Chapter Eight

 

Declan strolled into the emergency room the next morning and looked for Jillian. He’d given her a day, but he wasn’t going to let this go. They had too good a connection for him to just let her run.

He spotted Jillian’s assistant by the nurse’s station. The second her eyes caught his, she put one hand on her hip, turned to face him, and shook her head.

Declan walked over and leaned an elbow on the high counter. “Why no?” he asked. “I haven’t even asked you anything yet.”

“I know why you’re here,” she said softly, keeping her voice low. “She was a wreck last night, Mas…Declan. Of all things, why did you have to be an F.B.I. agent?”

Declan frowned and shrugged. “It’s what I do. What’s so bad about that?”

Deanne looked around then stepped closer. “Jillian used to be engaged to a police officer. They’d dated since college. Three years ago, he was shot in the line of duty. Jillian was the only surgeon available the night they brought him in.”

Declan sighed and dragged his hand down his face.

“She tried everything she could to save him, but the bullet had hit an artery and he’d just lost too much blood. She was devastated.”

“Damn,” Declan murmured, now understanding why F.B.I. agent was so bad. At least in Jillian’s eyes.

“Combine that with losing both her parents in a car accident two years before that and well…I’m lucky if I can get her to agree to a one night stand every now and again, much less a relationship. She’s terrified of falling for someone and losing them. You being a F.B.I. agent almost guarantees your life is in danger on a daily basis.”

“Yeah, I get it,” he murmured.

Deanne bit her lip and leaned in. “Is it true someone is murdering doms?”

Declan sighed. “Yes, but keep that to yourself, Deanne.”

“Shouldn’t they know?” she asked.

“We’ve taken care of that. The senior doms know and we’ve started a rule that no one leaves the club alone, even doms.”

“A buddy system of sorts?” Deanne asked.

“Yes.” Declan twisted his lips briefly. “Since you’re aware, how well do you know Chloe?”

She frowned. “Chloe? The really tall submissive?”

Declan nodded.

“Not very well, I’m afraid. I know she’s a masochist, or at least must be considering the doms she plays with. Are those the doms that have been murdered?” she asked.

Declan put his finger over his lips.

“Oh, my god,” she whispered. “Do you think she has something to do with it?”

Declan shook his head and patted his hand on the air, indicating should tone it down. “She was the last submissive to play with them. That’s all. I just wanted to talk with her and see if maybe she saw or heard something the last night they were at the club.”

Deanne seemed to calm down and gave a nod. “I’ll keep an eye out for her.”

“Don’t say anything to her about this. Just let me know when you see her.”

Deanne gave another nod. “For what it’s worth,” she said. “I was rooting for you.”

Declan wagged a finger. “I haven’t given up yet.”

Deanne’s lips twitched. “She’s not gonna like that.”

He leaned in closer and smiled. “I don’t care.”

Her grin widened. “Just like a dom.”

“Damn straight,” he said as he turned and headed back outside.

He knew she was afraid of loss, but the law enforcement situation was something he hadn’t counted on. He would need to think about his next move, but he definitely wasn’t giving up.

 

Jillian walked up to the nurse’s station and set her Ipad on the counter. She frowned at the man leaving with a determined stride. His stride, the width of his shoulders, and his ass was unmistakable. “Was that Declan?”

Deanne turned and raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think you cared about him anymore.”

“I never said I didn’t care about him, I just didn’t want to see him.”

“Well, good thing you missed him, then.”

Deanne took the Ipad and opened one of the patient’s files.

“What did he want?” Jillian asked.

Without looking up, Deanne asked, “Would it bother you if I said he came to see if I would be at the club later?”

Jillian’s eyes narrowed toward her friend. “That’s not funny, Deanne.”

Deanne turned her head toward her. “Would it?” she asked stubbornly.

Jillian shrugged, putting on a show of indifference. “No.”

“Liar.”

Jillian sighed, “Deanne.”

“He came looking for you.”

