by P Nelson
“You know it’s not the same.” Linkin’s voice was tight, and Martin wanted to reach out and comfort his lover, but he would only accept that kind of attention from Delaney. Martin was thankful they had found her and had no interest in driving her away. “Where the hell is she?” The fact Linkin was asking questions his big brain had already answered clued Martin into the tension he was feeling.
“Focus on the scene tonight. Delaney has finally agreed to push one of her soft limits and let us get our hands all over her ass in public.” Martin smiled as some of the tension in Linkin’s shoulders eased away. He went back to staring at the changing room door, mentally urging Delaney to come through.
“Her safety is my main priority,” Linkin muttered. Martin remained silent. There was no point in trying to reason with Linkin when he was in one of his moods. A bit of bondage and the power exchange would be the only thing that could relax him at this point.
“Good evening, Master Linkin and Master Martin.” Janey’s cheerful voice broke through the tension.
“You weren’t on the door this evening,” Martin pointed out. He liked Janey, but suspected she was a part of the lifestyle more for the social aspect than for a real power exchange experience. He had watched her scene with a couple of Doms over the years and even though the scenes were hot, just like Delaney, Janey didn’t appear to have reached any sort of subspace.
“No.” Janey shrugged her shoulders, but her face had grown tight. “There have been too many problems with aggressive guys trying to get into the club, including a couple of fights with the bouncers. Master Lovett wants the drama to calm down a bit before he allows the female staff back on the desk.” She was referring to the incidents with Rex during the past few weeks. Master Lovett had turned Rex away on several occasions. Despite Delaney’s worries over the fallout from the pictures and videos Rex posted online, the community had rallied around her. Tonight was the first time she returned to The Feather Flogger, and Martin knew the support would continue to flow.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry.” Martin wished he could pin something more substantial on Rex, but Linkin had destroyed all the evidence with his virus. Sometimes Linkin was just too efficient for his own good.
“Anyway, I see you booked a stage for tonight.” A grin spread across her face. “I can’t believe you got Delaney to do a public scene with you so early in your contract.”
“Who says we’re playing with Delaney tonight,” Martin teased her. A scowl erupted on Janey’s face, and her stance grew rigid, chin jutting out.
“You’d better be playing with Delaney tonight, or there’ll be consequences,” she threatened.
“Twenty smacks.” Linkin’s voice cracked like a whip over the low hum of conversation and the sounds of paddles meeting flesh.
“You have officially run out of rope with Master Linkin,” Martin chuckled at Janey’s shocked face.
“He can’t spank me.” Her tone had grown insolent. “Master Linkin is not my Dom.”
“But I know you have a contract to scene with Master Lovett. I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to dole out the punishment you just earned.” Linkin’s eyes gleamed, and Martin was happy to see his lover relaxing even more. They needed to be on top of their game if they wanted Delaney to experience something enjoyable this evening on stage. Delaney admitted she liked the exhibitionism but hadn’t always felt comfortable with her partners to take it further than a spanking or topless flogging. Linkin and he needed to prove to her they could be everything to one another.
“I’m sorry,” Janey blurted out.
“Not good enough, sub,” Linkin looked down his nose at Janey, and Martin watched as some of the starch went out of the woman’s shoulders. “If you were my sub, your ass would be red until you learned not to disrespect the Doms in this dungeon.”
“Yes, Master Linkin.” Janey’s voice was small. He was about to say something to soften Linkin’s harsh words, but Linkin surprised him.
“You are a good sub, Janey. Very headstrong and bratty, and there are Doms out there who appreciate these qualities. But you need to decide if you’re really going to submit. You’ve watched Delaney over the last few weeks. Take our power exchange as an example of what you can also have in your life.”
“Yes, Master Linkin,” she responded, and Linkin went back to watching the ladies’ changing room door.
“Which stage have you booked for us?” Martin reminded Janey of their previous conversation and the reason she had come over in the first place. Her eyes clouded, Janey held up the board she was carrying in one hand.
