Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
N uala wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting from the inside of a kink club, but it wasn’t this. It was much…friendlier than she thought it would be. And cleaner.
They weren’t members, obviously, so Remy had signed up for an open house of sorts. There were indeed a lot of people, and a mix of current and prospective members. They’d been greeted at the door by a mountain of a man and a pixie of a woman who had introduced themselves as Hudson and Cosima, two of the owners of the club.
It had stunned Nuala, but also made her feel more welcome, when they said Hudson was Cosima’s Daddy—people just said those things? Out loud? In a world where she hadn’t even been allowed to write fiction about that kind of dynamic without fear of being discovered and ruining her husband’s political prospects? Nuala didn’t think she was easily impressed, but all she could feel was wowed.
She and Remy had been walking around the space, admiring the set-up and even stopping to watch a few scenes play out, when she tugged on his hand that she’d barely let go of all night.
“Um, Daddy?”
“Yeah, Duchess?”
“I need to use the bathroom. It’s right over there.”
“You want me to walk you over, or are you okay going by yourself?”
The idea that he would walk her thirty feet made her feel all squishy and Little, but he really didn’t need to do that and leave the bondage demo they were watching. Partly because she thought she’d like for him to try some of the things they’d seen on her later.
“I can do it, Daddy. And you can save our spot and make sure we don’t miss anything.”
“Okay, Little girl. Can do. I’ll be right here when you’re done.”
A few minutes later, she was leaving the restroom, and with her gaze fixed on her Daddy as she walked across the room, she bumped into someone. How embarrassing.
But when she looked up to apologize, things went from unfortunate to hellish because she saw a very familiar face. A face that seemed to reflect her own shock.
“N—“
Lowell elbowed his older brother in the ribs, but honestly, Hux saying her name wouldn’t have made things much worse.
It felt like her stomach and her heart swapped places, and the internal switcheroo made her want to puke. Yes, she definitely might vomit.
What were they doing here? Well, it was kind of obvious the kinds of things they were doing here, especially with Tamsyn dressed the way she was—like a Little in a sweet hunter green corduroy jumper and white knee socks—but… Fuck. Holy fuck.
Nuala had felt as though her life went up in flames when Cabot was arrested. She’d also realized the life she’d built wasn’t actually one she wanted. It may have looked nice from the outside, but it was actually hollow.
This time though… She liked her life now, she was fairly certain she loved Remy, and she didn’t want everything to burn down and have to start all over yet again.
Hux had always been kind to her, and Lowell had always been…Lowell. Standoffish and looking like he was gathering intel and calculating how much every person in the room was worth in money and power. She hadn’t talked to any of the Foster-Webbs since Cabot had been arrested on the advice of her attorney, and she had no idea what they thought of her.
She couldn’t imagine Hux had been happy that his brother had tried to have his now-wife murdered, and there’d always been a vibe that said Lowell didn’t think of Tamsyn as simply his brother’s girlfriend. But the Foster-Webbs stuck together, and she’d divorced their brother. Testified against him and refused to provide an alibi. She was fairly certain she was on the matriarch’s shit list—Victoria was the type to close ranks and protect the family legacy at any cost, and Nuala had broken those commandments. But the twins?
She didn’t want to find out.
Even though the damage was probably done—she’d seen Lowell end people with far less than this—she turned and ran.
Remy had looked away from the bondage demo to check if Nuala was on her way back to him from the restroom, when he saw the flash of her pink rhinestone ears and pink shimmery collar as she bolted.
It was so fucking infuriating that he couldn’t even call her name. Where was she going? What the hell had happened? It wasn’t easy to make his way through the throng of bodies without stepping on toes or running into anyone, and he’d lost ground by the time he got to the exit, because Nuala was tiny and had been able to slip through the crowd more easily.
