Page 79 of The Vigilante's Lover

Jovana sat down, holding my gaze. I felt locked in, like I couldn’t look away. Why was she so different from the others?

Behind me, I could hear Fredrick popping a cork. I leaned forward. “I hope you trust me,” I said quietly.

The first two girls nodded faintly. Jovana, however, quirked her eyebrow as if in surprise.

Fredrick returned with a tray.

Each girl lifted a glass and took a sip, including Jovana. With Fredrick close and watching, she behaved in the same precise manner as the others.

But she wasn’t broken.

“Never mind this,” I said. “I’d like to take Jovana to the dungeon.” This girl I could reason with, get her out of the way when everything went down. Somehow the life hadn’t been trained out of her.

Her eyebrow went up again, but she said nothing.

“Very well,” Fredrick said. “Follow me.”

We headed out the second door, opposite the one where the girls came from. Fredrick unlocked the palm security and stood aside to let me through.

I paused in front of the panel. “Now this is fancy,” I said, and pressed my own hand to it. The panel flashed red, and I jerked away. “Sorry,” I said as the door slammed shut.

“It’s fine,” Fredrick said, and pressed his hand to it again. The door slid open again.

This time I walked through. He hadn’t noticed the small device now attached to it, reading the codes and preparing for when I blew all the security.

Vigilantes didn’t fight fair. Almost all security technology used by civilians was originally created by manufacturers we controlled, to be easily circumvented when needed.

Unlike the stark white hall the girls came from, this one was covered in burgundy satin and trimmed with gold. On the right side were two doors. On the left, just one. The hall ended about fifty feet down. This was obviously a wing meant for visitors. Cameras recorded our movements.

There were no guards here, which made it a good place to start the action, if needed. I tapped out the information on my watch.

Fredrick palm-pressed the security on this door.

It opened to reveal an expansive room filled with all manner of dungeon play.

The decor was deep blue, with padded benches, a leather sofa, and a tall four-poster bed.

Along the wall were racks of implements, floggers, whips, handcuffs, and blindfolds.

Jovana was apparently trained to behave in a very specific way, as she immediately walked over to an upholstered platform and kneeled, head down, her hands clasped behind her back.

There were no other exits to this room, so it was useless to me. But I had to seem to be interested in this girl to access the offices. Presumably I would meet the man behind the operation, at least briefly, since we were performing such a costly transaction. I would demand it.

“Will you be remaining to supervise our interaction?” I asked Fredrick.

“I will leave you to your privacy,” he said.

“And how are the videos disposed of?” I waved a hand at the supposedly hidden cameras embedded in the elaborate pressed-tin ceiling.

“Destroyed once the deals are finalized,” he said crisply.

I nodded. “All right.”

“Just let us know when you are ready for us, Mr. Phillips.” And with a shallow bow, he left the room.

Jovana had not moved from her position.

“You can stand up,” I said.

She did as I asked, eyes on me as she waited for my next command.

We were being watched, so I had to act the part. I walked over to the wall and let my fingers trail across the floggers.

“Do you have a favorite implement?” I asked her.

“Whatever Master deems most pleasurable,” she said. Her voice was flat, but her eyes danced.

I pulled a black leather paddle from a hook and slapped it on my palm. It felt good and solid. Her eyes followed me as I approached her with it.

“I would love a demonstration of your domination,” Jovana said and stepped off the padded platform. She strode purposefully over to a high bench and bent over it.

I hesitated. I would have expected her to wait on my command.

“How long have you been in training?” I asked her.

She continued to face away as she said, “As long as I can remember.”

Not a real answer. I came up behind her. I couldn’t warn her in any way what was to come, when I started to take down the men running this trade. I could only hope to keep her out of harm’s way.

As I approached, she reached behind and lifted the back of the white dress, revealing a long expanse of smooth unbroken skin. They took care of their slaves during training, as her thighs and backside showed no sign of scarring.

“Shall I take the dress off?” she asked.

I looked away. “No.”

“Please spank me, Master,” she said, but her request didn’t quite match her tone of voice, which bore a hint of amusement.

I hesitated. I did not want to lay a hand on these damaged girls, although I was quite sure we were being monitored for any behavior out of the norm. I was supposed to be in the market for a slave.

I slid the paddle along her skin, smacking her lightly.

“Harder, please,” she said.

I almost did it, as now her voice did sound convincingly like she wanted it, and I could see a glistening of her arousal. Unnerved by this, by how deep the training could go, I spanked her with one solid strike that made her body shift against the bench.

She sucked in a breath.

I stepped back. “Cover yourself,” I said. “Go kneel on your platform.”

I had witnessed a lot of things in my Vigilante years, prostitutes, drug dealers, mutilated skin, unmentionable horrors. But seeing this girl, enjoying something not for herself, but because she had been trained to, struck a chord in me.

I wanted her to understand that she had been manipulated. I needed her to want her freedom.

But she had been turned on by this.

Maybe it was her true nature.

Jovana moved across the room and knelt on the platform as I asked. I set the paddle on the bench.

“I’ve seen enough,” I said.

“Are you sure?” Jovana asked. She touched her hands to her shoulders, unfastening some clasp, and the dress puddled around her knees. She was completely naked beneath it.

She didn’t want me to discard her. This made sense. The girls were probably expected to make the sale. Perhaps they were punished if they weren’t accepted.

My eyes skimmed her. She seemed healthy and unmarked. Even though it was inadvisable, I walked over to her and knelt next to her. “I’m getting you out of here,” I said. “You won’t belong to anyone.”

She took my hand and slid it between her legs to show how slick and wet she was. “I want to belong to you.”

I stood up, my anger with the people who had put her in this position reaching a fever pitch. I was ready to find out who was in charge of her. Who had done this to her.

And take him out.

“I want this one,” I said to the ceiling. “I’m ready.”

Jovana didn’t move, surrounded by the cascades of her discarded dress, as Fredrick returned from the door.

“Jovana will give you many years of pleasure,” he said. “Shall we meet in our business offices?”

I did not glance back at the girl. There was no way to ensure that she would live if the men here got wild with firepower. But I would do my damnedest.