God, but he needed to get out and go for a run.
The last few weeks had seen a decided decline in membership at Inferno and he had a sneaking suspicion why. The attack on Natalia last year in one of the private rooms had sent a ripple of fear through club members, and with the anniversary people tended to remember.
No matter that it had been orchestrated in advance to lure a murderer out into the open. People didn’t react well to their sanctuaries being invaded. Especially by someone who blended into their ranks, easily slipping through security.
For the seven years prior, every club around town had been put on notice. One murder a year had occurred until the killer had found Natalia—the submissive, now Domme, who’d gotten away.
The killer hadn’t counted on her being a cop with a stubborn streak that could outlast anything. Richard had experienced it himself when he approached her about some pictures for the book. He would never ask to post her online. Not with what she’d been through. But the book was another matter. She could even wear her mask.
“Not on your life,” she’d replied with a smile, her auburn hair trailing around her face like claret fire. “But I do appreciate the offer.”
He’d tried again recently, but she, as usual, wasn’t biting.
Neither were her mates.
He would simply have to find a new model to replace Sarah, but that was easier said than done. Oh, there were many young women who would look good draped over his spanking bench or his desk. That wasn’t the issue. They had to have chemistry with him and not just be another pretty face.
Richard thought he had that with Sarah, but he’d been a fool.
Could have told you that.
“Thanks, buddy.” He mumbled.
The air was stifling and he needed to get up and get the cobwebs out of his head. Maybe he’d place an ad on Fetlife. The book was due in a month, but the thought of having Sarah staring back up at him while he wrote about a positive BDSM power exchange and the dynamics of an honest relationship just radiated bullshit.
Something would come to him. What he couldn’t do, was leave things as they were. With every book release, there had been a national tour with presentations at conventions and trade shows. There was a fetish convention coming up and his publisher was getting antsy about getting the book out in time. No way was he going to work with her and, if he knew his publisher, they would insist. Sexy women sold books.
Which led him back to where he was before. Where was he going to find a model that he could connect with to replace her? He could check at his next pack event, but he tried to keep pack happenings away from his life at the club.
Too many females wanting vanilla relationships without a lot of understanding about kink.
Running his fingers through his hair, he stood, the need to get out of the office and do his rounds making him restless. They rotated duties every week and it was his turn to do a walkthrough of the spanking benches. There were no guests in the building on Mondays, but it was a good time to touch base with the other Doms and do a facilities check on the equipment.
***
The hallway was deserted. He hadn’t seen Cage or Natalia for a few hours and Broderick had been busy with the new security installation. No time like the present to do his walkthrough. One other thing required his attention.
New theme rooms had gone in and one of them needed to be double-checked for safety before the public was allowed to enter. His favorite was the outdoor chamber. It really appeared as if the guest was outside and catered to those who enjoyed a more exhibitionist leaning.
An email pinged in his inbox, drawing his attention out of the past again and very much into the present. He reached for the phone at his hip and realized he wasn’t alone.
“You all right?” Master Cage approached, a knowing look sliding over his face.
“Yes.” He was standing in front of the medical suite. Shit.
No.
The other Dom ran his fingers through his hair. “I have the guys here tonight installing the last of the new camera system and alarms.”
Relieved to think of something else, Richard nodded. “Good. It will be nice to reassure people.”
Cage sighed, his expression troubled. “Master Broderick is helping them put it in. I asked him to come and help design the system. His work at Legends in Austin is top notch. My job is to keep Natalia and everyone else here safe.”
“I didn’t realize the old system wasn’t up to par.” Richard said.
“How could you? The old systems weren’t that out of date.” Cage replied, chagrined.
“It’s not your fault, man.”
“But he got in. How can I allow something like that to happen ever again? We almost died. Natalia...” Cage’s voice trailed off, a muscle in his jaw twitching.
“Don’t listen to him. He’s just being moody.” Ryder approached and stood next to Cage, his gaze flickering over the other man with decided hunger.
Hmmm. It seemed living as a threesome with Natalia had brought about more changes in the men than he’d realized.
“How are you, Ryder? Or should I call you Rye?”
“Fine, thank you, Sir. And no. For you, Ryder is fine.” The other man’s lips twisted up in a half smile.
“Is Natalia here?”
“She is. I made dinner and she’s waiting in the bar.”
“Oh?”
“She says to tell you to hurry or we both get paddled for dessert.” Ryder flushed, excitement shining bright in his eyes.
A grin spread across Cage’s face. “Well, now. I think a long walk to check the construction might just be in order, don’t you?”
“I do.”
It was nice to see the three of them working toward a future together. They deserved some happiness.
“You guys get out of here. You’re making me sick.” Richard chuckled, thankful to have his mind on something else. A troupe of security installation workers came striding down the hall and he realized there wouldn’t be much more in the way of writing for him tonight.
“Better yet, why don’t you join us? I made enough for an army. It’ll be quieter in the bar when these guys get started on their work.”
