“Yes. I sent them. But only to scare him. He found out Ralston and I were seeing each other. He also somehow found out I was a PI.”
She took another can of Dr Pepper off the tray and popped the top before chugging half of it. “Stanton was going to tell the members that Ralston was paying me to spy on them so files could be built on each of them, in case he needed any leverage in the future. It would’ve ruined him.” She made a chopping motion with her hand. “And there were a lot of very powerful people who could’ve made my life a living hell. Stanton started blackmailing me, but when the incident with Kate happened and I snapped the picture, he decided to turn the tables.”
“What was he blackmailing you for? What did he want?”
She shook her head. “Small investigation jobs to check up on his subs and other members of The Dungeon, and then he started asking me to have sex with his associates. Billing me as a kinky sub who could take anything they could dish out.”
“Wow.” Dex was surprised she would admit to that, since it gave her a very large motive for Stanton’s murder.
As if she’d read his mind, she added, “Look, Stanton was a scumbag. The world is a better place without him. What he did to me was innocent compared to what he has done to others. If you ever catch who bashed his head in, there will most likely be a line to buy them a drink.”
Not exactly a statement of innocence. “So you weren’t the one who did the honors?”
She laughed. “No such luck. Look, me telling Fretwell and a few others that you were FBI probably started the night with all the injuries and the death, and I’m no saint. But I’m not a murderer.” She huffed out a breath. “You were nice to me, even when you thought I was a gold-digging waitress, and I felt bad about blowing your cover. But I don’t have much other information to tell you.” She swallowed hard and met his gaze squarely. “Can I go now?”
Dex pinned her with a stern gaze. “I’ll call Benson to come get you and take you back to your safe house while things play out.” He laid a hand over hers. “Thank you for coming forward. You passing on information caused some bad things, but you sharing now could save lives, including your own.”
Chapter 20
Kate glanced up through the Lexus’s front windshield and gasped.
A building straight out of a Gothic novel looked like it had erupted from the top of Camelback Mountain. She knew Paradise Valley was a nice suburb of Phoenix, but she hadn’t seen many Gothic castles erupting out of nearby mountains, so this one stood out.
Full dark had just fallen, which gave the building an eerie feel. Especially with the sprinkling of stars that had begun to blanket the sky in the background.
Kate steered the car into the parking garage, as fresh excitement churned inside her stomach.
There were only a few other people in the garage, and she did a double take when she saw a skinny sandy-blond-haired woman stepping into a black sedan. She looked a lot like the waitress from The Dungeon, but the odds of that were pretty remote, so Kate shrugged and looked for a parking space.
She hadn’t called ahead to find out if they were seeing applicants tonight. She was just going to show up at the front door and see what happened.
It felt right. And maybe a new dungeon and a new Dom would help her forget about Dex.
Just the thought of his name was enough to bring back the deep ache inside her chest. She shoved all thoughts of Dex away, took a deep breath, and stepped out of the car. This was a big step toward her new future, and she didn’t need Dex or anyone else to build it for her.
She adjusted her top and short skirt over the same green cami and thong she’d worn for her first scene with Dex, and cursed. It was her favorite. That’s why she had worn it.
It had been her favorite long before she’d met Dex. She wasn’t going to throw the set out and never wear it again just because it held new memories for her.
A strong tug of longing followed by sadness made her sigh.
She sternly reminded herself Dex was just a blip in her journey toward her new life. She would stop thinking about him, and aching for his firm, expert touch soon.
She hoped.
She walked out of the parking garage and headed up the long, curving path toward the entrance to Club Desire.
This place seemed to exist in another universe from The Dungeon, and everything she’d left behind in L.A.
As she got closer, she saw large double doors edged in wrought iron. A beautiful blond woman in a stunning blue dress stood just outside, making Kate think of a princess from a nearby kingdom, pressed into service for the evil overlord within.
She laughed at her overactive imagination and returned the woman’s bright smile as Kate stepped into the semicircle of light from the Gothic-style sconce mounted above the door.
The woman laughed and gestured Kate forward. “From your expression, I’ll bet this is your first visit to Club Desire.”