Will wiped the water from his eyes, wrapped his legs around Malcolm’s waist, and threw his arms around his neck. Malcolm’s face exuded contentment. His eyes sparkled with mirth, all coldness gone from their pale depths. His mouth quirked in a relaxed lift of the lips. If perfection were possible, this was it. Will couldn’t recall ever feeling so happy. His smile widened.
“What?” Malcolm asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“Nothing, just thinking how happy I am and how many times I’ve thought since coming here how I’ve never been this happy, but I always seem to top it.”
Malcolm’s eyes warmed even more. He leaned forward and took Will’s lips in a kiss, but unlike earlier, he plunged his tongue into Will’s mouth, pulling him closer with his hands on Will’s back. It didn’t take long for Will’s cock to harden. He wished Malcolm hadn’t promised Nick and Stu a dance match. Maybe Malcolm would let him do it right here if he were quick…
Malcolm pulled away and rested his forehead against Will’s. “Enjoy it, because I’m getting my payback tonight.”
Will raised his head. “That wasn’t it?”
“You think that little dunk and a passionate kiss that’s going to leave you aching is really worthy payback for orchestrating a mutiny? No, that was just a little taste. Let’s go.”
On the way out of the water, Will wondered how Malcolm could possibly be planning payback in the bedroom. There was no way Malcolm could punish him without also punishing himself.
Later that night, as Malcolm released Will’s cock from his mouth for the sixth time just seconds before Will could orgasm, Will swore he’d never prank his lover again.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Malcolm flexed his hands before settling them into fists at his sides. Will followed behind him, close enough that Malcolm could feel the heat of his body, but he still wanted to reach out and pull Will to him. The enormity of the situation crashed onto him as the front door of Walken’s house closed behind them. Coming here had been stupid. Idiotic. Foolish.
Unfortunately, the only thing that could be more stupid than following the Beta leading them to Walken was grabbing Will and leaving.
Malcolm’s stomach turned when the Beta stopped in front of the door to Walken’s playroom. He had expected this meeting to take place in the parlor or Walken’s office. He would prefer Will never step foot in that room again.
The Beta led them inside. Walken sat in the same chair as he did last time, but the furniture was laid out more like a conventional sitting room than it had been that night. One of the Zed women he’d had with him before sat at his knees as he ran his fingers through her golden hair. She wore one of the new collars. His Zeds must be part of the pilot program. Walken gestured to a sofa across from him and Malcolm sat, Will going to his knees beside him, mirroring the other Zed. Malcolm’s hand rested on Will’s shoulder, grounding him, assuring him that Will was fine.
“Thank you, Ben. If you could ensure our privacy, please?”
“As you wish, sir.” Ben nodded his head and closed the door behind him as he left.
Malcolm had promised Will he wouldn’t put him on display again. Why did it seem this man was incapable of having guests in any normal manner that didn’t involve a lewd display of debauchery first? How could such a man want to work with the Spark of Life Movement? Malcolm opened his mouth to make it clear that he did not have time for anything other than business, but Walken spoke before he could.
“Before we start, I’ve taken the liberty of having a little buffet laid out for us. I think it best that we have our Zeds get us some food.” The woman gracefully rose and headed to the buffet table against the opposite wall.
Malcolm removed his hand from Will’s shoulder and watched as he joined the woman. Once Will reached the table, Malcolm turned his attention back to Walken only to find that he appeared distracted, peering at the corner of the room. Malcolm followed his gaze to a tiny red light where the ceiling met the wall. As Malcolm watched, the light went out. As soon as it did, Walken spoke again.
“Bridget, go ahead and make yourself a plate too, dear.” Walken looked at Malcolm. “You’re welcome to have your Zed prepare himself a plate as well. Will, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” Malcolm nodded, unsure what to make of this abrupt change in demeanor. “Will, get yourself whatever you’d like.”
“Yes, sir,” Will called back, letting Malcolm know all was well.
The room went silent again. Malcolm was too busy observing to say anything. Bridget brought a plate of food and glass of punch to Walken and then went back for her own at the same time Will brought Malcolm’s plate and drink to him. When Bridget returned, Walken nodded her to the armchair next to him and she placed her plate on the little table between them and began to eat.
Will stood in front of Malcolm with his own plate and drink, seeming uncertain as to where he should sit.
“I don’t mind if he sits on the sofa next to you, if you’d like.” Walken gestured with his glass for Will to sit.
Malcolm nodded his approval, relieved to have Will so close and shunning the ridiculous pretense of inferiority that seemed too far removed from their life together.
“Geneticist Walken, thank you for making time to see me today.”
“Come now, call me Philip,” Walken interjected before Malcolm could say more. “I think at this point we should be on a first-name basis. Don’t you?”
Malcolm ignored the attempt at familiarity. “We have much business to discuss with you. I brought Will, but I’m not interested in anything other than business.”
“Oh, I know why you’re here, Malcolm.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Do you want me to be the first one to say it? You believe I’m a mole for the Spark of Life Movement.”
