“A foe? What kind of fucking loser speak is that?” Stu stepped forward and Nick moved back, trying to keep himself between Stu and the gun and still stay out of reach. He wanted to watch the way the man moved and hope he made a mistake. But Stu advanced cautiously.
“Just a word that started with F. I know more than the one.” He grinned at Stu with a bravado he didn’t feel. Still, he needed to get under the man’s skin if he wanted the man to make that mistake. “Sorry, didn’t know a wanker like you would be tripped up by a three-letter word.”
“Hell, you’re Zoe’s fucking Aussie. Nick.”
“She told you.”
“I made her show me her emails. It’s impressive you came all the way here, but you’re soft, Nick. She needs a real Dom. Give it up.”
So she was there. He wanted to go to her, and he was pretty sure he could turn Stu around if he circled to his right, but then Stu would be closer to the gun. And I’m running out of room to back away too. He needs to make a mistake fast, or I’ll be stuck with rushing him, and I don’t think that’s going to work.
The gun. Nick backed up until he was almost even with it. He didn’t think he’d be able to pick it up and use it, and he needed to be more than ninety percent sure that Zoe was there against her will to take a man’s life. He didn’t even think he’d be able to bend over and use it as a club before Stu was on him. The iron fence was at his back. He moved to his right, as if he was trying to circle, his fists gathered in front of his face, making a show of being ready to block and counterpunch. He left the path to the gun wide open.
Stu, despite his size advantage, reached for it. If Nick hadn’t expected that, he wouldn’t have been able to move fast enough, and even so it was a near thing. Stu was fast for a man his size. But he still needed to bend over, and that was slower for a big man. Nick kicked Stu’s head as Stu’s fingers touched the rifle, and as the man straightened in surprise, Nick followed up with a hard punch with his right, forcing Stu back against the fence.
Stu swung his left arm and his punch was only partially blocked by Nick’s fist, landing on his chin. It rocked him, but it didn’t stop Nick from launching another attack, this time with his left. Stu jerked his head back out of the way, making Nick miss, but in the process hit his head against the iron. That left Nick another opening and he swept Stu’s footing out from under him with one swift movement of his leg, shoving his palm into the man’s face in case he needed help going down.
Nick picked up the gun.
Juanita was at the fence. He didn’t want to risk taking his eyes off Stu, but he noticed her anyway. Stu, however, wasn’t moving. He had his hands up.
He glanced over at Juanita long enough to let her know he was talking to her. “You don’t follow directions very well, do you?”
Juanita shrugged. “I’m a switch.”
What does that have to do with anything? But he didn’t want to get distracted by an argument with her.
“Juanita. You fucking spic cunt, you tried to hide her from me.” Stu glared at her.
“I’d be real polite if I were you,” Nick told him. “Where’s Zoe?”
“Give me the gun and I’ll put a bullet in him,” Juanita said with a cold calmness that bothered Nick.
“Don’t shoot,” Stu said.
Nick didn’t have any intention of shooting, but he didn’t want the gun loose. The neighbors were probably calling the police right now, which meant that he didn’t have much time. “Where’s Zoe?”
Stu got a sly look on his face. “I’ll show you.”
“Have a little trap planned? I don’t think so.” He hoped it was just a trap, and Stu hadn’t done something ghastly to Zoe. He wanted to kick the man in the face, but he held back. For one thing, that would make him vulnerable to being pulled down. “Get up. How do you let people in the gate?”
“There’s a switch in the house.”
“Get marching.” Nick passed the gun through the bars to Juanita. There was no sense having something in his hands he wasn’t going to use.
Stu got up and took a quick step toward the house, but there was no way Nick was going to let him get enough of a lead to shut the door. He grabbed Stu by the collar of his polo shirt, marched him to the door and through.
“Zoe?” Nick called.
There wasn’t any answer.
“She’s not here,” Stu protested. But his voice was uneven. Nick was sure he was lying.
