Chapter Twelve
“Who the fuck is Ange?”
Lissa couldn’t help her angry shout any more than she could have stopped herself from jumping off Gabe’s lap as the sharp, immediate, all-consuming poker of jealousy pierced her heart like a poisonous arrow.
“She’s nobody, Lissa.” Over the ringing in her ears she heard Stone’s attempt to smooth things over, but she didn’t believe a word of it. Gabe’s response to that woman’s name had been too immediate for her to be nobody.
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Stone. You wouldn’t have mentioned her if she wasn’t important. If she was a nobody then, surely, Gabe’s solicitor could disarm her easily as those other girls who’ve come forward.” Hands on hips, she turned her back on Stone’s worried face and sought reassurance from her husband. Not that she found any.
Instead of the reassuring smile she’d hoped to see on her Daddy’s face, she looked into the closed off expression of Gabe the killer. His usually so warm eyes had turned to cold, expressionless mirrors that wouldn’t let her in. His sensuous mouth was an ugly sneer, and hands which had given her such pleasure curled around the edge of his desk in a white knuckled grip so hard that the wood creaked under his fingers.
She ought to have been terrified. The old her would have been, but this Lissa simply grew angrier herself when Gabe wouldn’t answer her, ignored her question completely and fixed his attention on Stone instead.
“Thanks for the heads-up, Stone. I’ll cast off now, and we’ll be with you soon. Let the fuckers try to take over. It won’t work.”
“Usual drill, boss?” Stone asked, and Gabe nodded.
“Kill them all if you have to. But Andrini, Ollivanti, and that bitch are mine.”
Lissa gasped and stepped away from him as Gabe ended the call and slammed the laptop shut with so much force, he must have surely cracked the screen.
“Gabe, what do you—”
“Nothing.” He interrupted her, and Lissa took a few steps back when he rose to his full height and glared down on her. Gone was the tender, passionate man she’d come to love over the last three weeks and in his stead stood a stranger. This Gabe she had no doubt could kill her at a moment’s notice, and yet, strangely she still wasn’t afraid of him. He wouldn’t harm her. How she could be so sure of that she didn’t know, and maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part. The deeply in love with this man part, who wanted/needed to believe he was better than this, clung on to that belief with a need that smacked of desperation. Because, if she didn’t hold onto that, then what was she left with other then the fact that she’d married a monster?
“Please, Daddy, talk—”
His furious growl stopped her, and she swallowed hard when he advanced on her. Eyes blazing in so much cold fury it made her shiver, but she nudged her chin up, determined to hold his gaze, to not give in to the rising panic threatening to engulf her.
How was it even possible to still need him this much? She wanted nothing more than for her Daddy to take her in his arms and to tell her that everything would be all right.
“I told you not to call me that, girl. Especially not now.” He stopped mere inches away from her. Hands either side of her face he crowded her against the wall. Rather than let herself be intimidated by his sheer presence, Lissa rose on her tip toes and ran her hands up his chest and over his bunched biceps. The muscles tightened under her fingertips, and Gabe swore under his breath.
“Who is Ange?” she asked.
Gabe shook his head and stepped away from her. The physical distance from him hurt, not least because he ignored her, got on deck and fired up the engine of the yacht. It rumbled to life under her feet, and Lissa blinked away tears. The sensible thing would have been to take his dismissal, and to not probe the sleeping monster, but Lissa had never been sensible.
Sidestepping the life vests, she followed him onto the deck and held on for dear life as he turned the yacht at a steep angle to leave the cove. Gabe glared at her, but that was it. A fact which hurt far more than his previous actions and told him his state of mind clearer than anything else. He always made such a big deal about her need for a life vest, normally, when she was above deck when the yacht was on the move, that his lack of response stung.
Ignoring the unease churning her guts, Lissa stepped up behind him, when the boat straightened, wrapped her arms around his torso, and clung.
“Talk to me, please. I’m not leaving until you do.” His chest heaved under his harsh breaths, but he didn’t respond. He didn’t shake her off either, and Lissa took comfort in that, as she simply held the man she loved. Never in all of her life would she believe that he raped anyone, and whoever that Ange was, whatever her motive was, she would scratch the bitch’s eyes out if she ever met her.
How much time passed, with her holding onto him, the silence heavy and oppressive between them, she would never know, but eventually Gabe spoke.
“You should go back down. You’ll freeze up here.”
Sure enough, the unpredictable English Channel lived up to its name. Clouds had gathered above, and the first spits of rain hit her skin like icy needles, and still she clung to his broad back. Fear for their future cemented her feet to the deck.
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me who she is.”