Jillian closed her eyes, and tried to slow the beating of her heart. Even though she didn’t want to see him anymore, the idea that he would still seek her out had her heart racing.

She frowned. “Why?”

Deanne rolled her eyes. “Oh give me a break. You know why.”

Yeah, she probably did know why. He wasn’t going to give up. Jillian shook her head. “I can’t.”

“You won’t. There’s a difference.”

“Okay, fine. I won’t.”

Deanne shook her head and pushed away from the counter. “For someone so smart you’re incredibly stupid.”

“Deanne, please don’t.”

“No,” her friend said in a surprisingly sharp tone. Stepping closer, Deanne spoke softly. “I have stood back and watched you push people away, building a wall around you no one can penetrate. It’s gone on long enough. You have something with Declan and he cares enough to keep trying. Don’t blow this because you’re afraid.”

“He’s an F.B.I. agent,” Jillian argued.

“And you’re a surgeon. So what? Yes, he could get shot, but you could walk out those doors and get hit by a damn bus, especially with the way people drive around here.”

Jillian snorted, but otherwise didn’t respond.

“Shawn was shot just walking down the street.”

“I know,” Jillian mumbled as she picked at her nails.

Deanne was right, but it still didn’t mean she would give in.

“I love you. You know that, but I’m not going to stand by and keep quiet while you throw away what could be a great thing. Wouldn’t it be better to have a great love for a few years than to not have one at all?”

Jillian turned to stare at her friend with tears in her eyes. “I had one.”

“And now you could potentially have a second chance at another.” Deanne spread her arms and sighed. “I would give my eye teeth to have a chance at just one.”

“You will, Deanne,” Jillian said softly.

“Yes. I will,” her friend responded firmly. She pointed the corner of the Ipad at Jillian. “Don’t walk away from this.”

Jillian watched her friend walk down the hall and wondered if maybe she was right. Had she over-reacted to Declan’s job? Was she being stupid? Could they really have something or was the sex so good it screwed up all her other emotions? With a sigh, she turned and leaned her elbows on the counter.

“Do you need something, Dr. Drance?” a nurse asked.

Jillian glanced up and watched the nurse stand by her chair, waiting for her reply. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she hadn’t even heard her come up.

“No, sorry.” She pushed up and tapped her hand on the counter. “I was just taking a breather.”

She smiled softly. “You’ve been at it all night. Maybe take a nap in the on-call room.”

Jillian nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”

She started down the hall toward the small room at the back of the E.R. As tired as she was, it was doubtful she’d get any sleep. She had too much to think about.

 

* * * *

Declan took his cell phone back from Paul and slipped it into his pocket. They’d put tracking devices in all the phones of the sadists at the club. Even though Declan wasn’t a sadist, Paul had insisted all the agents working the case get one as well. It gave everyone piece of mind to know they would be tracked. The only problem they hadn’t worked out yet, was how to know when someone went missing.

If they were knocked out, they wouldn’t be able to activate the ping on their phone. Would it be too much trouble to have everyone check in daily with their itinerary? Would they baulk at that? Even if it meant it might save their lives?

“I’m surprised everyone agreed to this,” Paul said with a slight grin. “Usually people scream at being watched so closely.”

Declan sat in the leather chair behind Daniel’s office desk at the club. “Yeah, well. Most people aren’t targets of a sick serial killer.”

This office had become ground zero. Agents had set computers up to keep tabs on the doms. It was a large office, but the amount of agents that had moved in made it seem much smaller. When everyone was in here, it became way too tight and crowded, especially for Declan. He hated tight spaces. Had ever since he was young and his father would lock him in the bedroom closet for being bad, for getting a low grade on a test, or just for the hell of it.

The small room Shawn occupied behind the kitchen often bothered Declan, but Shawn had insisted the room was fine. It was better than anything he’d had before. That had hit Declan right in the chest. The room was only big enough for a twin bed and dresser, but Declan had made sure it was a comfortable, had nice sheets and blankets, and had even gotten him a nice TV, DVD player, and gaming system.

