Both men came back, obviously not caring they were naked as they walked into the room.
“You do not need to cover yourself,” Richard said, tugging the blanket down to expose her.
Jay jumped on the bed, and Richard sat down.
“Okay, so what’s going on?” she asked, getting straight to it.
“What I’m about to tell you both mustn’t leave this room. The only reason I’m saying something is I see this lasting. You both are my future.” Richard looked at Jay. “I don’t want to fuck you, but I like you, Jay. You’re a good man, and I do consider you a friend.”
“Likewise.”
He turned to her. “You, Temperance. What can I say about you?”
She raised a brow.
Richard cupped her cheek. “You came into my office, and you caught my attention. I believed you were this prim and proper little miss who had to have everything right. Slowly, I saw you’re anything but. There’s a time and place for it, and you know when it is the right time. I couldn’t allow anything to happen to you.”
“What he’s trying to say but making it sound way better than me, is, he loves you.”
She chuckled, patting Jay’s hand away as he teased her hair. “Shut up.”
“He’s right, Tempe. I do love you. I didn’t realize it at first, but there’s no doubt in my mind. I love you.”
Tears filled her eyes. She’d never expected him to love her. “You mean that?”
“Yes, I mean that, and I’m not lying either. I love you, and it’s why I want you both to live her, have guards, to be safe, to be protected.”
“What exactly is going on?” Jay asked.
“When we first started the club, BBMC, we had a mission, to help others. We wanted to make something better in the world, something that only money could provide.”
“I get that,” Jay said.
“Well, our mission soon turned to human traffickers. Lewis, he lost Mandy years ago when she was just a kid, and since then, he’s been hunting for her. Many suspected she was dead, and others just gave up. Lewis, he never did.”
Temperance struggled to believe it, but it explained why Mandy had a panic attack.
“After years of fighting, we discovered that our contact who was feeding us information on where the women were held, was in fact Mandy. She suffered greatly for it, and we were able to not only save her, but other women as well, and bring down several criminals exploiting the women.”
“You didn’t catch them all?”
“No. Trafficking, it’s a large scale organization that is ever expanding. The black market for sex slaves, prostitutes, and even children, is one that is sickening. I doubt that we’ll ever be able to stop it, but we’re not going to stop.”
“Fuck, man, and I just thought you were a billionaire who got his kicks playing dress up in leather.”
“I wish it was that simple. The BBMC has started something, and we’re not going to stop. This is what we do.”
“The men that you’re after, do they know who you are?” she asked.
“We strive for privacy. However, over time articles have appeared, and we’ve been connected to the club and what we do. Anyway, rumors have been circling for years.”
“Tell me, Richard,” she said.
“Bodies of dead women have been discovered in different areas around the city. When you get a map and pinpoint their location, you find that they are around each of the ten main headquarters of the members of the BBMC.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Give me a second.” Richard left, and Jay wrapped his arm around her.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just want to make sense of what is going on.”
“I agree.”
She rested her head against him. “I love you both, Jay. I can’t pick just one.”
“It’s good that neither of us wants you to pick. We’re both happy being together, sharing you.”
Temperance stayed leaning against Jay as Richard came in with a map.
“Here are all of our businesses,” Richard said, pointing at the map. “To give you an idea, this is where all the bodies have been found.”
She watched him draw a circle.
“It could be a coincidence, but we don’t believe in that shit. We believe in cold hard facts.”
“Someone could be coming after you?”
“Exactly, and I don’t want to take any chances. I’ve only just found you. I’m not going to lose you now.”
Before she could say anything, his cell phone rang, and Richard had to leave to go and get it.
Lifting up the map, she showed Jay exactly where Richard’s building was.