Reveal Me, Sir (Doms of Decadence Book 9)

by Laylah Roberts

“Ria isn’t a girl. And yes, I know what I’m doing. We signed a contract. Everything is clearly laid out.”

  “Just checking she’s not going to end up hurt at the end of this. Unless you’re planning on bringing her with you? I could use her lip-reading skills.”

  “Your concern for me is overwhelming.”

  “You can look after yourself.”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but we agreed to end this when my job here is over.” Even though the thought of leaving her made him feel a bit ill. There wouldn’t be a choice. He lived in Dallas not here.

  She might come with you if you asked.

  “Probably for the best,” Hunter told him. “She doesn’t seem like a good long-term prospect for you.”

  “What the hell does that mean? Why not?”

  “Got a mind of her own, doesn’t she?”

  “Yeah. What are you trying to say?”

  “You’d be happier with someone a bit more submissive in everyday life. Someone who won’t mind following the two hundred and one rules you live by. Life doesn’t play by the rules sometimes, Connor.”

  “You’re one to talk. You need to be in control. Of everything. It’s part of what we like about being a Dom.”

  “Yeah, part of it. I also realize that sometimes the rules need to be bent. That having too many can become like a noose around your neck. Mistakes happen.”

  “I know that. I’m not a completely rigid bastard.”

  “Sure you’re not. Well, I’m going to stick around for a bit since you need some backup.”

  Connor’s eyes widened. “You’re doing what?”

  “Yeah. I’m your backup. Even though, ultimately, I’m in charge.”

  Controlling bastard.

  “Can’t I have someone else?” he whined. Anyone else.

  “They’re busy. You saying I can’t handle things?”

  “I’m saying you have the subtlety of a steam locomotive and you don’t really do field work anymore.” Because he usually pissed everyone off.

  “Yeah. I miss it. Haven’t had anyone threaten to kill me in months. Make’s life boring.”

  “I’ll threaten to kill you if you want.”

  Hunter patted his back. “That’s kind. But I know you don’t mean it.”

  Didn’t he? He wasn’t so sure.

  13

  Ria tried to watch Trevor without being too obvious.

  Five days had passed since the meeting at Ajax’s house. Connor had laid the bait down with a few fake phone calls to his wife. He’d let his wedding ring drop out of his locker while Hayden was in the room with him.

  So why wasn’t the blackmailer making a move?

  Maybe the blackmailer had only targeted Sophie. She was still worried about her friend. She talked to her each day. But she sounded a little unsure and lost. Didn’t help that Jerry had gotten out on bail. Ajax was keeping her safely tucked up in his house but eventually she’d want out from under his protection.

  But one worry at a time. Right now, she needed to catch this bastard. She and Connor had played at the club almost every night, but she hadn’t picked up on anyone else being blackmailed.

  She was nearly at the end of her shift, and they had plans to play tonight. Connor had just popped out to check on a problem with the cameras. Apparently, they’d stopped working. She wished he was here. She liked having him close by. It made her feel safe. Protected.

  Trevor looked down at his phone with a frown then slipped out the back. It was a quiet night, and Vienna was covering the bar for him. Ria figured she could use a bathroom break herself.

  “Hey, Ria, can I get a drink?” someone called out.

  “Get it yourself,” she snapped.

  The table burst into laughter. Idiots.

  She shook her head and waved at Vienna. “Bathroom break.”

  Vienna waved back.

  She looked around for Connor. Shoot. He hadn’t returned yet. She bit her lip. She’d promised not to go off without him, but there was this niggling feeling that told her Trevor was up to something.

  Ria slipped out and moved towards the bathroom. She frowned as she heard a door bang. Had Trevor gone outside? The back door led out to a small parking lot that the employees and club Doms mostly used. She grabbed her phone from her back pocket and sent off a quick text to Connor. Then she quickly moved along the passage and opened the door slowly. She peeked out and spotted Trevor heading towards the back of the lot. The parking lot was well lit but there were still plenty of shadows that she stuck to as she followed him.

