Chapter 12

Khai winced as they entered the kitchen. It was still loud. A few people had left, but all three of the previously rescued women and their significant others were still there, as well as Robert. A new woman had arrived, too. Khai assumed it was Ella, Robert's wife, since she had an arm wrapped around one of his and was leaning into his side.

Khai was glad he'd spent some time memorizing all the people. It would be easier to dive into their investigation and be useful if he understood the players and the scorecards.

"Hey," Gemma said softly as Khai slid Grace in front of him and set his hands on her shoulders. Gemma's focus was on Grace. "Did you get a nap? Feel better?"

Grace nodded. "I'm better."

Khai wasn't certain that was true, but she was brave. He'd give her that.

Damon cleared his throat. "Do you think you could show us where the police officer lived and maybe even describe him?"

"Yes," Grace responded. "I think so."

"That's what we were just discussing," Khai responded.

Axel pulled out a chair for Grace. "Can we get you something to eat or drink?"

Grace clutched her stomach with one hand. "I'm not sure I'm up to eating just yet, but water would be nice."

In seconds, Jagger was screwing off the top of a water bottle and handing it to her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Kally took the chair next to Grace. "We have any kind of food you could want. Let me know when you get hungry."

"Kalinda…" The odd warning growl came from Jagger. His gaze was on her, and it narrowed.

Khai's brow shot up at this interaction.

Kally sighed and rolled her eyes. "Jagger doesn't let me service anyone. If you get hungry, tell one of these dominant men. They'll fix you something to eat."

Grace stared at Kally with wide eyes for a moment before looking around at everyone else as the room grew silent.

Gemma nodded. "She's not kidding. You haven't seen overprotectiveness like you will here."

Damon smirked. "Let me know if you need a trip to a private room, sassy girl."

Grace sat up straighter. It was obvious to Khai the hairs were standing up on her neck.

Kally set a hand on Grace's forearm. "Please excuse us. We're being rude. All of us live in a D/s relationship of some sort, but we shouldn't be joking about it in front of you."

"D/s?" Grace asked.

Khai looked around at all the men. Apparently, they were all Doms. The concept wasn't foreign to Khai. He'd belonged to a club and dabbled in BDSM in his younger years, but it had been a long time since he'd frequented a fetish establishment. It shouldn't surprise him that these men had dominant tendencies, considering the fact that Robert owned a club called Roses and Thorns. Plus, Damon and Jagger had been friends with Robert for years.

But the women? After all the abuse they'd endured?

"Dominance and submission," Kally responded.

Grace shuddered.

Khai stepped closer and set his hands on her shoulders, wanting to support her or ground her during this discussion.

"How can you…" Her voice trailed off as she glanced from one woman to the next.

Jagger responded. "Any form of Dominance that any of us practice is always consensual, Grace. Nothing happens between me and Kalinda that we don't specifically discuss ahead of time."

Gemma nodded. "I really like to be spanked, for example. Damon wouldn't dare do anything to me that remotely resembles what we endured, but we were never spanked or struck in any way, so it doesn't trigger me. I get an adrenaline rush out of a spanking. When he first rescued me, I was so confused that I would do anything to get him to spank me. It was the only way I could feel alive and connected to Earth."

Grace nodded slowly. "I get that."

Gemma continued. "I also wanted to be restrained. I couldn't sleep without it. It took me a long time to be able to pull my arms and legs in after three years of sleeping spreadeagle on that cot." She shuddered.

"Three years…" Grace murmured. "I never knew how long you had been there."

"Yes. I was the first to be delivered to Russo."

"And you sleep restrained?" Grace asked.

"Fuck no," Damon growled.

Gemma sighed. "Like Jagger said, these guys avoid anything that resembles how we were treated."

It did make sense, but Khai wasn't at all sure Grace wasn't freaking the fuck out at this revelation. He did like the fact that these men took care of their women in every way, including banning them from service elements of BDSM.

Grace looked around again. "I keep feeling like I'm out of my body. Like, I'm watching this all unfold, and I'm not really here. Would I feel more grounded if someone spanked me?"

Khai stiffened. Someone? He struggled to picture spanking Grace under any circumstances, but he sure as fuck wasn't going to permit someone else to do it.

Nora squirmed in her seat. "I only recently tried it for the first time, and I can say I really like it. Not as much as Gemma," she teased, "but it's a nice way to relieve tension."

