by Jane Henry
He rolled over onto his side and brought me with him, maintaining contact the entire time. “Baby, I need to get something to clean us up. Then I need to help you come back from where you were. You don’t need to talk. Just trust me. Do what Daddy says, now, and trust me to take care of you.” He brushed a final tear from my cheek with a swipe of his thumb. “I’m not leaving you. It might feel like that, but you’re okay, kitten. Stay right here. I’ll be right back.”
He stepped out of bed and I keened at the sudden loss, a small, dry sob escaping me. He walked swiftly to the bathroom and I heard a crank and then rushing water filling the whirlpool tub. A moment later, he came to me and lifted the sheets. I shivered now. I didn’t feel cold, but I couldn’t stop the shivering, my whole body shaking as he lifted me.
“You’re safe, kitten. You’re safe now,” he repeated, over and over, as he took me to the bathroom, stepped into the tub and drew me in with him. Suds floated around us and the water was so warm it almost stung my skin, fragrant steam filling my senses.
“There, Rae. Rest against Daddy.” He sat on a little seat deep in the water and drew me onto his lap, my skin against his, the warm water soothing my shivers.
“Can you talk now, Rae? Try to speak now.”
“D-Daddy,” I stuttered.
“Good girl,” he approved. “Do you feel okay?”
I nodded my head, attempting to speak with an effort. Laughter bubbled up. “I—I—am not sad,” I whispered. “I don’t kn-know why I cried.”
“Shhh,” he said. “No more talking now. There will be plenty of time to talk after. I’ll tell you what happened. You got to sub-space, kitten. It happens sometimes, though I haven’t had the honor of bringing anyone there in a very, very long time.”
Sub-space… I had a vague recollection from my books but couldn’t seem to remember what it was. “Wh-what is it?”
His voice deepened. “No more talking, now. It’s time for you to recover. After you’re warmed through, I’ll make sure you get something good to eat and drink. All you need to know is that sub-space is an altered state of awareness. It’s a sort of state of shock, which is why it was hard to talk. The strapping, followed by the hand spanking, brought you there. I didn’t intend it, but it happened anyway.” He chuckled. “You were ready for that, honey. Being mentally prepared for a session really helps.” He tweaked my damp hair. “You’re a brat, you know that? The nerve, heading to sub-space with a punishment spanking.”
I laughed out loud, but didn’t speak. I wouldn’t push the obedience, not after all of that. And now, a funny thing had happened. I wanted to please him. I wanted to make him smile. I wanted to hear him call me his good girl and even though I liked it when he punished me, I didn’t want him to.
“Time for you to get something to eat,” he said, getting to his feet. “Let me grab a towel for you.” He stood, reaching for a pair of towels, and I stood with him. He stepped out of the tub, wrapping one around his waist, then stepping down the steps so he stood on the floor. I went to follow him, reaching for my towel.
“Rae, wait for me to help you—”
But it was too late. I didn’t know my legs would still be wobbly, and it took me by such surprise, I lost my footing, and went sprawling. He caught me just before my head hit the side of the tub but it was too late. My ankle twisted the wrong way, wrenching pain making me scream out loud.
“Damn it,” he swore, lifting me up placing my hands on the side of the tub so he could wrap a towel around me. “Did you hurt yourself? I told you to wait.”
“I’m sorry. I was already stepping out. God, I’m such a klutz.”
“No, you’re not,” he said firmly. “You’re coming out of sub-space, Rae. You’re still shaky from the experience. I should’ve told you that.”
“It isn’t your fault.” It wasn’t. He’d taken such good care of me.
He blew out a breath and tucked the towel under my arms. “You okay now?”
“I think so.” I tried to take a tentative step, but when my foot hit the ground my ankle throbbed, pain making me freeze mid-step. “No,” I moaned. “My ankle.”
He sighed and bent down, wrapping his arm around my neck. “Let’s get you in the other room. I’ll have to call Caden. He’s the only one on staff with medical experience, and I also need to see if he’s found anything out about the disturbance earlier.”
