Page 61 of Play With Me
“Shut it down,” Paul, the Chief of Police’s, stern voice booms throughout the Grand Room.
He, along with multiple officers, Mick, the security guards, and Carmela, are gathered around the area. The officers keep side-eyeing those of us who are still in costume, most of us covered in that fucking corn syrup mess.
If another one undresses Carmela with their eyes, we’re gonna have another dead body on our hands. There was time to get her robe, but not for any of us to clean up before they arrived.
“I agree,” Mick echoes. His arms are crossed over his chest as he stares at a random spot on the floor. One look at the body, and he puked his guts out. His pallor is still a sickly gray.
“I’m sorry, Miss Lane. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this,” Paul apologizes.
Next to me, Carmela shakes her head and tightens her robe around her. “I understand. Honestly, I think it’s what’s best for a while.”
A forensic team emerges from the Desires hall, briefly talking with Paul before leaving the premises with their gathered evidence. It’s the first of many trips they’re going to have to take. And Carmela will have to allow them access to the club whenever they’ll need it.
“We’ll get you some contacts for a good cleaning service when they’ve gotten everything they need,” Paul says as he turns to Mick, who only nods in return.
I hear Carmela snort beside me, and when I look over, she’s glaring at the senator. My eyes drift to Luca, huddled against the wall, watching everyone irritably. He’s been snappy all night, giving short, clipped answers when questioned about where he was leading up to when he tackled whoever hauled off Carmela.
It’s interesting that in a crowd that dense, he was able to come to her rescue easily.
Almost like it was planned.
“Great. Well, if that’s all you need from me tonight then have a good evening, gentlemen.” Carmela’s tone is dry and borders on sarcastic, but Ihave a feeling she will fall apart once she’s back in her office.
She directs security to do various tasks before turning to leave, not bothering to say anything to Luca before disappearing down the hall to her office, Mick on her heels. Luca watches them go, his angry eyes gliding to mine the moment they're out of sight.
“What are you looking at?” he sneers.
Curling my lip, I shake my head and turn to follow Cara. “Absolutely nothing.”
Her office door is still open when I get there. “...and I don’t want this carrying over. We have to take this more seriously.Youhave to take this more seriously,” Mick’s voice filters out into the hall.
“I know!” Carmela sounds like she’s on the verge of tears.
I step into the room and go to the bathroom where Carmela is angrily scrubbing her skin with a wet cloth. Her tits are bouncing, shaking the chains that attach her collar to her pasties, and even though the entire club saw her tonight, a snarl rips through me when I catch Mick staring.
He rolls his eyes, turning away as I take the cloth from her. “Relax, baby girl. Breathe,” I instruct, dipping the cloth beneath the spray of warm water. She crosses her arms over her chest, silent tears creating tracks in the fake blood on her face.
Crouching down, I help her out of her bootsbefore bringing the wet cloth to her thighs. “Are you okay? Were you hurt?”
“No,” she manages. “Just shaken up.”
As I clean the fake blood from the back of her upper left thigh, I realize as soon as I clear some away, it’s replaced by more. I try again, watching more carefully as real blood seeps from a cut just below the cheek of her butt. “What the fuck?”
“What is it?” she asks in alarm, twisting around to look at me.
“Cara, you’re cut.” I pull the skin taut, revealing a smooth slash. It’s not deep enough to be fatal—it probably clotted and reopened when I began cleaning her skin—but it’s an odd place for a random cut.
“What?” she sounds panicked.
“What do you mean she’s cut?” Mick questions, turning back around and storming over. He towers over me, trying to see what I’m talking about.
“I mean exactly what the fuck I just said. This is too clean to have been an accident. Did you feel this when it happened?” Her surprise means she probably didn’t. Her adrenaline was probably sky-high all night.
Her eyes turn glassy momentarily. “Yeah, right after I told you where we were over Martin’s radio. It was just a pinch, but when I turned around, no one was there. When I felt it, I thought it was just corn syrup.”
I look up to see her bottom lip trembling. She’s trying so hard to keep it together. Standing, I pull her into my arms, forcing Mick to back up a few steps. “You’re okay, baby girl. I got you.”
“What if that was him tonight?” she sobs. “I could have… God, Anders, what about Maya?”