24690 (22 page)

Chapter 37

West

My poor little pretender posing as my loving pet—my faithful wife. The way she lightly snored and rested against my chest. The way she talked in her sleep. I glared at the ceiling, trying to get control over the need to snap her neck and throw her off of me.

“B … ram?”

“What?” My jaw clenched repeatedly, even if I did keep my voice quiet. I should leave it alone. I should ignore who she subconscious called to. For the life of me, I couldn’t. I needed the violence against her. I needed to hurt her more than beating her pussy up. If she was calling to him, I didn’t have her yet. And hadn’t I thought maybe I was getting close?

A moan had her snuggling deeper into me. My fist clenched and what I had said to her came back to haunt me. Had I whispered I could love her? Had I spoken that lie? Lie … maybe not entirely. I wanted to trust her so I could let go of some of this fury. Anyone could close themselves off to emotion. But to love a person … it made you more of everything. More of a leader …
more of a killer.
Hadn’t Bram told me that once?

What sounded like a soft giggle tore into my heart. I rolled her on her back, putting my weight on top of her as I fit myself between her legs. Everleigh’s eyes blinked heavily and there was a hesitation before she seemed to force a smile to her face.

“Good dreams?”

The grin turned genuine as she turned into my forearm, snuggling her face back into me.

“I don’t know. I really can’t remember.”

“No? That’s too bad. You sleep so sweet. I bet you’re just as beautiful when you scream. Let’s find out. Be sure to cry out for Bram, again. Maybe he’ll come and rescue you.”

Everleigh’s eyes flew open and her attention jerked to me. I ripped the pillow out from behind her head and slammed it over her face. Muffled screams were automatic. Nails clawed into my arms and her legs went wild, pressing into the bed as she tried to twist herself free. But it was impossible with the hold I had on her face.

“Bram? Bram?” My voice yelled out loudly. “Where are you? My wife needs your help.” I waited out the time, lifting the pillow, letting her gasp for breath when I noticed her movements slowing. “That’s who you want, right? Bram? Not me? Maybe I should call to him again.”

“No! N—”

The end was cut off as I pushed the pillow back over her face. At her lack of fighting like before, my rage eased into anger. I took a calming breath, holding a few more seconds before I removed it once again. The intake of air was loud. My hands shot down just over her shoulders, trapping her from moving.

“I had such a good day planned for us and now you’ve ruined it.
You’re mine.
This,” I said, tapping against her temple, “belongs to me, too. If you don’t get Bram out of your head, I’ll smother him out. Do you understand me?”

“I didn’t know,” she rushed. “I … yes.”

“Good.”

I went to crawl off of her when her hand reached up, gripping my bicep. My pause had her palm cautiously rising to settle on the side of my throat. My eyes narrowed, but she continued to slide her grip around to the back of my neck. Pressure tried to pull me down and although I fought her for the slightest moment, I couldn’t stop myself from lowering.

“Smother him from me. Make it stop.”

Tears clouded her eyes while she led my mouth to hers. The kiss was firm but full of something that left my mind twirling. I wanted to believe she was telling the truth. There were moments where she seemed to try to please me. To feel something for me.
She tried
…

“Do you choose me?”

I lifted enough to meet her stare. Disbelief flickered but softened out as she gazed up.

“It’s always been you.”

“No.” I gave a hard shake, dislodging her hand. “You picked him. Your scene at his grave …”

“You saw me grieve over a man who spent years protecting me. Killing for me. We shared something, yes. I won’t deny that. He protected me when no one else did. I held to that until I realized that’s exactly what you’ve been doing too. You have, haven’t you?”

Confusion and truths left me silent. I could tell her yes, that I had Master Vicolette killed. I could tell her a lot of things, but I kept quiet.

“Get dressed. I’m going to make coffee.”

I pushed from the bed, grabbing my pajama bottoms to slide on. The frame creaked behind me and I knew she was obeying. She was good at that. She listened to me, even when she didn’t want to. Just like in the case of her slave friend. What she’d done had to prove something. She may have fought the bath, but she’d helped skin a slave because I told her to. This Bram thing, it would pass.

