by P Nelson
“You’re right.” Thea didn’t bother to try and force a smile. “When will they make an announcement?” she asked absently. Linkin must have used his secret spy shit to retrieve the info. If she had been at her computer last night, Thea would have known the VPD were closing their investigation, and Nick wouldn’t have caught her off-guard. She clenched her hands and fought for control.
But if she had been in front of her screen last night, she wouldn’t have visited with her brothers and their wives, wouldn’t have experienced the inclusiveness of being a part of her family again, a feeling she hadn’t had in a long time. And she wouldn’t have sat on the couch last night watching her old hero’s blow up the bad guys. Thea focused on her breathing.
“Probably today. Do you want to read the brief Linkin sent out last night?” Nick offered his hand already going to his phone.
“No.” Thea fought the urge to snatch her own device from her purse. She had the information. There was no need to sit and read it over and over trying to decipher any extra tiny meaning from it.
“They’re only scaling back their efforts.” Nick turned back around in his seat. “You know how these things work.”
She understood how it worked. Thea forced her attention out the window. Despite her personal feelings for her old partner, the detective inside of her sympathised with Bill Stanford. He would probably be in Chief Barnes office right now arguing why he only needed more time to break the case. Chief Barnes would talk about budgets and other priorities. Stanford would leave pissed off and probably hand in his resignation—if he was still planning to retire.
“At least we’ll be rid of our friend in the lobby.” Thea thought about the officer with the blank face she had passed this morning.
“Useless cunts,” Nick swore. Thea raised both her brows at his rude assessment.
“Sorry.” The twinkle in his eye revealing not the least bit of remorse. The car came to a halt in the street outside of the Calla’s building. It was one of the original apartment blocks lining the streets just off the downtown core of the city. The red brick buildings gave the area a certain authenticity to age some of the rest of the city lacked. Nick pushed open his door.
“Have a good appointment, Miss Demopoulos.” The driver intoned from the front seat.
“Thank you. See you in an hour.” She waited until Nick opened the door for her and stepped out of the car. She wondered how much longer she could take the chauffeuring around and constant escorting to and from doors. Flynn offered for Dillon and her to stay at his estate on a private island located between Vancouver and Vancouver Island.
At the time, it hadn’t been a good choice. Thea still had several appointments for the wounds on her back at the specialist clinic and her therapy to complete. Now, she was getting back into the groove of The Cage. The nights she acted as the Domme in Residence going a long way to building her confidence. In fact, she wanted to discuss topping Dillon with Calla today before she broached the subject with Dillon tonight.
Nick opened the door to the converted apartment building. They were silent as they rode up alone in the elevator to Calla’s floor. Nick stepped out first and nodded to the young man who worked reception at the tall desk. He scanned the empty waiting room and walked over to stand in a corner of the room where he could keep an eye on what was happening in the hall leading down to the individual offices as well as anyone coming out of the elevator.
“Good morning, Miss Demopoulos, I believe Dr Jones is ready to see you.” The young man greeted her with a smile. Thea’s heart melted more every time she saw him. A natural sub, he’d be perfect for several Dommes she had known for years. Unfortunately, there was no way she could broach the topic with him.
This was Calla’s workplace. Even though her penchant for BDSM was well known, Thea wasn’t about to make any overtures to her co-workers.
“Thank you.” She glanced over at Nick who stared back at her for a moment. He blinked once.
“Can I make you coffee?” the receptionist asked. The first time he’d offered, Thea had stood in the middle of the hallway dumbstruck. The memory of Bondie offering to buy coffees for everyone stuck in her head. The last time she experienced a flashback was her disastrous turn at The Feather Flogger.
“No, thank you,” Thea declined as she had done on every other morning, not quite able to trust having a natural little subbie bring her coffee.
“If you want anything…” He glanced back before tapping on Calla’s office door, the blinds were open, and Calla glanced away from her computer screen. She smiled and waved Thea inside.
