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worked with and I will not stand by and allow even one of them to be harmed like this.  You
don t have to come with me if you don t want to. You can stay here until I ve spoken to Mal.
 I m not going. I won t ruin a man if I m not sure. Nat s got his firm and stubborn face
on.
I sigh.  Nat. The club has been dealing with people like this probably since it opened, and
yet I ve never heard of a single bit of trouble except for the time I was involved. This guy won t
even know there s a problem unless Mal gets proof, but he won t be able to hurt a soul in the
meantime. I realize suddenly, he s never even told me who it is.  What s his name, lovely?
Nat shakes his head.  It s not ethical to tell.
I ve already broken my promise to him, or at least I m about to, so I m not going to push
him on this. Much.  And just how ethical is it to let this guy keep coming back here, drugging
subs?
 It s not. It s wrong. And I was trying to trap him. Stop him.
 Which is very noble of you, Nat, but Mal and the security personnel at the club are
better equipped to do it. I m not trying to hurt the boy who took you into his confidence, I m
trying to help.
 I am, too! Nat turns, hits the wall with one fist.  Damn it, Richmond. One more week
and I d have taken care of it. No sweat.
 No sweat? What about the sleepless nights, the bags under your eyes? The lack of
focus? The fact that if he found out you were trying to trap him he could do God knows what to
you? I take his hand and rub his knuckles with my fingers.  Enough. I m going to see Mal.
 I m going to take a shower. Be careful, please?
 I m locking the door behind me, lovely. Don t open it for anyone. I m not the one who
needs to be careful, predators like this don t go after tops.
I kiss him hard and then go, the anger just rolling through me. I head straight for Mal s
office and I don t knock.
Mal looks up, frowns, comm-unit in one hand.  What s up, Rich?
 I ve heard through the grapevine that someone is doping subs up on Risque.
 Who? Why? Which subs? Who told you? Mal stands, fingers tapping furiously.  Get
me Herc. Now. Right now.
 A reliable source. Who didn t come to you because he doesn t have proof, but he
believes it s happening. And the workerbees. I don t know which ones, only that they re scared
for their lives.
 Mal? Hercules voice comes across the comm.
 You need to be down here, boss. Right now. We re locking down the club.
There s a growl, but the link is cut off, Hercules obviously on his way.
I take a breath, nodding. Lock down. I suspected as much without any names. The boys
are safe now. My Nat is safe now.
 You d better be ready to talk, Richmond. Hercules isn t going to be interested in playing
games with you.
 I can t tell him what I don t know, Mal. Someone is drugging the subs, but there s no
proof and the subs who are being drugged are too scared to come forward. Mal s got to know
who told me, but there s little I can do about that.
Hercules doesn t knock, just walks in. The man has a presence, an aura that says don t
mess with me. He s stunning to boot, tall, purple from head to toe and just & a top s top.
 Monk s locked the place down. What the hell is going on?
 Rich says someone s drugging the workerbees. I m having Monk bring Nat in.
 I was hoping we could keep him out of it, Mal. Not to mention I told him not to open
the door to anyone but me.
 Does he know who it is?
I sigh and nod.
 Then he s going to tell us, Hercules puts in.
 He s worried about losing the trust of his friends.
 I don t care.
No, I don t suppose he does. I hold my hand out for Mal s comm.  I told him not to open
the door to anyone. I d better let him know to come with Monk.
Mal hands it over, Nat answering immediately.  Richmond? Someone s here.
 If the man s name is Monk, go with him. He s bringing you here.
 Richmond, you said.
 I didn t name any names, lovely, Mal guessed. Just come. These men care about the
subs.
Hercules takes the comm from my fingers. Anyone else and I ve snarled and grabbed it
back, possibly initiated a fight, but this is Hercules. He is the Club.  I suggest you allow Monk to
escort you here, young man and that you be quick about. He snaps the comm off.
It isn t long before Nat shows up, fully dressed, drawn into himself. He s not the
frightened boy I met at the beginning, not at all. I wait for him to stand next to me and slide my
arm around his waist. I might have brought him to this, but I won t make him stand alone.
Hercules just stares at Nat.  Tell me.
Nat steps away from me, meeting Hercules head-on.  I want your word that the boys
won t be blamed if I m wrong. Only me.
One of Hercules eyebrows go up.  I don t make deals, but I understand that you aren t
presenting me with facts, only suspicions.
 One of your clients is drugging the boys with Risque, threatening them if they came to
Mal. One of your bigger clients.
Hercules only reaction is a tick in his jaw, but I ve seen that tick before, I know he s not
happy.  They re all big, sweetie, I need a name.
 Gent Louinto. They call him Georix
My jaw drops and I can see everyone go still. Gent is big money, fierce. Powerful.
Hercules is the one who recovers the quickest.  Is he here tonight, Monk?
 Give me two minutes and I ll know.
Mal shakes his head.  Kes won t need that long. Sure enough, two words from Mal and
Kes is answering in affirmative, the man fluttering furiously.
 Dammit, is he with a sub?
 He s on the main floor with Harley, having dinner with some business associates, Boss.
Nat s getting paler and paler.  I ve found traces of Risque on the palmpad of his suite and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]