by P Nelson
“In fairness, I’d like to ask both of you what the fuck is going on here.” Thea turned to stare into the angry face of the owner of The Feather Flogger. His cheeks were bright red, and a tic had started at the side of one of his eyes. Thea forced her anger back and took a deep breath. “I gave you permission to work at my establishment tonight to catch a killer who has been preying on subs, not drive my clientele away.”
Thea flicked her gaze over the rest of the club and realised they were the sole focus. All the scenes had stopped, and everyone was staring and whispering. Damn it. How were they supposed to catch this guy when they couldn’t even get through one night’s operation?
“I’m sorry, Master Lovett. Would you mind if we take this discussion into the back?” She kept calm despite her throat aching from the need to scream.
“Might as well join the rest of your team,” Master Lovett replied without losing one iota of his annoyance. Thea felt certain they would be having a long discussion later, and the result would be her banishment from the popular Vancouver fetish club.
“Thank you, Master Lovett.” Thea turned on her heel and stalked towards the back of the dungeon. She hoped everyone else was following her and Linkin’s two undercover guys were helping Dillon. Forcing one foot in front of the other, in her head she repeated that she didn’t need an emotional entanglement with Dillon. Ever. He was a fellow dominant and porn star. The two of them could never work.
Pushing the door to the staff rooms open, Thea headed straight back to the security monitoring room where Linkin was sitting with a couple of tech guys. His face showed nothing. Ever the soldier, this was a battle, and Thea comprehended she could count of him. It was impossible to get the entire group into the already cramped space. Linkin’s two security pros helped Dillon to a seat and left to complete the recon on the floor and get an idea of the crowd’s reaction to their little display.
“You are a complete fucking waste of space.” Thompson’s partner, Stacks, pointed a finger in Dillon’s direction. He was poking a digit into the bruised skin around his eye before turning his burning eyes towards the diminutive brunette.
“Fuck you.” The words came out succinctly. “You fucking cow.”
“Watch your fucking tone, you piece of shit.” Thompson pushed forward like a bull, but Linkin chose that moment to stand up. The cop might be a big meathead, but he recognised lethal danger when he saw it.
“You,” Stacks pointed at Dillon, “ruined our operation.”
“Which was what exactly? Make a big fucking scene in one of the most popular BDSM clubs in Vancouver, and let the perp know the cops are trying to honey-bait him?”
Thea was proud of herself for not screaming her head off. “We’ve come to keep an eye on Dillon,” Stacks said.
Dillon’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowed on the brunette. Nothing the woman said next was going to be good. “There has been some speculation Master Dillon,” she put a sarcastic edge on the word Master, “is behind the killings of those girls.”
Dillon jumped out of his seat. There was no need to restrain him. His training as a Dom would never allow him to harm a man or woman unless he was in physical danger.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Dillon demanded.
Stacks had the grace to appear embarrassed for a split second before her aggressive demeanour came back. “You’ve had a lot of bad press in the media over the last year with your last girlfriend. She may have dropped the charges and you were subsequently found innocent, but that doesn’t change the fact your reputation took a beating. Maybe you wanted to get revenge.”
Thea thought her head might be swinging back and forth like a spectator in a tennis match as she focused her gaze back on Dillon. She had never respected him more than in this moment as he calmly surveyed Stacks from the bottom of her toes to the top of her head. His appraisal made the undercover cop squirm.
“You have a lot to learn about the lifestyle if you think you’re going to pass as a sub.” His observation was cool as he took his seat again. “Frankly, it would be a mistake; you throw off a submissive side every once in a while, but only under extreme guidance, and you won’t find that everywhere in the BDSM world.”
“Master Dillon is a gifted dominant,” Linkin threw in for good measure.
Dillon nodded his thanks to his friend. “You should get out your clamps and practice whipping your partner’s ass.” Dillon stared evilly at Lieutenant Thompson. “His macho front aside, I smell a natural sub under all those muscles and no-neck posturing.”
