Page 59 of Lukas

“Not as sorry as you will be.”

* * *

Lukas refusedto allow himself to provide any reassurance to Reina as Margo untied her and then put a collar and leash around her throat and led her out to the stocks in the middle of the big room. The crowd watched as Margo bent Reina slightly forward and placed her head and wrists in the padded sections of the stock before closing it.

Reina closed her eyes as Margo moved away, and some of the crowd came closer to look at her. No one would touch without permission, but closeup viewing of all parts of her naked body was fair game.

He hated seeing Reina so frightened but knew it would help her in the end. Thomas couldn’t have blood, so he would damn well want her honest contrition. Victor and even Margo did as well. Her bearing the weight of his displeasure helped get her there much more quickly.

Reina had more she wanted to tell him, and she would. By God, he would understand every single detail of where, why, and how she had stolen from them. Tonight was not the only time ass was going to get paddled because of this stunt. Once a week for the next ten years ought to do it.

But at least he would have her safe in his care when he did it.

He was pissed. Not only for the stealing and lies, but for putting him in this situation where he wasn’t one hundred percent certain he could keep her safe.

Some of the pressure in his gut eased when he saw Roman and Dominic come through the door. He moved to them quickly. There wasn’t much time.

“My guy is still working on Reina’s software and exactly what it was doing,” Dominic said. “It’s complicated, definitely not just theft. Honestly, he’s not sure the end goal was that at all.”

“Did Reina take money from the accounts of Thomas, Margo, Victor and the rest?” Lukas asked.

Dominic shrugged. “Yes. There’s no doubt about that.”

“I got Thomas and the others to agree to public punishment here at the club rather than just giving him free rein for street justice.”

Roman looked over at the stocks. “You sure she’s up for that?”

God, he hoped so. “Yes. She’ll do it, because Thomas has already demanded her blood if she safe words out. And I’m not going to let that happen. So, if she panics and safe words, I’m going to need you guys to intervene until I can get her out of here safely.”

Dominic crossed his arms over his chest. “We can demand they wait until we get all the information. They won’t like it, but they’ll listen. Even Thomas. He doesn’t have a choice.”

Lukas rubbed a hand over his face. “But what if all the information just proves that Reina is just guiltier? Thomas will… Jesus, we all know what he’ll do to her. I can’t let that happen. I don’t care if she’s a thief or have to chain her to my bed for the rest of her life to keep her out of trouble.”

“What are you doing to her tonight to appease them?” Roman asked.

“The whole wringer, at least it’s going to feel that way to her. But nothing that will mark her permanently or draw blood.”

“We’ll be ready if we have to step in,” Dominic said. “But you know, she might actually have a legitimate reason for doing what she did.”

Lukas shook his head. “That would’ve been coming to me with her concerns, maybe not right at first, but at some point in the last few weeks. Not sneaking behind my back. And believe me, she’s going to tell me every single detail once I get her home safe.”

But right now, he would stay firm. Cold. Do his best to give the wronged parties their pound of flesh while making sure Reina lived through tonight with no permanent injuries.

He could admit, he would enjoy plugging that ass and hearing her call him master while she begged for forgiveness. And he had no problem fucking her in public. He would’ve preferred it under different circumstances, but it was going to happen eventually anyway. “She can take it. But be ready, just in case. Tell Brax, too.”

His brothers nodded, heading to the bar as Lukas made his way to the stocks. Reina’s eyes were still closed, her face without much color. They needed to start. Worried about what was coming was just making this worse.

“This submissive,” he said at a normal volume—people could just shut the fuck up and listen if they wanted to; he wasn’t going to act as a ringmaster—before gripping Reina’s chin and tilting her face up from its place in the stocks, “stole from six members of this club. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” she said, finally opening her eyes.

“And you’ve agreed to be punished here at the club since, as your master, I’ve agreed to allow it?”

“Yes,” she said again. He raised an eyebrow this time. “Yes, Master,” she corrected.

“And what is your safe word?”

“Red.”

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