They ran into Alex on the way back. He grinned to see them approach, and he broke away from the group of employees to whom he’d been speaking. “Jewell said you had quite a session last night.”
Neither Jed nor Dare had said anything to Jewell except to thank her for the use of their dungeon. He wrinkled his brows. “She did?”
“Yeah. She said you had to carry Tru back to the room.”
Tru leaned closer to Jed and squeezed his hand. “They did. I don’t remember getting back to the room at all. Thanks for letting us play.”
Alex nodded. “My pleasure. Hey, there’s a new white water rafting outfit about an hour from here. Jewell wants to check it out tomorrow, but between my heart and back, I can’t go with her.”
“I’d love to go.” Tru’s eyes sparkled. “Sir, can we go?”
“We?” Jed wasn’t sure if she was asking him along.
“You, Liam, me, and Jewell. It’ll be fun.”
Jed wondered what was wrong with Alex’s heart that he couldn’t go with his wife. The man was too young for heart disease. The back thing was easier to infer—active people often suffered from problems later in life. Out loud he shook his head. “Not this time, Princess. We have other plans for you tomorrow.” And now he was going to have to think of an activity that would also let him stick around and do the kind of surveillance he needed to do. As it was, he’d planned to steer Tru toward the common room so they could engage other patrons in small talk. It would be fun for Tru, and he’d be firmly in investigation mode.
“I love rafting.” Her bottom lip came out in a pretend pout that didn’t last long. “However I’m looking forward to whatever you have in store for me, Sir.”
Alex looked from Jed to Tru. “If you change your mind, let me know.”
“We will.” Without letting go of Jed’s hand, she stepped forward and rose to her toes to kiss Alex’s cheek. “Dinner tonight?”
“Sure.” He peered over her head at Jed. “How about we hang out while the subs cook? I have a great single malt I was going to open tonight.”
Tru turned the full power of her begging face on him, and he found himself consenting because it’s what she wanted. Really he should be in the Inn’s dining room so that he and Dare could work the room.
“Great.” Alex smiled tightly, and Jed remembered that Tru had warned him that he was going to be under a microscope. It looked like he hadn’t yet passed inspection. “I’ll see you at five.”
A couple approached, a man who exuded authority towed a shorter blonde woman, maybe late twenties. She was pretty in a plastic sort of way, and he might be called handsome. Jed recognized him as one of those poser Doms, the kind who cared about wielding power and not the person giving her submission. Instantly he disliked this guy, and instinctively he stepped between him and Tru.
“Zangari, this is a great place you have here.”
Alex frowned. “Have we met?”
“No. I just checked in this afternoon. I’m Anton Schatz.” He held his hand out for Alex to shake.
The owner of the Fetish Inn seemed to reluctantly oblige. Jed wanted to leave, to get Tru away from this unsafe Dom, but he couldn’t ignore the warning buzzer emanating from his investigative instincts.
Alex, for his part, didn’t seem to mind Jed sticking around. He motioned to Jed. “Anton Schatz, this is Jed King. He and his sub are guests here as well.”
“Hey, did I hear you say that you had seats open on a white water rafting adventure tomorrow?” Anton Schatz smiled, but it was the kind that both twisted and ingratiated. “I’m always up for that kind of thrill ride.”
The man’s sub remained quiet and in the background, almost like she was afraid to draw attention to herself. Jed jutted his chin out to indicate her. “Does your sub also want to go?”
“Yeah, yeah. She’s up for anything.”
Jed didn’t want to introduce his submissive to this piece of trash, but he needed Schatz to introduce his sub. She looked familiar, but Jed couldn’t quite place her. He couldn’t directly ask for an introduction without pissing off the supposed dominant, and he needed to know more about the guy before dismissing him outright as just a regular asshole instead of a criminal asshole.
Alex stepped in to save the day. “Anton, this is your first visit to Zangari’s? Interesting. I didn’t know we had any new residents scheduled this month.”
Schatz motioned to his sub. “Sarah has been here before. She’s a member.”
