by Zoey Marcel
“What?” the three Langley brothers shrieked.
“You got our mother killed?” Jake shouted.
Hugh rolled his eyes. “Pipe down, Jake. My exes’ bodies have either shown up dead or the bastard had a couple of them call me, pleading for help just before he killed them with me listening. I went to your mother's house, and she was missing. I haven't heard from her, nor has her body turned up. My guess is she's still alive wherever she is.”
Jake dragged his hand down his face in worry. The other brothers looked just as distraught.
“We'll find her ... and your sister.” Hugh looked over at Keith with an eyebrow arched in accusation.
Keith turned pale. “How did you know about that?”
“Black Dragon left me a note at your mother's house. He said Miranda was a product of My Fairytale. I still don't know what the hell My Fairytale is, but I know she was abducted,” Hugh explained, glancing from the others to Keith. “You're still here, and she disappeared from New Orleans during Mardi Gras.”
“What?” Travis shrieked. “You took her to Mardi Gras?”
Keith's eyes squeezed shut. “I know. It was stupid of me.”
“Did those Doms kidnap her?” Travis asked.
Keith shook his head, looking like he might cry. “The two Doms she met online weren't from New Orleans. They were from here in Lexington, Jason and Armand from the club.”
“You took her to the club?” Jake growled.
“Of course not. She was just supposed to meet them on a lunch date after we got back from our trip to New Orleans, but then...” Keith's voice went hoarse when his eyes spilled over. “Three men abducted her. I don't know who they were, but one of them looked familiar. I still can't place his face, though.”
“You lied to us.” Travis's expression twisted with pain. “Damn it, Keith. Mardi Gras is vile.”
“Actually it makes for a fun time,” Hugh said, “but I agree with you. It's no place for a nice girl like Miranda.”
Jake glared at Keith before storming toward him. “Do you know what those slimy fuckers probably did to her?”
Kayla tugged Jake's arm. “Jake, it's not his fault. He was outnumbered, and they were armed.”
“I don't care! He should have died and protected her!” Jake yelled, advancing despite her hard tug on his arm.
Virgil let out a long whistle and got between Keith and Jake. “Whoa. Easy there, partner.”
“I'm not your goddamned partner, clown!” Jake shoved him, only to stumble over the cane Hugh nonchalantly extended to hinder him.
“Pipe down and apologize to your brother. That could have just as easily been you in New Orleans.”
“Yeah, except I wouldn't have been stupid enough to take her to Mardi Gras in the first place!” Jake spat.
Hugh remained calm. “You don't have to go looking for trouble to find it. Sometimes trouble comes knocking at your front door.”
“Well, I guess it's a damned good thing the three of us are sharing Kayla. If she just belonged to Keith, she'd wind up dead,” Jake snorted.
“Jake, stop!” Kayla looked appalled as her eyes welled.
Keith glared at him, though his eyes betrayed how badly he hurt over the remark. “I would never let anything happen to her. I did the best I could to protect Miranda. Where do you think I got that fucking knife slash from?”
“She's dead because of you!” Jake shouted.
Hugh stood and stuck his cane between them. “Jake, either apologize or leave the room like a normal person. This is no time for brawls. I've got a tape to watch.”
Jake glared at Keith and then stormed out of the house, slamming the front door shut behind him.
Keith was about to leave when Hugh stopped him. “Not you. I want you here when I watch the tape.”
Kayla sounded impressed. “How did you know I had a tape?”
Hugh looked at her. “Black Dragon mentioned a tape. He likes to leave me notes and texts to toy with me.”
She shrugged. “It's just three men playing Scrabble.”
“No, it's not. Who the hell films themselves playing Scrabble? If that Romanov psycho informed me of it, then he wants me to see it for a reason. My guess is there's something on it everyone missed. Now get it for me.”
She went to get the tape from her bedroom.
“You still have a VCR, don't you?” Hugh asked.
Travis let out a heavy exhale. “Yeah, somewhere, but it's been ages since—”
“Go get it.”
