years.”
Maxine turned to face him. Her eyes, surrounded by delicate make-up, narrowed to thin slits. “I’ve done my share, darling. And I still contribute. I don’t even draw my pension.”
“Only because you’re not old enough.” Dan clutched the wheel harder than necessary and took a left at a sharp angle. “What brings you all the way up here?”
A relieved sigh came from the back seat.
“It would be better if we got to your house first. I don’t like to air my affairs in the street.”
Dan glanced around the interior of the car. “I think you’re safe, Mum.”
“I’d rather wait, thank you. I’ll tell you over dinner.”
“You are staying then?”
She pursed her lips. “Don’t say it like that. You make it sound like Katherine hasn’t prepared anything.”
“ Karen, is a damn good cook, but even she needs more than half an hour to prepare a gluten-free, vegan meal for four.” He shot his mother an exasperated look.
“Oh.”
The single syllable lit a flame in Dan’s belly. He exhaled to a slow count of ten. “You didn’t give us much warning. What were we supposed to do?”
“A resourceful woman always finds a way.”
Dan grunted. “Tonight is my turn to cook, anyway.”
“You?” Maxine gasped.
He looked her way. Her lips pursed and her nose wrinkled as if she’d smelled something horrid. Dan sighed loudly before he returned his attention to the road. “I can cook.”
“Yes, of course, darling, but it’s the least she can do. Or is she one of those awful feminist types who refuses to shave her underarms?”
“Mum please...I’ll order takeout.”
“Fine, but no Chinese, or pizza and certainly no curry. I don’t know what it is about you Leicester people. Everything has to be smothered in sauce and spices. Probably to hide the taste of dog and cat meat.”
Dan gave a long, low sigh and said nothing.
Chapter Three
Relief chased quickly by terror made Karen’s skin flush first hot then cold. She straightened and turned her ear to listen a little better. Yes...jingling keys. The clunk of a key turning, followed by the squeal of labored hinges as the front door opened.
“Hello?” a voice called.
“Dan?”
“Kaz? No, it’s Pete.”
Karen sighed. She was relieved to put off the meet with Maxine a few more minutes. “Thank God.” An instant later she remembered her naked body and the cage. She stiffened. A sour taste flooded her mouth. “Shit, Peter?”
“Where are you?”
She hesitated then heard his footsteps pounding up the stairs. It was clear that there was no avoiding the next few minutes.
“In the bedroom.” She closed her eyes. Her skin tingled, every muscle coiled tight with the urge to flee. But where could she go?
The gritty truth of her entrapment finally broke through. There was no escape. There was nowhere to hide. Her body was completely exposed. Fuck... She closed her eyes and waited. The door creaked open. Goosebumps trailed down her arms and legs.
A strangled whimper quivered through the air. “Christ...”
Karen’s eyes popped open. Pete stood framed in the doorway. He wore faded blue jeans covered in old paint and a jacket with similar stains. A smudge of something black and gritty smeared the side of his nose and his close-cropped hair glistened with sweat. His mouth hung open. “What are you doing in there? Are you hurt?”
“Calm down for a second.”
“What the hell?” he whispered, voice broken and feeble with bemusement.
“I’m okay, Pete—”
“But your arms.” He pointed, and his gaze followed his finger, across her arms and chest, lingering on her breasts before hiking back up to her shoulders. “Are they bruises?”
“Whip marks.” She bit through each word, sharp and staccato like cracking bones.
“Fuck!”
“Pete, I’m fine. They’ll be gone within an hour.”
“Jesus, Kaz.” His gaze skimmed the floor, pausing briefly on a black whip with a red handle. “What’s going