“I never said I was a better option, just an alternate one. One you should consider.”
“And how do you think Blane would feel about you offering to be plan B?” I asked derisively.
Kade’s lips thinned and I knew I’d hit my mark. “Neither Blane nor I are your happily-ever-after, princess. Blane will break your heart, and I’m the guy your mom warned you about. Don’t kid yourself about that.”
I couldn’t have spoken even if I’d known what to say.
Fortunately, the cab slowed to a stop just then. Kade sat up and passed some money to the front while I scrambled to find my shoes and my equilibrium. I had one stiletto on and was searching for the other when Kade grabbed my ankle and slipped the shoe on my foot. Then he was hauling me out of the cab and onto the sidewalk. His jacket reached farther down my thighs than the skirt, but not by much.
We stood in front of another bar, though this one looked smaller than Bar Sinister and if I hadn’t known what it was, I would have passed it up. I could hear music from where we stood. Kade headed inside and I hurried after him.
Kade handed the man at the door a fifty for the cover charge. I snagged a finger through one of Kade’s belt loops so I wouldn’t lose him, a shot of nerves hitting me as we snaked our way through the crowd.
We stopped at the bar, and Kade motioned me to an empty stool. I scowled, but my hostility toward stools was lost on him and I had no choice but to squirm onto the thing. Kade ordered drinks, and when the bartender set them in front of us, Kade slid out a hundred-dollar bill.
“I’m looking for a guy called Parker,” he said.
The bartender smoothly pocketed the money before saying, “Might be in the back room. Blond hair. Scar on his left cheek. Likes to watch.” He moved away.
Kade turned toward me, resting his back against the bar. “You should stay here.”
I glanced around. The patrons of this place had a different vibe, and I could feel eyes on me. I wet my lips nervously. “Please don’t leave me,” I said in an undertone, hating the fact that I was afraid.
Kade leaned closer. “What’s back there isn’t pretty, Kathleen, and I’m positive it’s nothing you’ve ever experienced before. Listen to me. Stay out here or go back to the motel.”
I hesitated, then shook my head. “I’m coming with you.” Being with Kade, no matter the situation, was preferable at the moment than being on my own.
Kade sighed. “Fine. Finish your drink. And do what I say. No questions.”
I picked up the cold glass, taking several healthy swallows before sliding off the stool. Kade took a firm grip on my hand and we headed toward the back of the club.
We reached a long, darkened hallway guarded by another bouncer. Kade slipped him some money, and the two spoke quietly, then we were allowed to pass.
The hallway turned sharply and our way was blocked by red velvet curtains. Kade pushed them aside and we stepped through. What I saw made me stumble in shock. Kade had to grab me to keep me from falling.
The room was set up to focus on a stage, music pulsing in the background. There were two rows of chairs, the top row set on a raised platform. The chairs themselves were red velvet, large and plush, set several feet apart. About half of them were occupied, but it was difficult to make out faces in the darkness, which contrasted sharply with the well-lit stage. That was where everyone was looking and that was what had shocked me.
On stage, behind glass, were two men and one woman. The woman was completely naked except for a chain hanging between her breasts, held in place with clamps on her nipples. Her wrists were bound and hanging from a hook above her head. One of the men, dressed in leather pants, held a crop. His wrist flicked and I heard the slap of the leather against the woman’s buttocks. Judging by the red marks on her skin, that wasn’t the first time he’d struck her. She moaned, but she didn’t seem to be in pain. Or perhaps if she was, she liked it.
The other man wore leather chaps, and that was all. He stroked himself while he watched, fully aroused.
I was too stunned and appalled to move. Kade’s firm grip on my waist pulled me forward, jerking my attention away from the show. He carefully looked over the room, then chose an empty chair. I remained standing, wondering what I was supposed to do.
“Kneel down,” he hissed quietly.
I hesitated, then let out a tiny cry as he yanked me down, my knees hitting the floor hard. I glanced reproachfully at him.
Leaning down, he whispered in my ear, “Look around.”
So I looked around, and understood.
