Chapter 27
Meitner
Brandon
Teddy is probably the most deranged person on the face of the planet, in all the best ways.
If you’re looking at him from the outside, he looks totally normal.
Possibly even sane. But anytime I’m alone with him, and I get just a glimpse of the psycho shit that is running around in his head I feel the need to lock myself away in an institution because his crazy rubs off on me.
We managed to catch Deangelo down near a few of our gambling rings, and we are currently trying to stuff him in our trunk in broad daylight.
The problem is, Teddy said he wanted him completely conscious.
I know better than to fight him on his impulses, but this has become a way harder task than it was originally set out to be.
“Teddy, are you sure I can’t just knock him out?” I grit, as I’m currently wrestling with a tied up and gagged Deangelo.
“No, because he needs to feel the fear that he puts in young girls when he forces them into the sex trade.” He gives me a look that says ‘duh’, and I have to admit… When he puts it that way.
Deangelo bucks hard again and screams around his gag.
Teddy’s response is to tase him in the balls, again.
It’s not as bad as using that contraption he made for Darren, that literally sliced his dick open four ways to hell, but I still wince, and instinctively cover my own balls to make sure they are safe and unharmed.
I huff out a breath, “Fine. Let's scare the piss out of him.” I pin Deangelo in the position I need him at the trunk of our car, giving him my best sinister stare. I haven’t perfected mine like the others, but I’m not sinister.
Not really anyway, but now that there are threats to my princess, I’m sure my not-so-sinister ways will be perfected in no time.
Whispering in Deangelo’s ear, “Do you know who we are bringing you to?”
Obviously, he can’t answer clearly, but a muffled sound strangles out around the gag we have stuffed in his throat.
“The Sparrow.” I give him a wink, and our bag of human shit captive, literally pisses himself.
His knees wobble just enough for me to finally be able to best him, and I stuff him in the car easily.
He was frozen in fear once I got him settled into it, and Teddy being Teddy, slices his Achilles tendons on both ankles with a switchblade.
I turn to face him, with a ‘what the fuck’ look plastered in my expression.
“So, he can’t run if he manages to get out of the trunk, plus it hurts like a bitch.
” He explains with a shrug before slamming the trunk closed.
I wipe my hands together, removing the imaginary dirt from them and round the car to the driver’s seat.
Out of habit I whip my phone out to pull up the footage of the gym back at the manor.
As if Teddy had the same impulse, he leaned over the center console to view my screen as well.
“Who is dead in the corner?” Teddy asks, while squinting and pointing at a body laying lifeless next to the mats.
I zoom in to see, “Looks like one of the newer guys, Trent or something.” I shrug but focus the lens back on Zoe.
She’s standing close to the mats as two men spar.
There is a ton of blood covering the mats, we might as well have been putting on a fight club.
Judging by the look on Zoe’s face, she is eating up every second of it.
She is zeroed in on their movements and seems to be calculating.
I look across the phone screen and see that Dean is battling between watching the pair on the mat or watching Zoe.
I knew after last night he wouldn’t be able to hold back much longer.
He is hooked just like the rest of us, and it’s so much more obvious now.
I suppose it can be hard to look at a woman with indifference when she so willingly swallowed your cum without question.
“Ready to head to her apartment?” I start the car and hand him my phone, this way he can continue to keep an eye on her.
I learned on the drive over that he wasn’t going to stop asking about her until he saw her, and this way he is able to focus on the job but also keep us both in the loop of what is happening back at the manor.
I continue to glance over at my phone in Teddy’s hands, but every time I look at him, he is watching so vigorously I don’t think he’s blinked. “How do you think she’s adjusting to the manor? And living with us?” I ask, trying to start up a conversation with my most demented brother.
“She needs pretty things.” He mumbles, still not looking away. I can’t blame him; she has woven her very essence into our lungs.
“What do you mean by pretty things?” To Teddy, pretty things can range from a severed tongue… like he gifted her on her first day at the manor, or a set of rare jewels. And knowing him, the jewels would have most likely been found while he’s out doing his favorite hobby… Grave robbing.
“Her room is boring. She needs some pink or something. Girls like pink right?” He asks, seeming to second guess himself, but I don’t see it until he finally looks up at me and I see a little hint of worry in his eyes.
Oh, he’s got it bad.
“Sure. Most girls like pink, but Zoe isn’t like most girls.”
He looked out the window contemplatively and I almost thought the conversation had ended until he said, “She likes green. And she likes music. We can stop and get her some things on the way home.”
“We still have a hostage in the trunk.” I remind him.
“Good, maybe he’ll learn his lesson the longer he’s in there.”
“You make a valid argument,” I say, not that any argument was needed, I’m sold on the idea of buying the princess some presents. “We can stop at the mall on the way back. Send a message to the guys and see if they have any suggestions too.”
Teddy has never been a gift giver, he more so an ‘acts of service’ type of person when he’s being affectionate. For example, two years ago I broke my hand when I punched a wall out of anger, and then he tore down the wall for hurting me.
We walk into Zoe’s apartment shortly, and I already want to leave.
We have continued paying her rent in case we needed to flee here as a last resort safe house.
