The Fire Saga (The Club)

by Katherine Rhodes

  Dana turned and looked at him. “Hey yourself, handsome.” It was her turn to drink him in—and he felt like he had done the best he could with himself: black pinstripe three-piece suit, dark violet shirt, with a pattern on color tie of the same shade. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Like lingerie for women, Austin. Delicious.”

  He took her hand and carefully dropped a kiss there, never breaking eye contact. He certainly hoped he was giving her the come-fuck-me look his whole body wanted to convey. By her sudden blush, he suspected he had nailed it. “I have a table for us—just us.” Standing and not letting go of her hand, he led her to one of the booths in the very back, away from the dance floor—where there certainly wasn’t much dancing going on—and far enough away they weren’t drowned out by the persistent beat of the DJ’s music.

  “You really do look amazing.” Dana slipped into the booth next to him.

  “You look edible.” Austin leaned in close. “And I am feeling hungry.”

  Dana’s blush ran from her cheeks to every exposed part of her body. And there wasn’t much the dress was covering. He could even see her nipples harden at the sound of his dirty threats.

  She took a breath and glanced around. “Is this really what The Club is like?”

  Austin nodded. “Unbridled lust. There’s a reason you take care of the rooms and there’s an industrial cleaner contracted for this room.”

  Sex was everywhere around them. Austin’s position at the club was as obvious guard, but it was more to make sure people didn’t get hurt or do stupid things that would stop any sort of activity. He’d found himself becoming slightly immune to all the constant flagrant displays on this floor. It was on the second and third floors and the Roof Garden he still had some trouble not flinching about. Still, he enjoyed working there, and Preston had chilled the fuck out when Austin had asked to stay.

  “Would you like to stay down here, or wander up and reserve a room?” Austin asked.

  “Let’s stay here.” Dana looked around. “There are only two rooms up there I’m interested in. We don’t know what we’re doing in the other yet.”

  He swiveled his head slowly toward her and leaned into her ear. “Yet?”

  The blush rushed through her again. “I may have asked Tally for some lessons.”

  “Funny. I may have asked Maddox for lessons.”

  Dana laughed lightly. “Switches. Definitely switches.” She whispered to him, “I can’t wait to tie you up and do incredibly dirty things to you.”

  “Not if I tie you up first.”

  Austin wasn’t sure who started it, but there was no doubt they were both enjoying the hot, demanding kiss that erupted between them at that moment. He wanted to rip her clothes off right there in the booth, but settled—happily—for slipping her skirt to the side and sliding a hand up her thigh.

  “Mm, damn,” he mumbled. “No panties.”

  “They are always in the way.”

  Somewhere in the middle of their tangle of hands and tongues, a waitress came by and put two drinks on the table. She winked and quietly explained, “On the house.”

  Dana laughed. “If the house is paying, I’m drinking. I hope Tally doesn’t take it out of our pay.”

  “She’d never!” Austin laughed at the idea of his strict, honest boss trying to charge them for drinks.

  “Austin, would...would you like to try Magnifique tonight?” The words were hesitant, but curious. “Just go up there and see what’s going on?”

  “Maybe enjoy ourselves?”

  “Maybe.”

  He didn’t have to think about it. He motioned her to the edge of the booth and stood just after her, taking her arm. He never counted himself among those who liked kink, but with Dana, it never felt wrong. And with everyone in the club well aware what the lifestyle was, he felt a freedom he’d never had before.

  The door to Magnifique was wide open as they approached, and someone inside was screaming an orgasm. He held Dana’s hand tight as they walked down the hall, but she pulled him to a stop. It wasn’t a smooth stop; he wondered what the bartender had made the drink out of because he felt the same wobble in his step.

  “Austin. Black Mariah stage is open.”

  Staring at the light above the door, Austin smirked. “You want to give someone else a chance to see us fucking aside from our usual?”

  “Yes.” Her answer had no hesitation in it.

