Bondage Wedding (2 page)

James shelved that information away. He didn’t want to consider the implications until he was alone. “I’m going to need all the information you have on your ex. Is he or she vindictive enough to pursue you in this manner?” This job had just got a lot more complicated. He was very attracted to Amanda. When he’d thought she was taken, keeping his distance had been nearly impossible. Now knowing she was single, he didn’t have a prayer.

“No,
he
wasn’t like that.” Amanda was staring at her fingers as she twisted them into pretzels.

This time he was fairly certain she was lying. Why? Was she still in love with her ex? He would definitely be doing more digging into this subject. He was pleased she’d made it clear that she liked men. At least that was one thing in his favor.

“Do you have any suggestions on how to handle this?” André sounded frustrated.

“I’m free right now.” James didn’t feel the need to explain he’d been on medical leave since he’d found it necessary to put his body between a fast-moving SUV and his last client. He had no intention of allowing anyone else to guard Amanda, so the point was moot. A few cracked ribs and a concussion weren’t enough to sideline him when she needed his help. “I can manage security for Amanda. As far as handling the possible ramifications with the club, you should bring in Nick. And it might be a good idea to bring in Captain Bradley, as well.”

“Good idea. I’ll give Nick a call.” André looked deep in thought. “Maybe I should talk to him before I bring the police into this.”

“He’s here with his wife.”

André’s expression was almost comical he was so surprised. “Are you sure? Nick and Laura Branson?”

“I drove them here myself.” James struggled to keep his face blank. He found André’s shock rather amusing since the Bransons were part owners of the club.

“Could you find them and ask if they’d mind giving me a moment of their time?” André seemed as if he still had some doubts.

James was reluctant to leave Amanda. He was sure she was safe in André’s company, but he still didn’t like it. James took a moment to find the couple using the video screens. Now that he knew where to look, it wouldn’t take long to return to her. Before he left, James placed his hand over hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be right back.”

After James had left the room, André turned his full attention toward Amanda. “James is a good man. You need to listen to him. I saw the look you shot him when he scolded you for not coming to me sooner. It was very reminiscent of the looks your mother used to give me when I tried to keep her from making a colossally stupid move.”

Amanda had no idea what to say. While on one hand she had to agree her mother had made some really dumb life choices, Mom was, however, smart enough to hit back when a man struck her. André, James and other men at the club turned hitting women into a social event. There was no way Amanda would allow that to ever happen to her. She’d only taken the job at the club because it paid extremely well and the hours allowed her to go to college full-time without breaking a sweat.

So far, she’d kept her aversion to anything BDSM hidden. André had completely bought into her ruse about a ‘love gone bad’. She’d admit she’d felt a twinge of guilt on the occasions when he had asked how she was holding up. On the surface, he seemed like a good guy, but then she’d seen him take a whip to one of the poor women who had had the misfortune to adore him. Sure, the girl had looked like she had been enjoying it.
But seriously, who would enjoy receiving a beating?
All these people had real problems and she was out of there the moment she had her degree.

“Don’t blow me off, Amanda—whoever is doing this is dangerous. James is ex-military. He was part of a Special Reaction Team in the Marines. You need to trust him—he could save your life.”

Amanda was grateful the door opening saved her from having to respond to André. She didn’t trust her reaction to James. If she were honest about it, she was attracted to him. That alone was enough to freak her out. She wasn’t the swooning type and she stayed as far away from ‘bad boys’ as possible.

The mental picture she had of the perfect mate was the complete opposite of James. She wanted a gentle-natured man, maybe an artist, someone who knew life was about more than sex. Her ideal mate would want to make love occasionally—when he wasn’t writing poetry or cooking a gourmet meal. James, on the other hand, was obviously obsessed with sex. He was here damn near every night they were open.

She hadn’t watched him scene. She stayed the hell out of the great hall and she’d never set foot into one of the privacy areas. It didn’t matter though—she could imagine all the horrible things he did to his partners. With his looks he was sure to have women falling at his feet begging for any attention he’d give them. It made her mad just thinking about it.

