It was the smell that hit them both, first, then the mess.
The whole place reeked of the unmistakable aroma of weed, and Megan turned to Jacob, a look of shock clearly on her face. “Oh my God, what has she done?”
She started to rush from room to room, almost tripping over the debris, in her haste to try and locate Nicky.
Jacob dropped his bag on the floor and walked back down the hallway, and pushed open the door to a bedroom. Megan was kneeling, next to the bed, with her back to him, clutching something in her hand.
He went to her, and sat on the edge of the bed. There was a framed photo in her hand, but the glass had shattered and was lying on the floor around her. When she raised her eyes to his, he saw the tears there, and, wasting no time, he took her upper arms and pulled her up beside him.
Her fingers moved on the frame and a red mark was left behind where they’d been.
“Hell,” her growled, and prying the frame away, he put it on the bedside table and turned her hand over to examine it. A small piece of glass was stuck in the tender flesh, and she flinched when he extracted it as gently as he could.
“Stay right here,” he ordered, and she sat, not moving, the tears now streaming down her face.
Jacob located the bathroom and opened the cabinets and cupboards until he found what he needed. When he went back to her, she hadn’t moved at all, her hand still on the bed, with a small trail of blood running down onto the comforter.
He tended to the wound, and she sat there, like a small child, watching her hand, and then him, until he was done.
“Is that you?” he asked, gesturing to the photo.
“It’s me and my dad,” she answered quietly. “It’s the only one I have of him. He died when I was seven.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” he said, and standing up, he took her in his arms, giving her all the comfort and warmth he could, until her body stopped shivering, and calmed within his embrace.
Then he took her good hand and led her into the living room. The place was in as bad a shape as the bedroom, with bottles, food and clothes strewn everywhere.
His voice was gentle. “Megan, do you have any idea what’s happened here?”
She glanced around the room and then sighed, wiping away her tears as best she could. Walking over to the sofa, she swiped her undamaged hand across the cushion, letting several bottles fall to the floor, before taking a seat. “I guess the good times are over,” she whispered.
“Megan!”
She jumped and her head jolted up. Jacob seemed to dwarf the small room, looming over her, and she could see the concern etched on his face.
“I’m sorry,” she said, mentally pulling herself together, and taking a deep breath. She nodded at the mess around them. “I think all this is because of a sick creep called AJ. My best friend, Nicky, got involved with him a month or so ago, and, apparently he made her an offer of a job.”
There was no way she was going to go into details, but she knew that what she’d told Jacob wasn’t going to be enough of an explanation.
“I thought it was a bad move,” she continued, “and we argued about it. But she promised me that she wouldn’t take him up on it, and I hoped that was the end of it. I know she was still hanging out with him, especially when I was at the club, working, but that was just her way of relaxing and having a good time.
“The place was usually a mess when I get back from work, but nothing like this…”
The beer bottles on the table and floor were not the kind that the girls ever drank. But Megan knew that AJ and his dead beat friends did; she’d cleared up enough of them in the past, after one of his visits.
She glanced at Jacob, her concern a mirror image of his. “She’d always be here when I got home. We promised we’d always wait for each other, you know, till both of us were back safely. And now she’s gone. She did have a car, but that gave out a couple of weeks ago, and she never had the money to get it fixed.
“Most of her clothes are missing from her room and her personal stuff, as well. It was the first place I checked. If she’s left, then I know that asshole has something to do with it.”
“Come on, let’s take a proper look around,” he said, “and then we’ll decide what you’re going to do.”
He sounded calm and in control, and at that moment, it was just what she needed to hear. She was so scared for Nicky. God, if that bastard hurt her…But, really, what could she do? She didn’t even know exactly where he lived.
She followed Jacob into the kitchen, and saw him pick up a note from the table.
He gave it straight to her.
