by Frost, E J
“Mmm, not that easy for the average civvy. She can’t just borrow an older friend’s driver’s license like an underage kid trying to buy booze. Getting fake ID that stands up to bank checks? It’s expensive. And slow. It’d take a lot of planning. If she’d paid in Bitcoin or something, I’d say the name’s a dead end, but PayPal? I’m betting that’s her real name.”
I nod, and make a mental note to get Max on the name, but that’s not a thought I share with Theo, because I don’t want to bring my favorite hacker to the attention of the police.
As we’re crossing the Queensboro Bridge, my phone goes. After checking the caller, I put it on speaker and set it between me and Theo.
“Jiro,” I say. “I’m here with Theo D’Andrea. He’s a detective with the NYPD. He’s investigating Rick Errol’s stalking. He’s hoping to have a chance to speak with Laurel while you’re here over the weekend.”
Jiro’s silent for a long moment. “For what reason?” he asks finally.
“I want to ensure that Laurel consented to what happened at the Fire Island party,” Theo answers.
“Why are the police involved?” Jiro asks.
“There are allegations online,” Theo responds.
“And the NYPD investigates every internet rumor?” Jiro scoffs. “I find that difficult to believe, Detective.”
“No, we don’t,” Theo says. “But I’m taking this seriously. If Laurel didn’t consent to what happened at that party, I’m looking to charge Rick Errol with aggravated assault and rape.”
Jiro’s silent again. “Logan, would you take me off speaker, please? I’d like to ask a personal question.”
“Sure.” I pick up the phone and tap off the speaker. “Go ahead.”
“Do you trust Detective D’Andrea?” Jiro asks.
“I do. I can’t tell you why without his agreement, but, yes, I do.”
“I see.” Jiro’s silent again and I can feel him thinking. “Does he understand our lifestyle?”
“Yes, he does.”
“I see,” he repeats. I hope he does, because if his next question is whether Theo practices our lifestyle, I don’t know how I’m going to answer. “Very well. You can put me back on speaker.”
“Thanks.” I tap the phone again and set it on the seat.
“Detective, I will permit Laurel to speak with you. I can assure you that she consented, but I understand that you would prefer to hear it from her.”
“I would,” Theo confirms. “But thank you for that. Logan’s also been squirmy about telling me what happened after the party that ended Laurel’s threesomes with Damon Tiger and Dovie Donegan. Would you care to shed some light on that?”
“Laurel experienced an epiphany about the risks of the way she was living. She decided to change her behavior. Ending her liaison with Mr. Tiger and Ms. Donegan was a part of that change,” Jiro says smoothly.
Theo’s too experienced a detective to buy what Jiro’s selling.
“What led to the epiphany?” Theo asks, glancing away from the evening traffic to narrow his eyes at the phone.
“Eyes on the road,” I grumble.
“Sorry,” he grunts.
“I don’t wish to distract you when you’re driving, Detective,” Jiro says. “I would be happy to discuss this when we meet. However, I will request that you not press Laurel for details of what happened. It is unrelated to the events of the party or Mr. Errol’s actions, and it is a subject of some distress for Laurel.”
“Jiro, would you be okay with me explaining to Theo?” I ask. “I’ll keep it to the broadest terms. I think once Theo knows what happened, he won’t need details.”
Jiro sighs audibly. “Yes, that might be best. Recounting the details is still traumatic for Laurel.”
“We don’t want to trigger her,” I assure him. “Theo understands what that is.”
“Very well. You have my permission. While I have you, Logan, we’re flying up early. Laurel wants to do some sightseeing.”
“When are you coming in?” I ask.
“Tomorrow afternoon. I don’t expect you to play host. We’ll take a hotel room for Thursday night and meet you Friday as planned.”
“Hey, it’s not an imposition. It’ll give us a chance to have a low-key night on Thursday before the party. Emily and I will show you around the City, as long as you don’t mind a visit to the Natural History Museum. Emily can’t show anyone around New York without introducing them to the T-Rexes.”