“Number five at the end as you requested,” Janey confirmed, and Martin nodded to her. They had purposefully booked the stage at the end of the row nearest the back wall. There wouldn’t be as many spectators as the rest of the club, and Martin or Linkin could shield Delaney if she became panicked at any time during the scene.
“Thank you, Janey.” She beamed at his praise.
“Good luck tonight, Master Martin.” She beamed up at him before turning away and disappearing into the crowd.
“Another twenty smacks for being rude,” Linkin called after her. She stopped for a second but didn’t look back at him.
“You have to stop issuing punishments to other subs,” Martin admonished his boyfriend.
“Subs need to know their place.” Linkin pointed to the changing room doors. “Once they step into the dungeon, there are protocols that need to be followed. We follow the rules, and so should they.” His logic was sound, and Martin didn’t bother to argue the point. If he wanted to chase after subs to make sure they received their punishments it was his business.
“I’m going to get the stage ready.” He reached down and picked up the kit bag they’d packed together. There wasn’t much they really needed for tonight since the scene would only involve Delaney restrained against a St Andrew’s cross to receive her punishment by paddle. Linkin nodded to him without even bothering to glance over.
Martin made his way through the crowd to the back of the room. As usual, there was a good-sized crowd watching other couples scene on the stages or just socialising for the evening. Not interested in conversation, Martin acknowledged other people’s greetings but did not stop to chat. He wanted the scene to run smoothly this evening and then he and Linkin had big plans for the rest of the night back in their personal dungeon. Delaney was finally going to get the suspension scene she wanted.
Climbing up onto the stage, Martin set his bag on a table provided at the side. He opened it to find a container of anti-bacterial wipes and grabbed them. Even though the club was clean, he still wasn’t about to take any chances with either Linkin or Delaney’s health. Eyeing the St Andrew’s cross, Martin started to wipe down the surface as he checked the restraints. In a couple of minutes, Delaney would find herself restrained and punished in public at the hands of Linkin and him. Blood surged in his veins, and he couldn’t fucking wait.
&
Delaney slammed her car door shut. She rushed around the other cars in the small lot near The Feather Flogger with her bag over one shoulder. She was late. Being late meant Master Linkin and Master Martin lighting up her ass. The thought of what they were going to do to her tonight made her ass cheeks tingle and her head a little fuzzy. She loved those two men with everything she had inside of her. The last few weeks had been the best of her adult life.
“Hey, you’re Delaney, right?” a guy asked she went to walk past him. There was something vaguely familiar in his young face, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Yeah, I am; do I know you?” She wondered if this was one of the tails Master Linkin had assigned to watch over her. None of the others had ever made themselves known to her. In fact, only rarely had she even realised there was anyone following her.
“No, but I wanted to introduce myself.” Delaney immediately shrank back from the man and moved to go around him.
“I’m sorry, but I’m late maybe next time.” She gave him a sligh
tly frantic smile.
“I’m Robert. One of Master Linkin’s and Master Martin’s subs.” Robert continued on the conversation as if she hadn’t spoken. Recognition flared in her mind as she recalled the three of them on stage together. A spike of jealousy went through her, and she felt stupid. They were experienced Doms who had topped many subs in the past. Unfortunately, this guy seemed to believe he was still their sub.
“Actually, I think you’re their ex-sub.” Delaney stood her ground. Part of being a sub was being submissive to her Doms, not being a doormat for other subs. She wasn’t going to let this guy walk all over her.
“They’re going to come back to me. Those boys always do. You don’t have the right equipment to keep them satisfied for much longer. It’s why they haven’t done a public scene with you,” he sneered.
“So, you’re mean-boy sub?” Delaney wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. The reasons she hadn’t done a public scene with Master Linkin and Master Martin were private, and she certainly wasn’t going to discuss it with this jerk. “My relationship with my Masters is my business. Fuck off if you know what’s good for you.” She made to push past him.
