by Sophie Oak
“Why you and not Ben?” Leo asked, suspicion plain in his voice. “I’m much closer to Ben than anyone in our old team.”
“I don’t have an address,” Ben said with a frown. “Chase is completely paranoid. He’s taken us off the grid. Even our money is registered to several holding companies. If you want to find us, you would have to dig for a long time, and even then, Chase would know someone was coming.”
Leo’s eyes rolled. “God, Chase, just get on my couch and never get up again. You’re so wrong.”
Chase shrugged, an elegant movement of his shoulders. He never let up on his petting of Kitten, whose eyes had closed in seeming happiness. “I’m perfectly satisfied with every one of my psychological disorders. So the guy who killed Ada is back. Why now? Holder is fairly high profile. He would be easy to track. You’ve gotten careless, Steve.”
Holder flashed a little sneer Chase’s way. “I’ve gotten into business. People in the real world don’t hide, Dawson.”
“Yes, that’s why they so often get screwed.” Chase made his pronouncement with a look of sympathy for all those who didn’t agree with him.
“I want to know what’s going on with my brother.” If someone didn’t talk soon, Wolf was going to fucking explode.
“Would it do me a bit of good if I told you it isn’t your business, Wolf?” Leo asked.
There it was. That ache in Wolf’s chest that bloomed every time his brother shut him out. Why was he even bothering to try? He should go and pick up Shelley and shove her in his truck and take her right back to Bliss. She would love Bliss. His designer sweetheart would adore being married to a cowboy and living in a ranch hand’s house.
Leo moved in Wolf’s space, his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Forgive me. It’s a force of habit. I’ll get used to this.” He turned to Ben. “We can talk. No one in this room is going to let the story leave here.”
Ben’s face flushed. He looked back at his own brother, who gave him an encouraging smile.
“You can pet Kitten while you talk if you like,” Chase offered.
“God, you’re a pervert,” Ben said, before turning back and addressing the room. “Ada was a translator in Kabul. She was American, but of Iranian descent. She was excellent with languages. And she rather liked bondage.”
Leo took up the story. “I met her when she came into camp. I knew a sub when I saw one. Ben and I had talked about the fact that we’d frequented clubs in the states. You have to understand what it’s like over there, Julian, Jack.”
Jack held up a hand as if to stop Leo. “Son, you don’t have to make a single explanation to me. You took your comfort where you could. No one is going to blame you for that.”
“I didn’t love her,” Leo said, his lips turning down. “She was lovely and submissive, and I needed someone to spend time with. I liked her, but I didn’t love her.”
“I did.” Ben’s words were quiet, a confession. “But she would never have accepted what Chase and I need. She saw Leo and I separately. Never together.”
Holder stared openly at Ben. “I had no idea you were involved with her.”
Ben took a deep breath, old pain obviously surfacing. “She was crazy about Leo. I was secondary. She let me in when she couldn’t have Leo and when she died, Leo made sure no one knew about my relationship with her.”
“I’m sorry, Ben. I thought it was just fun,” Leo said, his eyes grave.
Ben shook his head. “I don’t blame you, man. I never told you. I wanted to die when I found out she was gone and how it had happened. But I never blamed you. And I never once believed you would have left her tied up.”
Leo’s jaw was a hard line, his words precise and controlled. “During the inquiry into Ada’s murder, it was brought up that I might have left her tied up as a punishment. The rope was mine. I had left it there. The JAG prosecutor knew he couldn’t get me for the murder, since I was literally on a mission when she died, but he did accuse me of leaving her alone and vulnerable.”
“You wouldn’t. I would never believe that.” Wolf vehemently denied it. He knew his brother. Leo could be hard on a sub, but he took their safety seriously. He wouldn’t turn his back on a bound sub, much less leave one to go on a mission.
“They tried to say Leo was punishing her,” Ben offered. “I shouldn’t have stayed in. I should have stood up beside you. I should have spoken up for you.”
