Page 1 of Ravage (Dark Desires #1)

WHERE'S BATMAN?

CAM

Just twenty minutes from the end of our shift, the work phone buzzes with a message from Dispatch. I let out a groan and tip back the cup, draining the last of my takeaway coffee, already bracing for whatever’s next.

As a paramedic, I've lost track of when I last finished on time, and from the tired look on Christian's face, he's thinking the same thing as he reaches over to flick on the siren and pulls the truck out into traffic.

Glancing at the information on the mobile data terminal screen, I vaguely recognise the area. It must be one of the large estate homes that is out in the middle of nowhere.

The message said a suspected heart attack to an older male, so Christian speeds down the winding road.

When we pull into the driveway, we're met with a rather imposing gate, but it swings open before Christian pulls to a stop, and he guides the truck down the long driveway.

"Holy shit," I murmur, when the mansion comes into view.

I've never seen anything like it. I had no idea that places like this even existed in Brisbane. And I've seen a lot in my years as a paramedic. I can only imagine how many rooms this place has, as it's three stories and the size of a small football field.

Someone incredibly fucking rich must live here.

"Holy shit? Where's Batman?" Christian jokes, pulling the truck to a stop in front of the stone staircase.

"I don't know, but I think that's Alfred," I reply, nodding towards the woman who opens the front door, looking stressed.

Christian turns to look at me slowly, an incredulous expression on his face. "She's a damn sight better looking than Alfred, Cam."

No shit.

She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. With long, wavy brown hair that flows down her back, she's wearing a low-cut black dress that clings to her petite figure.

Huffing a laugh, I jump down from my seat and head around the back of the truck to grab our kit as Christian makes his way up the stairs.

"Thank god! You guys were quick," the woman says, her voice wavering a little as she wrings her hands. Spinning on the ball of her foot, she flicks a harried look over her shoulder. "Follow me."

We follow as she strides back inside. Her high heels click along the marble floors as she leads the way to a staircase down into the basement level.

Christian flicks me a confused look before following behind her, leaving me to bring up the rear.

It's rare for us to attend homes with a basement, and it seems odd that a place like this would have one.

Did the guy have a heart attack in the wine cellar?

It's going to be a bitch to get the stretcher down here.

The woman stops in front of a solid wood door and fixes us both with a warning look.

"This is a private club, so I'd appreciate your discretion."

Um... what the fuck?

Christian and I exchange another look, but nod as she turns the handle. We've seen some pretty fucked up stuff on the job, and I can't imagine what on earth could be behind those doors that would make her say that.

A long hall appears before us, with several doors running off it.

She leads us to the first one, where a pretty blonde woman is sitting on an enormous bed, her arms wrapped around her legs.

She's wearing a satin robe that she's wrapped tightly around her body, but it's obvious she's naked beneath it.

She stares down at an ashen-faced older man on the floor with wide, teary eyes.

A bearded man, around my age, is kneeling beside the patient, who is clinging to his left arm, writhing in pain.

For a moment I don't recognise him, then it hits me. I know the man kneeling there.

"Connell?" I say, and the bearded man looks up quickly.

"Shit, Cam?"

He jumps up to allow Christian and me to get to work.

"Did you give him aspirin?" I ask, moving to kneel at the patient's side.

"Yeah," Connell replies, his Irish accent softer than I remembered from when we worked security together in our younger years.

Nodding, I turn my attention to the man on the floor. "Sir, can you describe your symptoms?"

He relays his symptoms in a voice full of pain. He's a bigger guy, probably in his early fifties, and looks vaguely familiar. Someone has draped a blanket over him, and when we pull it back to attach the ECG sensors, I note the distinct lack of clothes.

Christian glances at me while we both continue our work, and I know he's thinking the same thing as I am.

Based on the presence of the woman in the robe, the fact this guy is naked, and we're in a room with a very large bed and bottles of lube all over the bedside table.

.. We've been called to some kind of brothel.

This is a first for me. I've been to a lot of sketchy places on the job, including quite a few crack houses, but never anywhere like this.

It doesn't really fit with what I've imagined a brothel to look like.

The blonde woman on the bed is gorgeous, but she doesn't look like any of the other sex workers I've worked on over the years.

Most of them were drug addicts, selling their bodies to get their next fix.

This woman looks to be in her early thirties and takes very good care of herself.

Her makeup is flawless, and the robe looks expensive.

"I don't suppose you have a lift to get down here?" I ask, looking at Connell while Christian continues talking to the patient.

"There's a service elevator down the other end of the hall," the brunette woman answers, and I nod.

My focus is on the patient, but there's no denying my attraction to her. I've always had a thing for brunettes, and this one is absolutely breathtaking.

I wonder if she's the madam...

"You right here while I go get the stretcher?" I ask Christian, and he nods.

I rise to my feet and the woman steps out of the way as Connell leads me out the door, taking me to the service elevator.

"What is this place, mate?" I ask once we're alone in the elevator.

He smirks, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "Pretty sure you've worked it out on your own."

I nod. "So... you moved on to work in a brothel."

He laughs. "Yeah, I guess I did. I'm head of security though, not a grunt like when we worked together. Didn't know you'd become a paramedic, though."

The doors open out onto the ground floor. "I wasn't interested in spending years at uni to become a doctor, but I wanted to help people, so..." I shrug, and he nods, following me out to the truck.

"Is he going to be okay?" Connell asks, and I assume he's talking about the old guy downstairs.

"Don't know. He's talking, at least, so that's something." I reach in the back and pull out the stretcher .

"Yeah, thank fuck for that. Imogen would be beside herself if some guy died while she'd been left in charge.

She doesn't usually have anything to do with the patrons, so I thought she was going to have a panic attack herself.

" Connell helps me carry the stretcher up the stairs, before placing it on its wheels.

"Is that the brunette that let us in?"

Connell smirks again. "Yeah." The way he looks at me tells me he's cottoned on to the way I was looking at her.

"So, she's not usually the one running the show here?" I ask, not bothering to hide my interest.

"No. Sebastian does, but he is at one of the other locations right now, so he left her in charge. She's the director of operations."

"Well, hopefully she knows this has nothing to do with her. A guy that age... Let's just say, it's not the first sex related heart issue we've seen in an older man... First time the woman was that good looking, though."

Connell barks out a laugh. "Look, it wouldn't be the first time that Kresta has brought a man to his knees, but I think she's going to need a stiff drink after this one."

I have so many questions, but this isn't the time or place. Clearly, his life got a lot more interesting since we last saw each other.