The living room was normal enough, if opulent and heavy on the black leather furniture. It didn’t have Zoe in it, which was the only feature Nick cared much about. There were two switches near the door. One said “Ronco Security” and Nick flipped it. Presumably the other was an ordinary light switch. He didn’t want to waste time, but he didn’t want to leave Juanita alone with the gun on the other side of the fence either. He could make out the click of the gate and heard Juanita’s heels on the walkway, but he kept his gaze on Stu.
“Which way?”
“In the basement. I’ve got a whole dungeon. What do you have?”
“Some rope and a good imagination.” If Stu was trying to get under his skin, he was barking up the wrong tree. Sure, if he was fabulously wealthy he might have a dungeon in his house, but he associated them more with clueless wannabes than with real Doms. “Where’s the basement?”
Stu made a gesture with his hand toward a hallway to the right, as if to say, “After you.” He has to know I won’t let him behind me. He’s stalling. Whatever he thinks time will get him, I don’t want him to have it.
Nick’s patience ran out. He slammed the bigger man up against a wall, facefirst. Stu, who had been pretty docile, twisted out of his grasp and turned, ready to fight. Fine. Bring it on. But you’re going down quick. I don’t want to waste time.
Stu froze.
“Can I shoot him?” asked Juanita.
“Not yet,” said Nick drily. He had been looking forward to landing another punch, maybe leaving a mark that would last for as long as Zoe’s would. But this way was more sensible. He didn’t have to turn to know that Juanita was behind him with the gun. “Lead the way to the basement.”
Stu glared and nodded. “You’ll see.”
The door down wasn’t far away, and there were lights on downstairs as in the rest of the house. Which was good, because Nick didn’t want to follow Stu into darkness. “Zoe?” Nick called. He still couldn’t see her, although he could see all sorts of bondage equipment. X-frames, spanking benches, even a fake rack. At least he hoped it was fake, because the real thing wasn’t for BDSM, it was for torture. There were several beer bottles on the floor.
He got a muffled sound in response. He hadn’t allowed himself to think she might be dead, but hearing an indication she was alive filled him with sudden relief. He took one more step down and saw that at the very end of the room there was a small cage, and Zoe was sitting in it, naked. She had a gag in her mouth, and drool was running down her chin and her neck. Her hands were tied. There wasn’t enough room for her to stand. Elation at finding her alive warred with anger at seeing her in that condition.
Nick ran over to Zoe. Her eyes were wide as she watched him. Her body was crisscrossed with red marks. A padlock secured the cage, but the bars were far enough apart that he could reach through and undo the gag, at least.
“Nick!” said Zoe weakly. “How did you get here?”
It didn’t seem the time to tell the story.
“You think you’re rescuing her, don’t you?” Stu’s voice had a hint of desperation in it. “Big bad hero. But she likes structure. She needs discipline. She needs a man who is going to punish her when she messes up. And that’s me. You feel punished, don’t you, honey?”
“Idiot. Get me out of here, Nick.”
“I’ll get you out.” Nick went to work on her hands. He could hear sirens in the background. Leaving Zoe in the cage might present a nice tableau for the police, but he didn’t want her to be there any longer than necessary. “Where’s the key, Stu?”<
br />
“He’s not a real Dom, Zoe,” Stu said, sounding panicked. “I know what you need. Bondage and discipline, right? Slavery and mastery. You’re my slave, Zoe. I own you.”
The disgusted look Zoe gave Stu followed by the adoration her eyes as she turned to Nick left no doubt at all where she stood. He suspected even Stu could understand that. He got her hands untied. They’d been tied too tightly and she had marks.
“Send the key over, Stu,” Nick said.
Stu reached in his pocket slowly, obviously mindful of Juanita and the gun. Stu closed his eyes, then tossed them in a long arc, past Nick. Nick turned to grab them.
He didn’t notice Stu reach for a light switch and flick it off until it was too late. Suddenly the room went black, and a moment later he heard a thump and a cry. Juanita.