“I second that,” Cage agreed.
“Fine... I want to see what Broderick has done with the entrance and the main room anyhow.”
Ryder gave him a lopsided grin. “Come on. Our lady in red awaits.”
Chapter Three
Clover gripped the handle on the front door to Inferno and was surprised to find it was locked.
“Oh no.”
She was about to knock when a workman opened the front door, dragging a ladder behind him.
“Excuse me, miss.” His eyebrows rose as he took in the dog, a pinched expression coming over his face.
“Here.” She held the door as he maneuvered outside.
He grunted in response and kept walking toward a nondescript van parked a few feet away and then secured the ladder to a rack on the roof.
“Okay...” Shaking her head, she entered the club and came face to face with a buxom brunette dressed in jeans and an overlarge baseball shirt with red sleeves. The woman caught sight of Clover standing in the doorway and hurried over to greet her, wiping her hands-on a bar rag as she approached.
“We’re closed, hun. Open again at seven tomorrow night.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Clover grimaced. “My car just broke down in your parking lot and I was hoping I could maybe use your phone...”
But even as she said the words reality struck. Who was she going to call? Then there was the hour. It was late and she really didn’t want to wake Gracie after the older woman had been up at the crack of oh-dark-thirty for the opening shift that morning.
“Well... I’m not supposed to. The new security measures and all.”
“Oh,” Clover replied, her lips forming a tight smile. “It’s okay. I understand. I was on my way out of town for an audition.”
“With your dog?”
Had she applied enough concealer? God, she hoped so. But, even still, her stiff movements probably gave her away.
“I couldn’t leave him.” It was the truth.
“Hmmm. My name’s Miranda and I’m part owner of the bar.”
“Nice to meet you. Clover.” She juggled Sylvester’s weight and smoothed the worried expression from his face with a light kiss to his cheek.
She caught the scent of many shifters in the building and was trying to decide whether to run when Miranda grinned.
“Wait...you said you were going out of town for an audition.” The brunette’s eyes lit up. “You aren’t by chance looking for a job?”
“I am. Why, are you hiring?” Clover added with a nervous laugh. How freaky would that be?
The woman ushered her in. “As a matter of fact, we are. I just lost one of our servers with no notice and it’s really going to put me in a bind for this weekend. I could kill Claudine for leaving me high and dry like this.”
“I don’t know...”
“Sorry. That had to be weird. Let’s start again. My name’s Miranda. I’m hiring for help in the bar. You didn’t know it, but you landed in the middle of an interview.” She held out her hand and Clover accepted it, noting the woman’s glossy red nail polish.
“Nice nails.”
“Thanks. Claudine used to do them...” She wiggled her fingers and sighed. “She was a good kid, but you can’t tell people how to live their lives.”
“That’s true.” Clover knew that first hand. Her mother had tried to tell her about Ellis but she hadn’t listened and now here she was, standing in a bar in the middle of the night talking with a woman about a job. It didn’t get much stranger than that.
“You don’t listen, girl. You’re going to feel.” Her mother’s words reached out and snapped her back into the present. She sucked in a steadying breath and put her shoulders back. She would get through this. If she had to be a server for a week until she could get to Houston for the audition, then by God she would do it.
Her mother was in Florida having the time of her life with a retired doctor and didn’t have much time for her daughter’s problems.
The worst part was, her mother had been right. She hadn’t wanted to believe the man she’d spent the last year and a half of her life with had been an abuser. But, he was.
The last thing she needed right now were more “I told you so” comments. She’d rather shove a pen in her eye and hop all the way to Houston with Sylvester strapped to her back.
“You have to leave. There is no other way.” Her mother’s words echoed in her mind. She would call her mother when she was ready. Right now, she needed to find a safe place to stay and a job.
She followed Miranda into the bar area and noted the dark wood and wrought iron accents. There looked to be another area just off the bar, but the lights were off and she couldn’t make out anything in the shadows.
A large black man emerged from a room behind the bar, his gaze lighting on Clover.
“Well, who have we here?”
“A candidate for the job you forgot to post online today.” Miranda smarted off. “This is Duncan. He and I run this part of the club.”
The man rubbed at his face, his lips spreading into a grimace. “Oh, man. I knew there was something I was supposed to do this morning.”
“Have you worked a waitressing job before, hun?” Miranda hopped up on a stool and watched her.
“I have.”
“Good. This won’t be much different then. You’ll be serving the patrons. Bringing them drinks. Cranberry juice. Stuff like that. We have rules here about alcohol consumption because of the play.”
“Play?”
Miranda gave her a look. “That’s right. You didn’t get to see the main floor of the club, did you?”
Clover shook her head. “No. The lights are out. I just came in to use the phone or maybe see if you had a charger I could borrow for a few minutes so I can figure out what to do.”
“Here. You can use mine.” Another voice came from the other side of the bar.
Clover started at the new voice, her heart beating faster in her chest.
Okay, bunny girl. Chill the hell out.
