She nodded.
“Whom do you belong to? Who owns you?’
“You, Master Pablo, my liege. You own me.”
He kissed the tip of her nose.
“Let’s celebrate.” He turned to Efram, Vince and Lucia, and Knox and Tatum. “First round’s on me.”
He led her from the room. Shasta’s new piercings tingled, and excitement coursed through her as they moved to the main room. Pablo was right. She loved every minute of it. She trusted Pablo and would follow him to the ends of the earth. With or without a leash.
The End
Awakening
Dark Redemption - Book Five
Chapter 1
Honor Banes’ hands shook. She felt moisture bead on her upper lip, and on her brow. Chad had assured her the owner of this detective agency would take her seriously, but she wasn’t so sure. She’d talked to one other investigator who had flat out laughed in her face.
Of course, the police had been doing that for two weeks now, ever since Heaven had gone missing. Honor remembered the condescending look on the detective’s face when he’d said, “Your sister’s a grown woman, and she went to that place of her own free will. If she’s not back in a few months, call us.”
His emphasis on the words ‘that place’ had made her want to reach across the desk and slap him.
“Self-righteous, moralistic bastard.”
“I’m sorry?”
Honor tensed, then tried to relax and smile at the woman who sat behind the desk at Los Solvers. She hoped they could solve her problem and that they wouldn’t laugh at her.
Chad Gates, the owner of the BDSM club Jaguars, had assured her Pablo Acosta and his associates would take her seriously. She hoped he was right.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, lifting her shaking hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. “I’m just very nervous.”
“That’s understandable. Can I get you some tea? Or a soft drink, Ms. Banes?”
“Tea would be nice. And, please, call me Honor.” Honor sat up straighter as the woman winked at her and left the room. She read the nameplate on the desk: Shasta Alvarez. She was a pretty, heavyset Hispanic woman, who wore a thin collar of green stones around her neck. Honor knew the collar denoted her submissiveness and the fact she belonged to one of the men at the agency.
Honor herself had tried BDSM, at her sister’s urging, but she hadn’t had any success with it. She never had success with relationships, unlike Heaven, who attracted men and women like flowers attracted honeybees.
Her sister’s bisexuality had never bothered Honor. She loved Heaven too much to judge her on any aspect of her life. They’d always been there for each other. Until now. New tears welled in her eyes and she dashed them away as Shasta carried in a tray with two cups on it.
“Here. I have sugar, fake sugar, cream, and fake cream.” She laughed and set the tray on the table.
Desperate for something to do with her hands, Honor took a cup, doctored it with all the real stuff, and took a large gulp. The hot liquid scorched her throat; she sat up straighter and coughed.
“Too hot?”
“No, it’s fine, thanks.” She took another sip, then cut her gaze to the door as it opened. A thickly built Hispanic man stepped inside, followed by a very tall man with shoulder-length blond hair.
“Sorry we’re late.” The first man held out his hand, and Honor stood and took it. “Pablo Acosta, and this is one of my partners, Ryker Fosse. We’re happy you took Chad’s advice and came to see us.”
Ryker stepped forward and she shook his hand too, hoping neither of them would notice how her hand trembled.
“Let’s go into the office, mi juguete,” Pablo said to Shasta, kissing her cheek.
“Whatever you say, my liege.” She picked up the tray and inclined her head toward an open doorway. “In here, Honor.”
Once they were all seated around the table, and the men had been served coffee, Pablo nodded at Honor.
“Chad tells me your sister is missing, for two weeks now.”
“That’s right. She went to Paragon’s, the BDSM resort in the Caribbean. That was two weeks ago. The people there tell me she stayed her week, and then she left.”
“So technically, she’s only been missing a week.”
Honor turned to the blond man, her stomach churning. They were going to dismiss her concerns too; she could tell by the tone of his voice. “She was supposed to be home a week ago Saturday. The airline won’t tell me whether she used her ticket to fly back to Miami, or if she cashed it in or anything. I’ve been told she’s an adult and can do what she wants. But Heaven would never worry me like this. Something’s wrong.”
