Dungeon Games (20 page)

Derek frowned. “I thought the office closed at six every day.”

“Saturday is early bird special at the diner. She closes up at five.” She opened the cabinet, praying she had some coffee left, but she should have known. Derek had two cans in a neat line along with the filters and sugar. Such a freak.

A freak who had a wife who had cheated on him. Many times. How had that affected him? And it wasn’t like she’d told him anything. Every time he asked about her friendships with the guys, she’d deflected. Now she could see he’d tried to talk to her about it. And there were plenty of lifestylers she knew who didn’t have a problem with casual sex, even after marriage. None of them were at Sanctum, but it was very likely Derek knew some.

He was jealous. Blindingly jealous. What the hell was she supposed to do with that? She’d expected him to be distant with her. He hadn’t been that. He’d gotten close. He’d been open.

“I’m going to talk to the manager about that. And the security in the building. And the downstairs bathroom.” He moved to the bar. “Do you want me to go and talk someone into getting your package?”

He shouldn’t be allowed to be sweet. Jerk. He made her mad, but then maybe that was what people in love did.

Damn it. She couldn’t be in love with Derek Brighton. She just couldn’t.

Terry put his good hand up. “No, no. Karina, don’t go to any bother. I was just curious. I was in the neighborhood.”

She sighed. She’d promised him she’d look out for the package and then she’d kind of avoided it. Guilt bit her again, a feeling in the pit of her stomach. Kevin’s things were in that package. Kevin had saved her. Kevin had loved her. Shouldn’t she be waiting for anything that belonged to him? But no, she was busy in bed with Derek Brighton, who accused her of sleeping around. Who cleaned her apartment and brought her coffee every morning. Who rubbed her feet and then sucked on her toes until she laughed and tried to wriggle away from him.

She’d started out comparing the men because she’d thought Derek would pale. Derek took care of her. Kevin’s version of D/s had been different. He’d been older than her and he’d had expectations of a wife. He would never have made her a deal that she cooked and he cleaned. He made the money and she took care of the house. It had been good for her at the time. She’d been happy, but now she wondered if she would have stayed that way or if they would have fought as she found her career. Maybe they would have grown together, but she wondered.

Her love for Kevin had been a combination of hero worship and a young girl’s love. He’d been her savior, her father figure, her mentor, her lover.

Derek had somehow become her friend. Derek had somehow become her partner, despite the fact that he had serious issues.

So did she. What if they could work it out?

“Karina? Are you okay?” Terry was staring at her.

Derek was, too, but he looked more curious than worried.

“I’m fine.” She shook off her worries. It would do no good to dwell on them. She couldn’t figure anything out tonight. She needed to let it go or she would end up in a bad place. She needed to get through the night at the club with Derek and then she could ask Li to take her to a meeting. She would let Derek believe anything he liked.

Or she could try to talk to him. She could see if he could understand.

Terry slapped the counter. “You’re more than fine, sweetheart. You’re great.” He stood up and gave her a long look. “I have to get out of here. I’m meeting a friend for dinner. You probably won’t be able to get that package until Monday.”

He was right about that. “Sunday is the manager’s day off. I’ll pick it up Monday morning.”

“Then maybe we can have dinner Monday night.” Terry walked around the bar and gave her a hug. “It would be good to catch up. If you’re not doing anything, of course.”

“Absolutely.” There was something odd about holding him. Maybe he was thinner than he used to be, but something about his arms around her felt off. She couldn’t put her finger on it. It didn’t matter. Just being around Terry made her feel guilty. Made her worry she didn’t think enough about the family that had helped her.

He stepped back and nodded. He frowned Derek’s way and then made his way to the door, opening it with his right hand and leaving.

And she was alone with Derek.

She stopped, afraid to turn around because she didn’t want to start the fight again. She couldn’t go back into this with him. Not tonight. She needed calm.

His hands came on her shoulders. “So you talked about lasagna?”

“Yeah.”

She felt him kiss her hair. “That sounds great.”

He stepped away and then she heard the TV come on and when she turned, he was sitting down and a baseball game was on. He sat down but even from where she stood she could see the tension in his shoulders.

