25. Von
A fter a quick introduction so the new bloods knew who I was, the drinks flowed. While I didn’t want my brothers or the guys getting wasted or high, I expected the opposite for the ten men I planned to torture. To ensure their glasses were never empty, I slipped a hefty tip to the three women who came to assist Ruby. I’ve found when women band together to accomplish something you can count on it getting done.
Crystal, one of the waitresses, came to squat by my seat. “Lady Evonnia, I wanted to let you know the room and items have been prepared. Would you like to check the room out now?”
I scanned the group of men and spotted two who must have been lightweights the way they were swaying on their feet.
“Yes, I’d like to have some fun. Do you see those two men right over there?” I asked, discreetly pointing. “Once you’ve shown me where the room is, come back and tell those men a private showing is waiting for them. Then bring the lucky pair to me.”
“Of course,” Crystal assured me with a knowing smile. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the way, it can be a little tricky to find the entrance.”
Before I stood, I caught Erik’s attention who was sitting in an armchair across from me, his back to the stage. “I’m going to the room I booked, stay here and make sure those two drunkards go with Crystal when she comes back. ” I signed.
“ You’re at least taking Bear with you, right? ” Erik questioned.
I nodded. “ I’ll have Apollo there as well, but I need someone I trust to keep a detailed eye on the other eight men. Once I’m done with those two, I’ll need you to pick who should be next. ”
“ Am I only allowed to observe or can I test them? Remember, I’m special forces and not just another pretty face. There are a few simple things I can do to prep them for your conversation. ”
Grinning, I sat back and spread my legs wide enough for Erik to catch a glimpse of my bare pussy. “ You and your damn dirty mouth always know how to get me all hot and bothered. Play with them however you like as long as you don’t make anyone suspicious. ”
With the matter settled, I stood and blew Erik a kiss, only for him to act like an idiot as he dramatically clutched his heart. Instead of fighting off the urge to laugh, I embraced it as any flirtatious girly would.
“Lead the way, lovely,” I said to Crystal as I looped my arm through Apollo’s.
It truly was becoming apparent how useful it was that all my guys knew sign language, this way I didn’t have to repeat anything or worry about someone overhearing. Sure, there was a chance others around us might know sign language, but they’d have no context as to what the conversation meant.
Crystal kept a decent pace as we navigated the crowded space which once felt so large. We paused in front of a large wooden door, reminding me of something you’d see leading down to a dungeon. Two bouncers dressed in all red suits guarded the door. The man on the right held a tablet, which I learned had the evening's reservations.
“This is Miss Zuccaro, she rented a room for the night,” Crystal informed the man.
Both bouncers' attention snapped to me, and they seemed to stand just a little straighter as if they were worried I’d yell at them. Then they seemed to notice Bear behind me, and their eyes went wide.
“Well, did you find her name on the list?” Crystal snapped.
The bouncer with the tablet pulled himself together. “Yes, she has room ten for the night.”
“Is there a limit to how many people I can have in the room?” I asked.
His brows knit together. “I’m sorry?”
“Tonight we brought prospective employees, and we want to conduct a test. So men will be coming and going from the room, is that okay?” I rephrased.
Understanding flashed in his gaze. “Of course, the room is yours to use as you see fit. No one will interfere with whatever happens behind closed doors.”
“Wonderful,” I cheered, clapping my hands together. “Let’s head on in.”
The bouncer who didn’t have the tablet pulled open the heavy wooden door to reveal a wide hallway. It reminded me of a hotel with the many doors on either side marked with numbers. Silence fell the moment the wooden door was closed, which explained why they picked it. Crystal led the way to the door marked ten and unlocked it for me.
“You can lock the room from the inside if you choose, and if you lock yourself out, come find me. Should you need help immediately, the bouncers at the door have a key as well, but no one will use them unless you ask,” Crystal shared. “Is there anything you need before I go back for the gentlemen?”
“No, I think we’ll be good,” I said, pushing the door open to reveal the room.
