by Linzi Baxter
Sophie had been fiddling with a case file before she spoke up. “Her flashbacks keep getting worse.”
“We need to eliminate this group.” Neal looked up. “I’m going to try to locate Abshir and find out where he is now.”
Absently, I reached out and grabbed another piece of licorice while I took a drink of coffee.
A few hours later, we were no closer to cracking the case than when we’d started. We needed to figure out what information they were after.
Jessica had rejoined the group after talking to Patty. Her spirits seemed to be lighter.
“Neal, how are things progressing with you and Daisy?”
Neal ran his hand across his head, apparently frustrated with the question or with how things were going with him and Daisy.
“She is a fantastic sub. I worry she has no limits and personally, John, I don’t think you’re helping her. The other night before John and I got there, Daisy ended up in a scene with two sadists. I worry she won’t say her safe word even when it’s too much.”
I hadn’t considered how far she would go before safe-wording. “Why don’t you take her off John’s hands?”
Neal rolled his eyes. “She’s a person, not a toy we can pass around.”
We weren’t passing her around like a toy. We were trying to figure out what was best for her so she wouldn’t get hurt or end up in a situation that set her back. Daisy had been meeting constantly with the team therapist, and she seemed headed in the proper direction.
“Sorry to put you in this situation,” I said. “I’ll get ahold of Aaron, and he can help Daisy. We don’t think John is helping Daisy much, either.”
“I told you she is not a fucking toy. I will decide what’s best for her. Stay the fuck out of it,” Neal demanded while pounding his fists on the table.
Bingo. I had hit the right nerve. It seemed Neal was protective of Daisy. Maybe now he would get off his ass and move Daisy in with him.
“Well, on that note, Jessica and I will see you at the club tonight.” We had been taking things slow. I didn’t want to scare her away. I had a private room booked for us tonight, and I couldn’t wait to sink into her.
At the mention of the club, Jessica’s head swung around. Her soft blond hair was up in a ponytail. The look of surprise on her face made me chuckle.
“Let’s go grab food, and then you and Daisy can get ready for the club. I have a private room for us.”
Jessica hopped up from the chair and ran to the guest bedroom to grab her things so we could head out.
12
Jessica
I still couldn’t believe how luxurious the locker room at Sanctorum was. Sitting in front of my full-length wooden locker, I peeked inside the drawers to find they contained everything any sub would ever need. The etched wooden hangers in the locker were more beautiful than the ones I had at my house.
The locker room also had a beautiful bathroom. The vanity had marble countertops to match the marble-tiled showers. I grew up with money and had my own. My place didn’t compare to the expense and detail Sam had put into the club.
Daisy and I chose to stay in the locker room. Sasha was in the bathroom, and I wasn’t in any mood to deal with her. Brock hadn’t said anything about her membership being restored. From the expression on Daisy’s face, she was stunned to discover Sasha in the bathroom.
Somehow, Brock had my outfit for the night already in my locker. The fet wear he chose was even more revealing than what I had worn last time. Daisy must have noticed me eyeing the outfit with apprehension.
“Daisy thinks you’re beautiful and will look wonderful in your corset. Neal picked out a revealing outfit for me tonight. Daisy likes playing with Neal.” When she spoke about Neal, her eyes lit up with joy. I was pleased to see it. I was sure the darkness of her past would fade.
“I’m glad you like Neal. Do all clubs look like this? From what I saw online, they don’t.”
Daisy shook her head. “Most clubs don’t even have locker rooms. Sam treats us like royalty.” When she said royalty, she laughed. “Daisy guesses he needs to since his wife and sister-in-law are royalty.”
Talking about my heritage made me feel uncomfortable. “I’m no different than you, Daisy. Please don’t treat me differently. I’m just a normal person.”
At my words, Daisy frowned. “Daisy used to be normal. Daisy can’t seem to get back there. Neal makes me feel like the old Daisy. Daisy was worried the old me would never appear.”
