I’ve only been at Ronin’s for a few days, but one would think I’ve been gone for a month with the amount of laundry I need to swap out. Besides the vast amount of laundry, I’ve also let dishes pile up in the sink and the house is a bit of a wreck. It wouldn’t be so bad if Ronin wasn’t coming over later. He’s never been to my place, and compared to his immaculate house, my apartment seems kinda dumpy, but he insisted that we spend time at my place tonight...

And who am I to argue with my new Dom?

It sounds funny to even think about Ronin in that way. But the truth is, I find myself even more drawn to him as a master figure than I ever could have as the mild doctor I met in his office. Especially when it comes to the bedroom. Over the past few nights since Mitchell’s suicide, he’s been right there, helping me work through the feelings of guilt I have. And even though I still maintain a pang of responsibility for what happened, it’s been wonderful to release myself into Ronin’s care.

It’s even more than amazing sex.

It’s really the therapy I’ve needed for a long time. An escape from the circumstances around me so my inner self can deal with what happened while my physical being basks in the control that Ronin provides. While I know it isn’t truly my fault that Mitchell decided to take his life, I can’t help feeling like if I hadn’t been spread so thin that night, or if I had prioritized better, I could have gotten to him before his demons did.

Still, I know Ronin is right when he says I can’t continue to blame myself. I can’t control everything around me, even if I want to. I should only worry about the things in my control. Suddenly, I find myself laughing as I swap clothes from the washer to the dryer in my laundry closet. My thoughts make me think I should be at an AA meeting somewhere. Isn’t that part of the serenity prayer? Accepting the things I cannot change?

Grabbing a nearby pile of towels, I toss them in the washer and start the next cycle of laundry. Then, I groan and tackle the kitchen. It’s a huge mess, and I’m considering whether we should order pizza for dinner or get Chinese delivery. By the time I clean out the fridge, I’m left with a few bottles of beer and a tub of butter.

Cooking is out of the question because I don’t feel like going shopping. Besides, I’m hoping Ronin and I don’t spend too much time eating...at least not food. Although, anything is possible. I don’t keep any toys at my place because this is a new world to me. But Ronin mentioned that he’d be coming prepared. Whenever he used to come to The Vault, he’d always have a bag slung across his shoulder with his props.

With any luck, he’ll bring it with him tonight and introduce me to something new. This new aspect of my personality is something I’m quickly becoming addicted to. Each time with Ronin is something new and exciting. I don’t ever want it to stop.

I snatch a dish towel from the bottom drawer of my cabinet and begin drying the dishes I’ve washed. Once I have them all put away, I begin the task of tidying up the rest of the house, making certain to change the sheets on my bed. I don’t want Ronin’s first night at my place to be on the smelly sheets I’ve been sleeping in for the past few weeks.

I’m in the middle of fighting the fitted sheet to stay on one corner when the sound of my phone ringing in the living room causes me to give up. I toss the sheet in the air with an exasperated grunt and head toward the sound of the dinging.

A smile tugs at my lips as I answer. “Rainier, my man. What’s going on?”

“Hey, Johnny...”

“Well, this sounds ominous. Do I need to sit down?” I try to chuckle, but Rainier’s tone has me worried.

“You might want to. I shouldn’t be telling you this, so you’ve got to help me keep this on the down-low, okay?”

Rainier is one of the smartest son-of-a-bitches I know when it comes to computers, and he’s been there more than once to help me and Tanner with some sticky situations. But he’s also known for his deep connections in the underground. When we need work done that’s not completely legal, he’s our guy. So, whatever he’s nervous about telling me must be pretty bad if he’s breaking the trust of a client. “Absolutely, man. You know I’ve got your back.”

“About a week ago, I was hired for a job to unencrypt some hard drives.”

“Okay.” I sit down on my couch and wait for the bomb to drop.

“I dug into the drives today and started pulling out the data. Once I had them unencrypted, I was supposed to destroy any evidence of certain videos that showed up.”

“And...” I can only imagine where this is going.

“I found the footage they wanted destroyed, and I immediately recognized a few people.”

“Fuck. Who?”

“A couple guys from The Vault. At first, I wasn’t sure, but then I recognized Mateo, Jason, and Damon. There are other guys I don’t know, but they’re all with the same guy. I don’t know the Dom, but he got a little rough in some of the videos...”

“Do you mind sending them to me?”

“Yeah, of course. But, you didn’t get them from me.”

“Do you know why someone wanted these videos destroyed?” I grab my laptop and wait for Rainier’s email to come in with a download link. He uses a secure drop site for me to grab files, so I log in and then wait for the ding of my email program, which lets me know that I’ve received his secure message.

“I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing the person who hired me is in one of these videos. It’s probably easier for them to destroy them all than to ask me to find someone in particular. You know how it is. I just take the money and do what’s asked of me. But if The Vault’s involved, I thought you and Tanner would want to know. I can’t imagine it has anything to do with your place in particular. But I wanted you to know…”

“But the one constant...”

“It’s the same Dom.” Rainier clicks away at his keyboard as I wait for his message. “Okay, you should have it any second now.”

The familiar chime comes a moment later, so I click on the link that takes me into the secure program I’ve logged into and drag the video files to my desktop. I open the first one and watch in shock as a room at The Vault is displayed. Not that I didn’t believe Rainier, but to see it with my own eyes is shocking. Somehow, that makes it more real. We don’t always know what’s going on inside the rooms, and technically, there isn’t a policy against recording sessions if everyone consents. My breath hitches as Jason’s slender form comes into view then he kneels on the floor in front of the bed.

And then my heart stops when Ronin comes into view and takes command of Jason the way he takes command of me.

Just a few minutes pass before the two of them begin to fuck.

A part of me feels a twinge of jealousy knowing that Jason has been with Ronin, but I have to remember that the reason he and I are even together is because of The Vault. So, I can’t fault Ronin for the guys he’s been with in the past.

“They’re all the same guy, you say?”

“Yeah, man. You know this guy?”

I find myself nodding my head, even though no one is around to see me. “Yeah, he’s a client. I don’t know what’s going on, but thanks for letting me know.”

“Like I said, you didn’t hear it from me.”

“Hear what?” I ask with a coy smile.

Rainier laughs and then hangs up, leaving me to my thoughts. Why would someone want to find and erase videos of Ronin and his subs? I had no idea Ronin even recorded his sessions.

Obviously, if Ronin is in each of them, these must have been from his computers...

A panic takes over me as I put two and two together… The break-ins. Ronin had at least one computer stolen, didn’t he? And the fact that someone is paying top dollar to Rainer to destroy videos that were obviously created and stored by Ronin makes me think his break-ins weren’t so random after all.

I grab my phone from where I dropped it on the coffee table and dial Ronin’s number.

“Pickup, pickup...” Unfortunately, Ronin’s voicemail picks up instead. It’s all I can do not to scream into the phone. What if he’s in trouble? He’s supposed to be coming over in a few hours, so he might still be at work. I try calling him there, but when Amber answers my call, she informs me that Dr. Cree left early and won’t be back until after the weekend.

My body is tense with fear because I need to find him.

This could all be a big misunderstanding, but what if it’s not? I try calling again, but he still doesn’t answer. And while common sense tells me he’s probably just in the shower, I can’t let it go until I see him with my own two eyes.

So I do what my instinct tells me to do and grab my keys off the entryway table then race out the door to find Ronin.