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The crowd whispers back to life.
“Come on, folks,” Rider says. “Back to your party. Masquerade only comes once a year.” And then he calls to someone in the hallway. “Rachel? It’s time to pour the Cristal.”
I don’t know if it’s the promise of vintage champagne or the fact that all the excitement is over, but the crowd quickly disperses. Rider flashes a quick gesture to the gorilla behind me who finally releases his grip around my throat.
I crane my neck left and then right, swallowing hard before I say, “I want to press charges.”
“Fuck you!” says Ansel. I feint a half-step toward him, and he cowers back in his corner. But he must trust in Rider’s security because he whines from his sanctuary, “We only gave her what she asked for.”
“Alix never asked to be fucked up the ass,” I growl.
“She never told us to stop!”
Rider steps over to the guards by the door, asking a couple of quick questions, too quiet for me to catch. The men answer in short, sharp phrases. They hold their story, whatever it is, even when Rider challenges them.
He turns back to the rest of us, his face suddenly lined with exhaustion. “Help the Herzogs to their feet,” he says to a pair of extra guards.
“What the fuck?” I demand.
“Go on.” Rider ignores me. “They can wait in my office.”
“What theactualfuck?” My fingers forge into rock-hard fists.
“Will you shut your goddamn mouth?” Rider snaps.
I seethe as Jonas and Ansel are half-dragged, half-escorted out of the room.
“I don’t have a choice,” Rider says, as soon as the jizzstains are gone.
“What—”
“They’re club members. They were following club rules. Alix never used a safeword.”
“Like they took the time to set up a safe, sane playing environment,” I sneer.
“She never said anything,” Rider says. “There were fifteen, twenty people watching. She never gave any indication she wanted out.”
I glance over at her. She’s still sitting on the edge of the couch. Still holding her water bottle like it might turn into a butterfly if she’s careful enough. Still staring into space like she’s halfway to the planet Zargox.
“They drugged her,” I say.
“They didn’t. Everyone was watching. They saw the auction. They saw everything that happened after. Alix wanted this.”
“No one in her fucking right mind would want this,” I snarl.
“She dropped to her knees without a second’s hesitation,” he says. “I watched her.”
“And you didn’t intervene? After what you saw—”
“I have to ask you to leave now,” Rider says.
“What the—”
“The club has rules. It’s dangerous to interrupt someone else’s scene. You assaulted the Herzogs. Alix could have been hurt.”
“Alixishurt, asshole!”
“Hey!” Rider says sharply. “I’m the good guy here. I’m the only friend you’ve got in the room. And I’m telling you, it’s time for you to leave. Go back to the greenroom. Get your shit out of your locker. Call your ride. And get the hell home.”
