Page 9 of Their Domme

“What does that even mean? If they saw you, there’s no way you would be here right now,” Em shot back, his brow furrowed as he tried to read between the lines.

“Is someone going to fill the rest of us in on what’s going on?” Robin asked dryly, and I bit my lip, trying not to laugh any more. “Half conversations are only informative if you know everything to begin with.”

“I have a stalker. They kidnapped my brother and said they would sell him to the highest bidder if I didn’t dump my guys,” I responded blandly, moving my focus from my best friend to one of the men I had just met. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw how pale Atlas had gotten, but I kept my focus on the one who had asked. Something about all of this was really getting to Atlas, and from the concern on the other men’s faces when they glanced at him, they could tell as well. “As for the Russians, they’re the men I’m with, the ones I had to leave behind to deal with all this bullshit.”

“Which ones?” Wulf asked, rubbing his fingers together in a way that reminded me of Rhodes and Maksim when they started craving more nicotine. “I’ve met a few in Ashview on business over the years.”

“All of them,” I replied with a sad smile. “Oh, I also have a meeting with Allen next week. I don’t need to deal with the police on my ass along with everything else happening. There were a few other names I wanted to track down before I came back, but others got to them first.”

“Your men have been very thorough,” Em said gruffly. “I told you they would tear the city apart to find you.”

“And as a heads up…” Blake didn’t turn to look at me as they spoke. They just kept flipping the burgers like all of this was no big deal. “They know you’re pregnant. To be honest, I’m surprised you kept it.”

“I am too.” A broken laugh escaped me. “Besides getting my IUD out at some clinic, I haven’t been able to deal with anything else. Getting it removed meant there was a chance I would miscarry, but I guess life decided this would stick.”

“If you had gone to the safe house we set aside for you…” Em started, finally taking the seat beside me as the other men joined us in the kitchen. Conrad and Wulfric went to a far window, cracking it open and each lighting a cigarette. Robin came to a stop beside Atlas, his body pressed against the younger man’s side. Atlas leaned into him, seeking comfort, and some of his tension drained away. “You would have had a doctor to see.”

“But Sacha and Vas came to see you right when you got here,” I told him. “Sacha would have known you were lying, and given what they’ve done to look for me, I knew he wouldn’t hold back just because of who you are.”

“How the fuck do you know they came here?” Em asked.

“I told her,” Blake said to their brother before changing the topic. “So, where did you go?”

“A friend’s. His name is Gabriel. Used to work for Maeve until he retired, at least from sex work. He was part of her network of contacts. He put me up in one of his hideouts and stopped by a few times to check on me, but there's been nothing but radio silence from him for the past few days.” Emmerich hummed as Blake slowly nodded.

“Who is Allen?” Conrad said from the other side of the room. “You said you have a meeting with him next week.”

“He’s a detective in Ashview, a contact of ours,” Blake answered.

“And he needs to question me about the murders in Ashview, I’m sure. Maybe about the whole rapist thing as well.” I waved a hand, not really worried about that right now. “As long as Lewis isn’t there, I’ll be fine. Regardless, Roderick will be with me the entire time, so I should be fine.”

“Roderick?” Emmerich asked, his body tensing.

“Who do you think confirmed you were going to be here?” I smirked when he started to curse. “You put me on his list, Em. He’s my lawyer for this, and after my last run-in with Lewis, all questioning and communication with me happens through him. But enough about me. How did things go in Seattle?”

“We settled the score and left the city in shambles,” Blake replied after a beat of heavy silence. They turned around with a plate full of burgers then tossed a bag of buns on the table beside it. “If you want condiments or something, you can get it yourself.”

“Someone after my own heart.” I sighed in happiness, reaching for a bun and a burger. “I’m too hungry to worry about anything being on it.” My phone beeped right before I could take my first bite. Switching the burger to one hand, I reached for my inner pocket, reading the text before locking the phone and digging in.Fuck, it’s delicious.

“I’m going to get some fresh air for a minute.” Atlas stood up without saying anything else and walked past the others to go into the small backyard. Robin took a step forward before Conrad motioned him to stay; he turned to follow Atlas outside. The latch of the closing door was the only sound for a few minutes before I felt a sharp stare from Blake.

“Don’t push them, Nicholette. ConradorAtlas.”

I arched an eyebrow but changed the subject all the same. “I wasn’t going to. Anyway, when are we going to Ashview to get started?”

“In a few days. There are some things I need to settle first.” Em rubbed his chin.

“That’s perfect. I need to reach out to a few more people while we’re here,” I replied between bites. “Get a few things lined up and in progress before I show back up.”

“You need a doctor visit,” Blake said softly. “We should do that before we go down there. We have some people up here, so it won’t leave a paper trail for your stalker to find.” My mouth was suddenly dry, nerves making it hard to swallow the food I had been chewing. I nodded, not trusting myself to talk just yet. “And you didn’t ask,” Blake continued without missing a beat, “but your guys? They look like shit. Even Rhodes, who was beyond pissed off that I went to our last business deal instead of Emmerich.”

“As they should be. I did leave them,” I quipped, pushing away the twinge of guilt tugging at my heartstrings. “Thanks for the burgers, Blake. I’m going to go throw up half of it then sleep. I’ll see you all later.”

Finishing up my second burger, I stood up, ignoring the stares on me. I was just about to leave the kitchen when Emmerich broke the silence. “You don’t need us to show you where to go?”

A grin spread across my face as I stopped and looked over my shoulder. “You should change the code for the keypad, Em. It’s still the same one Frederick gave me when I came up here.”

The way Blake’s face grayed, I knew they’d filled in the blanks of what that meant. Not saying anything else, I made my way upstairs to a guest room I had used before, wanting a space with an attached bedroom. I didn’t know the history between Frederick and everyone in his Family, but I knew he had been a complete fucking asshole. He might have been a monster to the people under him, but he was utterly boring and disappointing in bed—a fact that I ignored because he paid me well and had introduced me to his brother. And his brother… Fuck, there was nothing even remotely vanilla abouthim.

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