Will choked on the little cake he was eating and Bridget smirked at them as she chewed. Walken took a leisurely drink from his glass. Malcolm hadn’t expected to speak so frankly. He’d come into this meeting prepared with innuendo and subtleties to pull the truth from Walken, especially while his Zed was in the room. He had been prepared to try to get Walken to dismiss Bridget from the room so they could speak a little more freely, but never had he thought the words “Spark of Life Movement” would be uttered in a conversation with a Geneticist, mole or not.
“Don’t look so scandalized. We have complete privacy here. The room is soundproofed, and I have my security cameras turned off. Bridget is privy to everything I do.”
“And how do you know Will is privy to my business?”
Walken chuckled, tempting Malcolm to smack him. Didn’t he understand the risks involved in this conversation?
“He’s the same Zed you brought last time. He’s the same Zed you chose for the first collar test. Out of your menagerie, he’s the one you hold closest. He knows. I wouldn’t have said anything in front of him unless I was sure.”
“And what makes you think I believe you’re part of the Spark of Life Movement? You’re a Geneticist. Why do you think I’m a part of it? I make more money off of the current system than almost anyone.”
“Relax, Malcolm. You really are safe here. It’s the timing of your request for a meeting that gave you away. We’re not due for a meeting to deal with the patent for another few months, and any other business could have been handled without a face-to-face encounter. And let’s not forget you messaged me less than a full day after I informed you about Europania. Were you able to minimize the damage?”
“Yes.” Malcolm didn’t feel comfortable divulging anything more. Nothing about this conversation was comfortable.
“And I thought I had trust issues. It appears I will have to carry most of the conversation. It’s a shame about Europania. You did good work getting into their DGI.”
“Thank you. How did you find out about it?”
“The Board of Geneticists got a message from Europania alerting them of the breach.”
“You’re not a member of the board.”
“No, but I know those who are. Not all of them take security as seriously as they should. And why would they around me? I’m one of them. Not everyone has the trust issues that you do.”
“I’m glad. Thank you for the warning.” The amount of luck involved for Malcolm to learn about the breach in time to do anything disconcerted him.
“You’re welcome. The last thing I wanted was for it to compromise your operations here. Hopefully you got a good amount of information before the movement was shut down there.”
“Not as much as we’ve gotten from you. And here I thought I was so clever hacking into your system.”
“You were. The only help I rendered was having my security cameras turned off. I never even found whatever it was you did. The DGI delivered a security patch to fix some vulnerabilities their specialists had discovered and I just assumed it would cut off your access.”
That explained why he’d been shut out. “It did.”
“I’d appreciate it if you undid whatever it is you did before you leave today, just in case my computer is audited.”
Malcolm nodded.
“Philip?” Bridget spoke for the first time. “It might help them relax a little if you tell them your story. Tell them why you’re doing this, why they can trust you.”
Even though Bridget had acted more like an equal since the security cameras turned off, it still surprised Malcolm to hear her so casually reference Walken. Some Alphas treated their Zeds well, but that didn’t mean they were allowed to take liberties. Her use of Walken’s given name and the way she spoke to him did more to increase Malcolm’s comfort level than anything else. Of course, Walken might just like his Zeds to act familiar. He hoped for all their sakes that Walken’s story convinced him of his sincerity.
“Right you are, Bridget.” Walken gave her a smile and then turned again to Malcolm. “I suppose the place to start is my birth. It might put you at ease to know that I’m not an Alpha.”
Will stirred in surprise next to Malcolm. It wasn’t a requirement for Geneticists to be Alphas, but most of the ones who had risen to Walken’s level were. And no Betas held the kind of wealth Walken did. Walken’s long hair that brushed his shoulders took on new meaning. It covered his Beta mark well. Malcolm would have never guessed as to his provenance. “If you’re a Beta, how is it you have Zeds?”
“One of the conditions I placed on my employment. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that Alphas enjoy running the world, so long as it doesn’t require too much work. I worked exceedingly hard in school. When I graduated, I was the most gifted geneticist the program had ever produced. The DGI wanted me, so I took advantage of that fact. I wasn’t reclassified or anything like that, but I do have certain privileges that are denied most Betas, such as the use of Zeds. I’m also wealthier than most, but the DGI still exerts its control over me. I’m not entirely free from their grasp. No one is.”
“They watch you then?”
“Yes. They trust me about as much as they trust anyone, but I can’t ever make up for the fatal flaw of not being an Alpha. My security cams are for their benefit as well as mine.”
“They’re off now.” Malcolm stated it as fact. Not only had he seen them disengage, but their conversation was treasonous. Walken couldn’t risk it, unless this was all an elaborate ploy to entrap him and Will. He remembered back to a conversation with Will. Walken wouldn’t have warned them about Europania if it were a trap.
“Yes. I’ve worked quite diligently to be trusted with these little moments of respite. Ever since I moved into this home and acquired my first Zeds, I made it clear that I wanted to be able to enjoy them with my friends in privacy. So over the years, every time I had friends over, I had my security cameras turned off. At this point, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. That’s why I’ve had you over for parties. Now that I’ve established you as one of my regular guests, there’s nothing unusual about me having you over again. Your Zed’s presence just confirms that this is indeed a social call. No one will bat an eye at the fact that I’ve disabled the security cameras.”