Alex frowned, and Jed got the impression that he didn’t approve of Schatz either. “New guests must be vetted, even if they’re with a current member. I’m sorry, but—”
Tru put a hand on Alex’s arm just above his elbow. He broke off and leaned down. Jed couldn’t hear what she whispered, but when she stopped and stepped back behind him, Alex scratched his chin. “You can stay tonight, but you’ll need to fill out some forms and consent to a background check.”
Jed decided he liked Alex a lot. Not only was he a conscientious Dom, but he was going to get a history and consent for a background check.
“What about the rafting trip?” Schatz frowned.
Sarah touched Schatz’s arm. “Master, we can go white water rafting if we want. It’s an expedition outfitter, not one related to the Inn.”
He nodded. “Okay. Yeah. Look into it.”
Alex motioned for his concierge, Janean, to take Schatz to the front desk to fill out the appropriate forms.
Once the pair exited, Jed turned to Alex. “I changed my mind. We’ll go rafting tomorrow. Don’t worry about Jewell. We’ll make sure she stays with us.”
Alex frowned. “I’m not sure I’m going to let her go. That guy rubs me the wrong way.” He stared at the door through which the couple had gone. “I’m going to help Janean.”
Jed didn’t blame the guy. He slung an arm around Tru’s waist. “What did you say to Alex?”
“That all the hotels in the area are booked and that he should let them stay one night. Jed, that woman was Braithwaite’s wife. I don’t think she recognized me.”
This proved Jed’s instincts. She’d altered her appearance from the photos he’d seen of her. A new hair style and creative makeup skills did a lot to disguise a face. “What about the guy?”
She shook her head. “I’ve never seen him before, though that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.”
He kissed her briefly on the lips. “Alex was going to throw them out. That was quick thinking. I’m proud of you.”
Her gaze dropped shyly, and a blush crept up her neck. “Thank you.”
“Come on. Let’s fill Dare in on what we did today.”
Dinner didn’t quite go the way Jed thought it might. The moment they arrived, Tru and Jewell disappeared into the kitchen, and Alex led Jed and Dare through the house to the back patio. It was private from the Inn, delineated by a tall cedar fence, and it overlooked the cliff, so nobody was going to come stumbling up from the beach to crash their private party.
Jed watched Alex sip the whiskey. “If you have a heart condition, should you be drinking that?”
“You sound like Jewell.” He chuckled. “I indulge once in a while, four times a year, max.”
Dare tilted his head and regarded Alex curiously. “Heart condition? What’s wrong?”
“I did lots of drugs as a kid. It takes a toll on the old body. I have osteoporosis too.” Alex savored another sip. “But I’m not dead, so there’s that.”
Jed realized that Alex’s health issues were side effects of chemotherapy, and he kind of felt like an ass for questioning why a relatively young, active man had physical issues. He wondered if Tru had any as well. He already knew she’d been emotionally traumatized by it. Dare had shared some of his profiling theories, and Jed agreed that they needed to watch out for some of her wilder tendencies.
Jed raised his glass. “To survival.”
Alex acknowledged his toast and took another sip. “Look, I’m not going to let Jewell go rafting with you guys tom
orrow. Something about that Schatz guy doesn’t sit right with me. It’s not personal.”
“I understand. He’s definitely a shady character.” Jed didn’t want Tru going either, but he couldn’t very well make her stay behind and maintain his cover.
“I can get tickets for another day.” Alex rubbed the stubble on his chin. “If you want.”
They needed to spend time with Schatz. And Zarah was either a captive or a criminal. He needed to figure out which.
“Thanks.” Dare shook his head. “But they’ll be okay. Jed can take care of himself, and Tru isn’t a pushover. She’ll box the ears of any guy who has it coming.”
“You’re not going?” Alex eyed Dare speculatively.
“It’s not my thing. Jed and Tru like the water sports. I can’t swim.” Dare lied smoothly. He was a great swimmer, but he needed a reason to remain behind and search Schatz’s room. “What made you let this guy stay if you don’t like him? Zangari’s Fetish Inn is known for being selective about its guests.”
