“And I’ll have it, but I’ll run it.”

  “You don’t have the credentials.”

  Oh, she seriously didn’t go there. I took a step in her direction, but Pete moved between us. Smart man.

  He put a hand out and held me back, turning toward Janice. “Kate is the best of the best. I don’t care what you think about what she does during her downtime, but her professionalism is impeccable.” His chest puffed out, and his stare hardened.

  Despite any desires Pete had to be dominated by Mistress Mandy, in his day job, he was all alpha male. Janice’s eyes widened, showing the whites all around.

  She took a step back. “I only meant—”

  His grip hardened on my upper arm because I still hadn’t backed down. My fingers had curled into claws, and I was about ready to launch myself at Janice. She seriously thought she was going to insult me inside my home? It might only be a one-room studio apartment, but it was mine.

  Her lips thinned. Eyes flicking to me, she took me in with a look of disgust. “You’re one of them.”

  “One of them?” I realized her problem with me. “Right. You think because I get my kink on, I can’t be objective? Well, let me tell you, there’s nothing wrong with it. You might actually enjoy a little yourself.”

  What end of the whip would she prefer? My gut told me the handle, but at her quick inhalation, I knew she and I shared more than I thought.

  The corner of my mouth lifted in a smirk. “Don’t knock it till you try it.”

  Her gaze hardened. “Why don’t we stick to the case? We’re not here to talk about…that.”

  “No, we’re not. But I think you were about to apologize for being a prick. Which is interesting, considering you don’t actually have one.”

  Pete released me and threw his hands in the air. “Sheesh, the two of you are going to have to bury the hatchet.”

  Janice shrugged. “Whatever. If Pete says you know what you’re doing, then fine, but that list should be handed over to the task force.”

  “Not happening. If you want it, get a warrant.” Thinking about the members list had my mind pondering my visit to the Edge. “I should watch the videos again.”

  “You sure that’s a good idea?” asked Pete.

  No.

  He’d witnessed my meltdown, but this would be my second viewing. I had my shit under control.

  I flashed him my biggest grin. He wouldn’t buy it, but I didn’t care. “Sure.”

  My phone chirped with life. Jake’s name flashed on the screen and with it came a sudden, pulsating flush of arousal beating at the apex of my thighs.

  I tapped the screen, my eyes flicking to Pete. “Yes, Jake.”

  Pete crossed his arms. He and Janice moved over to my couch. Heads bowed together, they became engrossed in conversation.

  I moved to the small kitchenette, standing close to my fridge. “What’s up?”

  “Good morning.” His voice was full of liquid warmth and sensuous possibility. “I hope you slept well.”

  I coughed. “Um, well, no. Actually, I didn’t.” I’d tossed and turned, trying to find a position that didn’t hurt.

  “Oh, really?” His teasing lacked any of the darkness from last night.

  “Yes.” I wasn’t interested in chitchatting about our sexcapades, at least not with Ms. Judgmental sitting on my couch less than fifteen feet away. I kept my voice to a whisper. “What do you want?”

  His voice went to high alert. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I have company; that’s all. Pete and his partner, Janice, are here.”

  A heavy sigh on the phone had me clenching my fist. I hated frustrating him, not when I was trying so hard to be accommodating and submissive. Our roles were so damn new.

  He coughed and cleared his throat. “Well, I spoke with Thomas. He’s not happy but is willing to help. I’ll be at your place to pick you up at noon. Then we’ll head out.”

  “Hang on,” I said, then muted the connection. I called out to Pete. “Jake’s picking me up at noon to take me to the Edge. Do you want me to go with him, or should I go with you?”

  “You need to come to the precinct. Have him meet you there afterward.”

  Evidently, going to the precinct wasn’t a voluntary thing.

  Janice’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I don’t see why that man is on this case at all. He’s just as much a predator as the ones we’re trying to put behind bars.”

  “Goddamn it,” hushed Pete. “Just because you had a problem doesn’t make him a bad guy. He’s well-respected—”

  Her voice turned shrill. “You weren’t there.”

