I didn’t care if I could only see him five minutes. I needed to see him and was glad with each minute I got. It was more time than I thought I would have. It had crossed my mind he could’ve died, but now that I knew he was okay, I was relieved. My breathing became normal again, and I went inside his room.
“Dom?” I said quietly.
He didn’t answer. He was lying in the bed with his eyes closed.
I came closer and shivered from the ordeal we’d been through. It terrified me to see him like this, but at the same time I knew things would be okay. They had to. He was still here. He survived.
I held his hand, and his eyelids started moving. I held my breath. When his bright blue eyes appeared underneath, my heart came to a stop. I was so happy to see them open again, even if only for a little while.
He groaned and winced.
“Hi, Dom.” I blinked away the happy tears in my eyes.
“Hey …” he muttered.
I squeezed his hand, and he coughed, and then winced again. His hand moved to his side, to the bullet wound.
“What … what happened?” he said, his voice still hoarse.
“I don’t think you should touch that,” I said. “You were shot, Dom. They came to the casino.”
His eyes fluttered open again, and he looked at me with confusion as if he’d forgotten all about it. “Seriously?”
I nodded.
He sighed. “Jesus Christ.”
He tried to move a bit, but the pain held him back. “Never thought they would go that far for revenge. All because of that fucking money.” He snorted.
I placed my hand on his cheek and caressed him. It felt good to feel his warm skin, and it made my eyes sting with tears again. He placed his hand on top of mine and smiled.
“I was so afraid,” I whispered.
“Don’t cry,” he said. His other hand reached for my cheek to wipe away the tear that rolled down. “I’m still here. Alive and kicking.”
I laughed. He pulled my head closer, and I leaned forward to give him a kiss. It felt wonderful to have his lips on me again, knowing he was still breathing and his heart was still beating.
Someone knocked on the door.
I quickly came up again and turned my head. Sharon cleared her throat and came inside.
“Hi, Dom,” she said. “Glad you’re feeling okay.”
Dom held up his hand for a quick wave and dropped his head back onto the pillow.
“You gave us quite the scare there,” she said. “They’re getting more aggressive each day. I think it’s time we went for the offense. Did you see anything? Can you give me any descriptions? Something?”
Dominic sighed, but didn’t respond. I guessed he was still too tired to speak.
“Do you even remember anything about the shooting?” she asked.
He shook his head.
She looked around the room to think for a moment. “Can I talk to you for a second?” Sharon said, and she looked at me.
My brows furrowed. “What? Why?”
“I want to know what you saw.” She beckoned me to come with her to the hallway, and I followed her.
“Did you see what they looked like? Were they male or female? How many were there?” She rummaged in her clutch and fished out a notebook and a pen.
“There was a man who brought him a note. I think it told him where to go, because he went to the roulette table. There were two people, a man and a woman. I only saw their backs. I don’t know what they look like. I think the man shot him through his coat.”
She nodded and made humming sounds of approval as she furiously penned down everything I said.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the scene, trying to remember every little detail. The conversation with Dominic about Daisy somehow crossed my mind, and I remembered telling him about her coming over. That I thought she’d abducted me. Her image was inside my mind, the way she spoke to me resounded in my ears. How she told me about doms and their behavior. Her voice sounded familiar.
And now I knew why. The realization came as a shock. My eyes widened. Her voice was the same as the one from the woman who’d locked me up. The woman who’d had me kidnapped.
“What?” Sharon said. Her eyebrows were raised, and she grabbed my arm. “What are you thinking about?”
“Daisy. It’s her.”
“Who? How do you know her? What’s she got to do with this?” Sharon started scribbling things down again.
“Daisy. The woman from the club.” I swallowed and cleared my throat.
I didn’t know if I was supposed to tell this or if it was even allowed. According to Dominic, the play party we’d attended was secretive and not something to be shared with common folks. If I was going to tell Sharon about this, it would be a major violation of our contract. I also knew that if I didn’t, I was obstructing this investigation, and that was against the law. I didn’t want them to go free though, and maybe my confession was the last clue we needed to catch them. I wanted those criminals to be locked away forever, so I made my decision.
“Dominic and I went to a play party. I met her there.”
“A play party?” she said, sounding confused.
“It’s a place where people come together to share their … experience with kinky love.”
She pursed her lips and frowned, shaking her head. She still didn’t understand.
“A BDSM club.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”
She didn’t know about this? And here I thought she had some sort of relationship with Dom. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Yes, anyway, that’s not the point, and I ask you not to involve or link Dominic to any of that. I just know that’s where we can find Daisy.”
“So you’re telling me that we can catch them by going to a BDSM party?”
I nodded. “I’m certain she’ll be there.”
Sharon sighed. “Well … I won’t question your practices in private. I don’t care what people do, as long as it doesn’t involve me. I just want to catch this fucking gang and get them behind bars. I may not be from the local police force, but I sure have connections, and I know just how to spur them into action. If it involves drugs, which we know by now does, we can get the feds involved, and I guess this is the perfect opportunity. The question is; how do we get in without causing too much ruckus to alarm them?”
My eyes narrowed. “Oh … I know how.”
