Page 28 of Master B-0361
“You can’t fucking do this. I did nothing wrong. She wanted it! She asked me to come. Some leader you are,Main Master. We’ll see how long your reign lasts. When you fall, my Mother will take over. My mother?—”
Whack!
Melissa’s hand connected hard with Jett’s cheek.
“I warned you.You gave me your word. If you’re lying about this?—”
“The board will decide his fate,” Elec cut in. “Get him out of here.”
I jerked from the Main Master as they disappeared, lowering as they strapped Margaret to a gurney.
“You said internal bleeding?”
“We’re not sure.” The medical guard looked between the other two, and then down to her lap. “The damage is on the inside. We won’t know anything until we take a closer look and see for ourselves.”
“In…side?” My eyes lowered to the blood splattered on the floor from the drips, only to move down to the lap of my blood-stained jeans. My fist drew in, leveling with my mouth. I kept in step as they began wheeling her out, stopping as Elec’s arm barred against my chest.
“I’ll have to go through the footage from the last few days to make sure, but how certain are you that your slave is telling the truth? You’ve been gone, and he mentioned the city.”
“I believe Margaret when she says she didn’t know or recognize him.”
“And you’re sure she’s not lying? Why would he choose her?”
My fists drew in even more as the medical guards and Margaret disappeared from the apartment.
“Jett and I got in a bidding war over her. It went up really high. Too high for him, and he knew it. He let me have her.” I let out a sigh. “As far as I knew, I thought he had taken it well. He didn’t seem to care. He was already bidding on the next slave entering. I thought it was fine. He even asked if I’d ever seen a lobotomy, inviting me to watch him do one when I was ready. I took it as some kid trying to connect or look cool. I brushed it off. Now that I think about it, I saw him on the elevator with the blonde slave he’d bought the night before. It was the morning Margaret went to the city. He didn’t say anything to me, but I was yelling at her. Now that I think about it, he appeared…aggravated. Margaret mentioned Ashley’s Boutique. That he’d been waiting for her to come back. He must have somehow thought I wasn’t at the Gardens.”
The Main Master’s hand eased up. “Shit. He knew. Melissa and I were just talking about it earlier. Your name somehow got brought up and one of us mentioned you were in Chicago. Jett was there. He heard. God dammit.” Elec almost seemed to wince as he grabbed to his head. “It’s all a little fuzzy. I’ll look it up to make sure what exactly was said. I have to go. I’ll collect all the evidence, and I’m sure you want to be with your slave.”
We walked to the door together, heading down the hallway. “Let me know the moment there’s any news on Jett. I want his head, Elec. He’ll never be trusted in my eyes again. He’s not right. He’s not one of us. Even as dark as we are, there’s a codeto be respected in the circle, and he doesn’t give a shit about it. I want his fucking head whether you find proper evidence or not.”
“Do you know the war that would cause?”
“I don’t care. He should have thought about that before he came intomyspace and targeted what’s mine.”
The Main Master slowed as we approached the elevator, his expression shifting as he took me in.
“There’s a lot of shit going on right now that I can’t tell you about. And I shouldn’t do this. I fucking shouldn’t but…his head for Hale.”
“What?”
The door opened, but I couldn’t step in like he did. Elec reached out, pulling at my shirt until I made my way inside.
“I can’t even believe I’m saying this, but your brother belongs here. Maybe we were at odds once. Maybe we’ll come to hate each other again. We won’t know unless he becomes one of us.I need him. He’s loyal. He’s protective and trustworthy. Now, of all times, you can see the importance in that. Something is happening, and it’s bigger than you could imagine. Ineedpeople I can trust near me, Seb. You see how it is down here. No one can be trusted. Let him become a Master, and I’ll make sure the evidence points to the axe you’re so desperate to swing.
b0842
Flowers. Always so many pretty flowers. I may have missed seeing my Master, but he always made sure I knew he was here. Even if we did see each other every day. Still, had this been the third time we’d missed each other this week? Had he come recently? Earlier this morning?
I hated how I was constantly being taken to different rooms, but it was needed to help me heal. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I had my Master to thank for that, not that I was enjoying working through my life with a stranger. Still, Sebastian said it was for the best, and maybe he was right. I wasn’t completely okay. It’d only been a little over a week. Although my body was healing and nowhere near as injured as it could have been, it was the nightmares and the fear that kept me in this hospital room. But not for long. My Master was coming to get me, and I was looking forward to that. The odd pull to be with him hadn’t wavered. Not after the care he showed when I was injured. Had anyone been so protective over me? Had anyone shown such possessiveness or anger over someone harming me? Hurting me? Definitely not my mother. Never any man I’d ever known.
“All set, eight-forty-two. Is there anything else you need?”
I pushed from the wheelchair, standing without so much as a wince. I really was fine, despite the lacerations. They were healing. I only had a few stitches in my stomach, but they’d dissolve in time. I wanted to leave. I wanted to go home.
“I’m great. My Master brought more flowers. Do you know if he left me a message on when he’d return?”
“I’ll check for you.”