“Should I pull the senator’s membership then?” Julian’s aristocratic features were blank. Slater was really pissing him off. When Julian’s face went blank, that was when Jack got worried.
Of course all that irritation wasn’t directed at him so he grinned, somewhat amused. “Did he join before or after we had our little chat with him?”
“Oh, after,” Julian assured him. “He was quite intrigued. He stops in every time he’s in the area. He quite likes the dungeon. I believe he brought a young brunette with him last time.”
Lucas frowned. “That would be Justine. She was my girlfriend for a while.”
“The senator is discreet.” Julian looked at the boy with some sympathy.
“The senator is an asshole,” Lucas muttered. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s get down to business, gentlemen. Are we having dinner or not? I could use a drink. The whole nearly-getting-run-down-by-a-crazy-person thing has me on edge. And your driver is an asshole, too.”
“Well, the being-blackmailed-by-a-spoiled-brat thing has done wonders for my nerves.” Julian poured another drink with a perfectly steady hand. “And dear god, please tell me you called Taggart my driver. That alone would be worth the trouble.”
“I’m not giving you twenty million dollars,” Jack stated flatly.
“Then I’m sure I can make money off a tabloid story about the senator’s long-lost son.” Lucas’s bitterness was apparent in his tone. He took a quick drink and coughed like he hadn’t expected what he’d gotten. Jack wasn’t so sure about his reputation as a hard drinker. He would bet the drug stories were overblown, too. “You know he holds you up as paragon of virtue, Jack Barnes. You’re a self-made man. I could learn a lot from you. You had nothing, but you pulled yourself up. All it took was a bit of blackmail. Hell, he even admires you for that.”
“I’m not responsible for your relationship with your father.” It was plain the boy was in need of attention, but he wasn’t Jack’s responsibility.
“Of course, it’s all my fault.” Lucas held the glass and stared into the fire.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” Lucas’s reply was simple, the answer of a boy who knew the score and knew that he was never going to change anyone’s mind. “You’re just like the rest of them. I don’t know why I thought you might be different.” He took a long drink, as though building up his courage. He managed to only wince at that last drink before turning to face the men in the room. “Here’s the deal, gentlemen. If I don’t get what I want, I’m prepared to sell a story to the tabloids. I intend to out Julian Lodge as James Masters, the head of the Masters Fund. I doubt anyone will want to work with a notorious sex club owner.”
“I don’t think I’ll worry too much about that. Hugh Hefner never hurt for business,” Julian said with an elegant sigh. “Besides, I have enough money as it is. If all my investors dry up, I’ll take a nice vacation.”
That seemed to rattle Lucas. He shook it off and turned to Jack. “Fine, maybe Lodge doesn’t think he has anything to lose, but you recently got married. What’s your wife going to think about your past in this club? How’s she going to feel knowing she married a notorious Dom?”
He noticed Julian hide a smile behind his hand. The boy had no idea how to handle men like them. “I wouldn’t call me notorious. I was actually quite good at it. And Abigail knows what I used to do and exactly how I came by the seed money for my business. You can’t shock her. Come by the house sometime, and I’ll introduce you to her. You can tell her what you know. I think she’ll be highly amused.”
She wouldn’t be amused. She would be pissed off. Abigail could be very protective of her men. Lucas would be forced to deal with one mad cat.
Lucas’s face got hard and, for a second, Jack wondered if he looked like that from time to time. It appeared there was some steel in the boy after all. “Fine. Then I’m sure the world would love to know about your ménage. Trust me, cattle ranchers sharing their woman will be a story the world would love to hear. Couple it with the fact that you’re Senator Allen Cameron’s son, and your sexual activities will be all over the news. I’m sure they’ll believe you simply share her. They won’t think anything of the fact that you lived with Samuel Fleetwood for years before ever meeting Abby Moore. That business you’re in is a macho business. I’m sure a couple of gay cowboys will go over like gangbusters, bro.”
“Jackson.”
