by Rayna Stone
Jay had never felt as useless as he did now. He couldn’t stop the attacks against Kat, or predict if they would get worse. And the murder case he was mired in was a complete clusterfuck.
The lead prosecutor and detectives believed that the victim’s ex-boyfriend snapped over their failed reunion and killed her. He could not get on that bandwagon. There was nothing in the man’s profile to suggest he had a violent nature. Then there was the attack itself. Their theory suggested the suspect was in a rage. That was the whole problem. This killer was not in a rage.
He took the time to take her to an abandoned warehouse, bind her, and repeatedly torture and rape her. The majority of the cuts on her body were precise, meant to cause pain, not death. The time the encounter would have taken boggled his mind. This was a very organized killer. The only evidence left on the victim was her ex-boyfriend’s semen, and he admitted that they had sex earlier in the day in the hopes of reconciliation.
If he had killed her in a frenzy, that scene would have been in her fucking apartment, and it would have been a chaotic mess. The profilers and Davis were in agreement with Jay, but the others could not get past the semen evidence. They had nothing else. Nobody could handle the thought that they would be left without a suspect if they discarded their current theory. It was going to give him an ulcer.
When Mac left the room, Davis slumped in his chair. “I’m sorry, man. You might want to hire a bodyguard. Maybe that will get this Suzy bitch to back down.” Yeah, Jay had already considered that. Kitten wouldn’t like it, but he was going to tell Mac to do just that.
“I have someone in mind. We’ll handle it. Something has to shake loose. She cannot possibly be smart enough to keep this up, but I won’t leave kitten unprotected while we wait for her to make a mistake.” He tried to clear his head to work on the case. “Do you have anything new on the Conner case?” He would remember the picture of Cynthia Conner frozen in death forever. Nothing could change that. All they could do was give her justice.
“Nothing. That kid is going to go down for this if something doesn’t come up soon. They won’t back off the trial date. All the jurors are going to see is the DNA evidence. They’ll put him away.” Yeah, clusterfuck.
* * * *
By the time kitten had come home and they had all gotten ready to go to the club, Mac was more than ready for the scene he had planned. The air of tension surrounding them was thick enough to cut with a knife. They all needed this. It was at least one goddamn thing he could do. His hands were tied with Suzy, and Jay’s were tied with his case. Kitten was worried about everyone. He needed to feel a measure of control over something. He would help Jay, and he would talk to Kent about guarding kitten.
Mac walked up to the third floor of the club with a single-minded purpose. Now was not a time for socialization. He was already in Domspace. Once they reached the station he had reserved for their scene, he stopped and pointed to the floor. Kitten gracefully sank to her knees in her slip of a dress. She would remain there while he worked over Jay. He took his play bag from Jay and patiently waited as his slave stripped naked.
Mac checked the suspension bar and cables hanging from the ceiling to ensure that they would hold. Then he began to lay out the tools he would use tonight. This would be a heavy scene for Jay. After he warmed him up with his hand, he’d step him up with his flogger. The rattan cane would break him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need many lashes. Mac really preferred to use the flogger, he could give him a great sting with it, but it wouldn’t be enough tonight.
He motioned Jay over to the bar and placed the suspension cuffs on his wrists. After he clipped him to the bar, he pulled the cable to raise Jay until he was stretched but balanced. “Are you ready, slave?” he murmured in Jay’s ear.
He could see that Jay was already sinking. Breathing deeply and relaxing his muscles, he nodded his assent. Mac stepped back and began to lightly slap at his ass and thighs. With vigorous rubbing at intervals, Mac brought the blood to the surface. He wanted to minimize the bruises Jay would have, though he would leave here with some anyway.
Once he was satisfied with Jay’s skin tone, he began the flogging. He had to step it up with Jay pretty quickly because he’d barely responded to any pain yet. He could see kitten’s eyes widen with the first set of stinging lashes. She would never be able to handle a flogging as intense as this one. But she understood what Mac was doing and would not interfere.