I leaned over and gave Daisy a hug. “Major life events change your personality. You don’t have to find the old Daisy. You just need to find the Daisy that makes you happy.”
“That’s what Dr. Cruz says. But now, Masters Brock and Neal can always find Daisy. Last week, Daisy met a new Dom and went to do a scene with him. But Brock and Neal were upset with Daisy. They gave her a pretty necklace with a tracker in it so they can always find Daisy.” She pointed to a beautiful diamond necklace around her neck. The pink diamond pendant was attached to a lovely silver chain.
“Does it bother you to wear a tracking device?” I asked. I still hadn’t come to grips with the tracker my father had put in Patty and me after I had been kidnapped. We found out about the trackers when Patty was taken. Our father had never told us about them before then.
“No,” Daisy said. “It makes me feel safe.”
The door to the dressing room swished open, and a woman I had never seen before strode in. She had long blond hair and was so skinny I felt the need to buy her a piece of cake. Once her eyes landed on Daisy, her smile softened and her brown eyes held sympathy. “Daisy, Master Neal sent me in to see if you are going to be out soon. You have a scene about to start.”
Daisy looked puzzled. “Daisy will come out in a second. Let me check my phone.”
I didn’t want Daisy to get in trouble with Neal. We had taken longer than usual to get ready, and I knew they had a scene scheduled. I put my hand on her bare shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “I’m almost ready. Go have fun with Neal. I will be out in a few.”
She leaned in and whispered, “Neal told Daisy, no matter what, not to leave your side. This doesn’t make sense.” A new level of anxiety hit my stomach at her words.
I sat down on the plush chair in front of my locker. “Go on. I just have to put my shoes on. I will be right behind you.”
Daisy’s face brightened a bit. “If all you have left is to put on your shoes, Daisy will wait a few extra minutes. Daisy likes punishments, sometimes as much as rewards.”
I leaned down to put my shoes on, but the sound of Daisy’s muffled scream made me look up again. Kennedy was holding a rag to Daisy’s face. I stood up to lunge at Kennedy, but someone grabbed me from behind. The smell of ether hit my nose, and everything went black.
Brock
The ice cold beer felt wonderful after a long day. The threat to Jessica had taken its toll on me, but tonight would be all about her. I had originally planned to do a scene in one of the rooms, but I changed my mind. I wanted our first time to be special. I planned on watching a few scenes together and then heading up to the apartment.
Neal sat down in the chair next to me. Eric brought him a frosted mug with Yeuling before he asked.
“Damn, that tastes good.” Neal placed his beer on the bar. “We will stop this group from getting Jessica. You need to relax and appreciate the night.”
How could I relax? The people after her were excellent at hiding their digital footprint. They were able to get in and out of Neal’s building without being seen. We needed to figure out who was helping them locally. I was leaving it in Sam’s hands to make sure Axmed didn’t escape.
“How are things with you and Daisy?”
“I’m planning on asking her if she wants to stay with me. I think John is doing her more harm than good.”
This wasn’t just about John doing her harm. Neal wanted Daisy. He wasn’t ready to admit it, however. Once she was in his house, I didn’t think he would ever let her leav
e. Last week, when she went off to do a scene with a Dom neither of us knew, Neal almost had a heart attack looking for her.
“They are taking a long time to get ready.” I was excited about my plan for tonight. I felt like Jessica and Daisy had been in the dressing room for hours.
Neal’s head turned in the direction of the locker rooms. He had been looking that way every couple minutes. “I just saw Mia leave the locker room, and she is headed our way. Maybe she can tell us what is taking them so long.”
When I glanced over, Mia was practically running towards us. Her face was filled with concern, and I knew something was wrong. Neal and I jumped up and headed toward Mia. Eric would take care of our drinks.
“Where is Daisy?” Neal demanded.
