Ink growled. “Damned if I know.”
“Language,” Duke growled. He was trying to get them to watch their swearing around Sunny. It wasn’t exactly going well. “Well, there’s one way of finding out. The girl. We get to her. Question her.”
His hands clenched into fists at the idea of seeing her again. Talking to her. He wasn’t sure he could question her without getting mad. And he didn’t like the idea of anyone else questioning her.
He didn’t want them to frighten her.
Yes, he was aware he was a mess of contradictions. He was furious with her. Yet, the idea of her being frightened tore him up inside.
She’d really gotten under his skin.
“When Brody finds an address, two of us will go get her, question her,” Reyes said coolly. “We’ll get the answers we need.”
“Don’t hurt her.” The words were wrested from him. But he couldn’t not say them.
Reyes’ eyes grew arctic. “Not in the habit of hurting women, but it sounds like this bitch might have it coming.”
Sunny made a pained noise and Duke sent Reyes a glare.
Reyes sighed. “There’s a reason why we don’t usually bring women to these meetings.”
“Just because you’d keep any woman of yours locked in a bullet-proof, fire-proof bunker doesn’t mean all of us like to keep our woman in the dark about everything,” Duke replied.
Reyes just grunted. The man actually looked satisfied at the thought of keeping his woman locked down that tight.
Weird asshole.
Mind you, there was a part of Ink that got it. If he had someone he loved, who loved him back, who meant everything to him, he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.
Still, unlike Reyes, he knew that barring an apocalypse or some other life-threatening catastrophic event that any woman would castrate him if he tried to keep her locked down like that.
“I’m not protesting over the idea of you questioning her,” Sunny said with a strange glint in her eyes. “If she’s out to hurt Ink then we need to do whatever we have to in order to protect him.”
Everyone turned to gape at her.
Razor blinked and leaned forward. “Is that our sweet, gentle Sunny talking? The one who likes pink things and rhinestones and tea parties?”
Sunny went bright red. And this time Duke’s growl was real.
“No insult meant, darling, you know I love your tea parties.” Razor winked at her.
She groaned and buried her face in Duke’s chest. He rubbed his hand up and down her back while giving everyone a warning look.
Then she raised her face with a sigh. “Just because I’m not some rough talking, beer-guzzling grunting biker doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t protect the people that I care about.”
Although he loved her loyalty, the idea of her trying to protect him made him go cold.
Suddenly, he agreed with Reyes. Which was weird. But women shouldn’t be brought to these meetings. Whatever was going on here, Sunny should in no way be involved.
Duke gave him a nod as though sensing what was on his mind. There was no way Duke would ever allow Sunny to be in the position where she’d have to protect one of them.
“But does no one else think there’s something not quite right here?” she asked.
“The whole thing isn’t fucking right,” Ink said.
“Watch your language,” Duke snarled.
Sunny sighed. “I hear worse every time you leave me in the bar with Jewel.”
“Who’s been swearing around you?” Duke demanded.
Christ. Did he think he could stop the whole bar from swearing when Sunny was around?
She rolled her eyes. “Well, Jewel for a start…that woman has a hell of a mouth on her.”
Jason snorted with laughter.
Reyes sighed and ran his hand over his face. “Jewel’s language aside, what are you saying, Sunny?”
“It’s just she told Ink that it wasn’t all a lie. She asked you not to hate her. They don’t seem like things someone who was trying to…to hurt you would do.”
“She lied to me, Sunny.” He tried to keep his voice gentle, but he didn’t know how she could defend Betsy. “She pretended to care about me, to be a sub, to be a Little just to get close to me. Probably so she could plant evidence to get me framed for killing Senator Robins.”
“How long have you been a Daddy Dom, Ink?” Sunny asked.
He narrowed his gaze. “I started going to clubs when I was twenty, figured out I was a Daddy Dom about a year after leaving the Special Forces, so around six years. Why?”
“And you’re not able to spot someone pretending to be submissive? To be a Little?”
He frowned, thinking that through. “Look, so she was a good actress, all right? I’ve been fucking fooled all the way around.”
And boy did he hate to admit it.
“So if it was all lies, if she was some actress sent to seduce and betray you then why warn you?” Sunny asked quietly.
They were all silent.
“She’s got a point,” Razor said, watching him carefully. “Did you have any clue about any of this before this note?”
“No,” he admitted.
“So she could have continued to get close to you, planted false evidence or whatever it was she was going to do, then disappear from your life, leaving you with the fallout,” Razor mused.
He tightened his jaw. “Doesn’t make her innocent.”
“No, but we don’t know why she did all this,” Sunny said quietly. “Sometimes, you do wrong things for the right reason.”
Duke groaned. “Sunny, the Fox isn’t a secret good guy. He’s an assassin for hire. He didn’t kill the senator because Robins was an asshole who was raping and murdering young girls. He did it because he was paid to.”
Sunny gave Duke a look. “He’s not all bad. He saved my life, kept me safe and he made sure you all had an alibi. Well, except for Ink.”
