Without a Net (17 page)

“Why did you want me to come? And I need some honest answers here,” Travis said firmly.

“But that leaves them free to harass others, and I take offense at the idea of these people breathing the same air as the rest of the citizenry, so I would rather break some law and have them focused on me. That way you can deal with these miscreants.”

“I’m an FBI agent, Milan. I’m won’t approve you breaking a law bigger than jaywalking, and I don’t think that will impress Greyson’s group.”

And that answered one question for sure. They
were
talking about Captain Greyson.

“But if I kidnapped a police officer, broke him, and then allowed these cretins to catch me in the middle of such a horrible act, then they might be emboldened to act.”

“So…what? You want me to play kidnap victim?” Travis asked. From the tone, Ollie suspected he was considering doing it.

Milan gave a musical laugh. “I have taught you to dominate too well. You could never play the part of a broken submissive.”

“The first lesson you taught me was to submit. I could play the part again.”

“You could submit, and beautifully,” Milan agreed, “but you would always have that spine—that blade of strength that has been forged over too many years for you to sheathe it now.”

“Poetic,” Travis said in a disgusted tone. “If you think Darla could play the part, you’re wrong. She’s stretching it to play a switch. She doesn’t see the difference between the healthy and the unhealthy shade clubs, and she would never agree to going undercover without a strong exit plan that she had control over. We’re talking escape catches on the cuffs and a weapon hidden on her person.”

“That would be remarkably unconvincing,” Milan said.

“Yeah. That’s Darla. She’s a damn good investigator, but undercover is not her forte.”

“What about the young man kneeling at your side? If we could convince Captain Greyson he was an officer of the law, Greyson would believe he had the power.”

“No. I’m not putting a civilian in the middle.”

“But—”

“No. I know how much influence you have over your subs, Milan. Hell, I would have done anything for you when I was a few weeks into my training, so there is no way I’m even allowing you to ask one of your subs to do this. They’ll say yes, but it won’t be for the right reasons.”

“So you believe Sunshine has no right to help bring down a criminal ring?”

“I think Sunshine signed up to learn something about himself and his dynamic,” Travis said.

And Travis would be 100 percent wrong, because Ollie had never questioned his dynamic, not until Milan had screwed with his head and he started enjoying the terrifying sexual tension and denial. But Ollie was beginning to believe Milan’s schemes had multiple objectives. On one level, relief washed through Ollie because he understood Milan’s endgame, and it included Ollie being able to do some good and possibly walk out of this house alive. On the other hand, fury grew in all the dark corners of his mind. If Milan wanted help to take down dirty cops, then what the fuck was he doing playing these games with Ollie’s head?

“Sunshine is a police officer,” Milan said, his voice mild.

“Doesn’t matter. He didn’t come here as a cop.”

“Actually,” Milan said, “he did.”

“He what?” The silence pressed into the room, and for a second, everything was still. “What did you do?” Travis asked in a low voice. There was a power and a danger in that tone that sent a shiver up Ollie’s back.

“I believe you know Detective Oliver Robertson.”

Chapter Fourteen

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Travis cursed. He stood, his chair legs screeching across the floor. “You’re Robertson? Do you have any idea how many people are looking for you?” Travis was angry.

“I don’t think he deserves your wrath,” Milan said.

Ollie mentally agreed with that. He hadn’t made this choice, and he knew for a fact that none of his fellow officers wasted two minutes looking for him.

“Oh, I know who’s to blame,” Travis said. “So you two cooked this up to prove Robertson could pass in an undercover operation? Seriously? Is that why he’s giving off so many mixed messages with his body language—submitting beautifully one second and hesitating the next?”

“Something like that,” Milan said. “You must admit that Sunshine is a beautiful submissive.”

“And by having sex with Detective Robertson, I’ve given the defense attorney a chance to accuse both of us of acting inappropriately.”

