Oubliette Pt. 01

Reed looked at Damon with suspicion. "Was this your idea?"

Damon looked back with absolutely no guilt. "You can't consider me to be at fault when the man obviously doesn't know his own limits and can't handle himself in public. Katrina may have refilled his glass but she certainly didn't force him to drink."

Marc looked down at Ian then over at Reed. "I guess we should get him upstairs to his room. If you grab that arm, I'll get this one."

"Actually," Damon was attempting to sound concerned and failing miserably, "perhaps for his own safety it might be better if he stays here. Considering his inebriated condition and belligerent attitude, you certainly wouldn't want him possibly wandering, unattended, in the middle of the dark night. Who knows what could happen? There could be legal ramifications. Poor man might fall over something and be lucky enough to break his own neck. I, for one, would certainly sleep much better knowing he's not going to accidentally fall off the roof. What about allowing him to sleep it off in one of the locked cages, perhaps the one he forced the lovely Laura into this very evening? He shouldn't get into too much trouble in a three foot by four foot cage. And if he puts up a fuss in the morning, you can be damn sure he won't be in any condition to have a recollection of how he ended up kenneled in the dungeon."

Reed and Marc exchanged glances, weighing Damon's suggestion. "Perhaps that would be the wisest option," Reed begrudgingly agreed. "Falling off the roof would certainly put a damper on his weekend. C'mon. Help me get him into the cage."

Together the two men lifted Ian and dragged him to the cage. He didn't wake up when they rolled him into the small space and securely locked the door.

Reed walked over to talk to one of the employees as Damon turned to Marc. "Katrina and I are going to say good-night." He took Katrina's hand. "We'll see all of you and the ignominious Ian whenever he has finished sleeping it off." Hand in hand, the two left the dungeon.

Although she was standing just inches from Marc and knew he was watching, Laura couldn't bring herself to look over at him and those blue eyes of his. The heat of another blush was spreading and she self-consciously wrapped her arms around herself as though attempting to hide from his stare.

Reed was coming back. "I told the staff to make sure someone is always watching him tonight but to stay out of sight," he told Marc. "Considering how drunk he is, I'm not anticipating he'll wake up any time soon but they have instructions to call me immediately if he does."

Laura cleared her throat and Reed glanced at her. "A delivery will be coming by messenger tomorrow," she said. "It should be here around noon. Please make sure I get the envelope and that it doesn't go to anyone else." She glanced pointedly at the cage containing Ian Kent.

Reed nodded his head and wondered for about the fiftieth time what was happening between his partner and Laura Ellis. "That's not a problem. I also think Damon had a good point. It would be in everyone's best interest for Ian to presume he locked himself in the cage. I have no doubt he'll be somewhat disagreeable when he finally does wake up with a colossal hangover although considering his winning personality I'm not sure anyone will notice a difference. Until then I'm going to try to get some sleep and hopefully dream about why I ever decided to start this damned business. I could use the insight. Goodnight Miss Ellis. Goodnight Master Hale."

Now it was just the two of them. "I guess I might as well go upstairs." Her voice wasn't much louder than a whisper.

"I'll go with you."

"That isn't necessary."

"I said...I'll go with you." He wasn't intending to sound as angry as he did and now that he finally had her alone, he had quite a few questions for the lovely Laura, starting with why she was involved with scum like Ian Kent and what exactly she owed him to force that involvement.

He started walking and realized she wasn't moving, was still standing with her arms covering her breasts, not meeting his gaze. It suddenly occurred to him that he was being unfair. Not only had he ended their relationship without explanation, he also hadn't kept in contact with her, had no idea what was going on in her life. The Laura Ellis he remembered might have been a little sheltered and spoiled but she was also very sensible. If she was involved with Ian there had to be a damned good reason.

Silently he pulled his shirt from the waist of his black jeans. Unbuttoning it he pulled it off and handed it to her. She looked more than a little surprised, murmured a quiet thank you and slipped it on. Taking her by the hand, he led her from the dungeon.

To be continued...

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since my last submission but I'm keeping busy with my writing.

This one will be in two parts - the second to follow shortly.

Thank you for reading and thank you to Bigg_Mike for sticking with me and editing.

CHWH