Page 35 of Their Domme

“The only person I give a damn about is Thomas. Give me what you can on Miranda and Joe for now. I need everything else when you drop off the files tomorrow.” Maeve didn’t say anything in response, but she didn’t hang up the phone either. “Maeve?”

“Did you take my advice, little one?”

I swallowed hard, tears pricking my eyes, loving and hating that she’d used the nickname affectionately. “I will. I haven’t had time since I left you.”

“The Russians got you?” She laughed delicately, but there was a touch of sadness there. “What am I saying, of course they did. You need to be careful. From what I’m finding out, you are going toe to toe with some very dangerous people, and I’m not saying that idly.”

“They have my brother,” I rasped, ignoring the tears that spilled down my cheeks. “This person is trying to destroy my life and everything that matters to me. I’ll play power games with gods to protect what’s mine, Maeve. They’ll realize that soon enough. They picked the wrong girl, and they’ll burn for it.”

Maeve hummed. “That sounds like my Nicholette. Just… be careful, okay? Oh, have you seen Gabriel by chance? I tried to stop by, but his shop was closed.”

I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “I haven’t seen him.” It was a lie, but it rolled off my tongue easily enough that I thought she bought it.

“If you do, let him know I’m looking for him. He has something of mine.”

She hung up before I could ask what she meant by that.

Gabriel had kept me safe when I was hiding in Ashview, trying to figure out my next move. I hadn’t fully lied to Maeve since Gabriel had gone radio silent days ago. I hadn’t heard from him, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t guess why he was so quiet. If he wasn’t dead, then he was probably wishing he was.I’m so fucking sorry, Gabriel.Tears stung my eyes, but before they could start to fall, there was a loud knock on the door before it opened.

It wasn’t one of my men like I had expected; it was Blake. They waltzed into the room with a plate filled with hot food that made my mouth water and stomach turn. Blake shot me a stern look as they settled down beside me on the bed and held out the plate.

“Eat. Or Sacha is going to come in here and force it down your throat.” Their brown eyes sparkled with amusement. “His words, not mine.”

“So damn pushy.” I sighed and reached up to grab one of the rolls on the plate, taking a small bite. If I started with something like that, maybe my stomach would settle. The meds the doctor gave me should start working tomorrow, at least according to him, and I couldn’t fucking wait.

“The doc said everything looked fine.” I nodded silently, not sure where they were going with this. Blake stood there silently, watching me slowly eat the food they had brought me, with a stern expression on their face. “Your men are all standing outside, and it won’t take long before they break down the door to get in here. Do you want me to take care of it?”

I paused, giving them an incredulous look, and they burst out laughing.

“I don’t mean kill them, Nic! I mean, I could, but I don’t think Ansel would appreciate the mess.” They paused, tilting their head as they considered me. “But they aren’t going to let you push them away for much longer. Your fear that they would just walk away from you wasn’t true.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I replied roughly, taking another bite of bread since it was helping calm my stomach. “Everything is just so complicated, Blake. I don’t know what to do.”

“You could talk to them,” Blake suggested with uncharacteristic gentleness.

“Pot, kettle, Blake,” I told them dryly before sobering up and meeting their stare. “Can you do something for me?” They raised their eyebrows, silently asking me to continue. “I need to talk to Roderick, alone. Can you ask him to come here?”

Blake contemplated me quietly. “What are you up to, Nic?”

“There’s a lot going on, Blake.” I averted my gaze and realized I had finished the roll. I grabbed the second roll from the plate, not quite ready for anything else that was on there. “I just want to make sure everything is straight… just in case.”

“Nicholette—”

“I have to do this.” I cut them off, not willing to hear any false reassurances. “We can’t guarantee what’s going to happen. Besides, you should know how serious trafficking rings are about keeping their secrets hidden. If we all make it out of this, that would be the damn miracle.”

Blake didn’t say anything after that. They simply sat beside me as I finally took the plate and dug into the food. Sacha, because it had to be him, had fixed me a plate with some rolls and what looked like a savory turnover. It was crispy and flaky, and the moment I bit into it, I moaned.Definitely Sacha’s cooking.It was too good to be anyone else’s. There was a mixture of beef and chicken, maybe some onions. It was filling but not too much. Absolutely perfect. It was probably a Russian dish that I didn’t know the name of, so I’d have to make a point to ask. If I did, he would make it again.

It reminded me of the time Vas had brought me one of Sacha’s sochniki as part of aftercare for a session. It hadn’t been that long ago that he’d chased me through the woods, the two of us only a call girl and her client. Things had changed so drastically in a few months.

I ate every last thing on there, and exhaustion hit me as soon as I put the plate down. It was the first real meal I’d had in a month, and as I slid down, snuggling into the pillow, I felt safe. Blake reached out, playing with long strands of my hair.

“Who do you want to be in here with you?” they asked quietly, concern bright in their gaze as they stared down at me. “Or do you want to be alone?”

Being alone would be easier, but I knew I wouldn’t get any sleep if I did that. Restless sleep had plagued me for weeks, and this episode had shown me how badly I needed to stop running on empty. While I could normally handle it, I couldn’t right now.

“Alexei and Maks,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure why I made that choice, but I needed the two of them more than anything at this very moment. Even if I would’ve asked for them all, it wasn’t like they’d puppy pile and share nicely. “I want them.”

Blake’s hand stopped for a second, then they let out a low whistle. “An interesting choice… and Maks? I like the nickname.”

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