Chapter 48
It seemed like aeons later, but in reality, it had just been a few hours, and Melody was back within the security of the club”s four walls.
It wasn”t much of a home as far as homes went, sleeping in a BDSM themed room with her meagre personal belongings shoved unceremoniously into a couple of carrier bags and hidden in a coat closet, or sharing the employee lounge area with Micah, as her living space. But despite all that it was the happiest one she’d ever known, and Melody was thankful to be back.
Vinny Sutton—Melody still couldn”t believe they shared the same name, and she wasn”t sure how she felt about that—had been arrested and charged with a long string of offences including abduction and kidnapping, rape, various counts of abuse, imprisonment, and sexual assault. He was currently being questioned with a view to finding out the identities of the other six men who had corroborated with him to hide the truth, although both Micah and Melody had at least been able to give the authorities the name Guthrie in relation to the perp at the club.
Melody had been questioned and re-questioned, First by Detective Andy Storer, then by Detective Jason Scott whom she’d never met before, but who had apparently kicked in the locked gate at Vinny’s property with some fancy martial arts moves.
And then again by both of them together.
She felt a little aggrieved at the constant line of questioning and how they asked the same question over and over in a slightly different manner as if they were trying to trip her up. But the detectives had both been kind and patient. And Andy Storer, with his all singing, all dancing wheelchair and his funky purple beard, had been casual and irreverent, assuring her it was just procedure, so they could ensure they’d covered every eventuality in case things went to court.
They were hopeful that V would plead guilty in return for a reduced sentence, but they were expecting him to go away for life, either way.
They had, at least, allowed her to remain in the comfort of the club for the duration, even if it meant being ensconced in Micah”s office, which they seemed to have adopted as some kind of operations room.
She hoped Desi, Charlotte, Luanna, and Laurel”s husbands—the owners of the club—hadn”t minded the disruption too much. She already owed them all far more than she could ever repay, and she didn”t want to bring any further disturbance to their door.
Detective Storer had, at least, been able to shed some light on the events of the past and how they’d impacted on what had transpired in her life.
Vinny Sutton, it seemed, had also once been one of Daddy”s littles. That nugget of information surprised Melody greatly, but once she had it, a lot of the puzzle pieces slipped seamlessly into place.
Vinny Mottram had taken Thomas Sutton”s name but had never been legally adopted by him. He’d walked away from the relationship they’d shared approximately nine years ago, wanting more independence, and Daddy had supported him initially. But Vinny had still been enraged when Thomas replaced him with Melody.
A couple of years later, when Daddy withdrew his financial support to enable Vinny to stand on his own two feet, her abductor had realised that things outside the Sutton home were not quite as rosy as he’d expected them to be. He’d apparently spent a long time trying to creep back into Thomas” good graces, but by this time, Melody had been with him for three years. Thomas had moved on and wasn”t interested in altering the arrangement. Not that he hadn”t already been generous. It transpired that Thomas Sutton was very wealthy and had purchased the house in which Melody was held captive as a gift for Vinny, but apparently, that hadn”t been enough. Vinny wanted to have his cake and eat it. He”d wanted independence but still expected to enjoy the benefits of Daddy”s wealth.
Thomas, it seemed, had other ideas, and after endowing Vinny with the house and a generous settlement, he had withdrawn his support—or more accurately, the bottomless wallet Vinny had expected.
It had been a little while after this that the first arguments Melody witnessed had begun. That was when Vinny had changed tactics and had started to become aggressive instead, believing he had some sort of entitlement. As a result of this, but merely as a precaution, Thomas had legally adopted Melody and made her his next of kin. Melody vaguely remembered him asking her to sign some paperwork which he’d told her was to make sure her future was secure because of their age difference. She hadn’t fully understood that he’d actually adopted her, her role as his little means he didn’t always explain, but Melody did know that was when he’d insisted her surname changed.
Of course, none of that explained why Thomas Sutton hadn”t made any attempts to help Melody after Vinny had taken her from the home where they’d lived together, but the police were planning on interviewing him next to see if he had any culpability in Melody”s subsequent captivity.
Melody was sad about that. She couldn”t imagine Daddy had any part in it and didn”t want to think that the dear old man who had saved her from a life on the streets had betrayed her that way.
It was the early hours of the morning before everybody finally took their leave, and even though Melody was used to the late nights by now, she was exhausted. She could scarcely believe that all of this had happened in a single day. It seemed to have stretched on forever.
Dr Xavier popped by to check her out and dressed a few of the welts. She”d been subjected to far worse in the past, though, so in that respect, it really wasn”t so bad.
Not even bothering to suppress yet another yawn, Melody allowed her eyes to droop as Micah said his goodbyes to the last people to leave and went to check the building was locked up.
She must have nodded off, because her eyes flew open with a start at Micah”s steady gait and she realised he was holding her in his arms and walking toward the boudoir.
He laid her gently on the bed. Melody was already swathed in her cosy, fuzzy pyjamas, feeling warm and comforted and Micah snuggled her down under the covers, tucking her in like a child.
When he straightened, Melody gripped his forearm to stop him from moving away. ”Micah? Please don”t leave me,” she begged without shame.
Micah detached her hand from his arm and kissed her fingers. ”I”ll be right back, sweetheart, I”m just going to switch off all the lights,” he promised.
Melody couldn”t settle. Her eyes remained wide in the muted shade of the night until he returned and climbed into the big bed with her. She immediately rolled over, using his shoulder as a pillow, and when he pulled her close and snuggled her against him, banding his strong arms around her in comfort, she finally managed to sleep.