Chapter 12
Twelve
Rory stopped at the desk to talk to Nikki. “Hey, beautiful, thank you for checking on Kate when you weren’t sure if she was okay.”
She smiled. “I’m really glad she’s all right. How did you know, Master Rory? Did you talk to her?”
So D hadn’t told her where Kate was. That was interesting.
“Yeah, I talked to her.”
“I hope she’ll be back to the club soon. She shouldn’t be out there on her own.”
“Agreed. Later,” he said, walking past the curtain and around the corner. He followed the curving aisle to D’s office.
D was at his desk. Shay and J were in the office, too.
“Hey, Rory,” Shay said, getting up to shake his hand. “Where you been?”
“I’ll catch up with you later. You mind if I interrupt?”
“No,” Shay said. He’d been about to return to his seat, but turned instead.
J, the prick, didn’t get up. Shay waited for a beat for J, then when J didn’t move, Shay walked out without him.
“This gonna be a group conference?” Rory demanded. “If so, I’ll call Shay back. Might as well get this shit out in the open.”
“J?” D said.
“Call him back if you want.” J put his arms out in an “I’m open to that” gesture. “Let’s see where Shay comes down on this. Might not be where you expect. Me, I’m staying to hear what you have to say for yourself.”
“J,” D said in that reasonable tone he always had when no one wanted to be reasonable. The corners of Rory’s mouth curved up, thinking that D would’ve been proud of Kate for sitting down mid-fight and taking the steam right out of his head earlier.
J folded his arms across his chest. That sobered Rory.
J wasn’t his damn keeper. Or Kate’s really.
She’d only been a member of the club a couple damn days.
And as far as Rory was concerned, J had taken things too far sexually with Kate.
It had been obvious she was into Rory, not J.
A spanking was one thing, but putting hands on a girl’s pussy made things pretty fucking personal.
As her club Master, J was supposed to be careful and figure out where Kate’s head was.
If J had talked it over ahead of time, Kate wouldn’t have chosen to get off by J’s hand.
Rory was sure of it. And the question she’d asked when they were talking about it was still eating at Rory.
Why did you let him have me? Fuck J and his self righteousness.
Rory glanced at the door. He could just walk out, and he wanted to. But he owed D more respect than that.
Man up.
“D, I owe you an apology. You’re a straight up honorable guy, and I pulled some shady shit to get around the club’s rules. I know you were trying to look out for her, the way you do for all of them.”
“Are you saying I wasn’t?” J asked.
“Maybe you thought you were. Maybe not,” Rory said.
“Why did you need her out of the club? So you can do whatever you want with no one watching? With that punk brutality you think works for you?”
“Come at me. Let’s see what works and what doesn’t.” Rory squared off, zero to sixty in seconds. “C’mon. Bring it. I’ll drop your mother-fucking ass.”
“Whoa, what’s going on?” Shay asked from the doorway.
Rory pivoted a couple inches to keep Shay in his peripheral vision. Shay would never jump him from behind, but he would try to stop him if he went for J and that could cost Rory if J made a move.
Rory really wanted J to make that move. He was never gonna forget the mistake he’d made by leaving Kate with J and what she’d felt being in that office alone.
“The picture of control,” J said to D. “Still think she might be okay with him?”
“Step back, Shay,” Rory said when Shay entered the office.
“What’s up, J?” Shay asked. “He wouldn’t call you out for nothing.”
Rory didn’t smile, but he wanted to. Yeah, J, let’s see where Shay comes down on this, he thought.
“I baited him by calling him a punk, and here we are.”
“I doubt that,” Shay said. “What do you say, Rory?”
“Come on,” Rory spat. “Am I a little bitch who’s gonna pop off in D’s office ‘cause someone called me names?”
“So what’s it about then?” Shay asked.
J wasn’t gonna step up for a fight. Fucking pussy.
“What it’s about is I took D’s word for it that she’d be all right with this asshole. But she wasn’t.”
“What are you talking about?” J asked.
“Fuck off, man. I’m not D. This ain’t group counseling.” Rory turned his attention back to D, who hadn’t so much as slid his chair back an inch since fighting threatened to break out. Rory had to hand it to the guy. D was so cool, ice wouldn’t melt in his mouth. “D, am I out of the club or what?”
“No.”
“Appreciate it. So you know, D, I collared her.” Everyone in the room knew what that meant. Anyone from the club who wanted to get in touch with Kate for anything had to go through Rory.
“Understood,” D said.
Rory moved toward the door, extending a hand to Shay. Shay shook it, and Rory moved in.
“You ever need someone to have your back, say the word. I’m on your six,” Rory said, then dropped Shay’s hand. He didn’t wait for Shay to respond.
For once, Rory just wanted to get the hell out of the club.