He couldn’t see, but he knew Stu was moving. Something hard broke on his head, probably a beer bottle. His instinct to dodge had come too late to save him from the blow or even soften it much. He felt as if his head had exploded. He dropped the keys.
He got up and fought back a wave of nausea. He could make Stu out, dimly. There was still a little light coming from upstairs. Juanita was crumpled on the stairs, but at least she was stirring. He should never have let her come in. She should have been outside. He aimed a punch. Stu blocked it with his forearm then swung back with his right. Nick barely dodged out of the way, but he knew he wasn’t going to last long at this point.
He lost his balance dodging the next blow. He felt as if he was going to throw up, but he couldn’t do that now. He had to keep fighting. He reached for one of the beer bottles, intending to use it as a weapon. He was playing for keeps now, and he’d stab Stu with a jagged edge if that’s what it took to protect Zoe and Juanita.
“Nick!” Zoe yelled.
The kick caught him full in the stomach and sent him back toward the stairs. The gun lay just out of arm’s reach. He hadn’t managed to grasp the bottle. He had nothing as Stu advanced on him. He kicked out with his legs, but Stu dodged easily and reached for the gun.
Juanita was running away, up the stairs. Go get the cops. Even if it’s too late.
He couldn’t land a good blow on Stu’s head, could barely even move anymore, but he managed to kick the gun across the floor.
Toward Zoe, who had succeeded in getting the keys he’d dropped and was opening the door of her cage. Nick’s eyes widened for a moment, and then he turned all of his attention back to Stu. Everything depended on Stu not noticing.
“I’ll just have to do you in the old-fashioned way.” Stu smirked. “You’re not going to like this.”
“Come on. Try. I can still take you.” It was ludicrous and Nick knew it. But he wanted to keep Stu’s attention. Stu pulled him up by the collar and punched him in the stomach. Nick bent over in pain.
Stu threw him against the stairs and grinned widely. “This is going to be so much fun. And this time, I don’t even have to stop. Defense of my own home, and all that.”
Zoe pulled the trigger. The sound of the rifle shot reverberated through the room. Stu’s eyes jerked wide open for a moment. He dropped Nick and fell, a patch of blood spreading below his shoulder.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” said Zoe. But her voice sounded shaky, and Nick thought she looked green.
“Fucking bitch,” Stu swore, but he stayed down.
Nick heard a heavy pounding on the door and Juanita’s voice upstairs. Then he passed out.
Chapter Nine
“They what?” Zoe sat up in the hospital bed. She was hoping to be released today. She looked a mess, she knew, but the welts were fading and her broken rib was healing nicely. Nick had scolded her for keeping the break from him, but in truth she had no idea Stu had broken a bone. She just knew it hurt like hell where he’d punched her. BDSM, indeed. He had no clue.
“They released Stu on bail,” Nick repeated. “He’s still in a hospital though. Fortunately not this one. Sounds like he’ll be there for a few weeks. You missed his heart by inches.”
“I was aiming high to make sure I missed you.”
Nick smiled. “It’s appreciated. You saved my life.”
Zoe shook her head. “I think you were there saving mine.”
“We’re even then.”
Zoe didn’t see it that way, but she wasn’t going to argue she owed him more. She sighed. “I can’t believe they let him go. I knew he had connections, but this is ridiculous.”
“It’s really screwed up. He’s really screwed up, isn’t he?”
Zoe nodded. “He wasn’t always this bad.”
“I figured, or you’d never have hooked up with him to begin with.”
“I was stupid.”
Nick shrugged. She wasn’t sure she could take it if he argued with her on that one, and she was pleasantly surprised he didn’t.
“What do I do, Nick? I’ve lost my job—something about not showing up for two weeks. They’ve already hired a replacement and don’t want me back. Stu’s gonna go hunting for me. You can’t protect me forever, even if you moved to Texas.”
Nick shook his head. “I have no intention of moving to Texas, darlin’.”
