To Command and Collar (Masters of the Shadowlands, #6)(15)

Kim felt the blood drain from her face. What had he done to her?

“Easy, girl. He didn’t beat on me or anything.” Gabi bumped her shoulder against Kim’s. “I’d rather have had the beating. Would you believe the butthead threw me in the pool after I’d spent an hour on my hair and makeup? And I’d done some really cool temp tattoos around my arms too.”

Kim sputtered a laugh; the knot in her stomach eased.

“You looked so funny.” Jessica rose and hauled Kari out of the chair with a grunt of effort, before grinning at Kim. “She kept cursing him, and he pushed her back in—I think about four times before she cooled down enough to beg forgiveness. And then she hugged him.”

Kari snickered. “You deliberately got his clothes all wet. He didn’t know whether to laugh or curse.”

“Teach him to try to drown me.” Still smirking, Gabi walked with the other two women to the front, exchanged good-byes, then returned to sit beside Kim. “Hey, Jessica forgot Z’s treats—more for us.” Before she got a cookie to her mouth, the doorbell rang. “Well, hell.”

Someone from outside. Heart rate increasing, Kim grabbed her hand. “No, it might not be Vance. I hear another man too. You don’t know who it is.”

“I recognize the voices. It’s okay, girlfriend.”

After a couple of slow breaths, Kim managed to let go of Gabi’s hand. “Sorry.”

“Been there, done that. It takes time.” Gabi hurried to the door and opened it.

The agent walked in first, followed by…Master R? In jeans and a white shirt, he nodded at Gabi, and then his dark gaze went straight to Kim. Intent, powerful.

Her head spun, and her face burned, but the pit of her stomach felt as if she’d swallowed ice cubes. Dizzily, she scrunched into a corner of the couch and pulled her legs up.

His mouth flattened into a straight line, and he said something to Vance too quiet to hear.

“We’ll see.” In khakis and a blue short-sleeved shirt, Vance walked into the living room and took the chair directly across from the couch. “How are you doing, Kim?”

She swallowed. These are friends, not the enemy. Master R—Raoul—got me out. That was the only reason, she realized, she hadn’t run for her bedroom. He’d saved her. “Not good, but better.”

“Lots better,” Gabi said staunchly and dropped down beside her.

Disconcertingly, Master R kneed the large ottoman closer to Kim and sat on it. Within touching distance.

Kim barely kept herself from shrinking away. She’d forgotten how muscular he was. The sleeves of his polo shirt strained to fit around his thick biceps.

“You said you needed to talk about problems,” Gabi prompted.

“Problems, definitely. Our operation is…” Vance’s jaw tightened. “The Harvest Association auctions are big events with many buyers, lots of slaves, and a large number of the association’s personnel. We’ve wanted to raid one for some time, but they change the locations and give out the date and time of the auction only at the last minute. The buyers are transported in windowless vans with anti-tracking technology. Sandoval was to have refused the slaves, so he’d get invited to the next auction. Instead…” He gestured toward Kim.

Instead he bought me and won’t get an invitation. Kim wet her dry lips. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not, chiquita,” Master R said softly. “We’ll figure something out.”

“But the FBI is angry and—”

Vance smiled slightly. “We can’t be mad at him. He got referred as a buyer all on his own and was generous enough to let us in on the action.”

“I didn’t know that,” Gabi said. “You weren’t recruited? But why?”

Master R flashed her a grin. “My mamá named me after Raoul Wallenberg. How can I not help?” His mouth straightened. “Gabi, it’s a dom’s job to protect his submissives, not sit back while they volunteer to get kidnapped.” He gave her a stern stare.

Kim gripped her friend’s hand. Gabi had done insane things trying to rescue her. What if the slavers had actually succeeded and if—

“Stop imagining,” Gabi muttered to her. “What happens now? Can Kim go home?”

Vance hesitated, and Kim couldn’t bear the silence. “I know it’s probably not good news. Just spit it out, okay?”

He smiled. “If you can speak to me like that, you’re doing better than I thought.”

Master R growled. “She is very strong, but she has been very hurt. This is not—”

Vance broke in. “First, going home isn’t a good idea.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his voice tight. “We’ve discovered at least two slaves escaped.”

“Really?” Gabi leaned forward. “Then they can identify, testify—”


“They can’t,” Vance said flatly. “They’re dead along with anyone they talked with.”

Kim felt her skin go clammy. Going home would put her mother at risk?

“I’m sorry, Kim.” Vance started to say something and then stopped. Waited.

Can’t go home. God, by staying here… She swallowed and edged away from Gabi. “They might come after Gabi and Marcus?”