Ink shook his head. “He had no way of knowing I’d stay behind to co-ordinate. I don’t think this has anything to do with the Fox. He doesn’t need to set me up to take the fall. Even if someone knew it that he was the one who murdered the senator how would they find him? The guy is a ghost. And why me?”
“Unless he’s somehow using this to have a hold over us,” Razor pointed out.
“He already has that,” Jason rumbled. “Any of us speak, he’ll come after us. We know he can get to us.”
“He won’t hurt any of you,” Sunny said fiercely. “He knows how much that would upset me.”
And that was likely the only reason the Fox would never come after them for what they knew. It would upset Sunny.
“He also knows we’ve got no reason to tell anyone what he did,” Reyes said. “We wanted the senator taken out as well. Sick fuck deserved to die.”
He did.
“Doubt this has anything to do with the Fox,” Duke said. “We need to know who Betsy is working with. And then we can figure out why she might have warned you.”
“Maybe she fell for you,” Sunny said quietly. “Maybe she changed her mind because she came to care for you.”
Before he could answer that, there was a knock on his door.
“Yeah?” he called out.
Brody opened the door and stepped into the room. Tall and lanky, his hair always looked like it was badly in need of a cut. His baggy T-shirt had the picture of a power button on it.
He pushed up his glasses, looking around at everyone in surprise.
“Brody, you know all the guys.”
His tech guy nodded nervously. He was always nervous around other people.
“And this is Sunny. She’s Duke’s.”
Sunny waved at Brody, smiling. His cheeks warmed. Ink waited for him to talk, but he just stood there. Finally, he sighed. “Brody? Did you find her?”
“What? Oh yeah.” Brody tore his gaze from Sunny to Ink. He handed him the tablet he was carrying.
Ink looked down at the stats. Elizabeth
Victoria McClain. Twenty-nine years old. Born to Roger and Catherine McClain. There were some stats on the parents. Nothing much of interest. Catherine died when Betsy was twenty from breast cancer. Was Betsy keeping an eye on her health? Breast cancer ran in families.
He pushed that thought aside. Not his problem. The father was…
“He’s living in Bozeman?”
“What? Oh, you mean the dad?” Brody nodded, his hair flipping forward onto his forehead. “Separated from the mother. I took a quick look at him. He’s a forensic accountant. Quite well-off. Got himself a whole new family. New wife. Kids.”
“Wonder if he ever divorced Betsy’s mom,” Ink mused.
“I can find out.”
Ink waved his hand. “Not important right now. And if Betsy is to be believed, she never knew what happened to her dad. He walked out one day without saying goodbye. She was only four. Sounds like her mother went into a depression and left Betsy to fend for herself.”
“Asshole,” Razor said. “That’s got to leave scars.”
He nodded absentmindedly. “What happened after her mother died? How did she come to live here?”
“That’s where things get real interesting. It seems that she just disappeared. She doesn’t appear to have ever had a job. She left school and nursed her mom. She had a license back in Georgia but it’s never been renewed. She doesn’t have a bank account. Hell, I couldn’t even find a library account for her.”
Ink grunted. “So how the fuck do we find her?”
“You got her phone number?” Brody asked.
“Yeah. You want me to call her? I don’t think she’s gonna give us anything, even if she answers.”
“Nah, I’ll use it to try to track her,” Brody told him.
“Here,” Ink said, handing over his phone. “This is her number. Don’t read the messages.”
“Got it, boss.” Brody backed out of the room, his gaze already on Ink’s phone.
“Want me to look into the dad?” Jason asked, speaking up for the first time. “In case he has something to do with this?”
Ink nodded. “Can’t hurt.”
“I still think that the fact she warned you means that she didn’t want to do this,” Sunny said stubbornly.
He loved the fact that she tried to see the good in people, but he had his doubts.
As they waited for Brody to find her, they tossed around theories about who could be setting Ink up. Brody burst back into the room without knocking. He looked worried.
“Can’t pinpoint her location.”
Shit.
“Getting to the girl is key,” Spike said. “She has the answers and she’s already proven to be a weak link.”
“Don’t see how we can find her if she’s basically a ghost,” Brody told them, pushing his glasses up his nose as he thought.
“What about Fringe? Surely, they have an address on file. Maybe another number,” Razor pointed out.
Ink frowned. “They should. Whether I can get it is another story. Angus is protective over his members. Although, he’s been acting weird about Betsy. I think he knows more than he’s letting on.”
“Want me to pay him a visit?” Spike rumbled.
“Yeah. Good idea.” Spike was as big as Angus and in better shape. Plus, he was intimidating as hell.
Spike just nodded, always a man of few words.
“What about just texting her and asking her to meet you?” Sunny asked.
“She’s not going to say yes,” Ink told her gently.
“Why not?”
“Because I know that this was all a set-up.” And because she was saying goodbye. He’d heard it in her voice. Why would she meet with him?
“But she doesn’t know that you saw the note. Not yet. So if you contact her, she might assume you didn’t see it.”
That was a good point. He could contact her, pretend to be worried about her and not let on he’d seen the note. Set up another date.
“What does your gut say about Betsy, Ink?” Duke asked.
