Out of the Ashes (Trust Book 2) Read online

  Out of the

  Ashes

  by: AM Raulerson

  Copyright © 2012 Author Name

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN:

  ISBN-13:

  DEDICATION

  I’m going to keep this short and sweet. I have been blessed with the friends in my life. Sisters, best friends, supporters and all around crazy wranglers! You know who you are because I say Thank you and I love you every day!

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  i

  Chapter 1

  Pg# 1

  Chapter 2

  Pg # 17

  Chapter 3

  Pg # 34

  Chapter 4

  Pg # 63

  Chapter 5

  Pg # 82

  Chapter 6

  Pg # 95

  Chapter 7

  Pg # 107

  Chapter 8

  Pg # 125

  Chapter 9

  Pg # 141

  Chapter 10

  Pg # 162

  Chapter 11Pg# 192

  Chapter 12Pg# 210

  **This book is intended for Mature audience only. Sexually explicit scenes, graphic language, and forced consent (and worse) which may offend some viewers. This book tells of sex slavery, abuse, and flashbacks. They are extremely explicit.

  .

  1 CHAPTER

  Alexi

  Life just plain sucks sometimes! When my Captain called me into the conference room, I knew it was going to be bad. He was there. The bane of my existence was sitting at the table looking smug and relaxed, but I knew that smug look in his eyes. I’d managed to keep my work and my private life separate for years. Now it seemed something had happened and my two worlds would collide.

  Nodding my head at him I tried to remind myself to be civil. With my Captain in the room I wasn’t going to pull any of the crap we’d been dishing out to each other for the last year. Chase Hamilton had no power over me here and now I just had to keep telling myself that. This was my job, we weren’t in a club. I just had to roll with the punches.

  “Officer Weber, a problem has been brought to the police's attention. With your previous undercover work and your own personal experience… uh...your knowledge of the ins and out..uhm..uh, well you know how this sort of club thing...uh well, you're the perfect person to go into this particular place.”

  It was obvious the Captain was extremely uncomfortable, but then again so was I. I didn’t discuss my personal life for good reason. It had been run through the gossip mill, when I made Detective, that I went to certain clubs. I never confirmed or denied the fact that I was gay, much less the fact that I was into the BDSM scene. Regardless, I was still getting strange looks, like people were trying to figure out what exactly I was into.

  “I don’t need to go over details. I’m going to leave you two to discuss it. Detective Baker with Special Victims will be in soon. He’s been informed of the situation and you’ll be reporting directly to him."

  Giving me that look that said he didn’t want to know anymore than he had to, my Captain practically ran from the room, leaving me and Chase Hamilton staring at each other.

  “You seem to have been thrown to the wolves.” Chase chuckled darkly, an evil smirk on his face.

  “What are you even doing here? I don’t advertise my personal life, but somehow people already know I go to the club. I’ve been the topic of a lot of speculation and rumors for too long. It’s just starting to fade, and I don’t need any more gossip about me!”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not here to out you. Besides this is important, you know I wouldn’t come here if it wasn’t. Or at least I thought you knew that, anyway.” Chase almost sounded offended.

  Sighing, I sat on the other side of the conference room table from him.

  “What is it then? What am I going undercover for?” I asked, trying to put my bland cop face on.

  “There was a problem at my club last night. Madame Mariska was giving one of her teaching demonstrations on whips and while I was watching the crowd I saw something that didn’t sit right with me. A sub looked terrified and the ‘Dom’ with him had a really tight choke collar on him. You know, the kind you use on a dog, not a submissive collar. Meat and Rafael were close so I signaled them towards the ‘Dom’ and told them to take him to one of the private rooms and take, his phone then sit on him if they had to, but not let him leave until I spoke with his sub. We walked over, and the look of terror on that subs face nearly killed me. Rafael and Meat took hold of the Dom and I pulled the leash out of his hand but he wasn’t pleased and tried to make a scene. I told him I needed to speak with his sub and he needed to go with the bouncers. He tried to start fussing, and then suddenly stood up on his tip toes. I don’t know what Meat did behind his back, but when he told the man to come with them quietly, the man nodded and pressed his lips together.”

  Chase chuckled, but the smile didn’t stay on his face long.

  Looking at Chase, I wondered how our relationship had gone so wrong. I had loved him once. Probably still loved him somewhere in my heart. Our problem was, I wanted more, and he lied to himself. He had this broken spirit that made him vulnerable and he wouldn’t admit he needed anyone. As I’d tried to get closer, he’d pushed me away. The final straw was me walking into his apartment to find him with another sub. Where I’d assumed we were in a monogamous relationship, he didn’t. Now we just used our scenes with other people as weapons to try and publicly hurt each other.

