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“Hi there! I’m so glad to hear from you. Your call last night was so cryptic, and I missed you. Brianna isn’t going to go to the bachelorette party tonight after all, so I was thinking I’d come down to the loft to see you instead.”
Bri finished choking down the cold pizza. She couldn’t hear what Lukus was saying, but the disappointment on Tiffany’s face told her it wasn’t good news.
“But—” Tiff said. She continued to listen while Lukus talked. She injected small words here and there. “I miss you too.” Thirty seconds later. “Where are you?” Thirty more seconds. “Are you with Markus? He just called Brianna to say the same thing. What’s going on?”
Uh-oh. She’s losing her cool.
Obviously, Lukus noticed too. “No, Sir. I’m not trying to be sassy. I just want you to be honest with me, please.”
This time Tiffany listened for several long minutes, the look on her face becoming more dejected by the minute until a stray tear escaped down her cheek. She swished it away as she answered her Dom. “Fine. I’ll go over to Brianna’s as soon as the salon closes. We’ll order Chinese, and we’ll stay home. But know this, we’re going to talk about this more when you get home. I know you’re keeping something from me, Lukus. I don’t like it.”
She listened, then responded with a sassy retort. “Yes, I did agree to be your sub both in and out of the bedroom. And yes, I did agree to follow your rules and decisions, so I told you, I’ll do what you asked. What I didn’t agree to do is be a doormat and accept lies from you. I’d rather you just tell me the truth. Something is going on that you don’t want to tell me about. I get that. Just say it.”
He must have been repeating the words back to her because she smiled victoriously. “Thank you. I don’t like it, but if Bri isn’t going, I don’t want to go anyway. I know you need to go, but will you call me later when you can talk more, please?” Lukus must have agreed. “Okay, bye. And Lukus? I miss you.”
Tiff closed her eyes, listening to his final words. Then the call seemed to have ended, because she opened her eyes and dropped her phone into her lap. The best friends were intelligent. They also knew their men very well. They both came to the same conclusion at the same time.
Tiff said it first. “There’s something fishy going on. Lukus is hiding something from me.”
Bri concurred. “Markus, too. They’re up to something, and we need to find out what.”
* * *
Markus
“Good afternoon. How may I help you gentlemen?” The attractive receptionist welcomed them as they entered the modern offices of the technology company Jake Davenport hid behind during the day.
Markus stepped up. “We’d like to see Jake Davenport.”
The redhead glanced at a printed schedule in front of her. “That’s odd. Was Mr. Davenport expecting you, gentlemen? I’m afraid he’s out of the office on sales calls today.”
They had known it was a long shot coming here, but after driving around checking out all known locations in which Jake had been hanging out since Dylan started tailing him, and coming up empty, they had to at least try to see if he was here. It was getting late in the day. They wanted to catch up with Davenport so they could tail him tonight.
That would have been too easy.
“That’s too bad,” Markus said aloud. “I had hoped to surprise him. We’re old friends and go back years. When did he leave the office?”
“That’s a shame. He was in earlier today, but he left about an hour ago. He normally tells me which client he’s going to see, but I missed getting that information from him today. With it being Friday, I don’t expect him back in the office until Monday. Would you like me to phone him and let him know you’re here?”
Lukus jumped in. “Oh, no. We’ll be in town for a while. We’d rather surprise him.” Markus detected Lukus turning on the charm. “It’s been some time since we’ve seen our old friend. How’s he been doing?”
The receptionist looked uncomfortable. “Honestly, I wouldn’t know, sir. Mr. Davenport is a very private man. He travels a lot to meet with clients and when he’s in the office, he doesn’t socialize much. I’m sorry, but I know Mr. Davenport wouldn’t like me talking about his private life.”
Lukus looked down at her name-plate. “We appreciate your help, Susan. Thanks for keeping our surprise visit between us. Have a good weekend.”
The men didn’t speak until they were near their car.
Markus was impatient. “That was a bust. Now what?” He was getting settled into the passenger seat when his phone rang. Caller ID told him it was someone he didn’t know. He saw the same look of expectation on Lukus’s face as he accepted the call, putting it on speakerphone.
“Lambert.”
“I just called to say thanks. You’re making this so much fun.”
They may have never spoken, but Markus didn’t need to guess who was calling. Obviously, the receptionist was paid to keep the sales team informed when they were out of the office. “Davenport. So glad you’re having fun these last few days of your freedom. We’re coming for you.”
The hearty laugh at the other end of the phone confirmed Jake wasn’t intimidated. “Bring it on. You’ve got nothing on me. I hate to tell you, but your wife loved every single thing I did to her last time I saw her. In fact, I admit I’m surprised you didn’t kick her to the curb when you realized you were married to a cheating slut.”
“Fuck you, you sadistic asshole. You may get off on terrorizing innocent women, but let’s see how you do going up against someone your own size.”
