Stone, Rayna - Safe Haven (Mastering Holly Oaks 2) [Siren Publishing Classic] (8 page)

Chapter
Nine

Troy rushed into the maternity waiting room and lunged for Kelly. She looked exhausted, but she was okay. “You’re safe. Thank God. Is everyone else all right?” He was holding her so tight she probably couldn’t breathe.

“Everybody’s fine, Troy. It was rough, but people deliver babies every day. Why wouldn’t we be all right?” Troy pulled back to cup her face. He needed her to understand how much had changed tonight.

“Kelly, the killer has made contact with me. He’s the one that called in the crime scene, and he left me a note, too. I’m pretty sure he was at the club tonight.” Kelly’s face paled.

“My club? Tonight at the party?”

“Yes. He mentioned the whip competition, Kat, and the baby. I think I can get a guard for Kat since she was mentioned in the note, but it’ll be harder to convince the chief to put a guard on you.” God, he needed to make sure Kelly was safe.

“Whoa…why do I need a guard, Troy? Aren’t these victims unattached and new to the scene? I’m not his type. I’ve been in the scene for years. I own part of that club, and we are definitely attached, honey. Why would he come after me?”

“Because of me, Kelly. He’s watching me. I don’t know how far he’ll go to get to me, but I will not let him near you. I’m serious here, Kelly. You probably know this fucker. I don’t want you going anywhere with anyone but Jay, Mac, Ryan, or James. I don’t trust anyone else. I have to get back to the club and get a list of names from Kent. I want an officer talking to everyone that was there tonight.” He kissed her good-bye and ran out the door. Damn, he forgot to even ask about the baby.

Kent had already shut down the club by the time he arrived. Everyone that was still there when he called Kent on his way to the hospital had been ordered to stay, and other officers from his team were pulling into the lot now to start getting as much information as possible. He needed to know if anyone saw anyone else leave tonight, and he’d need alibis from everyone.

Kent came outside to meet him. “So, you really think one of our own is a serial killer? I mean, Jesus. Some of the Doms here are a bit intense, and there are at least four sadists that I know of, but none of them have violent backgrounds, and the subs they choose are all masochists. I can’t believe anyone here is capable of this.” Kent looked ready to pull someone apart. He knew that Kent took his job as a Dom and the head of security here very seriously. He would be blaming himself for letting a killer into their club. It wasn’t Kent’s fault. Sociopaths were experts at blending in with everyone else. This guy would have made sure his background check was flawless. On the surface, he probably either just blended into the background, or he could even be highly respected and popular. He wouldn’t scream out “weirdo killer” to anyone. Troy didn’t have time to put Kent at ease now. He had interviews to conduct. After Kent gave him the list of members that were there earlier, he divided the names up and sent some officers out to their homes. This was going to be a long night.

* * * *

After leaving the hospital, Kelly headed to the club to pick up the membership and application forms. Now she was guzzling coffee and sitting at her kitchen table analyzing the people she had come to know and wondering which one could be a killer.
Who the fuck could it be?

Nobody popped out in her mind as being dangerous in any way. Not from their background checks, and not from what she knew of them personally. It was terrifying to think that such a horrible person had been sitting with them, partying with them, all the while killing young, innocent women. Flynn was like that. He was Mr. Wonderful to everyone. His colleagues loved him, his employees idolized him, and everyone wanted to be his friend. It was only with her that he turned into a control freak with violent tendencies. This guy was worse, though. He was grabbing women he didn’t know and just snuffing out their lives like they didn’t matter at all. Maybe she should talk with the guys about closing down the club until he was caught. None of the victims had been from Holly Oaks, but she couldn’t stomach putting anyone in the same building with this guy again.

Just as she was getting ready to call James, she heard her door unlock and open. Troy walked in looking so tired she felt a stab of pain for him. The club and the killer could wait. Her man needed her. He couldn’t do his job like this. He couldn’t live his life like this. He needed someone to take away the stress for a little while.

“Come here, baby.” Kelly opened her arms to him. “Any luck with the interviews?”

Troy wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. “Nothing,” he mumbled.

