Page 21 of Hurt for Me

“See what?” Rae dropped her purse on the counter, her stomach dropping with it.

“That motherfucker.” Angel shook her head, blowing out a burst of air like she was a bull about to charge. “He leaked us to the media.”

“What the fuck? Let me see.” Rae rushed behind the desk and quickly read over the article Angel had pulled up, the title letting herknow right away they were screwed:Investigators Question Local Dominatrix Over Missing Man.

They listed the business name, V-Love Massage, and named both her and Angel as possible suspects in the missing persons case for one Thomas Highsmith, executive accountant for Arkana Oil and Gas. It went on to state V-Love Massage was listed on popular kink sites like FetLife and The Cage for dominatrix services, but it didn’t go into further details other than to say a source close to the investigation provided the information. The article was from a local news site, one of the small ones known for posting outlandish and possibly fake stories, but that didn’t make it any better. Another site or the TV stations could pick it up and run with it.

“Rae-Rae, this isn’t good.”

“No shit.” Rae read it again in case she’d missed anything.

“Kaylen sent me the link first thing this morning,” Angel said. “You know I don’t read that garbage site, but a ton of people do.”

Rae glanced at her silver watch: almost nine. There was enough time before her first client. “I’m calling him. Care to join me in an ass-thrashing?”

“Love nothing better.”

Rae pulled Detective Clearwater’s business card from her wallet and dialed. Once the call was transferred to his line, Rae set the lioness free.

“Hey, asshole, thanks for leaking us to the press and probably destroying the business we took over a decade to build.”

“Yeah, thanks a lot for running a woman-ownedandperson of color–owned business into the ground since there are so many in this godforsaken state,” Angel added.

“Good morning to you too.” Detective Clearwater sounded tired.

“So, I guess all that ‘trust me’ business was complete bullshit, huh?” Rae said.

“Look, I understand you’re both upset, but I need you to lower your voices.”

“Don’t pull that patronizing shit with us,” Rae said. “We’ll be as loud as we want.”

“Fine, but please let me explain.” The detective paused as if waiting for them to interrupt. “One of the officers who attended the search of your premises did talk to a friend of his, a friend who happens to be a writer for theCrimson Chronicle, and the writer posted the article without permission. And, yes, before you ask, the officer is on administrative leave.”

“He should be fired!” Angel said. “And you have to make the site take the article down.”

“We’re working on it.”

“Do it faster,” Rae said.

Rae and Angel looked at each other, their faces mirror images of trepidation.

The detective had the gall to audibly sigh. “Ms. Dixon, Ms. Paisley, I apologize for the breach, and I assure you both we’re doing everything we can to mitigate any damage from the information that was leaked.”

“Will you at least tell us if the article is correct?” Rae said. “Are we suspects?”

A few beats passed before Detective Clearwater spoke. “You’re notnotsuspects, but that’s the extent of what I can tell you.”

Angel frowned at Rae. “I’m supposed to be drinking piña coladas in the Bahamas next month for the first vacation I’ve had in two years, so am I going to be arrested for leaving the country?”

“Let me put it this way, Ms. Paisley. As long as you haven’t been charged, you can travel freely.”

“Well, Detective,” Rae said, trying to keep her voice calm, “it sure is nice to know our tax dollars are paying for such stellar investigative work. We’ll just be twiddling our thumbs until you decide to harass us again.”

“Ms. Dix—”

Angel smirked at her. “Rae-Rae, did you just hang up on Mr. Hot Detective?”

“Pretty certain there’s no law against it.”

---