Shawn had insisted he didn’t have to do that, but Declan was glad he had. They’d spent a lot of fun hours playing those games and watching movies. Once he graduated, Declan would take him to Washington, let him spend the summer exploring the capitol before heading off to college.

At the thought of leaving the Quarter, his mind turned to Jillian. Would she go to Washington if he asked? He sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. It was way too early to even think about that. They hadn’t even been out on a date yet. Not a real one, anyway, and right now, he wasn’t even sure he would be able to get her to say yes.

Her fear of his job was a big obstacle to overcome, if he would be able to at all.

“Do you need something for that headache?” Paul asked.

Declan glanced at him through his lashes. He’d actually forgotten Paul was here. He dropped his hand and leaned his head back against the chair. “I took something earlier. Didn’t help.”

“This case is bothering you.”

Declan snorted. “Thanks for stating the obvious, Paul. You know…He’s angry, but why? What’s the motive behind this?”

“You still think it’s a man?”

Declan shook his head in frustration. “We know the victims had sedatives in their system, so they were drugged and unconscious. I can’t see a woman being able to do this. Not alone. Some of those doms were pretty big guys. Not fat, but muscular. Can you see the average woman being able to get one of them strapped onto a table or into an iron X?”

“It would be tough, but who’s to say the woman is average?”

“You still think it’s a woman,” Declan said as he dragged his fingers over his lips and chin.

“That’s what makes the most sense to me.”

“Yeah, but these things don’t always make sense. Women aren’t serial killers.”

Paul held up a finger. “Yes, serial killers are usually men, but there have been some women.”

“Women don’t usually kill like this. They’re not this brutal.”

“You never met my ex-wife,” Paul said dryly.

Declan chuckled for the first time since Jillian had stormed out of the club. “Fair enough.”

“We’ve got a few hours before the club opens,” Paul said. “I’m going to head out and get something to eat. The coroner says time of death was before noon on all the bodies, which means he’s probably taking them late at night after they leave the club.”

“I would agree,” Declan said as he began to swivel the chair back and forth.

Paul left and Declan turned the chair to stair out the office window toward the pool. He had time to kill as well. Maybe he should try to see Jillian again. She’d worked the night shift last night. Would she be awake now, or would she be sleeping?

There was a lock on the gate at her apartment, so he wouldn’t be able to get to her door and he didn’t know her phone number. He could check the club files. She had to fill out paperwork the night she came.

Declan shook his head, deciding against it. Daniel had allowed him access to look for Chloe’s information, so he wouldn’t go in again just to get Jillian’s. That would be wrong.

“Hey, Declan,” Paul called from down the hall. “Someone’s here to see you.”

Declan turned the chair around and frowned. Who was it? “Be right there.”

He pushed from his seat and headed down the hall toward the front door. As he entered the entry hall, he stopped in surprise. Jillian stood in the middle of the room, anxiously twisting her finger. She stared at the playroom and bit her lip, so while her attention was briefly somewhere else, he stared at her profile.

She was so damn adorable. Her hair was pinned up in a messy bun and two pearl earrings dangled from her ear lobes. She wore a pair of faded jeans that fit her like a glove and a blue sleeveless tunic that matched her eyes perfectly.

“So, you came back,” he said.

She jumped in surprise and put her hand over her heart.

“I didn’t meant to startle you,” he said softly.

“I should have been paying attention.” She lowered her hand and took one step toward him. “I wanted to apologize for how I stormed out of here the other day.”

Declan leaned his elbow on the counter and watched her with curiosity. He wanted to close the distance and kiss her, but he also had a feeling if he moved too quickly she would run like a scared kitten.

“Apology accepted.”

She licked her lips and gave a nod. “Good.” She pointed over her shoulder. “I should probably—“

“Have dinner with me.”

Her eyes widened slightly as she dropped her hand. “Excuse me?”

“Have dinner with me,” he repeated and smiled his most charming smile.

“Dinner?”

