Unwound

She’d moved a few of her things to Ronin’s penthouse. Cooking utensils, clothes, a few quirky knickknacks that looked wildly out of place amid Ronin’s structured furniture and minimalist furnishings. Ronin hadn’t complained—just the opposite. He wanted the mix of their pieces to make it seem more theirs. She was the one who’d been dragging her feet.

Amery didn’t doubt her feelings for him. She spent her nights and weekends with him anyway, so it shouldn’t have been such a big deal. But anytime she brought up paying rent and splitting the grocery and utility bills, Ronin said he’d cover it. She’d been too independent for too long just to let him take care of her. Especially financially.

She refocused on the items on the table. It was harder than she’d imagined to make homemade sex toys appear sexy and not weird. The paddle with the tacks on it looked painful. What part of the body was that used on?

Ronin’s voice popped into her head. Any part I want to use it on, baby.

She bit back a grin and wondered what he’d think if she used the modified Wartenberg wheel on him. She crouched down and snapped off a couple of shots, using the edge of the velvet-covered table to steady the camera. She’d been jumpy all damn day. She couldn’t attribute her jitteriness to caffeine since she hadn’t had a single cup.

“Amery?”

“Hang on a second, Molly. I’m trying to get the angle on this right. Would it be too over the top for this catalogue if the edgier sex toys had a glint coming off the metal?”

“Uh . . .”

“Would that defeat the purpose of getting people to try something new and kinky?”

“Amery!”

“What?” she said testily and whirled around to find herself face-to-face with her parents.

Her parents?

What the hell?

“What are you doing here?” A sick feeling nearly knocked her to her knees. “What happened to Aiden?”

“Nothing, as far as we know. He’s still in Afghanistan.”

“Thank god. I mean, I wish he’d be done with this tour, but I’m glad he isn’t the reason you’re here.”

“No, something has been brought to our attention. Something we need to discuss with you in person. Alone.” They both turned and glared at Molly.

“I’ll see you’re not disturbed.” Molly left and shut the door.

Amery wasn’t surprised her parents hadn’t hugged her. They weren’t much on public displays of affection. But that’d also mean they’d have to feel some type of affection first in order to display it.

“Okay. Wow. This has caught me off guard.”

Her mother shot a disgusted look at the prop table. “We can see that. This is how you make money? Taking photos of perverted things?”

She blushed. Goddammit—she tried to stop it, but her body still reacted instinctively to her mother’s condescending tone, and that annoyed the piss out of her.

“Put them away,” her father demanded. “They’re upsetting your mother.”

“Then maybe you should both wait outside,” she snapped.

“In this case, out of sight does not equal out of mind. You can no longer hide the sick things you’re doing, Amery Lee Hardwick.” Her father marched up to her. “And we will stay right here. We will not be brushed aside so you can call this Ronin Black, the man who has exerted some kind of control over you.”

How had they found out about Ronin?

“Yes, we know about him. We know the type of sick, dangerous things he’s involved in, things he’s tricked you into getting involved with too, brainwashing you into thinking those types of activities are normal. We’re here to put a stop to it.”

“Whoa. I don’t know where you’ve gotten your misinformation, but Ronin Black is a respected businessman.”

“He’s a deviant, promoting deviant behavior. He’s violent and uses violence as a weapon to further his control over you.”

Amery had the overwhelming urge to laugh, and she couldn’t stop one quick giggle.

“This is not funny. And that you think it is shows us how far you’ve fallen into his web of deceit,” her father said hotly.

“Where did you get this information?” When they stared at her stoically, she said, “It’s all hearsay, isn’t it? You’re assuming a lot because Ronin runs a martial arts studio.”

Her parents exchanged a look. Then her father said, “It’s not hearsay. Marion, show her.”

Show her. Amery watched as her mother removed a thick manila envelope from her purse. “What is that?”

“This is what was sent to us. It contains a letter telling us all about this Ronin Black”—she grimaced at his name—“who he is, what sick things he does, and pictures of the two of you together. As well as this.” Her mother pulled out a DVD and shook it at her. “Do you have any idea how disturbed we were to discover that you’re involved with the man in this piece of filth? After viewing it, we understood why you never mentioned him. Because you know what he does is wrong.”

“He does it to you, too, doesn’t he?” her father said angrily. “He has convinced you that it’s normal? That if you want him to love you, you need to be this type of woman for him?”

Amery asked, “What’s on the DVD?” even when she had a pretty good idea.

Her father got right in her face. “You’ll see. We want you to watch it. Every second of it.”