Chapter 20 Acts of Contrition #3
The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Jordan had just confessed to sexual assault in a room full of witnesses, and he was smiling about it.
“Interesting,” Ash murmured. “You sound like you speak from experience.”
“Life experience,” Jordan corrected smoothly.
“I understand human nature. Most men are too weak to do what’s necessary, too woke to acknowledge the beast within.
If nature wanted men to be subservient, they would have made them the weaker sex.
There’s a reason females are so breakable.
I do what I gotta do, and I don’t get squeamish about it. ”
Marigold, like everyone else in that room, stopped breathing. The silence was deafening. How could anyone admit something so monstrous?
The door to the security room opened and Marigold flinched, startled by Hunter’s intrusion.
“Sir?”
Hunter held out a staying hand. “Everything’s fine,” he said to Cole, then turned his gaze to Marigold.
She was on her feet and in his arms in two seconds flat. As if sensing what this was doing to her, his arms tightened protectively around her.
His lips pressed to her hair. “You okay?”
“No, but I will be when this is over.” Her hands fisted in his shirt, taking comfort in his strength.
“They’re only words,” he whispered. “We know the truth.”
“If they were just words, we wouldn’t be here. They’re confessions.” She looked up at him, noting the way tension radiated through his form.
“He’s going to pay.” He placed another kiss on her head. “I have to get back.”
Had he only come to check on her? She smiled up at him, unable to express how deeply she appreciated his concern. “Thanks for checking on me.”
He traced a gentle knuckle along her jaw. “Your my number one concern, now.”
She covered his hand with hers, wishing he didn’t have to go. “Be careful.”
With a silent nod, he left the room. She looked back at the monitors. Something fundamental had altered in the room’s atmosphere, something that ordinary people would interpret as unsafe. But Jordan was so high on his own ego, he missed the shift.
“Mr. Calder,” Stone said quietly. “I think it’s time you understood exactly where you are.”
Jordan’s confidence faltered. “I’m sorry?”
Hunter quietly returned to the meeting room, reclaiming his seat at the head of the table.
“This isn’t a resort.” Stone’s voice was silk over steel.
“And it’s more than a private club. Our very exclusive memberships invite people into our home.
They trust us to keep them safe at all times.
That level of security requires consent.
Real consent. Informed consent. The kind that can be withdrawn at any time. ”
“Unlike what you described,” Hunter added. “Which sounds more like assault.”
Jordan’s face went pale, then flushed angry red. “Now wait just a damn minute—”
“No,” Stone interrupted smoothly. “You wait. You see, Mr. Calder, we’ve been recording this conversation. Every word. And what you’ve just described, using ‘intimate pressure’ until women become remarkably compliant, that’s what we call rape.”
“I never said—”
“You did,” Ash confirmed calmly. “In detail. Along with your philosophy about taking what you want from those too weak to stop you.”
“Waifs, I believe you called them,” Stone said.
“And sheep,” Hunter reminded.
“Yes, young and big-eyed. Aren’t those the exact words you used?” Ash looked at his phone, then shrugged. “Eh, we have it all recorded. We can fact-check later.”
“We also have surveillance footage from your last visit,” Hunter said with lethal calm.
The monumental implication of Hunter’s words set in and Jordan exploded, “This is entrapment!”
The lawyer bolted to his feet, his briefcase clutched like a shield. “You guaranteed anonymity. My client never admitted to any specific crimes!”
“Didn’t he?” Hunter’s smile was predatory. “Because it sounded very specific to me. Almost as if he were describing a particular incident. A particular victim.”
“This is a goddamn fantasy club for Christ’s sake! You think I’m the first man to get a little rough with a woman in your halls. Give me a break—”
Hunter had him by the back of the neck and bent over the table in half a second. “Think back. Last time you were here, you met someone.” He leaned down, dropping his voice dangerously low as he growled in Jordan’s ear. “She had an accent… Just. Like. This.”
Jordan’s eyes went wide with sudden understanding. “You know her? The Russian girl? That’s what this is about?”
“Ah,” Stone said softly. “You do remember her.”
“I thought she was part of the staff! A perk!”
“Her name is Katya,” Hunter growled, tightening his grip on Jordan’s neck. “But if I ever hear you speak her name, I’ll personally cut your tongue right out of your fucking skull.”
Jordan tried to break Hunter’s hold, but he was outmatched in strength and rage. Desperate, his voice pitched, “Whatever that little bitch told you—”
“Careful,” Ash warned, murder buried in his tone. “Be very careful how you finish that sentence, comrade.”