Duncan brought out a load of clean glasses and stocked the bar. “Didn’t those boys join you yet, Natalia?”
“Nope. Might be off in the dungeon playing.” A sultry redhead approached, her boots clicking across the hard floor.
“Dungeon?” Clover frowned.
What the hell kind of place had she landed in?
“I’m sure they have designs on me later, but right now they know better. Ryder made us dinner.” Natalia’s gaze met hers and then zeroed in on her swollen cheek.
“Oh. Nice. I hope he made enough for everyone.” Miranda snorted, then stilled. “Natalia?”
“The pan of lasagna is on the table. And there’s a salad. Would you mind getting plates and silverware for everyone? You guys start. I’ll get her settled, then be back down.”
Salad? Clover’s attention locked on the table and her stomach growled.
“Uh. Sorry. It’s been a long day.”
Miranda shot off, understanding exactly what she meant. Duncan followed, the two whispering conspiratorially as they headed off toward the back room.
The other woman asked softly, “What happened to your face?”
Three men clad in jeans and comfortable looking tee shirts came into the room from a back-hallway area.
Natalia waved them down and pointed to a booth on the far side of the room. “Hey, guys. Why don’t you sit? I’ll be right there.”
The taller of the three men gave Clover a curious glance and nodded as they all slid into the booth.
“Nothing.” Clover didn’t want to talk about it. And especially not in front of so many people. A flush crept up her neck and she froze, unsure of what to do.
A whiff of animal came to her and she froze. Coyote? Cat? And there were others, too.
What if they were predators like Ellis?
“That doesn’t look like nothing. Even through the makeup.” Natalia reached out to touch the shiner on her cheek. Clover took a step back, her arms unconsciously going around Sylvester. She flinched, looking down at the floor, a flood of shame no doubt coloring her cheeks.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a cop.”
“You’re a cat.” Clover responded.
“I am.”
Clover’s eyes widened and she felt her bunny quicken inside of her. “I don’t want any trouble.”
The redhead led her to the other side of the bar and indicated Clover should slide into one of the booths.
She sat Sylvester on the bench and slid in, resting her hand on the dog’s back.
Natalia slid into the bench across from her. “There’s no trouble. But, then again, looking at your face, maybe there is. You want to tell me about it?”
Clover opened her mouth to speak but the words wouldn’t come.
“I’m trying to leave. I had to.” She bit her lip and willed herself not to cry.
“By the looks of it, he got you pretty good.”
“He did.”
“What kind of job were you going to audition for?”
“Modeling. I’ve done some work in my hometown. Department stores, mostly.”
Natalia whistled through her teeth and pointed to her face. “And you think they won’t notice something like that?”
“It’s next week. The swelling would go down long before then,” Clover replied defensively. She knew from experience just how long it took to fade.
“I’m sure it will.” Natalia observed her through half-lidded eyes. “Does he know where you are?”
“No. Not yet. I just need a job so I can afford to fix my car and go to Houston. My friend can put me up until I can figure out what to do.”
<
br /> “We’ll help you.” Natalia patted the hand Clover had laid on the table top.
“Why? You don’t know me.”
“I’ve been in a position before where a man has hurt me, and I won’t turn my back on someone who’s trying to get on her own two feet. If that means you’re here for a week, fine by me. If it’s longer, that’s fine, too. Of course, that’s contingent on a background check, just like any of our guests or employees.”
“There’s nothing to see.” Clover was still puzzled. “Why would a background check be needed for hanging out in a nightclub?”
A low, sultry chuckle escaped Natalia and a flash of humor crossed her face. “I’ll let Miranda explain that one. Let’s go eat and we’ll talk more later. That dog of yours needs to go to bed and, from the looks of things, so do you.”
“It’s been a long day.”
“Okay then.” Natalia slid out of the bench and strolled over to the others. Sometime while they were talking, Miranda and Duncan had emerged and they were all eating.
“Cage, I’m going to get the guest room upstairs ready. Clover will be staying here for the next week until she can get her car functional. Miranda, I’ll need you to arrange the background check in the morning.”
“Sure thing.”
Natalia loaned her a phone charger, packaged up some dinner and brought her upstairs to a room.
“It’s not fancy, but it will keep you warm and dry.”
“Thank you.” Words failed her and the overwhelming situation she found herself in started to weigh her down. She laid Sylvester down on the bed and let out a ragged sigh.
The other woman stopped her as she started to shut the door. “Don’t. Let yourself rest. It will all be better in the morning. Just give it a chance.”
Clover wished she could believe her.
She sat on the edge of the bed and surveyed Sylvester as he slept. Grateful for the kindness of strangers, it was hard to believe that two hours ago she’d been stranded in the middle of nowhere with no one to help her. Tomorrow she would start her new job down in the bar. Clover told them she could stay the week, as by then she should be able to have her car repaired and make the move to Houston. Megan would be back and everything would be fine.
Surrendering to Her Mate Page 3