  “Shush,” said Pete. “Not here.” He shifted and turned his back to me, effectively blocking me from the rest of their conversation.

  Chapter Twelve

  Kate

  “What’s going on?” asked Jake.

  “Listen. Pete says I need to be at the police station at noon for a meeting. Can you pick me up after it’s done?”

  After a slight pause, he answered. “Sure thing.” A hint of disappointment hung in the slow reply.

  I glanced at Pete. “How long do you think it’ll take?”

  “It’s a lunch meeting.” He shrugged. “So…an hour?”

  “Is one o’clock too late?”

  Jake’s rumbling chuckle over the phone warmed up my insides. “No, babe. We’ve got all day. I’ll see you then. Make sure you wear a dress, not pants.”

  “Why—”

  “Kate,” he said, “don’t argue. Women don’t wear pants at the Edge. They hardly wear anything at all.”

  “But I want to walk those woods.”

  “Then bring a pair of boots.” His snicker was loud and clear as he hung up.

  I wasn’t the type of girl who usually wore dresses. With a sigh, I turned to Pete. My apartment felt really cramped with his prissy partner sucking up all the air. “I need to take a shower.”

  Janice shot another glance at her watch. “We don’t have time for that.”

  With a sweet smile plastered on my face, I stepped over to my dresser. “Don’t worry; I’ll be quick.” Though I was tempted to take a long-ass shower just to spite her.

  I grabbed panties and a bra from the top drawer, then paused. Not only wasn’t I the type of girl who wore dresses, I didn’t waste money on fancy lingerie. But I did own a few interesting pieces Jake might like. And after his display of dominance last night, or rather early this morning, the need to please him was growing inside me.

  I still didn’t understand why I’d reacted the way I had to pain but figured it was probably the result of being out of the role for such a long period of time. I had no doubt we would find our rhythm. Until then, the steel he’d laced into his command had me itching to please him.

  I threw the cotton panties and mismatched bra back inside and dug to the bottom of the drawer where I found a black lace bra and matching thong. Despite my irritation with his demands on what to wear, I wanted to see how far I could take my new role. To do that, I had to make an effort and play the part of a submissive. A tiny shiver of excitement pulsed through my body.

  A cough sounded behind me, and I turned to catch Pete smirking. He’d been watching while I agonized over my choice of undergarments. Janice noticed too.

  “You can go,” I said to her. “Pete can take me.”

  “We drove together,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “If you wouldn’t mind hurrying up?”

  “What do you think I’m doing?” My closet held an equally limited number of choices. I picked from the three I had and chose the sunny yellow vintage dress.

  With a wide, flared skirt, the dress hailed from the classy vintage era of the fifties, and if I were the kind of girl to put a petticoat under it, I could probably step right into Aunt Mel’s Diner and fit in perfectly with her retro-fifties decor. The neckline was modest, but the cinched waistline and wide belt emphasized my cleavage. I selected a pair of comfortable flats, adding them to my selection.

  My houseguests were left to fend for themselves while I shut myself inside the bathroom and turned up the steam.

  I primped long enough that we arrived ten minutes late. I might have done that to irritate Janice.

  All eyes fell on me when I stepped through the doorway of the bullpen. Even Captain Marshall had difficulty keeping his eyes where they belonged.

  The forensics team stood at the front of the bullpen conference room. The coroner, Dr. Westerly, gave a rundown on Elizabeth’s autopsy result. “Extensive bruising was noted on the body, but no defensive wounds. As you know, we collected a semen sample, which is from only one donor. And there wasn’t anything we could recover from underneath her fingernails. We did confirm that she died from asphyxiation.”

  Dr. Westerly flicked through a set of photos, pausing at a close-up of her neck. “What’s odd are the two ligature marks around her neck.” He used a laser pointer to outline the faint band around her throat. “This one we’re assuming is from a strap or a belt. The bruising here is older.”

  Janice snorted. “What does that mean?”