“Jesus, girl, fine.” Gabe swung around with an exasperated huff, disengaging her arms from him at the same time. His dark eyes lit up in concern for her one precious moment, before the mask came back down. “She’s a bit of pussy I used to fuck from time to time.”
Lissa blinked at the harsh words. Gabe reached out to her with the hand not on the wheel and cupped her face briefly. A flash of regret crossed his features, so brief she’d have missed it had she blinked, and he withdrew his hand. She instantly missed the contact and wrapped her arms around herself in a vain attempt to stop the shivers wrecking her body.
“She’s also one of my working girls, so mud sticks, as they say.” He let that statement sit between them and turned his back on her.
“Did you—” His deep growl stopped her from probing further while his reply turned her blood to ice.
“If you seriously have to ask me if I raped that bitch then … fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair and completely closed himself off. She could almost see the bricks going up around him, and it broke her heart all over again.
“I wasn’t going to ask that. It’s just that—”
“Spare me, girl. Go and tidy yourself up. You’re a fucking mess. No need to give the assholes more ammunition to hang me with.”
The words stung, like he no doubt meant them to, and gathering the last few shreds of her leftover dignity to herself she fled below deck. Fine, if he wanted to be like that, then let him.
See if I care.
The problem, of course, was that she did care far too much, and as Southampton eventually came into view and with it their welcoming committee of armed police, her composure fled completely. No sooner had they docked, they were raided, as though they’d known exactly when they were expected. It was like a scene from a freaking Bond movie and seeing the man she loved spread eagle on the floor, being cuffed while several armed coppers trained their rifles on him was surreal in the extreme. Someone was shouting, and she didn’t realize at first that those sounds were coming from her, until they yanked Gabe to his feet and he came back into view.
He headbutted one of the coppers, kicked the other, and then he was in front of her for one precious moment, resting his forehead on hers, before unseen hands yanked him away from her.
“It’s gonna be okay, baby girl.”
The grumbled promise grounded her like nothing else could, as she watched him being led away. He nodded to someone in the gathering crowd, and Lissa’s gaze briefly connected with Stone’s. She easily recognized a few others of Gabe’s men in the crowd, which helped to make her feel marginally better, as she, too, was led away, surrounded by police officers. It was good to know they were around even if in the background and she had to trust that Gabe had some sort of plan to get them all out of this mess.
Surely?
“Mind your head, Miss Andrini.”
The sympathetic smile on the WPC’s face who slid in the back of the cop car with her grated on Lissa’s last nerve. Not least because she kept looking at the all too visible fingerprint marks on her forearms. Faint remnants of Gabe’s rope work on her wrists also remained, and she wished she’d had the foresight to grab a cardigan before all hell broke loose. Then again, why should she cover up? She had nothing to be ashamed of. These marks were consensual, for fuck’s sake, and they still had the power to turn her heart over in longing for her husband.
“That’s not my name. It’s Mrs. Henshaw, and I demand to know what this is all about. Why have you arrested my husband?”
The woman’s smile faltered, growing thoughtful while the two coppers in the front of the car gave a short laugh.
“You want the whole list? About time we could pin something on him.”
Lissa glared at the backs of their heads.
“He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Another short laugh and her gaze briefly connected with the ice blue gaze of the uniformed cop driving, while his plain clothed counterpart swiveled around in the chair to look at her. Amber eyes assessed her, and his bushy brows drew together in a frown.
“Miss Andrini—”
“For fuck’s sake, the name is Mrs. Henshaw, and you can all stop looking at me as though I’m some fucking victim. I’m not, and whatever lies my father fed you, it’s just that. Lies. You can’t believe a word that man says.” She ran out of steam as the reality of her situation sank in and slumped in her seat. “I want Daddy.”
She hadn’t been aware she uttered those words out loud, until the woman cop reached across and patted her arm.
“It’s okay, this has all been a bit of a shock. We’ll just need to take your statement at the station, take some DNA evidence of your injuries, and then you can be reunited with your father.”
An ice-cold hand grasped hold of Lissa’ heart, and she shook the other woman’s hand of.
“No, you don’t understand. I don’t want him.”
The woman blinked once, and Lissa screwed her nose up in disgust.
“As far as I’m concerned Andrini lost the right to call himself my father years ago. I never should have … I want my Da…” She slammed her mouth shut to stop herself from saying it again and blinked away tears.
They would never understand. She wasn’t entirely sure she understood it all herself yet, so it would probably be better to keep her mouth shut, lest she inadvertently say something to incriminate Gabe further.
At least that’s how it worked on crime shows, right?
“Yes?”
Lissa ignored the woman’s gentle probing and shook her head.
“No comment.”
It was something she reiterated ad nauseum once they were at the station. She had absolutely no intention to tell these people anything.
The brief meeting, she had with Gabe’s solicitor, Parkinson, was equally as infuriating.
