Chapter 28
F = ma
Zoe
Assessing the security team was an absolute shit show, but incredibly insightful.
We found two individuals that were the most impressive.
Drake, who has been employed by the Karmas for nearly three years, was able to fight off three other guards and hold his own on the mat against me for about twenty minutes.
Of course, I was able to best him, but out of the entirety of the personnel, he held me off the longest.
Dean and I decided to make Drake our replacement for Darren. He’ll oversee our arms warehouse until further notice.
Then I got to meet Jessica, the only woman in the entire collection, and she put Dean on his ass.
More than once. The Karma’s hired Jessica into their security team about four months ago, and although I didn’t get to physically spar against her, we did match shot for shot in the shooting range.
I spoke with the brothers and came to an agreement to add her to our inner circle security for when we have to go on any jobs, she will also be taking the lead of our security personnel in general when Dean can’t devote his attention to them.
Which leads us to here, Jessica and Drake are standing with me in the cellar, staring at a tied-up Deangelo- who is covered in his own piss. I’d say I was surprised but I’d expect nothing less considering it was Teddy and Brandon who picked him up.
“So, Drake,” I begin, turning to face him. “You’ll be in the weapons warehouse and not the packaging, but how would you deal with someone in our troops trying to steal our product?”
Drake is in his mid-twenties, a little older than me, average height and build, and topped with ruffled brown hair.
From the outside, he looks completely unsuspecting and even has an innocent ‘boy next door’ look, but when he opens his mouth all the entire facade disappears.
Looking at Deangelo he asks, “Do you know what they do to thieves in Saudi Arabia?” And seeing as Deangelo is gagged, Drake answers for him, “They chop their hands off.”
I give an appreciative nod to him followed by a click of my tongue, “Then do it.”
“Cut off his hands?” He chuckles.
“Yes, what tool did you want?”
He raises his eyebrows and mirrors the same nod I give him, “A bone saw will do.”
As expected, the all-hearing band of brothers enter the room, conveniently with Teddy who is holding an electric bone saw with an extension cord.
“Then let’s get this show on the road.” Teddy chips, “I just got a new gallon of chocolate milk, and I’d like to crack that baby open as soon as possible. ”
We this is a test, to see if the two new heads of security can handle the gory work, not just the physical violence.
We don’t plan to have them actually handle any interrogations, in fact we don’t plan on Drake or Jessica learning any information about what we are looking into.
We are doing this to see if they can do as they are told and not ask questions.
Drake accepts the bone saw with a quiet ‘thank you’ and powers it up. Right on queue Deangelo’s eyes fly wide open and his muffled screams echo in the small cellar.
“Well Deangelo,” Drake sighs, and my ears perk up curiously, “The dildo of consequences rarely arrives lubed.”
Completely unprepared for a statement like that, both Brandon and I sputter out laughs.
Max cuts his eyes at us, but when we try to smother the chuckles, we only laugh harder.
I’m doubled over and holding my knees, Brandon has his head thrown back and holding his belly, and I look up to see Teddy chuckling, and even Dean has his hands covering his mouth that I know is holding back a secret smirk.
“Children,” Max grumbles, “I work with children.”
We eventually breathe through the giggle fit, only to find that Drake has completed the task already.
Not only has he cut both hands clean off of Deangelo, but he has also seared the wounds with a blowtorch to cauterize the bleeding.
I sin to find Drake already standing a few feet back next to Jessica who has a bored look on her face, as if she is completely unphased.
“That’s all we’ll be needing from you for now, Drake. Dean will escort you out of the manor.”
“Thank you, Miss Karma.” Drake gives me a polite bow of his head and follows Dean out of the cellar.
Miss Karma. Is that how the rest of the operation will see me?
Am I seen as one of them? I see myself as one of them, especially after the recent…
Occurrences. If other people looking from the outside can see it, is it possible all the brothers feel the same?
They’ve made it clear they want me, but do I fit?
Am I actually one of them in their eyes?
“Miss Karma?” Jessica asks.
“What?”