The people I hadn’t been able to see clearly earlier were more visible now that my eyes had adjusted, and I saw that most of them weren’t alone. A few seats down was a woman with a man at her feet. Squinting, I saw an actual leash attached to his neck, the other end held in her hand. So the guy earlier hadn’t been joking about the leash thing.
I looked farther into the darkness. In the far corner, a woman was kneeling in front of a man, her head bobbing up and down between his legs. Flushing red, I hastily averted my gaze, only to see a man masturbating in the front row.
My eyes were drawn unwillingly back to the stage. Again, I was stunned at what I saw. The woman was now unbound, but on her knees. The man with the whip stood in front of her, though the whip had been discarded and she was giving him a blow job. He held her head in place while he thrust into her mouth, a grimace of pleasure and pain on his face.
That in and of itself was shocking enough without seeing the man in chaps fucking her from behind.
It was like passing an accident on the highway—I knew I should look away, I just couldn’t. I was horrified at the casual display of such intimacy in front of strangers, not to mention the fact that two men were enjoying one woman at the same time. I wasn’t naive enough not to know people did stuff like that, but I’d never dreamed I’d see a live version of it.
I tore my gaze away, my face so hot I knew I had to be six shades of red. I was clutching Kade’s pant leg as though I were going to be torn away from him at any moment. While I wanted to look up at him, I was so mortified that I literally could not. Now I knew what he’d meant when he’d tried to make me stay in the bar. If only I’d listened.
A man walked up then, taking the seat on the other side of Kade. I was grateful to see that he was alone.
“I was told you’re looking for me?”
I looked up in surprise to see that the man was addressing Kade.
“Thought you might like a… private show,” Kade replied. His hand moved to my head and he began playing with my hair, his fingers running leisurely through the strands.
“How much?” the man who had to be Parker asked.
“Two hundred.”
Parker turned his attention to me, and I hastily looked down.
“Is she trained?”
“She’ll do whatever I tell her to do.” Kade gave a sharp tug on my hair—not enough to hurt, but enough to jerk my head back and make me gasp in surprise. His face was strange, cold and hard, and though I knew he was acting, it bothered me to see him that way.
“Show me first.”
Alarmed, I sucked in my breath, but Kade shot back, “No freebies.”
Still looking at me, Parker asked, “Fine. How much to participate?”
I unconsciously dug my nails into Kade’s denim-clad leg. To his credit, he didn’t bat an eye when he answered. “Five hundred.”
“Does that include you?”
My eyes widened, but Kade’s lips just twisted in a humorless smile.
“Sounds like a party.”
“Meet me in room thirteen,” Parker said. He got up and left the room.
Kade immediately released his hold on my hair and I sucked in a huge gulp of air, realizing just then that I’d been holding my breath. I felt demoralized. A hand beneath my chin turned my head, and I was forced to look at Kade.
“Are you all right?”
I didn’t speak, just gave a minute shake of my head to indicat
e that no, I certainly was not “all right.”
Kade immediately stood, pulling me up with him. I kept my eyes away from the stage, where the threesome was still going at it, as Kade wrapped an arm around my waist and hustled me across the room and through another door. He moved fast, nearly carrying me, so that my toes barely brushed the ground.
When we stopped, I didn’t want to look up, so I kept my face buried against his chest.
“Hey, it’s all right,” he crooned softly. “Come on, princess. Look at me. Nothing’s going to happen to you. Nobody here but you and me.”
I cleared my throat, told myself to get a grip, and stepped back. Avoiding Kade’s eyes, I glanced around and saw he’d taken us into a fancy bathroom with red velvet wallpaper and burnished brass fixtures. A mirror surrounded in lights was nearby and I stepped to it, nervously smoothing my hair. The familiarity of the gesture comforted me. What I’d witnessed was dark and seedy, a travesty of everything I’d known about sex until now. And part of me hurt that Kade was no longer shocked by the cruelties of the world he lived in.
Kade’s reflection caught my eye and I hastily looked away from his penetrating blue gaze.