“I’ll be sure to ask.” Thea reached out and walked into the office. The handle pressed down and clicked just as she heard the voice of a man she’d never forget. Heart in her throat, Thea’s head swivelled toward Esposito. Her body unable to move as her brain screamed at her to run, to fight, to do anything.
The psychologist in the office next to Calla’s was speaking to a man wearing a heavy coat. His faced the opposite direction. His profile obscured by the flick of his collar reaching his chin and a Shelby hat pulled down over his brow. Thea swallowed, aware the receptionist was staring at her.
“You have been most helpful, Dr Crouch. I will definitely be making another appointment.” The heavily dressed man spoke again. Thea would recognise the almost girlish tinge to Esposito’s voice anywhere. Thea’s blood pressure slammed back into her veins. Heart pumping over time, the scene unfolding in front of her appeared surreal.
The bundled-up man turned a fraction. He grinned at her. Awareness of her body, her surroundings and a keen burning over her skin brought Thea startling back to life.
“You fucking bastard,” Thea hissed. The receptionist’s face turned to shock. “I’m going to fucking kill you.” She lunged at Esposito at the same time Calla opened the door to her office. The receptionist grabbed onto Thea and would not let go.
“What’s going on here?” she questioned sounding strained but still professional.
“It appears our beautiful Thea has glimpsed a ghost. Miss me?” Esposito licked his lips. Thea made to lunge at him again.
“Let go of me.” She wriggled and twisted unable to break the receptionist’s hold. “Where the fuck have you been hiding, Esposito?” The rest of the people in the hallway stopped to process the question.
“Aiden, call the police,” Calla instructed the receptionist who still hadn’t let go of Thea.
“I told you I learned everything about you, dearest.” Esposito’s gaze flicked over to Calla. “Now, I know so much about your friends. We’re going to have so much fun together, Dr Jones. After I take care of my little Mistress Thea problem.” Nausea choked Thea at the thought of Calla in the hands of Esposito.
“Not bloody likely, asshole.” She pulled out of the receptionist’s embrace, only to stop dead in her tracks as Esposito pulled a gun from his pocket.
“Come along nicely now, Thea. We don’t want to make a scene in poor Dr Jones’ office.” His girlish tone grated on her last nerve. With the gun pointed solely at her, Calla was happy to take the bullet if it meant Nick would come running.
“Fuck you.” Thea returned and made to step forward.
“Get down,” Nick shouted from behind her. The whole confrontation with Esposito might have only been a minute, but Nick was so slouch. He must have heard the shouting and come to investigate. Before Thea could shout a warning, two separate hands grabbed onto her, forcing her down to the ground. Calla stared at her with wide eyes. Two shots rang through the office.
Esposito’s body staggered backwards as he took a shot to his shoulder. A scream erupted from Calla, and Thea frowned. Her friend scrambled up to her knees only to trip as she tried to get up onto her feet. A second later, Calla was running down the hall towards the reception area.
Thea whipped her head around and what she saw stopped her cold. Nick would certainly be wearing body armour under his black T-shirt, Esposito had shot him in the side of the neck. Blood poured down f
rom the wound, in a grisly waterfall. Calla reached him just as Nick raised his firearm again. He was trying to shout, but the blood pumping from his throat made his words intelligible.
“He’s trying to tell you to run, my dear.” Esposito spoke into her ear. It brought back memories of how he had spoken to her in basement. Thea froze again, terror in her heart as she saw Nick collapse to his knees still holding his firearm up. Calla had torn off her shirt and was pressing the material to Nick’s throat. Thea realised the man had only a fraction amount of time left. Tears tingled at the back of her eyes.
“Come with me now and be a good girl.” Esposito pressed a gun to her back. “And this time I will leave your friend.” Thea nodded. There was no choice to make as Nick collapsed to the side against the wall. Calla tried to soften his fall and grab the gun at the same time. Calla had no idea how to use it. She might kill one of her co-workers before she could get a clean shot at Esposito.
