Breakfast was in the dining room. By the time Bastien had composed himself and run to his room for a fresh change of clothes, we were the last to arrive. I received some fairly intense ribbing about the previous evening, but it was all given in good spirit. G & T were especially pleased for me. I pulled Izzy to one side.

“Isadore Woolf, my friend, and now apparently my Dom,” I told him. He chuckled.

“Tally, my dear, you have no concept of what it means to be submissive, therefore I cannot be your Dom. Last night was merely a sexy scene between friends.” He slapped me on the back. “However, now we need to discuss more important matters. Are you ready to come to my office and get going on the downfall of Doron Sagall?”

We flew in Izzy’s helicopter to his office in the City of London. There was a landing pad on the roof of his building which meant no one would see me arrive. We’d spend the day working, then return to Greenall Manor for dinner.

“Tal, this is Hayley. She heads up my financial team.”

I shook Hayley’s hand. The woman must have been in her forties, but was as fit as fuck. She wore a tight black skirt and jacket that accentuated her God given curves to perfection, yet she looked professional to a T. Her feet stood in shiny black heels and she wore delicate, subtle jewellery. Her left wrist was adorned with a sleek steel Bulgari watch and a huge diamond solitaire sat next to a plain white gold band on her wedding ring finger. Her hair was a tumble of brunette waves, clearly styled by someone who knew what they were doing, and her make-up was elegant and natural looking. This woman was pure class.

“Mr Roth, Mr Woolf has brought me up to speed on your…situation.” She smiled tightly at me and my pucker twitched in fear. I wondered if in another situation she might be Izzy’s equal in the D/s scene. She would look phenomenal in leather and latex. Izzy shoulder bumped me to gain my attention. I cleared my throat.

“I’m grateful for any assistance you can give me. I’m not too sure where to start.”

Hayley launched into a detailed explanation of the possible ways to bring Doron down. It involved a complicated anti-extortion plot that had me trembling. I wasn’t out of my depth by any means; I had extensive knowledge of all things money oriented, but it was dangerous. Sagall was a big player with connections world-wide. I imagined he could crush me and Izzy, without breaking a sweat. Hayley didn’t sound too confident either, which worried me.

The doors to Izzy’s boardroom swished open and G & T strolled in. They looked mighty fine dressed in expensive grey suits. They greeted us and took a seat. Jason had also joined us and I was intrigued to see the professional side to him. Hayley stood at the head of the table. All heads twisted towards her. “I’ll get straight to the point.” She clasped her hands displaying short red manicured nails. “The only way I can see us getting Sagall, is by trapping him. We need Mr Roth to meet with him wearing a wire.”

G bolted upright from his relaxed position.

“No. That’s not happening.”

T nodded in agreement. “You were supposed to be finding a financially oriented solution.”

“There isn’t one,” Hayley retorted. “Sagall is sewn up pretty tight. We’ve had the best experts trying to hack his accounts, but they’re proving to be impenetrable so far.” G & T asked who had been on it and when they heard the names, they slumped in their seats looking pretty defeated. This did not bode well with me.

“Surely, we can prove the policies were for fake employees,” I remarked.

“That’s not the point. We know the policies are fraudulent – the issue is that you were aware at the time of making the applications.” Hayley was a touch patronising but I conceded I was being a little ignorant. “We need to come up with a new business proposal that you can pitch to him. Don’t forget, he has no clue you are on to him. He’ll merely assume you’re hard at work like the loyal broker you have been all along.”

“I don’t see how that’s going to get him arrested,” I countered.

“It has to have less than legitimate aspects. You have to convince him that by stepping just outside of what is legally acceptable, his fortune will be enhanced massively. He’s a greedy son of a bitch by all accounts; I’m sure he’ll bite.”

“Once he agrees, we can go to the authorities. Hopefully, at some point he will confess it’s not his first rodeo,” Izzy finished off.

“It’s a stretch,” T argued.

“We’ll work with you to make this happen,” G continued. “But rest assured; any hint of danger and mission terminated.”

I wanted to laugh, but their expressions were deadly serious. It occurred to me to be grateful they were on my side and not the other.

Izzy’s face was a mask of displeasure. “This is not at all what I had in mind.” He frowned at Hayley. “I have to admit to being disappointed you didn’t find a legitimate route to his downfall.”