“I forget sometimes,” he murmured.
“Forget what?” I asked, turning on the water to wash my hands. God knows what all had been on the floor back there.
“Forget how innocent you are.”
My eyes jerked to his in the mirror and I turned around. “I’m not—”
“Innocent?” he interrupted. “Really?”
“I’ve just never seen anything…” My voice trailed off and I waved my hand uselessly to indicate the room we’d just left.
“Like that,” Kade finished.
He didn’t require an answer and I didn’t give one.
With a sigh, he rubbed a hand across his face. “Sorry, princess. I should’ve stuck you in a cab back to the motel. I don’t know what possessed me to bring you here.”
The nickname stung, and I regretted not better controlling my reaction to this place. “It’s okay,” I said. “I need to toughen up if I’m going to do this job. We are here to do a job, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Besides, how would you have gotten him without me?”
Kade just looked at me until realization dawned. All I could think to say was “Oh.”
“If he knows more about Sheffield, we need him.”
“Then let’s grab him and get the hell out of here,” I said.
Kade scrutinized me before accepting that with a curt nod. Taking my hand, he led me out of the bathroom and through a maze of corridors and doorways. We stopped in front of a door with an elaborate 13 written on it.
Putting his lips to my ear, Kade whispered, “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
The anxiety inside my chest eased. He leaned back to look at me, his blue eyes intent on mine. As strange as it was, I still trusted him to keep me safe. I nodded.
He opened the door and we stepped inside.
The room was dimly lit and filled with things I had no name for. I couldn’t even determine a purpose for some, not that I wanted to know. What I didn’t see was Parker.
He leapt out from the shadows and I saw the glint of a knife in his hand. Before I could react, Kade gave me a hard shove and I fell sideways to the floor and out of Parker’s path.
Kade threw up an arm to block the knife, grabbing Parker’s wrists and twisting. The knife clattered to the floor.
The men were a blur of movement, the silence of the room punctuated by grunts of pain and exertion as they fought. I winced at the sound of flesh hitting bone. Blood erupted on Kade’s face.
I couldn’t think what to do, how to help. Just like the heroines on television that I criticized for idly standing by in times of crisis, it seemed I was afflicted with the same paralysis.
My heart leapt when Kade seemed to get the upper hand, pummeling Parker. I saw it too late—Parker grabbed something made of wood and cracked it against Kade’s skull. It happened so fast and Kade fell to the floor.
I stared in dismay at Kade’s motionless body. A scream was building inside me, clawing its way up my chest. Hysteria and panic beat with the rhythm of my heart.
Parker turned toward me, wiping blood from his mouth with his sleeve. “Your turn, bitch.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Adrenaline surged and I lurched to my feet, scrambling away from Parker’s reach. But he was too quick and there was nowhere to go. He pushed me hard into the wall, locking his hands around my throat and starting to squeeze.
My flailing hand caught the edge of my purse, and I shoved it inside, searching while spots danced in front of my eyes. I couldn’t breathe… and it hurt… and I couldn’t find my gun…
Suddenly, the pressure eased. Parker’s face showed surprise, then he collapsed at my feet. Only then did I see the knife lodged in his back. Kade was half-lying, half-sitting on the floor across the room. He had thrown Parker’s knife.
I gasped for breath, greedily gulping in air. My throat felt raw and I lapsed into a coughing fit. I bent, with my hands on my knees, as I tried to recover. Kade was already on his feet, though blood dripped sluggishly from a cut at his temple.
“Kade…” I didn’t know what else to say. I’d thought for sure that Parker had killed him. My relief was so profound that tears sprang to my eyes. My initial impulse was to throw myself in his arms and hug him.
“Are you all right?” he asked, examining the curve of my neck. His fingers softly brushed the abused skin.
“I’m fine,” I said, blinking rapidly to dispel the wetness in my eyes. “Let’s get out of here.”
With a nod, Kade stooped down, taking Parker’s wallet and cell phone. Then he pulled me behind him before cracking the door and peering into the hallway.
