My Addiction

by Cassie Ryan

  She bolted to her feet and stared down at him.

  His face was white and he looked sunken and old, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t guilty.

  “How sad is it that I have a hard time not believing that my father is committing illegal acts, and treason?” She slammed a hand down on his desk, making him jump and a few office supplies fall over or roll off the side of the desk.

  He finally seemed to rally, and he stood and faced her defiantly. “I’m a lot of things, Kate, but I’m not a traitor.” He huffed out a breath and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Yes, I admit that in the past I’ve made some campaign contributions in order to gain some leverage in upcoming legislation. It’s common practice in business, and I won’t deny taking part in it.” He shook his head. “I also won’t deny that I’ve done many things in my life that I’m not proud of. But working with terrorists and betraying my country, or my daughter, isn’t one of them.”

  Kate’s throat constricted and she swallowed hard. “How do I know that’s true? How can I even believe anything you say, Dad?”

  He blew out a long breath. “I’m not sure there is anything I can say or show you to make you believe me. But it’s the truth.” His stricken expression told her she had hurt him deeply, but she didn’t trust it since she was used to him using any and all tools to manipulate everyone around him.

  “You asked me to be honest with you and I have. I invested in Merestone purely because they looked like a solid start-up that could make me a great deal of money. Some of my friends and associates were investing, and offered me the opportunity as well.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure what else I can tell you.”

  —

  Dex cursed as he hung up with the team that was watching over Kate. He had been trying to text and call her all day. He’d been half a second away from calling the FBI team watching out for her to find out where her house was here in Paradise Valley when he realized that would raise questions about how he knew where it was.

  The need to see her was like a physical ache, and the fact that he couldn’t get hold of her twisted worry inside his gut. Finally, he gave in and called the team anyway to make sure she was all right.

  “Dex, we knew you were on a conference call with the team, so we were waiting until we knew that was finished before updating you. Miss Fretwell bolted out of Club Desire earlier like she was on a mission.”

  The worry in Dex’s gut turned to fear. He hadn’t known she’d come to the club this morning. He’d been caught up with his case for most of the morning and early afternoon.

  “How long ago?”

  The agent on the phone paused, and Dex could hear road noise in the background telling him the team was on the move.

  “About five hours ago. We’re following, but there are accidents on Interstate 10, so it’s been difficult to tail her and stay back far enough that we don’t remain right behind her car the entire way.” The sound of a honking horn over the line made Dex wince away from the speaker against his ear.

  “Looks like she’s headed back to L.A.”

  After the night he and Kate had shared, it would have taken something big to make her run back to L.A., which was what it sounded like she was doing. His analysts would have told him if anything had happened to her uncle or father, so it had to be something else.

  He took a deep breath. “Did she take everything with her?”

  “Yep, including the cat.”

  Shit.

  Something had happened inside Club Desire that made her run back to the one place she was trying to escape, and it wasn’t only for a quick visit if she took Rusty back with her. What the hell had happened?

  A helpless feeling made his chest tighten, and he wanted to punch something.

  “Thanks. Keep an eye on her, and keep me updated.”

  —

  As soon as his daughter left his office, Richard Fretwell had called his network to check into all that he had learned. He had heard about the attacks and deaths on the news, as well as the ties back to The Dungeon. But beyond making sure none of those victims had been his daughter, he hadn’t been too concerned at the time. After Kate’s angry accusations, though, he had to know more.

  He had been unable to contact Opal, so he had decided to go to the source. He’d been pissed when the Feds had put someone in The Dungeon. More because he wanted to keep Kate’s name from being dragged through the mud than for anything else. As much as he’d used money to influence laws and politicians over the years, he’d done it legally through campaign contributions and his support of lobbyist groups.

  But these new accusations from his daughter were a wake-up call of sorts. He’d always prided himself on knowing where to use money, charm, or coercion to get what he wanted. But he hadn’t spent more than a cursory amount of time and effort researching organizations and people he used for those purposes. So if Merestone was dealing with or backed by terrorists, it was his own damn fault for being careless.

  But that didn’t mean he had to sit back and do nothing. It nearly killed him to know that his little girl thought him capable of treason. It was bad enough that she actually knew all of the other things he was capable of. He had hoped she hadn’t been paying as much attention over the years as she obviously had.

  He’d known their relationship had been rocky since his wife died, but he hadn’t realized it had gone that far until Kate had stood up to him and basically told him to go to hell.

  Not in those exact words, but her meaning had been clear.

  He cracked his knuckles and downed three fingers of whiskey, letting the burn of the alcohol brace him for the challenges ahead.

  He picked up the phone and dialed the number for the local FBI office.

  After a few rings, a very professional-sounding man answered.

  “My name is Richard Fretwell the Third, and I need to speak to Agent Dexter Alexander. I have some information on his current case that we need to discuss. And I will discuss it only with him.”

  “One moment, sir.” Soft classical music played over the line while he waited.

  Several minutes later, a different male voice came on the line.

  “Mr. Fretwell, this is Agent Tanner. I understand you have some information on an open FBI investigation?”