He heard the warning in Julian’s voice. He knew exactly what worried the club owner. Julian wouldn’t want to have to clean up the blood that he was about to spill. He heard the warning, but it seemed a distant thing. What he could hear plainly was his blood pressure rising. It was a roar in his ears blocking out everything else. He saw what he was going to do like a movie in his mind. He was going to wrap his hands around Lucas Cameron’s throat, and then the little shit wouldn’t be a problem to anyone anymore.
The door to the dining room flew open.
“Mr. Lodge, we have a code red in the playroom,” said a breathless young woman in leather shorts and a bustier. It was obvious she had run in from the bar area. There was a buzzing coming from outside.
“Call Leo.” Julian got out of his seat. He took off his jacket and slung it over the chair, as though he knew he would be getting dirty.
“Leo’s involved in it. He was on the scene when it started,” the woman explained. “They’re fighting over two subs. The male started a fight with Patrick, and it’s getting bloody. He’s smaller than Patrick, but he seems really mean. Sally’s in the middle of all of it. I can’t find their Dom.”
Julian’s face hardened. “I know exactly where their Dom is. Jackson, will you forgo killing your brother for the moment? I need your help.”
He clenched his fists but got up anyway. He’d promised Julian he would help if the subs in the Platinum Suite got out of hand. It seemed like they had. It was only to be expected. Two subs shouldn’t go running around in a club like this. He should have insisted on talking to them earlier, but he’d been thinking of his own problems. He was still thinking of his own problems, but theirs seemed to be intruding. Besides, he couldn’t kill Lucas in front of witnesses. That would have to be done quietly and privately. He shook his head as he followed Julian out.
“How bad is it?” Julian glanced back at the blonde woman, but she couldn’t keep up in her heels.
Even from the bar, he could hear the fight. It was loud and getting louder by the second. He knew it was bad when Julian broke into a jog.
“Call security.” Jack barked the order to the bartender as they ran down the hallway that led to the playroom. Normally a bouncer was standing at the entryway, but the small desk was empty. So he’d likely already jumped into the fray.
There was a mass of people watching the fight. It seemed like all other activities had come to a halt and violence, rather than sex, was the theme of the evening. The sickening thud of flesh hitting flesh hit his ears. He followed Julian as they started shoving their way through the crowd.
“You keep your fucking hands off her!” A familiar voice cut through the mess.
He stopped because he knew that voice. “Sam?”
Through the throng of bodies fighting, he caught a glimpse of his partner. He was throwing a punch at a bald guy while kicking another man. He seemed to be trying to get to someone. Jack had a sudden horrible thought that he knew who Sam was trying to protect.
Julian looked back at him. “Well, would you like to talk to me about karma now, Jackson? Like it or not, it’s about to bite you in the ass.”
Chapter Nine
Abby scrambled to get up. All around her, people were rushing to get a good place to watch the fight that was going on. The heels and the miniskirt she wore hampered her every movement. She tried to push her way toward Sam, but she kept getting shoved toward the back of the crowd. A big hand clamp down on her arm, hauling her up, and she found herself against a large, masculine body.
Leo, that was what the
other man had called him. Leo’s blue eyes were blazing with impatience as he towered over her.
“Where is your Dom? Does he know you’re wearing that rose?”
She tried to turn away from him, his words not really registering. She didn’t have to answer him. Then she saw Sam take a punch to the gut that made her eyes water. She tried to pull away to go help him, but that big hand held her tightly.
“No way, sub.” There was a bit of kindness in his voice now. “He’s a big boy, and he started this fight. Please tell me your Dom is somewhere in the building.”
“He’s probably with Julian Lodge.” Maybe it was time to bring in Jack. She had wanted to give him a little shock to his system. She’d thought he might be pissed about the shopping. She knew he’d be upset about the motorcycle and the impromptu trip to The Club. She figured he’d blow a gasket over this. It had been such a mistake. What had she been thinking? She’d brought Sam into this.