“Were you still needing me?” She asks, and I almost got angry, but I realized I was just staring at her with a blank look on my face.
“Yes, yes.” I blink. I clear my throat and turn away from her, but I catch three knowing smirks from throughout the room. “Brandon and Teddy will take you to debrief you on a current situation we are working through.”
They begin to walk from the room, Jessica flanking in between them. I will never admit it out loud, but at least a thousand scenarios of horrible and compromising positions like the one I was in last night flash through my brain, only it has Jessica- and my blood runs red hot.
“Oh, and Jessica.” I blurt, a little harsher than intended.
“You were in the room when Max displayed exactly what happens to people who disrespect me.” I don’t need to say what I’m insinuating out loud, I’m sure it’s written all over my face.
Which is only solidified when Brandon hums with his eyebrows lifted in my direction.
“Do you prefer Miss Karma or Z?” She asks, the question throws me off a bit.
“Miss Karma, for you.” I square my shoulders. Yeah, I can feel the possessiveness written all over my face. I can only hope that Jessica isn’t picking too much up on it, but of course she does, because what she says makes me feel like a bumbling fool.
“Miss Karma, I’m gay.” She gives me a tight-lipped smile and adds, “And married.”
“Right.” I clear my throat and turn back towards Deangelo, actively dismissing the three standing in the doorway.
It’s only when the door clicks shut that I realize Deangelo has passed out and peed himself again.
I let out a sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.
Today has been yet another long day, I know there is going to be plenty more, but I’m exhausted.
So much has changed and happened in such a short span of time I’m getting dizzy.
“Possessive looks good on you.” Max says, and I jump at his interruption to my exhaustion spiral.
“Holy shit, I forgot you were in here.”
He huffs, “Wow, I’m flattered.”
I steady myself against the wall and let my head drop against it, keeping my eyes closed, “That’s not what I meant. I’m just tired, I’m sorry.”
I can feel him approach, but I keep my eyes closed. It’s like my body can sense him, every single hair on my body stands at attention and my body buzzes in anticipation from his close proximity.
Max doesn’t say anything as he leans over me, his arms trapping me in my place. His breath skates across my neck before he places a single kiss against my jaw. I continue to hold my breath, terrified that I might interrupt the electrons and atoms of energy sizzling between us.
“What do you need?” The whispers against my skin, his lips are burning hot against my throat and my knees wobble.
“Need for what?” I choke out.
“What do you need to let go?” HIs voice is dripping in sex, and a shiver works its way through my body.
“Oh,” I say breathlessly and still refusing to open my eyes, “M-maybe a drink?”
Liar, the little voice in my head pops up but I quickly squash it.
“Liar.” He growls, ever the mind reader. Maybe he’s the little voice in my head, he’s richer than God so I wouldn’t be surprised if he owned the technology. “You and I both know that you need to relax. To forget.”
I finally open my eyes to find him just a breath away from me, I shudder at the sight of his hooded eyes. “You tell me then.”
If it’s even possible, he seemed to get taller, bigger, and even closer to me. When he speaks, I can feel a whisper of his lips brush against mine. “You need control taken from you. You need pain.”
“Pain?” I ask.
He hums, “You like to be hurt and used. You need pain.”
“What do you think about that?” I don’t mean to ask out loud, but his response shows me I absolutely did.
“Beware the woman whose desire to hurt burns hotter than her desire to heal.”
I swallow back the words I wanted to respond, and he grabs my wrist to pull me from the room. We make it to the stairs, and I finally speak. “What about Deangelo? Darren?”
“They seem to be a little tied up right now.” He continues to pull me up the stairs.
“Did you, Max-fucking-Karma, just make a joke? You know what those are?” I gawk.
“I know you think I’m a robot, but I assure you, I know what jokes are. I even know emotions when I see them.” He chuckles as we stop at a door that's in the same hall as my bedroom, just a few doors down from where Dean’s was.
“The robot knows emotions; we should alert the government before it becomes a threat.”
He locks me in with his arms again, this time against the door, “Do you find me threatening?”