Jiro chuckles. “Laurel would like that.”
“Text me your flight details and I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up. Are you coming in to JFK or LaGuardia?”
“JFK. Flight lands at twelve-fifteen.”
“Great. Plenty of time for Central Park and the Museum. Is Laurel a shopper?”
“Oh, yes, and I promised to take her to Saks.”
“No problem. Fifth Avenue’s just across the park.” Then it occurs to me that Emily may not be up for too much walking tomorrow. The club has a couple of wheelchairs for moving subs when they can’t walk on their own. Maybe I can borrow one. “Emily may have to skip the shopping. She’s, um, recovering.”
A deeper chuckle from Jiro. “From pain or pleasure?”
“Pain. She’s had a punishment today.”
“Ah, naughty girl. That’s okay. Laurel’s moving a little gingerly herself. She’ll be happy to take it easy.”
“Great. See you tomorrow.”
After I hang up with Jiro, Theo shoots me a dark glance.
“You’re awfully pally with some random Dom from DC,” he says.
“Jiro and I could be friends from way back,” I say. “Don’t they teach you never to make assumptions in detective school?”
Theo snorts. “Yeah, that’s exactly what they taught us. Lemme guess, you never went to detective school?”
I did, actually. I got pulled into an NCIS investigation during my third year in the Navy. I hit it off with the investigating officer and he recommended that I take the two NCIS basic training programs at Glynco. I was just starting polygraph training when the Maersk Alabama was hijacked. That was the end of my Naval investigative aspirations and the beginning of four years in the hell that is the Gulf of Aden.
When I don’t answer him, Theo pushes on. “Are you friends from way back?”
I shake myself out of the past. “No. And he’s probably as suspicious as you are about my motives. Honestly, I just feel protective towards Laurel. Emily’s brought out all these Daddy-Dom instincts in me and now I can’t turn them off.”
Theo chuckles. “You’re fucked.”
“Probably,” I agree.
“What’s the deal with Friday night? You bringing them to Blunts?”
This could get sticky.
“Rick’s having a play party. I invited them up for it.”
“Rick’s having a party in the middle of his fucking stalking?” Theo asks incredulously.
“To be fair, the party was planned before everything kicked off. I’m pulling in a ton of security.”
“Fucking witness protection won’t keep the guy safe in the middle of a party. Tell me you aren’t letting it go forward to draw out his stalker?”
It crossed my mind, but I’m not admitting that to Theo-the-cop.
“My partner is Rick’s body man for the party. I’d be okay with the party even if it was just Manny on Rick for the night, but I’ll be there and I’ve got another guy on it as well. It’s a play party so it’s not open to just anyone.”
“It’s a play party so there will be plenty of shit lying around that can be used as a weapon.”
True.
“You try convincing the guy not to live his life.”
“Nope, that’s your job. If you aren’t going to do it, then your job is to get me an invite.”
“No problem. It’ll be a plus one.”
“I’ll bring DirtyGurl since we’re supposed to be doing a scene. She can keep Emily company while you and I keep an eye on things.”
<
br /> “Works for me.”
He gives me the side-eye.
“If you’re going to keep taking your bloody eyes off the road, at least let me drive,” I say mildly.
“Didn’t even know you could.”
“I can drive. I just don’t see much point in keeping a car in the City. Besides, public transport’s better for the environment.”
He snorts, just as eloquently as Maude. “Right, Mother Bear.” He turns up Second Avenue and straight into a line of traffic. “Now’s the part where you tell me why you’re being so accommodating when most PIs have a shit-fit when I step all over their toes. After that’s the part where you tell me what you’ve been dodging around with Laurel Radford.”
“You know I was in the Navy, right?”
“Yeah, I think I’ve heard that.”
“It gave me a healthy respect for what ‘police powers’ actually mean,” I tell him. “I’m not interested in spending time in a cell, away from Emily, just because you think I’m getting in your way. Besides, I’m really worried about Rick. I know you don’t like the guy, but he’s my client. Last client of mine who didn’t take their stalker seriously ended up with second-degree burns all over her face and arms. I don’t want that to happen to Rick. I’ll take all the help I can get.”
