Page 47 of Mastered By Lust

Dmitri Montrose.

13

Dmitri

A moment ago, Gage looked almost sympathetic.

Now he looks murderous.

I take a step back. “What?”

“Leave,” he says. “Now.”

I don’t understand. I was already on my way out when he told me to stay. Then he looked at his phone. And now he seems two seconds away from throttling me.

“Gage?” Leah sounds as confused as I am. She fiddles with the fabric of her black robe, nervous.

He moves toward her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. He holds out his phone for her to see. “Ironwood got back to us with the information we requested.”

Silently, she reads the phone. Fear flashes across her face. She tugs her robe more tightly closed. “I think you should leave, Dmitri.”

“Why? What the fuck is going on?” I’m ready to leave anyway, but I don’t like the sinister turn of the evening.

Neither of them answers me.

“Actually, fuck it. If you want to play games, go ahead. I’m out.” I move toward the door. Whatever the hell this is, they can work it out on their own.

“Wait,” Leah says. “It might not be Dmitri.”

I pause and take a deep breath, trying to be patient. “Whatmight not be me?”

It isn’t a question, but a demand. Something bad is going on, and I’m in the dark. What’s worse, it sounds like it concerns me.

Gage says, “Someone hid a Tagger on Leah’s car. They were tracking her movements. And your name came up as a possibility.”

“The fuck? A Tagger on Leah’s car? That’s unhinged.” I turn to look at Leah. “You think I would do something like that to you?”

“Well, no, but your name…” She trails off. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t do it. I know you better than that.”

Gage shakes his head. “Leah can’t be blamed for the thought, and neither can I. The fact remains that your number is on this list.”

I yank my phone from my pocket, unlock it, and thrust it into Gage’s hand. “Look through my apps. There’s nothing. I don’t have anything to do with this. I’m not a fucking stalker. I’ve never even bought a Tagger.”

“You must have, if they’ve got your number.” Gage frowns. “Ironwood combed through Tagger’s records. They searched for the phone numbers associated with the partial serial number on the tracker.”

“Well, I haven’t bought one. Check whatever the fuck you need to check on my phone for proof.” They won’t find anything worse than porn.

Gage swipes through my phone. He’s looking for apps, I guess. I don’t care. After a tense, quiet minute, he hands it back. “It’s clear.”

I jam my phone into my pocket. “I know it’s fucking clear.”

“I’m sorry, Dmitri.” Leah gives me an apologetic look. “It’s one of the other names, I guess. I’ll look more closely and see if any of them is familiar.”

The three of us huddle around Gage’s phone. None of the names ring a bell for me. By the looks of Gage and Leah, it seems to be the same for them.

“I’ll ask Ironwood to follow up on the names and numbers,” Gage says before tucking away his phone. “Dmitri, are you certain you’ve never purchased a Tagger before?”

“Very fucking sure. Never had reason to.”

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