OnlyatTheCavern (13 page)

“What happened next?”

“We drove for a while. I don’t know how long. When we
stopped, they pulled me out and took me up some stairs and into a building. We
walked for a while and when we stopped, they took off my hood. I was in a big
room with some other women. But I don’t know where exactly I was.”

“Was it a house or an office building?”

“A house. A big house with a huge yard and a fence. We
weren’t allowed outside, but there were windows and I could see. They were
locked, but I could still see.”

“Who were these women you were with? And how many?”

She tried to shrug again and winced. “Girls. From all over.
Only a few of us spoke English. Most were from somewhere in Asia. I think all
over because some of them didn’t want to talk to the others. I don’t know how
many of us there were. New ones would arrive and old ones would be taken away.
Anywhere from ten to fifteen at any given time.”

“So you were with these girls. In a house. For a few months.
All of the time?”

“Most of the time.” Her voice grew small again and she
swallowed hard. “Every few days I was tied up and taken to places. Motel rooms.
With men. To-to—” Whatever it was she wanted to say couldn’t seem to break past
her lips.

“Would it be a good guess if I said you were forced to have
sex with these men?”

“Yeah,” she said on a shaky exhalation

Mentally Marco gave a little fist pump and held back a
victory snarl. The situation she described sounded just like a Smithwick
operation. He had a thousand more questions for the girl, but by the droop in
her eyes, he saw she was fading fast. Any further investigation about the house
and the girls had to wait.

“Tell me about what happened last night.”

“I was taken to another motel to do my thing. This guy was
twisted. Really kinky. Cut lines on my skin with a pocketknife. Gagged me the
entire time so my screams couldn’t be heard. Then afterward the man told my
john that he’d take me and five more. They were talking about how much we’d
cost and stuff about transport and places with the name ‘stan’ in them, and I
realized they wanted to take us out of the country. I freaked and made a run
for the door. Both of them tackled me and I fought. Fought hard and screamed as
loud as I could, hoping someone would hear me. No one came. But they beat me
and choked me until I passed out.”

“And then you woke up in the Dumpster.”

“Yeah.” She finally raised her eyes to meet his gaze. The
blue in her irises looked electrified against the red rims. “If they find out
I’m alive, they’ll kill me. I saw them kill another girl who fought. That’s why
I never did, but I knew that if that man took me away, I’d be as good as dead
anyway. If they know, they’ll find me. They’re powerful and scary.”

This time Marco went with the need to comfort her and laid
his hand on her arm. “They won’t find you, Jenny. I promise. I just have one
more question for you. Does the name Smithwick sound familiar?”

“Yeah. I think he’s the boss.”

“Fuck yeah,” Coulter bit out before he caught himself.
“Sorry.”

Marco shot his lieutenant a scowl and a wink. Hell, he
wanted to react the same way. He turned back to Jenny. “What Coulter so
eloquently means is we know who you’re dealing with. And you’re right, he is
dangerous. That’s why we’re getting you out of here pronto.”

“Excuse me, Captain,” Jasmine piped up. “Are you crazy?
You’re forgetting that she’s injured and still requires medical attention.”

“I know, but the longer she stays here, the more she’s in
danger. And I’ve got a plan.” He leaned forward in his seat. “Believe me,
Jenny. Smithwick will have to get to me before he gets to you. I’ll keep you
safe. Dr. Jovanovich, is there a private place we can talk?”

She crossed her arms and for several seconds regarded him
with that deep stare with a slight tilt of her head. She wanted to argue with
him about the girl’s care, he saw the words in her eyes, but she nodded and
gestured with her hand to the door. “I know a place.”

“Good.” He stood and reached for the call button by the bed
and pressed it into Jenny’s hand. “Hang tight, little girl. If anyone comes in
here you don’t recognize, you press this button and scream as loud as you can.
I don’t care if they say they work here or not. Understand?”

She nodded, staring up at him with wide eyes. She hugged the
call button to her chest and for the first time in his presence, relaxed into
the bed.

“Show us the way, Doc.”

Jasmine led them down the hall to a small room furnished
with a loveseat, coffee table and two chairs. There was a sliding door in the
wall that she slid shut for more privacy. By the copious amounts of tissue
boxes and leaflets on grief lining the countertop, he realized this was the
room the doctors used to deliver bad news to family members.