“How about I make a deal with you,” Robert persisted as he grabbed onto her arm. She yanked until he finally let go.
“I assure you there’s no deal you could possibly make that I’d be interested in.” Delaney made to turn around again and heard tires screeching. A white van stopped on the street in front of her and the sliding door slammed open. Before she could understand entirely what was happening, a push sent her reeling into the open van door causing her shins to bang painfully on van’s steps. A shout sounded in the twilight around, and she turned her head as she fell, unable to get her hands out in front of her to brace her impact. Pain streaked into her skull as her head slammed into the metal; bright lights flashed before darkness took her.
&
“Boss, we got a problem.” Mac’s voice sounded as if he’d been running and Linkin’s heart slammed into his chest. His instincts had been prickling all day. Something had happened to Delaney. For a moment, his heart didn’t want to continue beating.
“Explain,” he forced out from between clenched teeth.
“Your little ass-wipe ex-boyfriend has made a new friend, and you’re not going to like who it is,” Mac started. “Delaney was just taken off the street. I was too far away to help her, but Sam is trailing the van. There’s no way that dick wad is going to get very far with her.” Linkin’s panicked heart sped into action as soon has he understood Rex had Delaney. Taking the phone away from his face, Linkin turned and whistled above the crowd. Martin looked over from the stage they had booked for the night. His expression must have said everything because Martin dropped whatever he was holding and jumped off the raised platform.
“Where are you and why the hell didn’t you catch her before Rex got to her?” Linkin was already heading to the changing room doors knowing Martin would be following him.
“I’m at the parking lot where Delaney normally parks her car with Robert.” Mac answered.
“I’m heading there right now.” Linkin ended the call with Mac, and saw Sam was trying to reach him. “Go.” Punching the door of the men’s changing room open Linkin stalked through to the other side. By the time he reached the doors leading out to the pavement in front of The Feather Flogger, Martin had caught up with him along with Master Lovett.
“I’ve got Rex in a white van. Looks like he’s heading back to his place. Delaney must be incapacitated in some way because Rex is driving without any hindrance,” Sam reported succinctly. “I would place money on Rex heading back to his place.” It made sense. Rex was hardly a career criminal. “Should I engage?” Sam asked casually belying the fact he had spent most of his life in the military and could probably kill Rex and hide the body very easily.
“No, I want the pleasure of dealing with him myself.” Linkin spotted Mac holding Robert by the scruff of his neck. “I’ll be waiting at Rex’s house. Do not engage unless it becomes clear Delaney is in danger.”
“Yes, boss.” The line cut out. He could feel Martin’s questions pressing against him, but he didn’t have time to explain everything right now. He was in survival mode, and one of the reasons he loved Martin so much was his boyfriend’s ability to keep up.
“You’re fucking lucky I have no desire to call the police, Robert.” His voice sounded harsh even to his ears. Linkin wanted blood. Robert’s would do in a pinch, but the predator inside of him at already set his sights on Rex. “You aided Rex to have Delaney kidnapped.” Martin sucked in a breath next to him; a moment later the rage and panic he had been feeling started to roll off Martin.
“I’m going to kill you.” Martin lunged forward, but Linkin held him back. Robert cringed away from the beast Martin had become. Robert had made the mistake of believing the public veneer that made Martin the socially acceptable predator Linkin was not. The fact Martin was bursting to unleash some serious violence on Robert’s hide was the wake-up call their ex-sub needed.
“He’s not worth it, and if we do anything to him, we’ll have to deal with the police.” Linkin felt Martin start to back off. “Once that happens, I’ll have to let Sam save our girl, and Rex got away from the punishment he deserves. We don’t have time to deal with him.” He started to pull Martin away.
“Not to worry.” Mac shook Robert, and the younger man whimpered. “He and I are going to have a little discussion on what happens to naughty subs who overstep their Dom’s boundaries.” He looked at Linkin and held out Delaney’s bag. She must have dropped it when Rex took her.
