14 Emeric
Serenity”s blowing me off tonight, and to say I”m mad is an understatement.
“So do you think it”ll bring in a crowd,” Kimber asks. I kind of knew her years ago, but she”s pretty damn annoying and thinks she”s a slave which isn”t really her kink at all. Past that nothing particular sticks out in my memory, but she seems to think we had some sort of connection. I”ve seen her wandering around the club wearing her silver lanyard a few times, but she doesn”t act like she wants to be a slave. She behaves like a brat and doesn”t regret it. “I would love to go up for auction.”
I”d like to stab a pen through my eye before I listen to any more of this.
It was Serenity”s idea to have the email announcement go out today now that things are approved, and she”s supposed to be here to help me deal with the questions. There”s a lot of hype around the auction, and even if I do most of the face-to-face interactions, Serenity knows the details.
And I don”t know a fucking thing. She wanted us to go over things tonight before the evening crowd came and she could gauge how people responded. Instead she sent me a text letting me know all of this shit is now my problem.
Doe Eyes: Something came up. I”m really sorry but I won”t be able to come in tonight. Field the questions and we can totally deal with this tomorrow. Good luck!
It”s the good luck that really pissed me off. She knows I have some disagreements with the auction idea, and now it”s all fallen on my shoulders to deal with on a goddamn Saturday night.
“That”s the plan, Kimber.”
She jumps in place, clapping her hands. “Oh, super! I”d love to find a new Master. Maybe a few Masters.”
Her fluttering eyelashes do nothing for me. Kimber is pretty in her own way, but she isn”t tempting me. All I can focus on is Serenity”s blonde head and the image of her gagging on my dick.
I”m going to choke her with it the next time. What the hell is this shit?
Kimber is finally distracted when the announcements come on that the show is starting, and after bowing her head towards me she hurries into the theater room. My focus is already elsewhere, forcing a smile at the next member who pops up with questions.
It”s been like this for a few hours. I”m slowly losing my mind as people pop up, either excited or unsure, and giving them bland answers really doesn”t help anyone. I”m off my game trying to fill in the gaps with answers I don”t have, and it”s becoming frustrating to deal with.
Annoyed, I sent Serenity a text upstairs before I came down here, and half of me wants to go back up and send another. I don”t like wondering what”s so important that she skipped out on me, and I like thinking about why it bothers me even less.
She”s into me for my body. She wants to be bad and she”s totally okay using me to do it. I”m not sure at what point I became an obsession for her, but I’m not complaining. Now that I’ve had a taste there’s no way I’m letting her go either.
There”s something addictive about giving that girl all of her firsts and watching her come alive. I”m nowhere near done playing with her.
The front entrance is mainly empty as I pause to lean on the bar. Callie and Nate are busy on stage, and I was too distracted with the auction to remember what the show tonight is about. There”s an uptick in attendance tonight, probably because of the email, and it just makes my life that much harder.
At least it”s all questions about the club and nothing more. None of my regular students are harping on me about private lessons now that there’s talk about the auction, and some of the members that piss me off are missing tonight.
Mainly Chad. It shouldn’t annoy me as much as it does, but I don’t like that he’s missing the same night Serenity is absent. It’s a coincidence, but it still irks me.
I heard through Russell that he snuck in for a few minutes last night, and my anger spiked. It shouldn’t bother me since he was escorted out by Russell and Nate when they recognized him, but that new idiot Skai was outside smoking a blunt and agreed to let him through the side door.
We’re not even supposed to open the side doors. There are big emergency exit signs above them, and I’m hoping his complaints about the drive keep Skai from coming back anytime soon.
Thinking about Chad getting in here gives me a headache. I already bitched at the new guard for not watching the security tapes better, and Russell just rolled his eyes when I complained to him as well. At least the problem is alleviated for now, but it doesn’t sit any better in my mind.
The show is almost over when I spot Emilio pacing over to me. I don”t chat with him often, and half the time I think he’s in a bad mood. The guy is covered in tattoos and I only ever see him soften towards his submissive. He smiles for only her, but I don”t see Laci anywhere in sight, which is a little strange.