Theo rubs his hand over his face. “I don’t like the guy, but I don’t want him hurt. That’s not why I do this job.”
“Okay,” I say neutrally, because I’ve come across more than one cop who was more interested in the power the badge gave them than protecting and serving, and Theo was awfully fast to throw his badge at me when he thought I was going to be more of a hindrance than a help. But Theo-the-Dom is a good man, so I’ll give Theo-the-cop the benefit of the doubt.
“Let’s get to the other part. What aren’t you telling me about Laurel Radford?”
“She blacked out in New York and woke up in an abandoned house in Baltimore a couple of days later, covered in blood and lucky to be alive.”
“What the fuck?” Theo snarls.
“Her Dom told me she doesn’t know if she was drugged or she did it to herself mixing booze and painkillers, but she does know she was raped and beaten. By several different men, over a couple of days. They left her for dead when they were done.”
“And she reported it and they were caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Theo growls.
“You know that’s not what happened. She hit bottom and it scared her to death. She got clean and sober. She met Jiro and he helped her figure out what was driving the self-destructive behavior. She’s much, much better. They’re getting married. She’s a pet, wholly owned. That’s why I needed his permission for everything.”
Theo blows out a long breath. “Was she high at the party?”
“You need to ask her that, but there’s no question they were all drinking.”
“Rick did an impact and breath-play scene with her with no negotiation and no safe word when she’d been drinking,” Theo says flatly. “And you want me to believe there was consent?”
“I want you to listen to Laurel before you make up your mind.”
I also want him to remember that there’s a difference between being a bad Dom and being a rapist, but I appreciate that the line can be fine. Laurel’s unequivocal about which side of the line the Fire Island party was on, but without talking to her, I wouldn’t be sure. All I can ask is for Theo to listen to her the way I did before he decides to go after Rick’s ass.
Theo’s silent the rest of the way up Second Avenue. When we reach Blunts, he pulls into the underground parking lot, but instead of heading to his numbered space, he pulls up in front of the entrance to the lifts.
“This is you,” he tells me.
Since I’m more than ready to end my time with Theo-the-cop, I take the hint and open the door.
“I want everything you have by noon tomorrow,” he says as I’m climbing out of the car, a little awkwardly, because my left leg still doesn’t have much spring. “That’s me not being an asshole because I understand you might need to take care of Emily in the morning.”
Still pretty damn quick to throw his badge at me.
“I’ll have everything to you by noon,” I confirm.
“I want to talk to Laurel and her Dom tomorrow, Logan. I’m not waiting two days. Take them sightseeing or whatever, but after dinner, I want the full story straight from the source. Make it happen.”
So much for not being an asshole. I toss a little assholism back at him.
“Come for dinner. Emily will want to feed everyone.”
“Don’t even think about using your secret weapon on me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, mate,” I say as I close the car door behind me, without slamming it, through some miracle of self-restraint.
* * *
Emily manages a cab ride home, but only by lying on her side with her head in my lap, because she quickly discovers that there’s no comfortable sitting position. The cab driver is evidently used to taking prone women home and doesn’t say a thing. I buckle my little girl in as securely as I can and stroke her hair as we watch the city lights flash by through the cab’s windows.
I tell her about the interview with Dovie Donegan. More than anything Dovie revealed, Emily seems bothered by the way Theo treated me on the drive back.
“He shouldn’t be taking it out on you, Daddy,” she says quietly, so the cabbie won’t hear. “He may not like Rick. He may not be happy about the dub-con, but that’s not a reason to be so mean to you.”
“What’s dub-con?” I ask.
She giggles. “Dubious consent. Sorry, it’s a romance term.”
“Ah, I see. I’m defending Rick. Theo doesn’t like it. He vents at me instead of who he’s really angry with.”
“It’s not right. If he keeps being mean to you, can I say something? At dinner tomorrow or at the party on Friday?”
