My Addiction (Club Desire #2)(84)

“She wanted to know if I had gotten her the work with them, and if I was working with terrorists.” Dex easily saw the pain in the man’s expression. He supposed if his daughter thought him capable of something like that, it would slice pretty deep.

“Are you working with terrorists? Did you get Kate those jobs?”

Fretwell shook his head. “She got those jobs on her own. I’m assuming through word of mouth. She’s got a great reputation in the business. I’ll admit, I was pissed when she dropped out of medical school to go into IT, but she’s her mother’s daughter, and mine as well, and she has always been strong minded and stubborn as hell.”

Dex heard the respect and even the pride in Fretwell’s voice and wondered if Kate even knew her father felt this way. From what she had told him, it didn’t sound like it.

Fretwell reached out to close the file folder, then slid it across the table to Dex. “Here’s everything I have on everyone from The Dungeon. Some of that predates me hiring Opal, but everything she did supply me is in there, along with things I learned through other sources.”

Dex wasn’t sure what to say.

“I’ve realized my little girl is all grown up. I won’t need Opal’s services anymore, and in fact, I think she’s been working for both myself and Senator Balkins for quite a while. I know from Mark Stanton directly that she was also selling him information.”

Dex frowned. So much for Opal trying to say Stanton was blackmailing her.

“Thank you, Dick. I’d really like to go see Kate now.”





Chapter 27


Kate woke up feeling groggy and out of it, so didn’t bother opening her eyes. Maybe if she stayed very still, Rusty wouldn’t notice she was awake and demand she get up yet.

Her body felt heavy, with lots of aches and sore spots. She smiled as memories of the amazing flogging with Master Dex came back to her.

“I love that evil smile. I’ve missed it.”

Kate started at Dex’s voice so close beside her, and pain accosted her from several areas all over her body.

What the hell?

She shouldn’t be this sore the morning after a flogging.

With effort, she opened her eyes and looked up into Dex’s handsome face.

“Hey, beautiful. How do you feel?”

Kate frowned. “Like I was hit by a bus—” She stopped short as memories flooded back about overhearing Dex on the phone, the frantic drive to L.A., confronting her father at his office, and then…

“Crap. Am I okay?” She glanced past him and saw everything she would expect to find in a hospital room. “I hate hospitals.”

Dex brushed some hair away from her face, his touch burning through her. “You’ll be fine after you finish healing. You’ve got a broken left arm, and a pretty severe concussion. You’ll probably be sore as hell for a while, but other than that, you checked out fine.”

She concentrated on her left arm, and although she could move her fingers, now that Dex mentioned it, she noticed the cast.

“I hate casts. They itch.”

He chuckled and pressed a kiss against her mouth. “Think of it as a challenge during a scene to keep your arm restrained for six weeks or so.”

She laughed, but the sound echoed through her head, making her wince.

“Are you in pain?”

She started to nod and caught herself just in time. “Yes. No more laughing—it hurts.”

Dex reached across her bed and pressed a button that she assumed was the call button for the nurse.

“Rusty…” she began.

“Don’t worry—I’ve been taking care of him until you get out of here. Your dad went earlier to go feed him and give him some attention. He misses you, but he’s being spoiled.”

“My dad?” Dex must be talking about someone else. “My dad hates animals, and I’m sure Rusty bit the shit out of him.”

Dex shook his head. “Your dad said he wasn’t a huge fan of animals, but he did it for you. It sounded like they got along pretty well.”

“Wow.” Maybe she’d hit her head harder than she thought, because she was now convinced she was hallucinating. She frowned, but when that furrowed her brow, it hurt more than she was comfortable with. She mentally shrugged, glad Rusty was being taken care of.

“Are the people in the other car okay?”

Dex’s face darkened with anger, and Kate’s stomach tightened. “What happened?”

Dex stroked her forehead. “Your car was rammed on purpose.”

Ice crystalized inside her veins. “Why?” She wondered why he told her that instead of answering her original question. Were the people in the other car dead?

“They thought you had information about their illegal activities, and they wanted to make sure you weren’t able to share it.”

“Were they the terrorists I heard you talking about?”

Kate watched as understanding lit Dex’s expression and then morphed into concern. “That’s why you ran from Club Desire that day?”

She started to nod, but the pain in her neck and head stopped her. “I overheard you on the phone talking about Merestone.” Her chest ached as she remembered her shock.

He brushed a kiss against her lips and then pulled back to look into her eyes. “Kate, I’m sorry. I’m not sure how much you heard, but now that it’s all over, you need to hear everything.”