Chapter 24
I need a fuckingbreak from the intensity of today but I don’t get one.
When we return to the house, Mac’s waiting for us. As soon as I’ve shed my coat and shoes, he beckons me into my office.
A red-eyed former house submissive is sitting on my couch.
I cross the room and sit next to her. “Annabelle, thank you for coming to talk to us.”
She sniffs and dabs at her eyes with a tissue. Mac has moved the box that I keep on my desk to the couch next to her. Bloodshot eyes and red nose aside, she looks rough. Her curls are snarled and ratty around her face. Upset or sleeplessness has carved shadows and lines in her rounded, motherly features.
“I’m sorry for being a coward,” she says.
“May I touch you?” I ask and when she nods, I rub her back. “Why would you call yourself a coward?”
“I ran away. Instead of standing my ground and fighting, I ran away.”
Mac sits down in one of the wingback chairs that he’s pulled up across from the couch. “I know this is gonna sound strange from a man who used to fight for our country but there are times to fight and times to retreat. If you needed to retreat for your safety, that’s not cowardice, Annabelle. That’s survival.”
She nods and mops at her eyes. “I feel terrible for leaving the other subbies in the lurch. I abandoned them. I let everyone down. Master Javier’s been so wonderful with me and I disappeared without a word.”
I continue rubbing gentle circles over her back, feeling her nervousness in the damp fabric. It gave me huge amounts of comfort when Emmy rubbed my back in the museum bathroom; I hope rubbing Annabelle’s back gives her a fraction of that relief.
“D’you feel up to telling us why you left, Annabelle?”
She takes a deep breath and dabs at another tear. “They’re going to ruin my son’s career for this but yes, I’ll tell you.”
Mac sits forward, letting his hands dangle between his knees. “I swear to you, sweetheart, if it’s in my power, I will stop any repercussions from touching you or your family. No one should fear speakin’ up, speakin’ the truth.”
She sniffles. “I believe that, too but they have ammunition on almost all of the house subs. They’re very careful about that before they start hunting.”
The word hits me like a blow in the chest. “Hunting?”
She nods. “They call themselves the Wolfpack. They believe being Doms makes them predators.”
“And the house submissives are their prey?” Mac asks.
“Any submissive. They hunt anywhere. Blunts. Other lifestyle clubs. Private parties.”
“Who are they?” I ask, my voice cracking.
“I only know Emmett and Drew at Blunts but there are more.”
Hearing Drew’s name—again—in the context of our house subs being hurt, sends my blood racing. This is more than a rule about guests.
“I’m not doubting you, Annabelle, I just need to understand why you think that.”
“Emmett likes to brag after he’s come,” she responds. “He says they’re growing the Pack within the club and soon they’ll have the numbers to take over.”
I swallow hard, trying to control the flush of anger. I don’t know Emmett much better than I know Drew. Emmett’s mostly at the club on weekends. He’s never held a role on the management committee. He hasn’t come to any of the Monday Madness nights I’ve organized. If I’ve ever done a scene with him, it’s been a group scene. I don’t have any idea of what he’s like as a Dom. The only thing I can remember about him, except that Bren jokes he has the second-best hair at Blunts after Rob, is that I’ve seen him around the pool and sauna a lot recently. But that could just be because I’ve been there frequently of late while Mac teaches Bren to swim.
“I will not let that happen, Annabelle,” I say firmly.
She presses her lips together and flicks her eyes over my face. I’m not sure what she’s looking for but I give her the same honesty I’d give Emmy. I will not let Blunts be destroyed. Not by that twenty-two-year-old saboteur, not by a group of predatory Doms who think they have some God-given right to terrify our subs, not by anyone.
“I wasn’t here but the other house subs, they say you left. Master Logan, I’m not trying to insult you. I just ... I’m afraid. I’m afraid they’ll hurt me again. I’m afraid they’ll hurt my family if I don’t keep my mouth shut. I’m afraid.”
“I’m back to stay,” I promise. “I’ve taken back the role of Master of Training so I can help the house subs fix whatever the hell went wrong while I was gone. If that includes members getting the idea that they can hurt subs with impunity, that’s the place I’ll start. I’m your cannon, Annabelle. Give me ammunition and a target.”
A smile peeks through her tears. “It’d be nice to have a cannon.”
“You have two,” Mac says. “Give us ammo.”