Hayley looked decidedly pissed off but managed to cover it up well. “Mr Woolf, I can assure you, if there was a way, I would have found it.” Her smile was partly a sneer. I was shocked at the patronising tone in her response. Izzy’s expression reflected my thoughts. I sensed this was not their usual dynamic, but put it down to stress. I was keen to remove myself from the slightly toxic atmosphere, deciding it was my presence making it worse.

“I need to go to my office,” I told them. “I’ve given everyone the day off today. I used the big win in court as an excuse to take an annual leave day, but there’s stuff I have to do and I need to make sure the staff are set up for the week.”

“We’ll take you,” T replied. He must have sensed my reluctance to be babysat. “No arguments, Mr Roth. We do this our way, or not at all.” The tone of his voice and his reference to me as ‘Mr’ told me all I needed to know about how deadly serious he was. I nodded tersely and got up to go.

We rolled in to Soho Square in G & T’s massive black Range Rover. I indicated my parking space just outside the entrance to my office. Roth Insurance Services was based in a big old townhouse that had cost me a fortune in rent, but was ideal in terms of size and location. I loved it and planned to buy it one day.

G parked the car and I hopped out of the back.

“Wait!” T shouted at me and I pulled up short. Together, the three of us approached the door of my building. I took out my keys, but when I went to put them in the lock, the door opened on its own. My stomach dropped.

“What the fuck?” I pushed opened the door and legged it up the stairs before they could stop me. “Noooooo….” I cried when I saw the devastation that greeted me. My entire office space had been turned over and destroyed. I moved towards my personal office but a large black hand gripped my shoulder, halting me mid-stride.

“Let T go first,” G berated. I reluctantly agreed.

“Shit!” I heard T curse from behind my door. “Motherfucking cunts!”

“That can’t be good.” I looked at G who grimaced. “Let me go, please.” He released me and I walked slowly towards my office. T was standing in the middle of the chaos. It took a little while for my brain to catch up with my eyes at what lay before me. All my papers had been scattered. My desk had been broken in two and all the other furniture damaged beyond repair. But what really stole my breath and brought me to my knees were the bright red swastikas decorating the walls. Graffiti had been sprayed on the windows with “Pig Jew Cunt” emblazoned for all to see. Tears stung my eyes. This was too much.

Behind me I could hear G speaking hurriedly into his phone. Before me, the way T shifted awkwardly captured my attention. I would have expected him to try and comfort me, yet he hadn’t moved from the same spot I found him in when I entered.

“Tal.” He spoke directly to me, but everything was hazy and I could barely focus. My breath was coming in short pants and my knees were trembling. This was personal for sure. “Go back to the main office, man.” I narrowed my eyes at him. Why wasn’t he moving? He was stood stoic in front of what remained of my desk.

“Move,” I ordered, sounding a lot more confident than I felt.

“No,” he replied.

“What are you hiding?” I hissed at him.

“Nothing you need to see.” T softened his expression. He looked incredibly sad which only served to make me more curious. Ignoring his warning, I marched over to him and tried to push him aside. He was a fucking man mountain; completely immovable. He grabbed my biceps and held me still. “Don’t, Tal. It’s nasty and not necessary for you to see. Believe me.”

I looked him in the eye. I was beginning to get angry and my adrenalin had kicked in. I was not afraid of a challenge and whichever anti-Semitic bastard had decided it was a good idea to fuck with me, would soon learn that the time for Jews to lay down passively, was long over.

“Move. Your. Arse.” I told him in a strong and steady voice.

T studied me for a few moments. Whatever he saw in my expression, made him release his death grip on me and step to one side. What was revealed stole my breath and I fleetingly regretted not listening to his advice, but then an enormous, overpowering feeling of rage kicked in, making me roar at the top of my lungs.

“I’m going to fucking kill them!” I spat. I was in an absolute fury. I didn’t know who they were, but the day they decided to leave a de-capitated pig’s head on what was left of my desk, was the day they signed their own death warrant. A storm raged within me fuelled by a sudden rush of adrenalin followed by an intense desire to escape the cloying confines of the destruction surrounding me.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I turned and ran out of my office. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but of course, I didn’t get very far. G blocked my way and T brought up the rear. They crowded close until all I could see, smell and focus on was their big bodies crushing me between them. I trembled in their embrace wailing at the injustice of it all. And for what? Purely for being Jewish? I couldn’t make any sense of it. My legs gave way and before they could catch me, I sunk to the floor. I drew up my knees and folded in on myself feeling utterly defeated despite my earlier pledge for revenge. The frustration threatened to overwhelm me.

