5. Marcus
I open the door to our suite and practically drag myself in. Fucking hell . Every inch of me hurts, and I swear I’ll be coughing up black shit for days. Smoke inhalation is a bitch.
At least, Keegan is here. Although he merely raises an eyebrow in greeting when I head toward him. Grimacing, I glance down at the blood and soot covering me, and quickly head to the bathroom instead.
Flicking on the shower, I peel off my clothes as it warms up, some of the garments sticking to me.
I wince as I pull part of my shirt off, and try to muffle my cursing.
The clothes are definitely going to need to be marked for the burn pile.
I shove them into one of the bags specified for that, and thank fuck the maids know how to handle these situations.
“How did you get injured?”
I jolt at Keegan’s voice, shaking my head as I didn’t hear him come into the bathroom over the sound of water falling.
I have to give Il Padrone bonus points for the water pressure here.
It’s one of the few things that doesn’t suck about being recalled to the mansion, when I’d rather be at our house, with my love and our son.
I swallow hard as Keegan comes up behind me and grasps my shoulders tightly, turning me to face the mirror, before he drops one hand to trace the knife wound. It’s ugly, but that’s nothing new. My body has more than its fair share of scars. At least, this one only needed a few stitches.
“One of the men we captured had a knife. He wasn’t properly divested of it, and it came as a surprise…” I trail off at Keegan’s glare. He moves his hand up to my throat, applying pressure as I meet his eyes in the mirror.
“Tease. I expect better from you. Your body is mine. This is unacceptable.” He lets his hand drop, and I immediately miss the sensation, even as I draw in a shaky breath. His stormy eyes don’t leave mine, forcing me to speak.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have trusted the men. It’s taken care of now. The man who came at me paid with his life. There were others we were able to capture and hold. Three survived.
“Lio and I put them in cells with chains. I wanted to push them, but Lio had a point. He didn’t want to fuck with them until Tennant was available. He helped patch me up, since it’s barely a scratch.
“Ely’s gang lost two men. We only lost one. And that’s because he’s the one who fucked up and let a knife get through. Lio…did not hold back.”
Grunting, Keegan nods. “I wouldn’t have either. I’m assuming he’s back with his Master?”
I shrug as I open the door to the shower, intent to clean off the blood and grime covering my body. “Likely. We took off after we got everyone here, and by the time we got back, it was quiet. I think it calmed Lio down to have something productive to do.”
I step into the shower, groaning as the hot water hits me. I want to ask Keegan to come in, but I know he won’t. Not until he’s fully checked me over and I’m clean.
I melt against the heat, and it takes several rounds of soaping before I feel fully washed. Sighing, I turn off the shower and step out. Keegan is waiting for me with a towel, and he gently dries me off, studying every inch of me. I’m so tired that my cock barely stirs when he focuses on that area.
“It’s going to be a mess having everyone living here,” Keegan states grimly.
Snorting, I lean into his arms. “Fucking understatement. I don’t understand half of the shit that’s going on with everyone’s relationships.
I’m glad it’s just you and me. After Lio told me the punishments they faced…
fuck. Combustible isn’t even enough of a word.
I’m fairly certain Tennant may kill someone.
Lio doesn’t seem as worried about it, though. ”
“Do I want to know?”
I quickly give him an overview, and he whistles at it. “Damn. I thought Lio had learned to be sadistic from Il Padrone, but his punishments were mild in comparison.”
I shake my head as I slip into the clean boxers Keegan brought me. “Nah. That really wasn’t a bad punishment. Il Padrone has done way worse, including to Lio. They got off lucky.”
Keegan stops me, his hand pressing against my chest before he raises my chin to look at him. “You realize he essentially raped Benjamin and Ignacio, right?”
Blinking, I frown at him. “No. Benjamin was given the choice. He could have just gone through with the physical strikes. Granted, I think what Il Padrone offered was a fucking boon. I mean, it’s a solid way for those two to reconnect. They’re damn lucky on that—if it worked.”
Keegan’s lips press into a thin line as he runs his fingers through his hair. “I will never understand how you guys treat sex. I accept the whole Martelli way, for you . Not him. But fuck, that was some bullshit. Of course, Benjamin wouldn’t want to hurt Ignacio any more than he already did.”
“Then Benjamin fucked up more than he thought. Choosing sex over some physical strikes? Fuck, that’s going to tear Ignacio up more than anything.
And someone is going to have to put him back together if Benjamin decides all he wants is Tennant.
If he was trying to be nice, then he’s dumber than I thought.
And after what happened? I’m certainly not impressed. ”
Keegan growls and tugs me toward the bed. I follow along willingly, like I always do with him. I wish there were words to explain Il Padrone. I moan as I crawl into bed, every inch of me hurting. Taking a deep breath, I hold it before slowly releasing it.
“Did you need a pain pill?”
“No. I… Look. Il Padrone, he’s in charge of us. He’s the Master, and hell, he’s the father figure most of us never had. I know that sounds fucked up considering what we do. Is he tough? Yes. But he’s also fair. And he often gives mercy, like he did in this case.
“Benjamin should have been killed. Or at the very least, thrown into the black room. And sure, we can say that the room doesn’t exist right now, but Il Padrone could have created one again, and left Benjamin in there for days.
He deserved it. Instead, he broke him down quickly and ruthlessly, but in a way that’ll allow him to rebuild.
“He let him have the connection with Ignacio, and he could have refused that—he could have insisted that Benjamin only go through with physical strikes.”
“And yet you’re telling me that what Benjamin chose was worse?”
“Yeah. In many ways. For Ignacio, at least. Il Padrone made his point. And he did it really fucking well. Lio’s been punished, and now he’ll bounce right back, because it’s forgiven.
Benjamin may take a little longer, but he’ll come out of this with a hell of a lot better appreciation for the opportunities he’s been given. And Ignacio…”
“Ignacio is fucked.”
I roll over and lay my head on Keegan’s chest. There’s really not much I can say on that one. He wraps his arms around me and I relax further. “Yeah. He is. But he’ll be able to pull himself out of it. Hopefully. It’ll depend on Benjamin.”
“So what you’re saying is that we’d better hope Benjamin accepts Ignacio again, or we’re going to have a loose cannon in Chaos? More than usual?”
“And if he does accept Ignacio, we’ll have that in Tennant.”
There's no sound between us for a while, aside from our breathing. I love these times when I’m in Keegan’s arms. I’m thankful Il Padrone saved me, because otherwise, I wouldn’t have this. I know Keegan doesn’t understand Il Padrone, but I wish he’d try.
“Alright, well, fuck. I guess we wait for the explosion, and depending on where it’s coming from, either help or take cover.” Yawning, I nod against Keegan’s skin and murmur my agreement. “Get some sleep, Tease. I’ll be here. Always.”
I wish I had the words to tell him what he means to me, but my body is already dragging itself down, and my mind follows blindly. The need for sleep is overwhelming. But, yeah…there’s going to be explosions. God help us all…