“Gone. I found someone to cover my shift and the front desk, so I came down to change with Jessica and Daisy. I noticed the chairs in their locker area were knocked over. I headed out here to see if they were with you.”
I didn’t have time to get more information. I took off running toward the dressing room. The club was filling up, and it was challenging to maneuver through the crowds. Neal yelled that he was going to check the cameras. He would head up to my office and watch the video footage. I pressed my finger to my ear to alert the staff something was happening. I told everyone to go on lockdown until we knew Jessica was okay.
I burst into the women’s locker room. It was empty. Jessica’s chair was on its side, and a white rag from the bathroom lay on the floor. I took a look around but saw nothing that would help me find her.
Pressing my finger to my earpiece again, I alerted everyone that Jessica and Daisy were both missing. I heard a bunch of cursing through the line, but nobody had an eye on her. Knowing the team on the floor would take care of things, I headed up to my office to see if Neal had a lead.
Neal was sitting in front of my second computer station pulling up video footage. Mia had followed me upstairs and was pacing the floor.
“Did you find anything?” I asked Neal.
He shook his head as his fingers flew across the keyboard.
“Mia, did you see anyone out of the ordinary come into the club tonight?” I couldn’t believe Daisy and Jessica were taken right under our noses. This place was supposed to be safe.
Mia stopped pacing. “The only thing different was Sasha was back tonight.”
Before I had time to ask why she had let that woman in, Neal cursed next to me. “Daisy’s tracker shows she’s in the dressing room.”
Why hadn’t I thought of that sooner? Jessica had a tracker. “You’re brilliant!”
I sat down in my command seat, grabbed my phone, and quickly dialed Sam. It took a couple minutes for him to answer.
“You realize it’s the middle of the fucking night. This better be good.”
“Sam, I need the website to track Jessica.”
“Hold on.” I heard some shuffling on the other side of the phone.
A groggy voice came over the phone. “What’s going on, Brock?”
“Patty, I don’t have time to explain. I need the site to track Jessica.” In the background, Patty was yelling at Sam to hand her the laptop.
“You can’t get to it. I changed it so it can only be accessed from my servers, and it has to be double authenticated. Hold on. I’m bringing it up right now.”
It felt like time had slowed down. Neal was still going over footage of the club and the parking lot.
“Fuck!” Patty screamed over the phone. “Her tracker is off.”
“How is that possible? The trackers are implanted.”
Patty was quiet for a few seconds. I could hear her fingers typing on her computer. “It seems she was at the club twenty minutes ago. Then it went offline. The only way that can happen is if someone cuts the tracker out of her.”
Bile rose up my throat. This had to be the work of the individuals working with Axmed.
“I think I found something,” Neal said.
I leaned over to take a look at his monitors. I clicked the speaker button so Patty and Sam could hear what was going on.
“I changed the coding in Patty’s security system to activate when motion is detected in any of her properties. Looks like someone just entered the guest room at Hotel Lebleu.”
“Pull up the video feed.” A few clicks later, the camera’s footage was on the big screen, and it was all black.
But she had to be there, and her kidnappers were working to keep us out. I holstered my sig and started for the door.
Neal grabbed my arm. “You can’t go in guns blazing with no intel. Give me a second.”
A few keystrokes later, we had video feed from inside the room. Jessica was lying on the hotel bed. Her left forearm had a bandage on it. It took me a second to find Daisy. She was lying on the floor next to the bed. On the far side of the room, Sasha and Kennedy seemed to be in a heated discussion.
“After the first incident at the Hotel Lebleu, I had a set of hidden cameras installed in all Patty’s properties.”
God bless Neal. “I can take those two. I will call Antonio and Asher on my way over. You stay and watch the feed. Patty, can you call the hotel and tell them what’s going on?” Not waiting for an answer, I hung up and headed for my truck.
When I reached Hotel Lebleu, Asher and Antonio were standing outside with SWAT. I gave them a rundown of what we saw in the room.