She clutched at Leo’s arm. “Don’t get him, please. Look, I’ll tell him everything, but if he walks in on this…I don’t know what he’ll do.”
Leo shook his head. “I do. You’re going to look lovely on a St. Andrew’s Cross, dear. I’ll lend him my single tail if he didn’t bring his own.”
Abby wasn’t sure what a single tail was, but it didn’t sound good. She knew exactly what a St. Andrew’s Cross was and wondered briefly if Jack would really strap her to one for public punishment.
“Stay here,” Leo instructed her. He squeezed her arm one last time. It felt like a warning. “I’m going to get your Master. Don’t move.”
The minute he was gone, she started to force her way through the crowd. She wasn’t going to let Sam fight that man alone. He was bigger than Sam. She brushed past bodies and tried not to think about the hands that groped her as she moved through. All she could think about was getting to her man.
She fought her way to the front just in time to see Sam kick the hell out of Baldie. Baldie groaned loudly because Sam was mean. That boot of his caught Baldie firmly in the crotch. It should have been the end of the fight, but Baldie had some friends and Sam refused to go down.
Sam swung out at the two men, obviously security guards, trying to pin him down. He’d more than likely moved past the time when he could make the sane decision to retreat. He was running on pure adrenaline at this point. She needed to get to him so they could make a getaway. Julian Lodge might not care that she wasn’t his sub to punish this time around. Then there was the potential that he would bring Jack. Tears sprang to her eyes. Jack might decide she wasn’t worth all this trouble.
“Sam!” she yelled over the betting now going on around her. “Sam!”
He wasn’t listening to anything but the inner Tyler Durden he’d unleashed. She should never have let him watch Fight Club. She was about to walk into the middle of the fight when she felt herself being pulled back.
She turned quickly and looked into dark eyes. The man was tall and dressed in head-to-toe leather. He was slender, and there was a certain cruelty to the set of his mouth.
“No collar, sub,” he whispered into her ear. “Someone’s got to protect you. And tonight’s capture night in the dungeon. All unattached subs are ripe for the picking. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”
Abby pulled away, but that hand was strong and attached to a lean, powerful body. Before she could do anything to stop it, she felt cold metal pressed to her skin. She couldn’t hear it over the crowd, but she knew the cuff probably snapped as it closed over her wrist. That asshole had handcuffed her.
Now she was panicking a little. She tried digging her stilettos into the hardwood of the floors. It didn’t work. She twisted and fought. Her eyes sought anyone who might help, but everyone around her was focused on the fight.
“Sam!” Abby screamed, not to save him this time, but to get him to save her. There were too many people in the crowd. She couldn’t see him anymore.
“You take your fucking hands off her!” she heard Sam shout. She breathed a sigh of relief even though she was still being pulled along. Sam wouldn’t let some guy in leather carry her down to the dungeon.
“What the fuck is going on?”
The whole room got still at the loud roar.
Jack! Relief infused her, even as dread rolled through her belly. She’d wanted to shake him up, but not this much. On the bright side, while she could yell all day long and no one paid attention, the minute Jack said a word, the world stopped.
Jack’s low growl could be heard easily now. There was a slight parting in the crowd. Abby could see her husbands. Jack’s back was to her, but Sam was on full display. “Samuel, would you like to explain why the hell you aren’t at home with our wife?”
“Jack.” Sam sounded breathless. He stood still. His shirt was torn and there was blood on his face.
Leather Guy decided to ignore the scene playing out behind him. He started to pull Abby along.
“Hey.” Abby pulled the other way.
“You stop!” Sally shouted. She was shaking as she stood up to the Dom.
“Get out of my way, little girl,” Leather Guy said. “I don’t have time to punish you, sub. I have a plaything for the night.”
“She doesn’t belong to you and she doesn’t know what that rose means. She doesn’t understand.” Sally’s voice was tremulous, but she held her ground. She walked back to take Abby’s free arm. “I’m taking her back.”
