Second Time Lucky (Club Decadence Book 5) (43 page)

“Huh,” he grunted. “I don’t know how much I like being compared to something usually labeled as baby and sweet.”

With an impish grin, she angled her head back, beaming up at him. “You are definitely of the jumbo variety, although still very sweet.”

“Don’t let that last part get around the club, I’d lose my street cred as a badass and have to turn in my Master’s badge.”

She squirmed, very much aware of the toys. “I think your reputation is safe, especially after they get a load of this harness and bunny tail.” A stray thought had her giggling. “I can’t promise they won’t give us some interesting nicknames, though, I wouldn’t mind Bugs and Lola, but you, with your flogger wielding ways, might end up with the unfortunate name of Elmer Thud.”

He groaned. She laughed outright.

“You know someone will think it, if I did. And, if the bunny thing takes off, you’ll just have to rename Decadence.”

“I know I’m going to be sorry I asked, but to what?”

“The Hare Club for men.”

He rolled his eyes and she giggled.

“Too corny? How about IHOP?” She broke into gales of loud laughter as he tickled her.

“Stop, please, I swear,” she begged as tears rolled down her cheeks, but she couldn’t resist just on more. “I promise, Lucky! No more harebrained jokes!”

His mirth couldn’t be contained and rumbled in his chest, but he finally relented. “Cute, sweet and full of sass, I like seeing my bunny happy.” He captured her chin and with his beautiful blue eyes smiling down at her, kissed her, leaving her more breathless than she already was.

Chapter Twenty-eight

As predicted, word of Mara’s tragic past spread like wildfire through the club. As did the truth about her leaving and the betrayal that had been falsely laid upon her shoulders. When Sean escorted her into the lounge that night, Regan and Elena were waiting to see her. Lexie and Joanna were present too, seated at a nearby table, plainly lending their support, but allowing them space.

Tearfully, Regan spoke first. “I was a bitch, Mara. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt, or let you tell us your side of the story. You took a bullet for Lexie. Someone who would blackmail and threaten her friends doesn’t do something like that.”

Elena stepped forward, arms extended, tears glistening on her long dark lashes. Brutally victimized herself, as a survivor, she more than anyone knew what Mara had been through. As she welcomed Elena’s embrace, her friend broke down.

“
Lo siento… perdóname
.”

“No, Elena, there’s nothing to forgive.”

“Yes. I am not one to judge, yet I did.” As her arms tightened around Mara in a fierce hug, she whispered, “If you need to talk, no matter when or where, I will be there for you,
mi amiga
. I swear.”

They clung to each other for a moment, before Mara felt a soft tap on her arm.

Megan stood beside her with watery eyes. She hadn’t been with Cap back then, but she knew her socially through Regan.

“I feel two inches tall. I listened to the stories and convicted you out of hand, without a chance to defend yourself, which is a shitty thing to do. Then when you were shot twice and needed friends around you…” her voice trailed off as she sniffled.

“You had your hands full with the twins.”

“No excuse!” Her guilt-ridden expression matched that of her sister. “I know how terrifying it is to be held at gunpoint by a madman,” she gestured to the other two, “we all do. We should have been there for you, honey.”

“We suck as friends,” Regan threw in.

More arms slipped around them as Lexie and Joanna joined in and they soon became a jumble of entwined arms, clasped hands, and tear stained faces.

Minutes later, when the group hug showed no signs of waning, Sean stepped in. “Ladies,” he said indulgently, “why don’t we let Mara get some air.”

One by one, they let her go until the feminine arms were replaced by strong masculine ones as Sean enfolded her in his own reassuring embrace.

“Thank you all for giving me a second chance,” Mara began, her speech halting and broken with emotion. “I swear I never betrayed anyone at the club. And the blackmail, it wasn’t me.”

“We know. It was Shelby,” Megan offered.

Mara stiffened, the name coming as a shock. She twisted to Sean in question.

“Yes, the same Shelby. We’ve been so preoccupied with Victor’s shit, I never filled you in on what’s been going on here. Why don’t we move to a table where we can talk?”

The group moved to the bar where Dex, Cap, Rick and Jonas had watched the mini-drama unfold. The men nodded at Sean and greeted her with smiles, accepting her back into the tight circle of not only Masters and subs, but also friends.