He might just be my favorite guard for the club. He”s well connected and takes the job seriously, but I don”t think he”s on shift tonight. The look on his face makes me raise a brow, and the fact that he approaches me doesn”t make things any better. Maybe if he caught Chad yesterday instead of Russell there’d be more of a physical punishment for sneaking in. We should’ve had him arrested since he’s still on probation, and I have every intention of banning him.
“Serenity not here,” He asks, and he isn”t the first person tonight to snoop. It’s not really an introduction but Emilio is usually straight to the point.
I shrug. “Looks like it.”
He works his jaw, rubbing a hand over the stubble before he sighs. “I think you want to see this,” he says tightly. “You want to see this. You want us to go chat in the office.”
I narrow my eyes. He”s usually pretty upfront about things, but right now Emilio is being dodgy. Still, he”s piqued my interest and I hope to god this isn’t another idiotic issue with Chad. “Okay.”
I get nothing out of him until we”re upstairs, and the break from all the questions is nice. I pace over to my desk, tapping the screen on my phone out of habit, and see that Serenity messaged me and called a couple times, probably just fretting about the damn auction she blew off.
Once the door is shut, he digs out his phone. I almost snap at him for having that on the floor, but Emilio is a bodyguard. Select members with jobs like that keep their phones on a discreet mode while in the club in case of an emergency. Thus far, we”ve never had a problem with those limited individuals.
“A buddy of mine sent this to me,” he says tightly, tapping on the screen. He doesn”t give me much else to go off of before the screen flips around to me.
Narrowing my eyes, I lean in. It”s a video, definitely of Serenity, and my mood plummets when I spot Chad.
Goddamnit little one, what the hell are you doing with him?
She”s dancing, which should be innocent enough. But she”s moving in ways I”ve never seen her move before, even with my cock inside her. Not only that, but Serenity is usually pretty balanced in the heels she likes to wear.
She”s falling all over herself, Chad’s arms wrapped around her. There”s some red door off in the distance behind them that he keeps pointing to, and although the video isn”t close up I can tell she”s got a ridiculous smile on her face.
Chad moves and she stumbles. He catches her with an arm before spinning her off towards that door and the dancing crowd swallows them up. The video ends and I snap my gaze up to Emilio.
“What the fuck was that?”
“That,” he says, setting the phone down on the desk, “is Feel Good. It”s another sex club in town.”
I”ve not put a lot of thought into the other kink clubs in the area. Competition isn”t an issue here most of the time, even with numbers dipping. Sins and Secrets experience is unique to anything else, and the members recognize and appreciate that. “And why is she there?”
He chuckles, and I”m tense enough I consider hitting him. “Looks like Chad brought her.”
“Who sent you the video?”
“Like I said, a buddy.” He shifts his weight back and forth in his feet, eyeing me. The black lanyard draped around his neck tells me he isn”t here for work tonight, and I guess I missed it against the black of his shirt and jacket. “I had some issues with the way the club was run last year, so a friend of mine decided to join Feel Good and keep tabs.”
I play that over in my head again, wondering how someone would connect the dots to know to send Emilio that video. Serenity doesn’t exactly brag about working here. “Your buddy is a member here, isn’t he?”
“Yes, and he isn’t in any trouble with SS,” Emilio continues, narrowing his gaze. “So let”s keep it that way.”
I grind my teeth together, but that detail really doesn’t matter to me in the grand scheme of things. My focus is on Serenity. “Did your buddy say what happened next? Is that video recent?”
Emilio shrugs. “He just sent it over. I have a direct number for work and he sent it to my phone, asking if that’s really Serenity.” He gives me a knowing look, one I’m not sure I like. “I thought you might want to see it.”
My jaw ticks. “She looks drunk.”
“She probably is. Maybe high”
I sigh, snatching my phone off the desk and checking her messages. The girl is clearly drunk in them, and guilt crawls beneath my skin when I realize she did reach out but I wasn’t up here to respond.
Doe Eyes: Hey, so, in case I die, I’m at Feel Good. It’s just a quick visit. I know you’re going to be busy working but I cannot admit this to my sister and I’m not going to worry Anita. Just so someone knows where I am in case I go missing. Sorry about work.
They kind of spiral after that.
Doe Eyes: You’re really pretty, you know?
Doe Eyes: We need to dance at the club. Do kink clubs do dancing?
Doe Eyes: So it’s a red flag if he asks if I’m still a virgin, yeah?