“Emmett began asking me for scenes about a month after I started at Blunts.” She wipes her eyes and sits up a little straighter. “I was flattered at first. I’m not young and beautiful like your subs.” When Mac opens his mouth to object, Annabelle shakes her head. “I’m not putting myself down. I’m realistic. I love my body but I know I’m the oldest house sub by quite a few years. I know I’m not the ideal of beauty I see among the house subs. And I didn’t have any expectations coming to the club. I was flattered to be hired. Even more flattered when I had so many requests for scenes. It’s lovely to be wanted again. So I accepted any member who asked me for a scene. I didn’t talk to the other house subs about them. I didn’t negotiate my limits. I assumed a Blunts Dom asking to scene with me would know and respect them. Most did.”
Her lower lip quivers and she takes a fortifying breath.
“Emmett began pushing my limits from our first scene. I know what you’re thinking. That should have been a red flag and I should have refused future scenes but he has a way of saying things to make you feel like it’s your fault. He said he’d always respect my safe words but that it was his job as my Dom to challenge me.” She twists the damp tissue between her hands. “It was anal at first, which I’d done before but not like he wanted it. Big plugs and toys to stretch me. Very rough and with less and less lube. I won’t lie, he made sure I had orgasms but the pain was like nothing I’ve put myself through before and I’ve given birth to two babies. Aside from the pain, he made all the right noises. He asked for regular scenes. Praised me to the moon and back when I overcame something I thought I couldn’t. Plenty of aftercare, asking about me, my interests, my family. Now I realize he was just gathering information to use against me but at the time it was so flattering. I’m not complaining, please don’t think I am but that investment—it can be lacking at the club. I’ve done the same number of scenes with Emmett as with Masters Javier and Theo and I don’t know a single thing about their lives outside the club. Emmett made me feel like he cared about me as a person.”
She rubs her lips together and dabs at another tear. “It was all a lie. He wasn’t invested and he didn’t give a shit about me as a person. Once he found out my son’s in banking, he began using it to push me more and more. If I didn’t agree to the scenes he wanted, he’d tell my son’s employers and business associates about what I do with my days. Double-penetration was first. I had to take sick leave for three days to recover after he and Drew went at me. Then it was two in one hole. You’d think all those plugs and toys would’ve made it bearable but they didn’t. He scheduled a four-in-two scene with three guests and I just couldn’t. I resigned and went to stay with my son upstate. That’s when the threats started. If I didn’t return to the club, he’d make good on his threats against my boy. My other son stepped in when he saw what a mess I was. He took me to see a lawyer who told me sex clubs are illegal in New York and that Emmett and the other members have more to lose than I do. You could be prosecuted just for being members, much less hiring house submissives. Is that true?”
I glance at Mac. His jaw is set but he nods.
“Yes, that’s true,” I tell Annabelle.
Franco and the club’s other lawyers have tried to protect the members as much as they can but the bottom line is that we’re all investors in an illegal sex club.
Annabelle nods. “That made me feel a little stronger. I messaged Emmett back and told him what the lawyer said. I said nothing could make me come back. He changed his tune then and told me to stay away from the club, keep my mouth shut, not say a word to the two of you ... but Shannie told me she trusts you, that you’re trying to help, and I know keeping quiet won’t stop them. I’ve seen abuse before; it doesn’t stop. People like Emmett, they don’t stop once they get a taste for it. They’ll do it to someone else, if not at Blunts, then someone they hunt in the clubs. Just like that man did to Cappa.”
Mac’s jaw drops.
“I’m sorry, Annabelle, what did you say about Cappa?” I ask.
“Emmett told me that Drew gave Cappa to one of the pack as a reward. He didn’t name names but Emmett said Drew knew what the wolf would do to Cappa. They’ve been trying to get that date rape drug, roh-something, so that subs wouldn’t remember what was done to them. The wolf who hurt Cappa—he’s their supplier.”
“Rohypnol,” Mac spits. He’s flushed; his hands are clenched into fists between his knees. “I will fucking kill them.”
I nod. “You’ve given us plenty of ammo, Annabelle. Give us targets. Emmett, Drew, anyone else?”
“Emmett mentioned two other names, Jared and Hans. I’m not sure about Jared but I know Hans was there during Shannie’s hunting.”
“Did Emmett call it that, sweetheart? Shannie’s hunting?”
Annabelle nods. “She’s refused scenes with anyone but Rob since but Drew was planning on asking her for a scene and then letting the pack go at her after he drugged her. Just like Cappa. That’s what Emmett bragged about.”
