with a sturdy click behind him. Bailey stared,
gaped, rooted in place. Could any of what he claimed actually be true?
Chapter Four
T HE moment Joaquin let himself out the bedroom door, Mitchell Thorpe, Dominion’s owner,
stood, blocking the hall with one sharp brow raised. His stare censured. Despite the
man’s impeccable suit, Joaquin was pretty sure Thorpe could be a badass. Since he’d
had a really long few days without a lot of sleep—and no peace whatsoever—he didn’t
need the other man’s shit.
“I appreciate that you’re in a difficult position.” Thorpe adjusted a cuff link. “As
soon as I heard screaming coming from my bedroom, I called Logan. He explained your
situation a bit more in depth. I allowed you to come here because the Edgington brothers
vouched for you and I was given to understand that you were protecting the potential
target of a killer, not abducting a woman. Club Dominion maintains a strictly consensual
environment. You can’t keep that woman here against her will.”
Joaquin swallowed, fighting frustration and dread. “I get that you don’t want anyone
shining a light on this place or trying to shut you down, but—”
“I have enough of those problems already. Both the evangelists and the asexual lobbying
to end my club are apparently either not acquainted with orgasm or afraid of it, so . . .”
A hundred tactics ran through Joaquin’s head. He finally settled on the truth. “She’s
in shock. I’d hoped that once I jogged her memory a little, she’d remember the past.
Even though she admitted she has nightmares about the night her family was murdered,
she’s adamant that she’s not Tatiana Aslanov. I need time. If I let her loose now,
it won’t be long before whoever is doing the hideous work for these bastards will
catch her. Did Logan tell you how they’re torturing these women?”
“You want to keep her safe. It’s admirable. But I can’t have her here against her
will.” His stance softened slightly. “Are you sure she’s Aslanov’s daughter?”
“I’ve got the right woman. She even dreams about the house in the snow and the couple
who found her wandering the side of the road. I need a few days to convince her and
find out what she knows.” Thorpe still looked skeptical. “What if these bastards were
still after Callie?”
“Why does everyone use Callie against me?” Thorpe’s expression thundered with anger.
“Leave my submissive out of this.”
Joaquin tossed up his hands. “She was ass deep in this mess for nearly a decade. You
know just as well as I do that if they’d gotten their hands on her, they would have
tortured—”
“If you finish that sentence, you won’t have any teeth left.” Thorpe looked dead serious.
“Callie has suffered long enough. Sean and I are doing our best to make her happy
now. We will do whatever it takes to keep her as far away from this as possible.”
Time to step back. This tactic was simply pissing Thorpe off, and Joaquin needed the
man’s cooperation. “Fine. Sorry. If you’ll let me, I’d like to talk to both Sean and
Callie. I think they have information that could save Tatiana’s life.”
“I’ll ask Sean if he’ll talk to you. That’s up to him, and will depend, at least in
part, on what the FBI wants to keep strictly in-house. Callie . . . Sean and I will
have to decide that together. The TV interviews Callie gives are never in depth. They’re
a matter of survival, since they keep her too public for anyone to kill. But a direct
probe about who chased her and why might be too much for her. It’s barely been three
months. And with the stress of the wedding . . .”
“You agreed yesterday.”
“Before you added kidnapping into this mess.”
Joaquin didn’t like Thorpe’s answer, but he understood it. “I know she went through
years of hell. I wouldn’t ask her to tread this ground again unless I believed
gaped, rooted in place. Could any of what he claimed actually be true?
Chapter Four
T HE moment Joaquin let himself out the bedroom door, Mitchell Thorpe, Dominion’s owner,
stood, blocking the hall with one sharp brow raised. His stare censured. Despite the
man’s impeccable suit, Joaquin was pretty sure Thorpe could be a badass. Since he’d
had a really long few days without a lot of sleep—and no peace whatsoever—he didn’t
need the other man’s shit.
“I appreciate that you’re in a difficult position.” Thorpe adjusted a cuff link. “As
soon as I heard screaming coming from my bedroom, I called Logan. He explained your
situation a bit more in depth. I allowed you to come here because the Edgington brothers
vouched for you and I was given to understand that you were protecting the potential
target of a killer, not abducting a woman. Club Dominion maintains a strictly consensual
environment. You can’t keep that woman here against her will.”
Joaquin swallowed, fighting frustration and dread. “I get that you don’t want anyone
shining a light on this place or trying to shut you down, but—”
“I have enough of those problems already. Both the evangelists and the asexual lobbying
to end my club are apparently either not acquainted with orgasm or afraid of it, so . . .”
A hundred tactics ran through Joaquin’s head. He finally settled on the truth. “She’s
in shock. I’d hoped that once I jogged her memory a little, she’d remember the past.
Even though she admitted she has nightmares about the night her family was murdered,
she’s adamant that she’s not Tatiana Aslanov. I need time. If I let her loose now,
it won’t be long before whoever is doing the hideous work for these bastards will
catch her. Did Logan tell you how they’re torturing these women?”
“You want to keep her safe. It’s admirable. But I can’t have her here against her
will.” His stance softened slightly. “Are you sure she’s Aslanov’s daughter?”
“I’ve got the right woman. She even dreams about the house in the snow and the couple
who found her wandering the side of the road. I need a few days to convince her and
find out what she knows.” Thorpe still looked skeptical. “What if these bastards were
still after Callie?”
“Why does everyone use Callie against me?” Thorpe’s expression thundered with anger.
“Leave my submissive out of this.”
Joaquin tossed up his hands. “She was ass deep in this mess for nearly a decade. You
know just as well as I do that if they’d gotten their hands on her, they would have
tortured—”
“If you finish that sentence, you won’t have any teeth left.” Thorpe looked dead serious.
“Callie has suffered long enough. Sean and I are doing our best to make her happy
now. We will do whatever it takes to keep her as far away from this as possible.”
Time to step back. This tactic was simply pissing Thorpe off, and Joaquin needed the
man’s cooperation. “Fine. Sorry. If you’ll let me, I’d like to talk to both Sean and
Callie. I think they have information that could save Tatiana’s life.”
“I’ll ask Sean if he’ll talk to you. That’s up to him, and will depend, at least in
part, on what the FBI wants to keep strictly in-house. Callie . . . Sean and I will
have to decide that together. The TV interviews Callie gives are never in depth. They’re
a matter of survival, since they keep her too public for anyone to kill. But a direct
probe about who chased her and why might be too much for her. It’s barely been three
months. And with the stress of the wedding . . .”
“You agreed yesterday.”
“Before you added kidnapping into this mess.”
Joaquin didn’t like Thorpe’s answer, but he understood it. “I know she went through
years of hell. I wouldn’t ask her to tread this ground again unless I believed
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