I stare down at the messages. There’s forty minutes in between the first and second message, and something tightens in my chest when I realize she didn’t feel like she had anyone else to confide in other than me. Even if she told Jo, what’s her cousin going to do to help from the east coast?
She’s gotta have friends, even if they aren’t close. Where are her people she can rely on?
It bothers me how she asks the questions. I’m sure these involve Chad, and I don’t like how they spiraled so quickly. “Did your friend say what’s behind the red door?”
Emilio gives me a pointed look. “It’s a sex club, dumbass. What do you think is behind the door?”
That’s exactly what I don’t want to think about. Not if she’s drunk or high or some mix of the two. “And he didn’t see her come back out?”
He shakes his head.
Fuck me.“Do you know how to get there? Or can you give me the goddamn address?”
Emilio smirks. “I can get us in. They kind of hate me over there.”
~~~
Feel Good makes me want to go home and take a shower. Everything feels like it’s covered in a layer of dirt, like they don’t scrub the surfaces often enough. This is the front of the club, which moonlights as a regular nightclub according to Emilio until you step through the red door.
It’s kind of cliche.
We find Emilio’s friend within five minutes of getting there, and he waves us over. I’m already judging the place despite myself, sliding my hands into my pockets as his buddy relays the night.
I left Nate in charge so there’s someone to keep people in control at Sins and Secrets. Jo and Vinny might take off my head for it, and I’ve just traumatized my best friend by dropping this on him, but I don’t need to be there right now. I need to be here.
“What the fuck do you mean she left?” Emilio growls, getting in the guy’s face. I think he mentioned his name is Drake, but I can’t be sure. I’m laser focused on Serenity, and if she already left with that prick -
“Like ten minutes ago,” Drake replies, looking between us. His date is further down the bar, watching the three of us curiously. “That guy didn’t leave with her.”
“And she just walked out?” I snap, the answer not making sense to me. Chad went through the trouble to get her here.
“Nah, she ran. She looked upset. I was going to check on her since I was watching, but she got into a car right away. She was driving off before I could get to the curb.”
That’s strange. I frown, trying to piece together the messages she sent me. Checking my phone, I wonder if maybe the sister I know nothing about picked her up, but if she didn’t want to reach out to her to begin with, why bother now?
“The guy’s still here?” Emilio goes on, and my eyes scan the club. I’m fine letting him do the talking at this point, since this is his area of expertise. Hunting down people in various clubs isn’t something I normally do.
Night clubs aren’t my scene. I prefer strip clubs where I don’t have to deal with all of this. I do my sets or perform in a group and go home.
When it comes to Serenity, things are messy.
“Yeah, in back someplace,” Drake replies, eyeing us. “Like I said, she looked upset when she ran out.”
I bet she did. If she was drunk I’m surprised she could move that quick, and any number of things could’ve sent her running.
“Well, let”s go see why she ran,” Emilio replies, eyeing me. I don’t know why the hell I’m following his lead, but I feel somewhat dazed. I should be at the club, screening all those damn questions about the auction that’s coming up. I should be focusing on my job, not my coworker. But Serenity stays in my mind, and the protective side of me is overpowering the parts of me that despise her.
“Fine,” I grunt, trying to remind myself mentally that I don’t like her. She’s a lot of drama with little answers, kind of like her cousin. Emilio follows me across the room, and I’m annoyed when the security waves us through without concern.
I can’t fathom why they bother having him here if the guard is all for show.
It’s a mess behind the red door. The space is cramped and there’s too many sweaty bodies grinding against each other to make sense of anything. I follow a few steps behind, avoiding bumping into bodies, and decide this place is a breeding ground for STDs. The place branches into a bunch of tight hallways, all of them overcrowded, and I start scanning the room for Chad.
“Oh,” Emilio says, catching my attention. He makes a beeline towards some nondescript guy I wouldn’t even notice in a crowd “We’re going to ask him.” The man cowers when Emilio approaches, making a squeaking noise that’s somewhat amusing despite the night I’m having as we approach. “Emilio.”
“Geoff.”
The guy stares at us like he’s concerned Emilio is going to kill him, and that might be a possibility with the way he keeps glaring down at the employee. “I didn’t think you needed to come back… again.”