“No.” I lied again.
“Such a liar this evening.” His voice is low and thick. I told you he was a mind reader.
“What’s behind this door, Max?” I ask, anxiously waiting to see where he’s brought me.
He turns the knob and pushes the door open, revealing a massive space full of black and hints of purple.
I step into the space slowly, looking at my surroundings.
There is a bed in the center of the room, it’s on a black wooden frame with tall posts on each corner that reach the ceiling.
The bed is draped in a dark purple comforter that is made of silk.
I round the bed and look at the walls. There are no windows in here, instead all four walls are covered in accessories that I would have never guessed lived behind that door.
Whips, riding crops, clamps, chains, and even paddles.
Plugs with tails, gags, blindfolds. There is quite literally a sex deviants kingdom within this room.
I approach a flogger and let my fingers run over it, letting the strands trail between my fingers. “Is this your bedroom?” I ask over my shoulder.
“It’s a room that belongs to me, but it’s not my bedroom.” He explains.
“So, like a man cave?” I sound like an idiot, but to be fair-- I’m exhausted and really shocked to find something like this.
“No, Harpy, not a man cave.” Max clicks the door shut behind him, but I don’t miss the unmistakable sound of a lock sliding in place.
“What does harpy mean? I don’t understand the nickname.” I have moved to the section of Butt plugs with the long tails connected to them, and I let my hands dance in the soft fur.
“Harpy Eagle.” He shrugs and picks an invisible piece of lint from his suit and flicks it away.
“What’s that?” I finally turn to face him.
“One of the most powerful and fearless predators in the world.” He states, now looking at the tail plug with me, “A sparrow is just not a strong enough title for you.”
“You never asked me what the sparrow means.” I move on to the next wall, observing the paddles.
Max tucks his arms behind his back, happy to watch me explore. “Enlighten me.”
“The simple explanation is that a sparrow symbolizes hope.”
He hums, “And the complex explanation?”
“It’s also believed to be good luck when you see a sparrow. I’ve always had incredibly bad luck. I won't get into it all, but I started to believe it was because of my father. That I inherited bad luck because of all of his sins.”
I pick up a leather belt and trace my fingers against the seams. I take a deep breath to inhale the rich scent before I continue. “So, I figured with that logic, I would kill two birds with one stone.”
“Was that a purposeful pun?” He cocks an eyebrow.
“Would you expect anything else?” I snort.
He nods along, “What is it that you had hope for, Harpy?”
“Hope that I’d eventually rid the world of the vile creatures that are preying on the vulnerable.”
“That’s a high hope.”
“I agree.” I shrug and divert my attention back to the belt. “Are you going to fuck me in here?” I finally asked the question that popped into my head the moment I noticed the contents.
“Not tonight. You need some rest.”
“Oh.” I hate that the disappointment in my features is visible enough, he quickly adds.
“I will, I promise. I want nothing more than to help you get out of that complicated little head of yours. But I value your health and seeing as you don’t remember parts of last night after Teddy and Brandon took you- A good night's rest is for your own good.”
“I understand.” Although I see his reasoning, it still stings to be rejected by him at this moment.
“Let’s get you to bed, and I’ll have Teddy get more answers from Darren tonight. Tomorrow we can work on Deangelo.”
Back to business I see, “Okay boss.” I cut my words sharply and rushed from the room.
“Zoe!” He calls after me, but I ignore him before locking myself in my room, pushing the dresser in front of it to prevent him from trying to enter.
I curl into bed at once and neglect a shower all together.
I just need to lick my wounds, and sleep, and tomorrow will be better.
Maybe Max is right, I’m sure he didn’t mean to make me feel embarrassed.
However, after having such an open conversation I figured that maybe he’d be willing to give into the urges I know he’s also having.
I wanted to just blame myself and say that I read it all wrong, but I am not so naive.
Max knocks on the door and calls my name a few times, but I close my eyes and let the sleep take me before I could give into his calling.
Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow I won't make a fool of myself. Tomorrow I will be back to the killing drone they need me to be.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.