Jay started moaning in time to the slapping sounds of leather on flesh. He was rocking back into the strokes as much as his position would allow. After a particularly hard strike across his ass, he cried out, and Mac dropped the flogger for the cane. He was finally deep enough to let go.
* * * *
Kitten could not believe her eyes. Jay was crying and screaming. God, he looked like he was in hell. And yet the longer it went on, the more replete and serene he seemed. It was almost like she could see the stress pouring from his body. Mac looked like he was battling demons as well. She had never seen him so ferociously determined. He was watching Jay with razor-sharp focus. And Jay was hard as a rock. She had no idea how on earth he could have an erection at a time like this, but he definitely did. Pre-cum was oozing from his slit, and his balls were drawn tight.
She was counting cane strokes and staring at that pearly drop, afraid it would fall to the ground. Somehow that seemed unacceptable to her. On the tenth stroke, Jay threw his head back. He was beyond screaming at this point. His eyes looked so glazed she wasn’t sure he was even feeling much. Mac stepped away from him and nodded to her. She scooted over to Jay as fast as she could and engulfed his cock. Running her tongue from base to tip, she made sure to gather every drop.
Jay moaned in satisfaction as he pumped into her face without losing his balance. She wanted to grip his ass and hold him to her, but she was afraid to hurt him. Instead, she braced herself by holding onto the front of his thighs and sucked him down as far as she could. In less than a minute, he was shooting down her throat. She closed her eyes on her tears. She was a part of his release. She had finally helped him in some way.
Mac threw his things in his bag and grabbed a blanket. He had her wrap Jay up while he freed him of his restraints. They helped him into an aftercare room and placed him facedown on the table. Mac washed him down and rubbed aloe into his skin. He had some welts, but she was pleased to see Mac hadn’t broken any skin. Mac left Jay to recover on the table and collapsed into the rocking chair. He looked beyond exhausted. Kat had an overwhelming urge to give Mac the same tenderness he had just given Jay. He worked so hard to make Jay’s session a success. It was time for someone to ease Mac as well. She lifted her dress off her body and went to him. Without saying a word she opened his leathers and dropped to her knees. He laid his head back on the chair and breathed a sigh of relief. She kissed the head of his cock tenderly and then began to suckle him until he was hard.
Lifting her head, she crawled up onto his lap and straddled him. Mac gripped her waist as she took him in hand and sheathed his length with soft, wet heat. She made love to him with slow strokes and languid swivels until his face tightened. He gripped her hips tighter and lunged into her. When she gasped in pleasure, he swallowed her cry with his kiss. She clenched down hard on his cock and went over with his first jet of cum. She could feel him bathing her heated womb and melted into his arms. Mac held her close and whispered his love in her ear while Jay lay sleeping on the table.
Chapter Nineteen
Kat was at her breaking point. She could feel her life unraveling. No one could continue to live the way they had for three fucking weeks. She felt like she was always looking behind her back, wondering if she was being followed. Worse, even in her own house she felt vulnerable. Her eyes were constantly scanning for “nanny cams” in every nook and cranny. She couldn’t even make love to her men without the lights off. She just couldn’t get over the feeling that they were being watched.
They saw Suzy’s car everywhere they went. Jay even found h
er parked in a turnaround a mile from their home. She felt trapped. How much longer could Suzy do this? And how much longer could they handle it? Kat could barely eat. She hated knowing that everything about who they were was being destroyed. She didn’t feel safe going out or playing at the club. She didn’t want to hang out with Kelly and risk involving her, too. Mac and Jay were doing everything they could to make her feel safe, but they didn’t deserve this. And she felt so guilty. They would still be able to live their life if she had never shown up. Right now, none of them were really living.
At least Jay was feeling better about his case. The prosecutor was finally listening. He admitted he didn’t feel comfortable going to trial without more evidence. He wanted to find a knife or something with the victim’s blood on it. Since nothing was ever found in the suspect’s home, he was nervous to go further. Jay knew they’d have the time now to investigate other avenues.
