“Right, she’ll be okay. I need to ask you about Julia,” I said, changing the subject, “where are we at with her?”
“She’s been picked up in Berlin, they’re escorting her to England and will bring her to the club. We’ll keep her in the Onyx rooms until you're ready to deal with her.”
I pulled in a breath, staring out across the vast landscape that I owned. Dealing with this business was a dirty business but it had to be done. I couldn’t go to the police, asking Julia nicely to leave us alone wasn’t going to work. We were past that now.
“You can deal with her for me. I don’t care.”
“Are you sure? She broke the rules onyourturf. She hurtyourwoman. You don’t have to be the one to handle the punishment but you should be there.”
Punishment. It had never really been my cup of tea outside of being playful. It reminded me too much of the shit my father did to me. However, I didn’t make the rules for the darker world that Julia and Damien moved in. In their circles, you got punished for shit like this, punished hard.
“You can represent my interests as well as the club. Whatever is done to her, I want it filmed. I want every bit of it filmed and photographed. I want her to know that I can expose her and ruin her any time I want.”
“Done. And don’t worry, from what I hear she isn’t fighting it. She gets it. She knows she fucked up.” He fell quiet again and I knew another question was coming. “Does Lola know?”
“She knows Julia is behind the photos, she doesn’t know about the punishment. I’m trying to drip feed the drama as much as I can. She’s dealt with enough over the last few weeks.”
“At least it’s over. We have the photos, her cloud is wiped, laptop, phone, everything seized.”
“And Muffin?” I snorted, what a stupid fucking name.
“Blacklisted and barred. The only play she’ll get is from BigDom69 on whatever fetish site she wants to sell herself on. We have enough dirt on her too that she’ll behave.”
Damien was smart in his handling of this. Julia was a Dominant, the best punishment for her was humiliation. That wouldn’t work for her pet though. Bratty subs loved the kind of treatment we were going to give Julia. For Muffin, the worst thing we could do is ignore her. Make her invisible.
I heard the sound of a drink being prepared on Damien’s end. He still liked a whiskey to wind down the night. “Truth be told, maybe shutting down the club wouldn’t be the worst thing. I don’t know how our members would feel about cavity searches.”
I laughed, I couldn’t help it. Julia had managed to sneak a tiny camera into the club by hiding it in a plug that she hid in one of Muffin's body cavities. With the help of a bent security guard that was also being dealt with, Muffin had been able to sneak it into the room that we were going to use that night.
What a fucking moron Julia was, destroying her own life because she couldn’t bear consequences.
No wonder she and my mother got along so well. Both of them couldn't stand to lose control. I felt stupid when I discovered their friendship but I couldn’t know everything. My mother had been paying her for dirt on me for years, what I didat the club or other clubs around the world where I worked off my stress. That part I hadn’t told Lola yet, but I would.
“You know, you could always buy the club off me?” I suggested. “Re-brand it?”
“Yeah, I should do that. Marx Manor or something.”
I snorted. “Yeah, or something. Let’s keep brainstorming that.”
“You saying the Never Tell Club was better?”
“I’m saying I was eighteen when I named it that. The marketing worked, didn’t it?”
“Holy fuck, did it.” We laughed, a laughter that remembered the years of debauchery, of notoriety and wealth that had filled those heady days. I didn’t miss them. I was happier now than I’d ever been then.
We talked for a while longer before hanging up. Left with my own thoughts again, a wave of need washed over me. It felt like a lifetime since I’d been with her, just the two of us, my arms around her.
I headed for the fire escape door but it opened before I reached it. Circles ringed Elliot’s eyes, the lines in his forehead were deeper than usual.
“The Berne family called. The money arrived, everything's settled. Her father is free and clear and so is she.”
I nodded. “Good, thank you.” I breathed a sigh of relief. Her father had a dirty past but at least I could comfort my girl with the knowledge that he hadn’t had any part in her attack.
“The Isabella is on its way too. Should be with us by tomorrow night.”
“Good. I don’t want to go far. We’ll stick to the coast in case Lola needs more medical attention.” The Isabella was the perfect place for us right now. Far away enough from everything that had happened but still, I’d be able to keep her close.
“It’s been a long few weeks, Elliot. I want to thank you for everything you’ve done. Not just recently but…always.”
