Chapter 11 #3
Her words are beginning to flow a little more now, and I stay quiet while she talks, each syllable making me angrier.
‘I wasn't allowed to make a sound when she did it, or she'd just do it again.'
'Did they charge it?' I ask, trying very hard to keep my voice emotionless, logical, because I know that will help her to deal with this.
She won’t want to get too emotional and feel out of control right now.
'There was a battery pack.’
‘A remote charger?’
‘It was kind of like a magnet that the nurse would put on it for a couple of hours a day.'
'So, it should just run out of batteries,' I mutter.
She shrugs. 'I'm not sure how many zaps it would take. It still feels just as strong, even though it's been used about three or four times since the last charge.’
‘I'm gonna get this off of you.' I say, making sure that none of my anger is in my tone and my fingers are soft as I squeeze her knee gently. 'I just need… I have some tools that might work, okay?’
‘Do you really think you can?' she asks. 'I tried myself in the lab, but I couldn't get into it. I was afraid that I'd need the key. It’s not as if Joe is going to give it to me, you know?’
‘We're gonna get it off,' I promise her again quietly.
She doesn't speak, only nods, and I notice her teeth are clenched.
She’s not as okay as she’s pretending. Who would be after all the shit they’ve put her through?
'Come into the bedroom and lay down. I'll get my stuff.'
She does what I ask, going to lie on the bed, facing away from me with that thing on display.
I go into my duffel bag, and I grab the small case that I use whenever I need to get into a locked house, which, considering the work I do for Kormak, happens more than I'd like.
I unzip it and I see her watching me curiously as I pick out some of the smallest metal picks I have.
'Will those work?' she asks. 'It's not a real lock.'
I nod. ‘I’m hoping if I can get a couple of these in the right places, I can trick it into thinking they’re the keycard.’
She stays absolutely still as I shine a light into the slot, trying to work out if I can unlock it and release the metal strap.
I get to work using my very tiny tools in the tiny space.
I glance up at her after a few seconds.
'I'm going to try to do this without activating it,' I say, 'but if I do, I'm—'
'It's okay,' she says quickly, 'Do what you have to do. I want it off, Blake. I hate it.’
‘I hate it,’ she whispers again.
I give her a small nod.
'The others. They should be in here. If they're touching you, if it goes off I mean, they might be able to take some of the brunt of it. If it's spread between three people, it won’t be so bad.'
‘Okay.’
I call for Shade and Mav and they come in, both of them looking grim, and I tell them what we're doing.
‘Is this safe?' Shade asks dubiously.
‘Would you rather we leave it on her?' I retort.
‘No.'
I shrug, 'Hopefully it won't zap but hold onto her. Keep your skin touching hers, so that if it does, it's not so bad for her.'
Daisy moves to the middle of the bed and Shade puts his arm around her. Mav’s on her other side, his hand resting on her bare hip.
I put my tools back into the slot and move them around carefully, trying very hard not to accidentally shock our girl.
'I think I might have got it,' I say a few minutes later, putting another of my picks inside. ‘If I can disrupt the…’
Daisy grunts in pain, and I see her jaw tighten. The guys both yell and I feel the metal rods in my hands conducting the current.
'Fuck,' I snarl, doing the last part as quickly as I can, and I hear a click as the thing releases.
Before I can do anything, she has it in her hands and she’s throwing it across the room. She scrambles off the bed and as far away from it as she can, collapsing to the floor.
She's shaking and breathing heavily.
Shade and Mav are both looking at their hands, shocked expressions on their faces.
'It felt like that every time?' Shade asks quietly.
I answer when she doesn’t.
‘It would have felt worse,’ I say. ‘A lot worse.’
Shade is off the bed and striding towards where Daisy is kneeling on the floor. He gathers her up into his arms, pulling her close and picking her up carefully.
'I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry,' he keeps repeating quietly. 'I didn't know. I promise you, I didn't.'
She grips him tightly.
'I know,' she says. 'I'm sorry I didn't tell the truth. I'm sorry I didn’t… that I haven’t told you everything. I just…'
She just shakes her head, and suddenly they're kissing each other deeply. She's gripping him tightly, her fingers running through his hair.
'Shade, please,' she whispers. ‘I need...’
'I've got you,’ he rumbles, and I hear a zipper.
He impales her on himself and she lets out a low moan, wrapping her legs around him as he moves her up and down.