“I hope you now realise Dillon is not the killer.” Thea took back control of the conversation, and every eye in the room swivelled to her. “In fact, I don’t know who floated this ridiculous idea, but if you actually read the files on my own research, you would see the investigation actually leads in an entirely different direction.”
“Your whole Supplicant’s theory is based on harassment that started with Dillon,” Stacks pointed out. “It was far more likely Dillon had become unhinged than some faceless organisation is trying to take down members of this Cage club you keep talking about. You still haven’t explained why you’re at The Feather Flogger tonight.” Stacks waved a hand around the room, her eyes resting on the most dangerous predator in its confines. Linkin’s cold stare never wavered from her face. “Obviously running your own op. Going vigilante now?”
This was the tricky part. Thea didn’t want her connection to the kink world known by the department. Just a sniff of scandal has ruined many a cop’s career. If her Domme persona made an appearance, there was no predicting how her colleagues would react. Sadly, the force was just one big gossip mill, and Thea wasn’t prepared to become the grist if her work at The Cage became public knowledge.
“I’m an old friend of Thea’s, and she asked if I could use my connection with Master Lovett to set up recon tonight at The Feather Flogger.” Linkin’s tone suggested he dared either Thompson or Stacks to make a comment on his sexual practices. “Master Dillon is another old friend of mine, and I asked him to help.”
“The chief said I was off the case, but he never said I couldn’t use all my resources to gather more information. We need this guy off the streets.” Thea was so grateful to Linkin for saving her ass; she just about broke the Domme code and hugged him like a sissy sub.
“Any intelligence you gather would be inadmissible.” Stacks pointed out, Thompson nodding behind her like a good little boy. Dillon had been right: definite sub material. Not that she necessarily had any sexual attraction for Thompson, but he acted wound up all the time. He would certainly find a good ass whipping beneficial.
“I’ve worked on this case for months.” Thea’s tone was hard. “You didn’t think I’d just let the whole fucking thing go.” Letting out some of her exasperation with the duo in front of her, Thea hoped the annoyed cop routine might placate them. The last thing she needed was them running to the chief or digging into why she had all these connections in the kink world.
“You have to let it go now and trust the rest of us can do our jobs.” Stacks turned sympathetic. Bingo. There was nothing worse than being removed from an unfinished case for any cop.
“Now that I have connections in the kink community, I just feel like it’s a waste not to use them,” Thea pressed. Stacks’s eyes narrowed, but she shook her head.
“After tonight, we can safely remove Mr Ross from our current suspect list.” She nodded at him and looked perplexed. “You are not what I thought, and I did extensive research before Thompson and I decided to come down tonight.”
“Join the club; I think there’s a Facebook page.” Dillon’s eye had already turned a nasty shade of blue. “And for what’s it’s worth, you didn’t blend in at all unless confused tourist was your approach. You need to strengthen your dominant side and forget about the submission. If you need any advice on how to go about doing that, let me know.”
“Why would you help me after tonight?” Stacks put a hand on one of her hips
accentuating her curves.
“I’m fully invested in my community, and I want to make sure it’s safe for the subs. If you’d done your research properly, you’d have come across the psychology behind a dominant’s need to protect submissives.” Dillon sounded patient.
“Because submissives are weaker.” Stacks nodded her head, and Dillon sighed.
“You did a shit job looking into the lifestyle. The submissive partner is not weak. In fact, it takes more mental strength to submit than to dominate in some cases. The dominant partner needs to protect submissives because their natural need to please other people can be used to manipulate them.” Thea saw a spark of interest light in Thompson’s eyes.
Thea interrupted their conversation. “None of this matters. You blew your cover and ours tonight. There’s no point in trying to lure this sadistic bastard in with a decoy now.”
Stacks nodded her head, but her eyes didn’t match her actions. They were going to try again, and they would fail again. Thea stared at Dillon who was watching her. Damn. Dillon had been her best shot at flushing the bastard out. She was going to have to think of a plan B.