  Did the cameras go this far back? Not that they were working right now, anyway. A bad feeling developed in her stomach. She stayed back and crouched down by a car as Trevor came to a stop under a light.

  Her eyes widened as she saw a man approach. She couldn’t see his face. He was dressed all in black with a hat pulled low on his face. She frowned. She couldn’t move closer without losing her cover.

  Instead, she slid to the side, hoping to get a look at Trevor’s face. There.

  What do you want? He spoke too quietly for her to hear him clearly, but there was enough light to read his lips. He looked arrogant. Nasty. Unfortunately, the other man had his back to her, so she couldn’t tell what he was saying.

  Suddenly, Trevor looked terrified. He raised his hands in the air. Her heart started to race.

  Please don’t. I’ll stop. Please.

  The other man raised his hand. Oh, fuck! Did he have a gun? There was no noise, but Trevor dropped to the ground in a silent heap. Silencer.

  Ria’s stomach lurched. She was going to hurl. Oh, God. Oh, God. Sweat dripped down her back. She felt ill. The other man moved to stand over Trevor. He looked down at him for a moment then stared around. His hat was so low, she couldn’t see the top half of his face. He took a moment to pull out his phone. He seemed to be staring directly at her as he spoke into it. She saw his lips move.

  Yeah, Vince, it’s done.

  Oh God. She crouched there, frozen. Her heart raced. Move, Ria. Get help. What if Trevor was still alive?

  She turned to leave and accidentally kicked a can along the ground.

  Fuck. Fuck. Had he heard? She ducked right down, arms over her head to protect herself.

  The door to the back of the club opened. “Ria? Ria, you out here?” Connor yelled.

  Terror filled her. No!

  “Connor, gun! Get down!” she screamed, running towards him. The guy with the gun could shoot him too. She was too far away to save him. And then he was there with her. He shoved her to the ground. Crouched beside her. She looked up to find he had a gun in his hand. He looked calm. Collected.

  “Connor, get down. He could still be out there.” She pulled at him, utterly terrified that she was about to watch him get shot as well.

  “It’s okay, Ria,” he said in a low voice. “I’m here. I’ll take care of you.”

  “Trevor’s b-been s-shot.” Her body shook. Shock. She was in shock. She tried to get up but Connor pressed firmly on her back.

  “Stay down. Are you hurt anywhere?”

  “No. B-but Trevor . . .”

  “Hunter is securing the area. You stay down until I say otherwise.” His voice was as stern as she’d ever heard it.

  “We h-have to h-help Trevor.” Oh, God. Oh, God.

  “Right now, all you have to do is what I tell you. You’re in enough trouble already.”

  Trouble? What did that mean? She hadn’t done anything wrong. The surge of anger cut through her fear.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ria, be quiet.”

  Okay. So talking right now probably wasn’t the best idea. Maybe she should start throwing up instead.

  “All clear,” Hunter called out.

  “Stay there,” Connor ordered as he rose. He kept his gun by his side. “Did you find Trevor?”

  “Yep, better call an ambulance. Not that there’s any rush. One clean shot to the forehead. They knew what they were doing. Didn’t think
they’d have anyone with that talent in a small place like this.”

  Was Hunter really praising the killer for his talent at assassinating someone? She wiped a shaking hand across her forehead. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. How could Trevor be dead?

  Sirens blasted in the distance and finally Connor crouched and helped her up. His face could have been carved from rock, it was so cold and hard.

  Fuck. She really was in trouble.

  “I should be in there with her.” Connor couldn’t sit still. He paced back and forth in the public waiting area of the sheriff’s station.

  “You know why they’re not going to let that happen,” Hunter said calmly. “From what I’ve seen that girl can hold her own.”

  “She acts tougher than she is. She could have been killed tonight.”

  “Yep,” Hunter agreed.