“No,” Calla shouted torn between reaching for the weapon and stemming the blood coming from the wound in Nick’s neck. The receptionist Calla had called Aiden stood up slowly.
“Don’t try and follow us, Aiden. Do you understand?” Thea stared directly into the young man’s eyes and used her best Domme voice. He appeared stunned, but he shook it off.
“Stop,” Esposito pointed a gun at Aiden’s head. “I will kill you.” The gun appeared to have the desired effect. Aiden halted in his tracks, gaze fixed on the barrel of the weapon.
“Where the fuck do you want to go now, asshole?” Thea asked as Esposito pulled her backwards along the hallway, she did her best to keep her footing, but it wasn’t easy. Esposito was jerking her back and forth as he waved his weapon around at anyone who came near. Thea focused on Calla’s efforts to save Nick until Esposito pulled her around a corner.
“It was hard at first.” Esposito sounded strained. Thea was falling backward through a doorway into a fire escape. “The hospital would have been easy enough even your military friend couldn’t cover all the ins and outs of a place that big.” Thea caught the railing and regained her balance. “Down the stairs.” He waved the gun at her.
“But I moved out of the hospital,” Thea supplied using the tactic of distraction every potential kidnap victim should be aware of nowadays with so many police procedural shows on the television.
“Yes, and not to your apartment.” Esposito sounded disappointed. “I waited for you there day after day. Looking through your things, getting to know you.” Thea’s throat tightened. Her brothers and her mother had been to her apartment to fetch things she needed while at the hospital. This madman could have killed members of her family.
“What’s your game, Esposito?” Thea challenged. She sure as fuck wasn’t going to use the media’s moniker. She sensed this was going to be her one chance to get answers. Whatever lay beyond the door leading out of the building was the end of her acquaintance with this sadistic killer. “All of this is over the top for a conman like yourself. So, you didn’t get the pay-out you wanted from Dillon Ross. Get the fuck over it.”
“For an intelligent woman, you’re blind.” Esposito pushed Thea forward with the butt of the gun. “I never even had the chance to issue my demands. His friends protected him. Oddly, I think he would have decided to sacrifice his career for the sake of honour. Pitiful and stupid. Now the only way he can get work is by peddling your ass in the porn market, too. Once you’re dead, he might have to suck dick for a living.”
“Must make you happy to know you fucked up his life.” Thea wasn’t going to comment on anything else. Dillon was hers, and he’d survive after she was gone. He might want to be dead, but she trusted her friends to keep him safe for her. She bit down on the inside of her mouth in order not to cry.
“Hardly, Mr Ross’s anguish has only been a by-product of my latest target,” Esposito told her as they reached the basement. Now was the time to make her move.
“But Flynn is a rich man with good contacts. Good luck trying to get to him.” Thea passed through the door leading outside the building. She had no idea whether Esposito had another accomplice on the other side or whether he was alone. He might just shoot her once they stepped into the alley. This might be her only chance, and Thea wasn’t going to miss it. There was no way she was going to have her skin flayed from her body on the cross again.
“My sponsor also has deep pockets.” Thea registered Esposito’s words as she twisted to the side and grabbed onto Esposito’s arm as the door swung open. Bright sunlight filtered through, blinding Thea, but she continued to struggle with Esposito for control of the gun. Wrenching forward, Thea brought his arm through the door and let the force of her shoving the portal shut again force Esposito into dropping the weapon.
“Bitch,” Esposito screamed after her as the gun skittered across the uneven pavement of the alleyway. Thea lurched towards where the gun had clattered. The loud roar of motorcycle engines filled her ears. She stared at the end of alleyway as two black motorcycles screeched down the alley. The door of the building slammed open, and Thea realised there was no time to go for the weapon now. If these guys were with Esposito, Thea had no choice but to run and hope for the best.
She searched for a break in the fence leading to a backyard belonging to a building opposite. She didn’t stand a chance if she stayed on the streets and alleyways of the city. Maybe the garden beyond would slow the assholes down. Thea ran and jumped halfway up the chain link fence.
