Page 71 of Captive Heart

"I don't give a shit," Micah declared, pulling her into his arms and gently folding her into a protective embrace.

It was only then, when he knew she was safe, that his heart finally eased.

47

Melody melted into Micah's welcome arms, unable to stop the tears from finally falling.

She had been so ready. So prepared. So inside her head so that she could deal with what she had honestly thought was inevitable, that now she felt completely overwhelmed and it was taking her a while to get back into a normal headspace.

She gripped Micah tightly, almost afraid to believe he was real. But he felt solid and safe, and the warmth of his body, the comfort of his hold, was already starting to warm her, both physically and emotionally.

Rushing footsteps sounded loudly against the bare concrete, and there was the rowdy clamour of multiple voices all talking at once.

V had come around, and his voice reverberated, voluble and protesting above the din, with his panicked denials. And underneath it all was the soft whirr of the camera as it catalogued everything.

Melody buried her face into the crook of Micah's neck and tuned out the commotion, allowing herself to relax for the first time since she’d wandered outside the club and been attacked and abducted.

The reality of her last thoughts bubbled inside her mind, and the words in her heart begged to be expressed.

Maybe it was neither the time nor the place, but Melody didn't think twice this time. She raised her head so she could look him in the eye and, moving her hands so she could touch his dear face, the words burst out of her unrestrained. "I love you, Micah!"

He didn't answer, but that didn't matter. The love was hers to give freely, and that was what she was doing. It was all she wanted to achieve.

What Micah did do was lower his head and capture her lips with his own in a deep and tender kiss, the likes of which she had never expected to experience again.

48

It seemed like aeons later, but in reality, it had just been a few hours, and Melody was back within the security of the club's four walls.

It wasn't much of a home as far as homes went, sleeping in a BDSM themed room with her meagre personal belongings shoved unceremoniously into a couple of carrier bags and hidden in a coat closet, or sharing the employee lounge area with Micah, as her living space. But despite all that it was the happiest one she’d ever known, and Melody was thankful to be back.

Vinny Sutton—Melody still couldn't believe they shared the same name, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that—had been arrested and charged with a long string of offences including abduction and kidnapping, rape, various counts of abuse, imprisonment, and sexual assault. He was currently being questioned with a view to finding out the identities of the other six men who had corroborated with him to hide the truth, although both Micah and Melody had at least been able to give the authorities the name Guthrie in relation to the perp at the club.

Melody had been questioned and re-questioned, First by Detective Andy Storer, then by Detective Jason Scott whom she’d never met before, but who had apparently kicked in the locked gate at Vinny’s property with some fancy martial arts moves.

And then again by both of them together.

She felt a little aggrieved at the constant line of questioning and how they asked the same question over and over in a slightly different manner as if they were trying to trip her up. But the detectives had both been kind and patient. And Andy Storer, with his all singing, all dancing wheelchair and his funky purple beard, had been casual and irreverent, assuring her it was just procedure, so they could ensure they’d covered every eventuality in case things went to court.

They were hopeful that V would plead guilty in return for a reduced sentence, but they were expecting him to go away for life, either way.

They had, at least, allowed her to remain in the comfort of the club for the duration, even if it meant being ensconced in Micah's office, which they seemed to have adopted as some kind of operations room.

She hoped Desi, Charlotte, Luanna, and Laurel's husbands—the owners of the club—hadn't minded the disruption too much. She already owed them all far more than she could ever repay, and she didn't want to bring any further disturbance to their door.

Detective Storer had, at least, been able to shed some light on the events of the past and how they’d impacted on what had transpired in her life.

Vinny Sutton, it seemed, had also once been one of Daddy's littles. That nugget of information surprised Melody greatly, but once she had it, a lot of the puzzle pieces slipped seamlessly into place.

Vinny Mottram had taken Thomas Sutton's name but had never been legally adopted by him. He’d walked away from the relationship they’d shared approximately nine years ago, wanting more independence, and Daddy had supported him initially. But Vinny had still been enraged when Thomas replaced him with Melody.

A couple of years later, when Daddy withdrew his financial support to enable Vinny to stand on his own two feet, her abductor had realised that things outside the Sutton home were not quite as rosy as he’d expected them to be. He’d apparently spent a long time trying to creep back into Thomas' good graces, but by this time, Melody had been with him for three years. Thomas had moved on and wasn't interested in altering the arrangement. Not that he hadn't already been generous. It transpired that Thomas Sutton was very wealthy and had purchased the house in which Melody was held captive as a gift for Vinny, but apparently, that hadn't been enough. Vinny wanted to have his cake and eat it. He'd wanted independence but still expected to enjoy the benefits of Daddy's wealth.

Thomas, it seemed, had other ideas, and after endowing Vinny with the house and a generous settlement, he had withdrawn his support—or more accurately, the bottomless wallet Vinny had expected.

It had been a little while after this that the first arguments Melody witnessed had begun. That was when Vinny had changed tactics and had started to become aggressive instead, believing he had some sort of entitlement. As a result of this, but merely as a precaution, Thomas had legally adopted Melody and made her his next of kin. Melody vaguely remembered him asking her to sign some paperwork which he’d told her was to make sure her future was secure because of their age difference. She hadn’t fully understood that he’d actually adopted her, her role as his little means he didn’t always explain, but Melody did know that was when he’d insisted her surname changed.

Of course, none of that explained why Thomas Sutton hadn't made any attempts to help Melody after Vinny had taken her from the home where they’d lived together, but the police were planning on interviewing him next to see if he had any culpability in Melody's subsequent captivity.

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