by P Nelson
“This little fucker needs to be prosecuted the fullest extent of the law,” Eric was saying beside her, his arms squeezing her almost to the point of being uncomfortable. “I’m going to talk to Frankie about this.”
“Leave Frankie out of this for now.” Flynn set the laptop down on the glass coffee table. “I keep a very expensive legal team on retainer for The Club; its time they earned their paycheques.” Elizabeth watched along with everyone else as Detective Demopoulos pulled a memory card out of her pocket and inserted it into the laptop.
“Elizabeth, I know seeing these images again will be hard, but you need to tell me everything you can about them,” she said as she fiddled with the keys of the laptop. Looking up, Detective Demopoulos waited for Elizabeth to answer. “Will it be too hard with everyone here?”
Shaking her head, Elizabeth scanned the faces of the people in the room and sighed. “None of you are judging me. It’s ok. I want to help you as much as I can.”
“Brave girl,” Detective Demopoulos praised, and Eric squeezed her shoulders again. The detective turned the computer around, and Elizabeth was presented with the first picture.
“That was taken right outside my fucking club.” Flynn’s voice was loud in the room as his anger thundered around the huge space. Elizabeth wondered if he had ever been this angry in here before. Probably not, Mr Flynn Banroch wore a civilised mask for his business. Elizabeth would put money on the fact that he never lost his temper.
“This picture was taken on Friday night as Eric and I left the club.” Elizabeth scrolled down to the next image of Eric helping Elizabeth into his car.
“Whoever took these pictures knows his way around a camera,” Detective Demopoulos murmured. “It would take some experience to get the resolution right at night using a long lens.” Elizabeth thought over the detective’s words and frowned as a thought came to her. Looking up at the other woman, she gasped half-afraid of what it meant.
“Jerry wouldn’t know how to do that,” she remarked to the rest of the room. “The only camera he owns is on his phone.”
Chapter 12
“Even if Jerry somehow gained access to a high-powered camera and became an expert at night photography, he would only have a small window of opportunity to go to your place. The amount of damage he caused infers he spent some time in your basement suite,” Detective Demopoulos explained.
“A private investigator?” Flynn suggested.
“You’re the only person I know who has a PI on retainer,” Detective Demopoulos returned.
“Besides I don’t think Jerry has the kind of money needed to pay a private investigator.” Elizabeth interjected staring at the picture on the laptop.
“You can’t hire a PI on a whim, either,” Detective Demopoulos pointed out. “Jerry would have to complete an initial meeting with whoever he hired and the PI would have to take his case. The timeframe doesn’t work here.”
“It does if this asshole has been planning to burn Elizabeth the entire time.” Eric’s voice was tight. “He might have been planning this all along.”
“No.” Calla spoke up from her seat near the big front windows. “When Flynn and I spoke to him on Friday night, he was genuinely surprised Elizabeth hadn’t agreed to become his sub again. I don’t see how he could have planned all of this.”
“I agree with Calla.” Flynn spoke up from behind the couch Eric and Elizabeth were sitting on. “We’re missing something here.”
“Let’s look through the rest of the pictures, and you can tell me what you know about them.” Detective Demopoulos suggested as she moved the curser on the laptop. She scrolled down to the ones where Elizabeth and Eric were speaking to the neighbourhood kids.
“Those are the drug house kids I told you about, Thea,” Eric said as he scanned the faces of the kids. He and Elizabeth were facing away from the camera, but the kids’ faces were clearly visible. “They were the ones who told Elizabeth about Jerry breaking into her place.”
“Not surprisingly they didn’t give us anything, and we don’t have a warrant to leverage any of them,” Thea replied as she scrolled down, and the pictures of Elizabeth with her hands braced against the front windows naked with Eric leaning over her came into view. His face was turned away, but Elizabeth’s face was clear through the glass. Eric leaned forward studying the picture carefully as Elizabeth’s body went rigid beside him. He squeezed her frame harder into his body as he looked at the angle of the photograph.