  Dr. Westerly pointed to a thinner, deeper groove. “The bruising along this line is fresher, and this was done with a ligature. It cut deep, and it’s my opinion that is what killed her.”

  Detective John Watts leaned forward. “Why didn’t she struggle? Doesn’t make sense.”

  “She was strapped to a beam,” said Pete. “How can you know she didn’t struggle?”

  Watts turned to Pete. “I meant before they tied her up. Why didn’t she fight then?”

  I cleared my throat. “She didn’t know what was going to happen. Take another look at the video, and you’ll understand. Elizabeth thought she was in a takedown scene. She may have struggled a little for show, but not so much that anyone would’ve really been hurt.”

  A room full of blank stares and open mouths greeted that statement. With a shake of my head, I explained the psychology behind consensual nonconsent.

  Captain Marshall stood and paced the room. “We’re still in the process of identifying the other victim.”

  “Yes,” said Dr. Westerly. “The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition. We’re estimating she was killed a month ago. We’re trying to identify her, using dental records.”

  The technical team was up next. They stood in a gaggle at the front of the room.

  I had worked with all of them over the years. Gary Stover was the lead geek. He pushed his wire-rimmed glasses over the bridge of his nose and played the video of the unknown girl’s murder. My heartbeat accelerated, and my palms slickened with sweat.

  Pete, who sat beside me, gripped my hand hard. He leaned down to whisper discreetly in my ear. “Do you need to leave?”

  I hung my head, letting the curtain of my hair shield me from the images flashing on the screen. I squeezed his hand and whispered back. “No, just lean forward and block it. The sound doesn’t bother me, but the images…”

  He shifted in his seat. “You sure?”

  No way was I going to flip out in front of these men. I refused to be judged weak by them. I closed my eyes and listened to Gary Stover and his geek-speak.

  “The first victim,” said Gary, “was abducted in the same woods as Elizabeth Westmoreland. Fortunately, the murderers left the tape running in the van.”

  “What good is that?” asked Captain Marshall.

  I had to agree. There was little on that tape that could help us identify the perpetrators. However, we could maybe figure out a radius for where she’d been taken based on how long the tape ran. And maybe, just maybe, the noises on the tape could hint at location or direction. Other than that, I didn’t see how this helped the case.

  Gary cleared his throat. “I edited out the…well, I cleaned up the extraneous noise and came up with this.” After a brief pause, an audio began to play.

  Captain Marshall’s booming voice filled the room. “Sounds like random road noise.”

  “Exactly. It’s road noise,” said Gary with pride. “It’s the sound of the van driving.”

  I could hear the distinctive tire noise, and a moment when the sound shifted, like the tires had moved from gravel to pavement. Seemed like Gary and I were thinking the same thing.

  Pete poked me in the ribs. “It’s safe. The video’s off.”

  I looked up, hoping no one in the room noticed my little decompensation.

  Gary Stover stared directly at me. “Ms. Summers, we were hoping you might find this useful.”

  Janice laughed. “What the hell is she supposed to do with that? It sounds like chicken scratch.”

  Looking to his co-geeks for support, Gary explained. “Well, we know she was taken from the fetish club. The time spent in the van is approximately an hour.” He pulled up a map. “Not knowing the speed of the van, it’s difficult to make any accurate predictions, but based on average speeds of the roads in that area—”

  Several circles popped up on the map.

  “We have a rough area to begin searching for where she was murdered. If we can find the scene of the crime, we might find more evidence that will help.”

  Several voices groaned in unison at the huge display he highlighted.

  Gary held up a hand. “This is where I’m hoping Ms. Summers can help.”

  I wasn’t sure how much help I could be. “You want me to limit the search area using that? Seems to me we should bring in a blind consultant, someone who might be able to follow that. I’m not sure how you expect me to be of any help.”

  He held out a thumb drive, a look of consideration on his face. “You can get to the Edge using Mr. Davenport’s connections. It will take us over a week to procure a blind specialist.”

