Triple Jeopardy (Lawyers Behaving Badly Book 2) (10 page)

Then she looked up at Ethan. “What about me? I can’t just not work.”

“We’ve got a contingency plan if things get too bad,” Trent said, but he sounded uncharacteristically nervous.

Maisie would have followed up on that, but Ethan said, “Your bills will be taken care of. Once this has blown over—once Norm Ballystock pops his cowardly head up—you’ll be reinstated and will receive back wages.”

The smile that sprang to Maisie’s lips was uncontrollable; this thing with Norm Ballystock was bad, but at least she wouldn’t be living on the street.

Trent laughed. “We thought you’d be relieved.”

“But I don’t understand why you had to fire me,” she said, the smile fading. “If you’re willing to go to all this trouble…” She shook her head.

Raphael spoke up. “When I saw you and Ethan in the lobby, I’d only just found out that Norm was still missing. Rather than wait until it was convenient for a meeting, I discussed it with Ethan, and we made a quick but unavoidable decision. We needed to get you away from the office.”

“But why?” Maisie asked. She wondered if she was being slow, if the answer was obvious. But she wasn’t seeing it. “Because I know you went to see Norm?”

“You know about our visit,” Raphael said. “That’s true. But when you’re interviewed, you won’t be asked about that. The questions will center on where Davina was that night.”

“She ordered a lot of room service,” Maisie said. “So it wouldn’t just be my word.”

“Exactly,” Trent said. “You’re of little interest at the moment. However, if the relationship among the four of us came out, it would be problematic.”

“But I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

Raphael leaned forward and laced his fingers together. Maisie felt like she was consulting with businessmen, not chatting with her lovers. “You might not volunteer it, but they could ask casually about your personal life. Norm’s brother is the assistant chief of police. The investigation is going to be thorough. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

She didn’t, not completely, but she nodded.

Raphael tapped the table with an index finger. “You were fired abruptly, in front of witnesses. If anything, the police will expect you to be prejudiced against us. Especially if you play it well.” He looked at her meaningfully.

Ethan sat again. “To be clear, Davina is the only one they’ll be investigating at the moment, but they’re going to scrutinize her. We’re trying to keep their attention away from you and from us, but also away from our client. Therefore you’re going to answer their questions, and you’re not going to ask for a lawyer.”

“Oh, god.”

“We don’t want to give them any reason to go searching for things. The clothing we bought for you that morning could look bad.”

“Like a bribe.” If that dress alone had been thousands of dollars… “Oh, god.”

Ethan nodded. “We’re merely being cautious, Maisie.”

“We’ll prepare you thoroughly,” Trent said, “and we’ve got a way to record the whole thing, regardless of where it happens.”

Maisie almost said,
Isn’t that illegal?
But then she realized everything about this was illegal, and it just kept getting worse. She felt her face go pale.

Ethan leaned forward. “I wish I could go back and not involve you, but I can’t. Instead I’ll do—we’ll do—everything in our power to keep you safe. Most of what we’re discussing is a precaution.”

“I understand.”

Trent ran a hand through his dark hair. “The police have prioritized looking for Norm, but we’ve got our investigators searching for him as well. With any luck, things will be back to normal in just a day or two.”

Maisie nodded. “Thank you for being honest with me. All of you. May I ask why I was fired?”

“For mistakes with the files,” Trent said.

“And not working quickly enough,” Ethan added.

Maisie felt a flush of annoyance. She pushed it back. “I’d only been there two weeks. There’s a learning curve.”

Raphael walked over and leaned against the table’s edge. He touched her hand, and a frisson of pleasure shot through her. “Maisie, it doesn’t matter that you’re a mediocre secretary. You brought value with the quality of your research and summaries.” He stretched out his other arm and glanced at his wristwatch. “I’ve got to leave in an hour, for a hearing,” he said apologetically, glancing from Maisie to Trent and Ethan, then back to Maisie.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “I’m assuming you’ve built in a sizable buffer of time?”

“I like to be early.” But instead of removing his hand, Raphael stroked his fingers up her arm. Then he was pulling her against him.

Already he was hard; she felt the hot length against her hip. Her eyes closed in delight. “I love this dress on you,” he murmured into her ear, “but I can’t wait to get you naked.”

The men led Maisie through rooms decorated extravagantly. Nothing matched, yet everything seemed to go together, somehow. “This building is new,” she said to Ethan. “How did you furnish it so quickly?”

“By planning ahead and paying extra.”

Ethan slid back a long door, and Maisie was stunned to discover an arched footbridge ahead of her. It couldn’t have been longer than twenty-five feet, but what was most shocking was the pool running underneath it, and the domed glass ceiling overhead. A hot tub, embedded in the floor, was in front of the window to her right. Not far from it were five massage tables and a bar. The only things missing were a bartender and some ocean spray, and she could have been on a Mexican beach.

She looked up. “What happens if an airplane flies overhead while you’re skinny-dipping?”

“You can’t see anything from an airplane,” Trent said.

“This part of the city is a no-fly zone,” Raphael said.

“Must be nice to be so rich that the FAA reroutes around you.”

Raphael laughed. His blue eyes were heated with lust; the straight-laced attorney had been replaced with a man who seemed much younger, much more carefree. “That’s for security reasons. Nothing to do with money. Strip.”