Water in the distance had my attention leaving the coffee pot as I got it prepared. She had started the shower.  Although there was a need to go and push her further, to wait for her to get out and oil her up so I could have my way with her, I ignored the need. There was too much to do. And maybe I wasn’t entirely in the mood to have her so unresponsive. She had passion when we’d been together. Angry passion. It worked a magic I wasn’t even aware of. I liked her fight. More than I thought I would.

I pressed the start button, turning and heading back to the room. A slight shuffling sound from the closet had my eyes narrowing. I looked between the bathroom and back to the closet. Each step was quiet as I neared. When I peeked inside, Everleigh was shuffling through my clothes.

“What are you doing?”

She jumped, spinning to face me. “I …”

“I asked you a question. Are you looking for something?”

A blush crept to her cheeks and she nodded. “I am. You said you had plans for us today. That was going to be a good day. Since we’ve been back and you’ve taken the position of Main Master, I know there’s an appearance you must uphold. I only wanted to assess your wardrobe so I could do my best to match you and look good by your side. Your ties … the colors are vast. I was thinking that it wouldn’t be hard for me to find something if you only told me what it is you plan to wear.”

“Match me?” I looked from her to the expensive suits that newly lined my closet. Ones, I never thought about wasting money on before.
Yes, she did try to please me
. “Well, I’ll wear this one. Red tie. If I recall, you have a red dress. It’s very modest, yet fitting in stature. Wear that. We’ll match.”

She bit against her bottom lip smiling for only a second before she leaned in, pushing to her tiptoes to kiss against my cheek. “Thank you, husband.” And like that, she was gone.

My eyebrows drew in and I glanced around the space, taking in all the shoes and clothes. There wasn’t anything else she could have been looking for or found here. Clothes …? I had to get used to this. She may have been a slave, but she was still a woman. Still groomed to please in all ways.

I grabbed the suit, walking to place it on the bed. Humming left me even more conflicted and I pushed the pajama bottoms down, heading in the direction of the bathroom. Everleigh was just stepping into the shower as I walked through the door. She paused, holding the door ajar as she raked her gaze over my body. It was full of lust and with the look she threw me, all I could do was stand there like a fool.

“Are you coming?” At the lick of her lips, I was lost—heading in her direction without so much as a thought of the early angers that were inside me.

Chapter 38

24690

“I don’t care what you have to do as high leader, I need you more with me. There’s no clue how far West will go if he snaps, again. Smothering me with a pillow ...” A growl left my lips as I glared at Eli. “There has to be a way to get the masters to come around. To see me as something
more
than a slave.

“They won’t. They once saw you as a Mistress, but West ruined that by the way he treated you in the meeting room. They may use the term because of your marriage to their Main Master, but if he ended up dead, you’d be back in Slave Row, or worse. We both know that.” Eli glanced across the large dining room on the first level. West was finishing up his conversation, laughing at something Master Leonel was saying. Just the look on his face made it almost impossible to hold in my desperation to be rid of him.

“I have to figure something out. This can’t continue.” I spoke more to myself, but Eli nodded in my peripheral.

Breakfast in the downstairs restaurant was supposed to go better than it had. Slaves weren’t allowed inside the doors of the master’s private dining area, yet here I was, and still I couldn’t help but feel like an outcast.
Unworthy to be within these walls.
They didn’t want me here. The disapproving glances, the sneers when they thought no one was looking … I was still a slave to them.

“I have to get back. West will wonder what’s taking me so long. Stay close.”

“When will we talk more about our plans?”

I paused, glancing over my shoulder, trying to ignore the dark shadows that were beginning to plague me. “First, find that driver. We’ll go from there.” I kept my head high, making sure to meet the eye contact of every master who looked my way. It was a dangerous game, but one I wouldn’t bend on.

“Husband.” I threw him a smile as I took the arm he offered.

“Master Harper was just telling me about your little playdate with Master Kunken. I hear you helped him skin his niece. Surely, that can’t be true?”

My stomach rolled and I fought the lightheadedness. Anger was my only weapon and strength. I clung to it like an anchor, praying it didn’t drown me by mistake. “It’s true. I’m tougher than I look. Blood doesn’t bother me. I’m not really sure much does anymore.”

His eyebrows drew in as he kept my gaze. “Big difference from the sobbing girl who was kneeling at her master’s feet.”

“Watch it,” West cut in.