But Kat was going insane. And Kent following her every move was not helping matters. She knew he was just keeping her safe, but she felt like a toddler. He was by her side whenever she left the house or work. He even followed her into the ladies room at the diner, for God’s sake. He was such a sweetie, too. She felt bad for being so afraid of him at first, but he was getting on her last fucking nerve.
Work was the only place she felt normal. She was too busy to worry about her own life. She had control over how she did her job. It was the only control she had left. She and James had just finished with their last patient and were heading to the little locker room to clean up. “You want to grab a bite with me before I head back here?” he asked.
“No, thanks, I’m beat. My bathtub is calling. I’m going to soak till I prune.”
She walked to her locker and stared at its contents. Her face turned crimson as all her fear and vulnerability rapidly turned to anger. Everything in her locker was slashed to tiny pieces. That was it. She could not stand quietly by and just ignore this anymore. She didn’t care that everyone wanted to tread lightly because they couldn’t pin anything illegal on that bitch. And she really didn’t care if she was a dangerous mental case or not. She was taking Kat’s life from her, and anger replaced every other emotion and all common sense.
James came over to see what she was staring at. “That bitch. That’s it. I’m firing her. I don’t give a shit if she sues us.” He stalked out of the room shouting for Ryan.
She didn’t care what anyone else did anymore. She was going to talk to Suzy, now. Enough was enough. She could be a bitch, too. She needed to stand up for herself. She slammed her locker door and headed out. Ignoring everyone, she walked to her car and drove to Suzy’s house. Kent was riding her bumper. He could try to carry her back to her car when she got there, but he was going to get kicked in the balls if he dared.
They both got out at the same time. “Don’t, Kent. Do not try to stop me. I will have this little talk with Suzy, and you are not stopping me.” She was fuming.
“Kat, listen. Just calm down, and get back in the car. You know you aren’t supposed to approach her. This is a bad idea, honey.” He was trying to placate her. She was done with that.
“No, Kent. I’ve had enough. She isn’t going to stop, and I’m done just letting her call all the shots. You can stand right beside me. I’ll be perfectly safe with you here, but I am definitely ‘approaching’ her right now.” She turned back to the house, Kent muttering expletives behind her.
Suzy opened the door before she could even knock. “Why, Kat! What a surprise. What can I do for you? I was just on my way to work, so please make this quick.”
Her polite tone made Kat even angrier. “Listen, Suzy. I’ve had enough of your games. I may not be able to have you arrested for being a royal bitch, but I can dedicate my life to making you miserable, too. I will see it as my personal community service mission to make sure every single person in this town knows what a head case you are. You won’t be welcome anywhere. No one will give you the time of day. What do you think, Suzy? No more appointments at the spa to maintain your fucking fake hair. No more nights at the club. I sure hope you can cook because you won’t be eating in the diner. Am I really worth all that? You’re never going to get my job or my men, so you might want to think real hard about all the things you could lose.” Kat was out of venom. She needed to get out of here now. She had never threatened anyone before. Though she was still really pissed, she was shaking. Suzy never broke her calm façade. She just stared at her like she could swat her away like a fly. But Kat was serious. She would do everything in her power to ostracize this psycho if she didn’t lay off now.
Kent was calling Mac, probably to give him the play-by-play. “Get your ass in your car and get to the house now. I cannot believe you threatened her, Kat. I thought you were going to ask her to stop, not give her an ultimatum. Jesus. Mac is going to kill me.” She felt bad about putting him in this situation, but didn’t regret it. She had to do something to let that woman know she was not a mouse to be played with.
* * * *
As soon as she got home, Mac was running out the door. “Kitten, what in hell were you thinking?”
“Do not use your Dom voice on me, Mac. We are not in the bedroom. We haven’t really been in the bedroom for three fucking weeks. I can’t take it anymore. She slashed all my things, Mac. We are never going to have a real life like this. I can’t live this way!” Her voice was reaching its hysterical pitch.