“This couldn’t have been taken from the water,” he finally said. “First, I would have seen a boat out in the bay, and there wasn’t one there. It means whoever took this had to be on my property hiding somewhere, maybe in the treeline on the right side.” He suggested and wished he could take away the pain he felt radiating from Elizabeth beside him. He turned to face her and waited until she looked up at him.
“I’m sorry. We should have been more discreet, but I honestly had no idea this would happen.” He spoke from the heart, and he hoped Elizabeth believed him.
“None of this is your fault, Eric.” Elizabeth’s voice cracked a little. “Who could believe my ex would be hiding in the bushes waiting to take pictures of us?”
“My bet is he’s working with someone,” Thea announced as she scrolled down to show the remaining pictures. They were of Eric and Elizabeth on their day trip to the mall. Again, Elizabeth’s face was clear in each of the photos, Eric only an accessory to her. There was one grainy shot of them while in the boat on Sunday but nothing malicious. “I’m going to have a chat with your neighbours and find out if any of them saw anything unusual.” She closed the pictures window on the screen and took the thumb drive out. “I’ll also stop by the West Van PD and find out if they have any suspicious activity in the area. Hopefully someone saw a license plate on a car or something.”
“Can you send me a copy of those pictures?” Flynn asked from behind the couch, and Eric, along with everyone else, looked up at him. He sighed in response. “Elizabeth, you’re a beautiful sub, and Eric is clearly lucky to have you.” Elizabeth blushed at his words, and Eric kissed her forehead. “But I want the tech guys at The Cage to scan the internet and find out if they’ve been posted anywhere on online. I might even have Linkin look around; he knows all the shady places on the web.”
“I remember he could get a bunch of revenge porn images off the web of his sub Delaney.” Eric nodded and thought of the club’s only permanent threesome.
“Yeah, if this Jerry thinks he can plaster the internet with these pictures he’s in for a big surprise. You’ll be shocked at the kind of things my boys and Linkin do to assholes who try and take advantage of women,” Flynn concluded.
“I don’t want to hear it!” Thea held up her hands. “I need plausible deniability.” She looked down at Elizabeth. “We’re going to get this dick, Elizabeth. All you need to do is worry about staying safe and listening to your Dom.” She smiled at Eric. “You’ll take good care of her, or I’ll have something to say about it.”
“Is that Detective Demopoulos speaking or a Domme?” Eric asked curiously.
“It’s the pissed-off chick who doesn’t like to see women victimised by assholes,” she replied as she walked towards the door. “I’ll keep you in the loop, and Flynn let me know if the boys find anything.”
“Will do. My gut tells me there’s something going on here that we’re not seeing.” Flynn shook his head. “If this were a business deal, I’d have my lawyers going over everything a second, third time. My instincts are never wrong.”
“Hopefully, we’ll find Jerry and he’ll reveal all,” Thea said from the door. “Talk to you all soon.” She walked out on booted high heels as if she owned the place and shut the door behind her.
“What a mess,” Flynn grumbled as he took a seat on the opposite couch.
“I should get Elizabeth home,” Eric said as he looked at Elizabeth.
“Do you think it’s wise to take her back to your place. This fucker knows where you live and how to get pictu
res of you,” Flynn pointed out.
“Elizabeth needs stability right now.” Eric felt his inner caveman getting his back up over Flynn’s alpha male Dom act.
“What do you want to do, Elizabeth?” Calla asked quietly.
“Come on, Calla.” Flynn’s voice cut through the room. “We don’t need your psychobabble bullshit right now. Elizabeth needs a Dom to take responsibility for her and protect her so she can ride out the storm.”
“The psychobabble bullshit is why you hired me as the shrink of The Cage,” Calla argued back. “Elizabeth has had everything ripped away from her in the last few days and needs to feel like she’s in control of something.” Her voice rose, and it was the first time Eric had ever seen the shrink become angry. She dealt with inexperienced Doms with patience, cranky subs with infinite care, and now, she was going toe-to-toe with Flynn over Elizabeth.
“Fifty licks for swearing, Calla.” Flynn’s voice had turned razor sharp, and it looked as if his shoulders had grown in the space of a second.