With the others contributing here and there, Sean explained how Shelby had applied for membership not long after her scene with Mara that night, and how over the course of the past year she had obtained detailed information and compromising pictures of the owners and several high-profile members as part of a blackmail plot. Shelby hadn’t been working alone, either. Somehow, she’d gotten involved with a former teammate who was disgruntled with Cap for not letting him in on the ground floor at Rossi.

By the time they were through, Mara’s mouth hung open while she shook her head in disbelief.

“How awful. I can only imagine the impact if those pictures got out. Have they gotten the photos back? Are they both in jail?”

The group, already subdued at the telling of the tale, fell silent.

“Shelby was troubled—” Lexie began hesitantly, looking to Jonas who pulled her closer into his side. Her pain-filled eyes switched back to Mara. “—More than anyone here suspected. She took her own life while in jail.”

With a sharply indrawn breath, Mara’s hand flew to her mouth. Her lone encounter with Shelby hadn’t fostered a bond of closeness by any means, but learning someone so young had turned to suicide as an escape was heartrending.

“Her partner, Charles Anderson, masterminded it all, we believe,” Jonas explained further as he held Lexie close, his hand idly stroking her bare arm. “Unfortunately, we may never know for sure. “He died while resisting arrest.”

As the news of Shelby’s death had sunk in, her mind was whirling over the intrigue and tragedy that had infiltrated the club while she’d been gone.

“So much has happened since I’ve been gone.”

“The understatement of the year, Mara-mine.”

“And the drama continues.” Cap’s low rumble came from beside her. He said so low that at first, Mara was unsure he meant for anyone else to hear, but the other men shared a concerned look, evidently clued into whatever drama Cap was referring to.

Mara turned uncertain eyes to Sean. “I don’t understand, with the blackmailers out of the picture—”

“The threats have continued,” Sean clarified.

“And it appears I’m the next target.” The group looked toward the newcomers. Master Peter had arrived. He handed Cap a Ziploc bag containing a letter size white envelope.

“Someone give me a napkin,” Cap ordered, holding his hand out.

“Don’t bother. I have it memorized.” He took the last vacant seat on the couch, pulling his wide-eyed, visibly shaken wife onto his lap and proceeded to recite word for word what the letter contained.

Major General Peter Davis,

Decorated officer, leader of men, war hero… Ha! More like perverted, abusive, misogynistic prick. You disgust me.

And your hypocrite wife, pretending to be concerned about battered women, all the while playing your twisted, abusive games—sick!

You didn’t heed my previous warnings. As ringmaster of your sadistic circus, you pay first.

“It was unsigned, I’m sure,” Sean grumbled.

“No, this one was signed A Concerned Citizen and True Champion of Women.”

“Wow! That’s grandiose,” Mara murmured under her breath, then asked aloud, “What does it mean you will pay? Is this guy violent? Has someone been hurt?”

“Not physically. This asshole leaked pictures and video of Judge Jenkins,” Sean informed, holding her tight.

Panicked, she looked up at him with wide eyes. “You mean…”

“I’m sorry, Mara. Jonas had as many taken down as possible, but once it’s out there—”

“It’s out there,” she finished softly. “Well, isn’t that just perfect?” Knowing her debut as a dominatrix was floating around YouTube somewhere did not make her day. “This makes no sense. Why would he show his cards this way? Wouldn’t that undermine his ability to extort money from his victims?”

“This guy doesn’t want money,” Megan disclosed from her seat on Tony’s lap. “He wants Club Decadence shut down.”

“And it appears we have no other choice but to comply.” This from Dex, who met Sean’s gaze with a look of resignation.

“We can’t keep putting our members at risk of exposure.”

A frustrated tension rippled through the group.

“Well,” Elena declared as she stood. “If tonight’s my last time on the Decadence stage for a while, I’m gonna give ‘em one hell of a show.”

Mara looked on as the undisputed rock star of the Decadence lounge walked determinedly to the stage, her hand tightly clasped in her fiancé’s. At the foot of the steps, she stood on tiptoes and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. But that wouldn’t do for the big Master Dom who lifted her off her feet and planted a wet, steamy one square on her mouth. Enthralled, Mara smiled, as did Dex, who watched while Elena, noticeably affected by their kiss, wobbled unsteadily up the steps to join her band for warm ups.

