Page 22 of The Bodyguard and the Bombshell

“Sounds like Kenz,” Aidan said with a chuckle. “Now that would be funny. It’s not. I’m talking about Kenzie Taggart. She’s somewhere classified. I’m sure she was pissed to miss the party. Chaos is Kenzie’s idea of a good time. Also Kenz has pink hair, though she does have a lot of wigs. I always wonder how she gets all her hair under there. You okay, baby?”

Carys had a hand to her mouth. She’d gone a bright pink. “Yep. Yes. Went down the wrong pipe. I need some water.”

Carys stood and strode back to the kitchen.

All of Nate’s instincts kicked in. She hadn’t taken a drink or eaten anything, so there was nothing to get stuck in any of her pipes, and was that the way a doctor should refer to pieces of human anatomy she’d been regularly tested on?

Carys knew something, and she didn’t want to tell him.

“I’m intrigued,” Aidan was saying. “I can’t think of a single sub I would say is super hot. Now I did grow up with most of them, and I’m the weirdo who hasn’t taken his eyes off one woman for years, but I can appreciate other women on a purely aesthetic level.” He snapped his fingers as though remembering something. “Daphne O’Malley. She’s got dark hair. Green eyes. Pretty girl. She might have come in with Chloe. Hey, Car, do you think it could be Daphne?”

A bright smile was on Carys’s face as she returned. “That would fit. Yes, it could definitely be Daphne. She doesn’t come into town often, but when she does, she usually spends a night at one of the clubs. I’m almost sure I saw her in the locker room last night.”

And he was almost sure she was lying. Nate stared at Carys.

The redhead sat down but seemed to feel his gaze on her.

“Nate and Daphne O’Malley.” Aidan didn’t seem to feel the tension in the room. “I like it. She’s actually a good match for you, man. Like I said, you got lucky. Her parents own this organic cattle ranch a couple of hours south of here. You have ranching in common. Now, I will tell you she’s the product of one of those crazy threesomes. You might think about that.”

Nate never blinked, simply stared at Carys, who tried to look pretty much anywhere but at him.

“I’m joking,” Aidan continued. “Not about the threesome part. Her mom is married to two men. Only one of them is a cattle rancher. Lucas is a lawyer. So when you think about it, it resembles your mom and dad. You’ve got hard physical labor mixed with super smarts. I mean, if you shoved a successful romance writer in there.” Aidan stopped, seeming to understand he was missing something. “Uh, dude you look a little crazy right now.”

“What do you know, Carys?” He asked the question in the same tone he would use if he was interrogating someone during an investigation.

Aidan sat up straight. “Hey, let’s back down. She doesn’t know anything.”

Carys’s jaw tightened.

“Yeah, she does. She knows exactly who I’m talking about. She knew the minute I described what she was wearing.” Nate felt it in his bones. “She saw Dee in the locker room, I would bet. You know who I spent last night with. You saw her.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Carys wasn’t a good liar. She had many tells, including the fact she couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “Besides, what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.”

Aidan was now staring his fiancée’s way. “Since when? I was joking about the whole masquerade thing. You know we’ll be talking about last night until the next time. The club runs on gossip. Gabe texted me in the middle of a session to ask me if getting beer in his eyes could make Seth blind, and he was not texting for my medical advice.”

“Who was she?” Nate didn’t care about what had happened last night in any room other than the one where he’d made love to the most gorgeous submissive he’d ever seen.

“There’s a reason we wear masks.” Carys’s pretty face went stubborn. “She has a right to privacy. If she’d wanted you to know who she was, she would have hung around.”

“Or she’s a scared little sub since something’s happening to her at the club,” he replied. He’d thought a lot about this.

“What do you mean?” Aidan asked, all of his focus on Nate again.

“I watched her when she walked out. I didn’t like the way some of the Doms treated her.” He’d been up early this morning, the problem grinding through his brain. He’d arrived at some conclusions. None of them made him feel better. She’d been happy when they were playing. It had been the minute they were done with the initial sex that she’d gotten anxious. Like she’d needed it so badly, needed the affection and pleasure he’d lavished on her, but when it was done the real world had rushed back in.

“How they treated her?” Aidan looked concerned all of the sudden. “I’m going to need some names. If we’ve got assholes mistreating the subs, I will handle it. I’m having a hard time believing one of our tops would abuse a sub. They’re all well trained, and we have some very specific rules about how to behave in the club.”

“She told me she’s looking for a new club because she doesn’t feel welcome at this one,” Nate pointed out.

He’d come to the conclusion she might have been shamed for her sexuality. It was an awful thing to think about since the club was exactly the place where she should feel free to explore. He would bet it was about jealousy. She’d likely had some kind of relationship with one or more of the Doms, and they didn’t like the fact she didn’t want them now. He’d seen it before, and he didn’t intend to let it happen to Dee.

He didn’t give a bloody hell how many blokes she’d been with. As long as he was the last.

Aidan pulled his cell out of his pocket. “I don’t want anyone to feel run out of The Hideout. That’s not happening on my watch. I’ll call Gabe. We’re in charge while Cooper, Tash, and the twins are out of pocket. And Dare. I can call him in. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“I think Gabe is one of the problems.” He hated causing trouble when it wasn’t necessary. Drama tended to be a thing he avoided, but this was wrong. He’d seen how hurt Dee had been. “He was one of two tops I saw make her uncomfortable.”

Aidan stopped as though the thought didn’t quite make sense. “You’re telling me you saw Gabriel Lodge abuse a sub?”

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