I bend over so I can kiss her cheek. “Are you protecting your daddy from the big, bad Dom?”
“I am. If he doesn’t start being nicer to you, I’ll put so much cayenne pepper in his food that he’ll never taste another thing.”
I chuckle and stroke her hair. “Thank you, love, but that wouldn’t be being the bigger person, would it? Let’s leave it for now and see how he is after he talks with Laurel.”
She wriggles.
“I can’t wait to show them the Rexes. And there’s a silk sleep set at Saks that I want sooo bad. You’ll like it, Daddy. It has pink roses on it. It might be on sale.”
“We’ll have fun at the Museum. And we’ll order takeaway so you don’t have to cook. I keep dumping dinner parties on you.”
I just dumped another one on her when I picked her up from Blunts and found her playing Hearts with Austin and Hunter. I broke up their game with a promise of dinner and a night of card games after Laurel and Jiro leave.
“It’s okay, Daddy. I like to cook.”
“I know you do, sweetie, but Laurel and Jiro’s visit isn’t meant to be burden.” I rub her back. “About the clothes, would you have bought them without them being on sale before I gave you an allowance?”
“Before you gave me an allowance, I didn’t have anyone to wear silk sleep shorts for, so, no, I wouldn’t have. And I don’t spend a hundred dollars on pajamas no matter who I’m wearing them for.”
My frugal little girl.
“Proud of you, Emmy. I’m proud of the way you manage your allowance. I’m proud of the way you handled your punishment today. I’m proud to introduce you to Laurel and Jiro as my little girl.”
She rubs her cheek against my thigh. “That’s lots and lots of proud.”
“It is, indeed, sweetheart. How are you feeling about your punishment?”
She sighs, and it’s a happy sigh. “Clean.”
“Good. I want you to feel clean. There’s no reason for you to feel dirty, because you’re my good girl and I’m very proud of you.”
The big eyes swing up at me like M
K 100s. “Am I your good girl again?”
“Emmy.” I stroke her hair back from her cheek. “You broke rules and a promise. Those are bad things, but they do not make you a bad girl. You are my good girl, always. Even when you misbehave. You don’t stop being my good girl, and I don’t stop loving you. Do you understand me?”
She nods and wraps her arm over my thigh, pressing her cheek against it. “Ta, Daddy.”
“Now that your punishment’s over, we can go back to being Daddy and baby girl and making each other stupid happy.”
She tips her head back so she can look up at me. “I like the sound of that.”
Me, too.
* * *
She struggles with the stairs when we get home. My inability to pick her up and carry her to bed grinds on me the way it has for the past six weeks. I slide my arm around her shoulders and help her up the steps, but it’s not the same. If Hendry doesn’t clear me to do squats with weights soon, I’m going to go mental.
I inspect Emily all over before I run us a bath. The scratches from her cat are scabbed over with no sign of redness. I take the bandage off so the wounds can air and kiss the skin above her boo-boo, which makes a happy tear slip down her cheek before I kiss that away, too. She’s bruised from her pubic bone all the way up the crack of her ass. The bruises are already a deep reddish-purple, but they look like they’re still darkening. Austin, who is medically trained, recommended cold rather than heat before we parted ways at Blunts. I run us a cool bath, which is nice on the warm night anyway, put in some Epsom salts, and draw my baby girl into my lap once we’re in the water.
No bath crayons or pirate stories tonight. Instead, there’s a soft washcloth to clean off the sweat of her punishment, and lots of sweet cuddles. We agree on Cambodian for dinner tomorrow and talk about what else we might do with Jiro and Laurel. Nothing heavy. Nothing kinky. Nothing deep. Just the quiet, normal conversation that arises from two entwined lives.
I want this. Every day. For the rest of my life. I want the comfort and certainty of ending each day with Emily in my arms.
I pick up her small hand and spread her fingers between mine. She doesn’t wear any rings on her left hand, and any impression from her wedding rings faded long ago. I lift her hand to my lips and kiss her ring finger.
