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He huffs and gives me a look. “Seriously? It’s like you’re not even listening to me. You need to cool down and start researching.”
He’s pissed at me, I can tell.
“If it makes you feel any better, the owner won’t let the two of us in there at the same time and you reek of good cop to my bad,” I say. “It’s logical to head to the Velvet Underground and start laying out traps. See what people know.”
Devan softens a little. “I expect you to call me in an hour.”
I mock salute him. “Ten-four, good buddy.”
Bad cop. Right.
Bad everything. There isn’t a space in this city where I feel comfortable walking through the door like any normal person. Nowhere except Whip, and even there I’m apart. The saber-tooth tiger in the middle of a pack of wolves who thinktheyare the predators. Only Gabriel Blackwell can understand. And I’m not sure whether I want him to be at the club or not.
I walk in the front door just as the sun starts to set beyond the horizon, working out the kinks in my shoulders. It’s a good place to pick up details from loose lips and see if I can lay a few careful traps with people who spread rumors like candy. See what and who I’m able to shake loose.
I hate starting at the Underground but this crime isn’t the only reason I’m here and I know it, even though I hate to admit it. I want to see Gabriel again. To see if he’s feeling generous with info. See if he tries to kiss me again.
The crowd is sparse this time of day but there are bodies moving on the stage. The music pulses, low and upbeat. I pick a seat at the bar that gives me the best vantage point of the room and I watch several males strut around the place in various stages of undress.
None of them are Gabriel.
The thought of seeing him, after he turned on me in person, brings emotion I refuse to confront right now. Or ever. No matter how badly a small part of me wants to see him, I know logically that if he is anywhere nearby, whether on stage or in one of the main playrooms, I’ll walk out.
“Layla? What are you doing here so early?”
Taney strides out from the employee lounge and wraps her arms around me. I hug her back.
“Surprised to see me?” I ask.
“Sure am. What are you doing here? And without libation!” Today Taney wears a slick silk dress the color of water, the fabric tight enough to look poured over her skin. It emphasizes the glint of her hair and the dark eyeshadow slicked over her lids.
“I’m on the job,” I tell her in an undertone.
I’ve done a loop around the room but I still don’t see him.
Taney nods in understanding. “Anything I can do to help?”
“You’re an angel, but no. You keep out of the way. I shouldn’t be long.” I’ll make a loop of the upstairs rooms, keep out of Jade’s way, and be out before anyone gets suspicious.
A Sub I’ve played with before catches me when I’m halfway to the stairs to the second floor.
“Please, Mistress.” He drops into a bow, his chest bare and glinting with oil. “Please.”
I curl my lip as I stare at him. The line between a Sub who was a visibly weak man and dominating a man who thinks he isn’t a Sub is a hard line to walk here. And the truly submissive ones aren’t my style. They don’t scratch the itch I use sex to sate, so in the end it’s a waste of time.
“Pass.” I push him in the shoulder to get him out of my way. “You’re not worth my time.”
“Fucking bitch.” His hissed insult only assures me I’ve made the right assessment.
Like I’ve ever made a mistake before.
The weak ones curse when they don’t get their way. The Doms who actually want to submit act differently.
The upper rooms yield nothing and I don’t see Gabriel there, but I nod at the upper balcony where Jade watches the floor every night. The two-way mirrors of her office allow her the best view in the house but no one catches a glimpse of her unless she allows it.
I’m lucky the woman lets me wander through the club as myself and not as a Dom. It’s not a secret that some leads will be found here.
Better play nice and pay my respects to keep it that way.
