Chapter Eight. #3
It took a few minutes, but they both finally calmed down, and I felt drained. “Property, my apartment, carry me. Pet, run my bath.”
Both men rose, and Blue scooped me into his arms. I let him have this; Blue needed it.
Later on, after they’d both bathed and fussed over me, I curled up with one on either side. Something told me this had become complicated.
“You’ve got a problem. One of the male escorts was beaten last night. He’s in hospital,” Sparrow said as I emerged from my bedroom. She glanced in and saw both men remained asleep.
“Let them sleep. I had Belladonna knock them out. They need it,” I replied.
“They’ll kill each other when they wake up,” Sparrow pointed out.
“That’s why there’re pillows between them. Priest will awaken in an hour and leave before Blue awakens. It’s safer that way. What happened to my escort?”
“Not sure. The police discovered him; he’d been beaten and was unconscious. Stitch is going to meet you there with Belladonna. Wylde called it in as they found a card with your name on it as the emergency contact,” Sparrow replied.
“Shit. Get a lawyer on standby. I might want her,” I said.
“Already contacted Ramona.”
“Thanks, Veep. I’ll head over.”
I went to walk away, but Sparrow reached out. “Are you okay after last night?”
“Yeah, guess I got lucky for ten years.” I shrugged.
“If you need us…”
“I know, thanks, Veep.” I nodded at Sparrow and walked away.
It was still hard for me to talk about what I’d suffered back then.
I’d shared with Belladonna, but that was about it.
The others all knew, but I didn’t discuss it.
I headed for my bike and paused. There was something on it.
Frowning, I approached carefully and saw a wooden cross.
Twisted around it were sharp thorns stained with blood.
Sparrow appeared, heading for her own Hog. I guessed she was going to her warehouse when she stopped. “What?” she demanded.
“Found this on my bike. Someone got in last night.”
“Heli was on gate; he didn’t report any trouble.”
“No, they entered over the fence.” My sharp eyes picked out where the barbed wire was slightly flattened.
“I’ll have Cyber check the alerts. Get going, and I’ll keep you updated.” Sparrow levitated the cross and carried it back inside the clubhouse.
Right, wounded escort.
Damn. I looked at Miles Daniels’ bruised, torn face. He was a nice guy who was employed three nights a week and was very exclusive. None of my escorts worked the streets. They were high class, and none earned less than four thousand a night.
“He’s been unconscious the whole time,” Belladonna murmured to me.
“Did you get anything?”
“Yeah, her face was hidden behind a mask, but she tasered him and gave Miles a real beat-down before sodomising him when he was down.”
“Shit. Is Stitch able to heal him?”
“Yes, but his injuries will drain her. Miles needs facial reconstruction.”
“Can Stitch…”
“Stitch will put him back to what he was, and I can wipe Miles’ memories. After what was done to him, Miles doesn’t deserve the grief and agony that’s going to come from remembering. I want a few more moments; there’s something about the attacker that’s bugging me.”
“Okay, I’ll go get his bills charged to the club.”
“Yeah,” Belladonna answered, already lost in her thoughts.
As I headed for the main desk, a man stepped into my path. I gazed into the calm gaze of Wylde. “Hey.”
“Hi,” I replied.
“Mr Daniels works for you?” he inquired.
“Yes, Miles is a private escort. High class and very exclusive. Miles is well liked and respected by his clients.”
“One of those clients beat him to a shit,” Wylde said mildly.
“And Stitch will fix that,” I murmured, looking around.
“Can she?” Wylde queried.
“Yeah. But it’s going to drain Stitch.”
Wylde nodded. “Any idea who this was?”
“No. But I will find out. Miles is one of the nicest people I know. He started this to get through college, and now he’s made a business out of it. Miles is stocking money up until he gets too old, and then he’ll set himself up somewhere,” I replied.
“Nun, there wasn’t sex involved?”
I eyed Wylde. “Are you asking me if I’m running a prostitute ring?”
“I have to ask.”
“Wylde, I manage a high-end escort service. Nothing more. They accompany women on dates, conferences, and so on, and are paid incredibly well. The women have a handsome man on their arm who can intelligently hold a conversation, and they’re not shamed for being single or a spinster.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll go check on him.”
“We’re going to move him to a private clinic. Stitch needs access to him, and that can’t happen here,” I murmured.
Wylde nodded. “Just let me know where.”
I patted his arm and walked away. Wylde understood some of our powers, but not all of them.
His acceptance went a long way toward soothing ruffled feathers.
We weren’t clean and probably wouldn’t ever be; having a cop around was dangerous for him and us.
But somehow Wylde and Sapphire made it work.
That gave me hope for the rest of my sisters; I didn’t dare dream anymore, but despite that, a tiny spark wouldn’t die.