50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Chapter Fifty-Two

    Brian helped to hoist Destiny up so she could clumsily throw one leg over the horse, another chestnut mare with a mane glossy enough to be featured in a Pantene commercial. Destiny watched as Brian spoke in soothing tones to the horse while petting its flank. The caring and tenderness he showed to the gorgeous creature was endearing. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

    He lifted his eyes while whispering to the horse and met her gaze, a slow smile creeping onto his face. After giving the horse one more pat, he gripped what he'd explained was the saddle horn, the stub at the front of a horse saddle. Then he swung himself up onto the saddle, seating himself in front of her.

    The horse shuffled a few steps and tossed its head.

    Destiny instinctively wrapped her arms around Brian's waist. She clung to him for dear life, her anxiety level spiking while the horse moved restlessly.

    Brian lifted the reins. "You okay?" he called to her over his shoulder.

    "Yeah, I just got freaked out a little," she said shakily, readjusting her positioning on the saddle.

    "Just hold onto me."

    "Is that why you chose horse riding?" she teased. "So I'd have to hold onto you?"

    He laughed. "I'm not that manipulative. But even though we've spent a lot of time together, I feel like you still only have a glimpse into who I am. There is more to me than my Graham Enterprises executive title, and more to me than the feelings that I have for you. I wanted to show you a little bit of that today." With that, he tugged on the reins.

    The horse neighed and eased into a slow trot.

    "That was pretty smooth," she praised.

    "Wasn't it, though?"

    She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. As the horse continued to move forward, Destiny could understand what Brian meant when he said that his time spent here was some of the most peaceful he'd ever experienced. While atop the horse with nothing but wide open space around them, she felt one with nature. She felt worlds away from Toronto, worlds away from the concrete jungle that Graham Enterprises was the epicenter of. It was moments like these that Destiny found it impossible to doubt that God existed. When she was surrounded with beauty this immense, this moving, it felt like some higher power had to be behind it all. It was hard to imagine beauty like this being accidental. With a content sigh, she leaned the side of her face on Brian's back and stared off towards a sun that was fast dipping into the horizon.

~~~~~~

    Harry Palmer lived in a two-story, brick Colonial-style house. The lawn was perfectly manicured, complete with a timed sprinkler system that was triggered just as Palmer's driver-equipped black SUV pulled into the driveway.

    Aubrey sat in the backseat, sandwiched between two glorified babysitters who each had the look of a failed professional wrestler. Impossibly tall, impossibly muscular, and not big on conversation.

    The two men, one Caucasian and one of Jamaican descent, opened the back doors and got out. The Jamaican roughly grabbed Aubrey by the arm and dragged him out of the car.

    The third bodyguard opened the driver side door and stepped down. Palmer, who'd been riding in the passenger seat, did the same.

    Zaya pulled a pearl white Mercedes alongside the curb and got out of the car.

    Palmer turned to the bodyguards standing at Aubrey's back. "Take him to the basement. Tie him up."

    Aubrey struggled against the Jamaican's tight grip. The entire flight and the entire walk through the airport, he'd looked for opportunities. While sitting alongside the two gym rats in the back of the SUV, he'd considered all options. He had come to the conclusion that with them around, there were no opportunities. It had been his hope that the bodyguards, or contract killers, or whoever these guys were, would be relieved of their duties after the airport - but of course, Palmer was smarter than that.