Chapter Four
Thea stuffed a pillow over her head as the phone beside her bed buzzed again. It was her day off, and she planned to stay in bed and eat ice cream all day while watching old reruns of Northern Exposure. She loved Officer Barbara Semanski. Obviously, the woman was a secret Domme tying up Maurice’s stupid ass and whipping him good. She imagined her wearing a police uniform with Maurice morphing into Dillon tied to a pine framed bed. Heat pooled between her legs as the phone rang again.
“Demopoulos.” She grunted into the phone as she lay back on the pillows of her bed without opening her eyes.
“You need to come down to the station right now, detective.” The chief’s secretary’s instructions were low and urgent. Thea blinked her eyes open immediately and sat up.
“What’s happened?” She was lightheaded because she already understood. She wouldn’t have gotten a call from Cindy if the Reverend had been at work again. She was off the Reverend case. Nothing in her new case had any urgency around it; most of the leads had gone cold a long time ago.
“You’re all over the media, Thea.” The fact Cindy had used her first name was an indication of how bad things were. “Use the back entrance.” There was a hitch in Cindy’s voice before she continued. “I’m so sorry for you.”
The other woman hung up, and the silence was unnerving as Thea pressed the phone to her ear for a minute longer. It rang again, and she jumped. Staring down at the screen she saw Dillon’s name pop up. Of course, he’d have noticed whatever it was and was trying to top her. Squeezing her eyes shut until the ringing stopped, Thea glanced at the screen again. She was a big girl, and she could handle her own problems. No need for Dillon to ride up on his dark steed with black armour brandishing a four-foot whip to save her. Thea Demopoulos was no fucking damsel in distress. It took her twenty minutes to get up, have a shower and change into a pair of jeans and a dark hoodie.
Striding up the back entrance of the police station, Thea kept her chin up having gone through the morning headlines on one of the widest circulating online media hubs. The Domme Detective. At least they had gotten the terminology correct. What they said about her involvement in the kink community and using her position to hide the Reverend Killer was another matter entirely. Her blood was boiling, and as she headed up to the chief’s office to face whatever shitstorm had hit the department. The anger burning in her gut hit a crescendo every time she saw one of her fellow officers quickly turn his or her head away or whisper to another colleague.
Hypocrites. Guess she was supposed to drown her PTSD in booze or have an affair with a married officer to keep her head balanced. At least, her activities in the kink world were consensual.
Snapping back to her shitty reality, she heard her phone buzz in her pocket. Her mom had started a marathon of messages on her phone until Thea’s cell provider had enough. Now, there were untold piles of messages waiting for her from her brothers, mom, Dillon, and god knows who else.
All of it could wait until the chief was through with her. Stepping out of the elevator onto the highest floor of the Vancouver Police Department, she could feel the disapproval and recriminations like a galeforce wind buffeting her as she walked down the rows of desks spaced out in the expansive room.
Thea’s gaze met Cindy’s, and the anxious expression on the young woman’s face turned to relief for an instant, before reality came back, and lines marred her brow. Reaching for the phone, Cindy didn’t break eye contact as Thea stopped in front of her desk.
“Yes, sir. Right away,” Cindy replied in a hushed tone. Without a word, Cindy stood up and moved to open the glass door to the chief’s office, beckoning Thea inside with a wave of her hand and an expression of commiseration. Thea remained silent as she strode past the other woman, refusing to feel intimidated in any way.
“Detective Demopoulos, I’m happy you could join us this morning.” Chief Barnes barked out from behind his desk. Gone was the coolly smooth man she had known, replaced with another man entirely. A tic had started on the side of his temple. She would have to ask his May at Thanksgiving this year if he’s always had that tic, and Thea just never noticed, assuming he would ever invite her for Thanksgiving again. “This is Officer Mertz. Officer Mertz, this is Detective Demopoulos.”
