It only took a few clicks to pull up information on Dante Novak. It wasn’t his personal information I was looking for. I already had all of that thanks to Ian’s research. I was looking for incidents that might’ve involved him, something to explain his need for solitude. I spent a good hour scanning the Google results to no avail. Just when I was going to take a break, I came across an old newspaper article:
TWELVE-YEAR-OLD BOY FOUND LOCKED IN ATTIC.
I went on to read the details about the boy whose father had kept him locked in the attic from the time he was four until the authorities were called in after the new neighbors next door saw an emaciated boy staring out at them from the small circular window. According to the neighbor, they’d gotten concerned because in the two weeks they’d lived there, they had never seen anyone come or go from the house. The police found Dante padlocked in the attic with a mini-fridge that had a single bottle of water and the remains of a loaf of bread. The bread had been coated in mold. The story went on to note that Dante had been almost feral, malnourished, and hadn’t had a bath in what they’d guessed to be six months or so.
I stared up the stairs, wondering what that sort of trauma did to a person. Dante seemed well put together, smart. Well, mostly. As far as brains went, he seemed to have them in spades, but his common sense was questionable. Based on the scars, some of them recent, I feared he’d gotten in over his head with the man Dante had told Ian about. I was hoping Ian would get a better feel for how a sadistic asshole had gotten his claws into Dante in the first place. He was a submissive, not a masochist.
I heard someone laughing, got to my feet, and went to the doors leading to the basement walkout. I peered up the hill to the swimming pool, where two very naked submissives were jumping into the pool. The sight had a smile forming.
To my surprise, Dante appeared, but he’d opted to wear shorts. Smart man. Probably didn’t want to show the neighbors the family jewels in broad daylight. He jumped in, splashing Heaven and Everly. I stood there for a few minutes, watching the dynamic between the three. They talked, laughed, and it was obvious they were close. It still surprised me that nothing had transpired between Everly and Dante. Their desire for one another was palpable, as I’d witnessed in that kiss they shared.
The memory had my cock stirring.
I had this overwhelming desire to see the two of them together. Hell, I wanted to see Everly and Heaven together, but I wasn’t quite sure Everly swung that way. Didn’t stop me from fantasizing, because my kink ran deep. I was the sort of man who preferred to explore a submissive’s desires, to push their boundaries. I knew deep down that Everly would do whatever I asked of her, but that wasn’t my end game. Erotic encounters were only exciting if they played out naturally. Forced was not my style, nor would it ever be.
My cell phone rang. I snagged it from the desk, hit the answer button when I saw it was Ian.
“Yeah, I’m heading over to their house now. Got a list from the girls.”
“Did you talk to the club owner?”
“Aye. He’s a bigger dick than I expected. Tell you about it when I get there. Need anything while I’m out?”
“Nay.” My attention turned back to the pool. “We’re good for now.”
I tucked my phone back into my pocket. I’d been hoping the club owner would be able and/or willing to give us some information on Roger Cherlish. We had done our own digging and come up completely empty.
Unfortunately, from what we could tell, the bastard didn’t actually exist.
TEN
Everly
“My turn to cook dinner!” I yelled so everyone would hear me wherever they were in the house.
I’d spent most of the day in the attic library, like a little kid in a candy store. I hadn’t quite believed Heaven when she’d gushed about how amazing it was. That was an understatement. And while I’d intended to play solitaire to pass the time if I got bored, turned out I’d never touched my laptop or my phone, finding more than enough to keep me busy in the wide variety of books they had.
“Depends on what you’re making, fairy princess,” Isaac said when he appeared at the top of the basement stairs.
Oh, right. They were worried she’d deprive them of their precious meat.
She smiled. “Well, I thought we’d start with kale.”
His eyebrows shot downward.
“I’m kidding. You don’t have kale.”
“Do you like it?”
“I do,” I confirmed.
“Then by tomorrow, you’ll have kale.” He stopped in front of me, tipped my head back with a gentle finger beneath my chin.