“That sobbing
girl
had lessons to learn. She was taught them well. As you can see, the slave is gone. Who you’re faced with now is your Master’s
wife
.” I smiled as West kissed my head.

“A big change, for sure.” Master Leone nodded. “It was great having breakfast with the two of you. I look forward to the dinners when your wing is finished.”

“A few more weeks,” West assured. “We’ll see you then.”

He gave a nod to the master, turning us toward the door. The smile he sported was long gone and his change made me nervous as I let him lead me. The moment we were out of the doors, it wasn’t long before footsteps began to follow us. I knew it was Eli and the other two guards that were a constant presence. They weren’t to leave my husband’s side. It was a plus for me, concerning Eli, but he and I still had trouble speaking over our plan for the children. If Eli was near, so was West.

“I wish I would have thought about making you my wife before I put you in the place of a slave. Nothing that can’t be erased over time. You did well standing up to him. Assertive without insult. “

“Thank you. I want them to view me as your wife. I’m trying very hard to change their minds.”

He glanced down. “We’ll work on it. Just keep it up. Don’t let them talk down to you. If they do, tell me. I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you.”

Although I wanted to smile at the calculation my mind conjured, I stared ahead. There was no point in doing anything rash. Time was my friend concerning West and the masters. Only question was, could I last long enough? West was two different people. If he didn’t end up killing me, I feared what I was capable of if pushed far enough. I could ruin everything.

“So where to now, husband?”

“The wing, of course. I want to check on the progress of the cleaning and redecoration. I was impressed with the notes you gave—”

Yelling broke out around us, echoing from the walls as it blasted from the guards’ radios.

“We have a situation down here in room five-twenty-nine! All available guards, I repeat, all available guards please report.”

“What the hell is going on?” West stepped us in closer as he looked to his high leader. Eli’s radio went off before he had a chance to say anything.

“High leader, come in.”

“Talk to me.”

The guard was breathless as a loud scream broke through. “Sir, he’s fucking lost it. The master, Sir. Fuck-ing shit. You have to see this. I think we’re going to have to take him down.”

“Take down a master? Is he serious?” West’s voice boomed from next to me and he was running and dragging me behind before he got a response. The speed at which he went, I knew I couldn’t keep up. Not like this. I ripped my hand free, kicking off the stiletto’s before he could yell at me like I knew he was going to. His mouth opened and I sprinted back toward him, grabbing his hand as he led us even faster through the halls.

Yells came back over the radio and I was sucking in air as we sped down the stairs and headed to the first floor. The maze continued and it wasn’t long before I heard the guards shouting.

“Put it down! We don’t want to have to hurt you!”

A female’s screams grew as West drug me closer. Some of the guards outside the doors lowered their guns at our approach, but they didn’t appear to want to. Their weapons stayed trained toward the entrance and their eyes nervously darted between us and whoever was inside.

“What the hell is going on here?”

They parted as West stomped us to the door. The moment my mind could grasp what I was seeing, I couldn’t help but squeeze my fingers against West’s palm. The once white carpet was almost entirely saturated in blood. The bodies of two men and a woman were spread throughout the space, mangled and decapitated. From their clothing, I knew at least one of them was a master. He wasn’t wearing a suit, but from the large gold watch around the wrist, he had money. His large bicep was covered in tattoos and rested by where his head would have been. The way his broken fingers were protruding out in odd directions told me the decapitation probably came long after the torture he’d undergone.

“Put down the machete Master Gilpner and no one is going to hurt you.” West let go of my hand, stepping more into the room. For the life of me, I felt myself follow. I couldn’t stop looking at the scene. Looking at the woman’s dismembered head. Her face was all but mush. Where once sat a nose, was now flattened and unrecognizable. Swollenness and dark bruising encircled eyes that were peppered with broken blood vessels. I wasn’t sure on her ethnicity. There was so much bruising. So many lacerations on her face that the blood smeared across it made it hard to tell. But still, she stared right at me from behind drooping lids. All I could see was me staring at myself. That could have been me.
That could be me.

“What Master Max did was wrong. He shouldn’t have had his slave embarrass you as she did. I understand that. But what’s done is done. You’ve gotten your revenge. You don’t have to make this harder than it has to be. Put down the machete and let’s go for a walk and cool off.”

