Nora, Simone and Søren headed to Kingsleyâs townhouse. Usually three kinksters in the back of a Rolls-Royce meant for a very pleasant car ride, but Simone had curled up with her head in Noraâs lap, stunned into silence, while Nora and Søren sat quietly side by side, only their fingers touching. Søren had told her everything he knew. One of Kingsleyâs many minions had come banging on the doors, rousting all the official staff from whatever depraved activities theyâd gotten themselves into. All they knew at this point was that a former employee of Kingsleyâs had been brutally assaulted during a session with a client, so it was all hands on deck.
Once at the townhouse, Søren helped Simone out of the car, but when he offered a hand to Nora, she only rolled her eyes and stepped past him.
The house crawled with submissives arriving at Kingsleyâs, and they all wore looks of anger and fear. It was part of Noraâs job to take care of the submissives, help train them, and as the most revered member of Kingsleyâs staff, she considered herself responsible for the women on his payroll as much as Kingsley did. If they were going to feel safe again, she couldnât allow herself to show any weakness around them.
She put an arm around Simoneâs waist and, side by side, they walked into Kingsleyâs house, Søren behind them. Inside Kingsleyâs office, Nora kept her face calm and her expression neutral even as the women around her wept softly or whispered back and forth to each other in hushed tones. One young submissive named Nikki grabbed Noraâs hand, and Nora gave it a reassuring squeeze.
Mistress Irina rose from a chair, a look of barely controlled fury on her face. She and Nora exchanged meaningful glancesâglances that said that whoever did this deed better pray the cops caught him before she and Nora did. Irina stood in the back next to Søren. Søren obviously wasnât on staff, and even more obviously, wasnât a woman, but the members of The 8th Circle considered him their spiritual leader as they considered Kingsley their earthly leader. Søren occasionally played with many of the submissives in the room, but never had sex with any of them. They trusted him and often sought his advice and comfort. As far as Nora knew, theirs was the only BDSM community with its own chaplain.
Kingsley entered his office a few minutes later with a grim look on his face. Voices exploded in questions at the sight of him, but Nora whistled hard and loud over the din.
âQuiet,â she said and the women of the room went silent. No one countermanded an order from The Red Queen, Noraâs Underground nickname.
âMerci,â Kingsley said, nodding in Noraâs direction. He stood at the edge of his desk surveying them all. âYouâve heard what has happened. Two weeks ago, Mistress Natasha left my employ and went to work on her own. I think many of you know her personally.â
Simone nodded against Noraâs shoulder. She knew Simone and Natasha were close.
âThe first thing you all need to know is that she will live. She has a severe concussion and was unconscious when they found her. Sheâll likely be in the hospital several days.â
âWhere did they find her?â Nora asked, wanting to know all the details, wanting to know who to blame, who to punish.
âSheâd been renting dungeon space at Black Forest. When Mr. Wolfe went to check on her at the end of her session, no one answered the door. He found her bleeding and unconscious on the floor. The dungeon had been destroyed. He called for help first. Then he called me.â
âDid Brad see anything? Hear anything?â Nora asked, making a mental note to call Brad Wolfe herself for more details.
âNon. He was with his own client at the time. And Mistress Natasha preferred to work alone.â Kingsleyâs tone was neutral but Nora sensed the bitterness lurking under the words. He had been furious when Mistress Natasha had left the fold. He hardly cared about the 15 percent he took from each of her sessions. The money he made off his pro-Dommes and pro-subs was a drop in the bucket compared to the revenue from his nightclubs. No, what infuriated him was what he considered Natashaâs arrogant refusal to admit that the work she did was dangerous and required the protection of Kingsleyâs security detail. âBut Mr. Wolfe did always check on her after each session. Itâs good that he did as he possibly saved her life.â