And goddamn these leather pants, because while his ass looked phenomenal, they were not meant for sprinting. Lucky for him, once they were out in the open and he didn’t have to worry about slamming into anyone, his Little girl didn’t have a chance at outrunning him. Within a couple blocks, he’d managed to pass her and plant himself in the middle of the sidewalk. If she wanted to get by him, she could try, but she wasn’t going to succeed.
“Duchess. Slow down. Tell Daddy what’s wrong.”
“No!” she screamed, her hands balling into fists while tears streamed down her cheeks. “I have to get out of here. You don’t understand. I can’t be with you anymore. Leave me alone. Everything is ruined. Get away from me, and don’t talk to me. I need to leave.”
This was a meltdown on a scale he hadn’t seen from her. Yeah, she’d burst into tears before, but this was outright panic and losing her shit.
“Whoa there. I hear that you need to leave, and I can help you with that. But there’s no way in hell I’m leaving you alone.”
“You’re just making it worse!” she shrieked and covered her head with her arms, hiding her face. “Get away from me while you still can. Don’t tell anyone you know me. Burn my notebook. You don’t know what these people are capable of.”
“These people?” he muttered out loud, although mostly to himself. What people?
“The Foster-Webbs,” Nuala said, starting to pace and looking absolutely frenzied. “I should’ve never gotten involved. I should’ve?—”
Okay, her ex-husband’s family. But why was she upset about them now? Had something happened at Hive? Had she gotten a message on her phone? “Nuala, baby, what do your ex-in-laws have to do with anything? I?—”
“Perhaps I can clarify,” volunteered a deep, smooth voice that sounded like money.
Remy had been so occupied with Nuala, he’d completely failed to notice the people who’d approached them from the direction of Hive. But with a glance at their faces?—
Fuck, that was Huxley Foster-Webb and his twin, who Nuala had mentioned—and damn if he could tell them apart—a blond woman, and a tall, lanky redheaded guy.
His first instinct was to put his body between Nuala and these people. He worried about her running, but he wasn’t going to leave her exposed. There was a mix of relief and heart-breaking empathy when she cowered behind him, grabbing onto the back of his shirt and whimpering.
“You hurt her and I’ll kill you,” he seethed and spread his arms to provide his Little girl with more protection.
“No one’s going to kill anyone,” said one of the twins.
For some reason, Remy thought the man holding up his hands like he was trying to placate everyone was Huxley, the former state rep, but he couldn’t be sure.
“Then why are you here, and why is Nuala so fucking terrified of you?”
“Because anyone with a lick of sense would be,” drawled the other twin, who’d stuck a hand in the pocket of his dress slacks. Who the hell wore a tie to a kink club?
“Lolo, you are not helping,” the blond woman said, shooting him a dirty look and putting her hands on her hips. She, on the other hand, was dressed very appropriately in a dark green jumper with brown Mary Janes, and her hair in braids—whoever she was, she was probably a Little.
“Who said I was trying to?”
Yeah, that was definitely Lowell.
“Well, you should be!” scolded the blonde.
The woman then turned to the man he’d determined was Huxley, and with pleading eyes asked, “Can’t you do something about this?”
Nuala pressed to his back, and he could feel her shuddering against him. He’d stand between her and trouble all day, any day, but he really preferred it when she was shuddering for different reasons.
“Nuala,” Huxley said and then tugged the blond woman into his side by her hand. “I swear on my Little girl’s life that no harm will come to you because of us. Isn’t that right, Lo?”
It took a beat, but the other Foster-Webb twin nodded. “Yes. I think this family’s done quite enough harm to you already. But could we discuss this further elsewhere? My skin is crawling.”
The redheaded guy who’d been standing off to the side piped up. “If you’re willing to come back to the club, we’ve got a back room that can give you some privacy. I’m Ian, one of the owners, by the way. I don’t think we’ve met. And I can stick around or not, depending on what everyone would be most comfortable with. I’m sure Hudson or Ryker would be willing to referee too.”