But this apartment is horrible. The wallpaper is always peeling off, the locks don’t actually lock, and the bars on the window can be pulled off with one hand.
I know she was in a tough spot and only made enough money to survive by doing odd jobs, but the thought of her ever needing to live in this hell hole makes me want to burn the shit to the ground.
Teddy jumped into her bed and rolled himself in her sheets. If I were anyone else, I’d be surprised or maybe disturbed by his actions. Even though it’s not something a particularly sane person would do, I still completely understand.
It smells like her.
“We shouldn’t be here too long Teddy.” I say as I open her deep freezer that’s shoved in the corner of the room.
Right on top of a frozen pizza, is a vacuum sealed bag with an easily identified human heart.
“Hello, Kahl.” I hum to myself when I grab it.
I rummage through her cabinets to find a bowl, then I fill it with ice.
If we are planning on stopping for a quick shopping spree, we don't need this thing defrosting in the back seat.
“Little devil kept a diary.” Teddy piqued, and when I turned, I found him still perched on her bed, waving a little black journal in the air.
“Go ahead and grab it, but don’t look in it.” I warned him. Despite how curious I am to read her inner thoughts that were dark enough to be written and not said out loud, I refuse to breach that level of privacy.
“I wouldn't dream of it.” He said and tucked it into the inner pocket of his jacked. When he moved it, a little piece of paper fell out of it.
“What’s that?”
Teddy bent over to pick it up and unfolded it. I’ve never seen Teddy pale before, but I can feel the panic radiating off of him. I know that if I listened close enough, I might hear his heart trying to beat out of his chest. “Teddy?” I ask warily.
He passes me the paper, and my blood runs cold.
In my hand is a note that reads, “You’ll never escape me. -KH”
“Okay,” I breathe, trying to understand the situation. “Take this too, it may be old. We’ll just ask Zoe about it when we get home.” I fold the note back up and slip it into my poster.
Teddy just stares at me for a moment. I know the gears in his head are turning and now I need to do everything in my power to be sure that he doesn’t freak out. Not while we are out in public.
“The initials.” He frowns. “Kahl Hera?”
Sighing and tugging at the hair on the back of my head I respond, “That’s what I was thinking too. But we should go. We have that shopping spree for your little devil, remember?” Hoping that reminding him of her will help him remain stable.
He clenched and unclenched his fists before taking a deep breath with a nod. He’s close to the edge, but I know I’ve talked him down a bit.
Obviously, the note is old. But reading a threat to Zoe in writing after knowing what he’s done, raises the hair on the back of my neck too.
We get back in the car after making sure Deangelo is still secured in the back. “Just pull up the cameras,” I hand him my phone, “See what she and Dean are up to.”
It doesn’t take us long to get to the mall. Our drive over was silent, and the air was thick. Teddy seemed to calm down more and more the longer he watched the cameras.
While Teddy was watching her and Dean, I let my mind get to work on what to buy her to distract me. I knew exactly what store I wanted to go into.
We stopped by a few jewelry stores and picked up a few pieces that we think would look stunning on her, and I can’t wait for her to open what I found.
Teddy wandered off before I could stop him, but he met me back at the car and refused to show me what he got.
Max only told me to get her more of the soaps she likes, and Dean suggested a few items to make her room look cozier than the hotel room it looked like.
All in all, it was a pretty fast trip, and we were heading back to the manor.
“I liked seeing her dance this morning.” Teddy’s voice broke through the silent car ride, and I jumped at the disturbance.
“Yeah, I did too. She seemed…” I trail off, not knowing the word I’d like to use to describe it.
“At peace. She said it last night.” I’ve never seen Teddy so… stable before. He’s usually going on about torture techniques, random morbid facts, or of course the volunteer work he likes to do in his free time.
“We need to make her an official Karma. I know there are some things we still need to see her do. But she fits so well.”
“Do you think Max will go about the same ritual to make it official?” This brings back his devilish smile and he wiggles his eyebrows at me.
“Oh, I hope so. I’d love to see her go through it.”
The ritual is sacred to just us four. It was what Max put us all through when we became a family, a unit. It was our own thing that was completely separate from the empire and separate from Kahl. And I look forward to making it all official with Zoe. She is one of us, our missing link, ours.
The second we pull into our underground garage, Teddy is out the door and running to enter the house, “Teddy! Wait!” I called out.
He stops in his tracks with a huff, “What?”
“I need help getting Deangelo out and to the cellar.” He rolls his eyes but comes to help me, thankfully letting me knock him out to make the trek to the cellar easier.
We’ve decided to keep Deangelo and Darren delegate for the time being.
After thinking it over, Max agreed to let Zoe take Deangelo for herself to mark him as a Sparrow kill.
I know she wanted to hunt for him, but this was the safest possibility considering all the threats we are currently working through.
We make quick work of getting him in a holding cell, and hurry to unload the gifts into her room. And fucking finally, we can go see her. I put the heart in our own deep freezer making a mental note not to forget it's there in the morning when I pull out the sausages for breakfast.
Teddy and I both race to the gym, itching to just be in the same air as her. We burst through the door and come to a screeching halt.
I burst into laughter, ignoring all the guards that are waiting in small groups by the mats
“Dean," I snorted. "Who kicked the shit out of you?"