Page 2 of Ravage

"Yeah," Connell replies, his Irish accent softer than I remembered from when we worked security together in our younger years.

Nodding, I turn my attention to the man on the floor. "Sir, can you describe your symptoms?"

He relays his symptoms in a voice full of pain. He's a bigger guy, probably in his early fifties, and looks vaguely familiar. Someone has draped a blanket over him, and when we pull it back to attach the ECG sensors, I note the distinct lack of clothes.

Christian glances at me while we both continue our work, and I know he's thinking the same thing as I am. Based on the presence of the woman in the robe, the fact this guy is naked, and we're in a room with a very large bed and bottles of lube all over the bedside table... We've been called to some kind of brothel.

This is a first for me. I've been to a lot of sketchy places on the job, including quite a few crack houses, but never anywhere like this. It doesn't really fit with what I've imagined abrothel to look like. The blonde woman on the bed is gorgeous, but she doesn't look like any of the other sex workers I've worked on over the years. Most of them were drug addicts, selling their bodies to get their next fix. This woman looks to be in her early thirties and takes very good care of herself. Her makeup is flawless, and the robe looks expensive.

"I don't suppose you have a lift to get down here?" I ask, looking at Connell while Christian continues talking to the patient.

"There's a service elevator down the other end of the hall," the brunette woman answers, and I nod.

My focus is on the patient, but there's no denying my attraction to her. I've always had a thing for brunettes, and this one is absolutely breathtaking.

I wonder if she's the madam...

"You right here while I go get the stretcher?" I ask Christian, and he nods.

I rise to my feet and the woman steps out of the way as Connell leads me out the door, taking me to the service elevator.

"What is this place, mate?" I ask once we're alone in the elevator.

He smirks, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "Pretty sure you've worked it out on your own."

I nod. "So... you moved on to work in a brothel."

He laughs. "Yeah, I guess I did. I'm head of security though, not a grunt like when we worked together. Didn't know you'd become a paramedic, though."

The doors open out onto the ground floor. "I wasn't interested in spending years at uni to become a doctor, but I wanted to help people, so..." I shrug, and he nods, following me out to the truck.

"Is he going to be okay?" Connell asks, and I assume he's talking about the old guy downstairs.

"Don't know. He's talking, at least, so that's something." I reach in the back and pull out the stretcher.

"Yeah, thank fuck for that. Imogen would be beside herself if some guy died while she'd been left in charge. She doesn't usually have anything to do with the patrons, so I thought she was going to have a panic attack herself." Connell helps me carry the stretcher up the stairs, before placing it on its wheels.

"Is that the brunette that let us in?"

Connell smirks again. "Yeah." The way he looks at me tells me he's cottoned on to the way I was looking at her.

"So, she's not usually the one running the show here?" I ask, not bothering to hide my interest.

"No. Sebastian does, but he is at one of the other locations right now, so he left her in charge. She's the director of operations."

"Well, hopefully she knows this has nothing to do with her. A guy that age... Let's just say, it's not the first sex related heart issue we've seen in an older man... First time the woman was that good looking, though."

Connell barks out a laugh. "Look, it wouldn't be the first time that Kresta has brought a man to his knees, but I think she's going to need a stiff drink after this one."

I have so many questions, but this isn't the time or place. Clearly, his life got a lot more interesting since we last saw each other.

2

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL

IMOGEN

I watchthe ambulance head down the driveway with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

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