by Sarah Mosby
Jayd scowls at his words, “Save my life? I didn’t need to be saved. I was perfectly fine, you almost killed me, you crazy bastard.” He looks off, not bothering with Matthew any longer, seemingly casting him aside just like everything else had lost interest in through the years.
“Pardon me, but I did save your life. Although you are a bit challenged-” Matthew scoffs slightly, before taking a seat in a worn out chair beside the bed. He is disgusted at the quality of it, before turning back to face his brother. “And you were set on killing me, kidnapping my lover, and stealing what Demarco left for me…” Matthew pauses, and his expression shifts to that of welcoming warmth. “I forgive you.” The words are simplistic but ride on hints of genuine support and love from a brother. He is family and Matthew cannot deny it.
Jayd’s face turns in pure shock, “You are forgiving me? You should be the one apologizing, practically killing me! When I simply wanted to have a nice discussion. I almost bled out! All because of you!” He puts his emphasis on certain words, making them like knives that dig deeper into his brother’s mercy and forgiveness. Perhaps, he really should have killed Jayd.
Matthew thinks silently to himself. How can his brother have gathered his voice and mind so easily? Has he somehow faked a coma..? The more he thinks about it, the less possible it seems. But then again, perhaps it was just his brother’s fractionated mind that gave him the resilience to keep going, building and evolving as he spoke. Matthew shakes the thoughts out of his mind, and tries to think back on what Jayd has said. He is still struggling to process this, when there is a knock at the door.
Jayd looks up, a sinister smile on his face as if he knowingly summoned the force that now lurks outside the door. “Mr. O'Donoughue, may we have a word?” The booming voice echoes through the room and sends shivers down his spine. “Yes, you are more than welcome to enter.”
And with that, a small fleet of police officers step into the room. Although the police would normally not be involved with the O'Donoghue family, Demarco was to make that call. Mathew is the new Demarco, but still untrusted by the state. Therefore, the family is subject to whatever the corrupt internal workings the state throws at them, Demarco’s enemies at its core. However, he will resolve that at a later date. For the moment, he prays silently that the universe will spare him and allow him to escape, without a single scratch or a tarnished reputation.
“Hello, Mr. O'Donoughue. We have a few questions regarding your accident.” The leader, a burly man, with a dark ginger beard leads the officers inside. “Of course, we won’t be too long, now.” The group disregard Matthew’s importance in their net of investigation. Despite him being at the scene, or perhaps, he was their next victim.
“Absolutely. Please officer, do ask away.” Jayd’s calm and easy expression masks the heinous thoughts running through his mind easily, and collars the group of officials to his whim in seconds. “I am sure you remember my dear brother, Matthew.” The leading official turns his head to lock his powerful dark eyes on Matthew’s. “Yes,” Jayd smiles before continuing, once he had the attention of everyone back upon him. “Well there appears to be a misunderstanding in the accident. I would greatly appreciate it if you would be able to hear me out on my version of events. Of course, I would prefer it if Matthew steps outside for a moment.” As if on cue, the very receptionist Matthew had spoken to earlier pops her head through the door frame. “Mr. O'Donoughue, your standard 30 minutes visitation is up.” There is no possible way this woman was authorized to do this, but with the presence of authorities in the room, and the air of tension Jayd had pinned against him, he simply nods.
“I will be on my way now, officers, should I wait outside? I assume you will like to have a word with me as well.” The man with the ginger beard, lets his muscular jaw snap shut quickly before nodding. “Yes, that would be appreciated. Miss, if you will allow him to wait outside in the hall, it would be of great assistance to the investigation.” The receptionist nods, “Yes, of course, I do trust you have the best intentions. Mr. Matthew O'Donoghue, you may move that chair outside if it best suits you.” She smiles quickly and then disappears out of view.
