The Exposure (23 page)

Meagan just wasn't sure she was ready to do that.

When she got home, she booted up her computer and sat looking at the blank screen for several long minutes. She knew
it wouldn't be possible to reason with The Taskmaster and he had already proven that he was unwilling to negotiate. That vastly limited her options. Plus, she had probably lost Luke forever, so whatever she did, needed to be for her. It was too late to get him back.

She took a deep breath and started an e-mail.

Taskmaster,

In my life, I have done several things that I regretted. Most of them are small, and have little to no bearing on either my life or my future. But there is one that I deeply regret. And that was falling prey to your demands.

I'll give it to you—you knew exactly which buttons of mine to push. Which fears to play upon. And where to hit me at my weakest. But those aren't the main reason I'm so angry. The main reason is that you involved Luke.

Part of me thinks I should be happy. After all, your little plan put me back in contact with him. And I will forever hold those times dear. But you took what was dear and made it something I was ashamed of. Something I couldn't enjoy without feeling guilty. But most important, something that hurt Luke. And that is something I cannot forgive.

I'm not playing your game anymore. Do what you want, I don't care. Nothing you can do will come close to hurting me any more than you already have.

Regards,

Tired of Your Shit

After composing the e-mail, she drummed her fingers on the desk. Not because she was unsure about sending the e-mail, but because she was trying to decide if she should copy Luke. When she realized it might be her last chance to contact him, she put him on blind carbon copy, closed her eyes, and hit
SEND
.

She expected him to reply immediately as he'd always done in the past. After sitting and staring at the laptop screen for five minutes, it became obvious he would not. She couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Eventually, she turned off her laptop and put it away.

Now that she had ended the situation with The Taskmaster, she had to decide her next step. She didn't think she was going to the police. No, that would be too easy, and she needed to make a statement. She wanted to send a loud and clear message, not only to The Taskmaster, but also to Luke. Though she didn't think there was any chance of them ever getting back together again, she couldn't help but hold out some sort of hope he still wanted her.

His feelings for her had been real; she knew that. Surely, there was no way those feelings could simply disappear overnight. She held on to the hope that he was simply angry and perhaps one day he might forgive her.

She was restless for the rest of the afternoon, but she'd decided on her next step and she made a few phone calls in order to line it up. Thinking it would help clear her mind and pass the time until she heard back from The Taskmaster, she decided to go to the pizza place where Luke had stopped before their picnic.

She walked outside with the intention that she'd get takeout and eat in Central Park. But halfway to the restaurant, she knew she couldn't do it. Too many memories of Luke. Instead, she would simply eat alone, in the restaurant.

A lady was working the hostess stand when she entered. She was glad; this way she wouldn't be recognized. She wasn't in the mood to answer any questions about Luke.

The waitress had just taken her order when a familiar voice rang out.

“Teresa,” a man said who sounded very much like Luke. “Did Angeleno kick you out of the kitchen?”

The hostess laughed. “He knows better.”

“Just picking on you. How about a table for two?”

A table for two? He was with someone. Was it a date? She didn't dare look over her shoulder to see. She felt like sinking into the booth and wished she still had the menu to hide behind.

The hostess took Luke and his date to the other side of the room. Fortunately, a plant kept Meagan out of his line of sight. However, if Meagan looked between the leaves, she could just make out his table. Her heart sank when she saw he was with a woman.

And not just any woman. She was beautiful. Most definitely a model.

The waitress brought her food, but she didn't feel like eating. She forced herself to take a few bites, though it may as well have been cardboard. Laughter drifted her way from Luke's table and though she couldn't hear what was said, the message was clear.

She had been replaced.

She left as quickly as she could, not even taking her leftovers home. She didn't want to wait for a box; she just wanted to leave and get home. To get on her pajamas and curl up on the couch and think about anything other than how quickly Luke had found comfort in another woman's arms.

And because she was a glutton for punishment, she checked
her e-mail one last time before going to bed. There were two new messages. She read Luke's first.

Don't bother copying me on any further messages. They will be deleted unread.

She couldn't stop the tears that ran down her cheeks. If that wasn't a sound good-bye forever, she didn't know what was.

That left the e-mail from The Taskmaster unread. She opened it, knowing no matter what it said, there was no way it would be half as painful as Luke's.

You only think you've won, you uppity bitch. Just you wait. When you least suspect it, I'll make you pay. And it'll make those pansy-ass spankings from Luke feel like child's play.