The hand that held the large knife rose, but the man didn’t speak. He didn’t even seem like he was in the room with us while he paced and grunted.

“Master Gilpner. Put down the machete. Let’s go.”

West took another step forward, but I barely noticed as movement darted in my peripheral. I narrowed my eyes staring between the bedroom door and kitchen that were closely together.
Had that been real this time?
My mind was suddenly spinning and I wasn’t sure.

“Put … it down,” West said, more angrily.

“Mistress, you need to step back.” Eli’s voice registered, but the moment I went to face him, a whimper stopped me. My head jerked back to the area between the two rooms and I inched further into the living room to try to see.

“There’s … someone.” I paused, glancing at West and then Eli. They both had their attention on the master. He was watching me, pointing the large blade in my direction. And he was moving, circling the room, wide, as he seemed to be trying to make his way around West.

“You see no one,” he said, slowly. “
You see no one
.”

“That’s right. She doesn’t see a thing. Put the weapon down. Let’s go on that walk.” West moved more in my direction and the guards were quickly coming to surround him on the far side of the living room. Their guns were still drawn as they waited. Cold metal from the door connected with my arm and Eli stayed at my side at the entrance.

More whimpering, and it was turning into light sobbing. The master blinked rapidly, growing more agitated as it continued to get louder.

“He made a fool of me. Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, Master Gilpner,” West assured. “You’re a very important man. He deserved what you did. You’re not in trouble. Put down the weapon. I’d hate for one of my men to have to shoot you because of something you might do in the heat of the moment.”

“No one will ever look at me the same here, again. They laugh at me now! They laugh!”

“They won’t be anymore. You showed them. You shut them up with what you did. Now put down the
fucking
machete.”

West’s irritation was growing by each response, but I was confused by his words. Was he really going to let this master off? Allow him to get away with the murder of another master and a slave? That wasn’t the law. Bram wouldn’t have done that.

I craned my neck to the side, trying to peer more into the opened kitchen area. With the way the cabinets were, they were hiding whoever was crouched down behind them. What scared me even more was the cries didn’t sound like a woman, or even a man. They were younger. Not childlike, but not adult either.

“There’s someone back there. Do you hear them?” Eli glanced over at my whisper, nodding. “Well, the man is getting closer. He’s got a big knife. What if …?” West glanced over his shoulder at me, glaring. I knew he couldn’t hear what I was saying, but he didn’t want me talking either.

“I think it’s a kid,” I mouthed.

“We’re running out of time Master Gilpner. Come with me. I’ll have this mess cleaned up before we return, and we’ll pretend this never happened.”

“I don’t want to leave. I’m not leaving!”

West’s jaw tightened repeatedly as his lids lowered with rage. “Then you’ll allow me to have this mess cleaned up. Without that,” he growled, pointing at the machete. “I need Master Max’s body. Do you know what I’m going to have to do to cover up his death? He’s a fucking celebrity! Do you think his disappearance isn’t going to make headlines? Do you know how much money you’re going to be paying now to make up for this? Your humiliation and revenge just cost you. Don’t let this happen again. That’s your warning. Do whatever the fuck you want to with your slave, but you touch another master, and you won’t be leaving Whitlock alive.”

West spun, heading for the door when a girl darted around the corner. I couldn’t think, couldn’t process what I was seeing as my mind tried to grasp the sight. She didn’t have hair and her face was so drawn in, she looked like a skeleton. Even her arms and legs were like bones. It all registered, even her young age, but nothing affected me more than the look on her face. I knew that fear. I had lived that fear in my first years here. She was more than terrified. And she was past the point of desperation.

Arm’s locked around West’s waist and I knew he hadn’t seen her coming. His whole body jolted at the surprise.

“P-please, Master. Please.”

“Jesus! Fucking …” West’s pried the arms from around his waist, but they glued themselves around his legs as the slave hugged to him for dear life. The man was already coming forward with murder in his eyes. He was going to take her back, and West would give the girl to him. I knew that like I knew I needed air to breathe. I didn’t think. I grabbed Eli’s gun and threw my hands up to where I was pointing at the man. To hesitate would have been useless. It wouldn’t have gotten me anywhere. My finger snapped back once. Twice. And I couldn’t stop.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Weight crashed into my side hard, but I only saw one thing. Blood … a dead corpse falling to the ground.