Page 164 of The Enslaved Duet

He felt my shudder and laughed like a drunkard, intoxicated by my fear. I caught myself on the wall as he tossed me away and then struggled not to spin around to attack him as he strolled down the hall to his office with his hands in his pockets, whistling.

I reminded myself that I had a plan, and that plan would one day lead not just to the destruction of Ashcroft himself, but the entire Order of Dionysus.

With that thought running through my mind like a meditative chant to drown out the agony of my anger, I hurriedly donned the ridiculous maid’s costume and started to explore the three-story townhome. The arrogant and entitled were bound to be careless with their belongings, and I was eager to discover what he could be harbouring.

He had a sex room done up entirely in black, the floors polished concrete stained dark in places with what I was sure was blood, the walls covered in slick black paneling that gave the entire place a dark, antiseptic feel like a nightmarish doctor’s room. He had trays of tools, not just the normal Dom’s paraphernalia, but vials of drugs, syringes, thick piercing needles, scalpels, and medical clamps. The entire aesthetic reminded me that Ashcroft was a rather prolific chemist, and it churned my gut to think of all the ways he might torture a woman with this kind of equipment.

There was nothing to be found there but fodder for nightmares, so I quickly moved on, cleaning the rest of the house in my stupid costume with a feather duster, mop, and broom. My hands smelled of artificial lemon, and my body, still aching from Alexander, creaked and moaned as I moved over the huge space.

I was tempted not to clean at all and merely hide away to waste time, but the criminally bland servant who had picked me up trailed me through the rooms to ensure I worked.

By the time I reached Ashcroft’s office, vacant while he was dressed by his valet for The Trials, I was depressed by my lack of findings and weary enough to weep.

I wanted to give in to self-pity and curse God for continuing to heap trial after trial on my heart. It pained me to admit that the worst of those lately was spending the day and night with Alexander in London knowing that it was goodbye.

But something in the memory clicked in me like the shutter of a camera, and I realized with giddiness exactly what Ashcroft’s blackmail gave me in opportunity.

“I have to use the toilet,” I told the servant as I hesitated at the office and began to wander down the hall to the last door at the end of the hall by the back door. “I’ll just be a moment.”

He scowled, but remained where he was, ostensibly organizing Ashcroft’s life on an iPad.

I was careful to control my gait as I walked into the bathroom and locked the door, only letting a smile break through the crust of sorrow on my face when I was alone with myself in the mirror.

Hurriedly, I took my phone out from where I’d wedged it into my garter belt and dialed a number I knew by heart.

“Tesoro?” Dante asked. “You are returned from the isle of the beasts?”

He always had a derogatory nickname for his homeland, and it usually made me smile, but I had too much on my mind to find him charming.

“Listen, could you do me a favour?”

“Anything,” he replied resolutely.

His readiness did something funny to my heart, a palpitation of glee.

“Good, I need some kind of small camera. Like a nanny cam? Those exist in real life, correct?”

Dante laughed, warm and loud. “Yes, Cosi, those exist in real life. Dare I ask why you need one of these?”

“More than one. Ideally, I’d like six or seven.”

“Does this have something to do with Ashcroft?” he demanded, and there was a murmur of voices in the background in response.

I bit my lip. It wouldn’t do to lie because Dante could sniff out dishonesty like a police dog did a bomb, and honestly, I couldn’t think of another viable reason I would need hidden cameras.

“Yes, it does. I need you or one of your…men to meet me in the next hour and a half with the cameras at this address,” I said, rattling off Ashcroft’s information. “Can you have them meet me by the back entrance? Just text me when they arrive. I won’t respond, but I’ll feel the vibration on my thigh and find a way to get to him.”

“Cosima, are you in his house right now?” he growled.

“Well, obviously.”

“Don’t be fucking smart with me right now. Fuck your cameras, I’m coming myself and bringing some guys. We’ll take care of thatfiglio di puttanaourselves right now.”

“Dante, no,” I said sharply. “If you want to come wait outside the door, I can’t stop you. But I have an idea here, one that could lead to ending the Order, and that is important to me. Not just for myself because of every single way they’ve tried to ruin my life, but for other women too. No one deserves to be sold into a society that will use, humiliate, and harm them for their own amusement.”

He hesitated, the puffs of his angry breath blowing heavy through the phone.

“Fine, I’ll send Frankie. If you need any help at all, though, you call me. Even if you can’t talk, you call, I’ll answer, and I’ll be there before you know it, okay?”