She turned toward them with the princess look on her face.
“How much danger is she in, really?”

“A lot. Do you remember about a year ago, when the police
were in a shootout with a drug dealer and the girl he had kidnapped and had a
bomb strapped to her neck?”

Her brow furrowed. “Yes.”

“Same guy. His name’s Smithwick. He’s moving into human
trafficking and we’ve been on his trail for years. Jenny may be our only
witness to the inner workings of his organization. If he knows she’s alive, he
will have her killed.”

Jasmine drew in a breath and nodded. “What do you need me to
do?”

“Yes. That’s my girl.” Before he realized he moved, he swept
her up in a hug and dropped a kiss to her cheek. “First thing is we need
protection. Coulter, call Santiago and tell him to drop everything and get
here, but don’t make it look too obvious. Until he gets here, I want you to
stand guard. I only want our team around her from now on.”

“Right, Cap,” he said with a bemused smirk on his face.

“Oh, sorry,” Marco murmured to a shocked Jasmine as he
realized he still held her in his arms and stepped back. “Anyway, Coulter,
gather all of the photos of Smithwick’s associates the Chameleon compiled. Once
Jenny’s settled, we’ll see if she recognizes anyone. Now go.”

“I’m on it.” Coulter turned to leave but there were still
questions in his eyes as he left them alone.

“Where are you planning on taking her?” Jasmine asked.

Marco chuckled, already anticipating her reaction. “The
Cavern.”

She didn’t disappoint. “Excuse me?” she exclaimed and looked
at him as if he were crazy.

Crazy like a fox maybe. “Think about it. You’ll have access
to medical supplies, the Kilsgaards have plenty of space, no one will think to
look for her there, and with Lucian and Bale nearby, no one will get to her.
Those two have mad skills when it comes to protecting people. In a situation
like this, I’d trust no one else.”

“Why do you think Lucian will agree?”

“He’s a smart man with powerful friends and a familial
grudge against Smithwick. He’ll agree. And another thing, Jenny reminds me a
bit of Bale’s girlfriend, Ari. New to town with nothing but the clothes on her
back and a hope and a prayer. Besides, can you think of a better person to
mother Jenny than Amaryllis?”

The idea elicited a small grin. “I concede it’s a sound
plan,
if
he agrees.”

“He will.”

Her raised eyebrow said that remained to be seen. “I’ll
prepare her for transport with as much discretion as possible. It won’t be
easy, but I’ll do my best.”

“I have the utmost confidence in your skills.” He reached
out and drew her back into the circle of his arms. This was it. Smithwick’s
capture was so close, he could practically smell the man’s expensive cologne.
“I wish I could share more with you, but this is good. This is great. Soon,
we’ll have an asshole behind bars and protect more girls like Jenny. Once she’s
settled, we should celebrate, just a little. Nothing fancy. How about dinner?
When are you free?”

“Dinner?” She stiffened in his arms. “You want to have
dinner? Together?”

“Yeah. And don’t pretend that you don’t have dinner. You
eat. We all do. When are you off work?”

“I, uh—” she cleared her throat and brushed away his hold.
“I don’t—can’t have dinner.”

“Why not?”

“Because it sounds like a date.”

“It is a date.”

“Right. Remember? I don’t date.”

“Then think of it as dinner with a friend. We are friends,
right?”

“No.”

Frustration burned in his chest and he restrained the urge
to pull out his hair. Damn it. The woman was determined to cut him off at the
knees. Or the balls. “What are you saying?”

She closed her eyes for a second and sucked in a hurried
breath before she lifted her chin to say, “Look, Captain, I thought I had been
perfectly clear when we entered our arrangement. I am your Dom. You are my sub.
Out in the real world we do not socialize. Only at The Cavern do we exist as a
couple. I’m sorry if you’ve come to believe otherwise, but that’s how things
are.”

“Are they?” He stalked toward her. Whether she realized it
or not, she issued a challenge he was more than ready to accept. “And what if I
want more? Hell, what am I saying? I do want more.”

She gasped and stumbled backward as he crept closer. For the
first time he saw her look anything but in control. “Well, you can’t have
more.”