  The managerial tone was clear. The man was going to try to intimidate him into telling them what he knew right now. They might be the FBI, but he’d dealt with lawyers and cops for fifty years, so he’d learned a thing or two. “You understand correctly, Agent Tanner. I’d like to speak to Dexter Alexander.”

  “Mr. Fretwell, withholding information on an active investigation is against the law. I’m sure if you come in we can find someone else to take the information and pass it to Agent Alexander.”

  He smiled. At least the Feds were just as predictable as the local authorities. “Agent Tanner, let me be clear. I called you. That doesn’t sound like withholding information to me, and I doubt it will to a judge. I’ve offered information; I just insist on giving it directly to Dexter Alexander.”

  Richard heard what sounded like Agent Tanner holding back a small chuckle. “All right, Mr. Fretwell. Agent Alexander will contact you in the next few days. What’s the best number to reach you?”

  Richard laughed. “Let’s not pretend that he won’t know exactly how to find me if he wants to, Agent Tanner. I look forward to hearing from him.”

  Chapter 26

  Kate left the meeting with her father, returning Carolyn’s disapproving glare as she made her way back to her car. That woman got on her nerves. Kate’s mother had never liked Carolyn and would fight with her father repeatedly over having a young, sexy, and eager-to-please receptionist. Granted, that had been many years ago, but Carolyn was still around, and she was still much too eager to please for Kate’s tastes.

  She had long suspected an affair between her father and Carolyn, and was sure her mother had, too. That was another thing that had driven a wedge between them, and at this point, Kate wasn’t sure she
even wanted to know. She had enough issues with her father without having that possibility confirmed.

  Unbelievably, her anger with her father had ebbed. It hadn’t disappeared completely, but it was definitely less intense than before.

  The confrontation definitely hadn’t gone as expected, and she was still sorting through her thoughts and feelings over all she had learned.

  As she drove, movement in her left peripheral vision gave her just enough time to brace against the coming impact.

  She was jarred to the side as the door crunched inward. The combination of the front and side airbags deploying, and the momentum of the impact, caught her arm and yanked her against the seatbelt while whipping her head back hard against the headrest.

  Pain flared along her arm and cheek as she flinched away from the airbags.

  Another jarring impact on the passenger side told her she’d either been pushed into something or something else had hit her.

  That was her last coherent thought as pain exploded at the back of her skull.

  She blinked hard, trying to clear her suddenly blurry thoughts.

  When all movement finally stopped and everything went still, she relaxed back against her seat, unable to think of what to do next.

  Pain shot through her left arm, even when she tried to keep it still. The back of her head and neck hurt, there was something wet on her cheek, and she felt dazed and confused.

  She raised her hand to her cheek and winced at the stabbing pain where something had cut her skin.

  Sirens blared louder and louder just as the windshield shattered in front of her, showering her with bits of tempered glass.

  Seconds later, two loud pops made her wince and duck as far as she could in her seat, which only swamped her with more pain.

  —

  Dex rushed inside the Good Samaritan hospital, flashing his credentials at the nurses’ station before hurrying past.

  As soon as he’d gotten the call about Kate’s accident he was on the road, headed to L.A. as fast as he could. He had even called in a few favors and gotten the highway patrol to give him a wide berth.

  Kate’s protection detail and his analyst team had kept him updated as much as possible, and her detail was still with her.

  For all the good that had done!

  He shook his head. That was unfair, and he knew it. Even if Dex had been sitting in the car with her, she still could have been T-boned by the other car. As for the woman who had tried to break out Kate’s windshield with an axe, the team had taken her out before any real damage was done. Unfortunately, the scene had caused several other accidents unrelated to Kate’s, so it had taken extra time to get emergency vehicles to the site.

  Dex made his way upstairs to the fourth floor.

  When the elevator opened, an older man with salt-and-pepper hair holding a small briefcase stood in the hallway, watching Dex expectantly.

  “Agent Alexander?” the man asked in a tone that said he was confident he was correct.

  Dex nodded, and held out his hand as he closed the distance between them.

  “Richard Fretwell.”

  The man had a firm, dry grip that said he was a confident businessman and was used to dealing with hard decisions and tough conversations.

  “How is she?”

  “Her arm isn’t bad—a fractured humerus. It’s been set and cast.”

  Dex nodded. Kate’s protection detail had told him about that. He wanted to know something more current. “Have they said anything about the severity of the concussion?”

  Fretwell shook his head. “They’re just watching her, and they’ll definitely be keeping her for a while.” He ran a hand over his face. “Why did you let this happen?”

  Hot anger flashed through Dex’s chest, and he had to force himself to calm down before he spoke. If Fretwell only knew how often in the last several hours Dex had asked himself that same question. “We are looking into—”

  “Bullshit!” Fretwell made a chopping motion with his hand, cutting Dex off mid-sentence. “We both know what this is about, and I want to know why Kate was involved, and how you let this happen.”

  Dex clenched his jaw as he saw a member of Kate’s protection detail approach them.