They were both wary, both hurt. She’d been hurt by his words and he’d been hurt because she wouldn’t talk.

They had hours to get through before they were supposed to take on their roles, but maybe they didn’t need to wait. He’d offered to top her. She didn’t want to play anymore. She wanted something softer.

She had a choice to make. She could rail at him or she could take the peace he was offering.

Karina left the kitchen and walked to her temporary Dom, to the man she was pretty certain she would mourn as surely as she mourned her husband.

He looked up at her. “Ba…Karina, it’s all right. I’m not going to push you. You’re safe.”

She was safe because she was with him. She sank to her knees and let her head rest on his lap. “Can we order pizza? I would rather sit with you.”

His hand was in her hair, smoothing it, petting her. “Yes, of course.”

She listened as he called their order in. It was all right. Derek would take care of things. For now.

That was all that mattered anyway.

Chapter Ten

Derek didn’t like the way Master Will looked at Karina. Of course, he didn’t like the way any of them looked at Karina, but he had to get a freaking handle on that. They looked at her because she was gorgeous and wearing very little clothing. He stared at her as she stood at the bar, getting them both drinks. There wouldn’t be a lick of alcohol in them. They were working. He could use a beer, but he suspected he was going to cut back heavily on his drinking.

He was going to change a lot of things because nothing, nothing in the world had ever felt as good as that moment when Karina sank to her knees and laid her head on his lap. Nothing. No sex, no triumph, no promotion had ever made him as peaceful, as complete as having her trust him.

One day she would tell him what he already suspected, but if she never did, he would be content with the Karina he had now. He’d seen her, really seen her, and that was all he needed.

“Are you going to kill the doc?” Sean stood beside him, his blue eyes wary as he looked across the room to where Karina was waiting on the other bartender to finish their drinks.

“Only if I have to.” He wasn’t sure about the doc. He’d read through the files Liam had sent him as Karina and he had eaten a quiet dinner. Will Daley was a liar, but was he a killer? “What does Eve say about him?”

“Adam hacked into the hospital network and got some of the depositions about his upcoming trial.”

“Do any of you understand the words ‘usable’ and ‘evidence’?” They were going to kill him. He might catch the guy, but McKay-Taggart’s highly suspect investigative techniques would put him right back out on the street.

Sean shrugged. “If he gets off on a technicality, we’ll let Jesse kill him. Jesse hasn’t killed anyone in a while. He needs to let off a little pressure.”

Derek turned to him. Sometimes he couldn’t tell when they were joking. The last thing he needed was another dead body. “Are you serious?”

Sean held a hand up. “Chill. I promise we’ll figure out a way to do this by the book when you arrest him, but for now we need a break. We need to know where to look. As far as I can tell the doc over there has been seen at all three clubs where the victims played. I think he’s definitely a person of interest. He might have been just trying to find the right club or the lawsuit was the inciting incident that set him off. Eve’s going over all the files tonight. She wants to see how he behaved during the deposition. She couldn’t do it earlier because she and Alex were meeting with the adoption agency, but she swears she’ll get to it tonight. I also got the info you asked me about.”

Alex and Eve were adopting? That was nice. Maybe a passel of babies would calm the group down. Or just start another generation of evil geniuses. Did Karina want babies? His parents were always on him about grandkids. He wasn’t getting any younger.

“Derek?”

“Sorry.”

Sean shook his head. “I know that look, man. Just give in.”

He wasn’t about to argue with Sean. He kind of already had given in. He could tell himself it was best to distance from Karina but he flat out didn’t want to. He wasn’t going to lie to himself anymore. He wanted her. He didn’t want some unknown sub who would mindlessly obey him. He wanted Karina and she needed him. She didn’t need a part-time play partner. She needed a Dom. Hell, she needed a husband who protected her, who loved her.

“I don’t know if she’ll let me in. I fucked up earlier today. We’re fine right now, but she’s probably counting the hours until she can kick me out.” Master Will and his sub moved to the bar. Fucker. Still, if he rushed over it would look weird. He had to stay calm. Trust Karina. Trust the team.

“Tell me you didn’t accuse her of sleeping around.”

