Vicious Carousel (Suncoast Society #25)(9)

Nolan waited until they reached the living room. “Fucking son of a bitch,” he said, his tone murderous. “I will f*cking beat the everloving shit out of that bastard if he f*cking gets out of jail. I will hunt him down and kill him.”

Gabe smiled and put her fingers in her ears. “Lalalala—you’d better let me help—lalalala.”

Bill took a deep breath, which escaped him in a sad sigh. “No one’s killing him. He’ll go through the system and hopefully end up in jail for a while, unless they let him plead out. I know Tony said he didn’t think anyone had pressed charges against the guy, but it doesn’t mean Jack doesn’t have a sheet on him somewhere. If he does, then all the better for this case against him.”

Sully looked grave. “You two realize there will likely be some press about this, right? ‘Woman kept chained and beaten in BDSM sex dungeon.’ I’m sure that will be the gist of the headlines once this makes the blotter and a reporter gets hold of it.”

Nolan nodded. “I know. It’s okay. Our jobs are secure. We’re county employees without morality clauses. We’re just her friend. Jack tries to sling dirt at us, it won’t stick.”

“It’s going to get ugly,” Sully said. “He’ll probably have a public defender—if we’re lucky—who will try to talk the * into copping a plea deal. But don’t be surprised if Jack slings mud like a monkey flings its shit.”

“Thank god he was never invited to any of the private parties,” Gabe said.

“This is the exact reason why Lucas and Ross carefully cherry-picked the attendance roster tonight,” Sully said. “Tony’s the only one of us who went on the rescue mission tonight who’s extremely vulnerable in this matter.”

“What about you two?” Nolan asked Bill and Gabe.

They smiled at each other. “My former boss is a member of Venture,” Gabe said.

“And Jack doesn’t know who the hell I am or what I do. Either one of us,” Bill said. “The story we told tonight was that we were at a friend’s house for a barbecue, the call came in, and because we’re law enforcement, naturally we volunteered to help.”

“But,” Sully continued, speaking to Nolan and Kenny, “if you two can’t handle what might happen, you need to reach out immediately. You heard Ross. He and Loren can take her in, and they’re pretty insulated from anything Jack might try. Doesn’t hurt that Ross is an attorney, too, even though he doesn’t practice criminal law.”

Kenny looked at Nolan. Nolan was pretty sure the grim expression his partner wore mirrored his own. “We’ve got this,” Kenny assured them. “As long as she needs or wants to be here, we’ve got this.”

“Okay.” Sully shook with them both again. “I consider that a promise that I’ll hold both of you to.”

After saying good-night to them, Nolan locked the door behind them before turning to Kenny. “Wow.”

Kenny headed for the kitchen. “Wow, indeed. Oh, dammit.” He turned. “Our implement bag’s still at their house.”

Nolan followed him to the kitchen. “If that’s the worst thing you can think of right now, you’re doing better than I am.”

“I’m not thinking right now,” Kenny said as he rummaged in the fridge and emerged with a bottle of hard apple cider. He held it up to Nolan, who shook his head.

Kenny closed the fridge and popped the cap with a magnetic church key from the front of the fridge. He drained half the bottle in two swallows.

“Do we need to set up some ground rules?” Nolan asked.

Kenny leaned against the counter and slowly nodded. “You’re reading my mind again, buddy.” His brown gaze focused on Nolan. “I’m thinking hands-off, totally, for the foreseeable future. Friends-only.”

Nolan nodded. “Yep.” He stepped in close, pressing Kenny back against the counter as he wrapped his arms around his partner’s waist. “My thoughts exactly.”

“What do we consider the gateway to untabling this topic?” Kenny asked. “Just in case.”

“I don’t know.” He kissed Kenny, enjoying the taste of hard cider on his lips. “I say we don’t have one. We watch and wait. She might decide she would rather go to Ross and Loren’s, once she’s able to think straight. I will honestly be surprised if she wakes up and remembers most of tonight as out of her mind as she was with pain and fear.”

“True.” Kenny took another swallow from the bottle. Nolan couldn’t help that the motion reminded him of how Kenny looked with Nolan’s cock between his lips.

“Or,” Nolan added, “she might get her act together and get her own place sooner rather than later.”

“Also true,” Kenny said. “I would like to add if she brings it up, or it becomes a discussion Tilly or Eliza force with her, I’m okay saying she’s under our protection without it being anything more. As long as everyone else thinks that’s a good idea.”

Nolan considered it and nodded. “I’m good with that. It might be what she needs to feel safe.”

“I hope this experience doesn’t drive her out of the lifestyle altogether.” A dark frown clouded Kenny’s expression. “I remember when we talked to her when we first met her. How excited she was. How she said she felt like she finally belonged somewhere. That she didn’t feel weird or different anymore.”