Chapter 24
Leeva
Another migraine has had my head in a vice, this one brought on by lack of sleep. It’s been two days since I ran from Hedon after stupidly going there and stupidly heading to the private suite where I stupidly drooled with anticipation about my wolf and that stupid Sybian Saddle.
And he’s not my wolf.
God, what a stupid fool I was.
That red-headed woman was gorgeous—a freaking bombshell. And the sexual confidence oozed out of every one of her non-existent pores. She was perfection. Obviously well-acquainted with a club like Hedon and what went down there. She knew how to please a man…and probably women, too.
Not that I was envious of her ability to please other women, but still.
The man in the wolf mask might have demanded that I have no other lovers, but clearly, the same didn’t apply to him.
Add in the fact that I ran from the club, and he didn’t stop me…well, that told me everything I needed to know.
I was a toy, and he was finished with me.
With a heavy sigh, I sit up and slowly hang my legs over the edge of the bed. My migraine has eased, but I don’t want to do anything that might trigger it again. Plus, my movements are slow because I’m woozy and shaky as hell. Probably from not having eaten in…
Wait, has it been two days?
I reach for the hotel phone beside the bed and dial room service. I haven’t spoken in almost two days, so after croaking out an order for the soup of the day and some bread, I hang up and recline against the pillows, propped back on the bed.
I close my eyes and try to doze, but my ringing cell phone shatters the quiet and makes me wince. My migraine might mostly be gone, but everything is still sensitive.
I don’t have the energy to talk to Keifer or Ursula, but if I don’t answer, they’ll just call back. They know I had another migraine, so they’ll worry because they know the sedative effects of my medication should have worn off by now.
I answer, keeping my eyes closed. “Speak quietly and speak fast.”
“She’s alive,” Keifer jokes.
“The point of your call?”
“Oh, she’s snarky,” Ursula pipes in.
Great. Just great. I’ve got both of them on the line.
“That’s a good sign that she’s recovering,” she says.
“If you two called only to talk about me like I’m not here, then I’d like to go.”
“A-ta-tude, young lady.”
“Stuff it, Keif,” I snap, then wince. “Seriously, what do you want?”
“Besides the obvious, that we’re checking in on you about your migraine?”
There’s something in his tone that makes me open my eyes and sit up slowly. “Yeah. Besides the obvious.”
“Sorry, Leeva,” Ursula mumbles.
“I want to know why the hell I was left out of the circle of trust,” he complains.
Oh, no.
“Urs…”
“I’m sorry, Leeva. I had to tell him.”
“Why the hell would you have to tell him?” I croak out, my brain trying to piece things together because I’m clearly missing something.
There’s no reason why Ursula should have had to tell Keifer that I went to a sex club.
Oh god. Mortification fills me, and my cheeks flush like I’m either having a menopausal hot flash or I’ve been doused in embarrassment. Since I’m thirty-two, menopause is unlikely.
“Because…” she trails off, then curses. “Wait. You don’t know, do you?”
I push my embarrassment away and focus on what she said. “Know what?”
“That club you got a membership at was raided because of sex trafficking,” Keifer answers.
“What?” I choke and nearly face-plant getting out of bed as my feet tangle in the sheets. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re an idiot, Keifer,” Ursula snaps.
“Leeva, it was a search warrant, not a raid. And there’s currently a news conference going on where the police commissioner and the district attorney are apologizing to the owners of Hedon.
It looks like poorly fabricated evidence was used by the assistant DA to push a search warrant through with a judge who is now suspended and being investigated. ”
“How do you know this?” My brain is struggling to come online and keep up.
“Because you’re family,” she explains.
“Because Urs is a control freak,” Keifer says at the same time. “And had her boyfriends scouring for any news of things happening in San Francisco.”
“Screw you,” she flames. “Like you aren’t just as concerned.”
Pulling on a robe, I stumble toward the TV as they bicker.
I find the remote and scroll through the menu, looking for the local news.
Clicking on the station, I sit, shaky-legged, on the ottoman, and listen as it confirms what Ursula said about Hedon: a search was executed, but under false pretenses, and the legal authorities are apologizing profusely.
“You still there, Leeva?” Keifer asks. “You okay?”
“I’m… I’m fine.”
I listen as one reporter asks the police commissioner and the DA who the owner of Hedon is. They decline to answer, saying that information is not being disclosed, only saying that an apology has been made to them, both in private and publicly, through this forum.
“I think we should come there.”
“I’m fine, Keifer,” I say with more confidence.
“The house is ready for you,” Ursula adds. “We can come and help you get settled.”
I rub my forehead as the last of my brain fog clears. “It’s a fully furnished house; I only need to unpack my suitcase and get some groceries.”
“Still,” they say in unison.
“I’m fine, you guys. I need to do this on my own.”
“No, you don’t,” Ursula argues.
“I do. But I love you both all the more for it.”
Keifer sighs heavily. “You know we’re on the jet the second you call.”
“I know.”
“You’re heading there tomorrow?”
“What time is it?”
“Eight in the evening your time,” she answers.
“Yeah.” I yawn and hear a knock on the outer door to my suite. “My dinner has arrived, so I’ll eat and then pack. I’ll leave early in the morning.”
“Please don’t wait to call us if you need anything,” he worries. “Or even if you don’t want to be alone to face your ghosts.”
“I love you guys.” My voice is thick with emotion. “Thank you for everything.”
“That’s what family is for,” she says a bit stiffly.
“Show a bit more emotion, sis,” he complains.
“This is me showing emotion.”
I roll my eyes with a smile, listening to them argue. They’re constantly picking at each other; however, there isn’t a stronger loyalty and bond between family that I’ve witnessed.
Well, that’s not entirely true. The bond between Hayes and his friends Ash, Bane, Digits, and Pix was just as tight.
The thought of Hayes sends a shiver down my spine. I’ve dreamt of him non-stop since I went to Hedon. I mean, he has always been in my dreams, but since Hedon, they’re stronger. Different. All-consuming and sexual as hell.
I know I can’t keep putting off facing him.
Out of my ghosts to deal with, he’ll be my first. Then I’ll deal with Guerilla and move on, not just mentally but physically, too.
I love California, but I’m thinking the other side of the country would be ideal.
Maybe New York, Boston, or even a smaller city like Atlantic City—some place far from the Havoc Guardians. Then I’ll figure out the rest.
“Thanks again for calling, guys.”
“Oh, before you go, I want all the details about Hedon.”
“Not a chance, Keif. Bye.”
I end the call before he can badger me for details that there’s no way in hell I’m giving him. The TV is still playing the news, with the news anchors discussing what happened at Hedon and the judge and assistant DA who appear to have abused their power.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” I mutter. Nor would it be the first time criminals used whatever leverage and power they had for a get-out-of-jail-free card.
I leave the bedroom to go to my door, where room service will have brought up my soup and bread.
I think about the police commissioner and the DA refusing to disclose who owns Hedon.
I had tried to investigate it myself—as best as I could, at least—but found nothing.
However, I assumed it wasn’t tied to any criminal faction in the city because, with all the other clubs, their involvement was either openly known or at least whispered about. With Hedon, there was nothing.
Hedon’s strict, thorough membership vetting process and its member conduct policies, along with the lack of criminal ties, were exactly why I sought out a membership there.
Technically, I’m still in my trial week and haven’t paid the full membership fee.
After my run-in with the redheaded stunner leaving my wolf’s private suite—he’s not your wolf—I have to decide what I’m going to do.
Do I accept full membership now that my trial week is over and ignore him, and explore this world of kinky sex with someone other than the masked wolf? Or do I tuck tail and run?
Both options equally suck.