His brother was damn good with a knot.
“I don’t get you people.” Holder looked on with a frown on his face. Leo could easily read the man’s disdain. “First that one and now this one.”
Kitten was still tied up. She’d been sitting serenely until the shit had hit the fan. The minute they got the news that Shelley was on the run the tears had started, and Jack had been forced to pet her while Ben and Chase had hightailed it to get to their positions, one in the garage and the other on the bottom floor. Leo had enjoyed the big cowboy’s obvious discomfort with being left to babysit a twenty-five-year-old woman.
Ben and Chase walked back into the room. Ben still looked a bit ashen, though he had control of himself again. Chase was silent, walking slightly behind his brother. Chase hadn’t known Ada. Was this a part of his brother’s life he couldn’t understand? It would be difficult. The two men now worked together with flawless precision. Any breach between them would be felt deeply.
Unlike his own brother. Wolf had been gone for years, and Leo was only now feeling the true distance.
He had missed his brother. He’d missed the loyal child Wolf had been and the steadfast man he’d become. Leo could never have handled Shelley the way Wolf had. They would have fought, and Shelley would have walked away again. Of course, Wolf was also far too soft until certain things were pointed out. If Leo hadn’t been there, Wolf might likely have ended up a pool of goo at her feet, believing every stupid excuse she gave him. And that would be dangerous for her.
Without the two of them, Shelley might likely have been in real trouble.
“You don’t have to understand it, Mr. Holder. You merely have to tell us everything you know,” Julian said, his eyes on the mercenary. When Finn had called down, it had been Julian who had kept his head long enough to realize that no one wanted to leave Holder in the office by himself.
Holder was the wild card.
“Ah, so the little sub gets what she deserves,” Chase said, watching as Wolf began winding the rope around Shelley’s body.
Wolf seemed infinitely calmer now that he’d begun his discipline. He worked slowly as though finding comfort from the intricate bindings he created. Leo understood. There was an elegant dance to Shibari. He found it soothing. How much more meaningful would it be to share it with someone he genuinely cared about? How long had it been since he’d been in love? He wondered now if what he’d had with Janine was even love. He’d let her go so easily. Of course, he’d let Shelley go as well, but he’d felt it like a kick in the gut every day he was away from her.
He approved of the pattern Wolf had chosen. His brother’s fingers moved in a nimble dance. Shelley’s arms were in front of her body, palms together, elbows touching. Maete Hiji Shibari. It would be fairly comfortable for Shelley with no real worries about her circulation. But she would have no illusions that she wasn’t caught. Shelley’s eyes found his. He expected to find pleading in them, a request for clemency.
Instead, she winked at him.
Adorable brat.
“She’s lucky,” Leo said, watching Wolf. “I wouldn’t have left her with the comfort of clothes.”
Shelley’s eyes got wide. Leo felt his cock jump at the thought. He rather liked being the bad cop when it came to her.
Wolf finished his pattern and tied it off. “I didn’t feel like showing her off today. Knees, love, now.”
“Are you kidding me? Wolf, I can’t walk much less get to my knees.”
No matter how adorable she was, she was going to get spanked. Leo decided to back up his brother. “Wolf, if you don’t I will.”
He was taking liberties with his brother’s submissive, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. Wolf might have opened a door the night before that he wouldn’t be able to close.
Wolf pressed her back, leaning her forward and gave her five hard smacks right on her bottom. Shelley squealed a little, letting Leo know that his brother hadn’t really hurt her, but the plug was most likely burning. Every swat of Wolf’s hand would have jarred the plug, making her pretty little asshole light up.
When Wolf brought her back up, she awkwardly fell to her knees. “This part sucks, Wolf. It really, really sucks. I liked the last-night part, but I am officially protesting this part.”
God, she was so sexy. He would spank her just to see her pout. He wanted nothing more than to walk right over and kiss those luscious lips until she couldn’t breathe. He wanted to fuck her while she was tied up, while she was utterly open and helpless to him.
But it was Wolf who leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. “Are you going to run again, love?”
She smiled a little. “Certainly not when I know you have access to a plug and kitchen herbs.”
Wolf smiled, kissing her forehead. “Baby, I always have access, so my job is done. You won’t run again. Hush, now, love. Or I’ll have to gag you.”
Kitten pouted. “Kitten doesn’t understand, Masters. Kitten was very good and did her job and behaved perfectly, but Shelley gets all the treats. No one has plugged Kitten. And no one ever figs poor Kitten. It’s not fair.”
Chase pulled a ball gag out of his pants pocket and shoved it in Kitten’s mouth. Kitten enthusiastically worked her mouth around it. “Can we get down to business now that all the subs are accounted for and properly punished or rewarded?”
Shelley opened her mouth, most likely to say something bratty.
Leo stared her down. Those beautiful eyes slid away and suddenly seemed to find the floor endlessly fascinating. At least he could still do one thing right. Wolf’s hand came out to pet her head. He had a shorter length of rope and began working it in a pattern around her glossy black hair.
Leo passed Shelley’s cell phone to Chase. “She got this text. It’s what sent her running.”
Chase read the text and then passed it to his brother. “She thought she would be safer someplace other than here?”
Leo continued to stare at her, his anger rising all over again. God, he’d been terrified at first, and then rage had taken over. She’d done it again, and this time she’d done it to both him and Wolf. “She thought it would be a good idea to go and meet the guy and apparently shoot his ass with Wolf’s spare piece.”
Every eye in the room went to the sub on the floor.
“Oh, you are very deeply lucky that Wolf here has a soft heart,” Julian said, his voice cold.
Shelley smartly kept her eyes to the floor.
“Do you want me to call in the police?” Jack asked, breaking up the tension.
Leo nodded. “Just call the chief so he has a record of it. I don’t want cops swarming The Club. It tends to be bad for business. Besides, this is a family affair, apparently. But when I inevitably have to kill someone, I would like to have justifiable cause.”
Julian shrugged. “If you kill someone, simply call and give me adequate preparation time. I have several suitably horrible people I’ve been trying to find something to pin on.”
That was his boss. Always a giver.
Chase was sitting at Kitten’s laptop, his hands flying across the keys. He looked up with a frown. “I got the cell number. Damn it. Untraceable. Paid in cash. Disposable. He obviously knows we would be after him. He’s not an idiot.”
Wolf looked up from working on Shelley’s hair. “You got all of that in two minutes?”
“Why? Should it take longer?” Chase looked around. He wasn’t the most aware person in the world. He pretty much thought everything that was obvious to him would be the same to everyone.
Leo turned to Holder. He was the key. “When did you get the message? Did it come by courier or through the mail?”