Page 29 of Sunrise (Monarch Club #3)

Vault

There are several pieces of the Sophie puzzle I’m able to infer with the little she’s shared.

Her behavior makes a lot more sense now.

Spending so much time at the club and work means she’s home very little.

The way she keeps this place like a fortress and yet is so easily spooked speaks volumes about her not trusting her surroundings when she’s alone.

Again, just another reason she’s at the club all the time.

There’s no getting past security there. And if, by some wild chance, someone slips through our cracks—which has happened, because hello Daelyn—we take care of them swiftly.

It might be a far stretch, but I also find it interesting that Knox’s paranoia about that food critic could possibly be linked to Sophie, too.

Max Born being one of her favorite scientists?

The thumb tapping thing? The power play Knox mentioned.

It might not be related, but until I know every fucking detail of every fucking thing, I’m not ruling it out.

“You’re staying with me,” I announce while everyone eats the breakfast Knox made. “When you’re done eating, pack your things.”

“I’m not doing that.” She pushes her empty plate away. “Absolutely not. ”

Her rejection stings like a bitch. “Then you’re staying with Knox.”

“No, I’m not. I don’t stay at my sub’s houses.”

“Since when?” Knox tosses back defensively.

“Wow. Is that all we really are to you, Sophie?”

Her cheeks turn red. “What more did you want to be?”

Damn. In the five minutes it’s taken her to finish her breakfast, she’s gone from antsy and scared to cold and aloof. What the actual fuck?

I can sense Knox is about to out us and tell her we’re in love with her, so I stop him. Squeezing his arm, I’m holding granite. He’s already so fucking tense it’s crazy.

If she doesn’t want us to be more than just her subs, our original plan of romancing the hell out of her needs to be tossed. And if I’m reading this whole thing wrong, I’ll change course when the time comes. Right now, this woman needs safety and control. Not roses and candlelit dinners.

“We’ll stay at the club,” she states. “I think it’s safest and best that way.”

“Do you now?” Knox shifts on the balls of feet. “Did you feel safe when you slammed that panic button?”

Jesus, Knox. Way to go, kicking her when she’s down .

He’s got a point, though.

They glower at each other, forcing me to jump into damage control.

“We’ll go wherever you say, Mistress.” I slap Knox upside his head. “If you want to stay at the Monarch, so be it.”

It’s probably best that way. We have all the tools we need there, plus the bump in security.

The only real hurdle is Knox’s comfort level, which hopefully won’t be a problem now that he and I are on the same page with things.

That closure he gave me was the key to moving us forward.

I know I’m not healed completely, that will still take time, and I have a lot of hurdles to jump, but my rage over that fucker’s death has completely vanished.

I won’t ask Knox for the details. I trust that if he says it was painful and slow, he wouldn’t disappoint me.

I think the key concept is what’s driving me to do what’s best for Sophie and ultimately, all three of us.

I may have propositioned her to be my Domme so I could get comfortable with certain sexual acts enough to fight for Knox’s heart again, but she’s become a million times more important to me than just a woman with a strap-on and a whip.

Knox feels the same. He wouldn’t be standing here if he didn’t love her, too.

“How is this going to work, then?” I cross my arms. “We just temporarily live at the Monarch?”

She shrugs.

“Ryker won’t like it.”

She waves my concern off. “It’ll be fine.”

“He knows something’s up with you, Soph. We’ve all known it.” Knox grabs her plate and brings it to the sink. “He’ll want to know the truth if we suddenly become temporary residents.”

That must strike a nerve because she freezes and drops her gaze. I almost thought Ryker knew whatever Sophie’s secret is, because he’s always so incredibly protective of her, but I’m starting to realize none of us really know her.

I don’t like it.

This feels like a strange kind of betrayal. The only reason I’m not exploding about it is because I truly believe she wouldn’t hide something from us unless she felt it was absolutely necessary. And if it’s like that, then it must be really goddamn bad.

My protective instincts kick into fifth gear. “We’ll play it by ear. But you will stay with one of us, or both of us, every night. That’s my only rule moving forward.”

She swallows hard, mulling it over. “I can do that.”

“Good.” Getting busy, I start gathering dishes to wash and Knox grabs cleaning spray from under the sink so he can hit the counters.

“Stop,” she orders. “I don’t want you doing that.”

Knox shrugs. “It’s fine, we got it.”

“I said stop !” She’s irrationally angry over us cleaning her house.

Okay. Wait. Maybe it’s not irrational at all. Maybe this is another clue.

I raise my hands and back away from the sink. Knox puts the spray down and stands next to me. He’s only two inches taller than me, but sometimes, like now, he feels like a giant.

Sophie groans with her eyes closed and rubs her temples. “Fuck, guys. I’m sorry.”

We hold steady and keep silent as she collects herself. The woman I’ve fallen in love with is not the same one sitting across from us right now. I’m feeling a lot of ways about it.

“You can’t clean,” she explains calmly. And a fucking tear trails down her cheek. “I had a sub do that for me once… and it ended badly.”