Leo studied Wolf for a moment. “You believe me?”
How could Leo think for a single second that he didn’t? “Yes. I believe you.”
Leo nodded as though something had settled in his gut. He seemed more comfortable, his words coming easily. “It wouldn’t have helped, Ben. I could have stayed in, too. Our CO was adamant. But I was ready to leave. I was ready to start over. But, Ben, if I had known you loved her, I wouldn’t have kept certain things from you. You have to understand, man, I was trying to protect you.”
“Tell me now.” Ben’s legs were in a hard military stance, his body rigid.
“Whoever killed Ada left a note,” Holder said. “The asshole who sent me the pictures also sent the file. Damn, Leo. Am I the only one who knows this?”
“Outside of the closed hearings, yes. It said Whore. Written in blood. Hers.” Leo shoved his hair back. “It’s why JAG decided it was some Taliban asshole. Ada looked Afghan. We were off base. It would have been easy. I left her there. I should have walked her back, but I got the call, and she didn’t want to leave.”
Ben’s face had gone stark white. “Fuckers. They killed her because she had sex. Hypocrites.”
“I think JAG got it wrong,” Holder said, pulling an envelope out of his jacket pocket. “I got this note along with those photos and the file.”
Wolf grabbed it. He was closest to Holder. He had a moment to look at the note, handwritten in an almost childish script.
He’s found another whore. This one will go just like the last.
And there was another photo. One that hadn’t been included in the package Holder had left. It was a picture of Shelley getting off the train right in front of the building that housed The Club. Her face was turned up to the sun, her ivory skin practically glowing, her dark hair a waterfall of ebony.
Wolf felt sick.
Leo snatched it, and his skin paled as he read the words. He passed it to Ben, who sent it to Chase and Julian.
“I’m so sorry,” Holder said, his voice a rumble of Southern sympathy. “I don’t know why he picked me to send it to. I only know that I’ll help you any way I can. I have a whole company that stands ready to help you. We were SEALs together. That’s a brotherhood, man. I couldn’t let you ignore this.”
But he and Leo had blood. Thicker than service. And they had a shared risk. Shelley. The woman they both loved. Wolf stared at his brother, their eyes locking.
He wouldn’t let Leo down.
Chapter Thirteen
“Please tell me what’s going on.” Shelley looked around Leo’s apartment. Finn and Lucas were sitting on the couch.
“Wolf should be here soon,” Lucas explained in his smoothest tone. “He’ll know more than we do.”
“It’s going to be okay,” Finn assured her.
But it didn’t feel that way. She’d been hustled out of the breakfast by Finn and Lucas as though she was under some sort of immediate threat. Her stomach turned.
“Is this about Bryce? Has something else come up? Did the feds find something new?” It was her greatest fear. Bryce had used her in a myriad of ways to cover his crimes. She’d been too trusting. She’d signed documents she hadn’t really understood, giving Bryce a place to hide his money. She’d unwittingly given him a vehicle for his blackmail operation. He’d hidden spy cameras in the various lamps and vases she’d used in her designs. He’d gotten her the clients, wealthy, powerful men. She hadn’t known a damn thing. She’d been stupid. She’d always known it would catch up to her.
“I don’t know, Shelley,” Finn said. He seemed to be trying to soothe her
. “I just know that Julian asked that we escort you down here and we don’t let you out of our sights. From what I understand, Aidan is handling the weekly meeting because everyone else is dealing with this situation.”
That meant it was damn serious. There was a hierarchy at The Club. If Julian couldn’t handle something then Leo would. Ben and Chase were next in line. Aidan wasn’t even a full timer here. If Aidan was talking to the employees about the Saturday-night scenes, then every Dom on the payroll was in this emergency meeting.
It was serious. And it was about her.
Tears threatened.
“Would you like some tea?” Lucas asked. “Or coffee? Have you eaten anything?”
