Broken Submission

Detective Domme

"Hey man," Matthew said when Derek opened the door.

He spotted her. "Amelia," he said, stepping forward and wrapping her in a hug.

She froze, but the genuine warmth and comfort he radiated allowed her to relax.

"How are you holding up?" he said, giving her a squeeze before letting go.

She shrugged, giving a weak smile. "I've been better."

Sympathy tugged his mouth into a half-smile. "I'm sure." He turned to Derek. "A couple of the guys are downstairs. I sent them to grab the security tapes from the office. I figured you probably hadn't gotten there yet."

"You're right; I haven't." Derek looked at Amelia who hugged herself in an oversized sweater, looking oddly comfortable in Matthew's presence. He wanted to jump in, to do as much as he could to track down her abuser, but he wasn't willing to leave her alone.

Matthew noticed the direction of his gaze. "Patricia came with me," he said. "If you want, I could ask her to sit with Amelia while you come down. Give a statement."

Surprise splashed across Derek's face. "I didn't realize that you and Patty were working so closely."

Matthew grinned. "Yeah, she's my new partner. She made detective about a month ago."

Derek whistled. "How's that working?"

"It's good." Matthew said. "She hasn't threatened to put my balls in a cage, so there's that."

He winced. "Well, yeah, it'd be great if she's willing to stay here for a few minutes.

"She's a friend of ours," Derek said, noticing Amelia's questioning face.

She nodded. Licking her lips, Amelia squared her shoulders. "Will you let me know what you find? None of this working behind my back like you've been doing. I need to know what's happening."

Derek's mouth dropped open. Matthew choked on a laugh next to him.

"Busted," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

Derek threw him a glare before moving to stand by Amelia. He grabbed her hand. "You knew about that?" He frowned, looking into her eyes. "Why didn't you say anything?"

She sighed, exhaustion dropping over her face. "I didn't think that it was important. You just—" she trailed off. "You were going to do what you wanted. And you needed to be doing something. Me—I needed to ignore it for a while. But you can't just stew on something. It makes you antsy. So," she shrugged. "I ignored it."

Derek ran a hand over his face. "Well there goes my ego when it comes to my stealth skills." His forehead scrunched, troubled. "But please, don't just sit on these types of things. Communication is huge for me. I get that you had it all worked out in your head, and it even worked for a while.

"But one day," he continued, "you are going to miss something. Misinterpret something I say, draw the wrong conclusion. And if we don't talk about it, then I'm not even going to know that we have a problem."

Amelia chewed on her lip. "I—I just—" She stopped. "I just think that there are things that don't matter and bringing them up just creates a problem, so I don't."

Derek's frown deepened, and he grew imperceptibly more stern. "I understand that. But it's not your responsibility to create an environment without conflict." The hand that wasn't holding her hand lifted, cradling the side of her neck with his thumb under her chin.

"When something is bothering you, or when something happens, you will talk to me." At her slight frown, the slight sternness that she'd noticed grew unmistakable, and her breath caught in her throat.

"Amelia," he said, displeasure clear in his voice. "Do you understand? No more managing me. It's disrespectful and harmful in the long run."

Amelia's eyes widened as his words clicked. She hadn't thought of it like that. She was just so used to avoiding conflict that it had been second nature to repress and deal with things on her own. She'd never meant to "manage" him. But she realized now that that is exactly what she'd been doing.

Her cheeks colored in shame. "I'm sorry, Derek," she said, blinking back the tears that stung the back of her eyes. "I didn't mean to manage you. I was just trying to keep things calm."

His gaze softened. Stroking her cheek with his thumb, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I know, sweetheart. But I need you to talk to me."

She nodded, pressing against his chest in a brief hug.

"Patricia is on her way up," Matthew interjected from the door where he'd retreated to give them some privacy.

Derek nodded. "She's just going to stay with you for a few minutes while we check out the security tapes and make a game plan, okay?"

Amelia pulled out a little of her old reserve, using it to stiffen her spine and clear the emotion from her face. "Yes sir. Of course."

Instead of being disappointed in her for pulling back, Derek smiled a little. It might not always be healthy, but he could appreciate her ability to stand on her own two feet. It reassured him enough so that he could set his mind on the task at hand.

A knock came from the door. Matthew opened it, a solidly built woman on the other side. She raised an impeccably shaped eyebrow at him. "You called, sir?"

Matthew laughed. "You still mad that I'm lead detective? That's how it works Rivera. I'm senior."

"Better get moving. You wouldn't want to miss that early bird special."

"Ha ha. Ha." He jerked a thumb at her, glancing at Derek. "A real firecracker, this one."

"Careful Matthew," Derek said, deadpan. "I hear she keeps a set of cockrings next to her handcuffs."

Patricia shrugged. "I neither confirm nor deny the allegation."

"What are you, a lawyer now?" Matthew shook his head. "We'll be back up in a few."

Moving past her, he squeezed her bicep in a familiar gesture and whispered something in her ear. She nodded, something passing between them silently before he moved toward the elevators, clearly expecting Derek to follow him.

"Thanks Patty," Derek told her. Pulling Amelia under his arm, he said, "This is my sub, Amelia."

Amelia glanced up in surprise at that introduction, but the woman was unfazed. That fact combined with the not-so-subtle comments that had passed between Matthew and Derek made her certain that they knew her from the club.

The woman stepped forward, extending her hand. "I'm Detective Rivera but feel free to call me Patricia."

Amelia shook her hand. Detective Rivera had a strong handshake, firm and professional. "Nice to meet you."

Derek brushed his lips over her head and started toward Matthew. "Thanks again, Patty," he said before taking off after his friend.

The two women stood alone. Amelia looked at the floor, occasionally glancing up at the detective. The woman didn't make her uncomfortable exactly... but there was something about her steady gaze that Amelia struggling not to squirm.

"Why don't you take a seat," Detective Rivera said, closing the door behind her. "We have a lot to talk about."