Travis gave Keith a sympathetic look and placed a forgiving hand on his shoulder before disappearing into the garage. Once he found the VCR and set it up, Kayla put the tape in.
The video showed three men playing scrabble together. Conversation was minimal.
“That's Beck Hammond and that's Slade,” she said quietly, pointing them out.
“What about the other man?” Virgil asked.
She shrugged. “I don't know. I think it might be Bruce Callaghan, but his face never shows up on this tape. Not sure if he planned it that way or not.”
“Who is Bruce Callaghan?” Hugh asked, not taking his eyes off the screen.
“A bad guy posing as a cop. He went missing when Beck and Slade disappeared after I reported them to the police,” she explained.
“Pause the tape,” Hugh ordered, frowning at the lines on the screen. “Hmm. No good. I can't make out the words on the table, but one of them is a name, Julianne.”
Travis looked spooked. “That's Mom's name.”
“I know,” Hugh said absently. “Notice the words blue and gold. I want to see what the other words on the board are and what those numbers are written on the notepad. Do you have one of those burn-a-video-to-DVD things?”
“Yeah, somewhere,” Travis replied.
“Good. Get it. I've got a bad feeling about the words on that Scrabble board.”
Once the tape was burned to a disc, Travis popped the disc into the DVD player.
“Perfect,” Hugh said. “Now we can zoom.”
The words and names on the Scrabble board made his blood run cold. Some of the words were random, but the others he knew weren't.
“Crap. Blue. Gold. Purple. Those are the code names of the team members who were killed by Alexei Romanov.” Hugh internally panicked, knowing that the Julianne the game referred to had to be Julianne Langley, his nephews' mother.
“I thought you said only Blue Dragon and Gold Dragon were dead?” Travis reminded him.
“They were, but a few days ago Romanov found Purple Dragon. She was the one female in the group. She wound up dead,” Hugh explained.
Virgil sounded frantic. “Zoom over there. That's Gretchen's name on the board and my other sister, Sadie. She went missing recently. She left her boyfriends a note saying she was going to look for Gretchen. Haven't heard from either sister since.”
“They're all connected?” Kayla asked.
“Apparently.” Hugh studied the screen. “What are those colored figurines in the background? Zoom in.”
Virgil zoomed and seven dragon figurines, each of a different color, enlarged. The blue and gold dragons were knocked over. The purple still stood next to the others, but the dragons were lined up in an order Hugh knew wasn't by accident.
“That magnificent bastard, he has a colored figurine for each team member on that mission.” Hugh shook his head in wonder. “Notice the gold and blue dragons are knocked over. The two team members who were killed. The purple is still standing with the other living members, but this tape was made before Purple Dragon was killed. She was killed after Blue Dragon and Gold Dragon. The figurines are lined up in the order he intends to kill them. I'll bet you anything.”
“The silver dragon is last.” Kayla took his hand in hers. “I won't let him kill you.”
Hugh glanced down at her with a loving smile and squeezed her hand. “The narcissist would make the black dragon the biggest. It's separated from the others. I doubt he intends to kill himself afterward.�
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“Wait.” Travis sounded worried. “Move back to the left. Shit, Miranda's name is on the board, too. I don't understand. All these women disappeared from different states. How could he have organized something this big? What does it mean?”
“I don't know, but my guess is it has something to do with whatever My Fairytale is,” Hugh said. “I just need to figure out what those numbers on that paper mean. There doesn't seem to be any particular order.”
“We'll find your sisters,” Kayla promised Travis and Virgil. Her voice bore traces of pain when she turned back to Hugh. “And we'll find your ex-wife.”
“She wasn't my wife, Kayla.” He glanced down at her. “Or my slave.”
Joy swept through his soul when he saw the relief in Kayla's eyes. She still loved him.
Chapter Twelve: Choice
Kayla got up around dawn, unable to sleep in light of the night's events. She dressed and went downstairs, feeling her chest clutch with emotion and hurt when she saw Master Hugh seated on the couch, appearing deep in thought.
