Chapter 359 What I Can and Can't Tell You
Chapter 359 What I Can and Can't Tell You
“I’m going to plead the fifth on the details with that one, friends.”
“I’m about to go full enforcer mode here, Kirstin.”
Dominic said, his hands clenching into fists on his thighs, his knuckles white.
“Yeah, I’ve got to say, Kirstin, I’m getting a little sketched out by the situation, too. Is this worth our resources? Should we be concerned?”
Kirstin took a deep breath and muttered something under her breath neither man caught.
“I don’t think so. I can tell you I’ve been to where she’s going. After all, she introduced me to that place. I went there for years. I don’t think you have a reason to freak out about it. It’s on the level as far as I know.”
“I trust you, Kirstin. But secrets are never good in our world. What is it?”
“Don’t read into it, it’s fine. She’s fine there. Nial’s been there once. She’s safe. But I’m pleading the fifth on telling you anything else. Not because I am being a bitch, but because I legally can’t.”
Lucian leaned forward, his palms flat on the table next to the phone.
“What do you mean you legally can’t? Are they forcing NDA’s at the door?”
Kirstin didn’t answer for two minutes.
“That’s it, isn’t it. To get in there, you have to sign an NDA…?”
“Yep.”
Kirstin said, her voice low as she popped the ‘p’ at the end for added emphasis.
“Why does that make me even more worried?”
Dominic leaned back in the chair and threw his arms out wide and looked up towards the ceiling. “You answered one question and gave me ten others.”
“I’m sorry, my friend that’s the best I, Kirstin, can do for you. I cannot tell you anymore about it…”
Neither man missed her inflection but weren’t sure how to respond so they didn’t argue when Kirstin changed the subject.
“Anyways, I think your best bet, Dominic, is to dream walk tonight and you could ask all the questions you want to ask her but I think she’s going to be like my friend, Nikki. She’s got a medical mind. Nikki’s a nurse and it took her, who was the one initiating the dream walks with Shane, like three times to get used to the idea of dream walking. Though I don’t think it’ll take Lou that long. She’s a little more open-minded about weird things, the occult, and what not.”
“At least that’s working in my direction.”
Dominic muttered.
“I know I was in the room the last time you gave Lucian a rundown on it, but I was still getting used to the idea that that was actually possible. Can I have the official Kirstin dream walk rundown again?”
“Sure thing, buddy.’
Kristin laid out everything she knew about dream walking for him as Dominic nodded along, typing more notes into his phone.
“…Remember if that door behind you opens, you’re going to have to walk through with the both of you no matter what you try to do, so just go along with it. Also, when that happens you need to give her as much information as you can as you’re walking towards the open door. We’ve learned that you can get separated when you go through those doors. Nial dream walked on his own once.”
“It’s going to be fine, Domi.”
Lucian said, trying to sound reassuring.
“It’s going to be great!”
Kirstin said before she walked him through the steps again and sent him the link to the video that she listened to on repeat to be able to do it herself. There was a brief pause, then they heard muffled talking from Kirstin’s end. After a moment, Nial’s voice joined them.
“H-H-Hello, gentleman!”
“Nial!”
Both Dominic and Lucian cheered before launching into small talk.
“I’m going to leave you men to your phone sex, however, Nial, real quick…do you remember that place we went to in the industrial park that one night at the beginning of our relationship?”
“You m-m-mean the s-sex club? How could I-I-I-I-I forget it? What-What-What about it?”
“Nothing, that was all I needed you to say. See you later boys!”
Dominic and Lucian, jaws dropped, eyes wide, turned to look at each other across the conference table. Kirstin was a genius! She didn’t technically tell them!
“Thanks Kirstin!”
They both called to her as they heard a door open and close.
“W-W-Wonder why she br-brought that up?”
Nial muttered, digging into his own sushi. Dominic was furiously typing on his phone so Lucian answered.
“We think that’s where Dominic followed Lou to last night but we had no idea what it was and it was super secret. NDA’s make sense and Kirstin said she knew what it was but couldn’t ell us anything about it…getting you to say it was her work around.”
“Oh, m-m-makes sense. K-K-Kirstin cancelled her m-membership there af-af-after that one t-time she t-t-t-took me. She wa-was trying to g-g-g-get me to break up with h-her by showing m-m-me she was too f-f-fucked up.”
“How’d she try and show you that there?”
“By f-f-fucking another w-woman behind a t-t-two way mirror while I-I-I watched.”
“Holy fuck, Nial.”
“R-Right?!’
“Glad it didn’t work. You know, between us, we’ve been investigating a national franchise of sex clubs for trafficking. I wonder how many sex clubs there are in this city…wouldn’t it be crazy if it was the same one?”
“K-K-Kirstin mentioned she’d been t-t-to other cities with her m-m-m-membership in that one.”
“Sounds like a fucking franchise to me…”
Dominic muttered.
“This has been…far more helpful today than I could have even imagined. For both of us I think.”
Lucian said and Dominic nodded his head.
“Anyways, tell us about how the studio is coming along, Nial? Did that boxer I sent your way work out as a coach?”
Lucian knew a boxer from Italy who was about to break through as a professional when he was in a car accident, shattering his arm beyond repair. He flew him in to talk to Nial, hoping a disability friendly multiple-discipline martial arts gym could give this guy a new lease on life.
“Hugo is s-s-solid, man. He starts M-M-M-Monday!”
The three friends dove into bro talk and they ended up talking on this phone call for two hours. Eventually, filled Nial in on everything happening between he and Lou lately. Dominic ended up being so glad he repeated his story for the third time that day because Nial offered a completely separate side to the soul mate/stalker thing.
“I just d-d-d-didn’t let her p-push m-m-me away. It g-g-got to the p-point where I just-just-just assumed e-everything was a test and I enjoyed a-a-a-a-always passing them, like a g-game.”
“You really drove there at 3 AM?”
"Like a b-b-bat out of h-hell, man. I th-think it’s what won-won-won her o-over.”
Kirstin chuckled in the background, having come in during their call at some point.
“There’s something in your chest, your head, and your pants that, all equally, won me over, Mountain Man. But I’ll admit, looking back on it, you made me
feel seen and loved and you never gave up on me even when I pushed you through the tests.”
Dominic’s eyes danced as a smirk split his face.
“Tests like what Lou did with the grits?"
“Exactly!”
Kristin cheered.
“If you’re actually soulmates, which sleepwalking should prove or disprove, you should pass every test by being yourself and not trying too hard to prove anything. It should just come naturally, which it sounds like it is.”
“Don’t put t-t-too much pr-pressure on yourself, ma-ma-man. You’re a g-good guy, D-D-Dominic.”
“Thanks Nial, and thanks, Kirstin. For everything.”
“Yes, thank you for today. I know you have the NDA, but I appreciate you getting creative.”
They all said goodbye and hung up. Dominic already moving a mile per minute listening to information on dream walking.
“Let’s get back to work, Luc. Then, tonight, I’m going to do some research, like Kirstin suggested, on Lou’s childhood in local papers.”
“Perfect. I’m going to move Aleksei from Morrow paperwork to sex club research. Lou may be our way to get you inside since I’ve sent in paperwork under one of your aliases for membership over a week ago and haven’t heard anything back.”