Esposito cursed behind her and started to run down the alley. Out of the corner of Thea’s eye, she watched as a rider on the back of one of the motorcycles dressed in jeans, leather jacket, and full helmet leaped off the bike. The rider in front was competent enough to keep the bike steady as his partner flew through the air, catching Esposito in the back.
Thea swallowed hard, the wire of fence biting into her hands as Esposito and the unknown rider crashed into the ground. A moment later, the rider was on top of Esposito. The man whose identity was unknown pummelled Esposito so hard she could see Esposito’s bones shattering from her perch.
“You going to get down from there?” Linkin demanded. Thea stared down at her friend, her brain not comprehending what she was seeing.
“What the fuck.” Hands came around her waist as the rider on the back of Linkin’s bike tried to help her down. Sirens sounded in the distance. “Nick,” she started.
“Already have a guy up there, Thea.” Linkin was scanning the rest of the alley. “I have to go, but I need to know you’re safe.” His ice-cold blue eyes never wavered from her face. She allowed his partner to help her down. “There’s no time to explain, Thea, but I can’t be here. The VPD are already asking questions, and they have no ability to comprehend the answers.”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Thea started running, instinctively recognising who was under the black helmet beating the shit out of Esposito. Skidding to a halt beside Dillon, she shouted his name pulling at his jacket. “Dillon, I need you.” The last words must have penetrated Dillon’s concentration because he stopped. Chest heaving, he brought his bloodied leather gloves up to crack his visor open.
“We have to go, man,” Joe screamed over the whine of the bike engine. “Cops are going to be all over this shit in less than a minute. As much as I’d love to have a chase through downtown Vancouver, it might take out some bystanders.” Dillon stood up and kicked Esposito who writhed in agony on the ground.
“I love you. I can’t stay, but I love you.” Dillon searched Thea’s face. Her heart was going to explode.
“I love you, too.” Thea squashed her face into the helmet and did her best to reach Dillon’s lips.
“Come on, you two perverts. You’ll have plenty of time to fuck each other’s brains out tonight.” Joe reached out and grabbed the back of Dillon’s jacket.
“I’ll come down to the station to get you.” Dillon shouted as he hopped back up onto the back of the bike.
“No, he won’t. Knuckles, idiot.” Joe indicated the damage to D
illon’s hands from beating the crap out of Esposito. “I’ll come down.” With promise still ringing in the air, Joe squeezed the accelerator and followed Linkin out of the alley.
“It doesn’t matter that he isn’t here. I’m going to tell the police everything.” Esposito slurred his words as he tried to get up.
“Stay down. I don’t have any fucking reason not to kick the shit out of you.” In fact, a sense of vengeance burned in her gut that even the sound of police sirens could quite keep at bay.
“Little Thea Demopoulos.” Esposito spat on the ground. “I’m going to walk out of that police station precisely one hour after I enter.” He managed to get to his knees, and Thea backed away from him. “You have no idea the powers at work here. You, my dearest, are my favourite plaything. Keep an eye out for me.”
Tires squealed and shouting erupted from both ends of the alleyway. Thea was a fraction behind Esposito as she complied with the police orders. With weapons pointed directly at them, the police ordered both Esposito and Thea to place their hands at the back of their heads. Esposito grinned at her, mouth full of blood as her fingers pressed into her loose hair.
A red dot appeared on Esposito’s forehead a second before a tiny hole materialised in his skull. The force of the shot blew the back of Esposito’s head off, brain matter, skull, and blood spraying all over the alleyway. Too shocked to move, the body of the man who had tortured her and killed countless fell onto the ground in a heap.
Rough hands pressed Thea to the ground. They dragged her away from Esposito’s fallen body. She sat against the relative safety of the police car and tried to get her breath back. Thea scanned all the buildings around the alley, it hadn’t been the police who had taken him down. Someone had obviously grown tired of Mr Esposito.
“Are you OK, detective, the cop in uniform who continued to point her weapon over the hood of the vehicle asked as she glanced over.