He noticed her before returning to his engrossing thoughts. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” She stuck her hands in the front pockets of her jeans, but walking that way felt unnatural, so she folded her arms under her bust as she made her way to the kitchen.
Virgil smiled when he saw her as he flipped an omelet. “Good morning, honey. Sleep well?”
She shook her head. “I couldn't sleep.”
“Yeah, me neither. Hugh and I have been up all night trying to figure out what all those dang numbers mean on that tape.”
“Any luck?”
He sighed. “Nope. Figured some breakfast and coffee would do us some good. Want some eggs?”
“No thanks. I'm not really hungry.”
She peeked out at her former Master seated on the couch, puzzling over mysterious numbers ... not looking at her. But why should he? She only wore a casual hoodie, T-shirt, and jeans. Why should he look her way for that? But she'd put on makeup, masking the dark circles and tired eyes received from a long, sleepless night.
“You've got to eat something, sweet thing,” Virgil insisted, scooping the omelet onto a plate.
“I'll have some yogurt and fruit. Maybe some walnuts with it,” she replied absently, swallowing down the sweet pain when she heard the pet name he'd once used on her. Damn, she still loved Virgil, too. But she couldn't have him or Master Hugh anymore, not without losing the three Langley men she treasured.
“Here. Open up.” Virgil made an airplane noise as he forked a pile of eggs into her mouth.
She smiled at his playfulness, feeling warm and rich beneath the dark decadence of his brown gaze.
“I never stopped thinking about you,” he murmured.
She cherished the words, wishing they could act on them. “You were always on my mind, too. I didn't forget you. I couldn't.”
He leaned ever so slightly like he would kiss her before clearing his throat and setting the plate down. “I went back for you, you know, after my mama ... passed away.”
His words moved through her like a gentle summer night breeze, warm and refreshing. “You did?”
Virgil turned to face her again. “Yeah, I rang the doorbell to the Hammond Estate once they finally let me in the gate, but they said you didn't live there anymore.”
“When was that?”
He thought back for a moment. “It was about a month ago.”
“They lied. I was still there. Beck took away my cell phone and driver's license and kept me prisoner in his house.” She shook her head, averting her gaze. “God, you were right there. If I'd known how close a friend was, that you cared enough to come back...”
“Shh.” He brushed her cheeks with his hands, threading his fingers in her hair. “It's okay. You're safe now.”
“Thank you for going back for me.”
“No problem. I was devastated when I thought you'd moved on and you never answered your cell phone. Now it all makes sense.”
He lightly kissed her forehead with hooded eyes, making her heart clench and her throat ache. She really wanted him and Master Hugh to stay, but not at the expense of losing Travis, Jake, and Keith. Why couldn't she have all the men she loved? Why must she choose?
All those men at Beck's were right about you, dirty slut.
“I love you, honey,” Virgil said in a tender hush.
Kayla nuzzled his caressing hand with her cheek. “I love you, too.”
His deep gaze consumed her as he leaned in, brushing her lips with his. His breath sizzled against her skin in a balmy exhale, making the moment as spiritual as it was sensual. She heard a noise and jerked her head back before his tongue could penetrate her.
He looked disappointed by her retreat, but he seemed to understand. “I've got to take Hugh his coffee.”
“I'll do it.”
Her fingers trembled as she selected a mug that was as close to the ones her Master used to drink from as possible. She poured the scalding coffee into the mug, remembering that he liked it black.
Virgil's hand touched her wrist, scintillating through the material covering her skin. “He still cares about you, too, Kayla. That cold, cynical indifference—it's just a mask he wears. Underneath that tough, devil-may-care attitude I've got a hunch he's a big softy.”
She got a warm, fuzzy feeling deep inside her when she recalled that Hugh had indeed been a tender human being with emotions buried deep beneath layers of sarcasm and cynicism. He'd seen things and probably done things he wasn't proud of, but she'd made him feel once and watched him act on those feelings.
