Chapter 27

Dmitri

Without having years to train Daelyn, I can’t teach her to fight like I do, but a few good defense moves will at least buy her time until I can deliver the final blow.

Which is exactly what I plan to do.

You need to leave and never come back here , she’d said. Like that’s going to fucking happen? I can’t walk away from this woman. I couldn’t before, and I damn sure won’t after today. “Pack a bag.”

“What?”

“You’re going to stay with me. Addie is, too.”

Daelyn shakes her head. “No.”

“I’m not asking.”

It’s shitty to not give her a choice, but I refuse to let her deny what’s right and practical. She and Addie are in danger. I can protect them both on my turf. “Tell Addie to get packing.”

“She’s not here.” Daelyn’s cheeks get a little splotchy. “She’s away for the weekend and I don’t have much time left either.”

My heart slows to a stop. “How long do you have?”

“Until next Friday.”

Wow. Didn’t realize ruining my entire life came with a goddamn deadline. Wonder what’s supposed to happen next Friday? I’ll keep my questions limited for now. Daelyn’s being selective and cautious with what she’s willing to give me and the more I push, the less she’s likely to share.

“I can’t train you in a week, Dae.”

“I know.” She won’t look at me. “But anything is better than nothing, right?”

Jesus Christ, why can’t she just say his goddamn name?

The angel on my shoulder pokes my conscience. Like you told your dad about your mom?

Yeah, you kept that shit from him for a decade , asshole. Then look what happened , the Devil chimes in.

The day my father finally learned about everything, he left the house staggering like a zombie. I tried to follow him, but fell unconscious down the street, in a pile of vomit, thanks to the concussion my mom gave me with the vodka bottle.

I wasn’t able to stop my dad from going into a blind rage.

He apparently stumbled through town, into a bar, and…

Beat a man to death.

The guy’s name was Brent Calloway. He was a drug dealer on the south side who had a rap sheet a mile long. But my dad didn’t know that. He just swung his fists at the first man his fury focused on and never stopped. Not even after Brent’s face collapsed into pulp. No one tried to stop my father, either. Maybe they were too scared, or maybe they were grateful to have one more rat off the street. Who knows. My dad finally snapped out of it and climbed off the dead guy. Then he ordered a drink at the bar, called the cops, and turned himself in.

So, I know exactly how far rock bottom can take you.

If I can save Daelyn from anything close to that level of misery, I’ll do it, even if it means treading carefully and scraping information out of her in other ways. I can’t begrudge her from protecting this guy. She must have her reasons, whether they’re logical or not doesn’t matter, because she’s the one who will suffer if things go south. Her and this chick named Addie.

I can handle anything that comes my way, I just don’t want them caught in the crossfire when it comes to blows with my mystery enemy.

Who the fuck is this person coming after me?

Honestly, if I made a list of people who’d love to fuck up my life, I’d probably run out of ink. Lots of folks hold grudges. It’s one more reason I keep my circle small and stay on my turf. My first reaction is suspecting a club member. As a Dom, I’ve pleasured plenty of people in those rooms, and some have very jealous other halves, but I can’t imagine any of them would go this far. They’re too high in society to fuck around and find out with me. They’re too weak.

Which means it’s someone lower. My long-awaited return to the Scrapyard may have opened the door for past fighters to come at me for revenge. Not everyone is a graceful loser. Your body isn’t the only thing that gets busted in the cage. Your pride and ego take a beating too. I’ve heard about opponents retaliating but haven’t had it happen to me before. Mostly because I’ve never given anyone a chance to try.

I live in a highly secure sex club. No one knows my full name. I don’t carry an I.D. Hell, I don’t even have social media. No one can find dirt on me because all my dealings are in the Monarch Club, where NDAs are signed in advance, or in the fight ring, where no one wants their identities known because the shit we do is illegal and no one’s trying to get caught or have our fun spoiled.

Silas is the only one who knows all our true names, and he’s so good at keeping secrets, nothing could crack him.

Bookies have tried.

Cops have tried.

Competition has tried.

He’s also excellent at covering his tracks because he makes the most money from the fights he puts together. The man has serious pull and respect in all corners of this dark world and knows how to get rid of all evidence.

I often think about how life could have been different if my dad had gone to the cage that day instead of a bar. For a price, Silas would have covered the crime for him, and he wouldn’t have gone to jail. But knowing my father, he would have felt too guilty for taking a man’s life and turned himself in, anyway.

After my dad went away to prison, my mom left, and I was on my own. Ryker was dealing with his mom, and Vault and Knox had their own shit, so staying with any of them wasn’t something I wanted to try. I stayed with Silas often, and he converted an old office on the second floor into a bedroom for me at the Scrapyard. Looking back, I guess you could say it was my first playroom. My first taste of freedom. We grew close, but never enough for him to tell me how to pull off what he could. Silas always said the less I knew, the safer I was.

Daelyn’s doing the same thing now.

“I have to be back by Sunday,” she claims, standing up. “Addie comes home then, and I need to go back to our normal life. I don’t want her to stay here alone, even for a night, and she can’t be at the club.”

That catches me off guard. I don’t understand why Addie can’t be at the club if it’s safe there. But I’m going to follow Daelyn’s lead for now because she needs this power more than me. I’m not happy about it, but I’ll take what I can get, and give what I can to Daelyn in the meantime.