“Hey.” Moments later, Izzy was crouching down before me. He cupped the back of my neck grounding me. ‘Breathe, Tally.” Something in his voice made me look up and what greeted me made me shudder. Isadore Woolf was severely pissed off. “G, T, call Liam and Rob. I don’t want any other coppers involved for now. It will only bring unwanted attention. Then get this mess cleared up. No noise; no fuss; understand?”

“Sure thing, Mr Woolf.”

“Tal, come with me, please.” Izzy helped me stand.

“Who would do this, Iz?” I asked him in a small voice. “It’s beyond horrible.”

“There are evil, sick bastards in this world, mate, but this feels personal. Like whoever did this knew the worst way to upset you.”

“Upset me?” I cried at him. “Upset me? I’m a little more than upset…”

“Exactly.”

I slumped against him. “Surely Sagall wouldn’t stoop so low. He’s Jewish too, for fuck’s sake.”

“I suspect he probably dropped a few pointed hints to the right people and left them to it. I’d hate to think he’d condone this, but the only religion he practices is worshipping money.” Izzy looked sad. “I need to speak to my Dad.”

I was surprised to hear G snort.

“Yeah, Iz, bring in the big guns.” Izzy raised an eyebrow and G literally crumbled before my very eyes. “Sorry, Sir.” Izzy cocked his head and G grabbed T and the pair of them scurried off to carry out their orders. I was totally in awe of my friend and his ability to reduce even the mightiest of men to scared little boys in his presence.

My adrenalin was wearing off and a weighty fatigue enveloped me. Part of me questioned whether to pursue our plan to snag Doron. We hadn’t even got started yet and I was surrounded by devastation, but then the hideous sight of the swastikas caught my eye and my fury spiked anew. With a righteous sense of fervour, I stood abruptly; pulled on the hem of my jacket and snarled. Izzy rose to his feet beside me. I grabbed his hand. “Let’s do this,” I told him with conviction. “If he thinks he can intimidate me with these underhand tactics, then he’s wrong. Sagall is going down.”

Izzy shoulder bumped me. “You know you sound like you’re in a cheesy gangster movie, right?”

I snorted. Trust Izzy to take the wind out of my sails, but he made me laugh, even so.

“I heard you had a particular set of skills…” I mocked him in my best Liam Neeson accent.

“Let’s make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

I snapped my head around to gape at Izzy. Somehow, him channelling The Godfather was an epic turn on. He popped a finger under my chin and snapped my mouth shut before planting a kiss on my lips. He’d effectively distracted me from the turmoil that was once my office. With a typical arrogant smirk, he led me out of the mess and into the daylight.

We hit the pavement just as Rob and Liam arrived on a police motorcycle. They looked suitably vexed.

“Tal, oh my God, are you ok?” It was disconcerting to have Liam looking and sounding so worried. He was the size of a shed and dressed in his Police leathers, extremely hot. He whipped off his helmet revealing his dishevelled red hair which did nothing to reduce his sexiness. In another life, I would have actively sought out a gorgeous looking ginger such as himself. They were such fun to play with. Izzy cleared his throat loudly. I realised I must have been staring a touch too long. The reason for them being here hit me hard, reducing me once again to a raving lunatic.

“I’m not fucking ok. Nothing about this is fucking ok.”

“Whoa, Tal. Calm down. Rob and Liam are here to help.” Izzy squeezed my shoulder, grounding me once again.

“I’m sorry. God, I’m such a mess.” I ran my hands through my hair. “It was a shock, to say the least. And so fucking horrible. Thanks for coming so quickly.”

They told me they were based in the West End and taking the bike made reaching me an easy task. “Let’s go take a look,” Rob said to Liam and they disappeared into my building. We gave them a few minutes, then reluctantly followed them in. The destruction was no less devastating the second time around. Liam was taking photos of everything while Rob was making notes. We watched them in silence for twenty minutes as they gathered all the evidence they would need. Rob approached us both, but addressed Izzy.