Chapter 6
I’d put on an outfit that matched the club’s rules, but not so raunchy that it showed anything bare. Sharon had wired me up and hid it completely underneath my outfit, making it impossible for someone to notice. It was almost undistinguishable from a normal BDSM clubbing outfit. Nobody could even see who I was; my face was hidden behind a beautiful golden laced mask.
“Now, remember, if you’re in some sort of danger, you hit that button,” she said, and pointed at the box that hid in between my breasts. “If you can’t reach it, you can whisper in your microphone. We’ll hear everything that’s going on, so if you get in trouble, just give us a shout. What’s the word again?”
“Home,” I said.
“All right. We’re ready if you are.” She gave me an encouraging pat on the shoulder, while I took a deep breath.
Dom’s going to kill me if he knew I’m doing this, but I’m doing it for him. For us.
I stepped out the van and peered at the street. It was dark outside, but I could still spot the multiple obscure cars surrounding us. I knew they were only here to protect me, but it still freaked me out. Lots of cops waiting to storm in and bust the place. I didn’t care if Dominic would lose the ability to go to this place; I just wanted him to be safe.
Shivering, I closed my coat and started walking toward the building. It was a shabby old warehouse that looked much like it was abandoned, but I knew better. Inside, deep down in the basement, a kinky party was going on between lovers of BDSM.
Before I stepped inside the building, I heard a screech
through my earplugs. I squinted and pressed my fingers against my ears.
What the fuck, I’m going deaf, shitty noise.
“Testing,” Sharon whispered.
“You’re scrambling my hearing.”
“Sorry. At least we know you can hear me.”
“Yeah, but I’m going inside now, and I need to concentrate. I won’t be talking unless there’s danger.”
“Gotya.”
It was silent again, and I stepped inside the building. The musty smell still lingered, and I looked around to find the door that led into the basement. When I found it, I quickly went through it and ran downstairs. Just before opening the doors to the play party room, I took another deep breath.
You can do this, Julie.
I chanted a couple of encouraging words to myself, just to pump myself up. In order to fool the people inside that I was here just for the party, I needed to persuade myself as well. I needed to believe my own act.
I zoned in on the fake idea that brought me here. Dominic, my master, had told me to go here alone and find a partner. He wanted me to enjoy the night with a stranger, and sent me here to look for one.
Of course, that was all a charade. I was actually only looking for Daisy. I wanted to expose her for who she really was. A criminal who’d kidnapped me in order to snatch away Dominic’s money. All because his father made some kind of shady deal with her gang.
I opened the doors and went inside. The music was loud and it was busy. A lot of people were dancing or looking at the acts. Some doms and subs were engaging in sex, others had a flogging session or watched others. Without Dom to back me up, I felt awkwardly out of place here.
Act normal. Act normal.
I looked around, trying to see if I could find her face. With careful steps I treaded through the crowd, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. If no one noticed I was here, surely I’d get away with this.
Her blonde hair stood out like a homing beacon to me. I spotted her, standing next to a tall, dark man. He was bald, but muscular, and looked like he could bench press two people easily. He wore thick rimmed sunglasses, at this time of day, in a club. One thing was more striking though. The fact that he squeezed Daisy’s butt.
My eyes narrowed.
That must be her dom. No one would be allowed to touch her ass but her dom. It has to be him. Is he part of all this?
I swallowed away the lump in my throat and thought about what I was going to do. I needed to have them talk about the act. They needed to confess at least a part of the drug deal, or the kidnapping, or the money. Something so I could nail them. But how? They had to be alone for this to work, because there was no way in hell they’d talk about it in the club. It had to be private. I just didn’t know how to get them away from here.
Then I thought of something. What if I convinced them to include me in a private party? Go somewhere else and use the plan I made up for dom to have me find a partner here? Seducing wasn’t one of my biggest fortes, but being behind this mask gave me a feeling of invincibility. Like I could do and be anything, and no one would find out it was me. This was the only thing that might actually work.
I snorted and put my best foot forward. When I approached them, they were still oblivious to my intrusion. I cleared my throat, and suddenly they turned around to face me as if I was this giant mosquito annoying them. Daisy’s eyes scanned me from top to bottom, and I got this sudden urge to hurl, looking at her. Those eyes of her were exactly the same as the one who’d talked to me in the cell, when I was kidnapped. Now it only strengthened my resolve.
“Hi,” I said, trying to sound different than before. I didn’t want her to recognize me.
She squinted and watched me, and then her eyes flicked back and forth between me and the guy next to her.
“Hello,” he said first.
She didn’t say anything. She wasn’t allowed to speak to a sub, unless her dom gave her permission. She’d bent the rules once, but wasn’t about to do it standing right next to her own dom. So now I knew for sure.
“My name’s Sharla, and I just love your outfits.”
She smiled.
“Thanks,” he said. “The name’s Tyrone. This here is Daisy, my sub. Daisy, say hi.”
“Hi,” she said, repeating his command.
“Hey, is there any reason your dom isn’t here?” he asked. “Did he allow you to talk to me?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, he told me to go find a couple who were in for some … experimenting.”
He lowered his glasses. “Oh? Do tell.”