Mav and I watch in silence. I don’t feel even an ounce of jealousy that he’s taking control of the situation. In fact, I’m glad he’s here to make her feel better– to show her how much we’ve missed her and care about her.
And I think she’s showing him, too.
Their kiss doesn't end, and they barely come up for air.
Mav catches my eye and I can see he’s getting impatient though.
'Bring her to the bed,' he says and Shade stumbles over, laying her gently over the covers.
Mav lies beside them and gently moves her head so that he can kiss her too. His hands caress her body slowly up and down as she moans.
A part of me wants to join in, but I decide to wait. Selfishly, I want some alone time with her after the other two are finished.
Instead, after I put my tools away, I go into the bathroom, and I start the water running in the huge Jacuzzi tub.
I know she'll need a little quiet time after everything that’s happened tonight and now that that thing is off of her. I get rid of it, putting it in my bag to dispose of.
Then, I wait by the door as I watch Daisy writhing on the bed underneath Shade.
He takes her hard, and from the scratch marks she's leaving on his back, she loves it.
Mav stays close by, touching her and speaking to her in soft tones, and when Shade is finished, and collapses by her side on the bed, Mav is there to pull her on top of him, sliding into her easily, not seeming to care that she’s full of Shade.
Her back arches as she rides him, and I smirk from my place by the wall. I can't wait to feel her under me, over me, beside me. I can't wait to feel her skin pressed up against me. God, I've missed her so much. I'm so thankful that she's back with us and safe.
I watch as Mav’s fingers work between their bodies, and the sounds she’s making reach a crescendo once more.
He moves her up and down, whispering words to her that I can't hear before he pulls her close, grabbing her around the middle and pressing her down onto him as he thrusts his hips up and jerks beneath her.
Afterward, he pulls her close and holds her, kissing her, breathing her in, just like I want to do.
She's panting, lying limply on the bed between my friends.
I glance back into the bathroom and see that the bubble bath is full, so I turn off the water and check the temperature.
It's perfect.
I stride to the bed and reach over Mav, smirking when he gives me a narrow eyed look.
'You've had your turn,' I say with a chuckle as I pull her up into my arms and carry her into the bathroom.
She barely makes a sound, but she holds on to me tightly, and I give myself a few seconds of just being with her before I slowly lower her into the large, round tub.
I listen to her groan as the hot water seeps into her bones. I shuck my clothes quickly and get in with her, pulling her to sit in my lap as her head lolls against my shoulder.
'How are you feeling?' I ask her.
‘Tired,’ she mumbles. ‘But good.’
I snort. ‘I'd make you promise no more secrets, but I think we both know that they would be empty words.’
She glances up at me, her lips thinning, but she says nothing, knowing that I'm right.
'I was handling it,' she says after a moment.
My hand moves over her thigh under the water.
‘Handling it very well, I’m sure,' I say without irony, 'but I think maybe you need to tell us everything, don’t you?'
My reproachful expression has her looking away again.
‘What good would that do?' she says in almost a whisper. 'It's over now.'
I shake my head a little, but I leave it at that for now. It’s not the right time.
I wet her hair, and then I grab her favorite shampoo, squeezing it into my hands and lathering it into her hair.
I give her a slow and methodical head massage that has her moaning on my lap so loudly that I see Mav and Shade’s heads poke through the doorway to see what I’m doing.
I grab the shower head and rinse her hair off before applying the conditioner, rubbing it in and piling her hair on top of her head to leave it for a few minutes.
I make her get on her knees, and I soap her up thoroughly, disliking the marks I find on her waist and thigh from the device that was strapped to her as well as some pincer parks on her arm and side.
‘What are these from?’ I ask, touching one of the spots gently.
To my surprise, she chuckles. ‘I might tell you another time,’ she says cryptically. ‘But it’s more of a funny story.’
I let out a long-suffering grunt.
'Do the burns hurt?' I ask.
She nods. ‘A little in the hot water.’
‘I have something I can put on them afterwards.'
‘Okay,’ she replies contentedly, closing her eyes and letting me take care of her.
I make sure she's clean and I rub and knead her shoulders and neck, giving her a slow, deep, relaxing massage until she lays her head down on the side of the tub, half asleep.
When my fingers find the cleft between her legs, she barely moves as I clean her, slowly easing my fingers inside of her, making sure she's ready for me.
I take the shower head, and I rinse her hair and the rest of her body. In a burst of inspiration, I make sure it's not too hot, and I position it between her legs.