“I have this nasty habit of ending up here whenever one of your members fucks up,” he replies, spiking my interest. I’m going to need to ask him about that someday. “I’m looking for someone.”
“Look, man, Jonah doesn’t come here much anymore.”
“No, not Jonah,” he snaps. “Know anyone named Chad?”
Something flashes in Geoff’s eyes, and I guess whatever weird connection Emilio has to the man is paying off. He shifts awkwardly on his feet, trying to look intimidating, but between the two of us he’s down about 150 pounds and missing about five inches of height. “I know a Chad.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Go on.”
Geoff looks between us, and I really am curious what brought Emilio here before. Maybe a job or something. “He brought in some girl. Really pretty. But she started acting weird, and then he cuffed her-”
“He cuffed her?” I snap, picturing Serenity. She’s great at avoiding telling you what she’s experienced with, but I haven’t tried to cuff her to anything yet. If Chad tried I doubt she’d admit if she’s never done that.
Not that I’ve bothered to ask.
Geoff nods, looking like he regrets saying that. “Yeah. She got upset. I couldn’t hear them but they were pushing each other and she was crying. A guard broke them up and she took off. Kind of stumbled but I think she straightened out before she got to the dance floor. We’re going to charge Chad for the cuffs.”
I frown, stepping towards him. He’s got loose lips, and whatever Emilio has over his head is enough. He doesn’t resist answering our questions. “Where the fuck is Chad now?”
Wincing, Geoff points. “Third door on the left.”
I take off without a word. I don’t have any plans for what I expect to do to Chad, much less what the hell I’m supposed to do with what I learned tonight, but I really hate him. He’s butted in enough, and now he’s gone out of his way to make her life harder.
But cuffing her?
That’s my job.
The door to the room doesn’t lock, which might be the only design choice that makes sense so far. It bangs off the wall when I throw it open, and I find Chad with some other girl on the bed, his body leaning over hers.
It takes all of a minute to see that her eyes are unfocused and she’s high off her ass. He jumps back with a scowl, glaring at me. “Private room, man.”
Snarling, I go to the girl first. She has enough wits about her to groan and sit up, looking between us with widening eyes. “I didn’t si-sign up for two.”
She’s slurring, and I grab her arm to ease her up to her feet. “Don’t worry, you aren’t getting either.”
“Hey, but I wanted-”
I give her a look, and she stops talking. Her hands are shaky, but I can’t tell if it’s drugs or nerves. “There’s a guy just down the hall named Emilio. He’s next to an employee named Geoff. Go stand with him.”
“Oh.” She looked between us, eyes unsure. When her gaze fixes on me again, she holds out a hand. “I’m Kat.”
“That’s nice,” I reply, pointing a finger towards the door. “Emilio. Go find Emilio.”
She nods, grabbing her bag, and uses the wall to walk out the room. I hear her yell out his name, and knowing him Emilio will go check on her.
I turn back to Chad, who glares at me like I’m the one who’s done something wrong. “What?”
“What did you give her?”
He smirks, shrugging innocently at the same time. “It’s a club, old man. She’s drunk.”
“She’s not drunk,” I argue, sizing him up. Since I stared at Chad’s intake paperwork, I know more about him than he probably wants to admit. He’s six years younger than I am, and I’m carrying my weight far better than he is. Old is definitely a stretch. “Did you give her the same shit you handed Serenity?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snaps, shaking his head at me. We’re going to play dumb apparently. “I didn’t give her nothin’.”
I sigh, turning to throw the door closed. I can hear the handle click as I turn back to Chad, who glares right back at me. “I knew you were going to turn into some shifty little fuck. You snuck back in yesterday and now you’re pulling shit like this.”
He snorts. “What, you think everyone who joins a sex club is there to play fair?”
“I think most people aren’t total dickheads when they join.” I size him up, sliding my hands into my pockets. He’s bulkier, but the weight doesn’t look like muscle. “If you hurt her-”
“What, Daddy, going to beat me up?”
It takes me a moment to realize what the hell he’s talking about. Is that why he came back in yesterday, for some shitty blackmail material? “You fucking idiot. You have to eavesdrop now because the people at the club won’t even put up with you?”
Some of the confidence in his face disappears. “I wanted to know what keeps both managers hidden away upstairs.”
