Collar (Changing Roles Book 3)

by Ellie Masters

  He snatched his phone out of my hand and began tapping out a series of texts, calling people in. Not something we usually did on a Wednesday night, but our crew would come.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kate

  I couldn’t see who they dragged out of the van. They accomplished that task behind me, but I heard every horrible sound. The scraping of feet over the concrete floor, the snick of cuffs snapping, and the rasping of rope as they dragged it over the beams had me twitching in my restraints. The low, guttural sounds the men made as they spoke to each other burrowed deep into my soul.

  Who was it? Oh my God, did they snatch Jake?

  “Who is that?”

  Josh didn’t say a word. He ignored the men while he touched me with overly familiar hands. His fingers glided across my flesh, making me cringe as he traced the swell of my breasts.

  I steeled myself to prepare for an intimate touch.

  Slowly, his hands skimmed down my body, almost sensual in their advance. He placed his thumbs on my belly and gripped my waist to pull me toward him.

  Caught within a mind-fuck of epic proportions, my body warmed to the touch of a man who looked like Jake and sounded like Jake, and even smelled like Jake. But this was not my Master at all. When Josh allowed himself to smile, all I saw was the kindness of Jake.

  “You are so beautiful.” His heavy voice was punctuated with need. His thumbs swept up, brushing against the bottom of my breasts, lifting the soft flesh. He leaned close and sniffed my hair. “You smell so sweet, so fucking intoxicating.”

  The tip of his nose traced the pulse line of my neck, nuzzling into the soft hollow at the angle of my jaw. He even moved like Jake. Reverently, he placed a light kiss at the corner of my eye. “God, I wish I could keep you.”

  I shuddered with the forced intimacy, but his chilling words reminded me I wasn’t meant to survive this day. My legs gave out, and I hung from my wrists. A sob escaped me with the pressure placed on my shoulders.

  The man who drove the van into the warehouse exited the vehicle. And while I couldn’t see him, his lethal presence filled the room. The other men seemed to fear him. Even Josh stiffened.

  Josh continued his kisses and moved down to flutter his lips against my collarbone. So soft and light, so similar to those of his brother. Disgust rippled through me.

  I breathed deep and reminded myself that no matter how much he looked like Jake, talked like Jake, moved like Jake, or even smelled like Jake, this man was very much not Jake. A monster supported me in his arms. I jerked out of his grip and found purchase beneath my feet to bear my weight again.

  Josh’s kisses traveled downward, an invasion of the worst possible kind. He found my nipple and sucked, making me cry out.

  A chuckle escaped him. “You pretend not to like this, but your body betrays you.”

  No. It didn’t. My pussy was bone-dry.

  My errant cry had been one of shock and surprise, not the flush of arousal, but I would let him think whatever he needed until I could figure him out. I prided myself on my strength, but right now I embodied every female stereotype. I was weak, terrified, and 100 percent subdued by his superior male force. I hated myself. This wasn’t who I was.

  Even in my fear-soaked state, I had to work this situation, expose his weakness, and use it to my advantage.

  “Who was in that van?”

  Josh grinned, refusing to answer my question. He sucked my nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue until it was a tight bud. “Hmm, you taste divine. I can’t wait to bury my face in your pussy and fuck you.” He moved to my other nipple, laving it with the roughness of his tongue.

  I bucked beneath him, twisting in a futile attempt to escape his grip. We both knew I had no choice but to endure whatever he chose to dispense. We also knew I would fight. This was how the game was played.

  “Please, stop.” I jerked in my bindings. Another useless attempt to throw him off me.

  He straightened and stared at me with those liquid blue eyes. “Surrender to me, and I promise not all of this will be painful. You might even enjoy some of it.”

  “What do you gain by doing this?” My voice shattered with the fear racing through my body.

  He dipped to my navel and swirled his tongue around the shallow hole. “Justice, my darling.”

