Page 40 of Indiscreet

“No. I’m nothing like my father.” His jaw ticked. “We can talk about him later. That doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

I hunched my shoulders. He was right. I was getting off track. “Fine. I’ll do better at listening. Please go on.”

He gave a quick nod. “Angel came here to Seattle to visit a friend. Before she left, we had a fight. I wanted to move to a less open relationship. She didn’t. She wanted to bring in a sadist dominant. We both enjoyed pain when we had sex, but her desires moved beyond my own. She wanted something more extreme.”

“Did she hurt your back?” I couldn’t stop the anger from my tone. No matter the situation, I didn’t like to think of anyone in pain.

“She did, along with a few chosen friends, at my request, several years ago,” he continued, his lips slightly curved upward. “I was experimenting at the time. Needles, whips, hooks—nothing was off limits. I wanted a bigger high. I wanted to up the stakes, but then I found my life was turning to chaos. I sought change. I met a Domme, a good friend, who helped me come back. I wanted the same for my Angel, but she wasn’t willing. She came to Seattle on vacation and disappeared.”

My mouth went dry. Sure, people disappeared every day, but with his wealth, surely he could’ve gotten some leads. “What did the police tell you? Did you hire private detectives? I’m sure you could’ve had the media at your disposal.”

“That was what I thought.” He bared his teeth. “However, her clothing design company was sold to a larger company for a fair amount. She had, on occasion, expressed the desire to do so, and no one around her suspected anything, but I did. The Angel I knew would have never sold it. She loved her company.”

My mouth went dry. That was exactly how I felt about my company, and now mine was being financially mismanaged and bought out from under me.

“Her cards were still active and in use with no unusual purchases. The investigations concluded that she left.” His voice broke.

I clasped his trembling hand. “But you didn’t believe it.”

Dane sucked in air. “No, I didn’t,” he said. “She wouldn’t have left without speaking to me. Her friend gave me her belongings, but it took me a while before I went through them. What I found was an Agency card.”

Stunned and sickened, I couldn’t speak. I remained stoic as he continued to talk.

“You can call it an obsession or a need to know, but I couldn’t give up on finding her. I expanded my company and opened an office in Seattle under my mother’s maiden name. I made connections and became a member of The Agency. From what I’ve found the last two years, The Agency seemed to be more or less a matchmaking service. That was until your name came up.”

My pulse jumped. “How?”

“It took about six months before I was invited to an exclusive Agency party for elite members,” Dane said. “I quickly learned these men were the ones running everything. Your ex-husband had come for money. I’d say it was close to nine months ago. He offered favors, your company shares at wholesale, but that wasn’t what caught the elite members’ attention—it was seeing you in his profiles. Later that evening, I was asked to invite you to a party.”

I swallowed hard. My hatred for Patrick had reached new levels and revenge took root in my soul, but there was more, and I didn’t dare stop him.

His words came out fast. “I attended the fundraiser, the one I mentioned to you before. When the group asked me about giving you an invitation to join, I told them you refused, and that it would be better to leave you alone. Then a recent request came for you to join The Agency.”

I blinked back tears. “Liz.”

“Someone paid your fee before I could interfere,” he said.

A shiver went down my spine. Someone—he didn’t know who. “What did they pay, and did you have to pay for me tonight?”

“I did. The fees are one hundred thousand dollars,” he answered.

My stomach muscles twisted. So that was why there wasn’t a fee. Someone wanted me there. Besides Patrick, I didn’t have enemies I knew of. “Do you know who?”

“I don’t, but I won’t lie, my interest wasn’t innocent,” he confessed. “I offered to host at my home in hopes of controlling what happened, but then you went to the room and you were everything I’ve missed these last couple of years. You were open, submissive, seductive, and beautiful. I couldn’t resist you when you went into the green mixer. I made an offer separate from The Agency.”

I lowered my head. “And I took you up on your offer for sex.”

His face softened. “Because that was what we both wanted. I tried to pull away to protect you, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I wanted to be with you again. I wanted to show you how good it can be when you let yourself go, but then I thought about Angel. I had shown her what freedom was, and I’d lost her. I wanted to warn you to stay away. I even called to set up a time to discuss the purchase of your company when I returned, but then you came tonight, right at the time I was finally invited to something more exclusive. I couldn’t refuse once I’d joined, and if I even tried now, I’d lose my chance at finding out what happened to her.”

I sank into myself under the weight of everything he’d shared with me. “I’m sorry for what happened to your Angel, but what does this have to do with me?”

“You came here, and they contacted the host,” he said. “If you leave now, it’ll be suspicious, and he may have you followed. I don’t want you in danger. At least here with me, masked, we can keep you safe, and as soon as possible, we’ll get you home.”

It was a lot to process. I didn’t want whoever was involved following me back, especially if Angel had disappeared, but I wasn’t comfortable staying with Dane. “How can I trust you? You kept all this to yourself until I was forced to come here.”

“I know,” he answered. “I planned to and will give you back your shares. I’ll pay off any legal fees you have or loans for your business, anything you need or want, but I need your help right now. I need you to go along with what is happening here.”

My brows rose. “What do you mean?”

---