Chapter 35
“Basedon the interviews I’ve submitted with Shannie and Annabelle and Chess’ relation of Tessa’s treatment, I move that Andrew Selman and Emmett Hornby be removed as members of the club and banned for life,” I say. “That concludes the motion.”
I sit down and look around the table.
We’re short one member. Nico, our Master of Blood, wasn’t able to get out of a family commitment to attend the emergency meeting. He’s given his voting proxy to Karl, which makes me nervous, because Nico usually votes with me, Maude, and Javier, and I can’t count on Karl’s vote. But I have to have faith in my brother Doms. That’s what this is all about.
It”s hard to hold on to that faith when not everyone around the table will meet my eyes.
“We also have a motion from Master Logan for mandatory member re-training on guest security measures and to limit the number of guests per member at any time to two for a period of three months while the club reviews the security measures. This would exclude club events and members of the Elephant’s Playground,” Chess says, going down the printed agenda that’s in front of everyone.
“Is the security retraining necessary if we eliminate these troublesome elements from the club, Logan?” Felix asks.
“Yes,” says another voice before I have a chance to answer. It’s Guy, Master of Wire, who handles the club’s IT. “Frankly, I’d be more comfortable if there was mandatory security training every six months. Members are too lax about guests bringing their own equipment into the club. I’ve had to speak with people about guests having phones four times in the last two months. No guest should have a phone inside the club. It just needs to stop.”
I nod at Guy, perfectly happy to let him make my point for me.
“Happy to amend the motion to a mandatory security training every six months,” Chess says, making a note on his agenda. “Any other urgent business?”
When no one speaks, Chess nods. “Logan, Theo, please recuse yourselves. I’ve asked Drew to address the committee.”
Fuck.
I tap my pen on my agenda. “Since when do we allow non-committee members to address the committee?” I ask.
“Since you railroaded Sante out of here,” Franco responds. “Emmett’s an annual member and I’m happy to vote without hearing from him. We refund him what’s left of the year and that’s that. No great harm done. But Drew’s a lifetime member. Refunding his buy-in represents a financial loss to the club. We’re depriving him of substantial privileges, including a spot on this committee that I know he’s been working toward. He should have a chance to speak.”
Maude reaches across and closes her fingers around my pen. I release it in disgust. Sante had few friends at the club but Franco was one of them. Clearly, he’s harboring a grudge.
Theo cups his hand under my elbow and pulls me up as he rises from his chair. “Thank you, everyone. I realize this is a rough introduction but I’m looking forward to working with you all as Master of Fur.”
There are nods all around the table. Maybe it will help that Theo’s well-liked. He let me present most of the motion, since he didn’t sit in on the interviews with Shannie and Annabelle but he offered support from our investigation yesterday, including that Emmett’s been banned from The Pump House, a fetish club in Rochester, due to an alleged consent violation.
I walk out of the small conference room with him. Once the door closes behind me, I stop and rub the back of my neck to release the tension gathered there.
“Did we do enough?” I ask Theo.
“Time will tell. I hate to do this to you, buddy but I’ve got to get back to my desk. I’ve got a report to file for the district attorney and she’ll string me up by my balls if it’s five minutes late.”
“No problem. I’ll let you know what happens.”
Theo pats me on the back. “Hang in there. We’ve got infinite opportunity to take these fucks down. This is just the first salvo.”
“Right, mate. Talk to you soon.”
He leaves me with another reassuring pat. There’s nowhere to sit while I wait, so I retreat down the hallway to the room where we have the breakfast buffet on the weekends.
I nearly slam into Drew as he opens the door and strolls out.
“Ah, Logan.” His smile is unbearably smarmy. “Good to see you.”
“I wish I could say the same,” I respond. “But hopefully this is the last time I’ll have to see you.”
His smile widens. “I wouldn’t count on it.”
I remember my little wonder, confronting Miranda and her fucking scalpel with a diaper bag. She was so calm. So completely confident in her position. I channel a fraction of that confidence and stare Drew down.
He nods, steps out of my way, and continues down the hall to the small conference room.
Fucker.
I sink into one of the folding chairs set around the tables where we eat on weekends. The room is cool and quiet. The hoods are pulled down on the buffet serving stations. The round tables lack their usual tablecloths. There’s a faint smell of fried onions.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I take out my phone. One of the privileges of lifetime membership, I’m reminded, being able to have a phone in the club. I have a pile of messages that I prioritize quickly. Emmy wishing me luck and telling me she loves me. I send back an “ILY2.” Max messaging about a new job upgrading the security systems at a small chain of private casinos upstate. I send him back a quick thumbs up. Mac saying that he’s come for moral support and is waiting for me in the Trattoria with our angelic baby.