Ten minutes later, SWAT had broken down the door, taking Sasha and Kennedy by surprise. They were both in cuffs in a matter of seconds and spilling their guts. Not caring about their story, I headed straight to Jessica. I knew Antonio would debrief me later.
13
Jessica
Brock was silent on the ride from Hotel Lebleu back to Blackwood Security. He had been frowning deeply when I woke up from being drugged. A team of EMTs had checked my vitals, but Brock had never let me out of his arms. It had made their job ten times harder.
Blackwood Security would figure out how Sasha and Kennedy tied into the whole mess. I was dressed in my outfit from the club. Surprisingly, my hair and makeup were perfect after the kidnapping. I wouldn’t give Brock a choice. Tonight we were going to the club.
We pulled into the employee parking lot at Blackwood Security. Brock rushed around the SUV to open my door and help me out.
“Let’s go up to the apartment and get you changed.”
That was not going to happen. It was around eleven o’clock, and the club would still be packed. If I had to drag him there kicking and screaming, we were going to the club. “No.”
Brock stopped short and studied my face. “What do you mean no?”
“I want to go to the club. You promised me a night of passion.”
He ran his hand along the side of his neck, trying to work out the tension. “Jessica, you were kidnapped. Taken straight out of my club. A place you are supposed to feel protected in. I failed you.”
“You didn’t fail me. You’re supposed to get back up when you fall. I took a good fall, and I want to face it head on. Sasha and Kennedy are in jail. I highly doubt the people who are after me are going to strike again on the same night.” I was to the point of pleading. I had been waiting for tonight for so long, and I would not let these people ruin it.
Without another word, Brock pulled me toward the back door. Instead of heading to the club, he pulled me toward the apartment. I couldn’t help but feel heartbroken by his rejection. I wanted to be with Brock so much, but the people from my past kept messing everything up.
When we entered the apartment, I tried to pull away. I didn’t want Brock to know how much his actions tore at my heart. Tears were running down my face.
“Go to the bedroom, strip, and present yourself.”
****Brock****
The need to be inside Jessica was overwhelming. I considered waiting another night with everything that happened. When I mentioned it, Jessica looked as though I had stolen her puppy. I hadn’t planned on doing a scene in the club tonight. I had wanted to walk aroun
d and watch others, then take Jessica up to the apartment. I wanted her first time to be special.
I walked into the bathroom to run cold water over my face. I needed to get my body under control. Since the second I decided to go through with my plan, I’d been rock hard. I also needed to give Jessica time to do as I asked.
On the ride over from the hotel, I’d had an internal struggle. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to proceed tonight. Almost losing Jessica this evening had made the anger surface. I needed to be inside her to mark her as mine.
Discarding my shirt in the hamper, I walked to our bedroom. Our bedroom. I liked the sound of that. I didn’t care if it was too soon. Jessica would be living with me permanently after tonight. I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
Jessica was kneeling on the floor in front of the bed. She was more stunning than I could have ever imagined. Her hair was cascading over her shoulders, her golden skin shimmered in the moonlight, and her pink nipples were waiting for me to touch them.
One word came to mind. Mine.
I needed to get my body under control. I was close to coming already, and I hadn’t even touched her yet. I went to the chest next to the bed where I kept my toys and removed a deerskin flogger and a pair of hand-and-ankle cuffs. “Up. Climb on the bed.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jessica scurried onto the bed facing the headboard. She was a vision. There was only one word that fit her—perfect.
Needing to be inside her, I hurried to clip the cuffs around her wrists and weaved them through the iron rods on the headboard. I ran my hands up and down the scars on Jessica’s back. She flinched at first, but when I continued, she relaxed her muscles.
Pulling her feet apart, I tied each ankle to a cuff. Spreading her legs open gave me a view of her arousal. She was ready for me, and we had just started. I ran my finger through her folds, and she squirmed on the bed, trying to get more friction.
“Please.”