Mac flexes his hands and reaches out. Annabelle takes his hands. He rubs his thumbs over her knuckles. “We’re locked and loaded, sweetheart. How do we protect your son?”
Annabelle bites her lip. “I don’t want to be like them.”
“You’re nothing like them,” I say.
“Maybe I am if I tell you what I know about Emmett.”
“It’s totally up to you, Annabelle.”
She nods and squeezes his hands. “Emmett works in banking just like my boy. His father’s high up in the bank and got him the job. Nepotism, right? Is that what it’s called?”
Mac and I nod.
“His father’s real conservative. Church-going, pillar of the community and all that. Emmett’s afraid of him. He does everything his father tells him to, right down to the gal he’s engaged to. Emmett keeps putting off the wedding but he knows it’s inevitable. That’s why he’s a member at Blunts. He’s sowing his wild oats ‘cause he knows his future’s a five-bed Colonial in Connecticut with three kids, two dogs, and matching beemers, working for his daddy for the rest of his life. He’ll never do anything to rock that boat. If his father found out about what he gets up to at Blunts, Emmett would lose it all.”
“He told you that?” Mac asks.
“Yeah, like I said, he likes to talk after he comes. He got real chatty after he found out my son works for another bank. I think he knew he had me locked down then.”
“He does not have you locked down, Annabelle. I’m disgusted any Dom would do something like this but a Blunts member? No, this won’t stand. I understand you have reasons to distrust us but will you let me pull some people in on this? Our business partner, Max. He’s an IT whiz?—”
“Cynnie’s daddy.” Annabella nods her head, curls brushing against her cheeks. “He’s a good man. You can tell him everything. Masters Javier and Theo—I know he’s a cop, all the house subs know—I trust them. I’ll call Master Javier and apologize for shutting him out. I was upset and scared but he deserves better from me. He’s been a wonderful Dom. Mistresses Maude and Dana, too. They always made me feel wanted and safe. Please pull in anyone you need. I want the Wolfpack stopped.”
Mac squeezes Annabelle’s hands. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to answer this yet but have a think about it. If we can clear out the bad eggs, would you be willing to come back to Blunts? I know people miss you?—”
Annabelle smiles tearily. “I want to come back. As much as what Emmett and Drew did hurt me, what’s hurt more was losing the friends I found at Blunts.”
“No one wants to lose you, Annabelle,” I reassure her. “You’ll be welcome back.”
And if anyone has anything to say about that, I will fight that fight. No one should live in fear. No one should be penalized for the things they do to feel safe.
Annabelle declines to join the group that’s come back from the museum with us. I could see how their company would give her comfort, so I ask twice but when she declines a second time, I suggest a subbie get-together in a few days. Mac nods and I don’t need to ask him if he’s going to get Bren to organize it. He and I are back in sync the way we were in the Navy. We don’t need a lot of talk. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We know how to work as a team to get things done.
After Annabelle leaves, still teary but much more relaxed than when I arrived, I check on my girls. Emmy’s opened her little room to the subbies who came back from the museum with us and they’re “doing art.” There’s such a haze of glitter in the air when I poke my head in that I quickly retreat and leave them to their creations. I don’t see Livvy in the sparkling miasma, so I check downstairs and find her in her bouncy seat on the table, sitting between Brenna, Fleur, and True while they have what looks like a very heartfelt and intense conversation. Livvy’s rapt, her eyes moving from face to face, so I remove my unwanted Dom presence, tap on the shoulders of the five Doms sitting on my couch, and tip my chin at my office. At least two of them have military training and Theo’s a cop but they’re still an amazingly quiet group as they follow me out of the great room into my office.
Daddy-stealth. It’s a skill.
When everyone’s seated—Bravo, Warrin, and Jack on the couch, Theo in the other guest chair beside Mac, and Faolan leaning against my desk—I begin, “This is about Blunts. I know Warrin’s interested in joining. Jack, Bravo, I’m guessing you’re planning on applying, too. Am I off base?”
They shake their heads.
Faolan offers, “My application’s just gone in.”
Mac sits back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. “Hopefully it won’t be as controversial as mine. We’re getting a bit of push-back from the old guard.”
Faolan glances at me.
“Javier has a lot of clout at the club,” I reassure him. “He’ll get you in.”
