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“What?”
I turned and watched as the doors to the police station closed and photographers left the scene.
“Okay, I’ll tell her. Yes, she’ll be pleased. Thanks again, Lara. You’re the best.”
At that, Drake ended the call and put his phone down. We listened to the reporter, who went over the details in the case once more before the news story ended and they moved on to another case.
“Well?” I said, impatient to hear what Lara told Drake. Whatever it was made him happy. “What did Lara say?”
Drake muted the volume on the television and turned back to me, smiling.
“I’m finally, officially, no longer a suspect,” he said, his smile turning to a wide grin.
“Oh, that’s so great, Drake! Wonderful!”
“Finally,” he said and leaned over, picking up Sophia and kissing her head and then me on the mouth. “No longer a suspected attempted-murderer. Now, merely a kinky Dominant.”
“My kinky Dominant,” I said and laughed, so pleased that the police finally decided to take their focus off Drake and put it where it should be. “What happened?”
Drake handed Sophie to me for a feed and leaned back, his arm on the back of the sofa. “They finally found Lisa’s submissive partner, and when he saw them, he ran. The police found incriminating evidence, tools in the back of his vehicle, that link him to Richardson’s murder. A crowbar that was used to kill him and a small gardening tool that he used to dig the shallow grave they dumped him in.”
“They?” I said and frowned while I got Sophie latched on. “Lisa and him?”
“Yes,” Drake said, his eyebrows raised. “The week before she attacked you, they apparently took Derek out to his cabin and held him there. They made Derek withdraw money from his bank and send messages to friends and colleagues that he was going out of town for months and wouldn’t be in touch for a while. Not to worry, that kind of thing. Then, when Derek tried to escape, he and Jones got into a fight and Jones killed him, buried him in the forest behind the cabin. Jones lived there for a while after Lisa was arrested. He’s claiming it was self-defense against Derek, but that’s pretty damn weak. There was enough evidence left at the cabin to identify him. They eventually found him at his mother’s place in upstate New York.”
“Wow,” I said and switched Sophie to the other breast. “And Lisa was involved in that murder, too?”
“Apparently, yes,” Drake said and shook his head in amazement. “When she was called into the office at NYU the day she attacked you, Derek was already dead. She thought she could go out there and hide with Jones after she attacked you, but she made the mistake of delaying her trip out there and was caught before she could leave. When Jones realized she was in custody, he hid at the cabin." Drake sighed. "It all started when Derek called Lisa and talked to her, threatening to report her to the university if she didn’t leave me alone. That’s when they went to his mansion and took him hostage.”
“Unbelievable.” I sat there dumbfounded. “Who would ever think she was capable of something like that?”
“She’s vengeful. She wanted to make Derek pay and then make me pay. Jones was her little servant. He was so enamored with her that he’d do anything for her.”
“Even kill for her,” I said.
“Even that,” Drake said. “Some people are so needy, and so empty inside that they only feel whole when someone powerful takes control of them.”
I glanced at Drake. “Not all submissives are like that,” I said softly.
“No,” Drake said quickly, as if he didn’t want to hurt me and realized how his words might be taken. “Not all are like that. Probably only a very few. But just like there are a few sadists among Dominants, there are also people who can be easily manipulated among submissives. You have to hope you meet someone who isn’t going to hurt or use you.”
I leaned over to him and hugged him with my free arm, kissing him on the cheek. “I’m so lucky I contacted Lara that day about the interview. What would have happened if I’d met someone who was a sadist? I hope I would have run away, but what if he was really persuasive?”
“You were lucky that Lara is such a good judge of character. She knew when she met you that we were right for each other and that I’d love you. She even said that to me. She said You’ll love her. I told her I didn’t want to love someone. How wrong I was. And how right she was.”
I put Sophie on my shoulder to pat her on her back. After she burped, I got up and put her in her Jolly Jumper for a bit of play time. She loved that jumper and I watched her for a few moments as she bounced around, smiling at me.
On his part, Drake came up behind me and put his arms around me.
“I’m so glad this nightmare is over,” he said and kissed the back of my neck. I turned around in his arms and he pulled me against his body. We kissed and it was warm and tender. I felt such relief that they had finally decided to end their investigation into Drake, and realized that it was Jones who was the one being manipulated – by Lisa. Not Lisa being controlled by Drake.
We stood there, in each other’s embrace, and enjoyed the moment. If Sophie hadn’t been so wide awake, I would have taken Drake’s hand and lead him into the bedroom, but that would have to wait until later when she was down for a nap. Whatever the case, I knew we’d make love sometime later in the day. I felt a deep ache in my body when Drake pressed his hips against me. I knew he felt it, too.
So much stress over the past weeks and months since the attack and since the police refused to clear Drake of any suspicion.
“Later,” I whispered in Drake’s ear. I looked at his face and he quirked a smile.
“Say the word,” he said in a deep husky voice, “and I’m your man.”