Hey, M,
I know you’re going to be angry at me, but don’t worry. AJ’s promised me it’s all going to be great and I’m going to be earning a ton of cash. So as soon as I can, I’ll come back and we can take off, wherever you want to go. You’re way better at working that pole than I was ever going to be.
Please don’t be mad, but I needed a bit of money up front. I know Jimmy will help if you’re short. He really dotes on you.
Gotta go,
Luv Nic xxx
Megan turned and ran out of the room. Jacob followed her into the bathroom and watched her as she pulled up a loose tile from behind the toilet and retrieved a small zip lock bag. She wrenched it open, took out a handful of dollar bills and then threw the money, bag and note on the floor.
“You stupid, stupid…” She was too angry to put her thoughts into words. “Fucking hell!” she yelled.
Jacob picked up the note and read it for himself. “Do you know where he might have taken her?”
“I’ve no idea. I know he lives quite close by, but I doubt he has any girls…you know, working for him too close to home.”
There was no point in trying to conceal anything anymore.
“I agree. Why don’t you try calling her, and I’ll start on the mess. It looks like there was quite a party here.”
“Oh, no, I can manage. I’ll start on it in the morning,” Megan said. When she saw the expression on Jacob’s face, she groaned inwardly.
His voice took on a pure Dom tone, “Little sub. Do you need me to show you who’s in charge here right now?”
“No…Sir.”
“Then I suggest you show me where you keep the garbage bags. After we’ve cleaned up, it’ll be time for you to make some decisions about what you’re going to do.”
He pulled her to him and took her lips firmly with his own, making her heart speed up just with the force of his kiss.
He smacked her firmly on the ass. “Get going.”
She did as she was told.
Chapter Six
Megan called Nicky’s cell several times while the two of them cleaned up. It went to voice mail each time, and Megan could only hope that Nicky was safe and would answer the next time she tried.
When the worst of the mess was sorted in the kitchen and living room, Megan returned to her bedroom.
When she opened her closet, she saw that Nicky had gone through her outfits she used at the strip club. Some were on the floor and others were only half hanging from their white, plastic hangars.
Something to entice the rich, businessmen, she supposed.
Jesus, how could Nicky have made such a shitty decision? She must have knocked over the photo in her hurry to shove them back in the closet, Megan thought to herself. After all, she couldn’t keep the asshole waiting, could she?
She picked up the ones on the floor and angrily began to hang them back up. When a hand came down on her arm, she gasped and turned round.
“Interesting choice of clothes,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
Megan blushed and tried to shove the blue, shimmering, see-through dress back into the closet. Just as she attempted to shut the door, however, one shiny red, thigh high boot fell forth and landed right on top of Jacob’s foot.
“Cute, but I don’t think it’s quite my color,” he said, picking it up and placing it carefully back inside.
Megan’s stomach lurched and she braced herself for the questions she knew were coming. However, he surprised her.
“I want to hear the whole story, sweetheart, but not here. I’m going to call in a favor and get us a hotel room for the night. When you’ve had a chance to get yourself together, we’ll decide what to do next. Okay?”
The relief of someone making her choices for her felt so overwhelmingly great that she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Staying here would have been horrible. The whole place felt tainted by that pig, AJ. It had been just the two of them, struggling to make it work, but looking out for each other. And now he had wormed his way in and ruined everything. God, how she hated him.
Jacob’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Pack a bag for tonight while I make that call, and then we’ll get out of here.” He kissed her forehead, and then pushed her gently away from him, leaving her to follow his instructions.
Megan grabbed one of the bags she’d used when she’d left home and packed it with a change of clothes and the toiletries she needed. Then she took off her skirt and halter top, exchanging them for a pair of dark jeans and a warm sweater, and pulled on thick socks and boots. When she returned to the living room with the bag, he was on his cell, making the arrangements.
“All sorted,” he said. “There’s a taxi on its way and we’ve got a room at a hotel I’ve used before when I’ve been up this way and didn’t want to sleep in the semi. Those bunks are not really designed for people my size, let alone for two,” he added with a grin.