“Well … he wants me to have a nice play session with another dom. I just saw you standing there across the room, and I thought, ‘I’d love to try it with him.’ You just seemed so … alluring.” I winked.
His eyes narrowed. “And is there anything your dom demanded in return?”
“Nope, nothing. He gets his pleasure knowing someone else had me.”
Tyrone grinned and bit his lip. “Well, well. Isn’t that nice.”
He put his glasses away, and Daisy curled her arm around his.
“I’m thinking that’s a mighty fine deal.”
“Oh, it is. I just want to be with another dom so badly, and you seem just my type,” I said flirtatiously. It seemed to do the trick.
“All right, then. Come with me.” He held out his arm for me to lash onto, and I willingly went along with them.
They walked out the play room and we went up the stairs again. I wondered where they were taking me, and my nerves were killing me at the same time. I couldn’t believe I’d just made all that up, and that I’d actually succeeded in separating them from the crowd. My clothes were soaking wet though. Either it was very hot in there, or I was trembling with fear. I just hoped this would all go like planned.
“I like to have some privacy on special occasions,” Tyrone said.
We went to the other end of the storage hall, where there was a tiny office. He fiddled with the door until it was unlocked and stepped inside, waiting for us to come too.
“This here is the room we use when we want some alone time,” he said. “Most guests don’t know about it, but I’ve got special permission from the boss to use this.”
“Oh? You mean the boss of the play party?”
He nodded. “I have some business with a couple of customers here.”
“What kind of business?”
He smirked and shook his head a bit. “That’s none of your concern.”
Daisy’s lips were pursed, and she gawked at me. Sweat drops were rolling down my spine. Her gaze freaked me out.
With slow steps she walked toward me. “Tell me … what was going on in your mind that you thought of proposing this to us?” Her voice ended in a high pitch.
Suddenly she jerked the mask off my head.
Her pupils dilated. Her mouth dropped open, but quickly turned into a sneer. “I knew it. Julie Valentine.” She grabbed my wrist and squeezed it hard, creating a red mark on my skin. “Who put you up to this? Was it your sweet little Dominic? Huh? Did that useless motherfucker tell you to risk your life?” She let me go and shoved me against the wall.
“Did you honestly believe you could sneak in here without me recognizing you? How fucking stupid do you think I am?”
She smacked me across the face, and I winced.
“You kidnapped me,” I said.
“Damn right I did. And if Dom hadn’t fucked with us we’d be long gone out of your lives right now, but no, he had to fake his way out of it. Did you think we’d let him get away with that?”
“You shot him!” I screamed.
She slapped me again, and Tyrone just stood there watching us with amusement. “We want our money back,” she said.
“You made me believe you were my friend!” I yelled.
I tried to fight the tears swarming my eyes, because I didn’t want her to see my pain. I still wasn’t done. I needed more confessions. Sharon and the cops needed to hear this. All of it.
; Her lip curled up into an ugly smile. “You gullible little girl. Of course I made you believe that. You were a pawn from the start, just like Dominic.”
“Why? Why are you doing this to him? You had a vendetta with his father, not him! Why are you trying to ruin our lives?”
Tyrone chortled and stepped in. “Dominic Fury’s rich. Casinos are dangerous. Comes with the job. Besides, I wasn’t going to let his old man take my money to the grave. It was my money, and I wanted it back.”
She sighed. “If I’d known the casino owed a lot of cash to my dom here, I would’ve never have hooked up with Dominic.”
“Hooked up?” I gasped.
She laughed. “Why do you think I know so much about him? Dominic was my ex, you stupid girl!”
“What?”
“Yes, that’s right. Dominic was my dom first. I was only in it for the fun, but he wanted more, so I bailed. Turns out I found a better dom right here, at the club Dominic introduced me to.” Daisy put her arm around Tyrone. “My man knows how to control everything. Unlike your pathetic excuse for a dom.”
“Shut up about Dominic!”
She slapped me across the face again.
“He’s a much better man than you’ll ever be,” I said to Tyrone, and I spit on the floor. “You’re nothing but a drug gang.”
“A man’s gotta earn his money,” Tyrone said, and his fingers clenched around my jaw. “You’re one heck of a bargaining chip.” He released me again.
I thought I heard enough. These confessions were all I needed. Time to use the safe word.
I snorted. “I’d like to go home now.”
Daisy burst out into laughter, and Tyrone just stood there with his eyebrows raised.
“Did you think it’d be that simple?” Daisy said. “With you here, we can make all the demands we want. Heck, I might even be tempted to cut off one of your nipples and send it as a souvenir to Dominic. I wonder if he’ll be sending me the real cash then.”
I ignored her taunts. I knew they had it coming for them. It was only a matter of minutes.
“What? Cat got your tongue?” She came closer and stood right in front of me, looking me straight in the eye. “I bet you didn’t see it coming that I was his lover, did you? I had a lot of fun with you Dominic, once. Back then I went by a different name, too. It was a long time ago. Shame he’s so overly attached and has puke worthy self esteem.”
The Billionaire's Bet #4: A Final Game (Erotic Romance with alpha male) Page 5