  My body convulsed at hearing him use the same endearment as Jake. Identical to Jake’s, the warmth in Josh’s tone played tricks on my mind. I gasped as he moved to my mound, getting nearer to breaching my most private parts.

  “How do you call this justice when he tried everything to get you free?”

  His fingers gripped my hips, digging deep into the flesh and pressing on bone. “Shut up. That’s not true.”

  A snort sounded from behind us. “Stop playing with her, Son. The bitch is distracting you.”

  Josh jerked at the reprimand, his gaze jumping to focus on the man.

  Every fiber in my body stilled, hearing the man call Josh son. There was no confusion as to who was in charge, and it wasn’t Josh.

  “I’m not lying,” I said, speaking quickly before one of them could silence me.

  Jack Davenport moved into my line of sight, and I sucked in a breath. An older, more distinguished version of his sons, he was breathtakingly handsome and incredibly fit. The tailored black suit emphasized his physique and revealed the strength of his frame. An inch or two shorter than Josh, he dominated the room with his brooding expression and the blackest eyes I’d ever seen.

  I understood why Jake referred to his father as BlackJack. Jake and Josh must’ve inherited their brilliant blue eyes from their mother because there was no warmth in the black depths of this soulless man.

  “Stop playing. She’s not a toy. You’ve watched me do this enough times. Now it’s your turn.”

  Did that mean Josh hadn’t killed the other women?

  Jake’s father continued. “We don’t have time to waste.”

  Josh released a low growl as he raised himself to his full height. “I’m not playing with her. I want him to know I had her in every way.”

  I kept my voice soft, a low whisper for Josh’s ears alone. “Jake loves you.”

  Josh regarded me, suspicion clouding his eyes. “My brother doesn’t love anyone but himself.”

  “You’re wrong. He tried to save you.” I rolled my shoulders to relieve them of the strain, but he had me caged between the hard wooden support beam and his body. There was nowhere to go. No place to hide. My fear clouded the air between us and drenched my skin in sticky sweat.

  “That’s not true.” He shifted on his feet. That sign of uncertainty was something I could use.

  His father closed the distance and yanked on my hair, pulling my head back. “Shut up, bitch.”

  I cried out, more with the suddenness of his move than with the pain.

  BlackJack turned my head side-to-side as if studying me. “They’re meant to suffer, Son.” His gruff voice lacked the deep baritone I was used to hearing from Jake. It was the only piece of him without power. “She’s not meant to enjoy this.”

  Josh shifted his gaze from me to his father. “She might.” He reached down and cupped my sex. His rough fingers pawed at me. “If she likes it…” His voice turned anticipatory, deepening with lustful hunger.

  “You really want to put your dick where your brother shoved his?” His father’s snort rang out. “We don’t have time for fun and games.” He turned to the men behind me. “Is she secured?”

  She. They’d abducted another woman. But who?

  “I want her to beg,” Josh said, looking at me. “I want to bring her to her knees. Maybe, if she sucks my cock hard enough, I’ll keep her.”

  “Stick to the plan,” said his father. “Your brother’s slut will suffer, and he’ll watch her die, just like he left you to die.”

  And there it was, my fate sealed with the dispassion of a serial killer.

  “I’ll never beg.” I had wanted those words to come out with strength, b
ut they were a weak, thready squeak. “If you’re going to kill me, there’s no reason to beg.” I wished I could reassure myself I wouldn’t beg, but I had seen what they had done to those other girls on the videos.

  Josh growled low in his throat. His hands squeezed my waist, causing me to gasp. “You’ll scream, and you’ll beg for release, just like you begged me to fuck you the other night.” His mouth crushed mine, demanding, possessive, and persistent. He forced his tongue inside, and I tasted his need as our tongues collided. Desperate hunger clung to his every movement. He pulled back. “Tell me…Mistress of Pain. Tell me you didn’t enjoy our time together.”

  My heart leaped, thinking about that night.

  I shook my head. “I thought you were Jake.” I had to find a way to get free. I shuddered with the plan forming in my head. It would demand embracing Josh’s madness, and if it worked, Jake might never forgive me.

