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Her words were an invitation for them to rain violence upon her. They ripped her clothes away, clawed her body, and twisted her nipples hard enough to be torn from her chest. Ari gritted her teeth through the pain, fighting the oncoming tears ready to burst forth. There was a momentary reprieve from the torture, but it was short-lived as they divided and conquered; one climbed the table to stand above her in crotchless panties, while the other took a stance at the edge of the table, ripping the already-tender flesh from the soles of her feet with a stainless steel whipping rod, blood pooling below on the stage.
It didn’t help that Maxi stood next to them, laughing and goading them on to the next crude and salacious thing they should do to her body. To lessen the pain, she willed her tongue toward the foul stench of the woman’s cunt above her. If Ari could just satisfy the hungry twin’s urges, it would all be over. When she reached climax, Ari prayed for mercy. Instead, the other woman sidled up for her turn.
In that fleeting moment of change, Ari glanced sideways and hoped her once-savior would step through the arena’s threshold. The room remained empty. There would be no knight in shining armor rescuing her.
She regained consciousness as the van screeched to a halt. Her body flew forward, hitting the front bucket seats. As if weightless, the men lifted her out of the van, flinging her like some rag doll.
“Where do you want this bitch?” Their voices echoed through the cool, damp air that would have caused Ari to shiver. However, the trip had her hyped on so much adrenaline that her body refused to react.
“This way.” The familiar female voice that answered was hard to place. Ari pictured a blurry scene in which this woman spoke to her, many times in fact, though her face would not come into focus.
They dragged her body across the ground until they stepped indoors. Still bound, they hoisted her upward into the air and swung her body over one man’s shoulder to begin the long climb up the stairwell.
“I’d tell you to be careful with the merchandise, but who really cares? She’ll be dead before long,” said the woman steps ahead of them.
With that statement, Ari wiggled in his arms, trying to free herself. “Don’t kill me! Please! Whatever you want, I’ll do it! Please!”
The man who carried Ari placed his hand on her ass and gave it a squeeze while pinning her legs to his body. “Wouldn’t mind getting some of this before you start the show.”
Everyone stopped, as if his words were unappreciated. There was a slap, hard and across the face, along with a male grunt. Ari listened over the thumping beats of the drum solo in her chest. “She’s mine! Not yours. Don’t you ever forget that. Now follow me.”
Their footsteps stopped on a landing. The sound of a heavy door in need of oil creaked an echo in the enclosed space. As they walked again, their steps became gentle and hushed as if on carpet.
And then it became clear when she heard the familiar chime of an elevator straight out of the roaring twenties. There was only one place she could be ... Adytum.
Chapter 22
Dylan let out a deep sigh from the comfort of the leather chair in her small, dark office. Once she switched the security camera monitors on, she turned her attention to her computer. Time to get ready for another busy night.
The CityBeats article fallout claimed two more high-profile clients. The name-and-shame exposé had shaken the confidence of Adytum’s discretion. This scandal had taken its toll on everyone. In fact, in the short time since its publication, Maxi went from angry to worried about the business and what it would do to the club. Adytum was still part of a family empire, even though Maxi ran it. Tensions were high because the Delacroix family called a meeting to discuss damage control.
Even Ida worried, sending Dylan a text message that morning: Never liked you working there. Maybe it’s time you come home and refocus your attention elsewhere.
Ari’s presence had impaired her ability to do her job, which was to keep the girls and Adytum safe. She had failed at doing both since Ari came into her life. Dylan needed to refocus. She would not fail again.
With no clue what paperwork she needed to complete to fire Ari, Dylan realized they had never let anyone go at Adytum. Hiring staff was easy. Straightforward. Signatures on nondisclosure and consent forms and that’s it. Firing was a whole new animal, one that Dylan didn’t understand past telling them to never come back.
Never was a harsh word. So final.
Reconciliation didn’t go the way Dylan hoped. She jumped before she even gave Ari a chance to explain, but what explanation could she give? She was a journalist digging around for information to write a story, plain and simple. Or was it?
No. Love wasn’t simple. It was complicated and messy and smacking Dylan across the face because she had fallen so crazily, stupidly in love with this woman. Nothing made sense. She was a jumbled ball of emotions, wishing Ari would slam through the door in defiance, declaring her undying love and devotion.
She laughed at the thought of Ari enduring another round of punishment as a declaration of her love. Maybe others had that type of woman, but Dylan didn’t feel worthy of that amount of unwavering devotion. Just as Dylan pushed away from the desk, her eyes caught the screen. Maxi and Lady Katrina stood together near the stage in what looked like a heated conversation. While it wasn’t uncommon to see these two women in a spirited debate, it never happened in front of the ladies.
Most likely, it was the aftermath of the CityBeats debacle. Dylan brushed it off and made her way to the arena. She leaned against the doorway of La Prizonye, scanning the room of women. While she wasn’t overtly looking for Ari to be in the audience, she wished with a glimmer of hope that she’d shown up. A bratty submissive looking for punishment. However, only the regular Dommes and submissives were in attendance when the staff meeting began.
Cooper sidled up to Dylan with a playful bump to the shoulder. “Where’s your girl tonight? Still recovering from her evening in the stockade? Heard The Twins sullied her real good.”
It was obvious Maxi had told no one about Ari’s connection to CityBeats if Cooper didn’t know. Still, her comments about The Twins hurt. Stifling her pissy mood, Dylan turned away. “She’s not coming.”
“Why not? She must be a glutton for punishment because Maxi will have her hide if she misses another shift.”
With a blank expression, Dylan turned to Cooper. “I fired her!”
When Cooper didn’t respond, Dylan glanced to her side just to see the color drain from her face. Same as it did when she said it to Ari.
To harden the fortress around her body, Dylan said, “She works for CityBeats. She’s the one who gave out the names of our clients.”
