Page 18 of Their Domme

“Because I’m like the daughter you never had?” I guessed, tapping my chin with one of my fingers as if lost in thought. I tried and failed to suppress a smile while I tried to think of some good reasons. “I like to keep things interesting? Making up for the monotony of my childhood?”

“I know more about you than I would ever want to know about a daughter,” Allen retorted, though I saw the spark of humor dancing in his light blue eyes. Running a hand through his graying brown hair, he focused on the man behind me who was still having a stare-off with Christopher. “But we do have a problem. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have come by.”

“You work with the F?rstners?” I asked Christopher, tilting my head. I had known him for years, but I was suddenly realizing I didn’t know anything about him at all. Turnabout was fair play, I supposed, but this new revelation made me feel like I was on uneven ground since I knew a lot of the Germans.

The older man looked down at me with a half smile. “Yes, but that’s all you’re getting from me, Delilah… Fuck, Nic. That will take some getting used to. But you should know your Russians won’t be happy about all of this.” He motioned at Ansel, and something in me was irritated at how he worded that.

“I’m no one’s property,” I retorted coolly. “In case you missed that memo,Christopher. What I do and don’t do isn’t any of your business. If you’re here to talk Family business, I’ll just—”

“Actually, since you’re here, Nic,” Allen interrupted before I could step away, “there are things I need to speak with you about.”

“Should I call Roderick then?” I asked lightly, not about to back down on that, not even for Allen.

“Of course you know Rorik,” Ansel muttered, and I glanced over my shoulder to look at him.

“Rorik? Oooh, I like that nickname.” Ansel rolled his eyes, but as I let my body melt against him, I felt him soften just a little bit. I needed every bit of comfort I could get because something inside told me that shit was about to hit the fan yet again.

Allen shook his head. “No, I’ll leave talking about that for when I’m fully on record, so Lewis doesn’t try to get back on the case. I need to talk to you about some other things that came up recently.”

“You two talk, then. Allen, come join us after,” Ansel ordered. He squeezed my shoulders one more time before he walked off, gesturing for Christopher to follow him back out by the pool. Christopher followed at a slow pace, shooting a look over his shoulder that told me his lecture wasn’t over yet—a bit of a pot-and-kettle situation considering what he was apparently involved in.

“How are you, Nic?” Allen asked, and I turned to give him my full attention. He had more gray in his hair since I had seen him last, and the lines on his face appeared deeper. He was studying me with nothing but purely fatherly concern, which was a change for me. It was… nice. My eyes teared up before I could stop it. How many times had I wanted someone to look at me like that? With no expectations about what they could get from me, just genuine concernforme. “Nic?”

“I’m staying busy.” I sniffed, forcing myself to push away the emotion welling inside of me. “But plausible deniability on your end and whatnot. What do you need to talk to me about?”

“Lewis is on a rampage,” Allen said after a long pause. “He is looking into you. Your past, your associates. He's trying to figure out everything about you. After getting pulled from your case, he wants blood. Be very, very careful with whatever you have planned. He isn’t the only one trying to follow you. Your boyfriends are turning the city upside down to find you, and more than a few people have gone missing during their efforts.”

“Detective—” I started, but he cut me off.

“Two of them are currently in police custody,” Allen said grimly, “being questioned by Lewis. He’s had them in custody since yesterday, and he can hold them for another two days. He was called in when another body was dumped at the Lords of Chaos compound.”

“One of the women that looks like me?” I asked softly, shivering thanks to the cold chill running up my spine.

“Yes, actually.” Allen’s voice grew rough before he squeezed his eyes shut. “It’s bad, Nic. Really fucking bad. Whoever is looking for you is spiraling. All of your guys were there when Lewis arrived at the compound. I don’t know if he legitimately came up with reasons to question and hold them or not.”

“Who is he holding?” I asked.

“Oliver and Bodhi.” My anger had already been ignited, but now that I had his answer, it exploded.

That asshole had Oli and Bodhi stuck at the police station? And from what Allen was hinting at, he had no intention of letting them leave anytime soon. He was determined to use the entire seventy-two-hour hold. Speaking from personal experience, he’d probably spend the time insulting them and annoying them with questions. A flashback of Oliver handing me over to Lewis popped into my mind, but I shook it off. Things done in anger were one thing, but this… I would never leave them to deal with his insanity if I could help it.

Not saying anything for fear I would lose it, I walked out to the pool where Ansel and Christopher looked to be in the middle of an argument. They stopped at the sight of me, so there was no way of knowing what they were discussing. “Nicholette?” Christopher asked, his brow creasing in concern at whatever he saw.

“I need a phone, Ansel. Now. I left mine at the house.”

He considered me for a moment, searching my face, before looking behind me at Allen. Ansel nodded, reaching into his pants pocket and handing me his cell phone.

He didn’t have a lock on it, which was bold but completely in character for him. Flipping through his contacts, I found Roderick’s nickname, Rorik, and hit to call him. While it rang, I let my rage simmer until I heard Roderick say Ansel’s name in greeting.

“Hello, Roderick,” I purred. “Or should I sayRorik?”

There was a weighted pause, then the lawyer on the other end cleared his throat. “Nicholette, this is an unexpected—”

“I need you to do something for me,” I interrupted, turning to face Allen with a serious expression. “Call Allen and tell him I can’t reschedule the questioning. It needs to happen today. We can just meet him at the station.”

“From what he told me this morning, that’s not a good idea,” Roderick advised in an even tone. “But if that’s what you want…”

“It is,” I told him firmly. Allen’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and I could feel the weight of Ansel’s and Christopher’s stares on my back. “And I need you to do something for me when we get there. I’m assuming you know where to pick me up?”

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