time since he'd rescued her from the cliff. They made their way carefully down to the road and drove to the city. Willow had no memory of her first time through this route as she'd been in a far worse physical and mental state on that trip.
Their first errand was to meet with the police and the Feds. He'd made arrangements in advance so they were expecting them.
Dan and Willow were ushered into a conference room where they sat holding hands. Two men entered the room shortly after them.
Officer Duncan was a big man. Peppery hair cropped short and broad shoulders with a barrel chest, he looked like he'd be better fit as a lumberjack than wearing a suit in an office. The man next to him was so average your eyes would pass over him on the street and not even register he was there. Grey suit, brown hair, medium height and build, regular features, he was a study in neutral. Officer Duncan introduced him as Special Agent Joel Gregson. The only thing that seemed off character was the dainty gold pinkie ring the man wore. For some reason it raised the hairs on the back of Dan's neck.
To Be Continued..
By BurntRedstone for Literotica
