Topping the Domme (Crime and Punishment) (26 page)

Karina shivered and took a slip of her hot tea. She couldn’t seem to get rid of this chill. It felt as though the icy fingers of death kept brushing down her spine.

In some ways, she wished she could remember what her attacker looked like. She’d spent so many years pushing those memories to the back of her mind. They were buried so deep, she knew they would never see the light of day.

She spotted Brayden over by the bar, talking with a couple of Doms. No matter what he was doing, Brayden always kept his eyes on her whereabouts.

They hadn’t discussed what he’d said earlier, which truthfully, wasn’t really anything. So he didn’t want to lose her. He hadn’t said he loved her. But then neither had she. She wasn’t sure she did or that she could even say it. All she knew was she didn’t want to lose him, either.

She wanted to go home, date him, sleep with him. Hell, maybe she did love him. Okay… Yes, she loved him. But did she dare say it first?

Good grief, Karina. Get a grip. Since when are you such a damn chicken? It’s just three little words. Just say them.

Brayden tilted his head and gave her a look of concern. She’d been staring too long. Shaking her head, she gave him a soft smile and mouthed, “Bathroom.”

He nodded, and she headed to the main bathroom just a few feet away. She walked into the oversized women’s bathroom and sat down on the round couch in the center of the room. A chandelier above her head cast soft light on the gray tile that lined both the floor and the lower part of the wall. Dark red walls went from tile to ceiling, decorated with black iron accents.

Delacroix had such a dark taste. She wondered what his home looked like. With a sigh, she walked to the black framed mirror and stared at her tired reflection. Going to a BDSM club once a week was fun. Going more than four nights a week was rough and starting to wear on her. She needed sleep.

She needed this to be over.

Using the tip of her finger, she brushed at the mascara that had flaked below her eyes. She needed to get some new stuff, but this one washed off so easily. It also flaked easily.

Giving herself one final look, she grabbed her teacup just as the door to the bathroom opened.

“I’m done,” Karina said without looking up. “If you need the mirror.”

“No, pet. I think I’m good.”

Karina gasped at the deep male voice just before the sharp sting of a needle pressed into her neck. She glanced wide-eyed toward the mirror and stared in numbing shock at Gary’s grinning face.

It was Gary? Sweet, soft-spoken Gary?

Delacroix paced around the room, keeping an eye on the few submissives who had attended tonight’s games. People would start dropping out of the clubs if they didn’t find this guy soon. Someone had leaked to the press that the last two victims had been taken from here.

He spotted Josh over by the patio talking with a cute red-headed submissive named Colleen. Brayden was by the bar. He waved to Josh before heading over to Brayden.

“Where’s your pet?” Delacroix asked as he strolled up to the bar and nodded to the bartender for his usual.

“Bathroom,” Brayden replied.

With a nod, Delacroix took the beer and twisted off the top, tossing it onto the bar. It landed with a soft ping, that normally he wouldn’t have heard if the bar had been its usual capacity. Right now, it was downright dead.

“Things are slow, tonight,” Brayden said.

Delacroix shrugged one shoulder. “It was expected after that news cast earlier.”

“Wonder who leaked it?”

“Someone from the local police force, I think.”

Brayden snorted. “Figures.”

“Yeah, we’re not real popular with the police chief, so my guess is he had a little something to do with it.” Delacroix grinned. “He thinks we’re some kind of a cult.”

“No,” Brayden said, returning his grin.

They both shared a chuckle.

“He and my father are pretty like-minded. I just ignore him,” Delacroix said.

“What about your dad?” Brayden asked.

Delacroix sighed and took a sip of his beer before answering, “I ignore him too.”

“Any brothers and sisters, or do you ignore them also?” Brayden asked.

Delacroix stared at the label on the bottle. “I have a twin.”

“Really? Paternal or maternal?”

Delacroix’s lips lifted slightly. “Identical.”

“I bet I know a few submissives who would love to be sandwiched between you.”

Brayden’s lips quirked in amusement as he lifted his bottle of beer to take a sip.

“I know a few that have been.”

“So, is he a sadist too?”

Delacroix shook his head. “No. He’s the normal one, as my father calls him.”

Before he could elaborate any further, a sharp pain ignited in his neck, making Delacroix wince and lift his hand to where his skin still stung. “What the hell was that?”

Just as the words left his mouth, he began to feel lethargic and cold. A feeling of dread washed over him as he braced himself against the bar. His legs were barely able to hold up his weight.

Son of a bitch.

“You okay?” Brayden asked. “You went white as a sheet.”

“Where’s Karina?” he asked, his voice sounding drunk even to his own ears.

“Bathroom,” Brayden said, as he stared at him in concern.

Delacroix blinked, trying to keep his gaze on Brayden but failing miserably. He couldn’t keep the man’s head in focus. “Get Josh,” he slurred. “Find Karina. Now.”

