Free Bondage Ranch 5: His Little Treasure by Sindra van Yssel Page B

people nervous.”
    “Constance’s jewels?” Emma repeated.
    “They were stolen from her room last night after she took them off. Real rubies and diamonds too. I would have thought they were glass, but apparently not.”
    “Someone got into her locked room last night,” said John, taking a step forward. “Somehow. I wonder how?” The man’s gaze was a challenge; his voice an accusation.
    “They are pretty easy locks to pick,” said Diego. “Took me about ten seconds. Even an amateur could do it in a few minutes.” He didn’t dare look at Emma. What she thought mattered.
    “Let’s stop playing amateur detectives. James and Selena are trying to figure out what happened, and they’ll do a much better job than any of us.” Alex made shooing gestures toward the onlookers.
    “But—” Emma said.
    John shot Emma a look. “Don’t try to alibi him. I saw him leave last night in his truck.”
    “Maybe,” Ginger said so softly that Diego could barely hear, “they are in it together.”
    Diego glanced at Emma, who looked uncomfortable. He looked around at the other people, and with the exception of John, whose gaze held only hostility, none of them looked him in the eye. Just like that, he was the other, no longer part of the group. I don’t belong here . And yet he knew that in a way he belonged here the way he did nowhere else. Bondage Ranch was a place where his kinky, perverted self was accepted. Just not, apparently, his Latino handyman self.
    He barely heard Alex tell John to back down.
    “If Alex or Dylan would like to search me or my truck, they are welcome to. Otherwise, I’m heading into town. Do you want to come too?” He addressed the last to Emma.
    “I don’t know,” said Emma, looking even worse.
    Diego wanted to protect Emma from the suspicions Ginger had thrown on her. He just wasn’t sure quite how. Especially when Emma seemed to think he might have stolen the jewels, just like everyone else.
    “Would you like to be searched, Diego?” asked Alex.
    “If you have any doubts about me, then yes.”
    “I don’t. But I’d like to put those doubts to rest with everyone else.”
    “He could have easily ditched the jewels by now, since he drove off last night,” protested John.
    “Drove off when?”
    “Around midnight.”
    “The jewels were on Constance until at least one,” said Alex. “So Diego wasn’t even around.”
    It was good of Alex to say, but of course he could have doubled back. Consuela could give him an alibi, but would anyone but Alex believe her?
    Sue opened her door and glanced around, obviously surprised to see everyone gathered in the hall. She’d dressed in a long-line leather dress, with a bustier that enhanced her bosom, and a red and black feather fascinator in her hair. She plucked her keys from her cleavage and wiggled them at Diego. “Thanks for letting me in. Got ‘em.”
    “Glad you found them,” said Diego. And boy do I wish you hadn’t ever lost them.
    “You’re looking hot, Mistress Sue,” said Alex.
    “Indeed,” said John.
    Diego stepped back and chuckled. Never underestimate the ability of breasts to create a distraction . He put his arm around Emma. He didn’t know what she thought, but until she said something, he might as well act confident. Her shoulders twitched when he touched her, but she didn’t move away. There wasn’t any point of slipping out while everyone was admiring Sue, however. The problem would still remain. “I’m going to get some breakfast with Emma. If you want to search me or have Dylan search my truck, by all means do so, Alex.”
    “And you can search my room too,” Emma offered.
    “May I get James or Selena to do it?” Alex asked.
    Diego didn’t know either very well, although he’d seen them around. He knew they usually avoided public play and hung out in the Allisons’ living room or outside more often than in the dungeon. He’d heard that James was a cop, so it was natural that he was helping look for