Pulling back some, Kelly grabbed his hand to link their fingers. “Let me take you to bed. You need to relax and get some rest, Troy.” He didn’t argue as she led him down the hall and into her bedroom. Kelly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it away from his chest. She kissed her way across his collarbone as she pushed the material down and off his arms. She continued down his stomach, unbuckling his belt and unsnapping his jeans. She was on her knees by the time she managed to unzip him. He helped her pull off his shoes and jeans, and then Kelly took down his boxers.

Maybe she wasn’t submissive in the way that many of her students were. Not in the way she had always thought she would have to be in order to be with a dominant man, but a true submissive’s role was to take care of her Dom. Kelly couldn’t think of anything that she needed or wanted more in this moment than to take care of Troy. She smiled to herself. She was exactly the type of sub that Troy needed in his life.

Kelly started licking her way up his cock, paying special attention to the vee under the head. Troy gathered her hair up and away from her face so he could watch as she sucked the head of his cock into her mouth.

“Fuck, yeah, baby. Take me deep. Christ, I need you so much, Kelly.” Troy was moaning and reflexively pulling at her hair. When she sucked him down to the base and held there swallowing around him, he moaned in ecstasy. She was really fucking happy to find out she could still do that without gagging. He seemed to really like it. As she started to suck and pull back, she rotated her head side to side and flicked at the underside of his cock. Troy sucked in a deep breath and stepped away from her. “I’m too close, Kel. I don’t want to come in your mouth tonight. I want to make love to you. I need to hold you.”

Kelly nodded her head and got up. “Sit in the rocker. Let me take care of you.” She gently pushed him down into her oversized leather rocking chair. She loved curling up in that chair and watching TV or reading a good book. Tonight, she’d pour all her love and energy into making Troy feel good.

As he sat watching her, Kelly slowly stripped out of her dress. She unhooked her garter straps and perched her foot on his inner thigh so she could unroll her stocking. After repeating the process with her other leg, she shimmied out of the belt and straddled him in the chair. He grabbed her face and pulled her to him for his kiss. As his tongue dove into her mouth, she took his cock in her hand and used her thumb to rub a drop of pre-cum around the head. Troy groaned into her mouth.

Kelly broke the kiss and looked at him as she began sliding his hard cock back and forth along her wet slit, coating him in her juice. He was breathing heavily, but he didn’t take over. He let her have all the control. He even put his hands on the arms of the rocking chair, showing her that he trusted her to give him what
he
needed tonight. She smiled at him. Kelly would not pass up this opportunity. She wanted to show him how amazing it could feel to be the one teased to insanity. Then, when he didn’t think he could take it another second, she’d give him the best orgasm of his life. She may not have done this with anyone before, but she’d certainly read about it and seen it done.

With a firm grip on his length, she lowered herself just enough to engulf the head of his cock. She stopped there and slowly squeezed him with her inner muscles three times before she rose up and let him slip from her body. She did it again, only taking the head and squeezing. This time, she used her thumb to rub in circles over that sensitive vee right inside her opening. Troy slammed his eyes shut and swore as his face flushed red. As she rose up, she leaned back to release him and reach behind her so she could massage his tight sac. One more time she took him only to the head. He was pleading with her to please fuck him when she squeezed his cock and sac in simultaneous pulses. His hands were gripping the chair so hard his fingernails would leave impressions. By the third pulse, she knew she’d pushed him far enough. She released his sac and slowly swiveled her hips as she took him to the hilt.

Kelly anchored her hands on either side of his face and used her body to set the chair to a slow rock. She used the momentum of the chair to control the pace of their lovemaking. As the chair rocked him into her, she rolled her hips and pulsed around him, keeping her strokes shallow. She moved her breast to Troy’s mouth, and he latched on to her nipple, sucking her in strong pulls. He finally let go of the chair and grabbed her ass, pulling her cheeks apart and squeezing them together.