Reading the e-mail should have frightened her. There in black-and-white was a bold threat. But her eyes could barely make it past the first sentence.

Uppity bitch?

There was only one person who had ever called her that.

Her brother.

She reread the note. And he knew about the spankings. Was it someone from a club? Did her brother even know she was into kink? And again, how and why was Luke involved? As far as she knew, only people in the kink scene would even be aware that she and Luke knew each other.

The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. There was no way anyone other than her brother could know about
the details of that year. And Jake always needed money. He probably saw blackmail as a way to get her to pay without coming out and asking her for money. Plus, as much as she hated to admit it, he was horribly intelligent when it came to computers. It wouldn't be hard for him to hack into the system at work.

Still, it didn't sit right. While she could see Jake blackmailing her, she couldn't picture him taking nude photographs of her. That was sick. And then she realized—Jake
was
sick. Forget money or handouts. He needed help. He needed therapy.

But again, how would he know about Luke? And about her involvement with BDSM?

She picked up her phone and called him. He answered on the second ring.

“Hello?”

“It's me,” she said, and he grunted in reply. “What the hell do you think you're doing? You think I wouldn't figure it out?”

Silence was her only answer and she knew she had him cornered.

“Do what?” he finally asked.

“I don't know how you found out about Luke, but you can stop it. I was serious. I'm not playing your game anymore.”

“What game and who's Luke?”

She rolled her eyes.
Figures.
“Be a man for once and own up to it.”

There was a muffled sound as if he covered the mouthpiece and garbled talking.

“Jake!” She raised her voice. “Damn it, I'm not finished.”

But the only thing she heard was more muffled talking and then the beep, beep, beep as the call was dropped.

She shoved the phone into her purse. “You think it's that easy to get rid of me?”

T
he next day, Guy surprised her at work by stopping by her office midmorning.

“Guy.” She stood up as he walked in. “How are you? What brings you to this part of the building?”

He flashed the grin that had gotten him into the hearts and living rooms of the city's inhabitants. “Why, you, of course.”

“Have a seat.” She waved toward the chair across from her desk.

“No, that's okay. I can't stay long. I just wanted to see if you were free for lunch.”

She froze halfway down into her seat. “You could have called for that,” she finally said, sitting down.

“Yes, but I thought if I showed up in person, you'd be a lot less likely to turn me down.” His smile dimmed somewhat. “And there's a position I'd like to discuss with you.”

A position? She frowned. “I don't know.”

“Come on,” he said. “It's just lunch.”

But that, of course, was the problem. It was just lunch and from there, it would turn into just dinner. She'd known Guy for years. She knew how he worked. And damn it all, there was a part of her that wanted to say yes. Sure, Guy was a player, but she'd know where she stood.

And he was vanilla. She was sure of it. Maybe it was time she dated a vanilla man. There could be safety in a vanilla relationship. She was getting older. Maybe it was time to put the kinky stuff in the bottom drawer.

Across from her, Guy waited.

Everything about a relationship with him would be easy. She was so tempted. He was nice and if she ignored or accepted the player side of his personality, word had it he was a lot of fun.

She opened her mouth to say “Yes” but what came out was “No.”

No, she didn't want vanilla. No, she didn't want easy.

And hell to the no, she didn't want Guy.

*   *   *

L
uke didn't really feel like talking to Nathaniel about the new club in Delaware. But he and Abby were in New York City for the week, so it only made sense to have a meeting when they were all in the same town.

Abby opened the door and was all smiles when she saw him. But he could tell there was something hidden behind her jovial expression that she didn't want him to see. He'd been a photographer and Dom for too many years not to notice such things. Most days he was okay with it, but today he thought it really would be nice to be a little less observant.

“Hello, Abby.” He didn't even try to make his voice sound
happy. Abby was Meagan's friend and employee and he knew the two were close.

“Luke.” She stepped aside. “Come on in. Nathaniel will be here in a minute.”

“Thank you.”

She led him into the living room and the silence was deafening. She definitely knew something and it took all his strength not to ask how Meagan was doing.

“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.

“No, I'm fine.”

They were saved from making further attempts at small talk by the appearance of Nathaniel. He walked in and looked at the two of them sitting. “Something wrong?”

Luke waited for Abby to say something. When she didn't, he replied, “The better question is what's right?”

Nathaniel looked at his wife. “Abby?”

