Page 25 of Their Domme

“If I had to guess, Vas is here. He made a scene yesterday.”

“So fucking dramatic,” I huffed, rolling my eyes even as my heart ached. I wished I could run to him, not away, when I opened that door. “I have to go.”

“Nic—”

“Please, hotshot. Trust me.” I looked up at him with bright eyes. “I promise I’m doing everything I can to come back home.”

“I’m fucking your ass when I see you again. Lube isveryfucking unlikely the longer you take,” he promised me roughly, his fists clenching and unclenching, but I only grinned.

“Promises, promises, old man.”

“I’ll show you old,” he growled, pulling me close to kiss me one more time. My knees buckled, but he caught me, holding me tight. I grabbed the envelope I had stashed away inside my cami and stuck it inside his jacket with a whispered order to look at it when he knew he wasn’t being watched.

Unable to stomach the idea of goodbye, I let him go and walked to the door, stopping only when he said my name. Glancing over my shoulder, he gave me a fierce look. “Give them hell, love.”

“Oh, hotshot, it’s the only thing I know how to dish out, which you know first hand.”

With that, I walked out, not letting myself look back. I hurried past the interview room, and Robin fell into step beside me as I approached the back entrance. Conrad joined us right before we stepped outside.

“Did you find them?” I asked, scanning the vehicles parked nearby.

“Yes. Oliver was yelling through the closed door of his interrogation room to talk to Bodhi, who was set up in another room across the hallway. Something about cheap pizza and a game of hide and seek when they got out? I think they were having a blast. Some of the nearby cops looked exasperated but amused once Oliver moved on to describe how he was going to fuck Bodhi when they got out of there. He took a break from oversharing when Roderick came by.”

I snorted as Robin chuckled. “Glad they’re doing well.”

“Those look fresh,” Robin said softly, gesturing at his mouth, and I sighed. Rhodes must have nipped me harder than I realized. Reaching up I brushed my hand across my mouth only to find small drops of blood on my fingers.

“Yes, I had a little… chat with one of my boyfriends who had managed to sneak inside. Which reminds me… We need to get the fuck out of here, or they’re going to drag me back before I’m ready.”

“Isn’t this going to make them even more pissed?” Conrad asked. I was about to answer him, but then I caught sight of something that sent me hurrying down the steps—Maeve’s car.

“Definitely. But the guys like a good chase, and their anger will just make things more fun when we do get back together. Anyway, this is where we need to go our separate ways, boys. Thanks for the escort.”

I waved at them both, tugged the car door open, and slid inside before they could react. Maeve pulled away from the curb, expertly weaving through traffic while I consciously kept myself from glancing in the mirrors to see who was standing around. My guys might have convinced me to stay but leaving is what I will always be best at.

“Nicholette,” Maeve purred.

“Maeve,” I said coldly, shifting my full attention to the woman beside me.

Her white-blonde hair was neatly pulled back in a chignon, not a single wisp out of place. She was in a cream pantsuit, and the white shirt beneath her blazer featured a deep V-neckline that bared the swell of her breasts. Her makeup was perfectly applied; honestly, everything about her just made me feel like a complete fucking mess.

“What information do you need from me? Tell me, and I’ll give you my price for it.” I nervously licked my lips, wanting, no,needingto trust her with this task because I knew I couldn’t do it myself. But there was just something holding me back from answering her question. I must have been silent for too long because Maeve repeated my name with uncharacteristic softness.

She turned into a parking garage and pulled into a stall before she twisted in her seat and grabbed my chin, forcing me to face her. Her hands were slender, soft, a complete contrast to the men who had claimed me so thoroughly.Not to mention Ansel… which is so not helpful, brain.I met her curious and cautious bright blue eyes and drank in the face of the woman who still stole my breath away, even after everything that had played out between us.

“I need you to look into Joe and Miranda Graves,” I told her roughly, allowing her to maintain her hold on me. “Give me everything you can find about them. You have twenty-four hours before I’ll be going to Millfield.”

“You want information on your parents?” she asked. The tone conveyed her confusion more than anything else. The woman had perfected the emotionless mask that she used often enough.

“Parents is a very loose term, Maeve, but I suppose they did raise me, for better or worse.” I huffed out a humorless laugh as I moved my chin away from her hand. “Where do you want me to meet you for the drop-off?”

“What is going on, Nicholette? You ran off with your men only to ghost them,” she asked instead of answering my question. “I’ve known you to be a bit unpredictable when it suits you, but They didn’t tell me everything, but I want to know. That’s my price for helping you.”

Of course it was.Information, the best kind of currency.I wouldn’t agree to this deal from just anybody, but with our past and what I was asking her to do, I’d pay it. This once.

“I had more than one stalker,” I told her, facing forward to stare at the empty cars around us. “There was Warren ramping up, spiraling to own me, and a second stalker, who had been following me since I arrived in Ashview. They killed old johns of mine and even some clients you set up for me. They’re escalating now, dropping dead bodies of women they’ve altered to look like me.” I looked over to find Maeve watching me intently, showing nothing but patience. “They took my little brother. Said they would sell him to the highest bidder if I didn’t follow their instructions and leave.”

“So you left?”

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