It felt like everyone looked past him to Nuala, which seemed reasonable enough. But he also wasn’t going to let them pressure her into something she wasn’t comfortable with.
Remy turned and pulled his Little girl in close, while still shielding her from the interlopers.
“What do you think? I’ve got a pretty good eye for liars, and I’m not getting that vibe from any of those people. Even the kinda slimy one.”
That made Nono huff a tiny laugh. “Lowell isn’t slimy, he’s just…cunning. Maybe a little morally flexible. But not a liar.”
“Good to know.” He’d keep an eye on that one nonetheless. Right now, he rested a hand on Nuala’s shoulder and studied her face. “So, what’ll it be?”
“Will you come with me?”
“Try and stop me.”
The back room Ian showed them into wasn’t nice. It was clearly meant for storage, but it would serve their purposes well enough. If Lowell had stopped looking over his shoulder, then she could too. Especially with Remy at her side, holding her hand, his gaze shifting between the other people in the room and looking like he was ready to start a fight with any one of them. She was so grateful that after she’d screamed at him, he’d still stuck by her side.
“I think everyone’s had quite a shock tonight,” started Hux. “You obviously weren’t expecting to see us here and I have to tell you, the feeling is mutual.”
She’d been too panicked to think about this situation from Hux and Lowell and Tamsyn’s perspectives, but that made sense. They were probably just as invested in their privacy as she was, if not more so.
“We’re members here,” Hux continued. “And it’s one of the few places that we’re open about our true relationship. I’m assuming you know Tamsyn and I got married.”
She nodded. “I got the invitation, but my attorneys advised me to not even talk to any of you, so I definitely wasn’t going to show up at the wedding.”
“I can appreciate that,” Hux said easily.
She’d always liked him the best of her in-laws. Their father, Gerald, had been kind to her too, before he passed away, and the youngest sibling, Keaton, was a good kid. Their sister Holland was a little scary but seemed fundamentally decent. The rest of the family, including her ex-husband though…
“I want to assure you that while my mother may not agree, no one in this room bears you any ill will. Not for testifying against Cabot, and not for divorcing him, either. He made his choices, and he can deal with the consequences. Cabot was wrong about a lot of things, but he got one thing right. Lo and I are both Tamsyn’s Daddies. We’re a family.”
As if to confirm, Lowell stepped closer to Tamsyn and put an arm around her waist. Nuala couldn’t picture Lowell being a Daddy the same way she could Hux, but his claiming of his Little girl made her like him better.
“Now you’ve got some dirt on us. Which I hope you’ll keep to yourself but that’s not up to me anymore. It seemed only fair.”
“Thanks,” she murmured, her eyes watering from the gesture. “Your secret’s safe with me. I feel terrible about what Cabot did, and I swear I had no idea. I’m so sorry. I wish I could’ve done something to stop him. I never had any issue with any of you, that’s not why I ran. I just…”
“Lolo is fucking terrifying,” Tamsyn volunteered, and Nuala had to laugh.
“Well, yes. Although less so when you call him ‘Lolo,’” she amended. Her stomach only lurched a little when Lowell narrowed his eyes. “Seeing you here, not knowing how you felt about me, and being well aware of what Lowell is capable of…”
Remy squeezed her shoulder, and she was so grateful to have him beside her. She also owed him an apology, but hopefully witnessing this conversation would help him understand what had been stampeding through her head when she flipped her lid and told him they couldn’t be together and, maybe worst of all, ran.
“That could make anyone panic,” Hux agreed. “No one’s offended, no feelings were hurt. We just wanted to make the situation clear. And to be honest, I’ve always liked you, Nuala. You deserve a lot better than Cabot.”
Hux looked meaningfully at Remy, and her face flamed. Her brother-in-law’s implication was clear; Remy might be that man. She thought so too. He was a far better man than her ex-husband. But it was far too soon to say if he’d be her Daddy forever. Wasn’t it?