The room itself wasn’t much to talk about, but what they had in the room was why I picked it. Along one entire wall was every single tool, toy, or equipment you’d need to fulfill your wildest BDSM dreams. I walked into the red lit room and circled the giant double-sided wooden X, also known as a Saint Andrew’s cross. Leather cuffs were attached at the top and bottom of the cross to securely restrain whoever I planned to chat with.
A large leather couch was placed in front of the cross with a chaise that could easily accommodate two or maybe three people. As I wandered the room, I spotted an oversized dog kennel a human could fit in without too much trouble.
“Huh, you know something like this might come in handy,” I mused.
“Oh, and how would you use it, my treasure?” Apollo asked as he came up behind me and rested his hands on my hips.
I cocked my head slightly as I thought, while Apollo took full advantage of my exposed neck. He started to slowly kiss from my collarbone to just under my ear. It was highly distracting, but I wasn’t going to admit it and inflate Apollo’s ego even more.
“I’m thinking if we find one of the moles, we strip him and lock his ass up while we find out if there are any others here tonight. It would be fascinating to know if they’re aware of each other or if Serena led them to believe they're the only one she sent,” I shared, then twisted to face Apollo. “If I was in her shoes, I wouldn’t tell them.”
Apollo brushed his fingers along the edge of my face. “Yes, but you have a wonderful devious mind that would plan for the possibility of them getting caught. I can assure you Serena has no such talent.”
The sound of someone loudly clearing their throat pulled my attention to Bear. “Sup?” I asked.
“Why is there a large pile of gold forks and what looks like a staple gun on this tray?” Bear questioned and held both items up to show me.
"Oh, they’re gold, how classy,” I said, hurrying over and plucking the fork out of his hand.
I tested a finger over the tines of the fork and was impressed with how sharp they were. The game I’d come up with in my head seemed like it would work, but it would depend on the fork, these would be perfect. Flipping my grip so the tines faced down, I stabbed the fork into the wooden table the tray was resting on. The thunk sound it made had me grinning and clapping my hands excitedly.
“They’re for a new game I came up with,” I explained as I picked up one of the metal-tipped darts. “These are backups just in case my original idea didn’t work. Apollo, take the tray and set it on the couch so it’s easier for me to grab from.”
Apollo caught my hand still holding the dart and kissed the back of it. “It would be my pleasure.”
Bear let out a snarl as he pulled me away from Apollo and pressed me to his chest.
Apollo gave Bear a withering look as he sighed. “We need to come to some kind of truce, Sir Bearington. We both love the same woman, and neither of us is going anywhere any time soon.”
A middle finger was the only response Apollo got because there was a knock on the door.
“Knock it off, you two, it’s time to get serious,” I snapped. “No matter what I do or say neither of you can butt in or lay a finger on these men unless I give the order. Ignore these two simple rules, and your hand will be the only attention your dick is getting for at least a month.”
Bear nodded, but he wasn’t the one I was worried about. My shadow knew how I operated even if he didn’t like some of my tactics. Apollo was the wild card, and I didn’t have time to worry about his reaction.
“Treasure, I would never dream of intervening with your plans. Your mind is one of the things I fell for first, closely followed by your ruthlessness,” Apollo shared, his expression full of earnest emotion.
I stared at him for a moment, utterly baffled at how he could say things like that so casually.
“Good,” I said after clearing my throat. “Give me a second to get in place, then, Bear, you open the door and escort our guests over to the cross. Apollo, ask Crystal to bring us a bottle of sipping bourbon and four glasses.”
Knowing they would do as I asked, I hurried to the couch, stretched out on the chaise, and adjusted both zippers so they exposed a vulgar amount of skin. These men needed to believe this was all a game—until it wasn’t. I signaled the guys, and the sound of the door opening had my skin tingling. It had been far too long since I’d had the chance to play with anyone. The Judge had been almost a week ago now, and I typically didn’t go more than four days without someone pissing me off.
“Holy shit, when you said private party, I didn’t think it would be with the sexy sister,” one of the men said, his words slurring a little as he stumbled in.