I think on some primal level, my instincts have scrambled. I want to protect her, but there’s also a feral part of me that wants to possess her. If she’s mine, no one will ever touch her again.

And make no motherfucking mistake…

Daelyn. Is. Mine.

???

Daelyn packs a bag so fast, it’s like she’s expecting her house to explode in t minus ten seconds. “There’s another problem,” she says, stuffing underwear inside her duffel. “He tracks my location on my cell. If I turn it off, he’ll—”

“I see what he’ll do,” I growl, glancing at her throat.

Her cheeks blaze red. “I don’t want him to know where you live or about the Monarch Club.”

I appreciate her attempt to protect me, but it’s a forgone conclusion. “I live at the Monarch Club.” That takes her by surprise. “And it’s fine if he sees you’re there. No one can get in without being vetted, so there’s no risk of someone slipping in who shouldn’t be there.”

“I got in,” she counters, making it clear she doesn’t belong at the club.

“I fucking vouched for you.” Does my tone sound harsh? Yeah. Do I care? No. I’m pissed the connection I thought we had, that felt so fucking real, was only an act. She’s done all this not because she was interested in me, but on behalf of someone who forced her to do it.

But what should I expect? That some woman was going to drop into my life and be the one ? That shit only happens in the books Knox reads. And for Ryker, apparently, because he’s got Tara now.

This sucks. I thought I’d found a flicker of light in my darkness. It’s why I’ve been calling her Firefly.

Damn, my head hurts.

“Let him see where you are. He’ll think you’re doing your job.” Again, my voice is harsher than normal. “But you can’t have your cell in the club. It goes back into the security center we have in the lobby.”

“I need to be able to check in with Addie.”

“You can call her from my phone.”

Daelyn shakes her head. “She can’t be involved. That includes having your cell number on hers. I don’t want to explain or lie to her about why I’m not using my phone to call her.”

She’s either being way too paranoid or way too protective. The woman is living with Daelyn for Christ’s sake, so Addie’s semi-involved already, whether they realize it or not. The way Daelyn’s acting, however, has me suddenly curious about Addie’s age.

“I’ll make sure you can use your cell during off hours at the club.” It’s a dick move. I could let her keep her cell in my room in the basement, since we’ll be training down there, but I also want a goddamn power card here. If it’s her cell phone, so be it. I need ways to make Daelyn give me more information and holding her cell phone for ransom may help with that. “Ready?”

She hoists her duffel bag over her shoulder and stops in front of me. “I’m so sorry, Dmitri.”

I clench my molars and don’t respond.

She should be sorry, but also, I don’t blame her for what she’s done. We’ve all been stuck between a rock and a hard place before. Doing what’s right or what’s easy aren’t always options. And as she looks up at me with blood vessels busted in her face and a handprint bruised across her delicate throat, I know one thing is the truth between us: She protected me. That’s how she earned those marks.

We make it back to the Monarch Club in no time, and I’ve used the bike ride to settle my nerves and come up with a new game plan. Parking in the back, I swipe my key card and hold the door for her. She handed over her phone before we even left her house.

Daelyn follows me through the club, passing Sophie and a guy she’s got on a leash. I don’t say a word and keep my focus on the doors that lead to my dungeon. When we get there, I let Daelyn inside first.

Her eyes sail around the nearly empty room. My cot is against one wall, a punching bag hangs in the center of the room, and there’s a rack with all my clothes hanging neatly on the far wall.

“The bathroom’s through there,” I say, feeling suddenly awkward and ashamed.

I came from nothing. I’m used to nothing. And I’ve just let the enemy into my sacred space. No one comes down to this forbidden area except for a select few I allow. Yet I just let this little monster in and held the goddamn door for her.

“Put your things down over there and sit on the floor.”

Daelyn’s brow knits with confusion, but she does as I command.

“I’ll be back in ten minutes,” I say. “Don’t fucking move.”

The color drains from her face.

Leaving her alone in my room, unsupervised, is as ridiculous as it is necessary. Lie for a lie, truth for a truth. I’ll use every tool in my possession to get her to be real with me. So, I’m being real with her.

Shutting the door, I lock it and head straight for Vault’s security room. It’s freezing in here because he always wants the equipment cooled down. We’ve got a lot of high-tech gear in this place.

He doesn’t look surprised to see me. “What’s up, man?”

“I need you to dig up some information for me.” I brace my hands on his desk and let out a long exhale. “Daelyn’s paperwork is in the temporary guest folder. Run a background check on her and her roommate, Addie. No last name known. I want to know who their parents are. Their friends. Jobs. Fucking blood type. Whatever you can get me.”

Vault sits back, concern hardening his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“Just do it, okay?” I turn to leave, but Vault stops me with another question.

“Are you in trouble, D?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

He stands slowly. “It’s not just you I’m worried about.”

Vault’s reminding me that I’m bringing danger not just to my bed, but to the club. As if I’m not aware?

“Just get me the information and I’ll decide from there.” We stare at each other for a long moment, then I add, “I won’t let Hell fall over the club. If it comes close to that, I’ll leave. I won’t put anyone here in the crosshairs. You have my word.”

He knows I don’t break promises.

But I will break the woman waiting for me in my room.