  “My tender-ass brother?” Josh gripped my chin. Pinching, he forced me to look at him. “I doubt it. You had to have known. Even if you didn’t want to admit it, deep down, that brilliant brain of yours knew it wasn’t him.”

  “Why would something like that even cross my mind?”

  His gaze hardened with a penetrating assessment. “I’ve watched the two of you. He’s too fucking soft. He’s not what you need. You had to have known.” His desperation hung in the air between us. “You need a stronger hand.”

  I latched on to his need and ran with it, my heart breaking with each lie forced from my mouth. “How could I have known?” I lowered my gaze. “But you’re right. I wanted it.”

  “Wanted what?”

  My throat closed around the words I needed to speak. “What you gave me.” He needed to believe I wanted him. I let my voice waver with my confession.

  His eyes brightened with my revelation. “Pain?”

  I choked back a sob. Once that had been true. I had craved pain and thought it filled the emptiness inside, but now all I desired was Jake’s tender embrace.

  “My brother can’t give you that.”

  That wasn’t true. Jake filled me with tenderness and love, but when pain had been what I desired, he’d dispensed that as well. What I’d learned in our short time together was that I no longer needed pain to embrace pleasure. Most confusing of all was the bond Jake and I were forming. It was too early for me to call it love, even though Jake had professed his love to me, but we shared something amazing. I prayed I lived through this ordeal to continue to explore what we could become.

  My heart broke with my next words, but Josh needed to hear them. “But you can.” I left enough doubt in my voice to lure him to the next step, praying he would take it.

  Josh hesitated, confusion twisting his features, and for the briefest of moments, the icy glare in his eyes softened. His breath rushed out on a sigh, and he pulled me against his body in an awkward one-sided embrace. “I can.”

  I took a leap of faith I wasn’t making the worst mistake of my life. Lowering my voice so only he could hear, I gave myself to him. “You’re right; he’s softer than you.”

  I cringed inside. I’d just given him my tacit permission to give me the pain I pretended to ask for. I prayed for strength.

  A look of triumph filled his expression. His resemblance to his brother made it difficult to hate him when all I saw was the man I cared so deeply for. It was a constant struggle to remind myself this was not Jake.

  It was time to push. “It doesn’t matter what we want, though, does it?” With that pronoun, I had become his. Now I needed him to save me. “Dear old daddy is going to make you kill me no matter what you want.”

  He looked over my shoulder, and his jaw clenched. “He doesn’t tell me what to do.”

  “Doesn’t he? Why should I beg you, when he’s the one in charge?”

  A deep growl worked its way up from his throat. His fingers curled into a fist. “You belong to me.”

  “It looks like your father isn’t interested in what you want. No one tells your brother what to do.”

  “How dare you.” He reared back and slapped my face.

  My head whipped to the side, and a foul coppery tang coated my tongue. Bastard split my lip. I was running out of time.

  Using the same tones and speech patterns I’d come to perfect over the years, I coaxed him with my voice, wrapping him under my control. “You want me? Earn it.”

  He needed what his brother had, and I was counting on his desire for me to overpower his need to obey his father.

  His entire body tensed with the promise in my words. “I don’t believe for a moment you’d serve me.”

  “I served another in the past.” I glanced at my hands overhead. My words were the whisper of a promise, one I hoped he would take. All I needed was to survive. If I had to sell my soul to make that happen, it was a price I was willing to pay.

  I turned my attention back to Josh. We warred with each other, our stares interlocking.

  Behind me, the woman woke up. Her screams pierced the air, and I recognized the voice.

  Lily.

  Josh threw his head back, roaring with laughter. “Oh yes, we are going to have fun now. You may soak in the pain, but how resilient is your friend?”

  Chapter Twelve

  Jake

  Two hours since the girls had gone missing, and we had nothing.

  Kevin had the money clip but couldn’t figure out the code needed to activate it. He stayed upstairs, searching for the manual. I told him to look online.

