Page 92 of The Masquerade: Room 2

“Oh God, that’s awful.” How nice it must be to have sympathy without empathy for a fellow survivor. The moment I saw that boy, I became him all over again.

“The boy’s father came in, shoving past my nurses, whooping and hollering that she couldn’t keep him away. That he’d hunt them down if she tried to run. His knuckles were swollen and bloody… from beating his four-year-old son half to death. Without surgery, that boy wouldn’t make it. What kind of man does that?” I choke out past the lump forming in my throat.

“Who threw the first punch, Pierce?”

“I don’t know. It was all a blur. I just saw fucking red. I could see it in that mother’s eyes. She was going to go back to him and let this happen again and again until that little boy ended up in the morgue rather than the ER.”

“I need you to think. If he landed the first blow, then this is open and shut.”

I move to wring my hands through my hair, but I’m shackled to the desk. “Fuck. I could lose my license to practice medicine for this.” Fuck!

“It won’t come to that. I’ll find you the best defense attorney in the state if it comes to that. For now, I’m going to get you out on bail.”

“Thank you. Is Freya here?”

“Yes. Dalton is with her in the waiting room.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Worried about you, but she’s holding it together. Dalton’s got her. You need to focus on yourself right now.”

“She’s my submissive. She shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“You don’t get to pick and choose with people you love. It’s about the good and the bad. This is a minor setback.”

“You think so?”

Nadia reaches out her hand to cover mine. “You need to let her be here for you right now. Just because we are submissives does not mean we expect our Doms to shoulder every burden alone. Don’t shut her out, Pierce. It’s plain for anyone with eyes to see that she’s madly in love with you.”

“She wanted uncomplicated. You don’t think this…” I say, clinking my wrists together, “… is complicated?”

“I’ll get you out of here tonight. Just hang tight, okay?”

“I’ve got nowhere else to be.” With a curt smile, she leaves me to ponder my life choices in the twelve-by-nine room. I’d be remiss as a Dom if I didn’t notice how anchored to the table I am in these handcuffs. The things I could do to my little one with a setup like this. It’s not dissimilar to the one I have in the playroom, but my rings are on either side of the desk instead of the middle.

I can’t believe I let this happen. Everything I’ve worked for could be gone in one fell swoop. How will I face Freya? She loves my control above all else, and I lost it today. It wasn’t a slipup, it was a catastrophic error in judgment. Seeing that little boy, knowing the look of resignation on his mother’s face, it wasn’t going to stop. She wasn’t going to leave.

I lashed out. I had to save him. To save the boy I once was. The boy who couldn’t fight back.

It’s a few hours before the police officer comes back for me.

“You have friends in high places. Bail has been posted,” he says as he unlocks the cuffs. “Good luck to you, Dr. Harrison.”

“Thanks.”

Still in my scrubs, he leads me out to the waiting area. Freya launches herself off the chair and into my arms. “Oh my God, Pierce, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, little one,” I whisper as I wrap my arms around her, drinking in her scent. I’m not sure how long we stand in this embrace, but it makes me realize everything I could lose. My career. My girl. Life means nothing without Freya.

“Bro, do I need to have security on you twenty-four seven?” Dalton jests. I reluctantly relinquish my hold on Freya to shake Dalton’s hand.

“Thanks for coming.”

“That’s what friends are for, man. I expect it with Flex, but I was surprised to get a call about you.”

“Flex is too smart to get caught.” I quip.

“Well, your lady put me in touch with Dr. Milligan. They are pulling footage from every angle in the ER to piece together what happened.”

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