“Oh! I forgot to tell you, Mila.” Vero’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “My friend’s son is in town. He’s such a sweetheart. Your age too. We’re all going out for Thai tomorrow night. Do you want to come?”
Mouth full of food, she put her hand up to decline. “Thanks, but no. I’m on a case right now and it’s taking up a lot of my evenings.” Not to mention she was in no mood for a blind date. She hoped it didn’t offend Vero, but she just chuckled.
“Reason number four hundred and eighty-two why I’m glad your father is out of that life.” Veronika grinned. “Although I do miss the uniform.” She waggled her brows and Bill gave her the hungry look again.
Mila polished off her breakfast and drained the last of her coffee, then rinsed her dishes and put them in the sink. Time to get the hell out before she saw things she couldn’t unsee.
In the entryway by the door, he stopped her and lowered his voice. “So what’s going on?”
“Dad.” She leveled him with a look. “You know I can’t tell you much.”
He waved her away. “Bah. I’ll talk to Jack then. But if you need any help . . . Even if we have to speak in code, I’m here.”
“I know.” She kissed his cheek. “If I need advice, I’ll give you a call.”
He nodded and opened the door for her.
“Anytime, and I mean it.” He stepped out onto the porch with her. The paperboy tossed the paper to him as he cycled past, and her father caught it midair. “See? I’m not getting old.”
“The fact that you still get the hard copy of the newspaper says otherwise.”
Her father grumbled something about disrespectful daughters, but Mila was already getting into her car, ready to be alone with her thoughts.
Maybe she should have asked him what to do about Atlas, but that was a discussion she didn’t want to have with him. After ruining his career, he was desperate for her not to fuck up her own. As if her success could erase his failures.
Guilt flooded her. She had it bad for her number-one suspect—even had a dirty dream about him. Way to make her dad proud. Calling this “risky” was an understatement, but there was just something about Atlas she wanted to investigate. And not in the criminal way.
But she was a professional so this little crush had to end. Any proof she found couldn’t be compromised by her feelings. Keeping that in the forefront of her mind was difficult, though, especially when he was around.
***
The kink club was warm despite the air-conditioning, and Mila wondered if it was kept that way so the half-naked submissives wouldn’t freeze. Loke and Rune were both having a beer, and had been regaling her with stories about tours they’d been on with their band and crazy shit that had happened. They were half-assed flirting with her, but were polite about it. Not what she’d expected from men who looked as if they worshipped Satan.
Then again, she should have known better. She’d seen a lot of evil over the years, and it tended to hide in broad daylight, masquerading as normal.
These guys were big on consent and safewords, from what she gathered, and the fact that she didn’t want them didn’t seem to damage their egos. She was waiting
for Atlas to show up, and she was pretty sure they knew it, since they’d brought up his name several times.
When she’d texted the number Loke had given her at the wedding, she’d been wondering if she was pushing things too hard. But when she’d gone to pick up the laptop at the computer shop and Atlas hadn’t been there, she’d panicked about losing contact.
After a few days of trying to figure out how to get her foot in the door, she’d finally settled on this. If she could get in with Atlas’s friends, maybe she could get more information on him. The problem was, it made her seem like a stalker, and the last thing she wanted to do was tip them off. For now the plan was to convince them she really was interested in kink. She’d never thought very far past vanilla sex, but being in this place and imagining doing some of the things she’d seen with Atlas was turning her on.
And that was a bad fucking sign. Her gut twisted. This was probably a terrible idea. What if her boss found out she’d been here? Would it get her fired? Cops had to visit some shady places undercover, but this was a whole different level. She could already imagine how the guys would tease her about being into S and M. The lines between personal and professional were definitely blurring. Would the risk pay off? Though determined, she still wasn’t sure it was worth it to get in so deep.
Geir was nearby, weaving elaborate rope work on a pretty young girl. She was suspended at this point, dangling from an eyebolt overhead, her eyes glazed as if his hands and the rope running over her body had put her in a trance. He hadn’t called her anything but “girl” since she’d come up to ask if he’d play with her, and Mila doubted he even knew her name.
“You like that?” Rune asked her. “If she was his, he would do more than just tie her, but they didn’t make arrangements for that ahead of time.”
“Why does she look so . . . relaxed? If someone hung me upside down I’d be screaming, not looking like I’d just had the world’s best massage.”
“Subspace, looks like.” Loke shrugged. “Not everyone can find it, but some submissives know the way there easily. For some just seeing rope is enough to put them on that path.”
A small woman passed their table with a well-built man trailing her on a leash, his head obscured by a leather mask that made him look like a pig. For some reason she half expected Loke and Rune to make a snide comment, but they only nodded to the couple.
“So what appeals to you, out of what you’ve seen?” Loke asked.
Mila felt her cheeks heat, and she hoped her darker skin tone hid her blush. “I’m not sure. Watching Geir work is fascinating, but I can’t imagine enjoying it the way the girl seems to be.”