  Meanwhile downstairs, the cavalry had arrived. Pete showed up with an army in tow, sheepish detectives and beat cops from the precinct who hung their heads whenever I drew near. They’d all viewed the surveillance footage of my brother stealing Kate and my father taking Lily. Every one of them had presumed my guilt, even Pete, although he was the only one to apologize.

  I approached Pete. “Hey, where’s Janice?”

  Small comments and irregularities had been flooding my mind. Clearly, Josh had been impersonating me for some time. Janice hated me—something I had never understood—but now I had a better idea of what must have happened. Somewhere she had run afoul of Josh pretending to be me.

  “She’s home with her kids,” said Pete.

  “Listen, Janice…she doesn’t like me too much.”

  “Yeah,” he said.

  I waited for him to fill in the blanks, but he stood there, staring at the floor. “Did she ever tell you why?”

  He shrugged. “Listen, it was personal. I try not to pry—”

  “But that’s just it,” I exclaimed. “Don’t you see? Whatever happened wasn’t with me. It was my brother. If we know when it happened, she can help narrow down how long he’s been back in town.”

  Whatever went down between her and Josh was not my fault, but her anger toward me made more sense. Somehow, she’d been lucky and had failed to meet the criteria my father and brother used to pick out their victims. I wasn’t sure what those criteria entailed, but they were definitely focused on me. Lizzy and Kate belonged to me. Lily belonged to Kevin. Shit. So, who had the second girl belonged to?

  I grabbed Pete’s sleeve. “I think I figured it out.”

  “What?”

  “The pattern.” I slapped my hand on my thigh, excited to finally see the relationship and sickened by what it meant.

  “What pattern?”

  “Look, I knew Lizzy. She was my submissive for a time until my father took her from me. She was the first victim.”

  Pete shook his head. “Not the first.” He lifted a finger to make his point. “The first we knew of, but the other girl was murdered a month prior. She was the first victim, not Lizzy.”

  “Yes, and we still don’t know who she is, but she must have some connection to either me or Kevin.” My pulse jumped with the realization. I’d trained a lot of women, but I would think I’d recognize them.

  Pete drew his hand over the top of his bald head. “Could be. And there may yet be a third. Are you certain you don’t kn
ow her?”

  I shook my head. I was certain I didn’t, but what about Kevin?

  “We’ll need both of you to look at the video again. I’ll have one of our guys talk to the two of you. I need a list of your past submissives. We can see if any of them are missing.”

  We’d closed Stripes for the evening. Instead of our usual crowd, Stripes’ foyer was packed to the brim with cops both in uniform and in suits. Captain Marshall arrived with a SWAT team in tow and set up ops central. Thomas had arrived. We had everything we needed except a place to go.

  Our technical team was in the back, trying to crack the street cams and locate the van.

  The carpet was wearing thin with all my pacing, but I needed to burn off the restless energy built up inside me.

  My mind turned to Josh, and disbelief filled my soul. As much as our father tried to pull us apart, playing favorites my entire life, Josh and I had always managed to stick together. We’d been inseparable, and Kevin had come along when we were very young. Nothing had ever separated our trio until that fateful night in Thailand.

  In the end, my father had still won. He’d turned Josh into a killer and broken the bond we shared.

  I had called Mitzy and asked for her help. At first she didn’t understand what I wanted, but once we got over that small issue—and the fact that Kate had been taken—the girl had swung into action. She’d refused to come to Stripes, saying something about inferior computing platforms and other techno-speak I didn’t understand. I’d been tempted to go to her, but she said I would only breathe down her neck and distract her. We’d been communicating by phone, making sure to check in every half hour, and I had hooked her up with Kevin’s team.

  The cops scribbled info on their pocket notebooks and made phone calls for their bureaucratic morass of red tape. They huddled around laptops displaying a grid of the city and planned.

  Pete sat on one of the couches while I paced in front of him. He drummed his fingers on the fine leather. “Jake, we’re going to find them.”