I nodded miserably but didn’t dare make another self-deprecating comment.
After he’d situated me on the bed, he turned to look at me and waved a warning finger in my direction. “I’m going to get you some clothes. Do not get up. Am I clear?”
“I won’t.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw and his brows rose expectantly. “Yes, what?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
He left the room and came back a moment later with black lounge pants, a long-sleeved red t-shirt, and a pair of panties. “I’ll help you dress, then call Caden.” With some struggling, he helped me into my clothes, then quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt himself. He picked up his phone and dialed.
“How’s everything going down there?” he asked. “Good. Glad to hear things have settled after the incident we had.” He filled in Caden, then disconnected the call and slid his phone into his pocket. “Okay, Caden is on his way up. He’ll see to your ankle, and we’ll take it from there. Stay put, I’m getting you some food.”
A moment later he returned with a tray filled with cut fruit, yogurt, and a bottle of chilled water. “Light but nourishing food is best after you come down from a scene.” I wouldn’t know, but I trusted him.
“Thank you,” I said.
He sat next to me on the bed, watching me, a contemplative look on his face. “I’m sorry about your ankle. But God, Rae, that was a beautiful gift that you gave me.” He reached for my hand and squeezed gently.
I put down the spoon to my yogurt and smiled at him. “Thank you, Ryder. It was a beautiful gift that you gave me.”
His eyes warmed at that, and he brought my fingers to his lips, brushing them softly with a tender kiss, when a knock sounded at the door. “That’ll be Caden,” he said. “Stay here, hon. I’ll be right back.”
He left the room, and I heard mumbled voices and the sound of the door opening and closing, then Caden stood in the doorway with Ryder behind him.
“What happened here?” he asked.
“I fell coming out of the tub,” I said with a sigh.
“Can you bear weight on it?”
I shook my head.
“Okay. I’ll take a look at it but need to speak to Ryder privately first. We’ll be right back, okay?”
“Any new developments?” Ryder asked.
“Yeah,” Caden responded. “But let’s talk in the other room, okay?”
I watched them curiously. Why couldn’t he talk in front of me?
“I’ll be back, honey,” Ryder said, leaning in and kissing my forehead. “Finish your food, and I’ll check on you in a minute.”
If I knew what was going to happen, I would have kissed him longer, held him back, done anything to stop him. But I didn’t know, and neither did he.
“Okay, Daddy,” I said, not caring that Caden heard at all. He was, after all, a member of Limits and would’ve been used to hearing terms like that. But as he left the room, something compelled me to speak out. I didn’t care it had been such a short time. I didn’t care that Caden overheard. “Ryder?”
He turned to look at me, his damp hair falling across his forehead.
“Thank you.”
He grinned at me. “You’re welcome. Now be a good girl,”
And he left.
15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ryder
“What’s up, Caden?” I blinked in surprise as he shut the door to the bedroom. What did he have to tell me that Rae couldn’t hear? “You find a way to recover the footage? Find out anything from what happened earlier in the dungeon?”
Caden turned to me
, his lips turned down in a frown, and he walked to my doorway. I followed curiously. What was he up to?
“No,” he said. “And you won’t either.”
“Excuse me?” It didn’t click, hadn’t sunk in yet, when he yanked open the door to the hallway and shoved me out. I stumbled, sprawling onto my hands and knees when a flash of red hair flahsed in my peripheral vision.
Something stung my neck, and I lost consciousness.
When I woke, I opened my eyes, only to see darkness around me. Where was I? I sat up, but pain crisscrossed my eyes, my temples throbbing. It fucking hurt like hell. A faint musty smell overwhelmed me, and I opened my eyes despite the pain, holding my head with my hands. My neck still pricked with pain. I rubbed it.
Rae!
I got to my feet, reeling with pain, my stomach churning with nausea. Sudden realizations hit me all at once. Caden had intentionally gotten rid of me. He was in league with someone. But who? The flash of red hair came to my memory. Francesca?