“Okay, baby.” He held her close. “I’m sorry. I know this has been a nightmare for you, honey. But we are going to get through it. I don’t care what we have to do to make you feel safe again, kitten. We’ll do it. We’ll move if you want. The only thing I cannot handle is losing you.”
“Oh, Mac. I don’t want to move. This is my home now. This is home for you and Jay. I don’t want to leave our life or our friends. But she needs to stop, Mac.”
“Okay, kitten. Here’s what we’re going to do. Jay was called to Denver. They think they found a second victim.”
Kat pulled back in shock. “A second victim?”
“Yeah, since the suspect is in jail, this could exonerate him. Jay went to attend the autopsy. If there are enough similarities, he thinks he can get the prosecutor to release the original suspect today. We’re going to meet him at a hotel in the city tonight. I want you out of town for a few days. Suzy is being fired right now, and since you just threatened her, I don’t want you anywhere near her until we see how she reacts. James is going to suggest she leave town since she won’t likely find anyone to hire her here.
“I’ve got to go to the club and handle a few things. I’ll make sure everyone is alert for Suzy and get coverage with the other owners and managers so Jay and I can stay out of town until it’s safe.
“I’m sending Kent to Suzy’s place to watch her until we’re out of town. I don’t want her following us. You need to go pack for us for a few days. We’ll leave when I get back, okay? You do not leave the house. I’m setting the alarm as soon as you’re in, and you stay there, understand?”
She thought about it a minute. He was right. It would probably be best to take off for a few days. They could lay low and wait to see what Suzy’s reaction was from a distance. She could admit, being in a hotel room sounded nice. No chance Suzy could get there in advance and set up her goddamn cameras. She could actually see her men when she made love to them tonight.
“Okay, Mac. I’ll get our things together. I love you, Mac. I didn’t want to cause more problems…I just wanted them to end.” Her voice wobbled a little.
“I know, baby. I’m not mad at you, kitten. You just scared me. I love you, too, baby.” He kissed her forehead and followed her to the house to lock her in.
* * * *
An hour later, Kat had everything the three of them would need for at least a week. She’d set up a timed feeder for Sampson and would call Kelly tomorrow to come check on him daily. Poor Sampson. He saw the suitcases and took off. Yeah, they were not moving. Her cat would draw the line at three mov
es in less than six months.
Running around the house to make sure everything was turned off and locked up, she felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket. Ryan’s name was on the display. He was supposed to be at the club with James. “Hey, Ryan. What’s up?”
“Kat, I need some help. Kelly just called about Carson. He’s vomiting blood and won’t get up. I’m afraid he got into some kind of poison. Her gardener just used insecticide and rat poison. If he left any around, Carson could be in serious trouble. She can’t lift him, so I’m heading over there to pick him up. I need an extra pair of hands. Mac said as long as I pick you up myself, it’s safe enough. He’ll meet you at the clinic when he’s done at the club.” She could hear the sounds of traffic outside his car.
“Jesus. Yeah, just get here quickly. I’m ready.” She grabbed her purse and ran for the door. They were close to the club, it shouldn’t take him long.
* * * *
Kelly was frantic, and Carson was a mess. He looked like he was on death’s door. “Tell me he’ll be okay, Kat. He’s an asshole of a dog, but I love him anyway.” She was trying her best not to cry, but Kat could tell she was really worried.
“We need to get him to the clinic, Kel. I need you to search your property. Any information we can get on what he might have ingested will be helpful. Look for poisons or fertilizer, anything that isn’t normally around, okay? We’re going to do our best, you know that.” It seemed Kelly understood Kat would be lying if she promised any more than that. Ryan lifted the whining dog up to the cab of his truck, and Kat squeezed in. They were speeding down the street. Neither wanted to acknowledge that it didn’t look good for Carson.
Kat ran to unlock the clinic and get the trauma room ready while Ryan struggled in the truck. She needed an IV and to set up the lab equipment to analyze Carson’s blood. As soon as she saw Ryan carry Carson into the room, she took off to get all the supplies she’d need.