  “I took the sub, Mason Brooks, to my office and tried to explain that I was there to help if he needed it. It took more than a little persuading, but he finally told me what was going on. Apparently, there's some kind of secret group calling themselves The Osiris Circle. Basically, a cult like group of men and a few women really into the Master/slave sadism roles. We’re talking torture, kidnapping, and who knows what else. Mason could only tell me some of what he’d gone through and he didn’t think any of the other subs wanted to be there either. They weren’t allowed to talk to each other or raise their eyes off the ground. He heard other subs crying though and begging to be let go and he said it never ended well for the ones who spoke out. This poor kid had just been curious about BDSM. Answering an ad on the internet he agreed to be tied up and a little light spanking. When he got to the hotel, the man tasered him before the door had even closed and he says he passed out. When he woke up he was bound, gagged, and face down on the bed. He couldn’t go into details, way too traumatized, but I did learn the man raped him. He gave Mason a shot of something that made everything ‘surreal and foggy’, and walked him right out the front door of the hotel. He didn’t know how long he’d been out of it, but when he woke up he was in a dog kennel at this man’s house, apparently. He doesn’t know where it is, but he was kept there for around three months. A slave to this man, being passed around to his friends, tortured and abused. He does know this is much bigger than just a few ‘Doms’. He was passed to at least ten different men.” Sighing, Chase looked exhausted.

  I thought he had most likely stayed with this sub all night, wanting him to know he was safe.

  “I called the cops and let Meat and Rafael know to wait for them. I wanted him locked up where no one would see him or know what was going on and to make sure he couldn’t warn anyone else who might be in the club. He wasn't to go anywhere until the cops could come and get him. I didn’t tell Meat and Raphael what Mason told me, but they probably guessed by how pissed I am. The ‘Dom’ wouldn’t tell them anything, and hasn’t been willing to talk to the cops either. They took him into custody where he’s apparently waiting for a lawyer. Mason’s in the hospital right now. His clothes hid most of his injuries and he was
in a lot of pain. Two broken ribs, cuts, burns, and welts across his back and thighs. God! He’s been raped repeatedly so the doctor is going to do some tests to make sure there won’t be any permanent damage. To attract as little scrutiny as possible… at least until these people are caught… your Captain’s put a few plain clothes cops on his room. I put some of our people on it too. House Dom Leo and his sub, Bets, are on first watch. I thought having a sub there would calm Mason if something did go wrong. At least having someone there who understands and doesn’t judge him for putting himself in that position in the first place might be a comfort. Plus, you can’t underestimate Bets. She’s a terror with that knife of hers. Dom Eric and a sub named Marley will be next in the rotation. Marley is still taking kickboxing classes after that attack when she was leaving the club. Having someone there who understands at least a little is probably a good idea.”

  Sighing and running his hands over his face, Chase slumped down into his chair. His usual self-assuredness and poise was worn at the edges after a long, stressful night.

  “I have no idea just how far this goes, Alexi. Mason doesn't know many details about where he was kept, and this was the first time he’d been brought to a real club in public, his ‘Master’ thinking him cowed. Apparently, they have some kind of clubhouse of their own though. I want to bring Aaron in to help Mason and any other subs we might find, but also, for his FBI contacts, if we need them. I’ll call Aaron and Simon to see if they can meet up at the club later today. I don’t know if you’ll be available, but if you are, swing by when you can. I’m exhausted, I need some sleep but it’ll be sometime around four p.m. We won’t have too many people there and we won’t be interrupted. So I’m headed for home, unless you have any questions for me?”

  As Chase spoke those last words, the conference room door opened and Detective Samuel Baker walked in.

  “So, have you guys discussed what’s going on at Club Darkfall? Good.” I interrupted him before he could start.

  “Chase hasn’t had any sleep. Let’s let him go. We can discuss what we need without keeping him anymore.”

  Giving me a look, Detective Baker let Chase go. Nodding his head as Chase wished him a good morning, handing over his business card.

  “What was that all about? I had some questions to ask him.” Sam asked, giving me another look.

  Detective Baker was a bit of an ass, but he was a good detective and he cared. His tone had a way of ruffling feathers sometimes, but I’d worked with him before and was used to his ways.

  “Sam, he was exhausted. I spoke with him and he really didn’t have much to go on. He interviewed the sub, Mason Brooks, briefly. Getting just enough that he knew he needed to contact us. Mason is in the hospital, and will be guarded. So these people, if they know, can’t get to him. You know I’ll be in contact with Chase if we need anything else, but Mason didn’t give him much, and the ‘Dom’ didn’t give him anything. He’s down in booking now. He wouldn’t give his name to the officers either, so they’re probably going to have to run his prints through AFIS. I say we bring him up here, we make a big to-do about printing him and stick him in an interview room for a few hours. If he has any priors we’ll find out before we go in.”

  “That could take a while and what if he doesn’t have a record? I like your idea though, and he probably will have a record if he’s into this. I’ll call down to the tombs and have him escorted up in belly chains, then have him cuffed in the interview room. Let him sweat it for a while. He might just spill his guts when we finally go in with his name and all. You want to do the regular paper work for undercover now, or after we talk to him?”