  “Mr. Fretwell, there’s a conference room down the hall where you and Agent Alexander can talk. The hallway isn’t the best place for this discussion, and you’re disturbing the other patients.”

  Fretwell glared at the agent, but finally nodded. “Fine. Lead the way.”

  Dex followed them down the hall past several patient rooms until they reached a closed door that looked different from all the others.

  The agent opened the door and motioned them both inside. “I’ll be out here if I’m needed.”

  Dex recognized the underlying warning in those words. He wondered if Fretwell did.

  This would be interesting.

  He took a seat across the conference table from Kate’s father. “Mr. Fretwell, you said you had information for me. I’m always willing to meet with anyone who comes forward to help us solve cases.”

  “Please, call me Dick.”

  Dex was proud of himself for not smiling. He was well aware that Mr. Fretwell preferred to go by Dick rather than Richard, but after all he had heard about the man from Kate, Opal, and now the detail looking out for Kate, the name seemed very apt.

  “Dick, thank you for contacting us, sir.”

  Dex let silence sit in the room, curious what the man wanted to tell him, but confident he would spill it in his own time.

  After a few long moments during which the tension continued to grow, Fretwell leaned forward in his chair. “Let’s talk about the most important item first, shall we?”

  Dex smiled. He hadn’t expected this opener, but he was all for it. “Absolutely. Where would you like to start?”

  Fretwell set his briefcase on the table and took out a thick file. He snapped the case closed and pushed it aside before laying the file on the table between them. He gestured to it as he met Dex’s gaze. “Open it.”

  Dex reached out and gently opened the folder. As soon as he saw the first picture on the stack, a wave of anger rushed through him, followed closely by an urge to protect Kate at all costs.

  The picture was from the night of Kate’s flogging. She already had several stripes of red across her lower back and ass, and Dex was poised to deliver another blow with the flogger.

  “What do you want?” If the man was hoping to blackmail him, he was going to be disappointed. Dex had no one in his life who didn’t know about his fetish activities. Even his parents and sisters had found out over the years since he’d joined the lifestyle.

  Fretwell leaned back in his chair, so it creaked softly. “I want to know what you want. I know my daughter has had some high-profile Doms, all political or Hollywood elites. So it seems very coincidental that an undercover Fed suddenly shows up to take her on as her new Dom, unless you want something from her. So what is it?”

  Dex bristled at the man’s tone, but he supposed he couldn’t blame him. If this was Dex’s daughter they were discussing, he would be protective too.

  “I’m not at liberty to—”

  “Like hell you’re not. You were undercover for a reason, otherwise you would’ve just pulled her in to an interview if you had questions. You can’t tell me that out of all the submissives at The Dungeon, you just happened to pick the one who had access to some very powerful men, and who might have been in a position to learn some of their secrets.”

  Dex kept his expression bland. He wasn’t sure whether Fretwell was fishing or if he knew. But either way, the man was obviously astute. Though it didn’t really take a rocket scientist once he knew Dex was an agent.

  “You don’t think I asked Kate to be my sub because she’s an intelligent, attractive, independent woman?”

  Fretwell narrowed his eyes. “If you’re trying to get me to argue that my daughter isn’t any of those things, you’ll be disappointed. Of course she i
s. She takes after her mother.” A shadow passed over the man’s features at the mention of his late wife. “But since Kate didn’t sub long for Stanton, and she kept turning that idiot Balkins down, you had to be after something or someone else.”

  Dex made a judgment call. If he didn’t give a little bit, they would never get anywhere.

  “Dick, let’s be totally honest. When I first came to The Dungeon, she was our common denominator. So, yes, when Ed Ralston originally introduced us, I went in as an FBI agent doing a job.” He paused for a long moment, gathering his thoughts. “But Kate is unlike anyone I’ve ever known, and I’ve grown to care for her.”

  Fretwell made a face like he’d eaten something sour. “Bull.”

  Dex stiffened, as churning anger made him gear up to spar with Fretwell.

  “You’re in love with her.”

  Shock washed over Dex like ice water. He definitely hadn’t expected that tactic.

  “It’s written all over your face, even in the picture.” Fretwell reached out to tap the photo that sat between them. “You may not have admitted it yet, but it’s there for those who know where to look.”

  Dex met the man’s gaze squarely. He couldn’t deny it. “Now I see where Kate got her very perceptive nature.”

  Fretwell shrugged. “I never pictured my little girl with an FBI agent, but if you’re who she chooses, you’d better treat her right, or you’ll answer to me.” He smacked the tabletop with his palm to reinforce his point.

  Dex frowned, and Fretwell scowled at his reaction.

  “What?” the older man demanded.

  Dex shook his head. “I just didn’t expect you to be so protective and concerned for your daughter from what I knew of you.”

  He waved away Dex’s comment. “You should always be prepared for the unexpected.” He leaned back in his chair, looking more relaxed and at ease. “All right, let’s talk about terrorists.”

  The straightforward approach caught Dex’s attention and piqued his curiosity. “What do you have to tell me?”