  His dick was rock hard again. He pulled the door open and set the lights above it. “Come on. Let’s play.”

  * * *

  Tally—in her Beebee disguise—smiled secretly at Dana and Austin. They were the cutest couple, kinky without really knowing it, and learning to enjoy it. Their little date was cute too, with them all dressed up. She’d sent the drinks over, knowing they wouldn’t be down on the main floor very long. She was right, too. Once they had started to make out after the drinks, they were gone up the stairs in just a few minutes.

  She was glad Dana was staying around. Liam loved his little girl and it brightened him even more. Tally enjoyed spoiling her too, with more tutus and crayons and silly pieces of jewelry. It made her realize she couldn’t be quite as serious as she had been all the time. She could be the Domme at The Club, but she had to let go a little more outside the doors.

  The Club was as busy as ever, and even with her and two other bartenders working the main bar, and two in the back, they could barely keep up. She watched Preston walking the crowd to make sure no one was out of line and knew he was supplemented by at least five suits down there and two on the other floors.

  Not to police the sex, of course, but to police people from being dangerous and stupid. Which was, sadly, a common occurrence. In fact, she’d been so inspired by Dana’s request to have a few lessons about being a Domme she had decided she was going to start offering classes for the members. Maddox had agreed to start some for the men, too. That would cut down on the some of the stupid things that Preston and his crew often stopped before they were tragic.

  The sound of a gunshot froze her in her tracks. It wasn’t outside; it came from above—inside the building. While they were in Texas, there were no guns allowed from the guests in The Club. Half a second later, she swore she heard the shattering of glass over the sound of the bass thrumming through the first floor.

  The light below the bar flashed manically, indicating something was wrong above. Tally slammed on the silent alarm button and in an easy move vaulted the bar, landing in a crouch that shot her off to the front stairs with Preston hot on her trail.

  Preston’s walkie squawked and he called up to her, “Third floor, Black Mariah. Taylor’s on it.”

  Tally slammed through the door to the third floor and tore down the hall to the doors of the Black Mariah room. One of them was ripped off the wall and lay askew, and the other was locked tight. The suit called from inside the room behind the destroyed door, “Here!”

  Tally darted into the room just ahead of Preston, to find the smoky one-way mirror shattered into a million pieces. Austin pushed up from the floor, his eye swollen and his arm torn open. “Dana. He’s got Dana.” He collapsed back onto the floor, out cold.

  Preston ran to the keypad and slammed some numbers into it. The whole building shuddered and shuttered—he had just locked all the doors to the second and third floor, and the door to the underground garage. In the next instant Preston’s walkie spoke again. “I got a gun at the back bar. He’s got a woman—Oh, shit!” The sound of gunshot echoed through the walkie and the building.

  “Fuck, fuck,” Preston screamed and tore back out of the room.

  Tally ran over to Austin and dropped down next to him. “Austin! Austin!” she screamed into his ear. “Come on, Austin.”

  He grunted and Tally helped him roll over. He stared at her, and managed one quick phrase. “He’s going to take the baby.”

  “Lola…” She gasped. “Liam!”

  Chapter Ten

  Liam pretended to fall down when Lola threw a
kick at his shin. “Wow! That’s some power there, kid!”

  “Sensei likes the way I throw my kicks!” Lola landed on his stomach, trying to take him out with her elbow.

  “I’m going to have to put the kaibosh on your elbow drops, kiddo.”

  “Kaibosh?”

  “Hmm. Outlaw them. You’re gonna hurt the tummy!”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Daddy!” She leaned down and kissed the spot where her elbow hit.

  Liam grabbed her in a headlock and gave her a gentle noogie. “I’m so glad you like those lessons. I want you to keep them up. But for now, it’s way too late for good girls to be out of bed. Let’s go, Lo-ler. Bed.”

  She bounced off the floor and headed to the bathroom. “Mama is going to be home tonight?”

  “Yes, she’ll be home.”

  “Are you staying, Daddy?” Lola appeared in the door.

