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“Why in the world would we do something as crazy as that?”
The detective had the irrefutable look of a man who had backed the queen into the corner of the chess set. “You would do it in exchange for immunity, of course.”
“Overwhat?”
Mitch put her hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. It wasn’t enough to calm her.
“Ms. Richards,” Moran said with overwhelming gusto, “we know what you and your girlfriend get up to onyourtime. We know money is… sometimes exchanged. Now, do we usually make it a habit of going after women of your standing over consensual indiscretions that happen behind closed doors? Why, no. We have other fish to fry in this fair city. Speaking of San Francisco, we have evidence of you engaging in… somewhat illegal liaisons at least twice within county lines. We may not have jurisdiction anywhere else in the world, but unless you want this on your record, I think you’ll hear this department out on our impending sting… and how you two can help us put someonemuch worsein prison for a long time.”
Vanessa sat back in her seat, shocked. Mitch was much less surprised. Unlike her partner, she was incapable of shame.
“What do you want us to do?” she tentatively asked.
“Simple.” If Moran were excited that they were willing to talk, then he hid it behind the same smile that insinuated he had these two women right where he wanted them. “Get in Lister’s circle. Join her club. Find out what’s going on in there and report back to us. If you even get a whiff of trafficking, then we wire you up and get some more evidence. We’re hoping to have this taken care of by the end of the year.”
“Det. Moran…” Vanessa unleashed an unsatisfied chuckle as she leaned forward, hands on the man’s desk. “You are asking alotof us. We have plans for the rest of the year. We have lives that do not revolve around a supposed criminal we have nothing to do with. Threaten us all you want with jailtime, fines, and black marks on our records.” Vanessa stood up, nudging Mitch to follow her. “We are returning home, assuming you are not arresting anyone tonight. Lovely talking to you, detective. Have a good night.”
Mitch didn’t have to be told to heel. She followed, but not without glancing over her shoulder and seeing exactly what she expected on Moran’s face.
Another smug and satisfied smile. He had something else up his sleeve. It was only a matter of time before he forced Vanessa’s hand.
Chapter 2
Vanessalovedherhousenear San Francisco more than she ever cared for the sprawling estate in the woods that she had called home for most of her adult life. That property was the epitome of a young woman’s trauma manifested into four walls and the terrible creatures that lurked in the night – and sometimes right there in her foyer.
This five-bedroom house thirty minutes from the galas and clubs of San Francisco, however, was everything she had dreamed of while being kept prisoner in her own home in the woods. It had the privacy she had grown accustomed to over the years, plenty of space for her and Mitch to have their separate domains while living under the same roof, and she especially loved the view of tree-lined streets below and the Pacific Ocean in the far-off distance. The fact that her bodyguard could live in the ADU on the back of the property only heightened its value.
The day after the botched date in the city, Vanessa gazed into the back of her property from her spacious office that had been created by smashing down the wall separating two smaller offices. The wrap-around windows would have given her a heart attack five years ago, but today, she watched as her bodyguard Luke and Mitch swam up and down the Olympic-sized swimming pool. If those two knew how to do anything, it was keeping one another in shape. Which Vanessa appreciated, of course. Luke had already taken a bullet for her, but she preferred if he stayed fit for future… encounters with villains.
As for Mitch? Anything that took up her time during the day only ensured that she made more time for Vanessa at night.
She turned away from her window and sat at her desk with its large, imposing monitor. In one tab she had her usual spread of numbers and corporate titles that made people millions by the day. In another, however, she had pulled up several articles on Candace Lister, one of the Bay Area’s most beloved humanitarians.
Vanessa was worldly enough to know that such things were often facades. Many of the wealthy people she knew who poured their all into fundraising and charity did so out of guilt and fear of the afterlife. Or, on the rare occasion that Vanessa encountered someone truly evil, they put in the work to cover up the kind of psychological diagnoses that never saw another doctor’s file.
She wondered which one Candace was.
Forty-seven. Heiress to a sizable fortune “created” by her grandfather in the mid-century. Owns several properties around the world but calls Presidio Heights her main home.Vanessa wrote this down in her shorthand.Has a condo overlooking Central Park in Manhattan and a multimillion-dollar flat in London.So far, there wasn’t much interesting about Candace. Not even the fact that most of her money came from her inheritance and the investments it went into. This was a woman whose dividends had paid for her whole lifestyle. Vanessa could not judge that – she had the same experience.
Whereas Vanessa plied her trade as a professional stock investor, though, Candace’s major career hobby was hospitality. She owned several clubs throughout the United States, including a small share in the infamous LA nightclub Hellfire. But the ones she owned outright were small and intimate, hosting private parties for her friends and those who were willing to pay for the privilege. That went for Night, an underground club with no registered address indexable by Google. Vanessa could have done some real digging, particularly on the dark web, but didn’t feel like it.
Instead, she called a couple of her closest acquaintances.
“I’ve never heard of it,” Erica said, as Vanessa lay across the sofa she kept against the wall of her office. “I barely know who Candace Lister is. I was under the impression that she wasn’t just straight, but religious.”
“She’s into women. I know that much for sure.” Otherwise, Vanessa’s eyes had been lying to her when she once saw Candace in her own twin-sandwich at Hellfire. Not to mention all of theotherways they had crossed paths in the kink sphere.She loves women as much if not more than she loves men. Candace loves being in charge.She was a Domme much like Vanessa, all the way down to wanting to completely own her partner. However, everything Vanessa looked at suggested Candace was single right now. “I’m also pretty sure she goes to that church to look good with the rest of the congregation. Apparently, her grandmother was heavily involved and Candace tries to keep the dream alive.”
“Good for her. Why are we talking about her? Is she trying to get in your world?”
You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.“Not quite. Her name has come up quite a bit recently, is all. You know how the Bay Area is. We’re always outdoing each other in the charity department if only to say we’re the biggest help around.”
“So I’ve heard. Sorry I couldn’t help.”
“You’ve been busy.” Vanessa made sure to change the subject so her friend wouldn’t remember Candace as the last person they talked about. “How’s the married life treating you?”
“Never been better.”
“Give Natalie my love. Here’s hoping we can all meet up before the end of the year.”