  “God, I hate paperwork!” I grumbled.

  Getting up and following Sam, I heard him chuckling. Everyone knew of my aversion to paperwork, I wasn’t quiet about it, but it was part of the job. Sitting down at my desk, I got started. People thought being a cop, going undercover, was so easy and fun. On TV and in movies you just jumped right in. What they didn’t know was that everything had to be documented with paperwork and requisitions, all of it.

  “Oh yeah Sam, Chase is having a meeting later today, around four he said. Think we should go? He’s bringing a few friends in, probably to troll the other clubs, if I know Chase. He’s calling in people I know, but we don’t really have to go to this meeting. Plus, I believe we’ll be taking someone’s statement right around then.” I laughed.

  “Yeah, if he behaves like we think he will, we’re going to be busy. We can arrange a meeting of the minds later. Right now, we have to figure out what your alter ego is going to be. And, I don’t think you should go in alone. If you go in as a sub you’re going to need a Master.”

  I shot him a look. Did he know? Shit!

  “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m not outing you or anything, but I’m a Detective for God’s sake. I know things!” Sam said, with a gleam in his eye.

  He was laughing at me, but I calmed down. I knew if he said he wouldn’t out me, he meant it. I couldn’t say Sam was a good friend or anything, but we’ve worked together a few times. You have to trust your handler when undercover, and Sam had never let me down. In fact, he saved my life one night that I really didn’t want to think about right now. A drug deal that had gone south real quick.

  Sam was solid, and I knew he was right. It would be too dangerous to go in alone, but I had no idea who I could get that would be willing and capable. Undercover is very stressful. You had to be a certain kind of person to do it. And to fit into this club you had to be a certain type. To fit into this kind of group or gang, whatever they were, you had to look the part. I immediately thought of Chase, I didn’t want to think of him. Plus, he was too well known and I would never agree to work with him anyway. Our relationship was difficult at best and hell at the worst. It was hard to explain, but we’d been awful to each other ever since the ‘Break Up’.

  We’d never been together, really. Chase apparently didn’t understand what a relationship was supposed to be like. He’d cheated on me, and I didn’t want to think about him right now, or really ever again. It ended messy. A loud and very public fight at the club. Maybe I could use it to help me go undercover. It could be a good excuse to go for a ‘Bad Dom” after trying to date one of the club owners. Make it seem like I was trying to get back at Chase or something? Plus it really would rub Chase's nose in it.

  “Lucas! Detective Lucas Bachelier.” I said, looking up at Sam.

  “He’s relatively new around here, but he knows the BDSM culture. Quiet. Built. Plus, he has a devious look to him, and already knows the ins and outs of undercover. He just might be perfect. He isn’t in SVU, and I can’t remember what he said he was doing, if he told me at all. What do you think?” I asked Sam.

  “Well, having a cop with you sounds good, and he’ll know to follow your lead. You got his number? We can see about getting him temporarily transferred to our case. Good idea.”

  Sam’s head was down, but I could see the color on his neck. He was embarrassed to talk about certain things with me and what I said made it clear I knew Lucas. Even though Lucas and I hadn’t been talking at the time, I’d been busy doing other things. I was embarrassed too, but Sam knew what I was, and would just have to get used to it.

  “This is going to be a difficult assignment for you if you can’t handle my lifestyle.” I didn’t mean to upset him, but he had to realize he was going to hear a lot worse than that.

  “I’ll be in clubs dressed as a sub, acting like a sub. We’re trying to take down Doms for God’s sake. If you can’t get used to it, maybe you don’t want to do this assignment.”

  “No, I’ll be okay. Wouldn’t want anyone to spread any more rumors.” Looking up, he nodded at me. “Yeah I've heard some of them, but I don’t have a problem with your lifestyle. It isn’t that, I promise, it’s just that… I know Lucas. Like know him, know him.”

  Sam’s face got redder and redder as I grasped what he was saying. Leaning forward, and speaking softly, I asked him straight out.


  “You're gay? Did you, you know, sub for him? Are you a sub too?”

  “No, I didn’t sub. We just had a little fun together. Yeah, I’m Gay, but I don’t advertise it. Like you, I am who I am and if someone asks I answer. He asked me one night, after a lot of alcohol, if I’d go home with him. He…. God. He spanked me a bit, but that was all. He knew I wasn’t into, you know, being a sub. Not my thing, but I’m not embarrassed by you or your choices. We just haven’t spoken to each other since it happened. We were drunk, and I’m not sure either of us would have ever thought about sleeping with each other without the alcohol. He’s nice, don’t get me wrong. Just think I’ll pretend I have no memory of that night.”

  Snickering, I watched his face get even redder.

  “Will it be a problem for you though? I don’t want to cause you any grief, but you’d be in contact with both of us. He’s perfect for me, but it isn’t just me here.”