I’m not worried about Faolan’s application. Warrin, Jack, and Bravo, on the other hand, may be a fight. But it’s a fight for another day.
“I’ve mentioned to you before that there’s some anti-age-play sentiment at the club,” I say, nodding at Warrin. “That’s come back to bite us. Sutter James approached me today at the museum. He gave me a ... well, he called it a fair warning. His little, Saoirse, used to work at the club. Some of the Doms treated her badly and made her feel she had to hide her littleness. Sutter’s joined the club to take revenge. He’s told me he’s going to tear it apart from within.” I hold up a hand when Theo starts to sputter. “I’m not telling you this to turn you against the kid. I actually understand where he’s coming from. If anyone hurt Emily like that, I’d go on the warpath. I want your help showing him revenge isn’t necessary, because Blunts can change. It’s already changing but there needs to be more. I need your help to show Sutter that Blunts is more than four walls and some floggers. It’s a family. And like any family, we disagree about things but we love and support each other, too. I need your help showing him that.”
“You have it, Logan,” Warrin says. “Anything you need.”
“I’ll need you to be present at the club, as often as you all can be. Doing scenes. Involving other members and the house submissives. Showing them our way of playing. Showing them the joy our littles give us.” I look at Mac. “That’s the way we win this. By showing them the truth at the heart of age-play and daddykink.”
Mac tips his head to the side. “Sounds good for this whippersnapper.”
The men around the room, all of us on the far side of thirty-five, trade grins.
“But this Sutter fella’s not the only one making threats,” Mac continues. “Lo and I have been investigating what’s going on with the house submissives. Seemed like a bunch of isolated problems at first. But when we dug down, we found somethin’ more sinister. Couple of the Doms and their friends have gotten it into their heads that they can hunt our submissives. Intimidate them during scenes. Drug and injure them. They call themselves a ‘wolfpack.’ We will catch these fuckers and make sure they get what’s coming to them. But in the meanwhile, we’ve got to be careful. Make sure our subbies aren’t alone. Keep an eye out for the house submissives. Do scenes in foursomes at least. Group scenes are even better. Stay sharp.”
Bravo grunts. “I’ll run point on that. I’ll coordinate scenes. Make sure no one’s at the club alone. Okay if I pull Henry in? She’s talking about applying for membership, too. She loves the courtyard and pool for primal play. She won’t take any nonsense. Not from some kid and not from a fucking wolfpack.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
We talk it around for a few more minutes but there’s no dissention. These men, these daddies and Doms, are on board. Just the suggestion that someone would intentionally target and hurt submissives has them all shifting gears into over-protective mode. I know, because that’s where my clutch has been stuck for months.
I shake their hands as they file out of my office and back into the living room to watch the game they abandoned without question at my silent request. Theo’s the last in line and instead of taking my hand, he shuts the door and stands facing me.
“Names,” he says.
I don’t argue with him. If I ever needed Theo as an ally, it’s right now.
“Emmett and Drew at the club. Annabelle knew the names of two of their guests as well, Jared and Hans.”
“Shit.” Theo chews on his lower lip. “Not the first time I’ve heard those names. Chess mentioned something about Emmett and a guest named Hans scaring Tessa in the sauna. Chess had a talk with Emmett about it.”
“It’s gone way beyond a word between friends and brother Doms. Way, way beyond.”
“How far beyond?”
“Emmett made threats. Surely those are actionable.”
Theo grunts. “You know as well as I do that a threat, even of bodily harm, without any more isn’t going anywhere.”
“It gets him out of the club at the very least. Them. All of them.”
Theo nods.
“I’m not trying to shift my shit onto you, Theo but?—”
“Will I raise it with the committee? Yeah, I will. I heard the vote on Mac’s membership was tense.”
I grumble. The first rule of management committee is you do not talk about management committee. But I also know the Blunts grapevine produces more juice than Napa Valley. “It was,” I admit.
“Ten, Karl, Shedo, Franco,” Theo ticks off their names on his fingers. “Who else?”
“Three Cs shafted me when push came to shove.”
Theo’s brows shoot up. “Really? That’s fucking cold.”
“I thought so, too.”
“I’ll call Chess now,” Theo says. He taps a finger against my chest. “You probably called in a few favors to get Mac in. You got enough left to get rid of this Wolfpack?”
“I’d hope I don’t need to call in any favors to protect our house subs.”
Theo nods. “Sure. But maybe you should make some calls, too.”
I do.