“No, you wanted to make a pass at her and couldn’t get to first base.”
He grins, and I already know I’m about to do something stupid about what he says next. “No, man. I made it to third.”
I don’t remember moving across the room. But I blink and Chad’s head is bouncing off the wall, the knuckles in my hand splitting as the opposite one fists his collar. He curses, swinging widely, and it catches me in the shoulder.
I grunt. Fuck, I don’t do fist fights. Not since I was twenty. This isn’t something I let myself get involved in, and never over a fucking girl.
Except this one.
The punch throws me off balance, and I stagger to the side before reeling back and punching him again. The first caught him square in the face, his nose already bleeding from the hit, but the second punch connects with his jaw and sends a dulled shot of pain through my hand where it splits the second knuckle. I’m so laser focused on my goal I almost miss the loud crack sounding where my fist connects with his face.
He goes for my gut, and I realize Chad’s the type to dig his own grave when he speaks. “You fight better than she did.” I manage to catch his wrist, letting go of his collar to sock him in the stomach. He stumbles back and knocks over a chair, tripping over the damn thing before he crashes into the floor.
The door behind us opens, but I’m already lunging at him on the floor, bashing his head into the ground as I pull back my arm and punch him in the face over and over again.
“Hey - Emeric! You gotta let him live!”
I barely acknowledge that Emilio is behind me until he’s dragging me up off of Chad, who doesn’t move when my weight disappears. His face is a splatter of red, his nose twisted and little flecks of blood covering his shirt.
I push Emilio away as pulls me up, my gaze locked on Chad. He’s unconscious, and I’m disappointed when I notice the steady rise and fall of his chest. I’m not beating him hard enough to kill.
“Oh my god!” Geoff cries, and I don’t have to turn to recognize his whiny voice. “You can’t beat up a member! We have to call the police.”
I spin on him, adrenaline still coursing through me as Chad’s words bounce around in my head. You fight better than she did.
“He’s giving drugs to unsuspecting women,” I growl, and Geoff takes a step back. There’s two nosy people staring from the hall, and I don’t care what their impression of me is. “You want us to report that when the cops show?”
Geoff’s eyes widen. “He is?”
“Fucking hell, Geoff,” Emilio mutters.
“So you’re not going to call anyone on us,” I snap. “You can call and report him. Tell them you think someone learned what he was doing and beat the shit out of him.”
I mean, it”s technically the truth.
“Your cameras are going to be out for a bit,” Emilio agrees, nodding to me. He’s got a cell phone in his hand, different from the one I saw at the club, and he’s quickly typing up a message. “Russell can take care of that. You should probably call your manager in here, Geoff. He’ll want to know why Chad’s in trouble.”
“In trouble?” Geoff’s eyes whip between us.
“Yeah,” Emilio agrees, crossing his arms. “For the report Kathy is going to give on him.”
I frown, trying to figure out what’s going on, when the girl who introduced herself as Kat peers into the room. She’s got a protective looking woman at her side glaring at all of us, and if she plans to file a report, I encourage it. Her eyes still have that unfocused look, and I hope her friend keeps her safe.
Geoff nods slowly at us. “Right.”
I need to get out of here. There’s a suffocating amount of people watching, and my blood’s still pumping, encouraging me to turn back and continue wailing on Chad. I know Emilio is built to protect people, but I have plenty of muscles of my own from dancing. I can get in a few more hits before he’s in the way again.
The fucker claps me on the shoulder, interrupting my plans. “Leave him be, Emeric. He’s not worth it.”
But Serenity is.
Emilio didn’t hear what he said. Chad’s absolutely worth the charge, the blood, and the charge of murder for what he said. My fingers itch to grab my phone and call Serenity, to see what really happened, but he’s already in the process of ushering me out of the room before we cause any more trouble.
My cell is in my hand, and I’m pressing on the phone with bloody fingers that leave behind little streaks. Emilio keeps pace with me as we walk, but I’m barely paying attention to him. My focus is on this call.
Hey, you’ve reached Serenity. I’m never going to listen to this voicemail so don’t bother leaving one. Text me.
With a growl, I type out a message, looking at her previous ones. I’m not asking for details, because I’ll get them when I need to. Right now there’s only one thing I need her to tell me.
Me: Address?