Milan chuckled. “I know you, Travis. I trained you, so I know how perceptive you are when you turn on that dominant energy. If you had sex with our boy, he appreciated it, and there was absolutely nothing inappropriate about the enjoyment you both took in each other’s bodies.”

Ollie didn’t agree with that, but he was getting a sinking feeling that Travis didn’t understand what Milan had done. He wasn’t sure if that made the situation better—because Ollie had a natural ally in this if he could only communicate the truth—or worse because of how Travis might react. Milan was clearly his friend and mentor. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that Travis would cover for Milan by making the evidence of a crime vanish, and since Ollie was the evidence, that was an uncomfortable thought.

“Sex cannot happen during an investigation. My director has less flexibility on the issue than you do, Milan.”

“And yet you were so attracted to Sunshine you couldn’t resist.”

“I thought he was here for an experience, and I was helping to provide it.”

Ollie snorted. It was the first noise he’d made, and both of the dominants went silent.

Travis turned his attention to Ollie. “Well, clearly I enjoyed it as well, but you weren’t exactly suffering. And I can’t have a conversation with someone who is gagged. Milan, take those things off.”

“Things? Those are handcrafted tools of our trade. Show some respect.”

Travis didn’t answer, but he helped Ollie stand. Now that Travis knew who he was, Ollie felt twice as naked. When Travis looked at him, Ollie struggled to maintain eye contact. “As much as I admire your dedication to going undercover, you should have contacted someone before following Milan into this madness. The bureau spent a lot of time trying to track you down. I was afraid Greyson had you killed. Christ. I can’t believe I’m going to have to tell the director I had sex with a primary participant in the operation, and I think she’s going to have trouble believing I was stupid enough not to recognize him. In my defense, I didn’t expect to find a missing police officer here.”

Ollie tried to shrug, but the neck piece was too tight to allow it.

“Are you going to get the keys?” Travis turned toward Milan.

“If the boy is preparing for a role as a submissive, don’t you think he should remain in character?”

Travis’s back got a little straighter, and he flexed his fingers. “I never agreed to partner with Detective Robertson, and as much as I admire his dedication to developing a cover, he’s not a fed, and he’s not my partner.”

“He’s a better partner for you than the one you have now.”

That got Travis riled up. “Darla is a damn good investigator.”

“But she is not an expert in undercover, nor does she respect you.”

Travis fisted his hands for a second, and then he relaxed, although his voice was low and dangerous. “Excuse me?”

Milan stood. He was not as tall or as broad-shouldered as Travis, but he had a presence that drew Ollie’s attention. “You say she does not see the difference between healthy and unhealthy shade clubs, so she must not see a difference between you and those abusive dominants who use submissives for their own pleasure, ignoring the dynamic between two partners in sync.”

“She doesn’t get it. That doesn’t mean she disrespects me.”

“Does it not?” Milan took a step toward Travis, and Ollie looked from one man to the other, unsure about what he should do. “You enjoy pushing a submissive, but you have never pushed them against the current of their nature. If she does not understand the difference between guiding someone downstream and trying to force them to move against the natural current of their own desire, then she is an idiot. She is as misguided as these police who believe I will bend to them if they can only find the right leverage.”

“Don’t lecture me, Milan. I’m not your student anymore.”

“And you have lost touch with your own nature.”

Travis threw his hands into the air. “So you toss a submissive into my path—you find me a police officer with the guts to go in undercover against his own unit, and you think I’m going to play into your manipulations?”

The emotion in the room was rising to perilous levels. Milan watched Travis, and both men wore unreadable expressions.

“You may help or not, but this plan is already underway,” Milan said.

If Milan’s hard gaze had been aimed at Ollie, he would have been weak-kneed; however, Travis gave a small smile. “Really? And what if I take Detective Robertson into protective custody?”

“You would undermine the one real chance we have to bring down these cretins who believe they are above the law,” Milan said. “I have informed security that they are to be less than diligent in concealing the location of this property, and Captain Greyson’s men saw me kidnap Sunshine. Were they not completely incompetent, they would already be knocking on the door.”

