Zeck (6 page)

I stopped walking and pulled her against my chest for
a hug.

“I know I haven’t known Brian long, but I can’t
imagine him letting this slide, and if he does I’ll be setting our legal team
on him to make sure Monique gets what she deserves for this stunt. I won’t
stand by while you get hurt. You believe me, don’t you?”

She smiled up at me. “I totally believe that you’ll
kick
arse
for me, babe.”

“Come, we must keep moving.”

Jas called out from the doorway. He was escorting us
to the club.

“Is Jas joining us?”

“Yeah, baby. Remember how I told you he’s the head of
our security? Well, that means he needs to hear what Brian has to say, too. And
even at this hour, we can’t risk going out alone without security.”

She shuddered against me, and I winced. I hated that
I’d brought this down on her. Unlike me, she hadn’t chosen fame. She allowed me
to guide her out to the car, and I sighed in relief when there were no fans or
media waiting for us. Of course, we were using a small side entrance. The media
were camped out at the front entrance waiting for the official announcement of
the birth. Fortunately, it appeared babies trump scandals.

We quickly got into the vehicle, and with Jas driving
we arrived at the club in no time. I looked around the near empty parking lot,
but everything seemed quiet outside.

“I don’t see anyone, Jas. Do you?”

“No, I don’t either. When I spoke with Brian earlier
he said he’d employed extra security. They have been making sure fans and media
can’t get near his place. Even with them, only a few came out to play tonight.
We’ll go in the back entrance to be safe. Brian’s waiting for us.”

Jas pulled out his phone, but
Issy
leaned forward and stopped him from dialing.

“I have my keycard. I can get us straight in. There’s
no need for us to sit out here in the car-park.”

With a nod, Jas exited the car and moved around to
open our door. My stomach started churning as I followed
Issy
and Jas across the near empty parking lot. This Monique chick sounded like
trouble, the kind that wasn’t going to simply vanish.

I jerked to a stop as soon as the door swung open.
Brian was there as if he’d been standing there waiting for us.

“Follow me.”

I frowned while I ran my gaze over him. He wasn’t in
club wear, but a suit. His tie was gone and the top button popped, and he’d
also rolled up the sleeves. He looked like one stressed out man, nothing like
the controlled, calm man I’d met the last two nights.

“Are you all right, Brian?”

I couldn’t help but ask. It was ingrained in me to
help those around me if I could.

“It’s been a long couple of days, my friend.”

He paused and opened a door into an elegant looking
office, standing back to usher us through in front of him.

“Take a seat, gentlemen.”

Frowning I waited for
Issy
to sit before I lowered myself into a seat beside her.

“What has happened, my friend?”

I was glad Jas asked the question. I didn’t know Brian
well enough to push him, and he was making me nervous.

“I can confirm that it was Monique that took and
released those photos. However, she’s disappeared.” He paused to scrub his
palms over his face. “I feel responsible. I should have dealt with her sooner.
I knew she was causing friction here.”

“Friction?”

Issy
turned to me as I voiced
my question.

“As I said to you earlier, she’s a raving bitch. And I
don’t believe she even likes the lifestyle.”

“You’re right. She’s the younger sister of my brother’s
partner. He’d told me she was asking about the lifestyle and her sister wanted
to keep her safe, so as a favor I let her train here. It’ll be the last time I
allow such a thing.” He sighed, and my instincts flared. “I spoke with her
sister at length this morning. Monique was diagnosed recently with Narcissistic
Personality Disorder. I think her sister hoped in having her trained as a
submissive she’d settle down. I wished they’d told me to begin with. I’d never
have let her in the door. She was constantly prowling for a Dom, clearly
looking for someone rich and well known. I imagine she thought she struck the
jackpot when you walked in,
Zeck
. Anyway, she’s now
missing. She hasn’t returned to her apartment since last night, and she’s not
answering her phone. The police are looking for her also. Their cyber crime
unit wants to interview her. If they can charge her they will. It’s hard to get
a conviction with cyber stuff, but she could end up behind bars for a couple
years if they can manage it. If she’s crazy enough to show up here, I’ll be
calling the police. Her locker hasn’t been cleared out, and she obviously still
has her keycard.”

“Can’t you get your security guys to watch for what
cards get scanned? Or have her card deactivated?”

I couldn’t understand the point of a security system
that gave everyone individual keycards but couldn’t be programmed to alert
someone when a certain card was scanned.

“Sorry,
Zeck
. I’ve never
intended to use the system in that way, so it’s not set up for it. And without
the card, I can’t deactivate it. I’ll be looking into changing that, but it
won’t help our situation now.”

I sat straighter in my seat. I might be new to being a
Dom, but needing to protect those around me was something I’d been doing for a
long time.

“In that case,
Issy
won’t be
coming back here until Monique is caught.”

A slight smile stretched his lips for a few moments.

“You’re quite the natural, aren’t you? I was actually
going to suggest that very thing. I know
Issy
is due
to fly home in a few weeks.” He turned his attention to
Issy
.
“I hate to suggest it, but maybe you should consider going home sooner. I fear
what Monique would do to you if she found you.”

Panic rose inside me, and my heart kicked up in speed.
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to
Issy
. I wasn’t sure
I ever would be. I looked over to her, and the sorrow on her face kicked me in
the gut.

“Come on tour with me. You’ll have our security with
you whenever you’re out in public, so Monique won’t get near you, baby.”

“My visa runs out in a few weeks,
Zeck
.
I can’t stay past that date. I have to go home.”