“Yeah. You know…a meal, usually eaten in the evening.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know what dinner is, thank you.”

He pushed away from the counter and walked closer. “Its just dinner, Jillian. Just talking. I promise I won’t tie you to a chair and have my way with you.”

Jillian’s lips twitched and a spark of devilment brightened her eyes. “Well, if you’re not going to tie me to a chair…”

“Well now, if you want to be tied to something,” he drawled.

Jillian held up her finger. “Dinner, Romeo.”

Declan winced. “Romeo? I prefer master.”

Jillian snorted. “I have no doubt. Master,” she scoffed and Declan turned slightly, hiding his grin. “Who even came up with that, anyway? And what woman agrees to it?”

“Your friend does,” he replied as he held the front door open.

Jillian twisted her lips as she walked through it. “Don’t remind me.”

They started walking down the street toward one of Declan’s favorite restaurants a block or so down. “I agree that some doms take advantage of their submissives, but I’m not one of them. If you don’t like master then your highness will be perfectly fine.”

She glanced at him sideways, a slight smile playing at her lips. “Your highness? Really?”

He shrugged. “What can I say? I have lofty aspirations. It’s always been a dream of mine to be referred to as royalty.”

Jillian laughed and he smiled at the sound. “The prince of sex.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Just a prince?”

“Oh, you prefer king?” she asked.

“Well, if I’m going to be a royal…”

Jillian smiled and shook her head as she came to a stop in front of a restaurant. She pointed at it and asked, “Is here okay? I’ve been told they have amazing jambalaya and I would kill for some right about now.”

Declan nodded and opened the door for her. “I can actually attest to that.”

“Perfect,” she said as she walked past him and smiled.

The waiter led them to a table out back in the courtyard where they each ordered a drink. Jillian ordered water with lemon and Declan ordered a beer along with jambalaya for both of them.

“So how did you get into the F.B.I.?” she asked.

He lifted one shoulder as he took a sip of his beer. “I applied.”

Jillian’s lips thinned in disapproval. “That’s not what I meant.”

He chuckled and set his glass down. “I know what you meant. I decided as a child that’s what I wanted to do. I didn’t have the greatest childhood so, I wanted to be like those agents I saw on television who charged in and saved the day. I wanted to be the hero instead of the victim.”

Jillian frowned. “In a way that’s sad.”

“Not sad, really. Empowering. I worked my ass off. Got good grades, got scholarships to college. I was determined to make a better life for myself and I did.”

“So did you become the hero?” she asked.

Declan slid his finger around the rim of his glass as his mind traveled back to some of his earliest cases. “In the beginning I worked cases involving children. After about three, they started to get to me. We lost the next two. I thought I had it bad as a kid. What I went through was a drop in the bucket compared to some of the crazy shit that’s out there.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “I changed departments before I ended up doing something stupid like killing someone.”

Jillian reached out and placed her hand over his. He turned his hand, capturing her fingers in his and rubbed his thumb over her soft skin. The waiter chose that moment to walk up with their meal. With an inward sigh of frustration, Declan let go of her hand and sat back.

“Thank you,” they said in unison, as their food was set before them.

Jillian drew in a deep breath and smiled. “This smells wonderful. Thank you for stopping here.”

“Not a problem.” He grinned. “I’m a dom. It’s my job to see my submissive gets what she wants, in or out of the bedroom.”

She chewed her bite thoughtfully, but Declan didn’t miss the spark of mischief that shone on her eyes. “So basically you would spoil me rotten?”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” he asked.

“And what do you get out of the deal?”

“A very grateful submissive,” he drawled playfully.

Jillian smiled and shook her head as she took another bite. After she swallowed, she said. “Seriously. What do you get?”

He shrugged again. “I’m not really looking to get anything out of it. The submissives happiness is my happiness, just like any other type of relationship. All I ask in return is, of course loyalty, meaning no cheating.”

“That goes with any relationship,” she said with a nod.

“She would need to trust me. Be honest. Supportive.”