Travis shook his head. “They were watching him. We picked up electronic signatures in the detective’s apartment and car, so these guys probably know it’s a setup.”

“Oh, they know nothing of the sort,” Milan assured him. Ollie agreed with that. Since the kidnapping was real, Captain Greyson had every reason to believe it.

“You’re not an agent, Milan. You’re the best at what you do, but running undercover operations is not your thing.”

“It is not, which is why I decided to skip any sort of obfuscation and go with an actual kidnapping,” Milan said. “Right now, I imagine Detective Robertson is quite relieved to hear my actual plan since he’s spent the past two weeks attempting to understand why he was taken.” Milan leaned against the table, but Ollie had the impression that his casual pose was all for show. Travis was the exact opposite. His whole body was taut, and his eyes narrowed. That was the look of a man about to go completely off the rails.

“You… But… Did you…” Travis stopped and took a deep breath, and through it all, Milan simply watched him. “Did Detective Robertson agree to help with this operation?” Travis asked. He almost sounded calm, but there was a slight tremor to his voice that made Ollie break out in gooseflesh.

“He did not.”

Travis blinked several times, and then his gaze slid over to Ollie for one second before he turned his attention back to Milan. “Did he consent to this training?”

“I suspect he would have had he been given the opportunity, but informing him might have created a barrier. I wanted honest reactions so that when Greyson comes, he will find nothing lacking in Sunshine’s acting skills.”

Ollie took offense at that. He was damn good at undercover. He sure as hell didn’t need someone to put him in fear for his life to pull off a mission. The worst part was that Ollie’s indignation and unvarnished fury were competing with his admiration for Milan. The man had a set of steel balls like Ollie had never seen before. Ollie knew that some of his more positive feelings for Milan came from a raging case of Stockholm syndrome, but that didn’t mean he could turn those feelings off.

When Travis spoke, his voice was a ragged whisper. “I raped him.”

“You most certainly did not. I know you well enough to know that Detective Robertson enjoyed everything you did to him.”

“Which means nothing.” Travis took several steps forward, his motions jerky as if he were a marionette on the strings of an angry puppeteer. He caught Milan by the lapels and pressed him against the table until Milan was bent over backward. “I don’t care if he enjoyed it. Fuck, that makes it worse. I made him enjoy a rape. You sick son of a bitch, I will see you in prison for this.”

“You may,” Milan said calmly, “but right now you are unarmed in my home and my guards have certain instructions. Bear that in mind.”

Travis shoved Milan so hard he hit the plate that had been in front of Travis’s chair, and the dinner crashed to the floor. “Do you think I care about your guards? Don’t underestimate me. I’ve learned a few things since I knelt at your side.” Travis sounded furious, but he stepped back.

“I hope so,” Milan said, “but I too have learned in the intervening years.”

“Untie him.” Travis pointed at Ollie. Right now Ollie would agree to remain in bondage if he could avoid these two and their conflict, but he didn’t have a way to make that clear to either of them.

“Travis—”

“Take that shit off him, or I will hurt you in ways you won’t recover from,” Travis threatened.

For several long and terrifying minutes, Milan simply stared at Travis, but then he gave a small nod. “Perhaps it is time for us all to discuss this.”

“Discuss.” Travis snorted his disgust at the word. Then he turned his attention to Ollie. “Detective Robertson, I will support any charges you want to file. Milan, you have the right to remain silent when questioned. Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning, if you wish. If you decide to answer any questions now without an attorney present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney. If you are not a United States citizen, you may contact your country’s consulate prior to any questioning. You have a right to maintain the privacy of your data, and if you share any electronic passwords or encryptions, any findings will be used against you in court. Knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions without an attorney present?”

The familiar words washed over Ollie, shocking him to his core.

Milan, on the other hand, remained largely unconcerned. “You have not even spoken with Sunshine.”