Abby found herself being pulled in two directions. Sally tried to force her away from Leather Guy. Leather Guy tugged on the other side of the handcuff he’d attached to her wrist.
“Girl, I’m about to make the time to punish you,” Leather Guy swore.
What had she meant about the rose? Abby tried to move closer to Sally. The crowd around her seemed to slow and then she heard a roar.
“What do you mean she’s here?” Jack’s question came out as an accusation.
“Abby?” Sam yelled.
She saw the small sea of people parting as Sam fought his way to her. He’d taken a couple of rough hits, and she worried his left eye was going to swell.
“Abigail Barnes!” Jack barked.
“I’m here, Jack.” She wanted to fling herself against his broad chest and revel in safety. But part of her was terrified that whatever Jack had in mind was going to be so much worse than anything Leather Guy could dream up.
Sam took Sally’s place. Sally stepped away quickly, allowing Sam to take the lead. He faced down her would-be kidnapper. “Take your hands off her.”
“No collar,” Leather Guy insisted. “Face it, sub. You should never have brought her here. If you didn’t want to lose her, you should have collared her.”
“Perhaps you would like to explain to me why you’ve cuffed my wife?” Jack’s question came out between his clenched, bared teeth. The crowd moved around him, respecting his space.
He was on the edge. She pulled away, trying to get to him. She needed to calm him down. The brow above his right eye was twitching ever so slightly. It was a sure sign that his blood pressure was rising. He would want blood soon. She already had to deal with Sam getting in trouble. She didn’t want Jack getting hurt, too.
“I’m fine,” she tried to reassure him.
Jack ignored her, choosing to spend his intimidation on Leather Guy. The Dom suddenly didn’t look so sure anymore.
“She’s not collared,” he insisted.
“The wedding ring she’s wearing is collar enough,” Jack bit out. “I know. I put it on her finger. You can see that fucking diamond from space.”
Oh, shit. She hadn’t thought about the fact that her wedding ring was upstairs. Unfortunately, it was her left hand that was currently shackled. Leather Guy held up her perfectly ringless finger.
Abby felt the room get extremely cold as Jack stalked up to her. Sam held her hand.
“You’re serious. You’re not playing. Oh, shit.” Leather Guy seemed to deflate as he quickly used his key and uncuffed her. He dropped hi
s hold on her and held his hands up as though surrendering. “Man, I’m sorry. We’re playing capture games this evening. The rules of the game include that submissives who agree to play would wear the white rose. I honesty thought she was fair game and that the fighting was part of her kink. I’m so sorry, Master… I don’t know your name.”
Sam pulled her into his arms. He cursed under his breath. “I didn’t know that was going on.”
“Really?” Julian’s cold voice cut through the now quiet dungeon. “Because the rose would have come with written instructions on what scenes and games would be going on tonight.”
Abby shook her head. “It was by itself. I thought it was a gift.”
Jack stepped in, gently pulling the rose out of her hair. “I understand why you wouldn’t know what that meant. Sam should know that every single thing has meaning in this club. Everything. Now, Abigail, would you like to explain to me why you’re half-naked in a sex club without your wedding ring on your finger?”
Every single word that came out of Jack’s mouth dripped with menace.
Sam pushed her slightly, encouraging her to handle Jack. She knew what he wanted her to do. She thought it was a good idea, too. She sank to her knees at Jack’s feet and put her head down. Her hands were trembling as she curved her body into a submissive position.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. This had been a terrible mistake and she wasn’t sure he would ever forgive her for it.
“That is not going to cut it, Abigail.” Jack loomed over her. She could practically feel his rage pounding at her. “Answer me now. Where is the ring I put on your finger? I swear to god if you lie to me, I’ll strip you down here and now, and you won’t be able to walk when I’m through.”
A perverse tremor went through her. Jack was using that voice on her. It was the voice that got her wet and ready in seconds. She didn’t like to think about the fact that a small part of her wanted to keep pushing him to see what that would feel like. How far would he go? How much could she take? The majority of her, however, went into survival mode.