As the stage lights came up, a hum of excitement rippled through the crowd and the air crackled with electricity. With every eye turned her way, Elena picked up her guitar and belted out an awesome cover of Simple Minds’
Don’t You Forget About Me
.

“I’ve always loved this song,” Joanna enthused.

“She’s awesome,” Mara breathed. “I never knew.”

Pete didn’t disagree. “She always seems to have the perfect song at the ready?”

“It’s a gift,” Regan agreed, “and also kind of freaky.”

“Dammit,” the voluble curse came from her right. “This is our first night back.” By the time Mara turned, Cap had put Megan from his lap and was leading her away by the hand. “Come on, angel, if this is our last chance to play for a while, I’m going to make it memorable.” In a grand, romantic gesture, he stopped and swept her up in his arms before striding purposefully toward the playroom.

The others laughed as they watched them leave, although half-heartedly.

“What did he mean first night back?”

“Cap and Meg haven’t played since the twins were born over four months ago,” Regan explained. She stroked her burgeoning belly, Rick’s hand coming up to cover hers. A second later, Regan jumped with a sudden “oof”. She moved her husband’s hand to a different spot and held it there as she beamed at him. “He’s kicking.”

Rick’s face tightened in concentration for a second, then his head came up. “The tiny little flutter was her?” he asked in awe.

Regan nodded, eyes bright. “That’s our miracle, Bear.”

Mara blinked back tears as she looked on. The couple, childless for ten years, were lost in the moment, their happiness the only glimmer of sunshine in the downcast group.

“Give me the letter, Pete,” Jonas requested. “I’ll have it dusted for prints.”

“It came through the post,” the general advised as he passed it over. “It’s been thoroughly contaminated with tens, if not hundreds, of prints.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Jonas said as he got to his feet, hauling Lexie up beside him. “I’ll drop it off this evening. We have to make it an early night anyway.”

Lexie turned to Mara with a conspiratorial wink. “We’re shooting on location at the Galveston beach house.”

Lexie had told her about Jonas’ Shibari book while she’d been recovering. It amazed Mara that the quiet professional she knew from the hospital was posing nude in ropes.

“Oh, Lexie, how exciting. It was so beautiful, Sean and I hated to leave.”

“Yeah, I’m not looking forward to getting sand in uncomfortable places, but Jonas has his heart set on a sunrise session on the beach.”

“It’s going to be breathtaking, sunshine. But if we’re going to catch our early flight, we need to call it a night.” Jonas’ long arm anchored her to his side as they walked to the front, the general’s letter secured in his free hand.

“Everyone seems so happy,” Mara noted wistfully. “Why does this zealot have to interfere when it’s none of their concern?”

Sean’s gaze caught Pete’s, before skidding to Rick and lastly Lil T who had also joined them. “I’m thinking whoever it is knows too much of our business to be an outside whack job.”

T nodded in agreement. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yep,” Sean replied. “It appears we’ve got ourselves another mole.”

“Damn!” T cursed softly.

“Hell,” Rick exclaimed with more volume, “does that mean we cave and give in to this extortionist?”

“If we shut down,” Sean advised, “we’ll never find him.”

“Or her,” Joanna reminded them, “no one suspected Shelby.”

“She’s right,” Pete agreed, running the backs of his fingers gently down his wife’s worried face. “No one is above suspicion.”

Chapter Twenty-nine

As they entered the member’s only area, Tony had one goal in mind, getting Megan to the second floor and the private room he’d reserved to celebrate their official return to club play. He could have cried like one of his newborn twins when Pete brought them his bad news. It had to be discussed, but did it have to be five minutes before he and Megan had a room reserved to play for the first time in months?

After carrying her across the lounge and through the double doors, he shifted her weight against his hip and plucked off her shoes, tossing them to an attendant. Her feet had barely touched the ground before he grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him while he navigated the crowded main floor. A niggling sense of unease set in when he felt a sharp tug on the back of his shirt.

“Captain,” she called, the use of his military rank in her soft tone stirred him, more than Sir or Master ever had.