His simple instructions were not to say anything at all. That didn’t work for her either. How was she supposed to refute this silly notion that Gabe had kidnapped her if she didn’t say anything?
“That’s insane. I’ve got to tell them the truth. That Andrini sold me to him and…”
Her ire left her at the gray-haired man’s sigh, and she fell silent.
“Surely you can see how that would look? The less you say the better. It truly is, trust me. Also, and it pains me to remind you of this, but you did sign an NDA.”
“How dare you!”
Lissa erupted into a furious snarl.
“As if I ever would sell him out like that regardless of a stupid piece of paper. Besides, hasn’t stopped that Ange from singing like a fucking canary, has it?”
Parkinson blinked repeatedly and taking his spectacles off his long nose he made a big show of cleaning the perfectly spotless lenses with his handkerchief, until Lissa wanted to scream at him to look at her.
“Damn it, answer me.”
Parkinson replaced his spectacles with exaggerated care and sighed.
“He made her sign one of those, right?” Lissa asked, not at all sure she actually wanted to know the answer to that question.
“She’s an employee, so yes, she did. It’s part and parcel of the employment contract.”
“I see.” Lissa frowned, not sure she really saw anything at all, but now was her chance to get some answers.
“Where exactly did she work?”
Parkinson regarded her steadily over the rim of his glasses, and just when she thought he wouldn’t answer her he sighed.
“At the casino. She’s been there for years in the strip club section. By all accounts she’s very good at it, ‘cause she’s still there. Most girls don’t last long once they slide down the wrong end of thirty.” He grimaced as though disgusted by his own words, and not for the first time Lissa had to wonder why this straitlaced, conservative man was Gabe’s solicitor. Then again, he was one of the best, if not the best, so that had to be why.
“Nothing to do with my husband having a relationship with her, then?”
Why she felt the need to stress her own status in Gabe’s life like that she would never know, but it got through to Parkinson all right. A faint blush stole across his cheekbones, and the tips of his ears turned pink in his all too obvious discomfort.
Lissa would have found it quite amusing to see in other circumstances. Now she just wanted answers and rolled her eyes at the man.
“With all due respect, Mrs. Henshaw, I’ve never known your husband to hold down a relationship with any woman, not until you came along that is.” That simple statement sat in the room, and Lissa mentally hugged the words to herself like a reassuring blanket. “Gabe has always been too focused on the business side of things, and from what I can understand Ange was nothing more than one of several ladies used for mutual … erm, pleasure … shall we say.” His ears positively glowed now, and Lissa shook her head in wry amusement.
“He just used them for sex, that’s what you’re trying to say, right?”
Unbidden, Gabe’s face swam into the forefront of her mind when they’d been discussing his previous partners on the yacht, and a wave of longing so intense it took her breath away hit her. She wanted him back, dammit. Wanted those carefree times on their honeymoon when the rest of this fucked up world didn’t intrude on their relationship.
“Well, yes, erm … quite. That is.”
Lissa took pity on the man and waved a hand at him to stop him.
“It’s okay, I get the picture. What I don’t understand is why she would suddenly turn on him and bite the hand that feeds her. It doesn’t make sense.”
Parkinson cleared his throat and consulted the thick file in his hand.
“Well, as to that, I suspect it’s a simple matter of needing the money. She knows her days at the casino are numbered, and by all accounts she didn’t take the news of Gabe’s marriage very well. I have several statements from fellow employees here that she flew into something of a rage. Plus, further investigations show her to be knee deep in debt. Rather ironic really, because I’m sure she could have come to Gabe for a loan, if she was in financial trouble. She’d have had to earn it back of course, but—”
“On her back?” Lissa interrupted the man, and he frowned at her.
“I wouldn’t be privy to the particulars of such a transaction, but I can assure you, Mrs. Henshaw, that it is not your husband’s make up to force women into prostitution. They always have a choice as to what employment they take up with him in any of his various establishments.”
Lissa suppressed a completely inappropriate giggle at that word. One way to call the brothels he ran, she supposed. While she’d known Gabe was no angel, the true nature of his vast criminal undertaking hadn’t been apparent to her until the detective in charge of her case had thrown picture after picture a her in an effort to get her to talk to him. To incriminate her husband to admit that he’d kidnapped and abused her. Well, he could damn well sing for it. At least the latter part wasn’t true.
“I know that. I might be naïve but I’m not stupid, and I’m fully aware of the caliber of the man I married, Parkinson. What I want to know is what you’re going to do to get Gabe out of this mess, and what I can do to help.”
Which had resulted in her keeping mum and enduring the myriad of tests, physical exams and psychological assessment they were throwing at her.
The latter of which resulted in her waiting in this room for a shrink to come and assess her.