Matthew holds his composure, as he drags the damaged chair to the outside of the room. An occasional squeak, he quickly covered the distance and the door shut quickly behind him. The tension in the air evaporates as he pushes the chair up against the wall. He is just grateful to be free from the awkwardness of dragging the furniture around the machines, while the eyes of the officers lingered on him. He sighs, his face collapsing into his hands, and leans back against the chair. He is not out of the woods yet. Who knows what ridiculous conspiracy Jayd is cooking up.
* * * * *
“I suppose I should start with my brother’s actions-” Jayd yawns a bit to feign exhaustion, carefully weaving the lie he is about to tell. “It is a bit difficult to understand, but you should know that Matthew has had a violent past, with several outbursts much like my father. Such a shame that behavior like that runs in the genes. Apple never falls far from the tree.” Jayd sighs as he looks off, not paying much attention. His hand gestures as he continues on about the experience. “You see, during one of these violent outbursts, I simply wished to discuss borrowing a bit of money. I needed some of it for my wife to be, and our wedding. It put me in a bit of a dry spot.” Jayd chuckles slightly at his own joke. “What I wasn’t expecting, was Matthew to snap at me. I thought he had gotten over that part of his life. But I suppose not, we got into a fight he got physical and he took me to the basement, against my will. Apparently it’s some kind of club? CRAVE, I believe,”
The cops nod knowingly nod. Jayd closes his eyes, leaning back. “You have to wonder if all the violence is related to their sexually deviant acts. As he took me down to the basement, I believe there was a girl with him down there, most likely in a separate room. He claims to be seeing a girl named Amanda, but anyways, he restrained me with some of his ‘bondage’ items. I truly feared for my life. His actions only got more violent, I was able to break free however, hence the scars on my wrists. We got into yet another fight and I can’t quite remember everything else, all I remember is the blood. The blood that came pouring out of me from my cuts.”
The lead investigator nods, folds up a small notebook he has been jotting notes down in, and pockets it. “Now, we believe your version as well. But we cannot be 100% sure, Matthew will be asked his questions in the custody of the police. He will be brought under interrogation just like any other criminal, there is a significant amount of evidence against him, but for your safety we will hold him for the next 24 hours, as his right. We do hope that no harm comes to you from this. Thank you greatly for your cooperation, we will let you get some rest.”
And with that the small fleet departs, heading out the door. The group lingers outside the door, then three of them surround Matthew who is still sitting in his chair. “Matthew O’Donoghue,” The leader of the men speaks.
Matthew looks up at him. He finds it quite odd that a simple questioning was held with such show of intimidation. They had no right. “Yes?” Matthew’s normally booming voice seems weak and small.
“You are under arrest, and you have the right to remain silent and I will now read your rights to you.” The other two burly men move closer to him, one of them coming up behind him and holding his arms together. A pair of handcuffs secure him.
Matthew’s mind races. What has Jayd said precisely? It had to be horrible enough to get him taken into custody. This is bad, especially with Amanda back home at the mansion. He is Matthew O’Donoghue, one of the best Doms in California, and this shouldn’t happen. The jingling of the handcuffs alerts him back to reality. “Excuse me officer, there must be a mistake. Jayd only suffered a minor accident, it was just unfortunate that he ended up in a coma because of it.”
The officer ignores him and continues to spout out the rights of criminals. The cold steel of the handcuffs angered him. This couldn’t be happening. The only cold steel he ha
d ever felt was that of the handcuffs he had put on his subs. A low growl escapes him, and he quickly bites his tongue. If anything, he has to hold onto logic. They could only detain him for 24 hours, he hadn’t been to a trial and he could certainly pay bail, he could get home to Amanda.
He just hopes she won’t worry too much about him, especially with the tension she had sensed on the flight earlier this morning. This truly, was an unfortunate swing of events. The two cops stay behind him as he stands, the captain leading the way. As he is led down the hall, a nurse enters into his brother’s room, allowing him to see the absolutely hideous smile Jayd put on. He knew exactly what he had done. He was escorted out of the hospital, the receptionist looking up at him. Within her, a small sense of pride welled up. Her seemingly insignificant action had put a criminal away. She felt a rush of adrenaline.
