“You think?” Madden crossed his arms again and his jaw tightened. “You could have been killed at the fucking waterfront. It’s one thing to find a one-night stand, it’s completely different to go to that part of town looking for a rough fuck.”
“What I want to know is how they knew what your username was on the site you were using,” I said, disrupting the heated stare-off River and Madden were having. “I doubt Brickton is into BDSM, and it’s not easy tracking down someone’s information on a sex app. They had to figure it out somehow.”
River shrugged. “The bastard is rich enough to pay someone for info.”
“But how many people know your username?” Madden asked. “He’s right. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Unless….” I glanced at Slater, and he frowned at me but nodded. “We’ve been chasing these guys for a while now. Over a couple of months. They’re smart, but we didn’t expect anything else because they’re traffickers. We’ve met a few people who’ve claimed they’ve been in contact with the same guy you have, and he wanted them to meet him by the docks. SexyDom911, right?”
River nodded and dropped back into the chair at the table. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“It’s not just you he was hitting up. Others, too. We think he might be finding his victims through BDSM apps and underground clubs,” Slater said. “Someone who actually knew you might have talked to him about you at some point.”
River wrinkled his nose as if that thought was disgusting to him.
“Maybe to catch him, we’ll need to go into the clubs, ask around about him.” I took the seat across from River, while Slater sat beside me, and Madden took the chair on River’s right.
“They won’t talk to cops.” River shrugged. “And your look screams cop.”
I glanced down at myself and the pair of jeans and T-shirt I wore. “How?”
River rolled his eyes. “It’s your demeanor. The way you stand at attention even when you’re not trying. Asking them about a guy you’re looking for would only confirm their suspicions.”
“So we’ll need to go in undercover,” I said.
He shook his head. “The clubs around town have memberships for a reason, to keep men like this Xander away from them. They wouldn’t let you in unless you’ve been invited, or you’re the partner of a member. Most of the clubs don’t even operate out of a single space in order to keep off the cops’ radar.”
“You’re a member of all the clubs around town, then? You know all that for a fact?”
“And?” River’s blue eyes blazed with annoyance as he narrowed them on me.
“And I can be your Dom.”
Everyone snapped their attention to me. All at once, Madden and River started talking, and I couldn’t hear what either of them were saying. Slater grinned and leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head like he was more than happy to watch me struggle with the two of them.
I held up my palms, successfully shutting at least Madden up.
“MyDom? You can’t justdecideto be a Dom and play the part. If you give them a reason to be suspicious, they won’t say a damn thing,” River said and finished the rant he’d started. “Especially at the club the Kings run. That would be a fucking nightmare.” His chest rose and fell quickly, and his glare could have melted the glaciers of Antarctica with the heat.
“It’s a win-win. We find our guy and use him as both proof for the sex trafficking ring and twist his nuts about Brickton’s bribery. We’ll have them both thrown into prison.” I leaned forward, grinning. “I can play the part. I’ve been researching and watching videos.”
Slater’s eyebrows shot upward. “You? Research? I thought you knew about all this stuff.”
I rolled my eyes. “I gave you sound advice when you asked for it, and now I’m using my own advice.”
“Advice?” Madden turned an accusatory stare at Slater. “What advice? Have you been talking about our relationship with Paxton?”
Slater held up his hands. “Baby, I have no idea what he’s talking about.”
“Really? How about when you asked me how to suck a dick because you hadn’t sucked Madden’s yet, bi boy?” I sent him a wicked smile.
“When was this?” River asked Madden, total bafflement passing across his face.
Slater opened his mouth to answer, but Madden threw his hands into the air and glared at him. “Evan, darling, we need to have a talk aboutwhat you say to other people.” It didn’t sound like they were going to talk, though, but more like Madden would beat his ear for saying too much.
I laughed. “Sorry, mate.”
Slater let out a long, harsh breath. “I’m never asking for advice from you again.”