She twirled her fork. “So basically the same as everyone else.”

“Yeah,” he said with a nod as he finished chewing his bite. “Some dom-sub relationships go deeper. Some doms want to be able to control every aspect of their submissives lives and some submissives need that control, but I never took it quite that far. I prefer a woman who’s a little more independent.”

“How did you even get into this?” she asked.

“College.”

She frowned. “Did you take a class in it or something?”

Declan laughed. “Actually there are classes on it.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” she drawled.

“You make it sound like it’s some kind of wild kink, when in reality it’s not. There is probably more honesty in a BDSM relationship than there is in any other. Communication is a big factor in this lifestyle. How many other relationships, even ones that have been going on for years, have that kind of openness and honesty?”

“I agree,” she replied. “I know couples who never talk about sex. Even my fiancé and…”

She stopped talking and took another bite of her food.

“It’s okay, Jillian. You can talk about him. I know he died.”

She frowned. “How did you…Deanne?”

Declan nodded. “I went by the hospital after you stormed out. She told me.”

Jillian sighed and pushed her food around her plate.

“She was only trying to help,” he said softly.

“I know,” Jillian said. “I still miss him, but…it’s different now. I swore I would never get involved with another cop and well…” She waved her fork. “Here we are.”

Declan smiled slightly, but it faded. “I can’t promise you I won’t get shot at some point just like you can’t promise you won’t get hit by a car. No one knows what the future holds so you have to live life for today. If my job has taught me nothing else, it’s taught me that.”

“I know,” she said softly. “It’s still scary, though. Most people avoid the crazy and dangerous. Your job is to seek it out.”

“That’s fair,” he said with a nod. “But I seek it very carefully.”

“Have you ever been shot?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Not once. Shot at,” he added. “But never hit. Plus I wear a vest, so I’m protected.”

Jillian frowned. “My fiancé had on a vest. The bullet went under his arm and into his chest. They’re not one hundred percent.”

“True. A bullet could hit me in the head or the leg and slice an artery, making me bleed to death. Any number of things could happen. I’ve learned to accept it. The question is, can you?”

“I want to,” she admitted quietly. “But I don’t know.”

Declan leaned his elbows on the table and moved closer to he could whisper. “I promise the sex will make it worth it.”

Jillian’s lips twitched as she stared at him. She snickered and looked toward the fountain in the center of the courtyard before bringing her gaze back to his. “I’m not disputing that,” she said.

“So let’s talk about you for a while,” Declan said as he sat back, allowing her time to think about things. “How did you become a doctor?”

“I went to school,” she replied, mimicking his answer from earlier.

He glanced around, a wicked smile on his face. “You know, the courtyard is not very crowded—“

“Don’t even,” she said pointing her fork at him.

Declan chuckled, but didn’t continue with his remark. His mind pictured it, though. Her bent over his table, his hand slapping her ass while he slid his cock balls deep into her tight walls.

Focus on what she’s saying, idiot.

“I always wanted to go into medicine from the time I was a little girl. When I was in medical school, surgery became the primary interest. While I was an intern, my focus shifted to trauma. I was good at it. I could think fast on my feet and sometimes you have to. Kids are hard, though. Sometimes in the emergency room you have to do things that hurt them in order to stabilize them. It’s hard to do that to kids, sometimes.”

“I can imagine,” Declan said as he nodded in agreement.

“Deanne wanted to go to medical school as well, but her family couldn’t afford it, so she went to nursing school. Once I got my residency, I offered to help her through the additional school to become a physician’s assistant if she would go to work for me after. She agreed and we’ve been together ever since.”

Declan smiled slightly. “You were a good friend.”

“Maybe. What I didn’t tell her is that I would’ve helped her whether she worked for me or not. She’d done so much for me throughout my whole life, I thought helping her with that was the least I could do. She loves the operating room as much as I do.”

“Any brothers and sisters?” he asked.

“No. You?”

