Page 2 of Hushed

He loved supporting his friends.

“It’s slow. I’m feeling stuck. Master is taking me out of town for a couple of weeks after he finishes the protection detail he’s working.”

Carrie wasn’t always a submissive. She preferred the label kinky masochist. Peter fed the masochist side of her, and in return, she fed his inner control freak with a healthy dose of submission. It worked for them. Mostly because they were sickeningly in love.

“Where is your old man?” Gage asked.

Carrie grinned. “In the lobby arguing with Ripley about something or other. You know those two like to pick at each other, and they are running this detail together, so they’re butting heads more often. I just came to hug you and see if you need help with anything before we open.”

He draped an arm around her. “Pretty sure we’ve got it covered, hot stuff.”

“When are the honored guests arriving?”

Gage glanced at his watch. “Noah and Reva should be here in an hour or so, and the crew from Las Vegas will arrive sometime before we open so they can verify our security. We’re expecting quite a full house tonight.” It only slightly irked him that the couples from Las Vegas wanted to check out his security, but he knew enough about their criminal backgrounds that he didn’t blame them. They’d proved helpful, and he would welcome them into his space as long as they didn’t bring trouble with them.

The doors to the dungeon burst open, and Olivia Cannon came in with an exasperated look on her face. “You’re going to have to deal with the two knuckleheads in the lobby before they kill each other.”

Gage just laughed and gave her a thumbs up. “On it, sweetheart.”

He sauntered into the lobby and leaned against the podium, listening to Ripley and Peter argue.

“This is a massive security undertaking. We’re not just protecting some celebrity during a meet and greet. Anything that goes wrong has international implications, and you think we should just leave local authorities out of it?” Peter sounded incredulous as he faced off with one of his best friends and business partners. The two men ran Peter’s private security firm together, and had recently picked up a high-profile client who would be attending several events in D.C.

Ripley held up his hands like he was surrendering. “All I’m saying is that the last time we coordinated with the locals they took over and we almost lost our protectee. I would rather only loop them in if we have a need. And I sure as hell don’t want to talk to the FBI or the Secret Service.”

The two men went back and forth several times. Gage was happy to watch the chaos until it started getting heated. With an exaggerated sigh, he stepped in to break up the argument.

“Are you two seriously arguing about local law enforcement when the Chief of Police is a member here? I’m not saying you have to officially inform D.C. Metro, but it would be in poor taste not to talk to Chief Silas over a beer or something.”

Ripley turned and rolled his eyes. “I should have known you would side with Peter.”

Gage rolled his eyes equally hard. “I’m siding with whatever gets you two the hell out of my lobby before guests arrive.”

Peter brushed past Ripley and extended a hand to Gage. “Sounds like we’re going to have quite a night.”

Certain that the argument had been defused, Gage made small talk with his friends for a few minutes before he excused himself and retreated to his office to complete the nightly bookkeeping tasks that had to be done before they could open. Before pulling up his spreadsheets, he checked for messages from her, but there were none.

With a deep breath, he repeated the mantra he’d been using since last night. “Trust her. She’s safe.” But it was hard to set the worry aside, and he wouldn’t fully believe she was safe until she was back in his arms. Still, there was work to be done, so he shoved the phone away from him and settled in. Halfway through his paperwork, the phone buzzed.

KR:I accidentally got on a train with nine million stops. I’m going to be late. Please don’t be mad. Phone dying. Turning it off to save battery.

He frowned and tried to call her, but it kicked over to her voicemail, which was full. She was going to have a lot of questions to answer when she made it to the club.

With the paperwork done, he returned to the lobby just as Noah and Reva were checking in at reception. Gage pulled Noahinto a tight hug, grateful that their joyous celebration would keep him occupied until his girl arrived.

Turning to Reva, he kissed her on the cheek. “It’s so good to have you here. I got your proposal for the event next month, and it sounds great.”

She beamed at him. “Thank you so much for giving me the chance to work on this with you, and for letting me include Zara. She’s such a refreshing voice for the community and for women in general.”

Noah wrapped an arm around Reva and gazed at her lovingly. “No more work talk tonight, Vixen. Why don’t you go inside and mingle? I’ll be along soon.”

“Yes, Sir,” she murmured, staring into his eyes with a metric ton of adoration pouring off of her.

When Reva was gone, Noah turned to Gage expectantly. “Is everything ready?”

Gage gave him a thumbs up. “Good to go. We’ve been spreading the word for people to stay out of the library until you’re done with it. And Amber will be hovering nearby to redirect anyone who didn’t get the message.”

Noah shook his hand. “Thank you. You’re a good friend.”

---