When he started to bite down on her nipple, Kelly felt her control snap. She cried out and grabbed on to his head, pulling him close. He banded his arm around her back and rose up from the chair, never losing their connection, and laid her back on her bed. Then he lifted her legs so her ankles rested on his shoulders, and he grabbed on to her hips. When he leaned over her body, she was practically bent in half, but the way his cock felt when he slammed into her had her crossing her eyes in pleasure. This new angle made him feel even bigger, and the little nudge to her cervix had her gushing for him. He was fucking her hard and fast, holding her in place for his thrusts by the iron grip on her hips. “Come for me, Kelly. Ah, fuck, baby. Give it to me,” he panted.

“Troy!” She moaned once as he used his thumb to rub her clit. That was it. She felt her climax slam into her. Her cream poured from her with every pulse of her pleasure. He roared and rammed into her as his own climax stole his breath.

Once they finally calmed down, he picked her up and took her into the bathroom. Kelly just leaned against him as he waited for the shower to warm up. Her strength was gone. Troy took care of everything. He helped her into the shower and tenderly washed her from head to foot before helping her to sit on the shower bench. She watched him as he washed himself. “Do you think we should shut the club down?” she asked tiredly.

“No. In fact, I want you guys to call every member and get them to attend a meeting. I’m going to have a meeting in every club in Denver as well. He’s upped his game by contacting me. I don’t know what his next move will be, but it’s time to let everyone in the community know they are direct targets.”

Kelly felt relief that this guy would know they were on to him, but such a public threat might backfire. “Don’t you think he’ll run if he knows everyone will be looking for him to take a sub?”

Troy turned off the shower and pulled her out with him. “It’s possible, but I think he’s too cocky to stop now. I’m praying that he’ll be seen, and we can stop him before he kills again. I’ll have people at all the meetings to watch the crowd. Look for someone who gets nervous or angry. Of course, considering I expect a lot of angry people, that might not be too helpful.”

After drying them off, he maneuvered them over to the bed. “Get everything ready for the day after tomorrow. I want to run some things by my team and a few of the guys from the club tomorrow and we’ll coordinate our meetings to all occur at the same time. I’ll have officers watching the club members that don’t attend. Now get some sleep, baby. It’s going to be another long day.”

Chapter
Ten

Kelly woke up before Troy the next morning. She had to get to the spa and make sure she had everything ordered for next month before she could focus on calling club members. Jesus, she could not believe that she might be talking to a killer today. And she had to get in touch with Kent. He volunteered to make sure the club was ready for a full house meeting tomorrow. She really needed to talk with the guys about Kent. He’d become vital to the club, and he’d been a really good friend to them. Maybe it was time to give him the chance to buy into the business if he wanted.

Once the coffee was finished, she filled a mug and walked back into the bedroom. Carson had taken her place in bed and Troy was snuggled up to him, snoring away. She could only stare for a few minutes. She didn’t know what to do. They looked so freaking cute cuddled together, but she knew Troy would lose his shit when he realized he’d been spooning with a dog. Hmmm. Get Carson out of the bed and then wake Troy, or wake Troy and enjoy the show? Wake Troy.

Kelly put the coffee on the dresser and cleared her throat. “Troy, time to get up, sweetie.” She rubbed her hands together in glee and watched as awareness slowly dawned on his face. As soon as Troy realized it wasn’t Kelly he was caressing, he jumped out of the bed and tripped on the sheets. She rushed to stop his fall, but they just both ended up on their asses staring at Carson, who hadn’t even budged. She couldn’t hold back her laughter one more second. He looked so utterly horrified. She’d never seen anyone move so fucking fast. Troy just glared at her guffaws in distaste.

“Dogs do not belong in bed, Kelly. I will try my best to befriend Carson, and I’ll even allow that he’s probably cleaner than most dogs, but I have to draw the line at sleeping with the damn thing. Stop it, this is not funny, Kelly. I mean it. I probably have dog hair all over me.” Troy was wrestling with the sheet and trying to get up with as much dignity as possible. Kelly just laughed harder when he pointed to the floor trying to get Carson to obey and get down. Carson was completely ignoring him. Kelly was on her side, laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

“I didn’t let him in the bed! I keep telling everyone, he doesn’t like me. But he must really fucking love you. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him in that bed. Oh, God. You two looked so precious!” Tears were streaming down her face by this point. Jesus, next time she was totally taking a picture. Troy finally untangled his feet from the blankets and headed for the shower. She didn’t miss the glower he sent Carson’s way. Carson just yawned in his face.

