Page 128 of Flame True

“I could have left you two alone,” Quinn said.

“Nothing there for sure. See you when you get back.”

“Yeah, you need to come over to dinner. Simone’s been bothering me about that.”

“You’re so whipped,” Erik said.

“Bye,” Nick hung up on their bickering, got in the car and drove it to the front.

He didn’t want to think about Mulberry hiring pro-Doms, not that he was against the practice.

He didn’t see anything morally wrong with it, he wondered about the security risk, but if that’s not a factor, he didn’t have an opinion on it.

After leaving the car as close as he could get it, he parked, taking the steps two at a time, he pushed through the heavy doors.

“Okay, time to go,” he gently guided Mulberry up and out.

“Come back again,” Clara said.

“Hope you enjoyed it,” Mina added.

“Night, ladies,” Nick said.

Mulberry wobbled two steps and then clutched his arm.

“Hold on” he scooped her up in his arms, walked down the last three steps and carefully tucked her into the car.

“You can take your mask off now.”

“I like it” her head rested against the window, and she patted the mask with one hand.

As they drove, Nick ran through the options of where they should go. “I don’t want to take you to my place, just in case someone is there.”

“Hotel,” Mulberry mumbled. “The one Emma is staying at.”

It was as good a choice as any. “Which one?”

Mulberry fumbled with her phone for a moment. “It’s a small hotel in the Shusnney neighbourhood.”

“We’re right near it,” Nick said. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah.”

His dashboard dinged with a message from Xander.

“Hey Mulberry, can I have your phone? Xander says to send Emma a photo of the woman who approached us at the restaurant and ask if she’s ever seen this lady.”

“How did he know we were going to her hotel?”

“He doesn’t,” Nick said.

Though with Xander, one never knew.

Mulberry fumbled in her bag.

It hit the console, keys, lipstick and change spilling on the floorboard.

“Sorry. Here,” she held out her phone.