“Oh.” Zoe’s heart sank. Just because he rescued her didn’t mean they had a relationship. It hadn’t the first time in the casino either. She knew he’d sat with her in the hospital overnight, but she hadn’t been coherent enough for much of a conversation even before they’d shot her full of morphine. He’d had to spend the next afternoon with the kids he’d brought with him, and she understood he didn’t have a choice about that. He’d been there when she needed him most, and she’d be forever grateful.
Why did he have to look so calm about it though? Her life was a mess, and even though she couldn’t ask him to do more, couldn’t even imagine what he could do, it’d be nice if he at least looked distressed about it.
I probably don’t look very attractive at the moment, with all the stripes and the bruises, and this ridiculous hospital gown. She slumped back against the bed. She knew she’d pull herself up again, even if he was rejecting her. Didn’t he know that the kind smile made it worse? She’d start hunting for a job the moment she got out of the hospital. Juanita had offered to put her up again until she got on her feet. She’d start carrying a pistol. Maybe she’d go back to Western Michigan, where her parents were, but she hated the cold, hated the idea of falling back on family, and the job market wasn’t very good there at the moment. But it would be farther away from Stu.
“I want you.”
It took a moment for his words to get through to her consciousness. She blinked at him.
“As a slave?” She wrinkled her nose. She wasn’t ready to dive into the deep end, not so soon. Maybe someday. She looked at the line of his jaw and thought about the risks he’d taken for her. Hopefully someday.
“As my partner, girlfriend and housemate. And I want you safe. So I’m taking you back to Melbourne with me. I already got you a ticket, and we’re out of here in three days. I have a friend in immigration, and he says your visa’s good for a few weeks yet, and we can get you a more permanent one in that time. We’ll have you in Oz before Stu can find you.”
He was telling her, not asking. She wasn’t sure if she should resent that or if it was okay to like it. “But.”
“Juanita will pack up your stuff. She says there isn’t too much, and neither of us want you staying here to pack with that idiot walking the streets.”
“Just like that.” She couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. She’d miss a few friends. But she knew she needed a new start too. Still, to move ten thousand miles, to another country even. She had to admit it was farther away from Stu than Michigan.
“Just like that,” he agreed. “I wish I could ask you without the threat of Stu looming over your head. Without you having lost your job. But the one makes it more urgent, and the second makes it more sensible.”
“Did you ask me?” She meant to sound reproachful, but somehow she starte
d grinning as she said it.
“Nope. Did you want me to ask you to ask you?”
“Only if you wish me to ask you to ask me to ask you.”
He chuckled. “You’re definitely ready to travel.”
“What about if my rib gets worse, or—”
“No excuses, darlin’, if it’s what you want to do.” He touched her lips gently with his finger as if to shush her. “We have hospitals in Australia. And I checked with the medical staff, they are definitely letting you go today, and you are definitely fine for a plane trip. In fact, they are letting you walk out with me and spend the evening in my hotel room. I have a detailed list of what you are and are not allowed to do from the nurse. She’s a very matter-of-fact woman. We’ll have to share the plane with a bunch of youngsters who will probably be talking football nonstop—both ours and yours—so no chance of joining the mile high club, anyway.”
She laughed. “You wouldn’t.”
He fixed her with a stare, and she laughed again, even though it hurt her rib every time she did it. “Okay, you so would,” she conceded.
“Glad we got that straight.”
She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again. “What if I don’t like it? Or I can’t get a job? Or…?”
“I have an opening for an office assistant, if you’re interested.”
She stared at him. “You’re serious,” she said at last, once she decided he might be.
“Yes.”
“What if I don’t like it?”
“Then I’ll help you come back.”
She shook her head to clear the cobwebs that seemed to be forming in it. The painkillers were still affecting her some, more slowing down her thoughts than anything else. “It’s crazy, you know. I don’t mind the idea of Melbourne—I had a wonderful time there. But I hate the idea of running away. I ought to wish I killed him. I gave him everything and he gave me nothing. And yet, I don’t.”
He smiled and squeezed her hand. “Well, you’re not that kind of person, I think. I’m glad one of us is good.”
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