What were they doing to Rae? How would I get to her? My hands clenched into fists as I moved my hands around the small, cramped space. I was locked in a closet, but I couldn’t see a thing. I felt around, trying to remember where we had closets and what they contained. There were none on the floor where my apartment was, but there were several on each of the other floor of Limits, mostly utility closets. I spread my hands into the blackness in front of me until I felt the hard surface of a wall. I moved my hands along the smooth finish and moved to my left, trying to find a door. When I hit a corner, I knew I had to go in the other direction. Ignoring the searing pain, I moved as quickly as I could. I had to get to Rae. I had to protect her. I’d kill them, fucking kill them if they hurt her. Adrenaline overcame the pain in my head and neck, I surged forward until I felt it—metal of a doorknob. I tried it, and of course found it locked. But then I remembered that our closets had interior lights. I fumbled around until my hands hit a switch, and flicked it on, bright overhead light blinding me and causing the pain in my head to throb.
I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the light, and looked around me. The room was small, only a few feet wide by a few feet long. A mop and bucket stood in one corner, empty, and a variety of spray bottles and rolls of paper towels stood on a shelf, nothing that would help me get out of here. I looked around wildly, my mind hazy with pain, looking for something that would help me get help from someone outside. I needed to get to Seth. But I found nothing.
Then my eyes settled on a small black box in the corner. I got to my hands and knees and reached for it, ignoring the pulsing in my temples. It looked like a sort of toolbox. I flicked open the latch and my heart soared when I saw a row of screwdrivers, hammers, and nails, a full supply of tools at the ready. I grabbed all the screwdrivers, and moved quickly to the doorknob. Would anyone be standing guard outside the door? What would they do if they heard me?
I found a screwdriver that fit the screws around the doorknob, the nausea that rolled through me slowing me down, until one, two, then three screws fell to the floor and finally, after a few minutes of wriggling and fiddling, the doorknob loosened and fell into my hands. My heart soared as the door swung open, and I assumed a stance, prepared to take on whoever attacked. But no one came. It seemed they didn’t expect me to get out so soon, or had only meant to keep me delayed for a short time. In front of me lay a trail of dark red blood, and I brought my hand to my head. I reasoned I must have fallen when I was drugged, and hit my head. Clearly, they’d moved quickly.
My stomach still churning, I knew I had to get to a phone. Mine, of course, was upstairs in the apartment, but I had emergency phones situated on every floor, and every single Dungeon Master had access to the line. That would include Caden, so I had to proceed carefully. It took me a moment to get my bearings. I was on the ground floor, near the dungeon, but on the other side of the large building, where we had meetings. I would be much more effective with help, so I needed to get to Seth, knowing going straight for Rae wouldn’t help at all. If they were strong enough to drag me to a closet, there was more than one of them, and what good was I, with no weapons, on the verge of vomiting with every move of my body?
I came to the conference room, pushed open the door, and sank into a seat by the phone. I picked it up, thankful to hear a dial tone, and dialed Seth. He answered on the third ring, and my heart soared.
“Hello?”
“Seth,” I hissed into the phone, expecting someone to come barging in any minute. “Ryder. Do not speak my name or let anyone hear you. Where are you?”
“Dungeon.”
Thank Christ.
“I’m in the conference room adjacent to The Dungeon. Emergency. Meet me here immediately. Go!”
He clicked off the phone and I waited by the doorway, waiting to hear if anyone was coming, but no one did. A minute later, I heard the pounding of feet running in my direction. I stood against the doorway, hidden in the shadows as they approached. I breathed in relief when I saw Seth’s tall, powerful form in the doorway.
“Fuck,” he said, his eyes dark, furious. “What the hell happened to you?”
I filled him in quickly. “I need to get to Rae. I have no phone and my head is killing me. Need your help.”
“Got your back,” he said. “Jesus. Caden?” He shook his head. “Let’s go.”
