Page 23 of Provocation
I glance back at him, ready to shut this little talk down right now. ‘Daisy’s loyalty will never be in question with me. Not ever. But, if it makes you feel better, if John finds out, she’s just as fucked as we are.’
I leave him upstairs, hoping he doesn’t bring this up again. The lone, bare bulb illuminates what can be seen of the cellar space. It looks like a square down here, but there’s a lot more to this basement than meets the eye.
This was once an old warehouse and I’ve found quite a few tunnels branching out from this cellar that I think must be from Prohibition, or perhaps before that, because I’ve found more than one musket ball resting in the dirt down here, too.
A ton of the passages are flooded at this time of year and into the Spring, because the river is so close, but there are a couple that lead to the main sewers, and, if the flooding is diverted, it’s possible to escape through them. We’ll need to show Daisy howto hide the lab and get out of here if the cops do decide to raid us again.
I don’t see Blake in front of me as I get to the bottom of the cement stairs, and I see the door to the Dark Lounge ajar. Rolling my eyes, I go into the private part of the club that few people know about and even fewer are allowed into. The lights are all on for once, giving me a view of the various pieces of furniture that are in here for our patrons’ uses. Some are made of smooth ebony and black leather, others iron and nylon rope.
‘I want Daisy in here,’ Blake says from the other side of the room, as he runs his hand over a padded Saint Andrews cross.
‘No,’ I say, and he looks up at me sharply. ‘She’s not ready and you know it. Sex is new to her. We don’t want to take it too fast and scare her.’
He nods albeit reluctantly. ‘You’re right. All this might be a lot for her to take in.’
‘And not while anyone else is in here. No one but us.’
‘Agreed.’
‘Good,’ I say, ‘Now, come on. She wants to get started and you and Mav might need to grab some supplies.’
I leave the Dark Lounge, trying not to imagine Daisy in there, all the things we could do with her, all the things I want to try with her. I adjust my hardening dick in my pants and try to focus on something else as I walk across the basement and to one of the rusted iron exits that looks like it’s welded shut.
I use my phone to unlock it, and I hear the bolts recede. I pull open the thick, bank vault door that we had Mav’s brother install for us months ago, reminding myself that no matter how he looks at Daisy, Dom is still an asset with a diverse set of skills that we need.
I peer down the unlit passage. Water drips, echoing in the darkness, but, as I shine my phone downward, I see that there’shardly any flooding at all. The sandbags we put on the east side of the tunnel are helping. It’s at least passable now.
I close it up and relock it, making a mental note to give Daisy access to the app Blake built to control the mechanism.
I glance at the door to the lab and see that Blake left it ajar. That’s so typical of him. Probably too busy making eyes at Daisy. With a dramatic, I slip through into the brightly lit space.
‘If you leave the damn door open, the lab’s not gonna stay secret for long,’ I grumble.
Blake just shrugs. ‘You were out there.’
I ignore him in favor of watching Daisy, who’s standing with Mav in the corner. She’s looking around the room with a practiced eye and she smiles when she sees me.
‘How do you like it?’
She nods. ‘It’s a funny little room. Where does the vent go?’ she asks, pointing to the grate on the far wall.
‘There are tunnels all around here. This room sits next to one. It goes to the other side of the wall, and the intake draws fresh air from upstairs.’
‘Okay,’ she murmurs. ‘This is what I need for the first batch.’
She hands Mav a list and he scans it quickly.
‘Give me an hour. Blake?’
He plants a kiss on Daisy’s cheek and leaves, reading the list over again as he walks. Blake stalks forward and grabs Daisy, pulling her to him and whispering something into her ear that makes her blush again. I try not to feel jealous.
He follows Mav, giving me a shit eating grin that I want to smack off his dumb face.
‘What did you mean before?’
I focus on Daisy and find her staring at me.
‘When?’