Thea nodded and held out a hand to the middle-aged woman with sleek black hair pulled back into a severe bun. Dark brown eyes surveyed Thea from an unassuming face. Officer Mertz’s unassuming appearance was probably one of the reasons she was the head of public relations for the VPD. After a short pause, just enough to be on the cusp of insulting, Officer Mertz shook Thea’s hand.
“It’s good to meet you, detective. You have an outstanding service record.” Whether or not that service would be necessary in the future was up to debate if Thea read Officer Mertz’s expression clearly.
“Thank you.” Thea retrieved her hand, and once again looked over at Chief Barnes who was eyeing her critically. She had decided on the way over to let the chief do the talking, unless shit became critical, there was nothing she could do or say at this point to defend herself.
After a long silence where the hairs on the back of Thea’s neck stood on end, the chief spoke. The words cut through Thea making her eyes water, but she held her head high. There would be no apologies for who she was.
“As you have read from the papers and social media this morning, events have progressed significantly since I spoke to you last week and took you off the Reverend case.” The chief paused for a second. He spoke when Thea only continued to stare at him. “At this point Stanford, Thompson, and Stacks are going to have a shit job trying to sort out what evidence can and cannot be used from your time on the case. The fact is the media have turned your little sideshow activities into a moral issue.”
“Whether or not this is the case, the facts are bleak.” Officer Mertz’s tone was cold and dry. She could have given Thea a few lessons in arctic disapproval. That was saying something since Thea was a ball-breaker in her own right. “You’re a member of a closed community a sadistic killer is targeting. It’s inevitable the perpetrator will also come from this alternative community.”
Heat burned Thea’s cheeks, and her hands itched to grab the other woman by the hair and set her straight forcibly. Instead, she held onto her dignity even though her hands were shaking so hard, they had to be noticeable.
“You’re suspended with pay until we sort this shitstorm out.” The chief announced, and Thea narrowed her green gaze on the man she had known her entire life.
“At this point it’s safest for you to have no contact with your colleagues on the force and do your best to stay out of the limelight. It will make our jobs much easier.” Officer Mertz’s smile did nothing to warm the hard planes of her face. Thea could easily picture her leather-clad ass. They wanted her to go quietly into the dark fucking night.
&n
bsp; “Anything else?” She posed her question to Officer Mertz. Thea thought the other woman was enjoying Thea’s humiliation too much.
“Yes. Officer Mertz, that will be all for now.” The other woman glanced over at Chief Barnes with a surprised expression.
“Yes, sir.” Officer Mertz nodded towards the chief before gracing Thea with her fake smile again. “Detective Demopoulos, I’m sure we’ll meet again.” Thea didn’t respond, only surveyed the media relation’s officer out of the corner of her eye as she opened and closed the door.
“Sit down, Thea.” Chief Barnes sat back in his leather chair, framed by the custom-built cherry wood display case with everything from his medals for distinguished service to his golfing trophies shining from the shelves.
“I would prefer to stand.” Thea planted her feet and stared at the man she considered a second father.
“Is this one of your little dominant games, Thea? Because if it is, I’m not playing.” His stern question sent tingles down Thea’s spine, but she remained standing. He huffed out a breath and studied her for what felt like forever. “You haven’t told your parents, and I know this because I’ve had little peace since your extracurricular activities became viral all over the internet. Your mother has called. Your father has called. Hell, May has even been talking to your mother, and you know how difficult that makes my life.” He let out a long breath. “I don’t care about all this kinky stuff, Thea. I care about you. Your family cares about you.”
“They don’t understand me, and they wouldn’t understand my other life.” Thea felt compelled to speak, to try to make the man in front of her understand. “Nothing I ever did was to hurt them or you or the department for that matter.”
“Talk to you parents, Thea. It won’t take long for this whole situation to blow over, and while you’re waiting, trust Stanford, Stacks, and Thompson to get this asshole. In a few months, hell after a year, this whole thing will be a side note on your record.” He leaned forward in his chair and pointed a finger at her. “But it will be a much easier ride with your family around you.”
