Chilled to the Bone by Sindra van Yssel Page A

minute ago, but I’ll do this for you. Afterwards we talk. If you don’t think she’s safe in the bathroom, and she needed an off-the-record blood transfusion, well , it doesn’t sound to me like you should be spanking her or anything like that, either.” She took a step towards the ladies’ room, and then turned. “Oh, and by the way, Charles, what happened to the frame? I thought Brennan said it was sturdy enough for suspension play?”
    Vampires are really strong. But I can’t tell you that, either. It would be so much simpler to tell Genna what was going on. Lies piled on top of lies. “Yeah. Unless someone cut through the wood, I don’t get it at all. I think it’s got everyone spooked.”
    “Wouldn’t you have noticed?”
    Yes, probably. He always gave the equipment a once - over before he used it. “Not if the cut was fine enough.”
    “Hmm.” Genna walked off. In a minute , she came back, shaking her head.
    Shit. He’d taken the time to do another scan of the club and look into some of the theme rooms to the side. There were windows in the side of each room, which made it easy for voyeurs but also provided the safety that came with being observed.
    The couple Doreen had spotted watching them wasn’t around either. Genna would have her talk, but not yet. He ignored the look on her face, as well as the sinking feeling in his stomach as he went over to talk to Brennan. Brennan saw him coming and grimaced. Before Charles even had a chance, Brennan spoke. “Your girl walked out with one of that new couple, the woman, but they didn’t seem to be up to anything wrong.” He shrugged. “I would have followed, but Genna was in the head and with Kent out and you occupied, there wasn’t anyone to hand monitor duty off to.”
    “Out as in outside?”
    “Unless they’re hanging out in the lobby with the coat check girl. Lola’s there tonight.”
    “Thanks, man,” he said, walking briskly towards the coat check room.
    Great. He had been hoping to keep Doreen inside until Kent came back. What was she thinking, heading out there where the vampire who’d been stalking her could get her?
    There was nobody in the coat check room except for Lola, a sub with a Bettie Page haircut. When the club had first opened, either Brennan, Charles, Genna, or Kent had staffed the desk, but the last few weeks they’d been having club members do it, with admission free in exchange for a couple hours at the desk. He waved at Lola, who was wearing only a few strips of shiny vinyl and kept going.
    “Something wrong?” Lola asked.
    He didn’t bother to answer.
    There was no sign of Doreen outside. But there were two regulars, Fred and Star, who were crouched down around the body of a woman. Holy shit. He ran over towards them and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized the small woman with the long platinum hair was still breathing , and sitting up. He recognized her as the woman Brennan had said Doreen had left with. She had scrapes on her arms and legs, which her little dress did nothing to protect or hide.
    “Do we need an ambulance here?” he asked.
    “Might be a good idea,” Fred said, at the same time woman said, “No.”
    Where the hell is Doreen? He wanted to ask, but knew if he did it wouldn’t reflect well on the club. Besides, this woman needed help, too. So he bit it back. “Any broken bones? What happened?” Her wounds were too numerous to have been gotten during a fall, and the fact that her date wasn’t around was a sign something had gone horribly wrong.
    “I don’t think anything’s broken , just bruised and battered.” The woman locked gazes with him. “This woman went crazy in the parking lot, and she was incredibly strong. She shoved me , and I went flying.”
    Incredibly strong. He didn’t doubt for a moment the woman was Doreen, but something was wrong.
    “A woman did this?” asked Fred.
    “Yeah.”
    “Don’t be sexist, Master,” said Star, a zaftig redhead. She was wearing a