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“You are, Eliza. Period. My family knows the severity of this case. They know that sometimes Dad is gone for a while. I always come home, and they know I love them. You need to be worried about you, not my partner, me, or kids. Okay?”

“But…”

“No buts. I will camp in your front yard if you keep arguing with me,” he threatens. I can’t help but giggle when she crosses her arms and stomps at him with a deep frown.

“Fine,” she grumbles.

“Good girl. Now, Cassidy…”

“Be careful. She might come if you call her a good girl,” Julian chuckles.

“That’s enough out of you, princess bitch,” I snap. Oscar, Gunner, and Collin laugh, but Calder, Ryan, and Eliza gasp. Julian raises an eyebrow at me, and I roll my eyes before looking at Jasper. “You were saying?”

“Your apartment in Miami has been searched. They found a ridiculous amount of cocaine hidden in a bookcase. Who does that belong to?” Jasper asks.

“Oh, right…” I say carefully.

“Cassidy Noel, I will kick your ass in front of God and everyone if you say that is yours,” Oscar threatens.

“No, it’s not mine,” I say. “Trey was almost always high when he whipped me or fucked me. A handful of times, he forced me to partake, but I avoided it as much as I could. Saying no often led to worse punishments, but I found too much peace when I was high, and that scared me. Not to say I don’t wish I could partake, but I don’t.”

“When was the last time?” Jasper asks.

“Uh… a few weeks ago, I think. I think he was trying to overdose me because he forced me to do a lot. I have huge missing gaps of time.”

“Okay. We will run fingerprints on the bag,” Jasper says. “What about the small bag of flash drives? They’re password protected. If you knew the password, we could get into them faster.”

“I don’t know what you mean. Where were they?” I ask.

“In the kitchen. There is a large porcelain pitcher sitting on top of the refrigerator. Inside was a baggie full of flash drives,” Carrie tells me.

“I have no idea. I never got up there because I can’t reach,” I say.

“Hmm. Okay,” he says. “Anything else? Any other drugs or weapons in the apartment?”

“Not that I’m aware of. I didn’t realize he had a stash of coke,” I tell him honestly.

“It’s okay. You aren’t in trouble. Worst case, they might want you to do a drug test,” he tells me, and I nod.

“We are closing down for the day. Most will work remotely, but they all know why,” Calder says. “We will be going home.”

“Well, go home and relax,” Jasper says. “We will get everything from the front desk and be out of the way.”

“Thank you,” Eliza says, still pouting.

“You’re welcome, Eliza,” Jasper chuckles.

“Let’s go home,” Eliza says to the rest of us.

When we get back to the house, Julian and Calder check the gate to make sure it’s secure before we all go up to the house and set the alarm. I go up to the room and take a shower so I can be alone for a while. I’m overwhelmed and on edge. I don’t know how to make myself relax.

When I get out, I go downstairs to find everyone is sitting on the large sectional couch. When I go to step past Ryan, he grabs my hips and pulls me into his lap to straddle him. I yelp, and the others chuckle. “I guess I’ll sit right here,” I muse. “Can I help you?”

“I want you and I to do a scene. A real impact scene,” Ryan tells me. “You are teetering on the edge of panic, and I want to help you down without the harsh drop.”

“Meaning?” I ask.

“Meaning, I want to use a whip on you, but very mildly. You still have bruising, and the intensity isn’t what I’m after,” he tells me. “I would like to work you up to the more intense levels, but right now, is just about the sting. With Eliza, she was so used to that feeling that not having it put her on edge. I suspect you are similar, but you won’t know until I can see you in that setting.”