“He likes to hold a grudge. I’m sorry. Should I not have brought you into this?”
He shook it off. Evans would want to desecrate anything that was sacred to Alex, and staying away from him wouldn’t change that. “No. I want in. You’re working for him?”
“I’m tending bar, but I convinced Chazz that what he needs is a Dom in Residence. He doesn’t really understand the whole lifestyle thing. I took him to an actual club in Miami and showed him how they run. He wants someone to come in and run scenes, for entertainment. I’ve convinced him that this is the way to get the big boss to notice him. He’s got some contacts coming next week and he wants to run the idea by them. He’s trying to move up in the organization. From what I understand, all of the men are somewhat curious about the lifestyle. A person who could give them information would likely be quite popular.”
“I’m not going to counsel a bunch of tourists. Especially drug dealing, very likely terrorist tourists.”
“Just run some hot scenes and give the crowd something to talk about.”
Her plan fell into place. “I’m the new Dom in Residence.”
“You’re also my brother,” she said with a grin. “I’m bringing you back with me from Austin. I have all the information for your cover on a thumb drive if you’re interested. And I told them you would bring your own sub. I thought that would make it easier. The more people we can bring in, the safer we’re all going to be.”
Who the hell would he take in as a sub? “Why didn’t you just say I was your old Dom? That would have been simpler.”
Her face screwed into a mask of horror. “Oh, no. You’re going to be expected to have sex with your sub. I can’t have sex with you. That’s just horrible.”
He wasn’t that bad looking. Not that he would have sex with her. “I’m not exactly chopped liver.”
“They think I’m a sweet little lesbian. It was easier that way. Until I met a Domme. She was scary and very aggressive, so now I’m a celibate lesbian because my lover died in a car crash and I can’t get over her.”
That didn’t seem fair. “So you don’t have to have sex, but I do? That’s nice for you.”
She shrugged. “Hey, what can I say? I’m saving myself for someone special. Come on. I’ve done my research on you. You’ve been a Dom for over a decade. You can handle it. And you regularly attend a club called Sanctum. Very private. Very selective.”
“Yes, my partner Ian Taggart and I founded the club when we moved here and started our company. We’re serious lifestylers. The idea of a bunch of tourists playing at D/s in a bar scares the shit out of me.”
Kristen seemed tenacious. “This is the best way to get you in and you know it. Chazz doesn’t need a new bouncer. He needs something different. None of the other clubs have tried this. It’s going to get Evans’s attention. Come on, Alex, you know you want to.”
Alex shook his head. “I don’t know that I’ll be willing to do this. I need to take a look at your research.”
“Of course, you’re careful. But in the end you’ll come back to Florida with me.” She sat back, her smile that of a woman who knew the outcome was certain.
“Florida?”
“St. Augustine to be precise. We’re set up in the Old City. You’ll like it. I’ve got a nice-sized condo in Palm Coast that will function as our base. I’ve been staying in a craptastic apartment in order to look like I need a bartending job, but I can sell you as a wealthy man who just enjoys his kink. But you really do need to bring a sub with you, preferably someone trained in both investigative techniques and the lifestyle. There are a lot of people in and out of that club, and they’re a bit on the scary side. I would be happy to have a couple of people watching my back.”
He was not going there. He was not taking her with him. Fuck no. “I’ll see what I can do, but it might be hard to find a sub who meets your demands.”
She frowned and then looked at him as though she was trying to figure him out. “You work with her every day, Alex. I don’t know that this can happen without your ex-wife.”
He stood up. “Then we’re done here. If I can’t come up with someone and I can’t go in alone, then the whole op is off.”
She held up her hands in supplication. “Whoa, there, big guy. Let’s not jump to conclusions. Take a look at the research and my plan and then make a decision.” She reached into her big bag and pulled out a thumb drive. “Here it is. I’ll be in town all weekend. I would love to bring you back to St. Augustine with me. I promised Chazz I would try to fill the empty positions. He trusts me, but if I don’t he’ll do it himself and I’ll lose out on the chance to put my own people into place.”