The Right Thing Read Online Free PDF

even of her looking beautiful in bondage or being tormented to
gorgeous orgasm or doing his bidding with other players, accepting their lust
and their correction for his pride and pleasure. He called all his colleagues and asked them if anyone had
taken a picture with their phones, begging them to look, to no avail. How was
it possible he had nothing to look at except for a grainy surveillance tape now
out of his hands?
    The memories in his head fucking well hurt too much to examine and
he didn’t let himself go there. Not at first. Then he called in an artist and
had the man draw McKenzie like one of those police sketches, only in color.
Describing her treasured features was an exercise in anticipation and
excruciating emotional pain. Michael slept with the picture that first night
before having copies made and distributed in poster form to every place in the
city that would hang them.
     
    REWARD! MISSING PERSON! CALL!
     
    Michael made the advertisement look as attractive and obvious as
possible to all the mercenary creatures in the city and assigned dedicated
phone lines to the cause, staffed twenty-four seven. He came home each night to
nothing and no one. Dozens of calls rolled in but none came to fruition. He
wondered if McKenzie had left the city. He even called her mother. The woman
sounded like she didn’t even know she had a daughter and only the hint of money
elicited any interest, although with no results. He drove the streets at all
hours looking for his sub, hoping against hope he’d catch a glimpse. He prayed,
for the first time in forever, making promises to reform and do good works.
Michael wanted to be that better man, that man worthy of McKenzie’s love. He
castigated himself every fucking moment of every fucking day.
    The business chugged along under the watchful eyes of the directors
and talented employees. In truth, Michael wasn’t needed there in his present
state of mind, and it freed him up to look for McKenzie. If only he knew where
to start amongst the teeming millions. The weather would soon change and if McKenzie
had nowhere to live she might die along with the others who didn’t survive a
winter in the harsh city. He had a designer come in and do the little room over
in McKenzie colors—warm earth tones and pale sages and blues. Then he slept in
the new queen sized bed every night, holding the pillow that still held her
scent. He sat in the aviary and tried to take heart from her feathered friends,
those jewel-like winged creatures she cared for so diligently when she had actually been the bird in the
gilded cage. The bird he had almost inadvertently set free without any kind of
preparation. The feeling of powerlessness and utter fear took its toll. Michael
didn’t realize how bad things were until Jenifer confronted him.
    “You need to pull yourself together, Michael. And don’t look at me
like that. I’m not one of your terrorized women. Have you looked at yourself
lately?”
    Michael muttered at his cousin and tried to ignore the terrorized
women part when he really wanted to slap Jenifer for speaking the truth. How
could he have been so absolutely fucking stupid? Jenifer followed him as he
tried to escape to McKenzie’s room.
    “Michael! Attend to the problem like you’ve done with any other
problem! Get a grip and fix this.”
    Michael put his head in his hands as he sank onto the bed, shoulders
no longer capable of carrying the burden. Jenifer’s voice kept thumping in his
ears and he listened because he was too tired to tune her out.
    “You either find McKenzie or you bury her and move on. And to do
either you need to be well to get it done.”
    “I can’t bury her. I can’t. I’m so fucked up, Jen.” Was that really
him? That plaintive, childish voice? He tipped his head up with a concerted
effort and stared at his cousin. Jenifer was the most ruthless person he knew,
and if she wanted to be a Domme, had those kinds of interests, she’d excel at
it. His cousin glared