By the time Troy was finished getting ready for the day, she had dressed and was getting ready to head out. “I’ve got to go to the spa for a few hours, and then I’ll be back here to make those calls to the members. When do you want to start the meeting?”

“Set it up for seven o’clock tomorrow. I’m heading out to have a talk with Jay, Mac, James, and Ryan. Hopefully they can help out at the other clubs. After that, I think I’ll be at the station going over anything the coroner or forensics has for me. I’d appreciate it if you could check in with me a few times today. I don’t want to be paranoid, but it’d make me more comfortable knowing you’re okay until this guy is caught. He’s just too close.” Troy sat at the table with his coffee. He looked ready to fight her on this. He didn’t need to worry. This fucker
was
too close. If it made him feel better to have her call in every once in a while, it made her feel better to have a reason to hear his voice. She agreed and gave him a kiss before she headed out. His look of relief didn’t go unnoticed.

* * * *

Troy met up with everyone at Mac’s house. Kat was already home and passed out with the baby upstairs. Mac and Jay didn’t look like they’d slept much. He really wished he didn’t need their help, but he didn’t have many people he trusted with this, and the police weren’t going to get much information from the city clubgoers.

“I called you guys over here because, as you now know, the killer is probably someone we all know. Going undercover won’t work at this point. He knows who we are, and he probably knows everyone on the task force. The new plan is to get into the Denver clubs and talk to the people there. Find out what they know. I still plan to have officers go in to ask some questions, but as you’re aware, people may not cooperate with them. I thought if you guys went in and performed a scene at the clubs, people might talk to you. They’d feel more comfortable knowing you’re part of the community. It’s our best chance to talk to the ones that are scared or don’t like the police knowing their business.”

James and Ryan were nodding their heads in agreement, but Mac and Jay looked a little worried. Mac took the lead. “What about the girls and the baby? I want to help, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving Kat and Kelly alone.” Troy had already thought of that. He wouldn’t leave their women unprotected.

“I haven’t talked with Kelly about this yet, but I doubt she’ll have a problem with it. I thought the girls could all stay here together when we’re out. That way you don’t have to move Serenity and all her baby stuff, but the girls will be together. I also plan to have a policeman stay here with them until we get back. They’ll be safe. I don’t see this guy coming into a house full of women, a baby, and a cop. Kent asked if Lily could stay with them as well.”

Jay looked confused for a minute. “Lily? Is that the new waitress at the club?” All the men smiled and chuckled a bit. Troy didn’t get it. Wasn’t Kent dating the woman? He sure looked at her like she was his.

“I thought they were together. Either way, she should be here. She lives alone and she’s a young sub.” They were all in agreement there.

Mac clarified their reaction for him. “That little minx has been after Kent since she moved here a year ago. He won’t touch her because he thinks she’s too young. I don’t think he has any idea he’s half in love with her already.” Well. That made sense. He was protecting his woman, even if he didn’t know she was his yet.

They spent some time going over a schedule for attending the clubs. Troy would be by himself, but he’d been there before and most of the regulars knew him. They only needed to focus on three clubs, so they could cover all three in one night. They’d go Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Hopefully they’d catch this guy soon. They couldn’t maintain a schedule like that for long.

After all the details were ironed out, James stared at Troy. “How are things going with Kelly? She looks happy. I think you’re really good for her, man.”

Troy heard the implied threat. “We are happy, James. I’m not going to hurt her or play on her emotions. You don’t have to worry about protecting her from me. She’s been through hell, but I think she’s ready to have a future. I plan on being there. Protecting her is my job now, understand?” He didn’t want to piss anyone off, but he would make it clear that she was his woman now.

James relaxed back into his chair. “Good. Jesus, man. I knew some of the shit that happened to her, but I had no idea how bad it was. She never got into the severity of his physical abuse. I knew he tried to turn her into his slave, but when I saw those scars, I just never knew it was that bad.” Everyone was shaking their head.