She darted her gaze between the two men, who watched her intently. She knew they were studying her, to try and get a handle on her. Finally, Ryker spoke. “You and your sister are very close?”
“Yes. We’re Irish twins, born eleven months apart. We’re all each other has.”
“What about your parents?” Pablo lifted his cup and took a drink.
“We have different fathers, and neither of us have ever met them. Our mother is, well, she was seventeen when Heaven was born and eighteen when I was born. She’s always been more interested in men, and having fun, than in her daughters. Right now she’s in Europe, with an Italian man she met. I’ve left several messages, but she hasn’t returned my calls.”
“I’m sorry,” Ryker said. “It must have been hard.”
“It was, Mr. Fosse. We lived with our grandmother until she died. I was nine, and Heaven was ten. Then, we lived under our mother’s roof.”
Pablo narrowed his eyes at her. She could tell he was trying to hide a smile. “That’s an interesting way to put it, living under her roof.”
“Theresa was never much of a mother, Mr. Acosta. She would work when she had to, but most of the time she looked for a man who could pay the bills for her, in exchange for her services. Heaven and I took care of ourselves, and of each other.”
She ignored both men’s upraised eyebrows and sat up straighter. “Are you going to help me, or am I wasting my time?”
“Relax,” Ryker said. “We’re just trying–”
“Mr. Fosse, I don’t want to relax. I want to find my sister.”
“We understand that. And, please, call me Ryker. We’re just trying to get some feel for the situation. You have to understand that to the authorities, a grown woman being gone for a week, with no signs of foul play, is nothing to be alarmed about. Maybe she met a new Master, or Mistress. She is a submissive who likes to play.”
“Yes, she is. But Heaven would never be gone for a week without telling me. I’ve tried to call her cell phone, but it goes immediately to voice mail. I’ve left message after message. The only way she wouldn’t call me back is if she were…”
Honor’s voice cracked, and she looked down at the table as new tears flooded her face. When Shasta put her arm around her shoulder, she flinched. She took the tissue the other woman offered. Then she turned her face away from the men, settled into the woman’s shoulders, and cried, her shoulders shaking as Shasta patted her back. When her emotions were under control again, she wiped her face, lifting it back to the men sitting across from her.
“Will you help me?”
“We will,” Pablo said. “But you have to be totally honest with us, with every question we ask, no matter how much it upsets you.”
“I understand. Do I pay you now?”
“The retainer is four thousand dollars,” Ryker said. “Then it’s five hundred dollars a day, plus expenses.”
Honor nodded and Pablo gave her an assessing look.
“You don’t seem worried about the money.”
“When she was nineteen, Heaven married a very rich man. He was thirty years older than her and had no heirs. She always said he wanted to get her pregnant so he would have someone to leave his money to. But he died four years after they got married, and she’d lost the only baby she’d conceived. He left her everythin
g, and we share it.”
“Wow. Are we talking thousands?” Ryker asked.
“We’re talking millions, nine of them,” Honor said. “And if it takes every last dollar to find Heaven, then that’s fine with me.”
Pablo’s eyes widened. “Nine million dollars is a hell of a lot of money. Are you sure this man had no other heirs? People aren’t above killing for that much money.”
Honor stiffened, then tried to relax. “He had two brothers, who had just as much as he did. Their father, some sort of Texas oilman, left all of it to them. Neither of them laid claim to any money when Shawn died. In fact, they offered Heaven investment advice to make the money grow. It started out as five million, and now it’s nine.”
“How long ago did he die?” Ryker leaned toward her, his hands clasped together. Honor glanced at him and then looked away.
“Ten years ago,” she replied. “We don’t flaunt our money. Heaven doesn’t want to work, so she doesn’t. She travels a lot, and I stay at our house and take care of our animals, and I work.”
