“No. I’m bound to find more after we search the other properties. I can’t call everything in today. Shaw will know exactly where it’s coming from, and he’ll know what I’m doing.”
One spray to an unsteady pit bull later, and the pair returned to the truck, ready to scout the next location.
Lila pulled a laptop from her satchel, working through her inbox while they drove between locations. Before the clock struck noon, they’d ferreted out a hydroponic pot operation, a chop shop, and a dominatrix’s secret dungeon. Although no one watched over the grow house, cameras had dominated the entire operation. Lila had merely turned her jammer up to maximum and peeked inside a few windows, satisfying her curiosity. They hadn’t needed to go inside the chop shop either, for Tristan knew one of the men who worked inside. A quick call had ended that search. No one matching Natalie’s description had been inside. As for the dominatrix, she’d been surprisingly sweet, given her chosen occupation. Mistress Lola Whiplash had liked the look of Tristan, offering them a forty percent discount on her normal couples pricing.
Tristan had gone red immediately, and bowed from the chain-filled dungeon as though he’d become a slave once more. Mistress Lola had handed Lila a whip free of charge, claiming to be charmed. “You’ll have to break that boy in slowly before you return.” She elbowed Lila, her thigh-high leather boots creaking as the women watched him flee.
“I’ll get right on that,” Lila said, smacking the whip handle against her leg. “Thanks for the gift.”
Despite his original reluctance, Tristan seemed quite comfortable with the whip
after he got his hands on it. He’d already smacked her twice on the ass before they reached the truck.
“You’re really good, you know. Someone’s been doing something they shouldn’t at every location we’ve checked so far, except for Mistress Lola. I don’t really know what she was up to.”
“Bribery. Information. Spying. I’m sure she made me as soon as I came through the door. Why do you think she offered the discount?”
Tristan stopped suddenly. “Is that bad? Do we need to—”
Lila shook her head. “My jammer was active, so she didn’t get me on camera. Even if she had, who the heck would care? Her sort doesn’t trade in that sort of blackmail. It would be bad for business. She pries information directly from the target’s mouth. She wouldn’t learn anything about me unless I was drugged, horny, and begging for release.”
“I don’t know whether to be terrified or incredibly turned on.”
“How about frustrated? After all, Natalie wasn’t there.” Lila opened the truck door and vented the afternoon heat. Tristan tossed the whip into the back seat. “I can’t believe you’re keeping that. It should be dipped in disinfectant. Repeatedly.”
“I like it.”
“Fine, but stop smacking me in the ass with it. It’s tedious.”
“Make me.”
“I have tranqs.”
Tristan’s grin faded. She’d shot him once before. “That’s not even funny.”
“It’s a little funny.” Lila leaned against the truck bed while Tristan pulled out his palm and made a quick call to Frank.
“Dixon’s still asleep,” he said when he finally disconnected. “He slept all morning.”
“That’s good, though. He needs to sleep.”
“And we need to eat lunch. The others want a break for chow. It looks like we’re going to have our first date.”
“Date?”
“Yep.” He slammed the truck door and wrapped a thin scarf around his slave’s scar. “A quick one, just you and me. There’s a great place up the street. If it can’t tempt you, there’s no hope for you at all. You’ll just turn into sticks and bones, and I’ll have to toss you into the lake and find a fluffier woman.”
“You’ll just rescue me again.”
“No, I won’t. Next time you fall in the water, you’re on your own. I’ll buy you one of those inflatable life vests to keep in your pocket.”
“One of these days, I’m going to teach you how to swim.”
“Never. The only thing that could get me into the water again is if you didn’t have any clothes on. If you’re going to drown, Lila, drown naked.”
As Tristan led her down the street, Lila’s thoughts filled with images she didn’t want, of Tristan pushing her under a dock, shoving her against one of the thick wooden beams while he thrust into her, the sound of his muffled moans as he came, as he called out her name.
She grew wet between the legs, hungry for anything but food.