Amanda watched André and Nick, whoever he was, shake hands. She was surprised and unhappy when André explained to Nick how she was related to him. She didn’t like to think about their family connection for several reasons. Part of it was guilt at deceiving him and part because she didn’t enjoy being related to someone who abused women. Then again, if Nick was here at the club he was one of them, so she had nothing to be embarrassed about.

As André brought Nick up to date on what had happened, Amanda watched James. He seemed to melt into the background, but Amanda was still acutely aware of him. It made her nervous. She didn’t want to be attracted to him. Why wasn’t her body equipped with a reset button? Because she’d be hitting it for sure. This was not a path she wanted to go down. There wasn’t a single doubt in her mind that, if she let him, he would hurt her emotionally and physically.

His interest in BDSM wasn’t the only problem either. In the three months she’d worked at the club, she’d never seen him bring or leave with a woman. That, in her mind, meant he wasn’t into relationships, he just wanted a quick screw with no strings attached.
Damn it.
Why did her body choose him to respond to?

Nick started asking her questions. Not again. She was tired of reliving this crap every time she repeated her answers. They asked the same thing over and over. At least Nick had kind eyes and soft hands and
he
did absolutely nothing for her girlie parts.

He was also distracted. Amanda had caught him staring at one of the video screens. Geez, he was as bad as the rest of them.
Neanderthals
!

Nick turned his attention back to her. “What was the photo of?”

The second picture had really shaken her up. Amanda shivered. “This poor girl was tied naked on a table. Some asshole was pouring something white onto her body, maybe acid, I couldn’t tell. There were blood splatters all over the place.” Tears started rolling down her face and she reached for a tissue.

“Did it have any writing on it?”

She nodded slowly then looked up at James. “‘Die slowly, bitch.’” His jaw tightened and he shifted his weight like he was struggling to keep his mouth shut. Amanda was pretty sure he wanted to give her another lecture. If he were going to be her bodyguard he’d better learn to censor his comments, because she wasn’t putting up with his arrogant ‘I know what’s best’ routine.

Amanda’s focus had been on James and she’d missed what André had said to tick off Nick. In an instant, he went from kind and consoling to pissed off. She’d never seen André take shit from anyone. Hell, he owned the club. No one told André what to do and yet he looked sheepish. Whoever Nick was, he was important.

She looked to James, but he was stoic. He didn’t seem surprised at all by the exchange. In fact, he wasn’t even watching the two men—his eyes were on the photos. It was stupid, but she didn’t want him looking at them. She didn’t want him to see her as a victim. The last thing she wanted from anyone was pity. Using care, she put the picture back into the envelope and pushed it aside. Then she hit a few keys on the laptop, closing out of her email program and shutting it down. She pushed it back to where André kept it.

Nick jumped to his feet. Though he wasn’t looking at her, he seemed so aggressive that she pushed her wheelie chair as far away from him as she could.

“Where’s Laura?” Nick pointed to the screen. “She was right there.”

James came closer and started turning on all the monitors. Suddenly, Nick and André ran from the room. James moved to follow them, but stopped at the door and turned to meet her gaze. “Stay right here and lock the door. Only open it for me or André.” He then shot out after the other men.

Amanda looked at the last screen James had turned on. A woman, presumably Laura, was hanging from a contraption on the wall. More frightened than she’d been in a long time, Amanda jumped up and locked the door. By the time she’d returned to her chair, the men had appeared on the video screen. The camera was pointed at Nick and Laura. As Amanda watched intently, she caught glimpses of James.

A black object appeared briefly on the screen.
Was that a gun?
Amanda jumped to her feet and covered her mouth with her hand as she watched in disbelief.
Oh my God, James is fighting a man with a gun!
Her legs shook and threatened to give out. She was so afraid for James.
What the hell is he thinking?