I could see in her gaze that she didn’t want to go. I
opened my mouth to beg, but Jas cut me off.

“Actually, Phillip and I were going to talk to you
both about this.
Issy
, you are a nanny yes? If you
had employment your visa could be extended?”

“Theoretically, yes. What are you thinking?”

A grin stretched my face while my blood heated with
excitement. The solution was obvious.

“You can nanny Grace! That’s perfect, Jas! The rest of
the tour is going to be so busy, Ashlyn will be forced to do a lot with Grace
on her own without Dillon. You could help her. You’d get paid and be able to
stay with me. What do you say?”

Issy
looked straight into my
gaze, and my heart dropped at the seriousness I saw. Would she say no? Had I
misread her feelings for me?

“Why do you want me to come with you on tour? Is it
only my safety that you’re worried about?”

I took a deep breath and eyed Jas and Brian.

“Don’t suppose you two could step out for a minute?”

The pair snickered as they nodded and left the room.
Unable to stand the distance between us, I moved to kneel in front of her.

“Baby, honestly, I’m not sure where we’re going to end
up, but I adore you. I love having you around, and I’m not ready to let you go.
Ashlyn needing help with Grace is merely a convenient way to keep you close to
me, because I can’t handle you leaving me, at least not yet. I can’t deny that
keeping you safe is high on my list of worries, but that’s because I care about
you and want you safe. I’m pretty sure I’ll always worry about that when it
comes to you.”

****

Monique

Pulling my jacket around me tighter, I stayed in the
shadows at the side of the parking lot. Rage had my vision tunneled on the door
of the club. The door that
Zeck
and his little slut
had just gone through. If they hadn’t had that big Russian bastard with them,
I’d have jumped them and dealt with the little tart already.

It was all her fault. I couldn’t go to my apartment,
or my sister’s place. Everyone was now on the lookout for me so they could turn
me over to the police. I shook my head. What a load of bullshit. It was only a
couple of photos. A grin pulled at my lips. A couple of photos that had paid
very well. If only I could get to the bank to access the funds. My damn accounts
had been frozen.

Straightening my shoulders, I began to creep over to
the door, where I held my breath as I scanned my card. Would it work? Nothing I
owned seemed to anymore. A quiet snick sounded as the lock opened.
Wow.
Guess they hadn’t figured out how
to deactivate my card yet.

I slipped inside and leaned against the wall for a
moment. Enjoying being out of the crisp night air finally. I’d been waiting
outside the rear of the hospital, away from all the media, until I heard the
Russian on the phone saying he was bringing
Zeck
here. I’d rushed over here and managed to arrive just as they’d been entering.

What do I do now?

Change room.

It’ll be warm and out of the way. I can have a hot
shower and think about what to do. And you never know, my luck might change and
Issy
might be in there. I really, really wanted to
put that bitch in her place.

****

Issy

Walking from Brian’s office, my mind spun as I
attempted to process what I’d just agreed to. I needed to clean out my locker.
As I made my way across the main floor toward the change rooms, I looked around
at all the stations. My heart ached at leaving. I’d learned so much here,
discovered a whole new side of myself. This club would always be special to me.
I was extremely grateful Monsieur Brian had made sure I understood I was always
welcome to come back. But until Monique was found and dealt with, I was going
to be lying low. I shook my head. Never in a million years did I think I’d be
going on tour with a world famous band. And I was going to get paid to look
after cute little Grace, too. Life was looking up.

However, I was still torn. Being with
Zeck
meant the media would take even more of an interest in
me. Right Time’s publicist had advised me to stick with “no comment” or “please
respect my privacy at this time” and to ignore the whole scandal. It seemed to
be working. Well, I assumed it was. The band’s security was really good at
their jobs and not many of the media got through. But there’d be interviews
down the line. I knew it. At some point
Zeck
and I
had to come up with something more solid that “no comment”. Maybe with us
together the gossip would die down about him being an abuser…

With a sigh, I pushed open the door and entered the
empty room. A shiver ran up my spine at the odd silence. The club had closed
early due to the lack of people and the cleaners hadn’t been through yet, so
there were a few items here and there that had been left out but no actual
people around me. There was a strange chill to the air without all the women
who normally surrounded me in this room. The skin on the back of my neck
tingled, and I froze with my hand on the handle of my locker. Maybe I wasn’t as
alone as I’d first thought.

I began to turn around, but I didn’t get far before a
body hit my back and slammed me against the lockers. I gasped when a hand
wrapped in my hair, and my attacker leaned their weight against me.

“You bitch! How dare you take what’s mine!”

Monique
. Of course. And she truly
was crazy. I tried to think about what I knew about narcissists. Sadly, it
wasn’t much at all. I wasn’t sure how long the men would chat before they came
looking for me when I didn’t return. Maybe I could keep her talking until they
came.

“
Zeck
isn’t a bloody toy.
He’s a man fully capable of independent thought. You can’t just lay claim to him
like he’s a damn couch.”

I swallowed bile down as she moved in close enough her
breath heated my ear.

“I’ve put months into this. Pretending to like being
beaten so I could land someone like him. He’s the first man to come through
those doors that fits what I deserve. I will not let some little Australian
slut take what is rightfully mine. I’ve earned this, and dammit, I deserve it!”

I began trembling. Any doubt I may have held about Monique’s
mental health flew out the window. I was stuck alone with an unpredictable
crazy woman. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment. I couldn’t
wait to be saved. I needed to get myself out of this. I was bigger than Monique
and had more muscle, but I knew insanity could give people strength they didn’t
normally have.