Megan smiled for the first time since she’d opened her front door.
Then she turned to him, frowning. “How on earth did you get a hotel room at this hour, it’s almost 3AM? Most of the affordable hotels would be filled by now.”
“The manager is a friend of mine,” Jacob replied, picking up both her bag and his and steering her towards the front door. “I helped him out the first time I stayed there. He had a couple of drunks that were giving him grief, and I helped him get rid of them before the other guests were woken up.”
“Oh.”
“He invited me to a poker game he was having in his private quarters and told me if I ever needed a favor to give him a call. Tonight seemed a good time to collect on that.”
Jacob slammed the door shut, and the two of them went down the stairs and out on to the sidewalk. Jacob wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.
“In fact, there’s a poker game going right now, but when I told him the room would be for two, he completely understood me bowing out, and said he would even meet us when we arrived at the hotel.”
She couldn’t help smiling. The thought of spending the rest of the night with Jacob made her pulse race. Especially when her mind ran through the things he had already done to her the last two times they had been together.
She jumped when her cell beeped. “Oh my God, it’s a text. It must be from Nicky.” She dug her phone out of her bag, retrieved the text, and read it aloud. “Am okay, don’t worry. Will text again soon. Nic.”
Jacob tightened his arms around her. “At least she’s okay for the moment.”
Jacob was glad she couldn’t see his facial expression, which certainly didn’t share the sentiment. As far as he was concerned, her friend had taken an enormous risk, with her safety and well-being. When the call for help came, and he knew without doubt that it would, he would do whatever he could to help get her out of this AJ’s clutches.
Megan responded to his statement. “Yes, I suppose so. He told her it would be top end clients and posh hotels with all the trimmings. God, I hope he’s not lying to her. I just can’t believe she’s
doing
this. But I guess I should be glad she’s not on a street corner or something.”
The taxi pulled up a couple of minutes later, and in no time at all, they were traveling through the almost deserted streets of the city.
Megan was obviously tired and her eyes looked heavy. Jacob settled his arm around her shoulders, and soon, she dozed off.
Jacob glanced out of the passenger window, but took nothing in. His mind was on the little sub, sleeping beside him. She was obviously dealing with a lot more shit than she’d let on. He needed to hear the whole story because, since the moment they’d walked through her front door, she had brought out every protective Dom instinct he had.
She’d evaded him at the club, managing to steer the conversation over to him, but that wasn’t going to happen again. Even if he had to spank it out of her, he was going to get all the facts.
He wouldn’t put up with any secrets. That was a crash and burn offence, as far as he was concerned. He’d learnt that the hard way with his ex-wife, Karen.
* * * *
Jacob woke her gently when the taxi pulled up to the hotel, and then grabbed her bag and paid the driver. Once inside, he spied Connor behind the large reception desk at the back of the entrance hall.
He was a small, lean man, in his thirties with warm, friendly eyes and a big smile.
“Hey, buddy,” Jacob said when they reached the desk. “I appreciate the short notice.”
“No problem, my friend.” Connor gave Megan a warm smile. “I’ve got you one of the best rooms in the place, honey. If this guy gives you any trouble, you just call down here, and I’ll come on up and sort him out for you, okay?”
Megan laughed. “I promise I’ll take you up on that if he misbehaves.”
Connor winked at her, and gave Jacob the key card. “Number 515, top floor. Now get this lady up to bed, you heathen. Do you have any idea how late it is?”
Megan blushed and Jacob took her hand, laughing while he led her to the elevator.
The room was lovely, and as she walked over to the window to take in the view of Louisville, she began to relax for the first time in hours.
When she heard the taps being turned on in the bathroom, she went over and poked her head through the doorway. “Would you like me to scrub your back, Sir?”
He gave her a roguish grin. “That’s going to be a little difficult, seeing as you’re the one who’s going to be in the water. Come here, sub.”