A Dom is Forever (Masters and Mercenaries #3)(87)

“My * isn’t making the decisions here.” At least not yet. If he stayed close for much longer, it just might. “I don’t want this, Lee…Liam...whatever your name is. Are you going to rape me?”

His eyes closed, his fists clenching at his sides. “Fine. Like I said, I’ll go clean up, and we’ll have a drink. But don’t think for a minute that this is over.”

But don’t tink for a minute dat dis is oovver. The way he rounded his vowels and cut off some of his consonants was so sexy. And very likely all part of his plan. He snatched up something that had been on the bed. The plug. God, she’d let him put a plug inside her. What had she been thinking? He turned and opened a door at the back of the small room. A bathroom most likely. She heard the water start to run and realized she had seconds to get out of here. She had zero intention of sitting calmly while he pulled her into some sort of whacked-out scheme meant to do god only knew what.

But the question was where would she go? She needed her clothes. She needed a ride. She needed back up.

Her phone was in the locker room, but Liam’s wasn’t. It was on the floor. It had fallen out of his leathers. She snatched it up and nearly ran out of the room. Her hands shook as she tried to remember the number she needed. Adam. Adam and Jake could come and pick her up. Adam and Jake were big enough that Liam might think twice about messing with them, and then she would get the apartment rekeyed and she would tell the concierge not to allow Lee…Liam, or whatever he wanted to call himself, in. He would figure out that she wasn’t going to be an easy mark, and he would lose interest.

Tears blurred her vision making the hallway a watery mess. She turned down the narrow corridor. The Garden had seemed so lovely and decadent, and now it was just alien and a little frightening. She’d been so stupid. She hadn’t known him at all and yet she’d followed him into a BDSM club. She’d let him strip her bare in front of people. God, she couldn’t even think about it.

She never stopped walking. She just glanced down and dialed the numbers, grateful she’d always had a good memory. It wasn’t more than a second before Adam’s voice came over the line.

“Hey, what’s up? I didn’t expect you to call. Isn’t this the big night?”

“What?” Had she told Adam about her date?

“Avery? Shit. Is that you?”

The depths of his betrayal hit her squarely in the gut. Adam had known the number. He hadn’t expected a call from this number because he’d known the man it belonged to had a big night.

Adam knew Liam.

“Avery? Sweetie? Is Lee with you?”

So nice. So caring. “Liam is cleaning up. I’m afraid your little game is up, Adam. I know everything.”

“Holy f*cking shit. Avery, I don’t know what’s going on, but wherever you are, stay there. Don’t you dare move. Don’t you leave that club. I will be there in fifteen minutes. I will track you down if you leave, do you understand me? It’s dangerous for you out there on your own.”

She let the phone drop. She had no one else to call. Liam was quite brilliant. He’d seen a lonely woman and managed to give her friends, a lover, everything she could need. Why? She didn’t have any money left. She didn’t have connections.

Except to Thomas. Who did have money. Lots of money.

She ran toward the stairs. She had to get out. She would just leave in her robe and go straight to the police. That was what she would do. She wouldn’t stop for her purse or anything else. She would run until she found a station house, and she would tell them everything.

Except she ran into a brick wall before she could find the lifts. She stopped and stared up into the arctic-blue eyes of Liam’s friend Ian.

“Going somewhere, love? Where’s Lee? You shouldn’t run around without your Dom.”

“Liam O’Donnell can go to hell. I’m sure you’re in on whatever scam he’s running. Get out of my way. I’m not staying here.”

She could have sworn the temperature dropped twenty degrees. The look on Ian’s face could have frozen fire. For the first time she got really scared. She backed up, only to run into a wall of flesh.

“Don’t scare her, Ian. I won’t have it.” Liam’s hand found her wrist, hauling her behind him, putting himself between her and Ian.

“You won’t have it? You won’t f*cking have it?” Ian seemed to have developed a hard American accent. Well, naturally. She was surrounded by con men. “Tell me she’s brilliant and she managed to find out your real name on her own.”

“I told her,” Liam replied. “I can’t lie to her anymore, Ian. And I want her out of this op. I’ll take her someplace safe in the morning, and you won’t have to see us again. I know I’m fired.”

“Oh, you’ll be lucky if I just fire you. Get her dressed. I want you both in the conference room in ten minutes. I swear if you take off, I’ll find you both. Do you understand me?” Ian stalked off, his boots ringing in a violent rhythm.

Liam sighed, tugging her close. “That went better than expected. He didn’t kill me. I’m calling it a win.”

She tried to pull away. She hated the fact that all she really wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and pray this was all a bad dream. “Let me go.”

“No. You ran. Now we’ll do this my way.” His hand was gentle on her hair. He smoothed it back. “Come on. We’ll get dressed, and you can meet the team.”