Shelley shook her head. The last thing she could think about was her stomach. “I’m fine. I think I’ll just freshen up.”
She started down the hallway to the bathroom. She needed a minute. She could hear Finn and Lucas talking.
“Should we let her go?” Finn asked.
“We’re sixteen stories up. There’s no back way out, and we swept the place when we came in. She’s fine. Give her a minute,” Lucas replied.
Fine? Not anywhere close. Fine was a state she’d moved away from a long time before.
She closed the bathroom door behind her. But she’d been more than fine the night before. She’d been perfect. She’d been held between Leo and Wolf. She hadn’t had to think. She’d just felt the press of their bodies against hers, into hers. She’d been surrounded by them, safe and protected.
God, she wanted to be between them now and not for sex. She wanted them to hold her, to promise her it would be all right.
She walked to the sink and turned on the cold water, splashing it on her face. To hell with her makeup. She couldn’t breathe.
The phone in her pocket trilled.
Leo? Wolf? She scrambled, her fingers fluttering as she pulled the phone from her pocket. It was a text, and she didn’t know the number.
I know what you did. If you want to leave the men out of it, meet me in five minutes. The Mexican place down the street. If not, I can kill those two and then we’ll still talk. You have five minutes.
She dropped the phone as though it had burned her flesh.
All of her nightmares were real. Someone knew and they wanted revenge. The question was, would she let her men stand in the way of it?
Hell, no. She’d hidden for too long. The thought of Leo taking a bullet was worse than her own death. An image of Wolf’s big strong body forever silent threatened to wreck her.
She couldn’t let it happen. She needed to call the police, but what would this person do if she didn’t show up in the requisite five minutes she’d been given? How vulnerable were Leo and Wolf?
She took a deep breath. She needed a few things. She winced a little. The first thing she needed to do was get the damn plug out of her ass. She couldn’t run with it. Wolf would be pissed, but then again, she might not see him again.
She got it done, anger coursing through her veins. She should be exploring, having fun with her new Dom and trying to bring Leo in, but no, she was still dealing with Bryce’s shit. He would never let her go. He was dead and gone and still screwing with her life.
One mistake. That was all it had taken. One mistake she’d made when she was too young to know better and her life was over. It had been the day she’d said yes to Bryce.
She smoothed her hair back. She couldn’t look like a woman who was about to make a break for it. Damn it. She missed the stupid plug. It had been a reminder of Wolf, as though he was there with her. Now she was alone.
And she had a job to do.
As quietly as she could, she slipped out of the bathroom and down the hall. Wolf had talked about carrying a gun. She wondered if he had more than one. She went into the small bedroom she’d shared with the men the night before. Wolf’s duffel bag was on the bed. Guilt knifed through her. Wolf trusted her, but she wasn’t sure what else to do.
Lucas had a son. Finn had a baby on the way. She couldn’t risk them. She’d gotten herself into this position. She was going to get herself out.
There it was, just past his spare pair of jeans. She had no idea what the make was or the name. It was a gun. It was big and shiny and metallic and it would kill people.
She grabbed Wolf’s hoodie. It was enormous. It would hide the fact that she had a gun in the pocket of her jeans. Her hands shaking, she carefully placed the gun, muzzle down, handle up. She wasn’t going out without a fight.
She walked back out. Finn sat beside Lucas, both men watching their phones as if waiting for some message they were sure would come.
“Lucas, I changed my mind. I really am hungry,” she said, trying to give him a wan smile. She clutched at the cotton of the jacket as though cold.
Lucas stood up. “Of course. I’ll go see what Leo has. I’m sure I can make you an omelet.”
He walked back to the kitchen and Finn got up as well. He sighed and held out a hand, finding hers and squeezing it. “It’s going to be okay, Shelley. I promise. Wolf can handle this. If you’re worried about him leaving, I really wouldn’t. And Leo will come around. Trust me. This is all some horrifically convoluted plan of my Master’s to bring everyone together. Julian tends to get what he wants, and he wants all three of you happy.”