He helped me get to the elevator which thankfully still worked, and we pushed the button to my floor, unhindered. I waited for something to happen—for the lights to flicker or the elevator shaft to shake with some interference, but we weren’t stopped, and I took the time to tell Seth everything I knew.
I had a whole team that worked for me, but I trusted Seth above all.
“Jesus,” he said. “Caden’s been dating Francesca on the side. You know that?”
I shook my head. “No idea. Would explain why he was so nasty to Zack.”
“I have no idea what his affiliation was, but I know Zack found out that the man who held Rae was a loan shark. Could be that somehow Caden was involved. What would they do to her?”
I shook my head. “They could give her back to him, hurt her, kill her.”
The door to the elevator swung open, and we both ran into the hallway toward my entryway. It looked peaceful, the same it had looked after I’d taken Rae up earlier.
“You ready?” Seth said. I nodded, adrenaline surging through me as I punched the numbers into my lock and the lock disengaged. I swung it open, ready to beat down anyone who stood in my way, to rescue my girl. But the curtains swung freely in the breeze, broken glass and shattered picture frames evidence of a struggle. They were gone.
16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Rae
I fought hard, but they overtook me easily, as I couldn’t bear any weight on my ankle and it was two against one.
“Ryder will have you locked up for this,” I hissed at Francesca as the door to the elevator slid shut. “What did you do to him?”
“Shut up,” she said, reaching for her phone and walking over to Caden. “Good thing you’re a master at tying knots, sir,” she said, giving him a wink. Caden grinned, and my stomach churned, He’d tied my hands and ankles expertly in seconds, and I was powerless to stop him.
“Your father misses you, you know,” he said conversationally. “Don’t you think it’s time we bring you home?”
“You bastard,” I hissed. “I want nothing to do with going home. It isn’t my home anymore. I’m a grown woman and I’ve been held against my will. I won’t go back.”
Caden’s eyes darkened. “The hell you won’t. I bring you back, and my debt’s wiped clean. So don’t fuck this up, princess. You do, and you’ll deal with me.”
A spike of fear caused me to close my mouth. I’d have to be very careful with how I proceeded.
“She’s a bitch,” Francesca said.
Caden scowled at her. “Do not push it. Not now. You do what I say or you’ll deal with me, too.” She dropped her eyes and nodded.
�
��Yes, Sir.”
So she was his, then, and she was in this to please him.
“What was it, then, Caden? What clued you in that I was the kidnapped girl who escaped?”
“Be quiet.” His gaze shot to me, and I didn’t want to push it, fearing that he’d hurt me, or worse, hurt Ryder somehow.
I closed my mouth as the door to the elevator opened and Caden picked me up. “Anyone asks, I’m taking her to the clinic for her ankle,” he said to Francesca. “In fact, I want you to spread that rumor. Tweet it, Facebook it, text someone for Christ’s sake.”
We walked quickly through the dark hallway, but no one really looked our way. The downside of being in a BDSM club with rules like Limits had meant that a submissive being tied up and carried by a Dominant wouldn’t arouse suspicion. Francesca began talking to those around us as we went. “She hurt her ankle,” “Master Caden is going to fix her up,” “Not sure where Master Ryder went.”
Caden lowered his voice and whispered, “You fight us, you make a sound, we give orders to kill him.”
I stayed silent.
No one followed us but my eyes flitted about the room, and I looked for someone familiar. No Seth anywhere, and Dean was nowhere to be found. We made our way to the exit. As we stepped through the door, a sinking feeling hit my stomach. I wouldn’t know where to go from here. He was bringing me back. I’d never escape.
Francesca opened the door to an SUV and Caden slid me in, then they both took their seats, shut and locked the door, and we peeled out of the parking lot.
I knew the direction we were going though I’d only driven these roads once. We were heading back to the prison where I’d been captive my entire life.
“It was foolish of you to donate that hair of yours,” Caden said. “He had his cronies looking everywhere, you know. He wouldn’t have known where you were. You might’ve even been able to start an anonymous life. But once he got the word that your trademark hair had been donated, he was easily able to trace back the donation.”
