Free Brie’s City of Angels (Submissive in Love, #6) by Red Phoenix

away angrily.
    “He knew that, Mary,” Brie assured her, trying to stop her voice from quavering. “I believe that’s why he never gave up on you.”
    Mary buried her face in her hands, trying unsuccessfully to hold back the tears.
    Brie looked away, knowing she was about to fall apart herself. She was angry that fate had been so cruel to them.
    Mary took a couple of deep breaths, then silenced her tears. “Well, I’m done talking.”
    They stood up together, but Mary walked over to the dresser mirror to wipe away any remaining tears and fluff her hair before presenting herself to the group again. She turned and smiled wickedly at Brie. “Since this is the only time I’ll ever be in here…”
    Before Brie could stop her, Mary went behind the bar and tried to open the cupboards. “They’re all locked. I bet this bar is really just a cover to hide all his toys from the kids.” She slapped her hands on the counter in frustration. “Damn! I was hoping to see what kind of kink he’s into.”
    “OMG, Mary, get away from there! You have no decorum whatsoever.”
    Mary held her arms up in surrender. “Fine, but don’t tell me you weren’t curious.” She shut the double doors to the bedroom, murmuring, “Some other time, Gallant.”
    Brie would never admit it to Mary, but she was curious too. Mr. Gallant was a compelling mystery that she’d often contemplated, and it appeared the man was destined to remain that way.

Darkness

    B rie arrived to an empty home, even though she didn’t get in until after two in the morning. She wasn’t surprised, however, knowing Sir and Lilly had a lifetime to catch up on.
    She drifted into the bedroom to get ready for bed and found Sir’s journal open on his nightstand. She inadvertently glanced at it, hoping it might hold a fantasy of his.
    Mother
    You are darkness
    You seek to destroy
    Betrayal as your heritage
    Cruelty your legacy
    And yet
    I care
    Forever damned
    By the love that ruined me
    Yet haunts me…
    Still
    Brie sat down after reading it. She rubbed her hands over the words, wishing she could remove the profound pain expressed on the page. She knew Sir still struggled with memories from the past, and meeting his sister had only helped to stir the nightmares he’d kept buried deep within.
    She closed his journal and kissed it, placing it back on the nightstand. “May tonight bring you a new level of peace, Sir.”
    Not being the least bit sleepy, Brie decided to wander back out to the couch with a large blanket to cuddle in. She turned on the TV for background noise and whipped out her laptop to work on her film while she waited for Sir’s return.
    She was in the middle of reviewing the footage between Rytsar and his young sub when she could have sworn she heard his name on the TV. She glanced up and turned up the volume when a picture of him flashed across the screen.
    “…Rachel, I have a little tidbit about the man we’ve been hearing so much about.”
    “Do tell!”
    “I did a little digging and discovered our Russian hero is the very same Rytsar Durov from that naughty underground hit last summer.”
    “Get out!”
    The two women giggled as they fanned themselves.
    “Of course, it’s tragic what happened to the girl, but how dreamy it must have been to be rescued by him.”
    “Those big buff arms…”
    Brie quickly googled Rytsar’s name and was shocked to find a recent news article detailing the captive girl’s ordeal. Upon further investigation, she found that the culprit of the leak was the girl herself. Apparently she had fallen for the Russian Dom and wanted the whole world to know of his heroism.
    Brie started hyperventilating, afraid this young woman’s zeal might end up costing Rytsar his freedom or even his life. She picked up the phone and called his private cell, a feeling of unease setting in when he didn’t pick up quickly enough.
    “Hello?” he finally answered in his thick Russian accent.
    “Rytsar, have you heard what’s