“Thank you,” she whispered, heading into the living room with the hot mug of Joe.
Master Hugh's eyes lifted to hers briefly before dropping to the mug in her hands. He took the cup, setting it aside on a coaster. “Thanks.”
Her arms ached to hold him just as her lips tingled with the need to feel Virgil's mouth devouring hers in a time-stopping kiss. She sat on the floor by her Master's feet with her left side leaning up against the bottom portion of the couch.
Master Hugh observed her in silence before going back to his silent pondering. He made a teepee with his aged hands, staring off into the various possibilities he likely mulled over. Finally he spoke in a calming voice. “You don't have to sit at my feet, Kayla.”
“I wanted to.”
His leg was so close. She could reach out and hug his limb, kissing it in adoration like she used to.
No. He'd find her desperate.
“You don't need my permission to use the furniture. You're not my slave anymore.”
The words dug at her soul like a ruthless spade on solid ground. Did they pain him like they hurt her? Not if his far-off, enigma-solving glaze was anything to go by.
“I'm comfortable, M—Hugh.”
The silence was so loud she could hear the coffeemaker percolating again. How much of the dark brew did Virgil plan on making this morning?
“Have you been up all night?” she asked.
The wheels in Master's head continued to turn. “Mmhmm.”
“Well, I'll let you think. Goodbye now.”
“Kayla.”
Where the other men would touch her to get her attention or hinder an action, all this man had to do was speak and she obeyed.
“Yeah?”
“The things I said to you the day you came across me talking to that man in L.A.—I didn't mean any of them.” Master Hugh finally looked at her with a solemn, caring expression on his face. “That was Romanov's old cell mate. For a price he was willing to spill what he knew of Black Dragon, but I couldn't take the risk of being seen with you in public after Romanov started pinching off my exes. That and I worried the man I was talking to might not be on the level. I didn't want him leaking information about you or our history to the psychopath, or you'd have ended up dead like the others.”
“I understand.” She'd figured as much after hearing him talk last night, but hearing him confirm her th
eory proved consoling.
“It killed me to say those things to you.” The silent regret in his sympathetic eyes told even more than he could have said.
“It hurt me to hear them.” Her ducts turned dewy, but she held herself together as she scooted closer and wrapped an arm around his leg, clasping his hand in hers. “But I understand why you did it. None of that matters anymore. I just want...”
The verbal account of her secret dreams trailed off. It was best not to embarrass herself by sharing her undisclosed yearning to belong to all five of them.
Master Hugh said nothing at first, but she had a feeling he knew what it was she wanted deep down. “When Virgil told me you'd disappeared, I panicked. Then when you left that voice mail on my phone I was able to breathe again.”
“When you went on that cinnamon rant on the phone, was that for my benefit?” She beamed at his nod.
“I had to speak in code in case Romanov found some way to bug my cell phone. I didn't figure he had since it's always with me, but I had to be safe.” Master grazed the top of her hand with his thumb in soft, delicate strokes. “Once I knew you were safe here, I quit worrying, but I stayed away to keep Romanov from finding you. He called me yesterday on my cell phone. For the life of me I can't figure out how he got my number, probably from Julianne when he broke into her house and abducted her. He said he knew about you and that you lived in Lexington.”
Kayla gave him a questioning look as she ran her hand up the inside of his thigh, groping closer and closer to the steadily perking package she really wanted to touch. She would behave herself, though ... if she had to.
“How does Black Dragon know where I live?”
He shrugged. “Beats me. He even knew the address and the names of the boys. As soon as I heard that, I caught a flight here.”
“When I was at the mall the other day somebody left a note in my purse. The police have it now, but I remember the gist of it. Beck and Slade threatened me. Not sure which of them stuck the letter in my purse, but I didn't recognize the other man's writing. It basically said that he was waiting for you, and he signed it B.D. for Black Dragon.”