  “Did you brush your teeth?”

  “No.”

  “Teeth.” Liam pointed back into the bathroom and walked in with her. He put the toilet seat down to sit and watch her.

  “Are you staying, Daddy?” Lola squirted the toothpaste on the brush.

  “Only until your mother gets home.”

  “Don’t you love mama?”

  “I do.”

  “Then why don’t you stay and marry her?”

  Liam laughed. “It’s not that simple, Lola. I love your mother, but we’re not meant to be married. I’m in love with Tally, and that’s who I live with.”

  “But I like you so much more than my old daddy. You’re so much nicer than he was.”

  “And I will always, always be here for you for whatever you need, but your mom and I are just not meant to be married. I will also remind you that you still have to brush your teeth.”

  Lola started brushing, then turned back to him. “Are you going to marry Tally?”

  “Teeth, Lola. Go on!” Liam was having a hard time not laughing. “I would like to marry Tally someday, yes. Not yet, though. Adults need time to get to know one another, and Tally and I are still getting to know each other.”

  “I don’t want to be an adult.”

  “Why ever not?”

  “I don’t like taking a long time to make friends.” She nodded sagely.

  Shaking his head, Liam stood. “Come on, Lo-ler. Swish rinse and spit and off to bed.” He heard his cell phone ringing in the living room, but steered Lola toward her bedroom.

  “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

  “Nah. Let’s get you into bed. They can leave me a message and I’ll call them back later.”

  “Isn’t that rude?”

  Liam peeled back the sheets on the bed and patted the pillow. “My daughter takes precedence over a phone call.”

  Lola hopped into the bed, and Liam nestled the covers around her. She looked up at him with her big brown eyes—his own—and smiled. “Story, Daddy?”

  “All right, one. What would you like?”

  “The Very Hungry Caterpillar, please!”

  Liam glanced at the nightstand and the book was sitting there. Dana had said she was on the caterpillar streak, and left the book out. He’d also been warned she’d want to hear it twice, and found he didn’t really mind.

  Halfway through the second reading, he heard Lola’s breathing drop off into the measured rhythm of the sleep of a four-year-old. Closing the book, he adjusted her blankets, dropped a kiss on her head, and walked out of the room.

  Liam smiled. His little Lola. He didn’t harbor any anger toward Dana at all, just the regret he hadn’t been there for those years from her birth to now. She’d done such an amazing job in the face of the adversity a dickface like Ryan presented.

  Grabbing the phone, he started to page through the messages and found four voice mails waiting. His finger was hovering over the play button when the doorbell rang.A glance at the clock told him it was just about nine-thirty. A little late to be visiting and ringing bells, but not out of the ordinary. He walked over and pulled the door open.

  Liam saw three things: Dana’s bloodied face, the barrel of a .357 magnum, and the pissed off countenance of a man he thought he never had to deal with again.

  “Fucking pervert. Touching what’s mine. Never again, worthless piece of shit.”

  The last thing he remembered was the flash of gun powder and pain.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tally and Preston ran up the front walk of the cottage and saw the front door wide open. Halfway up the steps, Tally spotted a form just off to the side. As she got closer, she saw it was her boyfriend.

  “Liam!” Her scream echoed as she tripped over her own feet and skidded into the doorframe. She didn’t care about the sudden jolt to her shoulder—Tally picked herself and crawled the last dozen feet to Liam.

  There was blood everywhere. His shirt was soaked, the floor covered, it was in his hair and on his face and on the wall and door and rug.

  “No, no, fuck no. No.” Tally slipped her hand under his head.

  He coughed, hard. “Tally. My daughter.”

  “Not here.” Preston was standing over them, having run into the house to assess the situation. “He took her.”

  “Find them,” he mumbled. “Find...”

  “Don’t die on me, Liam! Don’t you die on me!”

  “Side.” His voice was breathy and tired. “Shot my side. I think it looks worse than it is.”