“Why not?” He stopped within millimeters of her heaving
chest as she hit the wall at her back. “I want you,
Jasmine
. I like you.
You’re smart, sexy, have a wicked sense of humor and can make me hard with a
blink of your lashes. I want to spend time with you. Is that so hard to
believe?”

“You can’t have more.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t have more to give,” she shouted and pushed
against his chest. “Don’t you understand? I’m at work seventy-plus hours a
week. The only time I can spare are the few hours I manage to have at the club.
That’s all. And that’s what you agreed to. Damn it.” She squeezed her eyes
tight. “I don’t even have time for this conversation. Let me know if Lucian
agrees. In the meantime, I’ll get Jenny ready for transport.”

She stormed out with the ends of her coat flapping behind
her like the tail of a kite in a windstorm.

Yeah, he was pissed she shot him down, but the woman did
have a point, much as he hated to admit it. She never agreed to a relationship
outside The Cavern. And at the time he signed the contract, he hadn’t thought
she’d be so obstinate about the mere idea of seeing him as more than her sub.
Added to all of that, they were both busy professionals. Seriously, what was he
doing thinking he could try to have a relationship anywhere close to normal
when the biggest break in his case fell into his lap? Jasmine was right.

He hated that she was right.

There had to be a way to make it work between them. He was
tired of leaving her at the end of the night. Hell, he hated not being able to
kiss her when he wanted or even hold her close. Simple things that men and
women did to show affection when not tearing it up between the sheets. Was it
too much to ask to have a girlfriend?

From his jacket pocket his phone vibrated. A glance at the
screen confirmed that Santiago was on his way. Duty called.

Apparently he was asking too much.

With his right hand he pressed the buttons to call Lucian
while his left dug into his pocket for his pack of gum. Maybe he should take up
smoking.

Convincing Lucian to offer his facilities to harbor a
witness took little effort, just as he suspected. If there was one thing Marco
could always count on, it was the Kilsgaard men’s willingness to protect those
who need it.

There was a knock on the door before Coulter entered the
room. “Santiago’s here.”

“Thanks, Cass,” he said, then returned to his conversation
with Lucian. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Amaryllis right away. Let’s
get Jenny settled before your wife goes all Daddy Warbucks on her.”

“I’ll do my best, Captain.” Lucian laughed. “Your witness
will be in good hands.”

“See you soon.” He ended the call. “Let’s find the doc and
get our girl out of here.”

Coulter stood in front of the door with his arms crossed.
“What’s going on?”

“Where have you been? An angel has risen from the Dumpster
and granted us a boon.”

“I mean with you and the doctor. There’s this weird energy
between you two I don’t remember being there before. Are you—are you two
dating?”

Aye, the rub.
He snorted. “Believe me, we’re not
dating.”

“It’s okay if you were. She’s cute in that sexy librarian
sort of way. I mean, if she wore her hair down and you thought of her by her
first name and not Doc. What is her name again?” He scratched his head.
“Jasmine? Yeah. That’s hot. Jasmine…wait a minute.”

Marco held his breath as he saw Coulter put the pieces
together. With his hand to God, he swore he saw sparks fly from Coulter’s hair
when the man hit the answer.

“Holy shit! Dr. Jovanovich is Mistress Jasmina.”

Suddenly Marco turned into Vinny Barbarino from that old
show
Welcome Back, Kotter
he used to watch on Nick at Night, sputtering
and laughing as if Coulter were crazy. “Are you insane? You think Dr. Jo is a
dominatrix? Are you high?”

“No, I’m right because I never said the word dominatrix and
you know who Mistress Jasmina is.”

Fuck.

“And if you know who Mistress Jasmina is, then…oh…” His jaw
fell open and eyes boggled. He then emitted a series of ohs, all with varying
pitches and lengths, but Marco heard each statement as if Coulter actually said
the words.

Oh, you’re
not
dating Dr. Jovanovich.

Oh, because you’re seeing Mistress Jasmina.

Oh, which means you’re her submissive.

Oh, so I guess you like to be spanked and taken up the
ass.

Marco sighed. “You’re going to catch flies with that open
trap, Coulter.”