“I’m not your sub,” Calla sat up defiantly. “And I’d like to see you try and collect.” The challenge in her eyes was like a red flag to the man sitting opposite her, and Eric winced at where this argument was heading.
“Not to worry, little sub. I’ve had you begging and on your knees for my cock plenty of times, it will be little bother to have you there again,” Flynn’s voice was silky as he made the pronouncement. Calla opened her mouth to reply and get herself into more trouble, but Eric took pity on her.
“Maybe Calla is right,” he interjected. “Elizabeth, what do you want to do?” Eric left the question hanging in the air as Flynn continued to scowl at Calla. He wished the two of them would just get a room and fuck each other already. Elizabeth’s big eyes looked up at him.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged her shoulders, and Eric realised she was still trying to get her feet under her again. “There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to run and hide. Jerry is playing with my life, and I want to yell at him.” Her lips turned down in a frown. “After this morning, though, I don’t know what to do. I just want to go to bed and hide under the covers until I die.” Silence filled the room.
“I have a private island only a thirty-minute boat ride from Horseshoe Bay.” Flynn’s voice broke the silence. “I don’t use it much anymore, especially as I spend so much time at the club, but I have staff who live on island. It can be ready for your use for however long.”
“The longer she waits to face her demons the harder it will be.” Calla argued with Flynn.
“At this point, I’d be happy if Elizabeth lived there forever.” Flynn’s voice held a note of steel, and he had stood up to stand over Calla. “This is my worst nightmare. A sub under my care exposed to public ridicule for getting what she needs at my club!” He ended on a shout that made Elizabeth squish her body into Eric’s, and even he winced. To her credit, Calla’s face froze, and Eric was aware of her battle not to cry or show any outward emotion. Rising to her feet, she didn’t back away from Flynn as he tried to crowd her.
“This isn’t about you, Flynn.” Calla enunciated every word. “Elizabeth is the priority right now, and if you don’t like the way I do things, then fire me.”
“Eric, take me home.” Elizabeth spoke quietly into the heavy silence. “Just take me home. Master Flynn, Mr Banroch, thank you for the offer, but Calla is right. I’m a sub in the bedroom and maybe a little bit out, but I’ll be damned if I let Jerry take anything else from me. No one has the right to take my freedom.”
“Good girl.” Calla applauded.
Flynn took his time answering. “If you need anything, you call me.” He directed his words to Eric.
“Of course.” Eric stood up and shook the other man’s hand. “I think we should stay away from the club until all of this gets sorted out.”
“Might be for the best.” Flynn shook his head. “Something is not right. I’m missing something crucial.”
“You’ll get it,” Calla spoke up, and Flynn looked at her in surprise. “You’re a good man, Flynn, and you have amazing instincts. It’s what makes you a good Dom and a good CEO.”
“Thank you, Calla.” Flynn stared down at his former sub and Eric read a wealth of unsaid things in his gaze. Turning his attention to Elizabeth, he said, “Come on. Let’s spend the day hiding under the covers.”
“Will there be ice cream?” Elizabeth asked with a forced smile as she stood up.
“Whatever flavour you want.” Eric promised. Turning to Flynn, he said, “Keep me in the loop. I want to know what techie boys find.”
“No problem and stay safe.” Flynn’s voice had gone hard again.
“He’s right,” Calla added as she began to collect her coat. “Jerry’s behaviour has shown a worrying escalation in violence that would normally take weeks or months to develop. There’s no saying what his next move might be.” She came forward and gave Elizabeth a big hug. “You have my number, call me any time.”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth replied and let go of Calla. “Have a good day.” Eric saw the brittleness return to Elizabeth’s features as they both headed for the door. He heard Flynn’s voice just as they were leaving.
“He knows who you are, Calla, and you just said he was dangerous.” The door closed on their further conversation. Elizabeth was silent as they left the Art Deco building and walked across the street to the parking garage. As soon as the doors to the car were closed, however, she opened her mouth.