The room’s atmosphere shifted from predatory anticipation to barely leashed violence. Jordan finally understood he wasn’t in control here. That these weren’t men who could be bought, intimidated, or charmed.
“Gentlemen…” The psychiatrist looked ready to run. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“No misunderstanding,” Ash interrupted. “Perfect transparency, actually. Mr. Calder came here to retrieve his sister. To have her declared insane and dragged back to the facility where she’d been silenced. He came seeking justice, which he’ll have, but he’s not judge and jury here.”
“You see,” Stone growled. “This is our territory. We make our own rules. And there’s a price for breaking them.”
“Get off of me, you grizzly fuck!” Jordan’s voice went shrill with hysteria.
Hunter lifted him by the neck only to smash his head down on the table. “Be still.”
“Fuck! You think you can touch me? Do you have any idea who my father is? What kind of power the Calder name carries?”
Stone cocked his head and dramatically tapped his chin. “Calder? Does that name have any meaning here?”
Ash rubbed his jaw. “I don’t think so. Hunter, mean anything to you?”
Hunter’s slow grin was full on salivating as he came closer and closer to vengeance. Fisting Jordan’s hair, he yanked his head back. “On this island, in this room, where no one can hear you scream, the only name that matters is Volkov. You’re in my den now, and you’ve woken the bear.”
Ash and Stone pushed their chairs back and slowly stood. Color drained from Jordan’s face as understanding finally dawned.
“I think it’s time for your friends to leave,” Stone said, moving to the door.
“No!” Jordan snapped as his entourage rushed to their feet. “Sit the fuck down. I paid you!”
“Money talks,” Ash said, rolling up his sleeves. “ But violence is louder.”
“I’ll show you out, gentlemen.” Stone escorted the men through the door.
“You can’t do this!” He thrashed under Hunter’s grip. “People know where I am. My security team—”
“Will wait patiently for your return,” Ash finished.
“Stop!” Jordan yelled as his attorney and paid doctor followed Stone, but it was too late. They were already gone and he was alone with two angry bears. “They kidnapped my sister!”
“Only a desperate man lies.” Ash tsked, sleeves rolled to the elbow as he flexed his fingers wide, then made a tight fist that caused his knuckles to pop. “You see, Mr. Calder, we believe in hands-on education. And you have so much to learn.”
“Wait—” Jordan’s plea was interrupted by Ash’s fist.
They moved in perfect coordination, every step purposeful, like dancers who’d rehearsed this routine a thousand times. Their techniques, the subtle psychology behind each word and gesture spoke of experience, years of survival honed through silent communication.
From the observation room, Marigold watched her half-brother’s world collapse in real time. The golden prince who’d never faced consequences, who’d built his life on others’ suffering, was finally learning what it meant to feel utterly powerless. And they were just getting started.
On another monitor, she could see into adjacent rooms—glimpses of equipment and furniture that spoke to the club’s true purpose. Leather and silk, restraints and toys, all beautiful and sophisticated and clearly designed for consensual exploration of power and submission.
The contrast was stark. Consensual versus coerced. Predator versus prey. Mutual pleasure versus selfish violation. Jordan had played the predator. He’d coerced and forced. Now, he was going to pay.
“You see, Mr. Calder,” Hunter snarled close to his ear as blood trickled from his nose. “You’ve hurt two women under our protection. Women who hold a special place in our hearts.”
Jordan shook violently as the full reality of his situation sank in. “I didn’t know! Whoever she was to you—”
“Our sister!” Stone roared, his mask of self-control gone. In its place, a bloodthirsty protector set on vengeance.
Marigold had been so engrossed in Hunter’s hold on Jordan, she missed the moment he returned. If she thought Stone had been frightening before, she’d poorly misjudged. The man on the screen now was an unapologetic killer.
“But that word means little to you, doesn’t it?” Stone sneered, slamming his fist into Jordan’s ribs as Hunter and Ash held him up.
Jordan gasped and sputtered blood, his head hanging limp as his knees softened.
“All your bullshit about family loyalty. You make me sick!” Another punch. “Meaningless words. Sounds strung together with zero emotion so you can fantasize you’re a decent man.”
Ash grabbed him by the hair, lifting his head so he could look in his unfocused eyes.
And I bet most people gobble your lies right up.”
Stone sank his fist into him one more time. Jordan crumpled like a paper doll, falling to the floor.
“You can’t do this,” he gasped, holding up a hand.