"I haven't tried it," Kally added. "Not sure it would be my thing."

"Spanking isn't for everyone, honey," Jagger pointed out.

Grace tipped her head back to look at Khai.

He lifted a brow and chuckled. "We'll talk about it later, love."

"Okay."

Wanting to change the subject, Khai pointed toward the paper map that was spread out on the table. "Help the men find the police officer."

The next hour was spent narrowing in on the location of the apartment she'd gone to. She had a very good memory of where she'd been, considering how long ago it had happened and what she'd lived through in the interim. Next, she provided a description. It wasn't quite as useful since she only remembered a man about five-eight with brown hair.

Jagger got on his computer and started plugging in details.

"Do you really think you can find him?" Grace asked.

"Oh, I'll definitely find him," Jagger responded confidently. "The FBI can easily access who was living there at the time. The problem is that we're going to have to be careful and diplomatic about the information we find. We can't just blow into the police station and accuse one of their own of human trafficking. We'll have to have every I dotted and T crossed."

"While you're working on that, we should eat," Kally said. "May I pop the lasagna in the oven to warm it up?"

"I'll do it," Damon responded, turning to head toward the fridge before Kally could move a muscle.

Khai still had his hands on Grace's shoulders, but he felt the urge to be closer to her, so he pulled out her chair, lifted her off the seat, settled in her spot, and arranged her on his lap.

She sighed and leaned into him, not putting up a protest, which pleased him.

He felt calmer with one hand on her thigh and the other on the small of her back. He liked having her close. His protective instinct was revving up now that he knew how much danger she'd been in for the past three months. It frustrated him every time he thought back on how exposed she'd been.

Khai had visualized her on the run from an abusive husband or boyfriend. He hadn't truly expected that person to show up at the doorstep. He'd had more than one weapon at the cabin, but not in a location he could have quickly grabbed it.

His mind shifted to the interesting conversation about the division of labor in everyone's relationships. Khai had just spent a month with Grace without knowing she'd been trained to service him. They'd shared the cooking and cleaning responsibilities, but had she been triggered every time she'd cooked for him or done his laundry?

He fucking hoped not, but he needed to discuss that with her and make sure. The last thing he wanted was for her to react negatively to any part of her life.

"When can I get the tattoo removed?" Grace blurted out.

Jagger glanced up. "I made you an appointment with the doctor two days from now."

Grace blew out a relieved breath. "Thank you."

"It will be sore for a few weeks," Gemma informed her. "You'll have a few stitches that will need to come out after a week. So, you'll need to be careful with that delicate location until then." She glanced from Grace to Khai.

Khai understood her meaning. Sex would be out of the question. He sure as fuck wouldn't want to risk infection or cause her pain. Maybe that was a good thing. It would give Grace some more time to make sure she really wanted to lose her virginity immediately.

Granted, as far as he was concerned, now that he'd had his fingers buried inside her and rubbed her clit to bring her to two orgasms, she was hardly the pure girl who'd been abducted for her chastity, but fingers weren't the same as cocks. Not by a long shot.

Everyone took turns bringing Khai and Grace up to date on what they knew, each person thinking of something new every few minutes until the timer went off and Damon took the lasagna out of the oven.

The house was filled with the scent of Italian sauce. In addition to the lasagna, Axel had fixed a salad and garlic bread. "Let's eat," he declared. He turned toward Khai and Grace. "When we're all together, we're not very formal. Fill your plates with whatever you want and find someplace to sit. The kitchen table is often covered with computers, but the dining room is open, or you can even use the living room."

Khai set Grace on her feet and rose behind her. "I can't tell you how much we appreciate this. You've all gone above and beyond to make us feel at home."

Axel set a hand on Khai's shoulder and squeezed. "We're bonded by a common goal. We're family now. We want you to feel welcome."

"I'll pitch in to pay for food," Khai said.

"It's not necessary, man," Damon responded as he grabbed a plate. "It's just food. Side note about me… When my father died, he left me a sizable amount of money. Other than working as an informant for free for the FBI, I haven't had a job in several years. I don't give much of a shit about money, and I'm happy to be able to contribute to the group cause. So don't fret about nickel and diming anything. It's covered."

Khai swallowed past the lump in his throat. The reason they were all gathered here sucked, but the camaraderie they felt toward each other was a beautiful thing.