“Where do you work?” Shasta patted her hand.
“At Sapphire’s on the Square.”
“Oh, gourmet lingerie. I’ve always wanted to go in there,” Shasta said. “But one bra costs more than these men pay me in a week.”
The woman’s lighthearted statement made Honor feel much better. “It’s not that bad. Come in and I’ll get you a discount. I’ll get you a whole ensemble that will please your, um, your husband?”
“He’s not my husband. Not yet, anyway,” Shasta said. “But my Master will love it.”
“Yes, I will,” Pablo said, his voice heavy with desire. They exchanged a look that made Honor very jealous. No man had ever looked at her that way. After a few minutes, he turned a serious gaze on Honor. “But back to the situation at hand. We have a contract for you to sign; then you need to write us a check. Once you do that we’re officially hired, and anything you tell us is privileged. After that I want you to tell us everything about your sister, and about the week leading up to her leaving for Paragon’s, the week she was there, and the week she’s been gone.”
Honor nodded and reached for her checkbook.
“I’m going to order food, since this might take a while,” Shasta said. “Everybody like Chinese?”
* * *
Ryker tried to keep his thoughts focused on Honor’s words, but it was hard. His gaze kept drifting to her, to her body, which was soft and curvy. He pegged her as 38-30-36, and he was very good at guessing figures.
He’d listened intently as she’d gone over the details of her upbringing, then of her sister’s marriage and move away from Santa Fe. When Heaven’s husband had died, she’d moved back to Santa Fe. She’d been a little older, a lot richer, and a lot more adventurous.
“You disapproved of her involvement in the BDSM lifestyle?” He lifted his gaze from her cleavage to her eyes so he could gauge her reaction.
“At first, yes. Shawn got her into it. But it made her happy, and it didn’t seem to hurt her, at least not permanently.”
“Permanently?” Ryker leaned forward. “Pardon my question, but is your sister into pain?”
He watched her swallow, hard, her eyes glazing over, and then she nodded.
“Does she have a Master or a Mistress?” He thought about Gideon. He’d have to ask his friend if he knew Heaven Acker. After all, Gideon was a master at delivering erotic pain.
“Not right now. She’s had a few, over the years. Mostly she plays at Jaguars, though, and stays uninvolved emotionally. She told me she likes it that way. That’s why she likes to go to Paragon’s. Hard sex for a week with no involvement.”
“And you don’t approve of her love of pain, or her submissive tendencies?”
“Mr., um, Ryker, Heaven’s sexual preferences don’t concern me. I know she enjoys it, and it makes her happy to be submissive. I tried it a few times and didn’t like it. At all.”
That’s because you didn’t have me for a Master. Ryker nodded, then turned to Pablo.
“So, nothing unusual happened during the week before or during her stay at Paragon’s?”
“No. I talked to her twice during the week. She was having a great time.”
Ryker cleared his throat. “You do know that unattached submissives are auctioned off at Paragon’s? She would have belonged to someone during that week. Did she tell you who it was?”
“It was a couple,” Honor replied. “She said the man was the Master, and the woman was a switch. Heaven, um, was with them.”
“Just to be clear, she served them during the week? They bought her for the week?” Ryker asked.
“Yes.” She spoke the word fast, and he could see the conversation was making her very uncomfortable. She picked up a pair of chopsticks and stuck them in a half-empty box of sweet-and-sour pork; she speared a piece and ate it quickly. It was the first piece of food he’d seen her eat that afternoon. Her lips were full, and he imagined what they would feel like wrapped around his cock. She would suck him in hard, her tongue dancing around his balls. He could tell she would be perfect at sucking cock.
He also knew thinking about those things during a business meeting was wrong. Terribly wrong. This woman was affecting him in ways that could lead to big trouble.
“Tell us about the day she was supposed to be back.” Ryker silently thanked Pablo for speaking up. If he hadn’t, Ryker might have ordered the woman to her knees.