Grateful to leave this cheerless space, I hasten to the Trattoria. Mac’s sitting at a table in the conservatory, looking out at the hay bale maze where we had our Doms v subs paintball war. God, that seems like a long time ago now. The angelic baby is in her car set on the table, alert but quiet, looking around with her hazy blue eyes.
I sink down next to Mac. “Thanks for coming.”
“How’s it going?”
I shake my head. “Chess punted me and Theo out while Drew addresses the committee. No one’s ever been invited to address the committee on the subject of their membership before. Not in my memory. Franco said it was because I’d ‘railroaded’ Sante out of the club?—”
Mac claps me on the shoulder. “Hindsight’s twenty-twenty. You had no way of knowing then what you’d need to be doing now. Don’t beat yourself up. Order something without caffeine and try to relax. You’ve done good here, son, whatever happens.”
I nod and when the waitress circulates among the small number of tables that are occupied at this time on a cold winter’s morning, I order Earl Grey tea. Emily would probably be happier if I ordered that curry-tasting crap but that’s one taste bud too far today.
Mac rocks Livvy’s carrier gently, making the line of toys dangling from the handle swing. Livvy bats at them with her little fists.
“You sure she’s yours?” Mac asks.
I choke on my tea. “Are you serious?”
He grins. “I don’t think she’s yours. Look at her. She’s just looking around, taking it all in. She’s barely made a peep all morning. You were never this quiet. Not even during maneuvers on the damn sub. Well, I take that back. She’s farted a couple of times. Maybe she is yours.”
I punch his arm. “Asshole.”
“Just trying to lighten the mood.” Mac grins off into the distance. “She is a very easy baby, though. I think you and Emmy got lucky.”
“I know we did. This schedule Emmy’s got her on isn’t hurting, either. I can’t believe she’s sleeping through the night already.”
“Schedule’s good, no question. But if she’d been born on her due date and there hadn’t been any complications, she’d be coming up on eight weeks. Plenty of babies sleep through at eight weeks.”
“Plenty don’t,” I say, with the authority of having read two whole baby books. “Thanks again for having my back yesterday.”
“Anytime, son. You think that’s the end of it?”
I nod. “Theo checked with the airlines. She bought a ticket for a flight back to London tomorrow. The warrant won’t issue before her flight but Theo’s going to make sure she gets it so she knows that if she tries to fly into the U.S., or at least New York, she’ll be arrested.”
“Powerful deterrent,” Mac says.
“I don’t think she’ll risk it.” I shrug. “But I wouldn’t have ever thought she’d try to stab Emily, either, so I clearly don’t understand her as well as I thought I did. I’m not going to relax any of my security measures.”
“I wouldn’t suggest that you do, although you can tell Maxie to back off about sticking a chip in my neck. That’s not gonna happen.”
I shake my head at him. I’ll keep working on him. I’m chipped now. Emily’s chipped. Bren’s got one in a piercing she doesn’t take out. He’ll cave eventually.
The clack of heels approaching our table has Mac and me looking up. Maude walks toward us, her face expressionless.
That’s bad. I stand and offer her my chair, grabbing another from an empty table and sitting across from her.
“Is the meeting over?” I ask.
She nods and sits down between us, crossing her legs and smoothing down her skirt. “There are times to push and times to retreat.”
Fuck me.
“What the hell are you saying?” I ask.
“That you’ve lost the battle but not the war.”
“You have to be fucking kidding me. I put two clear cases of Drew and his fucking wolfpack stalking our goddamn subs in front of the committee. No, I can’t prove he was behind what happened to Cappa but Annabelle’s statement was pretty damning. What the fuck did he say to the committee?”
Maude taps her fingernails on her knee. “He’s clever. Maybe cleverer than I gave him credit for. He started by criticizing the changes you’ve been making. He suggested that they stemmed from your caregiving ‘indulgences,’ as he called them. He brought up your aversion to gang bangs and said you were creating a culture of intolerance toward hard sadism at the club?—”
“Well, that is fucking rich,” I burst out.
“I’m aware of the irony.” Maude reaches out and covers my hand with hers. She locks our fingers together and takes a deep breath before she says, “He reminded us that we’re dominants. That we are driven by the need to control. The house subs are driven by the need to give themselves over to that control. They don’t always understand that about themselves and that’s why they come to us, to help them discover those deep truths and explore their submissive nature.