  “She should never have been out there.”

  “Nope.”

  “She put herself in danger.”

  “Sure did.”

  “Broke my rules for her safety. That can’t be allowed.”

  “Certainly not.”

  He turned to Hunter. “Why are you agreeing with me?”

  Hunter shrugged. “Because everything you’re saying is right.”

  “So? You never agree with anything I say.”

  “Figured you need some time to calm down before you see that girl again or she’s not going to be able to sit for a week.”

  “Oh, she won’t,” he vowed. He was going to keep her ass so red and hot she wouldn’t dream of disobeying him again. And no orgasms. No orgasms for at least a month. Then he might be able to breathe normally again.

  “She could be a target.” Connor sat on the chair, rested his elbows on his arms. “He could have seen her. Heard me calling her name.”

  “Yep.”

  “I need to get her somewhere safe.”

  “Just as well I’m a paranoid bastard, then, isn’t it?”

  Connor turned to him. “You have a safe house close by?”

  “Yep. Few miles out of town. Be easier to defend than her apartment. I’ve called in some help for you. We’ll protect your girl.”

  That knot in his stomach unraveled slightly. “Thought you said everyone else was busy.”

  Hunter grinned. “I lied.”

  Connor just shook his head. “Need to get to her place. Pack some stuff up.”

  “I can do that,” Hunter told him. “Give me the key and I’ll go grab some shit. Take her immediately to the safe house and I’ll meet you there. The others will be here tomorrow.”

  Connor nodded.

  “Get your girl safe first. Then we can concentrate on eliminating the threat.”

  “Yeah, but where do we start?”

  “Easy. We start with Vince.”

  She’d told him and Hunter what she’d seen before the cops had arrived. Both men were well aware that this wasn’t a random killing. This was someone who knew what they were doing. This job had gone from bad to worse to a fucking disaster.

  14

  “Where are we going? This isn’t the way to my place.” She felt drained. So exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. She might have been tempted to slip off into sleep if she didn’t feel so fucking scared.

  God, Trevor was dead.

  They’d found a blackmail note they figured was meant for Connor already neatly printed out in Trevor’s locker. So at least they knew for sure he was the blackmailer. Unfortunately, Connor hadn’t managed to get the cameras back up and running before he was killed. That left her as the only witness. Connor hadn’t seen the killer at all when he came outside looking for her.

  So, they’d caught one criminal. Only now there was a worse one out there. One who had very good aim. And was infinitely scarier than Trevor.

  And worst of all, was probably coming for her.

  “We’re heading to a safe house Hunter has set up,” Connor replied.

  “So you are talking to me?”

  He grunted but didn’t say anything more. Right. She guessed he was back to giving her the silent treatment. She knew he was angry because she’d broken his rules. But she’d never expected someone to shoot Trevor. And for her to be the only witness. Though, she wasn’t much of a witness. She hadn’t been able to give the sheriff much information about this guy.

  “I only saw part his face,” she whispered. “I couldn’t give the police a very clear description. Is a safe house really necessary?”

  “Yes. You’re a loose end. It’s obvious he was a pro. Did the cops tell you that Trevor’s place was set on fire?”

  “Yes.” She dug her fingernails into her palms. “You don’t think that’s a coincidence?”

  “Of course, it’s not. This was a professional hit. Trevor was probably shot because he blackmailed the wrong person. They did something to the cameras to prevent them from working, lured him outside to kill him, and set fire to his place to eliminate whatever it was he had on them. Surprised they didn’t get to his locker. Not that it held much, just a blackmail note he had ready for me.”

  I know you’re married.

  She shivered.

  “He’ll come for you.”

  “Maybe he didn’t see me.”

  “Doesn’t matter much, he’ll have heard me call out to you. Not many Ria’s around.”

  “Well, shit, wish my parents had named me Sarah or Jane.”

  He slammed his hand down on the steering wheel. “This is serious!”

