Heavy boots hit the wooden floor like gunshots. “Her father threatened to have his friends rape her?”
“Abraham doesn’t threaten. If she hadn’t paid him everything she had at the time, he’d have done exactly that.” The same fury bubbling in Braun’s blood gleamed in Liam’s eyes. “The second time was a few years later. Bodie had enough of handing over her savings and stood up to her mother. Brave of her, considering she’s...not endowed in the confidence department sometimes. She hates confrontation, and her mother thrives on it.”
What the hell kind of family had raised the girl? Braun wondered. They sounded more like monsters than humans. His hand clenched tightly around his soda, hard enough he thought he heard the glass crack. “What happened?”
“Diane’s a hardcore bitch. She’s notorious in the area where we grew up. By the time she was fifteen, she ran her own gang out of her parents’ garage and terrorized the neighborhood for years. Robberies, muggings, assault and battery...you name it, Diane had a hand in it.”
Braun set his drink aside before glass and soda exploded over the spotless bar. His rage was no longer kindling but a roaring wildfire. “Tell me, Liam.”
“Diane ambushed Bodie on her way home from work a few nights later with a few of her old gang buddies. They hacked off her hair, stripped her naked and chained her to a construction site fence. Sliced up her back from nape to ass, spray painted fuck me down her front, and left her. Luckily the site manager arrived earlier than the rest of the crew the next morning, a decent guy who didn’t take advantage of Bodie’s condition. He called the cops and an ambulance. He was still trying to cut the chains when the police arrived, but Bodie wouldn’t talk to them.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t go pay them a visit.” His voice was tight, and he reined his temper in before he did something he’d regret. He hated violence against women—and yes, he was aware of what happened in his club and what he himself did with whichever submissive he played with, but the difference came down to consent.
Liam slapped his cloth down on the bar top and scrubbed his hands roughly over his face. His blond hair was stuck up in spikes and he’d given up shaving since this disaster kicked off, so he sported the makings of a damn fine beard, giving him the appearance of a young Viking warrior. “I offered. Hell, I was frothing at the mouth. But Bodie, she knew what would happen. Just like she knew the consequences of talking to the cops. Even if they locked Abraham and Diane away, they both have connections capable of hurting Bodie on their behalf. I couldn’t take that risk.”
Braun resumed drumming his fingers on the wood. “No, I don’t think I could either. So, you compared your girl to her family which, now you’ve explained a bit more, seems like a sucker punch. I can’t see you knocking boots with a lass who’s anything like what you’ve described, so what made you do it?”
His friend absorbed the hit, then reached for a shot glass and poured a good slug of vodka. “First off, she’s not my girl and we’re not knocking boots as you so eloquently put it. I don’t think Bodie’s been intimate with anyone since she lost her virginity to the neighborhood jackass when she was sixteen. She’s my best friend and, fuck, maybe I have feelings for her that aren’t strictly in the friend zone, but you know my kinks, Braun.”
Okay, Braun thought, we’ll avoid the second half of the question for now. “I’m familiar with them, yes. You’re also a Dominant with a fucking good radar for submissives. Are you telling me she doesn’t possess one iota of submissiveness you can work with?”
Liam downed the shot and eyed the bottle longingly. Knowing Braun’s rules for drinking and playing, he dutifully set his glass in the dishwasher and returned the bottle to its shelf. “She’d submit. I know she would; it’s been programmed into her for years. I just don’t know if she’d enjoy it in this context. There’s a lot of anger buried deep inside that sweet girl, a lot of issues. Her father’s prejudices have taken root to some degree and when she’s nervous or afraid, she lashes out with the same crap that spews from his mouth. It’s the reason why I didn’t tell her where I work or what I am. It’s what I used to hurt her.”
“Did you want to hurt her?”
His friend paused, his glum expression turning thoughtful. It pleased Braun that he hadn’t immediately denied his intentions, whatever they were, but that he was taking the time to consider the possibilities before answering. It was that kind of thinking that made Liam an asset not only to Braun’s working team, but to the Dominant force within the club.
“No, I didn’t say it to hurt her,” he said slowly. “She asked me if I was ashamed of this place, of being what I am, because I hadn’t told her about any of this. I just wanted to explain why I thought she wasn’t ready and...shit, I wasn’t trying to be cruel.”
Braun thought of the slim little female he’d come across on the street corner. The lass had expressive eyes. A little fearful, fascinatingly blue, and sad down to the soul. He’d seen the weight of the world dangling in that unhappy gaze. “If it was said without malice, you stand a chance of righting it, boy.”
“She doesn’t want to talk to me.”
Braun grunted. “You’re a Dom, Liam. You’ve earned your stripes on the battlefield of men and women; you know how to deal with a stubborn woman. If she doesn’t want to talk, you make her fucking listen.”
A laugh rumbled free. “Sneaky, boss.”
He lifted one broad shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “Been called worse.”
“I bet.”
Braun frowned as his phone signaled a security alert. The doors were unlocked as both he and Liam were inside the club, but he’d left the alerts on so he knew who was on the property in the hours before official opening.
He’d renovated the small farm on the outskirts of Phoenix to his exact specifications. The farmhouse was his personal space and off limits to members, but the rest of the farm was utilized for play purposes. With three buildings and five acres of land designed to keep his clientele happy, he’d had a lot of fun—and frustrations—coming up with fresh ideas.
Like the corn maze in summer. Setting the subbies loose with a headstart into the sheer acreage of twisting corridors and dead ends was great fun, especially when it was booby-trapped with a whole host of Dominants on the inside and a team of pursuing Masters on the submissives’ heels.
Being thirty minutes outside the city limits meant very few visitors just popped by on a whim. Privacy and member safety were his top priority.
“Want me to go check it out?” Liam asked, recognizing the alert.
Braun smiled and wondered if his errand earlier that day had paid off already. He ran his tongue over his teeth and shook his head. “Nope. Door’s open if they want to come in.” He glanced around idly. Most of the hardcore equipment was in the other barns, although there were a few questionable items of BDSM furniture in here if someone looked carefully enough. “The other areas are still locked up tight. If we’ve got a snoop, they won’t find anything to write home about.”
“Your call.” Liam picked up his cloth and resumed polishing the remaining glasses still waiting for attention. “Thanks for the talk, Braun. Maybe I’ll pay Bodie a visit tomorrow.”