He winced a little. “I would love to tell you that, but my mother taught me not to lie.”

Sean groaned. “Dumbass. Karina isn’t Maia.”

He stared at her as she smiled up at Master Will. Now that he was really looking at her, the real Karina and not the one he’d made up in his head, he could see the difference in her smile. She was giving Master Will her best “client” smile. Pretty, friendly and warm, but without the all-out glow she saved for her friends. And without the heat she reserved for him. “I know. Not even close. If it makes you feel better, I accused her of sleeping with you as well as O’Donnell and the big guy. She didn’t give me enough time or I would have thrown the Brit in.”

He was such a fucking dumbass and he had to pray Karina could forgive him.

Sean had a great poker face. His expression never changed. “Don’t you ever tell the women. Ever.”

Shit. He hadn’t thought about the ramifications. “You think they would be mean to Karina?”

Sean huffed and rolled his eyes. “No, they love Karina. They will be more than mean to you. They will take off your balls and do crafts with them or some shit. You do not want to piss off the subs. Seriously. They’ve unionized. We should never have let them start that book club.”

The idea of the Sanctum subs looking for a little revenge spooked him. He didn’t want to know what Charlotte would do to him. “Yeah, let’s keep my stupidity between us. Do you think it would help my case if I ask her to marry me?”

Sean’s poker face dropped away. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I don’t think she’ll say yes.” He’d thought he’d never get married again. He thought he’d control the relationship by keeping it to a contracted D/s partnership with securely placed boundaries.

He didn’t want boundaries between them. He didn’t want fucking walls. He just wanted her. He wanted his wife. He wanted to take her home and have his mom fuss over her and his dad tell her she was far too good for his son. He wanted to get dragged to church and sit beside her and hold her hand.

“Well, then we’ll have to set the subs on her,” Sean said with an evil grin. “A few casually placed words about how she broke your heart and they’ll be all over her. They love drama and more than that they love matchmaking. I would be utterly terrified if I wasn’t married to the ringleader. Grace believes it’s her mission in life to make sure everyone gets married. I think she’s getting kickbacks from a wedding planner.”

At least he had an appeals board. He kept his eyes steady on Karina. She seemed a little concerned. Master Will shook his head and ran a hand over his brow before nodding and stepping away. He felt better when both Master Will and his sub walked away. “So did you run a background check on the brother-in-law? I don’t like him.”

“I didn’t like him either,” Sean agreed. “He pushed her to feel bad about dating. It’s been years since her husband was killed in the line of duty. He was NYPD.”

Shit. Would she marry another cop? He was mostly behind a desk at this point in his career, but there were always risks with his job. He wanted to know the story so badly, but he stopped himself. That was Karina’s story to tell, and he would hear it from her or not at all. “So what’s the line on Terry Mills?”

“He’s drifted a lot. His mother died before his brother. The father was killed in a boating accident when Terry was sixteen. The family made their money off the dad’s business. He had a boat and gave tourists tours of Long Island Sound. Kevin became a cop in the city, but Terry took the boat and kept up the business after he turned eighteen. After Kevin died, he took the boat to the Caribbean and had been working there until he showed up in Dallas a couple of months back.”

Derek frowned. “I thought he’d only been here for a few weeks?”

Sean shrugged. “He told Karina he came to rehab his broken arm. I guess it was worse than he said.”

“A broken arm heals in six to eight weeks. I’ve had more than one broken bone.”

Sean shook his head. “Look, I don’t like the guy, either, but we’re looking for a serial killer.”

“He would have known her e-mail. He might think that’s still her e-mail.” His brain was working overtime. Yes, they were looking for a serial killer, but what if they were being manipulated? What if they were seeing what the killer wanted them to see?

Sean’s eyes widened. “I’m going to call Adam. I’ll have him check into some things. Do we know the doctor he’s been seeing?”

He shook his head. “Find out and keep it quiet because Karina doesn’t need to know anything until we’re sure.” It would kill her. It would threaten her calm and he wasn’t going to do that again unless he had to. “And see if we can put a tail on him. I’m going to make sure Karina isn’t alone with the man again, and I think I need to break into her apartment manager’s office. That shouldn’t be hard.”