Page 4 of Danger and Dominance (Black Fox Security Doms #1)

Cassidy Simone didn’t look anything like the smiling young woman in the picture.

She looked like that woman’s frightened, exhausted, anxious sister.

Her smile was barely there, and it disappeared quickly.

Even when it did make an appearance, there were bags under her eyes and shadows within them, and even her hair seemed duller.

The light that had burned inside her hadn’t just been dimmed; it had been snuffed out.

That made him want to simultaneously pull her into his arms and reassure her she was safe and that everything would be all right and also go hunt down her douchebag of an ex and make sure he never bothered her again. By whatever means necessary.

Keep him from hurting anyone else, too. From snuffing out another woman’s light. Or even her life.

It didn’t help that the moment their eyes met, he’d felt a spark of something other than anger.

He was attracted to her. Immediately. Unexpectedly.

Which was entirely unwelcome, given the circumstances.

A complication on top of an already complicated situation was the very last fucking thing he needed.

Watching Lincoln escort Cassidy down the hall, he frowned. He was supposed to be giving her the tour. What further details was he supposed to go over with Kincaid?

“What the hell is your problem?” Kincaid asked as soon as Lincoln and Cassidy had turned down the hall, jerking David out of his reverie.

“Excuse me?” For a moment, he thought Kincaid might have caught him staring at Cassidy’s ass, which was the least professional thing he could be fucking doing right now. He glared at Kincaid, trying to hide his inner flailing.

Fuck, he really hoped the other man hadn’t noticed him staring at Cassidy’s ass.

We do not get emotionally or physically involved with the clients.

“What. Is. Your. Problem.” Kincaid repeated, enunciating each word and biting it off at the end.

“Don’t act like there isn’t one. Even Lincoln noticed your shitty attitude.

I bet you were supposed to give Cassidy the tour and take her to the house.

Otherwise, there was no point in you being here to meet her. ”

Relief at realizing Kincaid had not noticed him staring at Cassidy’s ass warred with his indignation. He was doing his damn job; that’s why he was here, and if Kincaid was that concerned, then maybe he should be doing more about it himself instead of passing the buck to David.

“There was no point in me being here, anyway. First of all, what’s the likelihood of her ex following her up here?” he asked. Especially with all the precautions they were taking to keep her hidden. “And secondly, if it was that high, why the hell didn’t she report him to the police?”

“You know why. I put all of that in the report unless, of course, you didn’t read the report.”

“Of course, I read the report,” David snapped, losing his temper.

Tasha’s face floated through his mind. She deserved to be safe, and so did Cassidy, yet a kink club thought they could handle abusers themselves instead of doing what they were supposed to do.

“I read all about how your little club tried to handle everything themselves instead of filing a report, just so she could save some face and not have to admit that she was at a BDSM club when the incident happened. Did any of you think about what happens after that? What if he had left her alone and gone to do exactly the same thing to someone else, all because she didn’t file an actual report, and he faced no real consequences? ”

Kincaid’s face was getting redder and redder, but David didn’t care.

It felt good to finally be able to vent to someone about this.

He couldn’t exactly do it to his own team or his boss.

Kincaid was part of the firm now, but he wasn’t on David’s team, and he wasn’t going to be working here in Pittsburgh.

He was going to be in his own office, down in D.C. , with his own team.

“And you think he would have faced real consequences if she’d filed a report?

” Kincaid snapped back, which surprised David.

“There’s a fifty percent chance—hell, probably even more—that if she tried to file a report, the officer would hear BDSM club and immediately write her off.

Or tell her that there’s no point because, obviously, she invited that kind of treatment.

If she got lucky and got someone who takes her seriously and takes the report, all those things will come up in court and worse.

Any attorney would go through her entire sexual history to make her out to be some sort of slut, on record, then he’d walk away scot-free. ”

Well… fuck… if a former police detective was saying that… While he’d realized Kincaid was personally involved since Cassidy was a friend and part of his club, he’d expected Kincaid to agree with him a little more. Still, now that he’d taken up the point, David felt compelled to defend his position.

“But at least there would be a record for future women. That way, if they look him up, they’ll know.”

It could save another woman like Tasha.

“He’s blackballed from every BDSM club in a four-state radius.

Any submissive who tries to go to a club with him will immediately find out, and most of the people who choose to throw house parties rather than go to the clubs have some kind of connection to those in the know, so they’ve been warned, too.