“I don’t like that you want to keep this under wraps. We take racist crime very seriously these days, you know.”

He nodded. “I really appreciate it. I understand what you’re saying but I feel like I can control how many people are involved if I do it this way. I don’t want anyone hurt.”

“Ok, well, we have what we need. Let us know when we can act on it.” Rob was clearly not happy, but compliant for now. Izzy thanked them. He made a quick call to G & T then ushered me back out of my office to the pavement. When the Twins arrived, he handed them my office keys.

“Valerie is waiting with lunch,” he announced to me. He handed me a helmet which was when I noticed his Harley. On any other day, I would have rejoiced to be riding on the back of his precious bike, but today I was too depressed and overwrought with my situation.

We thundered down the Finchley Road to Izzy’s parents place in Hampstead Garden Suburb. They had a lovely home and made me feel very welcome, yet my mind was elsewhere. I had an urge to feel Bastien’s smooth, warm skin against my own and yearned to be back at Greenall Manor with him. However, the last thing I wanted was to embroil him in any more drama, or God forbid, put him in danger. In fact, now that I thought about it, it was probably best to distance myself in order to keep him safe. Damn; this was why I didn’t do relationships.

I stood up from the dining room table. “Excuse me, while I pop to the loo.” I smiled at Mrs Woolf. “Lunch was delicious, thank you.” I saw Izzy frown, but refused to meet his gaze. I wasn’t much of an actor.

I did actually use the loo, but merely as somewhere private from which to call an Uber. As soon as it arrived, I made my escape. I knew it was a foolish thing to do, but I had decided that in order to not put anyone I knew in danger, I would have to confront Doron myself and on my own terms. Within ten minutes my phone was awash with unanswered calls and texts. I read the first few from Izzy, G & T and even Adam. There was one from an unknown number which made me hesitate, but I deleted them all without reading them. I would not be swayed.

I considered stopping at my flat, but guessed that was too obvious a move and Izzy would have someone there to meet me. Instead, I stopped by Ron’s and asked him for a favour.

“Can I use your office to make a few calls? Need to be off the grid for a while.” Ron was mid-way through a shave. He grazed his eyes over me from head to toe, lingering on my face for a few moments.

“Fine.” He cocked his head to the back. I walked through a beaded curtain to a small, but well organised and neat office. I sat quietly until I mustered up the nerve to call Doron’s mobile.

“Doron?”

“Who is this?” he asked in his thick Israeli accent. I was a bit miffed he hadn’t saved me to his contacts. Or perhaps he’d already deleted me.

“Tal Roth,” I answered keeping my voice steady.

“Tal, my boy!” He sounded genuinely pleased to hear from me. Bastard. “What can I do for you?”

“Can I see you, Doron? I have a proposal that I think would appeal to you.”

After several seconds ticked by, his deep voice answered me. “Good, good. Where would you like to meet?”

In that moment, my heart sank and I thought I might be sick. Every single meeting with him had historically taken place in my office. The fact that he hadn’t suggested it as a location gave him away. He knew it had been trashed. I had to find out if he had been behind it.

“I’m out and about today – I can come to you.” Doron had a house in Radlett that he stayed in when in England. I had been to a summer party there once. “I can be there in an hour.” Doron confirmed this was ok and cut the call. I left the safety of Ron’s little office.

“Is everything alright, Tal?” Ron looked concerned.

“Not really, mate, but it will be.” I sounded more reassured than I felt.

“Noticed you were dropped off in an Uber. No car today?” Clearly Ron was observant.

“Umm, not today, no.” I must have looked like I was fishing for an excuse because Ron narrowed his eyes at me.

“Can I lend you my car?”

“Why would you do that?” I gaped at him. “You hardly know me.”

The barber shrugged. “I know enough. It may not be a McLaren, but it’ll get you where you need to go.” He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and tossed them to me. “Parked out back.”

“I’m grateful Ron, thank you. I…I…”

“Best not elaborate. Just return it when you’re done.”

I was saved from any more awkwardness by the doorbell. A customer had arrived for a haircut demanding Ron’s attention elsewhere. I mumbled my goodbyes and shot out the back. There in the alleyway sat a shiny black Smart car. I chuckled to myself. It was at least the new sport version with a cabriolet roof. I climbed into the miniscule vehicle and took off for Radlett.