“He beat her occasionally, but the last attack was bad. She was in the hospital for a week. Her parents left her in the emergency room once they realized she’d named Flynn as her attacker. They had to knock her out just to stitch her up. I could kill him for putting her through that, but the way he took over her mind was worse. I think she still blames herself, thinks she should have been strong enough to notice what was happening and get out earlier. I don’t know if she’ll ever understand and accept that she was not to blame for any of it.”

Mac had started to pace. “Not strong enough? Jesus, Serenity wouldn’t even be born yet if Kelly hadn’t taken charge. Shit, Jay was passed out, and I have never in my life been more useless. She threatened Kat and then pulled her through that delivery like she’d been doing it for years. It was incredible.” He stopped midpace. “Have you looked at that Flynn guy? Is there any chance that he’s the one behind all this?”

Yeah, Troy had looked up the fucker. “He’s in Florida. He didn’t get too much time. He made a plea deal. It was a total shit deal, but Kelly’s attorney advised she accept it. He told her that given the situation and Flynn’s place in society, it would be a media circus. He was right, but it was still a shitty damn deal. Kelly must have been beside herself. She was totally alone. Just the thought of all the things people would accuse her of or say about her was probably terrifying. She took the deal and got the hell out of town. He spent five years in jail. Five years. It makes me sick.

“As soon as I finished reading her police report, I got into the database to check him out. I wasn’t looking at him for any of this. I just wanted to make sure the fucker wasn’t anywhere near her. He’s been in Florida doing people’s taxes since his release. He checks in with his parole officer once a week and there haven’t been any complaints about him. He has two more years of parole and a lifetime restraining order from Kelly. I doubt his pansy ass will ever come around her again.

“After the last victim turned up, I called down to Florida just to make sure he wasn’t city hopping. He checked in the day of the murder. I just don’t see that’s it’s possible for him to be the suspect. Even if he could physically get here and back so much, Kelly would have recognized him. I mean, to assume it’s him, he would have to be a traveling genius and a pro at disguise. I just don’t see it, but I’ll call his parole officer again to make sure he keeps an eye on him.”

* * * *

Troy needed to head back to the station and get with the technicians. The DNA specialist seemed extremely excited. She’d found sweat on one of her swabs that came from two donors. Right now, she could only determine that one donor was male and one was female, but odds were good that it would be the killer and the victim. Once the profiles were complete, they could run the unknown through state and national databases. It they got a hit it would be a miracle, but if not, at least they had something to nail the guy with when they found him. His DNA on her body would be really fucking hard to explain away. At least it was something.

By the time he got back to Kelly’s, it was after midnight and he was exhausted. He was also furious. They had analyzed the dress found at the last crime scene. It was the same dress that Kelly had worn at the club their first night together. That fucker had paid some teenager to go to the same boutique Kelly shopped at the very next day and purchase the same dress in the same size. The clerk was too busy trying to calculate her commission to take much notice of the kid other than to say he was excited because some guy paid him fifty bucks to come in and get the dress. Of course, he also gave him the precise amount of cash to pay for the dress.

The bastard had gone beyond personal. This was a direct threat against Kelly, and Troy was going to hunt him down and kill him. Fuck his job, and fuck procedure.
Troy
didn’t even know Kelly’s size. He had to ask the sales clerk if it matched the dress Kelly had purchased. Thankfully she was a regular customer and the woman knew her well. He didn’t want to freak out Kelly by telling her any of this yet, but he couldn’t hide it for long. This guy was watching her and had been for longer than Troy thought. Had he been in the house? Jesus, just the thought that he could have been that close to Kelly made Troy’s blood run cold.

He saw her sleeping all cuddled up on the couch. She had the phone cradled in her hand and there were club member profile sheets scattered all over the coffee table. She must have been on the phone for hours today. He gently picked her up and took her to bed. She didn’t even wake when he settled into bed with her and pulled her close. He could not lose this woman. He was falling in love with her. He fell asleep holding her tight.