Both men disappeared out of view. She stared at the edge of the monitor, hoping he’d come back on the screen. It was so frustrating that all she could see were four legs on the tiled floor. One man seemed to be sitting on top of the other. Because Nick continued to attend to Laura, Amanda had to believe James was okay.
Please, God, let him be safe.

She didn’t want to consider why it was so important that he was unhurt. Surely it was just one human being feeling compassion for another—that was what it had better frickin’ be because she wouldn’t allow it to be anything else.

André appeared on the screen. She watched him step over the two men on the floor.
Why isn’t he helping James? What the eff?

André dug around in the top drawer of the bureau that sat against the wall opposite the door, then he handed what looked like a key to Nick. She could barely breathe. That poor woman had been
locked
to that contraption?
How in the hell do people think this is fun?

Amanda watched Nick carry Laura to a cot. He held her in his arms and rocked her back and forth. It was a tender, loving scene, one that touched Amanda. Nick seemed to truly care for Laura. Unless Amanda was completely off base, his heart was breaking over what had happened. It was hard for her to wrap her mind around the obvious emotion. Maybe he wasn’t part of the lifestyle. Maybe he was what André called a tourist—someone who was curious, but didn’t really know anything about the lifestyle.

Though she recognized that what had happened to that woman hadn’t been consensual, she also knew from working in the club these past few months that those rooms were busy pretty much all night long.
What’s wrong with these people that they would allow someone to do that to them?

André left the room with a determined look on his face. He barely looked at the men on the floor at all. That had to be a good sign. Amanda rested both hands on the counter in front of the monitors and stared intently at the screen willing James to appear.

Finally, she saw James stand. He was facing away from the camera with his fingers laced behind his head and walking backward out of the room. She’d heard sirens, so she had to assume the police had arrived.
Thank goodness!
But why are they treating James like he’s a criminal?

The adrenaline rush she’d been riding on since James had first entered the room had her restless. She began pacing back and forth in the tiny office. All that pent-up energy wouldn’t allow her to sit still a moment longer.

What kind of person takes on an armed gunman?
It didn’t matter how attracted she was to James, she had to keep her distance. His interest in BDSM was reason enough to run far and fast in the opposite direction. Why wouldn’t her body listen to reason? Why did her heart have to race and her girlie parts react every time she saw him?

No way would she be able to have him by her side for an extended period of time and not fall further under his spell. Poor choices in men were a DNA flaw that ran through the women in her family. She refused to follow the family tradition. Right at that moment, James was a bigger threat to her than the stalker. She’d fight the stalker to her last breath. James…was a different story. She just didn’t know if she had the wherewithal to mount a defense against him.

Amanda grabbed her purse. She had to get out of there before he returned. She had mace, that would protect her from the stalker if need be. Besides, so far the stalker only contacted her through the club. If she got a different job, the stalker wouldn’t be able to track her. It probably wouldn’t pay nearly as well, but sacrifices had to be made. James was just too potent. Running was the only viable option she had available.

She unlocked the deadbolt and cracked open the door. She got one foot out of the office door before she hit a solid, unmovable object. Looking up, way up, she met James’ gaze. His blue eyes could send her tummy bunching with just a look. Soft, blond hair framed his handsome face.
Why does he have to be such a sexy bad boy?

James rested his left hand on the door frame, blocking her exit. His right hand circled her neck, sending her heart racing. It was at the same time threatening yet intimate. Her legs felt weak. Was he going to choke the life out of her for disobeying him?

“Where are you going? I told you to remain in the office.” He spoke softly, but she sensed his admonishment.

“I gotta get outta here.” With his hand pressed against her throat, she felt her vocal cords vibrate against his palm. Her boobs were pressed into his chest. His broad, muscular chest. She was breathing too fast, and every breath she took was filled with his scent. Why did he have to wear her favorite cologne?
Damn him.

“Not without me and I have a few things to attend to before I can leave.” He dropped his shoulder and allowed her to see two police officers standing behind him. “Go back inside. We’ll leave in a few minutes.”