“I wasn’t going to, but Tru said to let them stay one night. She rarely asks for anything, and this is the second time in a month she’s asked me for a favor.” Alex shook his head. “Nothing like falling in love to make a woman’s heart go soft.”
Jed wondered if Tru was developing tender feelings for either or both of them. He knew she wanted the murderer apprehended, but she hadn’t seemed all that interested in doing it herself—which was good. He didn’t want her in the thick of the action. Having her here was dangerous enough, but at least he knew that if the situation went to hell, he and Liam could put her under Alex’s care and she’d be safe.
On the other side of the table, he caught Dare’s eye, and he knew his buddy was also wondering if Tru had real feelings for them—and what it meant for the future.
Chapter Seventeen
Jed had been white water rafting once when he was twelve. On a family trip to Yellowstone, they’d passed a billboard advertising a two-hour adventure. His mother had turned to his father, eyes sparkling with excitement, and suggested they see if there was room on a rafting adventure. There had been no discussion because Mom had magic powers of persuasion, and Dad caved immediately—without consulting the three boys crammed in the back of the minivan amid suitcases, coolers, and random bags of stuff.
None of them had wanted to go rafting, but they knew better than to argue. It had been moderately fun. Jed wouldn’t go so far as to admit to enjoying it because his brothers had loved it. As a middle child, it was his duty to be the holdout.
This time was different. He’d spent hours agonizing over whether to ask Schatz if he wanted to carpool. On one hand, he didn’t want Tru exposed to the man more than necessary. On the other hand, it would be an uninterrupted hour where he had Schatz at his mercy, conversationally speaking. Just when he’d decided to bite the bullet and approach Schatz, the man in question sought him out and suggested they go together.
And so Jed found himself in the backseat of a Buick, holding Tru’s hand and wishing he’d trained her in basic self-defense moves. The thrill-seeker in her would probably enjoy it. He vowed to begin lessons tonight once they returned to the inn.
“Jed, how did you get your sub to agree to be shared with another Dom?” Schatz tossed the question over his shoulder as he sped down the crowded highway, weaving between the slower-moving commuters.
Sticking as close to the truth as possible worked best when undercover with an inexperienced asset, so Jed chose an easy story that had a ring of truth. “We met her together at a work-related event. It was never in question that she would need to choose between us.”
Tru peered at him, but she didn’t comment on the inaccuracy. In fact she didn’t comment at all. Jed noticed that Zarah Braithwaite didn’t speak unless Schatz directed her to speak, and he wondered if Tru was quiet because she was nervous or because she thought Schatz would be impressed with Jed’s Domly skill of making his submissive be quiet. Who the hell wanted to spend time with someone prohibited from having a conversation? Not Jed. He loved talking with Tru.
Schatz chuckled. “Good deal. I’m trying to get Sarah to agree to the same thing, but so far she hasn’t caved.”
Forcing a sub to do what they didn’t want to do went against every fiber of who Jed was, and it eclipsed his urge to correct Schatz’s mispronunciation of Zarah’s name. “You can’t force it. Tru has a connection with both Liam and me, but they’re different connections. How did you and Sarah hook up?”
“A mutual friend introduced us. We have a lot in common, and when she begged to become my sub, I figured—what the hell? Why not?” He chuckled as he reached over and squeezed Zarah’s leg. She didn’t react except to smile softly in Schatz’s direction. “I’m going to introduce her to a friend of mine soon, and maybe she’ll change her mind about threesomes.”
Jed didn’t like this guy at all. He schooled his features to hide his gut reaction. “Incidental touching happens.”
Tru pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.
They continued talking while the ladies looked out the window at the passing scenery. The ride lasted over an hour, but they made it to the outfitter in Maupin where Alex had tickets waiting for them. They loaded into a bus and ended up at Harpham Flats, which was the launch point for their half-day excursion.
The tour company packed them onto a raft with five other people and a guide. A family with children took the front two seats on the raft, sitting the smallest kid on the thwart, a structural support that ran between the sides of the raft, so Jed steered Tru to the rear left. Schatz and Braithwaite took the rear right. They set off, and their guide kept up a steady stream of chatter. He began by asking each of them their skill level and previous experience.