Abby shrugged. “I can only assume he's talking about Meagan.”

“Ahh.” He nodded when Luke didn't either confirm or deny Abby's statement.

Luke couldn't help it—he had to know. He looked at Abby and asked, “How much do you know?”

“Likely more than you.” She looked at her husband. “I know you wanted me to stay and talk about the club, but I need to discuss this with him first.”

Nathaniel nodded. “Shall I stay?”

“Please do,” she said. “I'd like your opinion on a few things.”

“You realize,” Nathaniel said, “we're not discussing my favorite person.”

“I have never known anybody to hold a grudge for so long.”

“You were almost assaulted.”

“That was months ago and I wasn't.”

From the way the conversation was going, it appeared this was not the first time they'd had this discussion.

“I put up with her because she is your boss and you like her, for whatever reason I certainly don't know.”

Luke couldn't help but notice the smile Abby had opened the door with was long gone. “You and I,” she said to her husband, “will pick up this conversation later.” She turned to look at Luke. “What did Meagan tell you?”

Luke took a deep breath. He wanted to discuss Meagan even less than he wanted to discuss the new club. It was obvious Abby had something on her mind and she wasn't going to move on until she had her say.

“I know she was being blackmailed. And that was the main reason she agreed to do the photo shoots with me.” He looked up, silently wishing that Abby would tell him he was wrong. That he had misunderstood and Meagan had wanted to be with him from the start.

But Abby simply nodded. “That's true,” she said. “In the beginning.”

Luke snorted. “I suppose now you're going to tell me that after I took a few pictures of her, she fell madly in love with me and couldn't imagine life without me. So much so that she kept the fact that she was being blackmailed a secret.”

He glanced at Nathaniel. The other man clearly had no idea what his wife was talking about. And he didn't seem happy about it.

Abby must have sensed the same thing. She turned to him. “It wasn't my place to tell you. It really didn't concern me.”

“Either way.” Nathaniel shook his head. “You should have called the police. Something.”

“I did what I thought best for my friend. And I wouldn't change it at all.”

Nathaniel opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. Obviously, the conversation wasn't over. It just wasn't going to continue at the moment.

Abby shifted her attention back to Luke. “Yes, it started that way. But as time went on, she grew more and more attracted to you. And she was afraid to tell you about the blackmail because she thought you'd act exactly like you are now.”

“Of course,” Luke said. “How else would she expect me to act?”

“Can you see her point at all?” Abby asked. “Seriously, what would you have her do?”

“I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, tell the truth?”

“She was protecting her brother and her father.”

Luke laughed. “Her brother is an ass. Why the hell would she want to protect him?”

“It was more than that. Whoever it was also threatened her.”

That was the first Luke had heard about a possible threat. The thought of someone hurting Meagan made his blood boil. He clenched his fist. “Damn it, she should've told me. I could protect her.”

Abby's right eyebrow cocked up. “Really? Maybe you would have known if you'd let her explain instead of kicking her out of your house.”

A punch to the gut would have felt better. Damn it. Was his ego so fragile that he couldn't have heard her out that day? Had she been so frightened for her safety that she felt she couldn't talk to him?

He knew how it looked. Like he wanted to have his cake and eat it, too. It was the Dom inside him who was bound to protect at odds with the man who'd had his heart broken.

He shoved his hands through his hair, finally admitting the truth to himself. “I was an ass. I care for her. I do. What happened hasn't changed that.” He sighed. “I just don't know if I can trust her.”

“Have you never made a mistake?” Abby asked.

“Abby,” Nathaniel said, a slight warning in his tone.

She held up her hand. “No, he has to understand that we all do stupid things when we're in love.”

Luke felt as if someone had punched him. Love? Was it possible Meagan loved him? It didn't seem possible. You didn't keep things from people you loved.

But as soon as the thought popped into his head, he dismissed it. Of course you did. People kept things to themselves all the time. Yes, Meagan had been wrong to keep the blackmail from him, but if he looked at it from her point of view . . .

He'd broken her heart years ago. He saw just recently how much their breakup back then had impacted her. If, in her mind, things were going well between them—and they had been—it stood to reason that she feared telling him about the blackmail might drive him away again.

Hell, it had. He was here now, wasn't he? Away from her. And he'd replied to the e-mail telling her not to contact him again. Damn. He was an ass.