They pulled her forward as she untied the belt of the dress. It tumbled to the floor, forgotten.

The rest of her dress met a similar fate on the far side of the bridge.

Ethan removed her silver chain and slipped it into his pocket.

Now wearing only her knee-high boots and sheer bra and panties, Maisie couldn’t help putting a hand over her relative nudity.

“You’re not shy,” Trent said.

“It’s just… It’s bright enough to operate in here.”

Ethan’s stare was unrelenting, and Maisie awkwardly lowered her arms.

The men led her through the next door.

She was expecting another windowed, bright room, but instead found herself in a dark hallway. Crimson and blue lights seeped out along the edges where floor met wall.

It belonged in an exclusive nightclub, not a private home.

“Do you plan to host a lot of parties?” she asked Ethan, though she couldn’t imagine him dancing.

“Generally, no,” Trent said. “But we expect we’ll entertain clients here sometimes, and we wanted someplace exclusive and private to bring them.”

“We?”

He nodded. “This condo is being rented to the law firm. The landlord’s a bit of an ass, but the location can’t be beat.”

The comment made all three men laugh, and Maisie wondered which of them owned it. She was starting to think Ethan wasn’t the only one who was exceedingly rich. Trent had a full-time driver, and something about Raphael suggested old, old money.

Ethan pulled her toward him as they neared the end of the hall. The heat of his body warmed her; she was shivering and hadn’t even noticed.

But
he
had noticed. That had to mean something.

Unless it didn’t.

With a sigh, she settled against him.

Together, they entered a dark and foreboding room. It was so poorly lit that she couldn’t see the furnishings.

If there were any.

She was able to make out curtains, though. Graceful, long ones that pooled on the floor and didn’t allow in even a sliver of light. Under her feet, the floor was hard and uncarpeted.

As Ethan approached a wall, a long drawer emerged automatically. On it was a wooden valet stand, where he hung his suit jacket.

Trent followed her puzzled gaze. “We’re five minutes from the office,” he said. “Easy to pop over, have a little fun, then get back.”

“I’d be a lot more excited about that if I hadn’t been fired,” Maisie said, smiling, but when she looked at Trent, she saw that he wasn’t.

The sick, jealous feeling, the one that had started at lunch, came back with a vengeance. This was only temporary. A bit of fun. It couldn’t last.

She needed to remember that.

Trent strode toward the black curtains and yanked them back. But instead of looking out a window, Maisie found herself staring at an assortment of medieval torture devices.

That was the description that first popped into her head, and as her eyes discerned the outlines of the monstrous wooden pieces, she realized that her first impression had been accurate.

She didn’t know what most of the objects were.

But two of them she recognized immediately. The rack—there was no mistaking the massive wooden slab, long and sturdy enough to support a person’s weight. She couldn’t tell, but it seemed there might be a series of wings that could be extended and retracted.

What made her certain that she’d correctly identified it was the giant wheel at the head. Coarse, hay-colored rope wound around it like an enormous spool.

That rope was for stretching the poor victim.

The only other piece she thought she recognized wasn’t as scary. It looked like a set of stocks, but it was unfamiliar. There was only a single hole, and it was far too large to imprison a head.

The other thing that puzzled her was that it was built over an arch, not unlike a barrel turned on its side.

Then she realized: the hole was to imprison her waist, leaving her unable to see what was happening to her lower body, and unable to interfere with her hands. And the arch?

Perhaps to put her body into a better position for sex. It would be perfect for doggy style. Altogether, the device would leave her imprisoned, her lower body available for fucking and her upper body helpless.

Shivering, she wondered if she could request trying it out.

But maybe there was something better. Her eyes had adjusted, and she scanned the other items. Sawhorses, thick wooden pillars… She became aware of an enormous cross. She’d thought it was part of the wall, but now she recognized it.

And next to it, an iron maiden. She’d almost mistaken it for a small wardrobe.

The longer she looked around, the more frightening the objects became.

13

R
aphael nuzzled her neck. “I guess you like my little collection. Your expression right now is making my cock so hard.” He pressed that fabled cock against her.

Her eyes slid half-closed, then quickly opened again. “I don’t want to be stretched on the rack,” she whispered.

“Then that’s where we’ll begin.” Ethan’s smile was so cruel that for a fleeting moment, Maisie actually wondered if she should leave.

Not that she knew where the exit was in this place.

“Ah,” he said. “You’ve done the math. No one knows you’re here.”

She swallowed hard and licked her tongue over her dry lips. “I guess not.”

Ethan approached her. He was rolling up his sleeves, revealing his strong forearms. It reminded her that underneath their suits, her bosses were muscular men. Virile men.

Whatever she didn’t want to give them, they could take anyway.

A whimper escaped her throat. She’d told them before that she wanted to play, to pretend she didn’t want them, that she wanted to fight.

“I remember my safe word,” she said, managing a nervous smile.

“You won’t need it today,” Ethan said.

“Oh.” Disappointment swam over her.

Trent stepped forward. He had something in his hands, and then Maisie saw it was a black rubber ball gag. “You don’t need it, because you won’t be able to speak.”

She started to say that it looked like fun, but Trent slipped the harness over her head.

The ball was smooth on her tongue. It didn’t have a taste or odor, though she could smell the metal parts connecting it to the harness.