Tru, unsurprisingly, had rafted too many times to count, including class five rivers—the kind that required the highest level of skill—three times. She muttered this in reply to the guide as if this wasn’t an accomplishment. No doubt she was on the hunt for a class six river, the kind where destruction of property was an assured outcome and death was likely to happen as well. The part they were to raft was mostly calm, a class two, but several stretches were considered class three (intermediate) or four (the kind intermediate rafters could handle skillfully if they had an expert guide.) Luckily they had an expert guide who practically lived on this stretch of the Deschutes.
The guide, Evan, was one of those tanned, athletic guys who tried to be every man’s buddy and every woman’s love interest. Perhaps because Tru was the closest woman, but probably because she was so freaking beautiful, Evan seemed to single out Tru more than any of the other adult women on the raft. He said things like—
Is this your first time on the Deschutes?
Have you rafted the Upper Gauley? That was a wicked ride. I bet you handled those sharp turns and steep drops like a champ. I’d love to see you handle some of the waves in the Lower Gauley.
What about Colorado? The Eagle River is wicked intense.
Dig in, people! Left side, paddle faster. Nice job, Tru. You have great form.
It wasn’t her first time on the Deschutes; she hadn’t been to the Gauley, but she said she’d check it out; and she’d rafted down the Eagle a few years ago. She agreed that it was intense. When Evan praised her technique for the third time, Tru finally looked at Jed and noticed that he was gritting his teeth to keep from knocking the guide from his perch on the rear of the raft.
A small smile, the kind that reassured and promised fidelity, curved her lips, and then she nodded in the direction of the couple he was supposed to be investigating. Schatz was paddling frantically, while Zarah seemed to be doing the minimum amount of work possible. She mostly looked like she was trying to avoid ruining her manicure. She’d spent some serious money on fake nails painted teal with flakes of glitter to make them sparkle in the sun. Jed squelched his caveman urge to punch Evan and focused on navigating the river.
By the time they stopped for lunch, Jed was raven
ous. White water rafting wasn’t easy, and the green-eyed monster riding his shoulder needed a break. He’d known Tru for less than a month, and already he’d spent most of his non-bedroom time with her battling jealousy. He wanted verbal assurances, but now wasn’t the time to demand something she may not want to give.
He spread his life jacket in the sun, and Tru set hers next to his. She grabbed his hand and drew him closer.
“Hey, are you all right?”
The edges of her shirt and shorts were wet, as were his. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pressed her body against his. “Unless you’re the guide, a raft isn’t a great place for conversation.”
She traced his jaw with her fingertip. “And he wasn’t very forthcoming with details in the car. It makes sense. If he did the...thing...then he’s not going to come out and admit it. It’s going to take time to earn his confidence. In the meanwhile, let’s not waste our day together. It’s been a while since I’ve had you to myself.”
He wasn’t looking for a confession, and today would be a success if Dare found something in Schatz’s room while they were gone. Still it did some good to hear that Tru wanted to have time alone with him.
“How about we sit with them for lunch, and I’ll see if I can get Zarah to open up?” She pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Jed didn’t want her too involved, but Schatz didn’t seem keen on his submissive getting chatty with another Dom. Reluctantly he nodded. Lunch was a grilled affair provided by the outfitter running the excursion. Jed chose chicken and veggies, as did Tru. She snagged a ladle full of cherries as well.
Schatz and Braithwaite disappeared behind the small building housing indoor outhouse-style bathrooms. Jed handed his plate to Tru. “Get us a place to sit, okay? I’ll be back.”
Without another word, he jogged toward the restrooms. Their raft had been one of the last ones in the water, and the majority of the rafters were settling down to lunch. He slowed as he approached the door to the facility, and he strolled past it as if his aim was to stretch his legs. Stopping several yards past the other side, he lifted his arms overhead and stretched. Trees lined the periphery of the park, and he scanned the tree line for evidence of Schatz and Braithwaite. In no time, he noticed they’d gone around to the back of the building.
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