“He reminded us that we are, in essence, hunters, and the subs are our prey. We wrap that in scenes and safe words but we will always have that need to control and subjugate and denying those needs is denying our own truths. He asked us to consider how we could hope to provide true dominance for our subs if we’re lying to ourselves about what we are?”
I start to growl, “That is complete?—”
“Hear me out,” Maude says quietly. “He pointed out that although Shannie was frightened, she did, in fact, submit successfully to both Ty and Hart. The scene fulfilled one of her key submission goals. Drew reminded us that sometimes we have to use a sub’s fear to get them where they don’t just want but need to go. He called it a successful scene and there were a number of nods around the table, Logan.”
“Then they’re assholes. None of them sat there while we talked to Shannie. She doesn’t think it was fucking successful.”
Maude nods. “Unfortunately, Annabelle isn’t as well known. She’s too new. There were only a few committee members who had scened with her at all and almost none of the hard sadists. Drew expressed regret at her leaving the club and denied any knowledge of the threats made against her. He admitted being involved in the DVP scene but said it was negotiated in advance and she never used her safe word. He understood it might have pushed her physical limits but pointed out that she’s given vaginal birth to two babies without mishap. Drew said he took that into consideration and wouldn’t have attempted a DVP scene with most of the other house submissives. He came across as thoughtful and conscientious?—”
“Then he’s a goddamn sociopath because no one who thinks it’s okay to hunt our house submissives has any shred of fucking conscience,” I snap.
“We can’t judge him on his morals, Logan, only his actions. That left the situation with Cappa which, as you know, didn’t directly involve Drew?—”
“The asshole who tore up Cappa so badly he needed sixteen stitches is part of Drew’s fucking wolfpack,” I growl.
Maude squeezes my fingers hard. “Direct your anger at a useful target. Caddy, Cris, and Chess said not one word against Drew or in your defense when he was accusing you and Mac of being too soft on the house subs because you’re Daddy Doms?—”
Maude breaks off at a sharp snort.
“I am not a Daddy Dom,” Mac says, finally interjecting himself into the conversation. “In less than a month, I wrangled one of the toughest, sassiest subs here into twenty-four-seven submission. Something not a single other Dom here managed in five years. Not that I believe for a second that Logan’s gone soft, or that a little softness in this situation isn’t warranted. This is bullshit. That baby-faced prick is an abuser. Anyone with eyes can see it. If the committee doesn’t see it, or isn’t willing to do anything about it because they have a beef with Logan and me, then they don’t deserve the house subs.”
Maude’s eyes flick from Mac to me and back to Mac. “What are you saying, Michael?”
“I’m saying that none of the house subs will be showing up for work until this club is a safe place for them. And that if they don’t get full pay while they’re off, I’ll personally file hostile work environment claims for all of them against Drew and every member of the management committee who supports him.”
Maude clears her throat. “Well.”
“Navy taught me a thing or two about using what little the law provides,” Mac says. “There are thirty-eight men and women here who are being put in an unsafe situation by their employers. Thirty-eight uniquely vulnerable men and women. And by God, Uncle Sam, and the great State of New York, I will protect them.”
Having seen Mac get like this before over the men under his command and remembering what he said about letting him fight this battle, I sit back with a nod. “What he said.”
“Michael, you’re very new to all this?—”
“Doesn’t make me blind or stupid. No, I don’t have the history with the people in that room that you and Logan have. But I have spoken with each and every one of the house subs over the last two weeks, which is something I’m betting none of the other committee members has done. More’n one of ‘em’s hurting. Many of ‘em are scared. None of ‘em will show up tomorrow if I send a message to the chat group every single one of them joined tellin’ them it’s not safe for them here.” Mac chuckles. “Well, Briar Rose might. Have fun with her.”
Maude looks faintly impressed.
“I suggest trying to catch the three Cs now, before any of them leave the building, and ask that they reconsider.”
Mac nods and rises, scooping Livvy’s car seat up by the handle. He holds Maude’s chair for her like the gentleman he is and gestures for her to precede us out of the Trattoria.
“Even if this is the right decision, they won’t like being strong-armed into it,” Maude warns as we follow her into the hallway.
Mac shrugs. “I don’t care what they like or don’t like. They can kick me to the curb instead of Drew if they want. I’ll still be taking the house subs with me and making sure they never submit again to someone who thinks hunting ‘em without their consent is in any way acceptable.”
I smile at my friend and mentor, who will always do the right thing, no matter the personal cost.
