He cringed, the words wrenching his gut. “Is that what you think it was? You think I used you?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “What exactly would you call it, Reid? I bet you weren’t tying up and ordering around that debutante girlfriend of yours—you know, the one you forgot to tell me about.”
She was right. He hadn’t been topping Vanessa. She would’ve sent her father after him with a shotgun if he’d done so much as copped a feel. But he’d had to toe the line—parade around with the girl he was expected to date. He blew out a breath and raked a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t like that.”
“No, I get it. Do the depraved stuff with the chick whose mother is a hooker, do the respectable things with the girl you want everyone to see on your arm. It’s an old story,” she said, sounding tired. “I was just too naive to see what role I was playing in the game.”
His jaw clenched. “I don’t know how I ended up the bad guy in all this. I seem to recall I wasn’t the only one you were playing with.”
She sighed and all the fight seemed to leave her stance. “Look, it doesn’t matter, okay. What’s done is done. I just want to know what all this has to do with my sister.”
He stared at her for a moment, part of him wanting to hash out their past, drag everything out in the open, and deal with it head-on, but the lines of worry in her face stopped him. He crooked a thumb at the boxes. “I looked through some of your sister’s stuff. She filled out a background check form for Grant Waters’ company.”
Her forehead scrunched. “Who the hell is that?”
“He owns two big vineyards outside of town. And he runs The Ranch.”
“Is that another strip club?”
He shook his head, tension taking root in his shoulders. “No, and I’m not sure on the details. But what I do know is that it’s
a BDSM retreat. Elite, exclusive, and if someone wants to disappear for a while—a good place to hide.”
She chewed her lip, as if mulling over the information. “But if it’s so exclusive, how would Kels get in?”
He shrugged. “Your sister’s a beautiful girl who’s not afraid to show her body. My guess is that they probably hired her on as a server or attendant of some kind.”
She crossed the few steps to the counter and grabbed her purse and keys. “Well, then, what are we hanging around for? Let’s go to this stupid place and get her.”
“Brynn.” He grabbed her wrist before she reached the door.
She glanced back over her shoulder, urgency rolling off her. “What’s wrong?”
“I have no idea where this place is. And even if I did, you’re not going to be able to get in without an invitation… or a master.”
All the blood drained from her face. She glanced down at his fingers circling her wrist and jerked her arm free. “What? I can’t—”
“Look, calm down,” he said, frowning down at her. “We can’t do anything tonight, but I know someone who may have a connection there. Let me see if I can get any information—find out if your sister is even there. In the meantime, you can go home and call anyone you can think of—her friends, boyfriends, whoever. Someone has to know where she is.”
Brynn chewed her lip, considering him, then nodded. “Okay. I guess that’s the best we can do tonight.”
He walked her down to her car, keeping an eye on their surroundings to make sure her attacker hadn’t decided to hang around.
She pulled open her car door and slid in, looking up at him with tired eyes. “Thanks for your help. I take back the comment about you not being able to scare off bad guys.”
He smiled. “Thanks, and I don’t mind helping.”
She dug in her purse and pulled out a business card. “Here. My cell is on there. Call me if you find anything out.”
He took the card from her and slipped it into his pocket, then feigned a grimace. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I must’ve left my cell upstairs.”
She moved to climb out of the car. “Oh, well, I can go grab it for you.”
He held up a hand. “No, it’s late, and the sooner you’re out of this neighborhood, the better. Why don’t you just give me your sister’s key and you can leave? I’ll get the key back to you on Monday.”