Gaby nodded, even though doubt still burned in her chest.
Then Emily’s expression turned fierce. “If he doesn’t,” she added, “friend or not, I’ll kick his ass.”
Cari sized up petite Em, eyes running from head to toe. “All five feet nothing of you? Better bring your stepladder, honey.”
Gaby laughed despite herself.
Emily harrumphed, crossing her arms. “Fine. I’ll have Alec kick his ass. He’s already halfway there. He thinks Rhys is being a stubborn ass.”
“Don’t tell anyone I told you, but Dev’s of the same thought.”
Her dilemma wasn’t solved, but having her friends and two experienced doms in her corner helped ease some of her tension.
“Thanks,” she said quietly. “I needed that.”
Over chicken quesadillas and the full pitcher, they discussed possible strategies. Waiting was quickly nixed. Confronting his stubborn ass, Gaby nixed. Her mission to save her sister would be harder if she pissed Rhys off.
Emily immediately shut down the idea of making him jealous. “I lived that disaster with Alec. Both accidentally and on purpose. It backfired. Spectacularly.”
“But you ended up together, didn’t you?” Cari asked, staring pointedly at the engagement ring on her finger.
“Yes, but it wasn’t exactly easy,” she agreed.
They stood to leave, Boone rising immediately and falling into step a few paces behind them.
Cari paused in front of the bookstore two doors down. “Mind if we pop in? I’ve been meaning to pick up the new release by Tamsin Hale.”
Gaby shrugged. “Lead the way.”
The shop was small but well-stocked, with narrow aisles and the faint smell of paper and coffee.
Cari headed straight for the front display. Emily drifted toward fiction. Gaby wandered until she found herself standing in front of the self-help section. She eyed the glossy covers and earnest subtitles.
“Do you think,” Emily said behind her, “there’s a book that explains why we are how we are?”
Gaby smiled faintly. “Only about five dozen.”
Near the end of the aisle, Emily stopped short. “Well,” she said, reaching for a book and lifting it slightly. “This one’s arresting.”
Gaby glanced over. The cover showed a shadowed platform, a bound figure, a dominant shape standing over it. In the foreground, stark against the darkness, a red recording light burned.
Emily read the title aloud.Under Cover of Leatherby Marianne Holt.
“This doesn’t sound like self-help,” she murmured.
“Maybe its misshelved.” Gaby stepped closer, curiosity stirring.
Em flipped the book over and began reading the blurb on the back. “This isn’t fiction,” she said slowly. “It’s an exposé about a woman who went undercover in a BDSM club as a submissive.”
Gaby’s stomach tightened. It sounded too close to home.
“She was a psychologist,” Emily went on, voice thinning. “She embedded herself with a dominant. Studied him. Slept withhim. And then published a memoir slash case study about their dynamic.” Emily looked up, stricken. “The dom is a psychologist, too. Renowned in his field. She changed his name, but everyone knew it was him. Of course they would. She called him Ryan Landon.”
Gaby’s hand flew to her mouth as the bottom dropped out of her stomach.
“It says, she nearly ruined him.” Emily glanced back down at the flap. “But this isn’t that book. This one is about the scandal that followed, and the toll her unethical investigation took on them both.” Her gaze lifted again, sympathy and disbelief in equal measure. “They use the word brutal.”
She grabbed the book, turned to chapter one, and read the first few lines.