The coast must have been clear, because Kade pulled me out of the room. His arm slid around my waist, holding me tightly as we walked through the maze. I didn’t know how Kade knew where we were going and I didn’t ask. I was just grateful we were stepping out a rear exit a few moments later.
We didn’t speak while Kade hailed a taxi and we drove back to the motel. It wasn’t until we were back in the room that the full impact hit me. My knees buckled and I sat heavily on the bed, my arms wrapped around myself. I was shaking uncontrollably.
Kade sat down next to me and I went willingly when he pulled me into his arms, cradling my head to his chest. My arms seemed to move of their own volition, creeping around his waist to hold him tight.
“I thought you were dead tonight,” I finally managed to squeeze out past the lump clogging my throat. “He nearly killed you.”
Kade’s hand lightly stroked my hair. “I’m nearly killed a lot.”
A shudder went through me.
“You’re cold,” Kade said, disengaging himself from my grip. He stood, grabbing an extra blanket from the closet.
I didn’t resist when he slipped his jacket off my shoulders and down my arms. The chilled air in the room hit my exposed skin, and goose bumps erupted.
“I could really get used to that outfit,” Kade said with a sigh before wrapping the blanket around me.
That brought a reluctant smile to my lips.
“Come on. You need to get some rest.” Crouching down, he slipped off my shoes, and I obeyed his urging, curling up on the bed with my head on the remarkably flat and unyielding pillow. He adjusted the blanket around me, then stood.
“Where are you going?” I asked apprehensively.
“Nowhere,” he replied. “Just need to take a look at that guy’s phone and wallet.” He placed a chaste kiss on my forehead. “Go to sleep.”
I watched him disappear into the bathroom, then heard the sound of the water running. A shower sounded good, but I was just too tired.
I was back in that room from the club tonight, only rather than observing the stage, I was on the stage. I was naked, my wrists bound and caught above my head. Scared, I pulled and yanked, bu
t I couldn’t release my hands. Finally, I gave up, looking around instead. No one was in the audience. I appeared to be alone.
Then I saw him.
Kade stood in the shadows, staring at me. When our eyes met, he stepped forward into the light. It shone down from above, casting his eyes into shadow.
My breath caught in my lungs. He was barefoot, clad only in his jeans. Greedily, I absorbed the view of his muscled chest and arms, planes and angles that I knew were hard to the touch.
The hungry look I knew so well scanned my body. Kade took his time examining me, and I flushed hotly under his scrutiny. When his eyes once again met mine, they seemed to burn.
Kade prowled toward me with an easy grace—a work of art in motion. His dark beauty was edged with a dangerous, otherworldly quality.
My heart was racing when he moved close enough to touch me, and I couldn’t tear my gaze from his.
My alarm had morphed into a different kind of fear. He reached out, a lone finger trailing up my side, then brushing over my collarbone to trace a tantalizing path between my breasts down to my navel.
“You want this,” he said, his voice low and sensuous, like warmed brandy flowing through my veins. “You just won’t admit it.”
I couldn’t move, bound as I was, couldn’t get away.
Kade’s hand slipped between my thighs. I whimpered in the back of my throat at the intimate touch.
It wasn’t true. I didn’t want Kade.
His eyes delved into mine, a knowing twist to his lips as I refused to speak. The wetness beneath his hand didn’t lie. I squeezed my eyes tightly closed, horrified at my body’s reaction.
“Your turn, bitch.”
My eyes flew open, only it was no longer Kade touching me, but Parker.
I screamed, thrashing, unable to get away. I screamed again, a raw sound tearing out of my throat.
“Kathleen! Wake up!”
Kade’s voice penetrated the horror of my nightmare and I jerked awake to find I was tangled in the blanket. Still caught in a web of fear, I frantically pushed it off, sitting up and drawing my knees to my chest.
Kade sat next to me, his hand tightly gripping my arm. The pressure produced an acute sensation to my already overly heightened nervous system. “Are you all right?”
Turning Point (The Kathleen Turner Series) Page 6