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It was like a lightbulb moment, her words crystalizing things in my head. Lucas needed dealing with, and Tiffany would be of no use to me during the deed. I couldn’t leave her there wailing and crying about the injustice. She needed to be managed until the detective was out of the equation. With a smile, the solution came to me. I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before.
“Wh-What?” she gasped, evidently unprepared for the response. “What do you mean, Master?”
“I mean, I agree.” Stroking her jaw, I swore I had never loved her more than at this moment. “You can’t just stay and watch.”
Her brow creased, but I didn’t have the time or inclination to answer her queries. She would understand my intention soon enough.
“Come on then.”
I rose to my feet, hoisting her into the air with me. She yelped at the change of tack, gripping onto me, then her blanket as I moved to the door.
“Master!” Clinging to my shirt, her breath was ragged as I paced down the hall. “What’s happening?”
“I’m helping you.”
Resolved to my plan, I held her closer, knowing soon she would start to resist. I was loathed to inspire more defiance in my little girl, but for what I needed to do, there was no other choice. Tiffany had said it herself—she couldn’t be part of Lucas’ end.
“How?” Her gaze darted around as we neared the monochrome room, I’d designed with her in mind.
“By distracting you.” I grinned as I pushed the door open with my shoulder.
“Master?” Her voice was frantic as she acknowledged where we were and what that might mean. “We can’t—not now—not with Lucas in the next room!”
“You don’t need to worry about Lucas anymore,” I told her as I pushed the door closed with my foot. “She’s my concern.”
“But…” she started, wiggling in my arms.
Carrying her to the leather bench I’d first bound her to when I’d brought her to Barrington, I lowered her to her feet.
“What are you going to do? We can’t play now, we need to—”
“Hush,” I interrupted. “You need to be quiet and listen.”
“Okay.” Pressing the blanket to her, she glanced up with large, emotional eyes.
“Okay, what?” I demanded. She knew how to address me, especially in this room.
“Okay, Master.”
She flicked her wrist as though the way she spoke to me was not important. Steeling myself for the battle to come, I let the disappointment go. I had bigger fish to fry.
“This is how it’s going to go.” It was funny how things worked out. I’d had no idea at the start of the evening that this was how it would transpire. The only things that had been on my mind then had been punishing and feeding Tiffany. I hadn’t anticipated a crazy detective breaking into my house and altering the course of events.
“I’m going to deal with Lucas, and you’re going to stay here.”
“No, Master.” Her chest rose and fell as she readied herself to make her case. “I can’t stay here. We have to talk about this, have to—”
“No.” Pressing my fingertip to her mouth, I effectively ended her point. “I got us into this mess.” It was true whether I meant the unravelling situation tonight or the reason the detective was sniffing around in the first place. It was all me. “I’ll be the one to get us out.”
“Master, no.” Her shoulders slumped, the first tangible sign that she accepted defeat. Tiffany was strong and capable, but she was also a realist. I was the only one with a key to this room, and there was no way she could outmaneuver or outrun me. If I said she stayed, then she stayed. “Don’t do this.”
“I am doing this,” I confirmed. “And I’d ask that you don’t try to defy me, little girl. Stay and have your pleasure until your master returns.”
“Pleasure?” She practically spat out the word. “How can I enjoy anything while I know what you’re doing? I’ll be stuck in here, and you’ll be doing God knows what out there.”
“You’ll be safe,” I reminded her. “And the less you know about what happened to Lucas, the better. You’ll never have to lie for me, Tiffany. You’ll be able to say, hand on heart, you had no idea.”
“It’s not that simple, Master,” she argued. “I’ll still know the outcome. I’ll still have to cover for you and think about where that leaves me professionally—running prosecutions when it’s the man I love who deserves to be in the dock.”