My brows pinch together. “How badly, Soph? ”

She gestures at the locks around her house and then herself. “ This badly.”

When? Who? If Sophie was having a Monarch Club member overstep her boundaries and scare her enough to turn her into this, then we need to know.

“Did you tell Ryker?” Knox asks.

Her eyes widen with more terror, which has the hairs on my arms rising.

“Sophie, if a Monarch member…”

“It wasn’t a Monarch member,” she quickly states.

The color drains from her face. She looks like she’s going to pass out.

Is she lying? I can’t tell.

If Sophie thinks meeting members outside of the Monarch will get her in trouble… she’s absolutely right. It’s not safe. Ryker will have a fit if he finds out.

“Please,” she begs with a trembling voice. “I…”

“It’s okay.” I don’t want her to think we’ll rat her out. “Just… don’t ever meet members outside the club again.”

“No, it wasn’t a member.”

“When was this?”

“Years ago.”

Quick math has me reeling. She hasn’t been a Domme for that many years, so logically I’m inclined to believe this happened when she first joined the Monarch Club.

She’d been so new to the lifestyle and rules, which someone could easily take advantage of.

Especially if it’s not a club member who would be terrified to act inappropriately and get blacklisted.

Sophie starts crying like a child in trouble. It breaks my heart.

“Shh.” I walk over and kiss her forehead, holding her for a minute. “You’re okay.”

Knox and I glance at each other for a heartbeat.

Neither one of us was prepared for this.

I feel terrible knowing she’s been in danger while in our circle and we didn’t know a damned thing about it.

And as bad as I want to know the name of the sub who’s got her like this, I’m going to hold off on asking.

She’s so fragile right now that I’m scared to push anymore and risk shattering her.

This isn’t my Sophie at all.

This is a terrified little mouse.

Where is our lioness?

Knox runs his hand through his hair, looking ready to burn the world down. “How can we help you, Soph? What do you need from us?”

She swipes her tears away and seems to collect herself. “Just… wait outside and I’ll be out soon, okay?”

???

Sitting on the front steps, we wait like well-trained dogs for Sophie to come out and I shoot a message in our group text letting Ryker and Dmitri in on what’s up. I don’t mention much other than Sophie’s hit a wall and needs us at the club.

She’s our first priority. Our second, once she’s better, will be to uncover this mystery sub and tear him into pieces. He won’t be blacklisted, he’ll be annihilated. Knox and I both agree on that.

He’s cool as a cucumber right now.

I’m a live wire with one end in a puddle.

My chest tightens. It’s a struggle to drag in full breaths .

Shit, I’m not sure I can be a sub for her today. My instincts scream to be her Dom. To put her in a subspace where she can check out and enjoy copious amounts of pleasure. But I also understand that her being the dominant over us will give her that, too. It’s just different.

“You’re screaming in there again,” Knox says in a deep voice. “Care to share?”

Should I? Will he think I’m selfish?

“I’m just feeling out of control, and I don’t like it.”

“It’s different when there’s three of us.” He tips his head towards the sun and closes his eyes. “It’s not so black and white. We’ve got gray now, too.”

“What does that even mean?”

He squints, looking over at me. “It means you want to Dom, and you can’t because she wants the reins. You’re a switch, bro. Start switching.”

“I’m not a switch.”

“Yeah, you are. You’re just like me, only you prefer to top because it feels safer for you that way.” He tilts his head back again, like he’s getting a suntan. “You can still dominate me if you want. I trust you.”

I know he does but… am I really ready for what we’ve signed up for?

“We can all give each other what we need,” Knox says, unbothered. “Just let your guard down and roll with it.”

It’s not that simple. And with Sophie’s current headspace, I’m worried we’re stepping into dangerous territory. Someone here needs to be levelheaded and in control. It’s not her and it’s not me.

“You have to be the one,” I say, staring at the house across the street.

There’s a silver car parked in the driveway and the grass looks like it needs to be mowed.

Next to it is a rancher with a sprinkler running.

On the other side of it is a white house with a tree in the front yard that has a toddler swing hanging from it.

This neighborhood is adorable and peaceful. I’m sad Sophie doesn’t feel safe here.

“Be the one to what?” he asks.

“Drive the scenes.”

Knox sits up. “Vault, that’s on her. That’s literally what she needs to do.”

“She’ll be able to control you and I and run the scenes, but you’re going to have to read us both and call Red when it’s necessary.”

The way he’s scrunching his face says he doesn’t get it.

“She and I are both trying to push ourselves to the limit.” I hate that I’m even considering this possibility, but it needs to be said. “I have no idea what she’ll want from us, but I know what I want and I’m not a hundred percent sure I can handle it yet. Do you understand me?”

His Adam’s apple bobs. He doesn’t speak.

“You know me better than anyone. And your instincts have never once been wrong.” I grab his hand and squeeze it. “You have to be the one.”

“She’s not going to hurt us,” Knox says with all the confidence I’d expect from him.

Which makes me feel worse.

“It’s not her I’m worried about.”