Chapter 20
Alex had just gotten off the phone with General Franklin’s dick- wad aide, who had announced he’d be arriving at ShadowDance day after tomorrow “at 0900, that’s 9:00 a.m.” the jackass had explained to him.No fucking shit, you little twerp.He had never met the guy face-to-face, but Colt had, and his impression had been that the guy wasn’t to be trusted, was a pompous ass and smarmy. Now the question was what had Colt Matthews said to Franklin that had prompted the old man to send a liaison to ShadowDance? Reaching for his phone, he typed a message to Colt,Call me ASAP on secure line, and hit send.
Zach walked in and sat down with a heavy sigh. “So what’s got you looking like somebody kicked your puppy, bro?” Alex filled him in on their impending visitor, and they decided they’d put the man up in a small guesthouse on the property. It was heavily monitored with technology the guy likely wouldn’t be familiar with, so they’d be able to keep him away from Katarina and also keep a close watch on him. Something just wasn’t right about this guy, but they neither one could put their finger on it.
Changing subjects, Zach asked, “Have you heard from Dylan? Any luck finding Melita?”
“I have a call in to him now, but no, I haven’t heard anything yet. I know he was able to contact his former boss, but I haven’t heard the outcome of that conversation yet.” Turning to look back out the window that looked toward the gardens, Alex spoke, almost as if thinking aloud. “I wonder if Robertson had already picked her up? What if he’d left her with some of his cronies? Where would they have stashed her? Would it be possible that she was somewhere close since he planned to come here? Damn, is that possible?” He looked at his brother as if he’d just had an inspiration. “Call everybody you can think of within a hundred-mile radius, see if they saw anyone matching Cal Robertson’s and Melita’s descriptions. If Robertson was close, then whoever was with him babysitting the hostage took off with her after Katarina killed Robertson. And if so, maybe we can track them from here. It’s a long shot, but I don’t know how else to help at this point.”
Zach rose from the sofa he’d been leaned back in and moved to his desk at the other side of the room and was already reaching for his phone before he’d ever sat down. Alex was right, it wasn’t much, but it was action and they’d both grown antsy over the last few weeks worrying about finding the brave woman who’d taken such a big risk to help another woman in a dungeon club. Helping Kat escape Robertson had been a risk not only to Melita’s personal safety but also to the undercover case she had invested two years of her life building. Zach knew Melita had likely paid a high price for doing the right thing, and that price would have been both personal and professional. But, had it not been for her courage, Kat would have likely died that night. And then, learning that courageous woman was the ex of a close friend, a woman they both knew and genuinely liked, well, finding her had become an even larger priority.
Before he got caught up in his own calls, Alex asked, “Where is Katarina? I haven’t seen her in a couple of hours.” They didn’t let their pregnant wife out of their sight for very long at a time because she was something of a trouble magnet and they tried to make sure at least one of them was close by her at all times.
“She has gone to town with Rissa for new shoes. She said, and I quote, ‘If I have to be as round as a hippo and waddle like a duck, I should at least have great shoes.’ I wisely didn’t comment, it sounded like a setup to me.” Zach’s goofy smile reflected just how smitten he was with his little “kitten.” She really seemed to be coming into her own. Both he and Alex were proud of the changes in her over the past couple of months. She was no longer the shy, insecure woman who had first returned to ShadowDance Mountain. Her confidence had grown. They’d seen it happen with women before, as they became secure in their submission and learned to trust their Dom, they flourished in other areas of their lives, and that was exactly what they were seeing in Kat. They were thrilled to see her blossom under their love and nurturing, but, at the same time, she was getting to be a handful at times. She was racking up so many punishments they’d likely have to paddle her pert little ass daily for their child’s first two years! Zach smiled to himself.I can think of a lot worse ways to pass the time!
* * * *
Dylan Marshall hung up the phone, he had listened to Alex Lamont’s idea, and he agreed it was a long shot, but he was out of other ideas. He’d get his deputies on it right away. The downside of living in a small, rural community was that everybody was up in your business all the time, but the good thing was they were in everybody else’s business, too, so if there had been strangers around, someone was bound to remember. Now, if the trail just wasn’t completely cold, they might just have a prayer of finding Melita, and God knew alive and well would sure be a welcome bonus.
He’d been saying every kind of prayer he knew.Damn but my granny would be proud, well, she’d be even more pleased if you’d find the only woman you’ve ever loved, too.Jesus, he was even talking to himself now. He just kept turning it over in his mind like a rock tumbler polishes the stones, he was hoping continually rotating the ideas would shine something enough to make it stand out to him. The one thing her supervisor had said that kept coming back to him was that he’d had a call from Mia a couple of days ago, and he felt she was still undercover, but that she’d tried to relay a message he hadn’t been able to unravel. She’d said, “Tell Matt to come to the ball, but no Cat Woman this year.” He knew the message was meant for him, she had nicknamed him Matt because it was a play on his name, Dylan Marshall. Marshall Dillon’s first name in theGunsmokeseries had been Matt. Dylan sat staring at the wall, rubbing a pencil slowly back and forth between his thumb and forefinger when it was like he’d been hit over the head with it…Oh my fucking God, it couldn’t be that simple, could it?Christ almighty, the ShadowDance “Annual Submissives’ Masquerade” was this coming weekend. And “no Cat Woman” was obviously a warning that Katarina should not attend. He grabbed the phone and called Alex immediately. If he was right, he needed to see The Club’s invited guests list immediately.