Evangeline shook her head. “Not me.”
Eckert turned back to the video and looked closer. While twirling a chunk of his beard, he said, “She looks kinda familiar. Could be this chick that came in a bunch of times with some big-ass Russian dude with a shaved head. They were into ropes. What the hell was his name?” Eckert drained his glass. “Nothing comes to mind. He got fucked up one night and my DM tossed him out. She shows up a week later with this older dude, only she changed her hair from platinum blonde to dark brown, like in the video.”
“Are you sure?” Sin asked.
“Pretty sure. I recognize that mole on her tit. I got a thing for tits and she was stacked.”
Evangeline checked the video. “What mole?”
Eckert pointed to a small dark spot. “I remember she had these big ass…what are they called?”
“Nipples,” Sin replied dryly.
Evangeline bit back a laugh.
“No, the thing around them,” Eckert said.
“Areolas?” she asked before exchanging glances with Sin.
“Yeah, that’s it.” Eckert shrugged. “Most people remember a pretty face. I remember boobs.”
Sin pushed out of the booth. “How ‘bout introducing us to your dungeon monitor?”
They followed Eckert into one of the smaller rooms. A man was engaged in rope bondage with another man, who was suspended from the ceiling. Eckert whispered to a heavily tattooed man and he stepped away from the scene.
“What’s the word?” asked the dungeon monitor.
“Do you remember the big, Russian dude you threw out?”
The DM pursed his lips. “Kinda, maybe. I toss people out every weekend.”
“He was always with a blonde, big titties. She liked being suspended by ropes. They came in here a bunch of times.”
He furrowed his brow. “Didn’t she go by Rave?”
Eckert smiled, revealing a mouthful of crooked, yellowed teeth. “Yeah, that’s her.”
Sin handed the dungeon monitor a crisp fifty. “Can you tell us anything else about the blonde?”
“She didn’t say much, but I’m pretty sure she had a Russian accent, too. I remember she was really into the big dude. Those two were all over each other. After I kicked him out, she came back with some suit. She wasn’t into him. No rope play. They used a private room. They played here once, maybe twice.” He paused. “We good?”
“No,” Sin replied. “We’re not.”
The three of them entered Eckert’s shoebox-sized office. What a shithole. Eckert cleared a stack of porn movies off the sofa before leaning his ass against the back of his desk. Neither Sin nor Evangeline sat.
“I heard you’re getting shut down,” Sin said.
“I let some underage kids in and they drank. Fake ID cards bit me in the ass.”
“I can make it so you don’t get shut down. But first, you’re going to give me full access to your database. I need to find this Rave woman.”
“You a cop?”
“I’m a fixer. I make problems go away.”
“Yeah, man. Make it happen.” He opened his laptop and began typing. “Password is Kinky Times. No spaces.” He pushed out of the squeaky chair, extended his hand and Sin shook it.
“See ya, doll,” Eckert said to Evangeline.
When Eckert left, Sin called Dakota. “Need your help.”
“It’s New Year’s Eve. I’m at The Dungeon and I’m ten minutes from getting laid.”
Silence.
“For Christ’s sakes, Sin.”
After telling him what he needed, Dakota said, “I’ll make a few calls. Give me an hour.”
“Happy New Year.”
“Fuck you.”
On a chuckle, Sin hung up. Evangeline was already in the database, her fingers flying over the keyboard.
Knock-knock-knock.
Sin opened the door.
A server stood there with two flutes and a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket. “A gift from Mr. Eckert.”
Rather than invite the young man in, Sin took the items, tipped the kid, and closed the door. He popped the cork, poured two glasses, and slid one over to Evangeline. That’s when he realized it was five minutes ‘til midnight.
“Evan.”
She stopped typing. “I’m not finding anything.”
He pulled up a slow song on his playlist. “Let’s start the New Year right. Dance with me.”
As she rose, her expression softened. They found a spot in the middle of the cluttered floor. He drew her into his arms and held her like she was already his.
She leaned up and kissed him, letting her soft, sexy mouth linger on his. “I like that we’re helping each other out.” He loved how she whispered in his ear, how the timbre of her voice comforted him, yet riled him at the same time.
As they moved in time to the music, he pressed his lips against her forehead. She smelled so good…and so familiar.
“It means a lot to me that we’re taking care of each other.” So much emotion flashed across her face. Fear and uncertainty, but he glimpsed hope, too. “I’ve never had that before,” she continued. “I don’t rely on people. I’m not just independent, I’m closed off.”
She grew quiet.
The music swirled around them while they danced close. Their connection was so much more than physical.
“This isn’t just a work thing,” he said, peering into her eyes. “We’re fighting this, but there’s something going on.”
“I’ve been trying to keep you at arm’s length. But…I, I can’t…anymore. I just can’t.”
The sounds of cheers and noisemakers floated through the club and into the office. “Happy New Year.” He tightened his hold and kissed her. Soft fingers slipped into his hair and she caressed the back of his neck. When the kiss ended, she didn’t let go, didn’t break away. This time, she stayed. As he breathed in her delicious scent, the answer came to him.
She’s the one.
Then, she kissed him with such ferocity that a growl shot out of him, the passion and need hitting him full on.
“We’ve got this,” he said, though he didn’t have a clue how to navigate through it. Love meant loss and abandonment. Love meant living in fear. Love meant leaving.
“You might think you’ve got this,” she caressed his jawline, “but you’re grinding the hell out of your teeth.”
“Let’s finish what we came to do, then get the hell out of here. We need to welcome in the New Year with you screaming my name while I make you writhe with pleasure beneath me.”
“Oh, God, yes.”
They spent over an hour combing through Eckert’s database, but there was no record of a woman named Rave ever having been there. The champagne was long gone, and Sin’s shoulders ached. He pushed out of the chair. “I’m going to check the place out. Come with me.”
“You go. I’ll catch you in a bit.”
Sin’s club was successful because he knew his members. He spoke with them, counseled them, and offered them suggestions for expanding their kink or playing with a different partner. The only way he was going to find Rave was to ask around.