I stayed and chatted with the subs for over an hour, discreetly asking questions. Most of the subs in the room were influential, powerful people in the outside world. They were either in a power position themselves, or their significant others were important people in the city, some of them with connections to law enforcement or politicians, others with ties to the criminal underworld.
This was the kind of room where deals were made. Secrets shared. I had no doubt that wherever Geros and Mal were right now, they were probably having a similar experience. But then again, perhaps not.
Once they knew I was new to their world, they all felt an obsessive need to educate me on the way things worked on Viken. Who was who. Where the best shops were. The best entertainment. Gossip about Viken’s royal family—which I listened to with a bit of a laugh because half of what they said was only marginally accurate and the rest was rubbish. But that was fame, apparently on any planet.
The conversation around me was lively, with the women discussing everything from sexual positions to politics. But then, one of them made a comment about a recent assassination attempt on the princess of their planet. Every instinct I had went on high alert.
"Can you believe it? Someone actually tried to kill the princess," she said, her voice filled with shock and disbelief.
The other women around the table were similarly unhappy, some enraged. Murmurs of disbelief and condemnation filled the room as various conspiracy theories were offered and dismissed. But there was one woman who didn't react as she should have, not if she had any care or concern for the royal family. Instead, she was quiet, her expression unreadable, and she didn't seem to be as interested in the topic as the others.
I watched her closely, my suspicions growing. She was difficult to study. She kept to the edges of the group, rarely adding to the conversation. She wore a very revealing negligee, as the rest of the females did, but there was a distinct area on the side of each thigh where the material was thick and opaque. And big enough to hide a weapon.
One by one the subs began to leave, looking for their partners, ready to go home. I leaned close to the older woman who’d stayed by my side and pointed out the quiet one. “Who is that? She’s so quiet.”
“Oh, she’s harmless. She’s Master Gee’s sub. Morna. He’s out of town a lot. She comes down here because she’s lonely.”
“Doesn’t she have neighbors or friends she can talk to?” It seemed very odd to me that she would come all the way down to the club, dressed likethat,when a call to a friend or a walk at the park—they did have parks here, right?—would serve her better.
“Oh, no. She lives upstairs. And her master doesn’t allow her to go out alone. He has to be with her. Very unhealthy, that relationship. But you didn’t hear that from me. No one cares about the opinion of an old woman.”
I cared. I cared a lot. “Thank you for taking me under your wing tonight. I was a little out of it when I came in here.”
She smiled at me, the kind of smile that makes you want to throw your arms around a dear friend and hold on. “It’s always like that, dear. When they break down one of your walls. It takes a while to recover.”
Break down one of my walls?
She patted me on the hand and left to find her mate. I finished my—by now—third glass of water and took the opportunity to approach the Morna, the quiet one who lived upstairs in an unhealthy relationship with a Dom who sounded like an asshole. But that was just me making assumptions.
“Excuse. Sorry. I just—I know I look a mess and I was wondering if there was a place I could try to at least do something with my hair?”
She nodded, took one last look around the room as if reluctant to leave. “Come on. I’ll show you. It’s on the way upstairs.”
“What’s upstairs?” I already knew, but I wanted to know if she would tell me the truth.
“Our apartment. There are six Doms who have suites on the upper floors. I live on the third floor with Master Gee.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. Congratulations. Have you been living with him a long time?”
She looked at me like I had a screw loose. Which I felt like I probably did.
“Three years, which is two years too long.”
“I’m confused. Why don’t you move out?”
“We love who we love. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s not.” I had followed her out a side door of the lounge, through a short hallway lined with soft, padded carpet of some kind, to a white door. She pointed to the door. “Here we are. You can freshen up in here. We have everything you could possibly need.”
“Thanks. I’m Smith.”
“I know.” She smiled, a small, pathetic, sad smile and turned to walk up a set of stairs. “Maybe I’ll see you next time.”
She didn’t wait for me to respond, just walked up the stairs, turned on a landing and disappeared. I waited about thirty seconds. Then I followed her.
I was careful to keep my distance, I didn’t want to draw her attention. And I didn’t want to have to come up with a bullshit lie about why I was sneaking after her on the stairs.
My heart raced as I followed Morna, my mind racing with possibilities. Was this woman somehow connected to the assassination attempt? Was she involved in some way? Or was it her Dom, Master Gee. Mal had not mentioned that name, but I tucked it away to ask about later.
Morna finally came to a stop in front of a door that was guarded by a man with a rough, menacing look. He was even bigger than the teddy bear man downstairs. I watched as she knocked on the door, and a moment later, it was opened.