She nodded and brought a hand to her temple. She wasn’t worried about Wolf leaving. She was worried about Wolf staying and taking a bullet. “I know. I’ll be all right. I just have a horrible headache.”
“Stress. Of course. I’ll go see if I can find you something.” Finn turned and walked toward the bathroom.
She had so little time. Grabbing her purse, she moved as quickly as she could. She opened the door and slipped out. The moment she had the door closed again, she sprinted.
The carpet beneath her masked the sound of her feet pounding against the floor. She ran as silently as she could toward the elevator. She would use the stairs but she was all the way up on the sixteenth floor. But, perhaps…
She broke for the stairs. Finn would figure it out pretty quickly, and then he and Lucas would look for her. They would check through the apartment first, but then they would look in the hall. They would find her standing by the elevators.
If she ran hard, she could make it down a couple of flights of stairs and then catch the service elevator at the back of the building. She’d used it many times while working on the penthouse. It was large and utilitarian, unlike the elegant main elevator. It was big enough to hold furniture and appliances. It ran down to the garage.
From the garage she could make it to the street very quickly. She would be gone before Wolf or Leo was even told she’d left the apartment.
Her steps echoed through the stairwell, every single one making her wince, but she didn’t hear another set. Her breath sawed in and out of her chest. If she survived, she was joining a gym. Her muscles burned, but she didn’t stop. She had so little time.
She burst through the door on the fourteenth floor and made for the left hall. Fuck. She turned. It was on the right. She passed the main elevator, rushing past doors that led to suites. This was part of the hotel Julian ran for his guests and club members.
There it was. The service elevator. Thank god.
She could catch her breath while she waited.
She pressed the door to call the elevator. Her hands were shaking. She looked up and down the hall. Tears threatened.
She didn’t want to do this. God, she didn’t want any of this. She wanted to be back in that too-small bed, pressed between Leo and Wolf. She wanted to be back there, and she wouldn’t leave. She would just stay in that bed, in that moment when everything seemed possible. It had been a nice dream. She’d been loved and cared for. She’d been what they needed. She hadn’t needed to pretend or be someone she wasn’t. She’d just been Shelley.
And that was over. Even if she survived this little encounter, she doubted Wolf would forgive her. She knew Leo wouldn’t. It would be more direct proof that sh
e couldn’t trust.
Trust. What the hell was that supposed to mean? How did wanting him to stay alive mean she didn’t trust him?
Where was the damn elevator? Panic threatened to swamp her. Time was running out. She pressed the button again, but it was finally opening. The doors split apart, and she started forward.
Only to stop in an instant because the elevator wasn’t empty.
Leo Meyer stood in the center, his face a mask of cold fury.
Her breath hitched. Her heart raced. If she hadn’t had such good control of herself, she might have peed a little because Leo looked ready to kill. His normally warm blue eyes had gone an arctic shade—the color of water just before it froze. He turned those dark eyes on her, his mouth a flat line. He held a cell phone in one hand.
“Fourteen,” he said simply before shoving it into his pocket.
No hellos. No questions about what had happened. Just a number spoken to whoever was on the other line.
He took a single step forward, and Shelley gave in to her instincts.
She turned and ran.
She wasn’t even sure why she was running except for the fact that Leo scared the crap out of her. The man in the elevator was a predator, and she felt like prey. She ran almost mindlessly, not really knowing where she was going. She headed back toward the door to the stairs. Her chest felt like it would burst.
If she could just make it to the stairs, maybe she could salvage this.
The door to the stairs swung open, and her nightmare was complete.
Wolf stalked out of the door. She had no idea how many flights of stairs he’d run up. She’d been pretty sure he’d been on the tenth floor. But he didn’t show it. His breath was perfectly normal as though he’d just gotten out of his easy chair instead of run full tilt up a bunch of flights of stairs.