  She jumped then turned to him. “You think I don’t know that?”

  “Then why the fuck are you joking around? Why did you leave the club without me, Ria? You knew the rules.”

  “I-I guess I wasn’t really thinking.”

  “If I hadn’t come looking for you . . .” He pulled the car over on the side of the road. “You could have been shot, Ria.”

  “I’m well aware of that fact.”

  “This bastard is going to come for you.”

  “Yeah, I get that too. I also get that I’ve put you in danger as well. I’m sorry, you’re right. I should never have gone out there.”

  “We had a contract.”

  Had?

  She sucked in a harsh breath. “You’re breaking up with me?”

  He laughed. It wasn’t a pretty sound. “This isn’t high school, Ria. I take this very seriously. Our contract obviously doesn’t mean as much to you as it does to me if you can break the rules so easily. What you did tonight was reckless and stupid.”

  But she hadn’t meant to be reckless. She just hadn’t been thinking. Story of her life. She never thought before she acted. He was right. Safety was a big deal to him. This wasn’t something little he could just get over.

  Idiot. Dumb.

  And now she was going to find herself all alone. As they drove on, she tried to concentrate on not crying. She couldn’t start crying, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever stop. She hadn’t cried when she’d left home. Hadn’t cried the whole time she’d been in hiding.

  But losing Connor, yeah, that might just be enough to make her lose all control.

  She was aware this had always been coming, but she’d thought they would part as friends. Never like this. With this stony silence between them.

  They pulled up a gravel driveway. Tall trees lined the driveway, rising menacingly into the night. They drove up to a small, wooden house. It looked a bit rundown. She glanced out at it. “Are you dropping me off here?”

  “Of course not. I’m staying with you. Hunter will be here soon with your stuff.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “This is what we do for a living, Ria. He’s not going to find us. No one followed us and Hunter will cover his tracks. Come on. Let’s get you settled inside. You’re exhausted. You need to sleep.”

  But would he be sleeping with her? She didn’t want to ask that question. She knew she wasn’t ready to hear the answer.

  Two hours later, she guessed the answer was n
o. She rolled over in bed, punching the pillow. She couldn’t sleep to save herself. But when Connor ordered her to bed, she figured it was safer to do what she was told.

  Not that she thought he could get any angrier at her. She kind of wished his temper ran hot rather than cold. Hot she could deal with. If he was yelling at her then at least they could air things out. Instead, he was holding his anger close. He was controlled. Calm.

  She hated it. Hated this distance. All because she’d been so stupid.

  She didn’t feel safe enough to take her hearing aid out. She needed to be on full alert if this asshole came for her. Although Connor and Hunter had assured her they would keep her safe.

  She hated that they were in danger because of her. She hated all of this.

  She punched her pillow again. Damn it. Damn it. Trevor was dead. She hadn’t liked him, but she’d never wish a bullet on him. And every time she closed her eyes, she’d see him fall to the ground, stark terror in every line of his face.

  She whimpered. She hated to admit it, but she could really use Connor right now. She wanted him to hold her and tell her everything would be all right. God, when had she come to rely on him so much? When had he become her safety net? Her everything.

  I love him.

  The realization was like a punch to the gut. She’d figured out she loved him, right when he’d decided she was more trouble than she was worth.

  “How long you planning on giving her the cold shoulder?”

  Connor looked up from his laptop and over at Hunter who had walked into the house. “What? Aren’t you supposed to be patrolling?”

  “It’s four a.m. Time to switch over. You were supposed to be sleeping while I was on watch.”

  How could he sleep when someone was after his . . . his Ria. Fuck. He rubbed at his tired eyes. “Trying to figure out who this Vince guy could be.”

  “If anyone can find him then it’s you. But you won’t be able to do it on no sleep. Need you at a hundred percent. Just got a call from Gray. The others will be here in few hours.”

  That was good. Exhaustion pounded at him. He wanted as much protection around Ria as possible.