  “The ambulance is on its way. Mak and the cops too.” Preston knelt and grabbed the curtain off the door, pulling up Liam’s shirt. “They got you good, man, but it looks like fucker used a tracer round and you smeared this shit all over.” He wadded up the material and shoved it in the wound. He grabbed Tally’s hand and held it there. “He’s not going to die. If he was hit with a tracer, it’s fifty percent or better cauterized. Don’t wiggle, don’t move. Keep your hand there and when Mak gets here, I’m going back to the club to check on Austin and figure out what the hell went on here.” He looked down at Liam. “We are going to find Lola and Dana and they aren’t ever going to have to worry about this asshole again.”

  Liam nodded and passed out as the ambulance could be heard in the distance. Tally looked up at Preston, and he put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not going to lose him, Tally. I swear it.”

  Mak pounded up the front steps and Preston turned on his heel and ran down them. Mak skidded to a halt. “Jesus!”

  “Austin is hurt, too. Dana and Lola are missing. I feel—” Tally felt completely out of control.

  Mak put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m here until the ambulance arrives. I’ll take over at the club. Just take care of Liam and don’t worry about anything else right now.”

  She turned back and tried to push the hair out of Liam’s eyes. “Thank you.”

  * * *

  “Watch the video.” Austin thrust the phone into Tally’s hands. “Just watch.”

  The small screen started moving and the main focus was one of the two glasses Tally had mixed up the drink in. There was still a little of clear alcohol in the glass and Gianna’s finger appeared in the frame. She dipped her finger in the liquid and then touched the finger once to the strip she had placed in front of it. The blue dot didn’t change. The red one flared to life, turning orange and then going yellow, consuming all of the red in the dot.

  The video focused in on the strip, and the word ‘GHB’ was clearly visible above the dot.

  Tally started shaking. “Fuck. Fuck! I mixed those drinks personally! There’s no way they were shot with GHB!”

  “Hang on, listen.” Austin beeped up the sound.

  “...goes crazy like that. It usually takes a minute to change.” Gianna’s manicured digit tapped on the yellow dot. “That means it wasn’t put at the bar. Most likely, it was dropped before it got to the table. The strong reaction means there was most likely a tab dropped into it and these are the sludgy remains.”

  Tally looked up, and Austin took the phone back. His fury was palpable. “They drugged us. They.
Ryan drugged us. He has someone on the payroll, or someone who was willing to take a bribe to drop those in. Gianna recognized my symptoms right away in the room.”

  “He’s known where Dana and Lola were for a long time,” Preston said. “He may have even been following them in the car on the way here. We have to find them. Fast.”

  “The cops are on it—” Mak started.

  “That’s not enough—”

  “Tallulah, stop.” Mak snapped the words into hers. “Let me finish.” Austin was slightly shocked the powerful Domme snapped her jaw shut at her business partner’s words. “The cops are restricted by their other obligations to Karim. Even the county cops are bound by other duties. I want Austin and Preston to go after him. The cops will help and give you what information they can.”

  “Me?” Austin asked.

  “You are the only one here who is able to go after them with Preston. I can’t, Tally can’t, and Liam...” Mak looked over at the bed. “Well, even if he was awake, he wouldn’t be doing much right now. So it’s you and Preston.”

  Austin stared at Mak a long moment. “Are you sure you want me to do this? I’m in love with her, and I will do anything for her. The chances of Ryan coming back still breathing are low.”

  “I don’t care,” Tally said. “He came into my club, he drugged two of my employees, shot up one of my rooms, shot my boyfriend, and kidnapped his daughter and her mother. You will do whatever it takes, and that’s not an observation. That’s an order.”

  Mak rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Find them in Karim or the county, and we won’t have a problem. I’ll make sure it’s not a problem.”

  Austin caught the undertone to his words and nodded. “I understand. Get Dana and Lola back. Everything else is details.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Ready when you are, Pepperdine.” Preston was already in the door of the hospital room.