Granted. It didn't get her off the hook. She'd fucked up and fucked up big-time. But she was human and if there was a chance she loved him, didn't he owe it to her, to
them
, to forgive her?

She'd given him a second chance. Didn't he owe her the same?

From her chair across from him, he saw Abby's smile begin to return. His expression must have shown what he was thinking.

“I knew you'd come around,” she said.

“I don't know if I'd say that just yet,” he admitted. “We still
have a lot of issues to discuss and work out. But, I'm willing to work on them. Willing to listen.”

“Damn.” Nathaniel looked at him with a strange expression.

“What?” Luke asked.

“You're really in love with her.”

He felt light for the first time in years. “Yeah, I suppose I am. Is it that obvious?”

Nathaniel nodded. “When I first came in here, you looked like someone had kicked your puppy. Now, all of a sudden, you look like you could go off and fight dragons.”

“He looks blissfully in love,” Abby agreed. Her phone vibrated with an incoming text and she reached for it.

Luke slapped his hands on his thighs. “Nathaniel. Abby. I know we were supposed to talk about the new club, but if you'll excuse me—”

“Looks like you may need to start fighting those dragons sooner rather than later,” Abby said. When she looked up from her phone, she was frowning.

“Why? What's wrong?”

She held up her phone. “Meagan just sent a text. She figured out who was blackmailing her.”

His heart pounded so hard, he could hear it in his head. “Who?”
Tell me. I'll fucking kill him.

“It's her brother.” She shook her head. “I don't like the way this sounds. She said she's going over to his place to confront him.”

In a perfect world, Luke wouldn't have to worry about Meagan talking with her brother. After all, he was family. But the truth remained. He had threatened her and the possibility existed he might follow through with his threat.

“Shit,” Luke said. “I don't know where he lives.”

Nathaniel stood up. “Give me his name. I'll find him for you.”

*   *   *

M
eagan pulled up to her brother's apartment, noting his truck was parked near the front door. She'd almost thought to call before showing up, thinking maybe he'd be working. Then she decided that it would be more likely for him to publish his book than for that to happen, so she didn't call. Besides, she didn't want to give anything away.

She rehearsed in her mind what she was going to say. And, after she said it, she was going to insist he get some help. His refusal was not an option.

She tapped her foot while she waited for him to answer the doorbell. If all went according to her plan, this visit shouldn't take very long and then she'd work on getting Luke back.

“Yeah?”

It wasn't Jake who answered the door. Nor was it his roommate, Ray. She didn't recognize this man, but something about him looked familiar.

“I'm here to see Jake,” she finally said.

He stepped to the side and waved her inside. “He's passed out in his bedroom, but you can wait for him to wake up if you want. He shouldn't be out too much longer.”

Waiting with a stranger for Jake to wake up wasn't very high on her list of fun ways to spend a few hours. But she didn't have anything else to do and now that she was at his apartment, she really didn't want to make the trip again.

Like her visit before, she wasn't about to sit on any of the nasty furniture. She switched her purse to the other arm and tried to get as comfortable as she could.

The strange guy sat on the couch, watching her with a faint
amused expression on his face. It was annoying. Like he was in on a joke she didn't know about.

Why did he look so familiar?

Finally, she couldn't ignore it anymore. “What?” she asked him.

“You,” he said. “Standing there like you're too good to sit down.”

“I'm sorry,” she said. “I don't believe I caught your name. I'm Meagan, Jake's sister.”

He kept on smiling. “I know who you are, Meagan Bishop.”

The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Something about this guy was off. She took a step closer to the door. “Funny. I don't have a clue who you are.”

“I'm a friend of your brother's.” He nodded to the couch. “Sit down and I'll tell you more.”

“That couch is filthy. I'm not about to mess up my clothes by sitting on it.” The couch in question had several dark stains. They didn't look fresh, but even if they were dry, there was no telling what else was on that thing. “Some kid could probably do a science experiment on what's growing on it.”

The amused expression left the guy's face, quickly replaced by an icy stare that chilled her. “You little bitch. You think you're better than me, don't you?”

“No, I just think I'm cleaner.” She tilted her head. “Scratch that. I know I'm cleaner.”

He sat there smiling and it was, hands down, the creepiest thing she'd ever experienced. She sighed deeply and then regretted it as the smell of unwashed male assaulted her nose. And still he watched her. That was enough. She had to get out. It didn't matter that she would have to come back later. Anything was better than staying in the nasty apartment with that creepy guy.