Other patients look up in shock at Matthew and the scene laid out before them. Matthew hangs his head low in disgust. His reputation has been tainted, all thanks to his brother. The authorities had taken Jayd’s side and he was now the crazy one.
CHAPTER 4:
ANEW
The atmosphere of the police station certainly wasn’t welcoming for the Dom. As a victim, muffins coffee could sure be good, but as a suspect, they would tear you apart, limb by limb with interrogations. He was hauled around, and treated like a convict. Although he didn’t have the uniform on, he felt as if he truly had no freedom.
Tossing him from holding room to holding room, metal benches as cold as ice greeted his sore ass. He was to be interrogated in the next few hours, but there he was in a holding cell, filled with countless other ne’er-do-wells. Matthew did not like it one bit. He was nothing like these good for nothing fellows. He was strong, powerful, and righteous. He did not do a single thing wrong, and he kept repeating that to himself.
But he knew that when they interrogate him, they would have no hard evidence against him. If anything, he hoped to come out of this cell alive. The men in here were scary and rugged. True profiles of previous gang members and had the icy glare of true villains. Their eyes were crazier than Jayd’s. More intense and clearly wilder. Why would they mix good innocent people, with such filth? Perhaps, they had done it just to spite him because there was no other
Amanda, she was everything to him. Everything he lived for. Everything he had protected. Everything he had worked for. He had fought and won her over. He wanted to call her, to have a ceremony together. To grow old and have a family. He wanted to forever be her master. He knew held behind bars, with men who were scarily dominant, he might not make it out as the same legendary Matthew O’Donoghue, the very best Dom that had been mentored by Demarco. He could lose everything.
The door to the unit slides open, and voice calls out. “601241.” They have given him a number, and are forcing him to respond to it. He knows that this is just another one of their tricks to gain dominance and control. He continues to remind himself of that as he walks towards the voice, already anticipating a second command.
“Follow me,” The voice leads him off, still in his shackles. He knows he has to cooperate. His life depends on it. His love depends on it. Through the twists and turns in the halls. He struggles to try and memorize them quickly. The building’s massive size, however, is difficult to keep up with. He haplessly has to surrender to his captors.
Eventually, the air grows cold, the shivers going up and down his spine. These small things are what really affect him. He is forced into yet another room, it is dark, and the lights remain off. The officer walks out. Thinking back to his first night with a Sub, the darkness and the girl within the restraints. He not only felt like a prisoner, but a salve, a Sub. Slight noises echo outside of the room, footsteps sounding like pounding hammers.
And even Matthew’s own pounding heart, ached more and more with every second it remained in the uneasy darkness. “Excuse me!” Matthew shouted, hoping to get anyone’s attention in the minute of isolation. “When will you be questioning me?!” He shouted again, the walls ringing and reflecting his own ruckus. There was a slight gleam on one of the walls, perhaps a two-way mirror, thought Matthew. He heads towards it and rests against it. Surely, someone, anyone, would come to collect him soon.
Maybe they were simply running late, “You’re bound to get fired if you’re late like this!” He screamed now in desperation as if he were scolding an imaginary servant. He focused on the gleam of the wall behind him, running his hands against it, feeling the texture. The lights poured into the room, as the doors flung open.
There stood a young man, perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties, his dark brown hair, somewhat lengthy and groomed back. He looked very well kept, and his frame was most definitely athletic, despite his draping trench coat that swayed left to right with every step he took. His suit was standard, covering a cloud-white shirt and deep maroon tie. It looked fresh out of the press and was likely custom tailored. Matthew felt a slight need to show off his own stylish items, however, he had been stripped of his suit jacket, and tie. His expensive cufflinks and dashing shoes were taken too.
They hadn’t given him the standard prisoner uniform but had provided makeshift shoes and allowed him to keep his undershirt and dress pants. They were feeling generous to the rich man, and had spared him from sitting naked on the cold benches with the other men. The young man glanced over at Matthew, quickly assessing him. The crumpled posture that overcame Matthew clearly revealed his anxiety.