He shook his head. “Thank god. I would hate to think of my father treating a younger brother or sister the way he treated me. I probably wouldn’t have ended up where I am now because I would’ve been too focused on taking the heat for the younger ones.”

“Declan, that’s terrible,” she murmured. “What about your mom?”

Declan sighed and pushed his mostly empty plate back a bit. “She stayed drunk most of the time.” He waved his hand. “Let’s change the subject.”

Jillian gave a nod. “Agreed. Any leads of this person you’re looking for?”

“Maybe,” he said. “We found one thing the doms all had in common, now we’re just trying to figure out how that fits in.”

“Do victims always have something in common?”

“Yes. There’s always a common denominator. A reason those victims are chosen.”

“So it’s about motive,” she said.

“Yes. It’s always about motive. If you can figure that out, it will often lead you to the killer.”

The waiter walked up. “Will this be separate checks or together?” he asked.

Jillian said, “Separate.”

Declan said, “Together.”

She glanced at Declan and laughed. Declan smiled and looked at the waiter. “Together.”

The waiter nodded and turned to get their check.

“Thank you for dinner,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you for agreeing to come with me.”

The waiter handed the check to Declan who passed it right back to him along with his credit card.

As he walked away, Jillian leaned forward and teased. “And you didn’t even have to tie me up to get me here.”

“Oh, I could still tie you up,” Declan said with a grin.

The waiter came back and their teasing stopped for the moment. Declan signed the receipt, left a cash tip and then pushed his chair back.

“Ready to head back?” he asked.

She glanced at her watch and frowned. “I actually have to get to the hospital.”

Declan nodded and walked her out to the sidewalk.

She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going to catch a bus on Canal. It’ll be faster than trying to get my car out of here with all this traffic.”

Declan glanced at the stop and go line of cars and nodded. “Agreed.”

She stepped closer and whispered, “Can I have a rain check on the ropes?”

Declan glanced down at her, slightly surprised. He gripped her chin and tilted it up further, holding it still as he bent down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Just say the word,” he murmured.

“What’s the word?” she asked.

He moved his mouth to her ear and felt her sigh against his neck. “Master,” he whispered.

She pulled back and looked up at him. There was a playful light in her eyes that made his cock twitch almost painfully. He liked this side of her. Although in truth, he hadn’t seen a side of her yet he didn’t like.

“Good night, Mr. Reed,” she said with a smile.

Declan grinned. “See you soon,” he replied.

She smiled and bit her lip as she turned to head quickly down Bourbon toward Canal. Declan stood for a moment and watched her, his mind already working on just what he would do with those ropes.

His phone vibrated and he pulled it from his pocket. A message from Paul flashed on the screen.

Forensics needs us to come by the morgue.

They may have found the killer’s DNA.

 

Declan raised an eyebrow. Finally some good news.

 

Heading to the club to get my car. Meet you there.

 

He hit send and then slid his phone back in his pocket and headed back to the club. He turned down the alley, instead of going through the club. It would be faster. He pulled his key fob from his pocket and hit the unlock button. His car beeped and the lights flashed, indicating the doors were now open and his seat would adjust to his preferred settings. Just as he was about to round the back bumper to the driver’s side a sharp prick stabbed at his neck.

He winced and raised his hand, wondering if he’d been stung by something. The alley began to spin and he stumbled against the side of the car. What the hell? A shadow moved across the car and Declan would’ve been alarmed if not for the sedative quickly working it’s way through his system.

Putting his hands against the side of his car, he tried to push himself up, to fight against the sluggish movements of his body. Unfortunately, the sedative was too strong. He’d be out in seconds. He tried to turn his head, to see who had drugged him, but his vision blurred to the point he couldn’t see anything other than a tall, dark figure. He couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman.

Would Jillian come by later, looking for him, only to be disappointed? It was an odd thought to have at the moment, but Jillian stayed in his mind as he slid to the ground. Images of her smile, her laugh, the sound of her cries as she lost herself to her orgasm.

Her name escaped his lips as his eyes closed and darkness engulfed him.