Page 130 of The Blame Game

Fuck, fuck, fuck, Shea thought. He tugged on underwear, walked down the hall, and pounded on Audra’s door.

“Get up,” he called out. “We’ve got a problem.”

Forty minutes later, Dom let them into his apartment. His expression was grim and he looked exhausted.

“Hey, thanks for coming,” he said tightly.

“Yeah, of course.” Shea hesitated in the doorway.

Under ordinary circumstances, he might have reached out to hug Dom but he looked tense and stiff, unhappy. He was clearly giving off ‘stay away’ vibes.

Shea and Audra had spent the ride over going through messages and reading the stupid JockGossip article.

Shea had tried not to throw up as he waffled between guilt and fear.

This was probably the end of things with Dom. It would be the best thing for Dom, Shea knew that. But God, the thought made him ill.

Kate was already in Dom’s apartment, her laptop set up at the dining room table along with a similar breakfast spread and cups of coffee as the previous time.

But this morning, there were stress lines around her eyes and mouth and her eyebrows looked a little unevenly groomed. Shea had only met her once, but from what he’d seen and what Dom said about her, Shea was pretty sure those signs equated to a full-on meltdown from anyone else.

She nodded at Shea and Audra politely, then gestured to the table. “Help yourself to whatever you’d like. I thought you might need some fortification for this.”

Well, that was concerning.

Still, he gratefully took the cup marked with his name. “Thank you.”

Audra murmured her thanks as well and they took seats around the table. This time, Shea sat across from Kate and Dom.

When their feet bumped together, Dom pulled away.

Shea swallowed hard. Right. So that was how things were going to go, huh?

Kate cleared her throat.

“So, I want to make one thing clear.” She looked at each of them, meeting their gazes, her tone kind but no-nonsense. “I have no personal issue with sex work. I think it’s an important job and it should be legal and well-regulated. I am laying no judgment on any of you for any decisions you may or may not have made around any form of that service you might have chosen to take part in. That being said, the best way to handle this situation is for me to have all of the information so I can protect the organization, Dom and the rest of my players, and the two of you. Do with that what you will.”

Dom glanced between Shea and Audra, who both nodded.

They’d discussed it before they left their apartment and agreed that if they had any hope in hell of getting through this situation, they were going to need Kate on their side.

“I’ve been paying Shea for sex for years,” Dom said.

“And I am also an escort,” Audra said quietly. “Though Dom and I have never been involved. I was involved with Mark Goodwin, however.”

“Okay. That’s what I guessed but I didn’t want to assume anything without confirmation.” Kate folded her hands, all business. “Now we need to decide how we want to deal with this situation.”

Dom glanced over at Shea. “Well, I think it’s obvious, no?”

“Is it?” Kate lifted her eyebrows.

“Option number four.” Dom swallowed audibly. “Selling the romance. Shea and I have been dating for a while, we’re in love, he is moving in with me, etc.”

He smiled, but it was thin and tight.

“No!” Shea protested. “Dom, you’d be outing yourself!”

Dom sighed, giving him a weary shrug. “What are our other options?”

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