“I was supposed to pick her up at the airport at two. I went, the plane landed, and she wasn’t on it. I asked the airline and all the woman would tell me was that Heaven hadn’t gotten on the plane.”
He could tell she was on the verge of crying again, more out of frustration than anything else.
“And then?” Pablo prompted.
“I called the Miami airport and they had her paged. No one answered. I called the Miami police. They told me to wait a few days. I called the resort. They said she’d left on time, that morning. I tried her cell phone, over and over. It went straight to voice mail. Then I called the Santa Fe police.”
He watched her frustration turn to anger, and her lips tightened. “They basically told me an adult woman who would visit a sex resort could take care of herself, and without evidence of foul play, they would just consider her off playing somewhere. After all, she’s rich and beautiful.”
“Speaking of rich,” Ryker said. “Has she used her accounts? ATM? Credit cards?”
“No. I check the accounts daily, since they’re in both our names. I’m the only one who’s used them. There’ve been no calls made on her cell phone, either.”
“What about the couple who bought her?” Pablo asked. “Have you talked to them? Maybe she went home with them. Maybe they were having a good time and decided to extend the contract they had.”
She looked angry, then resigned. It was obviously hard for her to think of her sister as a couple’s bought-and-paid-for sex slave for a week. “The resort won’t give me their names. They said it was private.”
“We could hire someone to hack into their computers.”
Ryker bit back a laugh as Pablo turned toward her. “Shasta? Have you forgotten what happened the last time you tried that?”
“No. I’m just saying it could work.”
“No.” Pablo’s voice was firm. “I’m sure Chad knows someone at the resort we can talk to.”
Honor had put down her chopsticks and was looking toward the open window. The room grew silent, and then she sighed heavily.” How will you find her?”
“We’ll make some phone calls,” Ryker said. “I’ll go to Jaguars tonight and talk to Chad, get a name. We have friends in legal circles who can figure out whether or not she boarded a different plane in Miami. What does she look like?”
“Short, just a little over five feet. About a hundred and twenty pounds. Dark hair. Green eyes.” While she’d been talking, she’d reached into her purse and drew out a photo, which she slid across the table.
Ryker took it, his eyes widening in recognition. “I know her. But I don’t know her as Heaven. She’s been with Gideon a few times, at Jaguars.”
“Heaven’s mentioned that name before.” Honor looked hopeful. “Are you friends with him? Maybe he knows something if he’s been with her so much.”
“He’s a good friend of mine,” Ryker said, sliding the photo toward Pablo. “We top together sometimes. She’s been with Gideon a lot, yes, but I don’t think he knows anything about where’s she’s at now.”
“If you didn’t call her Heaven, what did you call her?”
Ryker cleared his throat and shook his head.
“Tell me.” She begged him with her eyes, and he sighed. He looked at Pablo, who nodded.
“Gideon calls her his pain slut. She’s very much into receiving pain, and Gideon likes to give it.”
Chapter 2
“Man, I can’t believe she’s missing. Maybe she’s just off somewhere, getting nailed. And I do mean that literally.” Gideon Barros fell into step beside Ryker as they headed toward Jaguars’ front door. The two men had brought their own cars since Ryker planned to work, and Gideon planned to play. They didn’t want one to get stuck waiting on the other.
Jaguars was hopping that night, and they’d parked at the back of the lot, several cars apart.
“Doubt it. She and her sister are very close. Or hasn’t she mentioned that?”
“We don’t exactly talk about our families while I’m applying cane to butt, know what I mean?”
“Sometimes I worry about you,” Ryker said.
“Oh, please, you love to watch so don’t make me the bad guy for loving to do it.” They neared the front door and Ryker nodded at the doorman.
“Nate.”
“Master Ryker. Master Gideon. Welcome.” The large man opened the door, but they stopped in front of him.
“Call Master Chad, Nate,” Ryker said. “Tell him I need to talk to him.”
Dark Redemption Page 49