Malcolm could see the wisdom in Walken’s plan. However, it didn’t make him feel any better about what Will and Kaleana had been put through. “So the system has treated you well. Why would you want to help us?”
“The system has treated you well also, even better than me since you’re an Alpha. But I already know your story. I have personal reasons, just as you do.”
“That’s not good enough. If we’re going to move forward, I need to know why you’re in this.”
Walken observed him with shrewd eyes. Malcolm met his gaze, not flinching or averting his eyes. This point was nonnegotiable with him. He’d rather slow the movement than destroy it altogether because he trusted a Geneticist whose reasons couldn’t hold up to pressure.
“I should think my admission that I’m a Beta would have enlightened you.”
Malcolm knew Walken hadn’t been married before. Certainly he would’ve heard about something like that. So it likely wasn’t a missing child. “The Geneticists wouldn’t let you close enough if you had lost a child as a Zed.”
“Probably not, but that’s not my reason. It wasn’t my child who was lost.”
Clarity dawned. “Your mother.”
A steely resolve entered Walken’s eyes. “I don’t like to speak about it, but my mother had a baby girl after me who was taken away as a Zed. It ruined her. I promised my mother that I’d do anything to get her to stop crying. My little boyhood self didn’t understand that the emptiness in her after the crying had ceased was even worse. Until the day she died, my mother remained a shell. Death had become a reprieve for her. So my reason is simple. This system destroyed my mother, and I intend to destroy it in return.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“No, you’re not, but the system soon will be. I worked my entire life to make sure I would be accepted as one of them. I vowed to avenge my mother’s pain. I won’t rest until the entire system is burned to the ground.”
A fire had lit in Walken’s eyes until it suffused his entire face. By the end, he appeared as a man possessed. The fire had turned to madness. Malcolm needn’t fear that Walken’s determination would flag. The only concern he held was that Walken might go too far, but everything he’d done up until this point spoke to his control over himself and his environment.
Will broke the silence. “If your sister was a Zed, sir, why would you keep Zeds yourself? Why allow them to be treated the way I’ve seen?”
Walken spoke directly to Will. “My Zeds want for nothing. None of them do anything they don’t want. If I know I need to put on some kind of show, I orchestrate it to the strength of my girls. Bridget here is quite the exhibitionist. I wouldn’t let any harm come to her, though. Jenny’s the masochist of the family. She’s more than happy to fulfill that role when needed.”
“We agree with what he’s doing,” Bridget said. “We all know about it. We’re happy to help in any way we can to maintain his cover. Same as you. I saw the way you cried out when you were here last. You’re not a masochist, yet you came here to take a beating.”
“I didn’t have a choice. I’d do anything for the movement.”
“As would we.” Bridget nodded.
“Yes, Malcolm, you passed that test quite well. In fact, you’ve flown through every test that’s been set before you.”
“Tests?”
“Come now, I know you’re familiar with this part of the game. I’ve heard of your reputation, just as every fashionable Alpha has. I needed to see if you’d maintain that cover, and I needed Jeremy and Alex to spread rumors about your cruelty for me. I couldn’t very well hand over technology to so obviously give you a chance to undermine the Geneticists unless it was clear by every outward appearance that your goals are the same as the DGI’s.”
“I’m well aware that Jeremy and Alex are gossips. I haven’t made it this far by being obtuse. But you said tests. What other tests have I been subjected to?”
“Oh, I thought you would have figured that out by now. Why, the death of that girl of yours, of course.”
Malcolm’s stomach fell, and his whole body felt both empty and heavy, as if the life had poured out of him only to be replaced by cold anger. His fists clenched until his knuckles whitened, simultaneously in anticipation of delivering a blow and trying to get a hold of himself. No cameras watched. That wouldn’t save him, though. If he killed Walken, he’d be found out. The fact that he realized revenge would not serve himself or Kaleana bore testament to the changes Will had so desperately wrought in him. He’d push his baser desires to the side in order to see Will without the collar around his neck, because it would happen now. Whatever he had to do to make it so, Malcolm would not quit until he’d set the men he loved free. For them, and them alone, he restrained himself and kept his seat. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t fantasize about what he’d do when he had his liberty.
Will tensed beside him, and Malcolm could feel his gaze penetrating him, silently begging that he not take rash action. Malcolm remembered his promise to him. He wouldn’t break it.
It took a moment before Malcolm could be sure he could control his voice. “That was a test?”
“Yes. That’s why you were instructed to bring two Zeds. The plan was always to kill whichever one you didn’t stay with.”
Malcolm’s stomach churned. It had been his choice. “But why?” Malcolm could hear the strain in his voice, the little slip of emotion.
“You were about to introduce the greatest overhaul of the collar program in this generation. They had to be sure of your loyalty. Your reputation wasn’t enough. It was all to gauge your reaction. And I needed to make sure you wouldn’t let your sentimentality ruin everything before I could trust you with more. You performed wonderfully. I wonder how you would have done had it been this boy here instead. I had my suspicions that he was the most directly involved in the movement. It looks like I was right.”
[In Distress 02.0] In Pain Page 23