“You’ll like Ms. Booker,” Parkinson had said. “Please be honest with her. It will help Gabe’s case.”
Lissa highly doubted that, as the door finally opened to reveal a petite, stunningly beautiful brunette with an hourglass figure to die for. Subtle, expensive perfume permeated Lissa’s senses, as Rhonda Booker smiled at her and took a seat opposite Lissa.
“Lissa, you don’t mind if I call you that, do you?” She held out her hand for Lissa to shake in a strong grip that made her palm tingle.
“No, I guess not. As long as you don’t call me Miss Andrini we’re good.”
Rhonda laughed and winked at her.
“Ah yes, I heard about your dislike to your father. We’ll get to that in a minute.”
Lissa crossed her arms under her chest and glared at the other woman.
“Oh, we will, will you. It’s not my name anymore. I’m Da… I mean Gabe’s.” She inwardly winced at that almost slip of the tongue and the considering look Rhonda shot her way from under one perfectly arched, raised eyebrow made her squirm on her seat.
Just like Daddy looks when he’s cross with me.
That thought brought heat to her cheeks and meant she had to drop her gaze, all too aware of the silent dominance this woman exuded without even trying.
“Much better, girl, and please lose the antagonistic stance. No doubt what you need is a trip over your Dom’s knee to ground you right now, but I’m here in a professional capacity and thus can’t fulfill that need. Besides, knowing Gabe Henshaw he wouldn’t appreciate my interference.”
That brought Lissa’s head up, and the amused concern she read in the woman’s warm brown eyes soothed some of her internal anguish.
“You know Gabe?” she asked.
Rhonda flicked a strand of her long hair over her shoulder and smiled.
“By reputation mostly, though I’ve seen him in action at the club my boy and I frequent on occasion, when he’s on dungeon duty. He’s a good Dom. That’s all I need to know for the purposes of this assessment. What he gets up to professionally is not for me to judge.”
“Right.” Lissa wasn’t quite sure what to make of that statement. “He goes to a club?” she asked.
Rhonda smiled, reached across the table and patted her hand.
“If it helps, we haven’t seen him there in months, and certainly not since you appeared you on the scene, so that should tell you something, Lissa. Now, enlighten me as to the nature of your D/s relationship with him, so that we can put an end to this silly downtrodden, abused victim stuff the police are trying to pin on you, shall we?”
Lissa swallowed hard and nodded.
“How can you be so sure I’m not that?” she asked in return. Rhonda’s eyes narrowed, and a shiver went down Lissa’s spine.
“Are you?”
“No, of course not. It’s just, you don’t know me at all and…” She stopped speaking as Rhonda’s other eyebrow shot up.
Oh dear. She knew that look only too well, and her submissive side cringed.
“I’m sure your Dom told you not to make assumptions and to verbalize your feelings, so speak. I will draw my own conclusions from what you share with me, once I got to know you a little better. How’s that?”
Lissa nodded and did the only thing she could do. She talked. It felt unbelievably good to get everything off her chest. To know that the other woman got it. That she listened to her without judgment and finally that all these feelings and desires were indeed normal. That there were other women like her in a Daddy/little girl dynamic, which took on as many different forms as there were unique couples in this world. That her need to be cosseted and cuddled and yes, spanked to feel right in herself, didn’t mean that there was something wrong with her, and as long as everything they did was consensual and brought her pleasure, that’s all that mattered.
“It was lovely to meet you, Lissa. Thank you for being so open with me.” Rhonda held out her hand again as they parted company, and Lissa barely resisted the urge to hug the woman. “Good luck with everything, my dear. Parkinson is one of the best, and he’s got my Jack on his legal team, too. I’m sure as I can be that they will get your Dom out of this nonsense kidnap charge. As for the other, we both know that’s baloney. Henshaw is many things, but a rapist is not one of them.”
With that she left with a few clicks of her Louboutins, and Lissa was on her own. Eventually, she was indeed released into the bright glare of a midday sun, with Parkinson by her side. No sooner had they negotiated the last step down from the police station when a pop sounded. Parkinson clutched his shoulder, where a sickening, red stain spread. A car screeched to a halt in front of them, and then the world went dark as something coarse and foul smelling was shoved over her head. Whatever it was, robbed her of her ability to see and think clearly as her mind grew fuzzy. She was dimly aware of the sound of shouting—was that Stone’s furious voice she heard?—more rapid gunfire, and then the air knocked out of her lungs as she was thrown into the confined space of what felt like the boot of a car. Sure enough, there was the thud of the door being slammed shut and the squeal of tires, as her prison lurched from side to side. Lissa hit her head as she rolled into something cold and hard and then, mercifully, she couldn’t feel anything anymore.