The second man followed close behind, gawking at the room until he crashed into the first man. They both tumbled to a heap on the floor with copious amounts of swearing. I rolled my eyes, stood, and walked over to them, offering a hand to help one of them up. Of course, by bending over this way I just so happened to expose a large amount of my boobs.
“Here, let me help,” I offered, my voice soundly rather sultry even to my ears.
Wide-eyed, the second man grabbed my hand and managed to get to his feet without pulling me down to join them. “Tell me, what is your name?”
“Ruggero, Ruggero Ferretti, Lady Evonnia,” he answered.
I smiled as I extracted my hand from his sweaty grip. “Ruggero, what an interesting name. Would you be able to help your fellow brother to his feet since you’re the one who bumped into him?”
Ruggero nodded like a bobblehead and hauled the other man to his feet. I watched as the man brushed off his suit and tried to right it, but truly it was a lost cause.
“And who might you be?” I questioned, taking a step closer so there was no doubt in his drunken state I was talking to him.
He stared at me, gaping like a fish, until Ruggero slapped his back, which seemed to get his brain working again. “Bruno Conti.”
“Bruno, it’s a good strong name,” I commented with a wink.
There was another knock on the door, and I glanced past the men to see Crystal handing a tray to Bear with the liqueur I’d requested. Perfect timing.
“Come, sit, have a drink with me,” I urged, leading the way to the couch.
I moved the tray of goodies to the side so I could sit in the middle, forcing Ruggero and Bruno to sit on either side of me. Bear set the tray on the ottoman and even went so far as to pour three glasses. I smirked as I noticed how he gave way more to both men than he’d poured for me. I’m a woman who can hold her liquor, but this wasn’t a situation where I could risk losing focus.
“Thank you, Bear,” I purred, taking the glass.
Slowly, I crossed one leg over the other, exposing my bare thigh. Both men fell for the trap and ogled me for a moment. “So tell me, what’s it like being in the surviving group of new bloods? My brothers never tell me anything saying I’m far too delicate to hear about such things. You two don’t think the same way, do you?”
Bruno shook his head furiously. “No, Miss Evonnia, ask me anything I’d be glad to tell you.”
“Yeah, I’m an open book,” Ruggero added.
Smiling brightly, I wiggled in my seat, brushing against both men. “This is so exciting, but please, call me Von. We’re going to be good friends so there’s no need to be so formal.”
Ruggero actually blushed at my offer and rubbed the back of his neck. “Then feel free to call me Rug, most of my friends do.”
“Rug, odd, but I like it.” I chuckled. “So I have a question, but remember, we’re friends so that means no lying or holding back.”
Both men gave me their assurances, and Bruno took a rather large gulp of his drink as if to prepare. What on earth is he thinking I’m going to ask? Is there more going on than just Serena’s interference?
“There are fifteen of you left, right?” I questioned, starting off easy.
“Yes, but after tonight I think we might be down at least two,” Rug answered.
Confused, I frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“This was a mandatory outing, only two out of the five were given permission not to be here. When the Masters find out two of them didn’t come because they hate strip clubs, they’re as good as dead,” Rug explained. “To ignore a direct order for something as stupid as that shows their loyalty isn’t to the Boss.”
“Fascinating,” I murmured. “What about the fifth man?”
Bruno and Rug exchanged looks as if they were debating whether or not to answer truthfully.
“Silvio was told not to come,” Bruno admitted. “He’s one scary sonofabitch and none of us wanted to risk him hurting one of the dancers or staff here.”
Stunned, my gaze lifted to meet Apollo’s, who was leaning against the cross so he was close, but didn’t feel like he was hovering. “What is Silvio’s surname?”
“Um… Bernardi I think,” Rug answered. “None of us know much about him, but I’m pretty sure he killed one of the new bloods for sneaking into his room. It was a test, all of us had to break into each other’s rooms and find one thing we might be able to use against them. The guy assigned to break into his room was never seen again.”