The Three Cs, Ten, Javier, and Franco are still in the small conference room when Maude knocks on the door and enters.
“Lady and gentlemen,” she says as she holds the door open for us. “Michael has something to say that you need to hear.”
Chess gestures to the seats around the table. Mac delivers his threat as coolly and smoothly as he did in the Trattoria.
Chess goes pale. Caddy’s lips thin. Ten frowns thunderously.
“Logan, when you took back Master of Training—” Franco, the club’s lawyer, begins.
Chess barks a laugh. “None of us thought you’d be staging a Subbie Rebellion.” He starts clapping. “Well done.”
Franco and Ten look at Chess like he’s lost his mind. Caddy’s black-hole gaze bores into me. Cris types something into his tablet.
“Mr. MacNally’s right,” Cris says quietly. “About the hostile work environment claims. That would be substantially more of a financial loss for the club than refunding Master Drew’s membership fees.”
“If proven,” Franco says.
Cris tips his head in acknowledgment. “Punitive damages are a possibility under state and federal law. As the club’s legal advisor, you’ll need to tell us the likelihood of success of such claims but as the club’s financial advisor, I can tell you that financially the decision is clear.”
Franco pinches the bridge of his nose. “We can’t let it even go to tribunal. As soon as the nature of the house subs employment becomes clear, it will be referred to law enforcement and the club will be shut down. I’ve warned the committee about this before.”
“Yes, you have,” I say. I wasn’t going to play that ace in the hole unless I had to, though.
“Looks like you’ve gotten your way, Logan,” Caddy says softly.
“What way is that?” I ask. “You encouraged me to promote age-play at the club and then you backstabbed me when I did it. You sat on your fucking hands while Drew and his fucking wolfpack terrorized our house subs?—”
Maude reaches over and curls her hand around my forearm at the same time Caddy snaps, “You have no idea what I’ve done or haven’t done, nor whether my actions have helped or harmed. What we do know is that only two wolfpack members at the club have been revealed?—”
“Do you believe there’re more?” Mac asks.
“I believe we’ll never know now,” Caddy says, her eyes boring into me. “Drew and Emmett will be expelled from the club but as they haven’t been arrested, it’s unlikely they’ll face other justice. Logan’s overt maneuvering means they know why they’re being expelled. The rest of the wolfpack knows we know. Do you think they’ll disband? Or that they’ll just become more subtle? Abusers don’t reform, they just find quieter victims.”
“Theo’s making a case against Emmett,” I protest.
“But not against Drew,” Caddy retorts. “I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to speak with Emmett and Drew but five minutes of conversation would have made clear who is the beta and who is the alpha in their vile pack. Emmett’s a follower. Drew threw him in our path and you took his damn bait, Logan?—”
“Maybe if you’d ever fucking told me what was going on, I wouldn’t have!” I flare.
“Did you take me into your confidence?” Caddy snaps. “I’ve been going on whispers just as much as you have. The only thing I know about Drew that you didn’t is that he’s related to me. Second cousin.”
My gut knots. Javier mentioned that Caddy’s uncle, the former chairman of Blunts, abused her. That piqued Emily’s curiosity and she went digging through Blunts’ archives and public records. What she found made my blood run cold. David was a pedophile and a rapist and his favorite victims were his own family members.
“On your uncle’s side?” I ask, my voice choked.
Caddy nods.
“Was he—?” I can’t complete the question.
“He was called as a witness but refused to testify against David,” she responds, her voice cold and hollow. “As I said, I’ve only been going on whispers. Rumors. Dark glances. But I know that age-play is a trigger for Drew. I’ve overheard him bad-mouth it often enough. I’ve seen the looks he’s given you and your little. I encouraged you to create the Nursery and promote age-play at the club as much to change the club’s culture as to draw him out.”
“Fuck’s sake,” I say. “If you’d said one word.”
“What word?” Caddy asks. “You’re the damn detective, Logan. I approached you. I encouraged you. I supported you behind the scenes. I made sure the Nursery was funded despite your ridiculous budget requests. A tree? You needed a goddamn tree in the middle of our club?”
“I really like the tree,” Cris says. When Caddy swings her dark gaze at him, he holds up his hands. “What? I bet we’re the only lifestyle club in the nation that has a tree in the middle of one of our dungeons. It’s a selling point.”
Caddy returns her fulminating glare to me. “This is on you. Drew won’t stop and now we’ve missed our opportunity to stop him.”
Her words settle deep in my chest.
“I won’t give up,” I say.
“Don’t,” she responds.