“And after, I’ll make sure everyone knows what a pain in the ass he has been tonight.” Master Lovett shook his head at Robert whose face had gone even whiter. “He’ll be lucky to get another sub to spank his ass.”
“Fine.” Linkin started jogging farther down the street, Martin following right beside him. Not speaking, they got into the SUV and Linkin pulled out into the streets.
“Can we kill him?” Martin asked his body tense. Linkin knew Martin was going over all the ways Rex could have hurt her by now. Unless there was another person in the van, Linkin was confident she was safe enough. In his study of Rex over the past few weeks, he had not reached out to any friends or had contact with a circle who would be loyal enough to aid him in a criminal act.
“She’s safe, and we’re going to get her back.” Linkin drove just above the speed limit as they left the downtown area and headed for the suburb where Rex lived. “Murder is not an option, unfortunately. My fingerprints, digitally speaking have been all over Rex’s computer and even though I covered my tracks, there are too many links between us and him to guarantee we wouldn’t go down for it.”
Martin huffed beside him and Linkin was curious about whether his partner would commit murder. The primitive part of Linkin wanted nothing more than to tear the fucker’s head off for taking someone who didn’t belong to him, but Linkin had to think of a way to suitably punish the bastard without putting his own life and livelihood at risk.
Bringing his SUV to a stop in a darkened section of the street down from Rex’s house, Linkin shut off the engine and looked around. The neighbourhood was quiet this time of night; families occupied most of the houses. Even though he had never been down here, he had read Sam and Mac’s daily reports.
“What the fuck are we doing?” Martin undid his seatbelt. “We should call the police.”
“And create a hostage situation?” Linkin undid his seatbelt, and opened the door. “No fucking way. Come now or stay here.” He didn’t need Martin for what he had planned, but Linkin would have preferred his boyfriend’s support. He heard the passenger side door click shut and was thankful Martin was willing to follow his lead on this. Martin may know how to deal with people, smooth over feelings and shit, but Linkin knew how to take care of bad guys. It wasn’t just his job; it was a fundamental part of his DNA.
“All I care about is getting Delaney back.” Marti
n was quiet as they walked casually down the street. Linkin knew they’d draw far less attention if they acted normally than tried to skulk around in the shadows.
“You don’t want any revenge on the asshole who just abducted our sub?” Linkin pressed. Martin was normally cool under pressure, but Linkin sensed a tension in his lover that might prove dangerous in this situation. He was not battle-hardened or trained to deal with these kinds of high-stress situations.
“Yeah, I want to string the asshole up by the balls.” Martin ran a hand through his hair. “I see your point about our connection with him and Delaney’s, too. It wouldn’t take too many questions by the cops to lead them back to us.” He sounded sincerely glum over the prospect of not getting revenge on Rex.
“There are many ways to humiliate assholes like Rex.” Linkin’s brain was still trolling through different ways he could accomplish his secondary goal: getting Rex completely out of their lives.
Rex lived in a single-story house much like Delaney’s except he had a basement. Linkin led the way through to the back of the house and made short work of the lock on the door. Careful to replace the lock as they shut themselves inside, Linkin motioned for Martin to follow him down the stairs in the kitchen to the basement. Without turning on any lights, the basement was dark, and Linkin had to stop at the bottom of the stairs to get his bearings in the inky darkness. Heat from Martin’s body pressed against his side as he joined Linkin.
“I thought we would just pluck her from inside the van once Rex got here,” Martin whispered and shifted beside him.
“Too much of a chance Rex will either try and fight us and the neighbours will call the police, or he will run, again causing the police to be called. Once he has her inside the house, we can secure Delaney and contain Rex without any outside interference.” Linkin continued to review and discard plans. “We only have two to three minutes at most before Rex arrives. He checked his phone, but there had been no more updates from Sam meaning his original assessment on Rex’s destination had held true and that Sam had not lost sight of his target.