Not to mention, several of our submissives had taken it upon themselves to watch the dating apps and FetLife in case he pops up there. ”

The anger that had buoyed David was quickly leaking out. He knew the world didn’t work the way it should work. The way it was supposed to work. The cops sure as hell weren’t perfect. He knew that.

Kincaid kept going, kept lecturing.

“We can’t protect everyone, but we did our best, and as a former police officer, I can tell you that we did far more than they would have.

And we protected Cassidy, which is now your job, and if you’d rather throw her to the wolves, if you don’t care what reporting and a trial would have put her through as a person, and you only care about some hypothetical future women—which, by the way, would have still had to look him up and then believe what they found—then I’ll ask Lincoln to assign her to someone else.

“She already feels guilty as hell for what he’s been putting her friends through, on top of her fear for herself.

She doesn’t need your self-righteous bullshit over a situation that you would never, ever find yourself in and therefore could never fully empathize with or know what you would do if it did happen to you. ”

Applause sounded from behind David, making him jump. He spun around to stare at Jennifer, who was now standing behind her desk, hands high in the air as she clapped. Her fierce gaze was focused on the redheaded team leader, whose shoulders sagged even further.

“You tell him, Kincaid.”

“Oh, come on, Jennifer, what if you or one of your friends dated him or someone like him after?” David’s tone turned almost whining as he pleaded with the younger woman to see his side.

“I know you all research your dates like you’re the FBI.

You’d turn up the fact that he’d been taken to court, and you’d be forewarned. ” She had a lot in common with Tasha.

“We’d find it, but a lot of these guys are good at explaining things away.

Oh, it was a vindictive ex. Oh, she was lying because she didn’t truly understand kink.

Oh, it was a false accusation. And people believe that shit.

” Jennifer put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Not only that, but because I’m a woman, I have friends who have tried to get restraining orders.

I’ve had friends who have been dismissed by the police for ‘lack of evidence’ or because it was his word against theirs.

“Have you ever had to stand by a woman’s side while the cops rip apart her ‘story’ while she’s still shaking from the trauma?

No? Okay, then. You’re so obsessed with what the ‘right’ thing to do is, sometimes you forget that what’s right for one person might not be what you deem is right for society. And that’s why you’re wrong.”

Shit, and now Jennifer was looking at him like he was a bad person.

He didn’t do well with verbal arguments.

Fast decisions under pressure were his specialty, unless it was with words when he couldn’t quite find his tongue.

Especially because bringing up Tasha now would just look like an excuse.

That is why he tried not to get into arguments.

“I’m not a bad person.”

Good, David. Great argument. Stellar. You’re knocking it out of the park, buddy.

Jennifer raised her eyebrow at him.

“I didn’t say you’re a bad person, but you are an uncompromising and often judgmental one who needs to work on their empathy. Especially when it comes to situations that you, as a white, straight man, will never understand because you will never have that lived experience.”

David threw his hands in the air in defeat.

It was easier than arguing, and he knew they were right.

He wasn’t really pissed at them; he was pissed because Cassidy should be able to go to the police and have them take her seriously.

She shouldn’t be judged because she was in a kink club when the assault happened.

It offended every single one of his sensibilities that women trying to get away from abusers had so much of the system working against them instead of for them. He didn’t like it, but he also didn’t have to live in it personally.

“You’re right. No, I know. I see it sometimes, but I am always on the outside.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I’ll try to be nicer to Cassidy.”

“Glad to hear it,” Kincaid said. “She deserves a break.”

With that, Kincaid spun on his heel and stomped down the hall Lincoln and Cassidy had gone down. David should, too, but he wasn’t ready yet.

This morning was hell, and he’d been completely thrown not only by the case but by his reaction to Cassidy in person.

And he had the unhappy feeling that both Kincaid and Jennifer now thought a lot less of him because he wanted to be able to do the right thing and have the goddamn system, which he’d fought and bled to protect, do the right thing, too.

So, he stood there in the lobby, trying to gather his thoughts and remember that wanting justice wasn’t a bad thing in and of itself.

“You okay there, Ginger?” Jennifer asked, using his call name, her voice full of false sympathy. Little brat. A rush of affection went through him. One of the reasons she’d been hired was because, despite her youth, she didn’t take shit from any of them. Which they all needed.

“Yeah, I’m good.” He glanced at Jennifer. She beamed at him.

“That’s what I like about you, Ginger. You handle criticism well.” She was completely sincere, which helped soothe some of his ire.

“Thanks,” he said dryly. “I aim to please.” With a sigh, he straightened up.

Time to get his game face on.

Be nice to the client. But not too nice.

Do not get emotionally or physically involved with the client.