She pulled away and looked up at me, her warm eyes clouded with confusion. “You know him? Is he your friend?” she asked, her voice stronger.
I nodded once, my jaw clenched. “He’s not my friend. I’ve known him for a long time. He’s belonged to Club Trinity even longer than I. He was one of my trainers in the Masters program there.”
Sophia closed her eyes and shuddered in revulsion. “God, how could any woman let him touch her?”
“He’s a Sadist, and very good at what he does. For those that find release through pain, he’s exactly what they need.”
She opened her eyes and blinked slowly. Once. Twice, as my words processed. “So, he likes hurting people?”
I sighed, unsure if she could ever understand the complexities of need Club Trinity catered to. “Some people enjoy pain, little one.”
“I know. It’s the same on Earth. I just…”
“What is it?”
“He’s—he’s evil, Gunnar. Pure evil.” She buried her face in my chest and I wrapped my arms around her, provided a safe place for her to release her anger and fear. “He was going to kill Leah and Allayna. He wanted that other man to kill me. He didn’t hesitate. He talked about killing me like he was stepping on a spider.”
I rubbed her back until her shivering stopped. “Let’s get out of her and go tell the others. The Kings will take care of arresting him. And when they’re done with him, Lev will kill him.”
She shook her head in denial and I placed my hands under her chin, gently lifted her face and forced her to meet my gaze. “If Lev doesn’t kill him, I will. He’ll never threaten you again.”
“It’s just like on Earth,” she replied. “It’s like I never left.”
“Why do you say this?” I knew little about the far-off planet, but I recognized the resignation, the sound of defeat in my mate’s voice, and I did not like it.
“There are many names for groups like the VSS. Terrorists. Mafia. Cartels. Gangs. The title is irrelevant, but there’s always a leader, someone with…minions beneath, and more foot soldiers and pawns beneath them. It’s like roots on a tree, they spread out and permeate every aspect of society. Government, police, banking, everything. The people on the bottom are expendable, and so are those in the middle. But those at the top are protected at any cost. It’s vicious and cruel and no one is safe. And you never know who to trust, and who’s been bought.”
“Yes,” I replied. “That sounds quite similar to the VSS.”
“That is how I was put in jail. I was at the bottom. I was expendable. That guy, Dorn, is he at the bottom?” she asked.
“No, I’m afraid not. He sits on the council in Sector Two. He has risen to a position of power.”
She shuddered, her eyes clouded with worry. Unable to resist offering comfort, I stroked her cheek. “Do not fear, mate. I will take care of this. You’ve done your part.”
“Yes,” a voice said from behind me. “She has been a very busy little thing.”
Grabbing Sophia, I spun to face our enemy and pushed her behind me.
“Dorn.” I greeted him through clenched teeth, wondering exactly how much he’d overheard.
He stood there, the lighting casting shadow over his face, his female beside him. Her face was still covered by her hood, her posture that of a true submissive. Dorn leaned down and murmured to his female. She nodded beneath her hood and turned and walked back in the direction of the club.
Dorn lifted his head and returned his attention to me. “You have taken a mate, Gunnar. Congratulations.”
I shrugged with a casualness that hid my anger. I didn’t want the bastard anywhere near Sophia.
“It seems the Kings are pleased with their Earth bride as well,” Dorn said.
“How did you know she was from Earth?” I countered. Females on Viken were quite similar in appearance to those from Earth. Unlike planet Xerima, where the females were tall and strong and fiercely muscled, their women as likely to kill a man as ride his cock, Sophia’s softness blended in readily enough. We had not announced that we had a mate, nor that she had come from Earth. Only those in the transport centers and the guards that surrounded the royal family knew of the match.
And Dorn. Because he’d been the one to have the transports crossed. Because he was the one who’d wanted her dead. And discovered her anything but.
“My position allows me access to quite a bit of data.”
I couldn’t allow Sophia to remain. Dorn’s cover was blown. The only way for him to survive now was to kill me and Sophia both. If I could distract him, stand between him and my mate, she should be able to make it. “Go back to the club, Sophia. Summon Erik and wait for me there.”