Page 54 of Trust

Kyran gives Silvano an unreadable look. “We still have other bets going on about tonight,” he says. “It could cancel out.”

I pay my entrance fee and hand over my cell phone—as little as I want to do that—before I receive the special bracelet. I notice that Kyran and Silvano are both wearing the same color bracelet. According to the helpful guide by the front desk, it’s the color for “unavailable.”

They didn’t get the bracelets that designate whether they’re Doms or subs.

I take theDombracelet.

“Why did I need to come before ten?” I ask Silvano.

He has a hand on Kyran’s shoulder as they lead me into the main hall of the club.

“I discovered something good on the schedule,” Silvano answers cryptically. He takes us to a table near the bar—snacks and non-alcoholic drinks only—that also has a view of the center stage.

I swallow hard when I see the large, X-shaped cross set up on the stage, as well as the bench with the chains and cuffs.

Adam’s house had had a bench like that, hadn’t it?

“Somebody reserved the center stage,” Silvano says. “If you want a demonstration of BDSM, we might as well get a good show out of it.”

Kyran smirks. “I think the pre-show will be better,” he says.

I have no idea what they mean. I sit down next to Silvano, and Kyran takes the other side.

“Thank you,” I say quietly. I feel strange being here.

I’d felt even stranger asking Silvano for advice, but he’s the only person I know who is involved with BDSM.

“Micah is at my house,” I say. “I don’t want to hurt him. But maybe he wants to be hurt?”

Kyran shrugs. “If you don’t want to do it, don’t.”

“If you aren’t confident in your ability to do things safely, don’t do it,” Silvano agrees. “The people here will tell you that the sub has all the power, that there are safe words and limits, but at the end of the day, you’ll be in charge. You could ignore everything Micah wants.”

I scowl. “I don’t want to ignore his desires. Then I would be like… like that cop.”

“This is where I would say you should…” Silvano trails off, and he suddenly grins widely. He waves to somebody across the room.

Two large men approach us, neither of them looking particularly enthusiastic.

“What a surprise! I didn’t realize you two would be here. Ilya, these are two of my subordinates. Knives, Maddox, this is Ilya. He’s with a Russian organization.”

I think I recognize Knives as one of Silvano’s bodyguards, but I don’t know Maddox. Since the two appeared together, he must be Knives’s partner. I shake their hands, distracted more by the fact that Silvano apparently has even more gay people in his organization.

Does he go out of his way to recruit them, or do they naturally gravitate to him?

"Are the two of you playing tonight?" Kyran asks, leaning back in his seat.

Knives shakes his head, voice wary as he responds, “Nah. We were gonna meet up with some friends, but I don’t see them around. Maybe they bailed.”

“Oh, really? Well, if your friends bailed, that means you have time to play like you normally do,” Silvano says.

Playing.That word has a different meaning in this context.

“This playing, you mean the BDSM playing?” I ask.

“Oh, yes,” Silvano answers. “I don’t know how familiar you are with the scene in Russia, but here we call it ‘playing.’ Or scening, depending. Knives and Maddox have a bit of a reputation here.”

Knives and Maddox pretend not to know what Silvano is talking about. I think they don’t want to ‘play’ in front of Silvano and Kyran, though.