The man approached him, his face neutral and finally spoke. “Mr. O'Donohue. Just a few standard questions, and we will not hold you any longer. As soon as you pay bail of course.” The man chuckled lowly, Matthew still had his hands pressed against the wall. It was just a regular plaster wall. “I apologize to have kept you waiting, but I assure you I will not get fired. I am kinda a big shot around here.”
Matthew slowly pulled his hands from the wall, his sweat staying behind. “A big shot?” Matthew highly doubted it, if anything the kid seemed self-absorbed and cocky, there was no way he was actually experienced. Not until Matthew caught a glimpse of his badge. He was being interrogated by a “senior” officer.
“Please, take a seat.” The cramped room was revealed once the lights came on. It only had a small metal table in the corner, at one end a plastic chair, and at the other a comfy rolling chair. A file cabinet sat in the opposite corner. That must have been what Matthew recalled bumping his hip against. He let his body fold into the plastic chair, it’s straight back forcing him to attention just as everything else had forced, commanded and ordered him in this building so far.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” The man gestured outwards with a waiting hand, “I am Jackson, Jackson Blank.” He still held out his hand, waiting for a handshake from Matthew.
Matthew did not move a muscle to greet him. “Blank? An interesting last name, blank like a sheet of paper? Utterly ridiculous.”
Jackson grinned and chuckled slightly, “Matt like a mat on the floor?” He now places his hand on the table, giving up on the promise of a handshake. “This will be quick and easy, you certainly don’t resemble a criminal to me. That is unless you are unusually skilled at hiding it.” Jackson laid his legs up on the table and leaned back against the padded office chair.
Matthew was not amused by Jackson’s jokes. “You’re right about one thing. I am not a criminal. My brother is,” Matthew sighed heavily, his shoulder slumping. Somehow, Jackson’s personality had diffused the stress out of the room.
“Atta pal! Now, let’s get these boring questions out of the way.” Jackson stood up, kicking the table slightly. He then walks over to the filing cabinet, humming to himself. “Just have to grab your case file from here. Then we can really start!” He flips through the files carelessly, carefully observing Matthew. He already had everything he needed to know in his mind. The filing cabinet did store a physical copy he had planted earlier, as most interrogators did, just to observe reactions and stall. “So tell me, how is your brother? Y
ou must have been worried about him during the coma.”
Matthew looks up towards Jackson. “I was deathly worried, I tried to focus on my work however. As well as my lover,” Matthew kept his hands folded. They had spared him of the stripping but not his shackles. “Is there any possible way you could remove these? They are quite uncomfortable, and I would really prefer the ability to move my hands again.”
Jackson nodded, moving his coat out of the way to reveal a belt that had numerous items clipped to it, one of them a radio. He unclipped it and pushed the button to speak. “This is Jack B.” The voice on the other end of the line is inaudible to Matthew. “We got an 8650 here,” Matthew hunched over to try and comprehend the muffled words, but it was no use. Jackson soon set the radio back on his belt, and instead, reached for a small collection of keys that jingled from his waist. There were countless and to Matthew seemed a bit odd that none of them made a sound when he came in moments before. Jackson continued to flip through the keys, leaving Matthew quite surprised that his request will be granted. Finally, Jackson pauses on a bronze key. It is worn out and covered with black ink at the edges. He holds it up in triumph, “Please, allow me.”
Matthew holds up his shackles, offering them to the officer who seemed humane at least. “Thank you.” He now looks up towards Jackson gratefully. “You were saying, about those questions?”
Jackson grinned, now clipping the key back to his waist, he edged towards Matthew slamming the file down on the desk. “Whoops!” Appearing clumsy, would help to calm Matthew’s nerves. He played on the Dom’s mind. Yeah Jackson wanted nothing more but justice. It was not his fault that Jayd had managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the state, and have the enemies of the O’Donoghue family at his side.