  Captain Marshal cleared his throat. “If you can find out where they loaded the girls in the van, then you can use this audio recording to track the van’s movements. It might lead us to where they took them.” He shook his head. “I mean, where they took the other girl.”

  I’d seen something like what Gary described done in a movie once, but wasn’t sure I could replicate it. “I don’t know.”

  “We have a search area in excess of ten thousand square miles right now. If you can narrow it down by even a fraction, it will help. We’re looking for a needle in a haystack for a crime scene a month old.”

  Yeah, not very helpful. “I’m headed out there today.”

  “That’s great,” said Gary. “We’ve already broken down the audio. We have a rough guide for accelerations, turns, stops, and change in road surfaces. If you see…er, hear anything we can use?”

  I held out my phone. “Can you download it to my phone? I can’t make any promises.”

  “Well, if all you find is where the van started, we might be able to come out with a team in a few days.”

  “Okay,” said Captain Marshall. He turned to me. “So, this is our game plan. Kate goes to the Edge, finds where the girls were loaded into the van, and if possible, she’ll try to track down a more specific route. If not, Gary and his team will follow with his gear.”

  “I’m also planning on getting the list of the members and slaves,” I said as a matter of point, “as well as any other personnel connected to the club.”

  “That’s great,” he said. “Send the list, and we’ll start working on it.”

  He sounded just like Janice.

  I shook my head. “This is a personal favor the owner is doing for Jake. I get the list and clear the members. Anyone suspicious, I feed to you.”

  Janice huffed. “Captain, tell her how ridiculous that is. Her flea-bitten detective agency isn’t equipped to run that many background checks. We have the resources. Give us the list.”

  Back to this, were we? Challenging me in front of the entire team? Beside me, Pete ground his jaw. Yeah, he didn’t like it either. Janice had no idea of the computing power behind Mitzy’s gaming platform. I’d scrimped and saved and poured all my money where it counted. Although a gaming addict, Mitzy had a hacker’s heart. No one in this room needed to know about my secret weapon.

  I kept my tone firm. “No-go. If you want Thomas’s list, then get a warrant. Me, I’m headed over there today. I’ll have the list in my hands tonight and an initial screen on everyone within twenty-four hours.” I jerked my chin toward Pete. “I’ll let Pete know if anyone smells enough to warrant further sniffing around by you.”

  Janice scrunched her nose. “It’s him, isn’t it? Now that you’re working with him, he has you tied around his finger. Men like Jake Davenport are dangerous.”

  “What do you mean, men like Jake?” I tapped my finger on the tabletop, counting slowly to diffuse the sudden upwelling of defensive anger. I’d lost my job because of that same association.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Men who get their kicks beating on women.”

  I pushed away from the table and stood. “Well, I whip men for fun. Are you saying I’m dangerous too?”

  The entire room stilled with a claustrophobic silence. A few nervous coughs sounded from the far end of the table. These men knew why I was kicked off the force. Not a single one could look me in the eye. As long as we ignored what I was, we were fine.

  Janice had just brought it out into the open. Now, we had to deal with the uncomfortable truth. I was a sadistic man-whipping dominatrix.

  Janice and I stared each other down.

  She cracked first. “It makes you sick. That’s what it means. Women like you, with your privilege, your legacy, make it impossible for the rest of us to make it in this job. You’ve got no respect for yourself, for the job, or for those who have to follow after the mess you make. You disgust me.”

  Well, it wasn’t like I hadn’t heard this before. Seriously, I thought she was going to throw something hurtful my way.

  “I’ve had enough of this. Captain, rein your bitch in. I’ll be in touch.”

  I kind of had a déjà vu moment going on here as I stomped out of the bullpen with Pete following fast on my heels. Hadn’t I done this recently?

  “Kate,” he called out after me. “Wait up.”

  I pushed open the doors and stepped outside. I dug through my purse, looking for my phone. A foreign feeling stung at my eyes. Hot pinpricks of shame threatened to spill. Damn that Janice woman for calling me out like that. I had nothing to be ashamed of, so why were tears threatening? Every man I’d touched asked for the release only I could give.

 

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