Karina slammed into the cold concrete floor and could do nothing more than moan softly as she flopped to the side, unable to move. A few seconds later, Gary followed, landing next to her on his feet. She gazed drunkenly at the laundry chute she’d just slid down. Her body and face were covered with cobwebs. Her shoulders and hips burned from the scrapes caused by the metal and screws. From the corner of her eye, she could see at least two spiders crawling on her, but couldn’t raise her hands to push them away.

Her heart would’ve raced in fear if the drug wasn’t keeping her calm and half-unconscious. Was he really going to try and sneak her out through the basement? Would his plan work?

Apparently, Gary believed it would as he bent to lift her over his shoulder. Karina tried to raise her hands to fight him off, but they wouldn’t move. Blood trickled down his arms from the cuts on his shoulders. How he’d made it down at all was a mystery to Karina.

He stopped and stared at her face. With a snort, he wiped at her lip. “Aww. Look at that. Pretty little sub is drooling. That anxious to be with me, pet?”

Karina wanted desperately to jerk away from his touch, but could do nothing but stare. Her body just wouldn’t move. Where was Brayden? Where was Delacroix?

“Come on, bitch,” he snarled as he lifted her. Her ribs slammed into his shoulder, and she whimpered at the pain. “Stop whining. Later, I’ll tell you what I want to hear. Right now, let’s get you to my playroom.”

Gary began to make his way through the basement. Where he was headed, Karina wasn’t sure. All she could see was the concrete floor and the pile of dirty towels off to the side that housekeeping hadn’t gotten to yet. With a sinking heart, Karina sagged against him.

Brayden’s heart raced with fear as he and Josh searched every room in the club. Delacroix had one of the butlers search the camera feeds, but they saw nothing. This was insane. How did she just disappear?

“We’re going to find her, Brayden,” Josh said as he placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a comforting squeeze.

Brayden shrugged him off. “I promised her I wouldn’t let this happen.”

“Come on. Let’s go talk to Nathan.”

Brayden followed him down the stairs to Delacroix’s office. Delacroix leaned heavily against his desk, his arms shaking.

“Anything?” Brayden asked.

Delacroix shook his head, but didn’t look up. “Wherever she is, she’s drugged.”

“Is she hurt?” Brayden asked, but not sure he wanted to know the answer.

Delacroix shook his head, then sighed. “Not sure. If she is, it’s minor. Right now she’s scared and angry. And it’s dark.”

“Car trunk, maybe?” Josh asked.

“That would be my guess,” Delacroix murmured.

The two FBI agents that had been assigned to protect Karina came into the office. Brayden’s anger surfaced again. “Where the hell have you been?”

Both men came up short and glared. “If you’ll recall, we’re not required to tail her while you’re at the club. She has you three. Where the hell were
you
?”

“Stop with the fighting,” Delacroix slurred, but even half-drunk off the drug, he still sounded menacing.

“What the hell is the matter with him?” one of the agents asked.

Josh rolled his eyes and ignored the man’s question. “Nathan, come here and sit down.”

Delacroix moved to one of the chairs and dropped heavily into it. His head dropped back, and his eyes closed. He looked pale and a little green around the gills.

“You’ve never connected like this,” Josh said softly. “How close was your bond to Karina?”

“Closer than usual.”

“As close as it was with the last serial killer?”

Delacroix nodded.

Josh let out a breath and wiped his hand over his mouth.

“What the hell is going on?” Brayden demanded.

“When Nathan connected with the serial killer, the one that caused him to leave the FBI, he could feel everything the killer felt. He fought the connection, and for a time, was able to tune it out. That’s when he got Nathan’s girlfriend.”

“I knew that,” Brayden said as he began to pace.

“When I say he felt everything, Brayden… I mean everything. When the killer was shot, Nathan felt it.”

“Was he killed?” Brayden asked.

“No,” Delacroix replied. “He’s still alive, but I’ve learned to tune him out. I feel nothing from him now. But Karina. I can’t tune her out. It’s as though she’s not letting me. So for now, I feel what she does. It’s muted, which is why I’m able to move and she’s not, but I still feel it.”

“Can we use this to find her?” Brayden asked.

“Maybe. She’s a smart girl. She knows I’m connected to her. She has to figure out a way to tell me what she needs to tell me.”

Brayden stepped forward and glared at Delacroix. “Tell her that!”

Delacroix raised his head and yelled back, “It doesn’t work that way!” With a sigh, he let his head fall back. “Only I can read her, but I believe she can get a message to me if she concentrates hard enough. She just has to know to do it.”

Karina moved her arms and legs as much as possible in the trunk of the car, testing just how well she could maneuver. The drug was wearing off, but she was still too sluggish, too weak. Gary had apparently misjudged her weight and not given her enough.

She was heavier than she looked because of her muscle tone, but since she wasn’t bulky like a muscle builder, it wasn’t obvious. At least she had that to her advantage.

What else did she have?

She could fight, but was still too drugged. She would have the element of surprise, but what could she do with it without a weapon?

There was also Delacroix.

He’d said he could read her, that he had a connection to her. But what did they mean exactly? How deep did that connection go? She’d never worked with a registered psychic, so she had no idea what they were capable of.