“What’s the deal with Calla and Flynn?” The question was not unexpected, but Eric wasn’t sure how to answer it. “I mean they have crazy hot chemistry. Was she his brother’s sub or something? You know, like, he can’t go there for some reason? I mean it’s obvious they both want one another; is there something I’m missing? Because I’m pretty sure Calla only plays with Master Mason.” Elizabeth was thinking hard about her short time at The Cage and whether she had seen Flynn with any of the subs.
“Flynn was Calla’s training Dom,” Eric explained and felt a measure of relief at the fact Elizabeth was starting to talk nonstop again. It meant she was slowly coming out of her shock. “I feel like a sub gossiping about them.” He drove the car out of the parking garage and headed towards Stanley Park and the first narrows bridge.
“Don’t tell me the Doms don’t gossip,” Elizabeth huffed, sounding a bit more like her old self. “I saw all you leather-clad Dominants chatting to one another while your subs grovelled at your feet.”
“Have I made you grovel?” Eric asked as he drove the car through traffic.
“You’ve made me beg.” Elizabeth’s voice was shy.
“Completely different scenarios, I’ll show you the difference later.” Eric grinned at her before looking back out the window.
“Stop trying to change the subject, Calla and Flynn.” She reminded him trying to settle back into her seat and enjoy the ride through the Stanley Park Causeway. It was nice this time of year, spring was just showing the plants and trees coming back to life.
“As I said before, Flynn was Calla’s training Dom. The two of them were pretty hot and heavy I heard, but then Flynn stepped out of the thirty-day contract, and asked Master Dillon to take over,” Eric explained in a clinical voice.
“The Master Dillon?” Elizabeth asked him with wide eyes.
“You’re going to give me a complex if you keep worshipping at the altar of Dillon the porn star.” Eric’s voice had turned hard and sarcastic.
“I just can’t see Calla and Master Dillon being very compatible.” Elizabeth rushed to assure Eric. “Maybe there was a time I had a small crush on Master Dillon, but that was before I met you.” She tried to bat her eyelashes at him.
“Tease.” Eric dropped the sarcasm. “Nobody knows why Flynn really broke the contract, but he said they weren’t compatible, which is a lie for anybody who has spent one minute in a room with them together.”
“Doms can do that?” Feeling an unreasonable stab of fear go through h
er. At this point, Eric was the only stable thing in her life. She couldn’t imagine trying to get through the shit flowing her way without him.
“Of course,” Eric continued to explain. “Calla does a great job when she interviews potential members of the club, but as we’ve seen with your ex, some dicks still get through. Even if there isn’t a glaring problem between a Dominant and their training sub, there needs to be a way for each of the them to break the contract if they feel the partnership isn’t working.”
“Oh.” Elizabeth’s voice caught in her throat. She had been nothing but a burden to him. Even now his naked body could be all over the internet because of her.
“Elizabeth, our relationship works.” Eric’s voice had gone hard. “Whatever it is you’re thinking right now, stop. I already told you I’m committed to seeing this through to the end, and I’m a little disappointed you think I’d abandon you.”
“I’m causing a lot of problems for everyone.” Elizabeth swallowed hard and looked out the passenger-side window as they went over the Lion’s Gate Bridge. She looked out on the harbour of Vancouver and tried to get centred.
“Your ex-boyfriend is causing a lot of problems, Elizabeth.” Eric’s hand moved to her knee, and he gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“If not for me, none of this would have happened.” Elizabeth’s heart felt as if it were breaking. All she wanted was to be a heroine in a romance novel. She wanted to feel the bite of pain and pleasure the women in her favourite stories experienced, but it seems as if she got the nightmare version.
“It’s ok to feel like everything is out of your control, Elizabeth, but to get through this, you’re going to have to fight.” Eric said, and Elizabeth knew he was right. Her submissive journey had not started as she expected. Hell, if Jerry hadn’t broken up with her for someone hotter, then she never would have met Eric. Elizabeth let herself think of Jerry for the first time today.
“Flynn is right there’s something else going on here. Jerry isn’t smart enough to come up with all the cloak and dagger stuff on his own.” Elizabeth watched as Eric exited the bridge and headed for West Vancouver.