“My gut has been wrong before.” And others had paid the price.
“No, your gut was right,” Duke countered. “Others didn’t listen to you.”
He closed his eyes. Thought about her. Had he been so wrong about her? Had it all been an act?
Tonight, she’d been…she’d been scared and the look on her face as she’d stared at the mirror had been one of loathing. She hated herself? Because of what she’d done? Or was going to do?
Asking her to meet up wasn’t something that she would expect.
He opened his eyes and looked around at them all. “I’m going to text her. Pretend I didn’t see the note. See if she’ll meet with me.”
“You need to be careful,” Reyes warned. “You don’t know her motivation for warning you. It could be some twist we can’t see.”
He knew that.
“Like she gets you to meet her at a certain place and you walk in on a murder scene just as the cops arrive and arrest you for murder,” Brody said.
Everyone gaped at him.
“He loves Criminal Minds,” Ink said dryly.
“And if she doesn’t answer?” Razor asked.
“Then we’ll have to hope that Angus comes through. Either way, she’s got answers we need.”
“The fact that she slipped a note into your pocket rather than just telling you might mean she’s being watched or even listened to,” Jason pointed out. “If you start questioning her, you could tip off whoever is working with her.”
Ink frowned, thinking that over. “I’ll ask her to meet at a different restaurant. One by a hotel. Need someone to rent a few connected rooms. Make it a hotel where people can only access the rooms on the floor they’re staying on so if anyone is following her, they can’t get up on our floor.”
“On it,” Brody said, tapping on his tablet.
“Have her leave all her stuff in one room and then move to another to talk,” Reyes said. “You can check to make sure she’s not wired.”
“But if anyone is listening and she goes radio silent that’s an issue,” Duke pointed out.
“Play some porn,” Brody suggested. “They’ll just think you’re getting it on. Just choose a part where no one speaks, I can find something. Maybe record your voice talking to mix in on it.”
Everyone stared at him again.
Ink sighed. “It’s not a bad idea.”
“We’ll situate ourselves in other rooms to be on the ready,” Reyes said. “We need someone inconspicuous keeping an eye out in the lobby of the hotel.”
“A couple of my guys can do it. They blend in better,” Ink said.
“What if she’s being forced to do this? In trouble and needs help?” Sunny asked.
“She could have just asked for help if she needed it,” he said stubbornly.
“Maybe she didn’t think you would help her.” Sunny stared at him with sad eyes.
Shit. That hit him harder than it should have.
“Let’s just do this.” He had to find out what was going on. And he was going to use Betsy to do that. It was no less than she deserved for using him all this time.
Right?
* * *
He wanted to meet for a date?
Was he insane? Maybe he hadn’t read the note. Shit. What if he hadn’t found it? What if it had fallen out of his pocket?
All that stress for nothing.
She chewed at her lip. What to do? What to do?
The phone was clasped tightly in her hand as she paced up and down. She hated this. She couldn’t do it anymore. It was too much. She didn’t think she could take any more pressure. It was like a vice around her head, getting tighter and tighter.
Life and death.
Why was it always life and death? Why couldn’t she have simple decisions to make? What to eat for dinner? What clothes to wear?
What to play with? What toy to sleep with?
She didn’t even own a toy. The only things she’d played with were at the club.
She missed being Little. Missed her Daddy.
You saw him last night. How can you miss him already? Idiot.
But she did. Because last night had been goodbye. She’d cried all damn night. She felt like shit.
And he wanted to see her. Tonight.
Screwed. She was screwed. Okay, so he obviously hadn’t seen the note. She was going to have to meet with him and slip him another one. Was going to have to pretend everything was all right.
All she wanted was to be back in the Littles’ room at the club. Only this time it would just be her and Ink. She’d play. He’d watch her indulgently. Then he’d take her home and make love to her.
She snorted. Right. A guy like Ink wouldn’t make love to you. He’d fuck you. Dirty. Hard. Hot.
Yeah, she could go for that too.
A text rattled her phone and she looked at it. Kit’s name popped up. Shit.
Answer him.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
She texted Ink back that she’d meet him.
It really wasn’t fair that she had to say goodbye twice.
12
His gaze was intent as he watched her cross the room. A different restaurant this time. More upscale. She didn’t really like it. Rather generic. Nothing like the place he’d taken her to last time.
He stood and walked over to her chair before the maître d’ could pull it out. She could tell the maître d’ didn’t like that. He gave Ink a snooty look, glancing up and down at him.
Once she was seated, Ink moved away. But instead of sitting across from her, he slid his chair around the table so he was beside her. His thigh brushed against hers and she stiffened in surprise.
He leaned in and kissed her ear. “I thought we’d gotten you past tensing up when I touched you.”
“Sorry, I’m just a bit on edge.”
“Because of last night?”
She stiffened even further. Had he found the note?
“You left pretty quickly,” he added. “I tried to find you. I was worried about you. You’re sure you’re feeling better? You look pale.”
“I’m fine.” So he hadn’t found the note. “I think just bringing everything up about my dad got to me, you know?”
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