by Marks, Teir
When they made it back to the house, Kylen called for a few more of his guys to come out and help them unload all of the equipment.
There was another empty office on the first floor. He and Emery never felt the need to use one, so he figured they could move out everything that she didn't need, and set up all of her equipment in there. It should have been enough space for everything that she had and more.
For the next hour, they moved things around and out of the office as he had Sutton instruct everyone on where she wanted everything. She was a little uncomfortable. He could see that. So, most of her instructions were her simply pointing or speaking to him quietly and him relaying her wishes louder to everyone.
However, when he asked her if she wanted them to start hooking everything up for her, the answer was a definite, resounding no. He'd merely cocked his head at her. Tempted to mess with her about it. He figured, though, that she was much like he was about his knives with her computers.
When everything was where she wanted it, everyone left as Kylen leaned against one of the walls. He watched as she went about starting to hook everything up. It was a science to her. She was meticulous, gentle with the wires as if she was afraid of hurting them.
At that moment, he saw her in her comfort zone. In the place where she felt most safe. Most like herself. Kylen would never say it out loud, and he barely would admit it to himself, but he was sure she didn't quite feel like that with him.
He wasn't worried, however, because he knew that she would feel that and more with him soon.
Emery was sitting on the island in the kitchen with a box of pizza. It had been about three hours since Kylen had come home with Sutton and her equipment. She was sure that Sutton had found something, but she had refused, via her little brother, to tell any of them anything until she had found out all that she could.
Turning her attention to the entry as she heard footsteps, she saw Larkin round the corner. The younger woman lifted a brow at her when she saw her on the island top.
“You know, there are perfectly good chairs at the table over there,” Larkin told her.
Emery shrugged before taking another bite of the slice she had in her hand. As she chewed, she watched Larkin approach her. She was just about to take another bite out of the slice when her girlfriend turned her hands towards her and took a bite herself.
“There's an entire box right there.”
“Yes, but your slice tastes better.”
Emery raised a brow at her. “How would you know? You didn't try a different piece.”
It was Larkin's turn to shrug as she got up on her tiptoes. Emery leaned down to meet her halfway, pecking her lips. “I just have a feeling.” The younger woman stated with a smirk when they pulled away.
“Cute,” Emery told her, kissing her again briefly before pulling away and taking another bite of her pizza.
“I know I am,” Larkin responded before heading to the refrigerator.
Emery chuckled at her response, finishing the slice of pizza she had.
Hopping off the island, she made her way to Larkin and grabbed the bottle of water she had in her hands, taking a drink out of it before handing it back. Larkin simply rolled her eyes at her before putting the cap back on the bottle.
“I have a favor I want to ask you.”
“What is it?” Emery questioned, placing her hand on her waist.
“I want you to teach me how to shoot.”
Emery remained quiet. She knew that it wasn't a far-fetched request. She also knew that it would be in both her and Larkin's best interest if she did show her.
“You don't have to if you don't want too. I just thought it would be good if I knew how to defend myself.”
“No, Princess. You're right, and I'll show you how. There's a target range in the basement. We can start whenever you're ready.”
“Okay. Thank you, baby.”
“You don't have to thank me.”
Emery released her and left out of the kitchen, headed towards Ashton's office. She figured that when Larkin was ready to start, she would let her know. So, she thought she would annoy her brother for a while and knew that he was more than likely in there.
His office door was open, and he was in there, looking at what she assumed where ledgers for several of their businesses. She let herself in. Making her way around the desk, she hopped up onto the side of it.
“You know that chairs were made for a reason.”
“Yeah, but there's more space here.”
“Let me guess. Kylen's busy, and you want someone to play with.”
“If I wanted to play, I'd take Larkin upstairs. I just want to annoy you.” She told him honestly, reaching over him to grab a handful of skittles from the jar he kept on his desk.
She began to shuffle them in her hand as she looked over the books he was looking at. Their profit margin had risen since Kylen's new drugs had gotten put into play.
“Hey, your training with Leiha has been going good, right?”
“Yeah,” Ashton responded, doing some calculations. “She's a quick learner, and she listens.”
Emery rolled her eyes, knowing that it was a jab aimed towards her since she always gave him hell when they were training.
“Do you think you could train Larkin?”
Her brother stopped what he was doing and looked at her. “I can. If that's what she wants.”
“She asked me to show her how to shoot a gun. Which I suppose will come in handy, but what happens when she can't get it out in time. Or she freezes and can't pull the trigger. Hand to hand would be a good starting point.”
“I don't disagree with you, but it has to be something that she wants. What did you say when she asked you to teach her to shoot.”
“I told her we could start whenever she was ready.”
“Then be sure you stick to your word. Even if she decides she wants to learn hand to hand.”
“I plan on it.”
With that, Emery dropped the handful of skittles into her mouth before reaching over and grabbing some more. Content to be as noisy as possible and try to bother her brother for a bit longer.
Grae flipped the light on in the basement and made his way down the stairs. Henry was sitting straight up in the chair, looking far better than he did when they had left him the night before. His beauty had taken pretty good care of him. She had played her part well from what he could see.
He didn't stop in front of him. He headed to one of the cabinets, grabbing out several knives and a sharpening block. Grabbing a chair, he sat it right across from the bound man and began to sharpen one of them. His movements were slow, but not exaggerated. Exaggerated actions would not serve the desired effect. It would look like he was trying too hard, and it wouldn't play on Henry's mind correctly.
As he sharpened the knife, he made sure to make it look like he was keeping his eyes on what he was doing, but he was watching the man in the chair.
The sound of the knife on the sharpening block was one that, mentally, would eventually begin to grate on him. It was worse than nails on a chalkboard.
Grae wasn't worried about it eventually affecting him. He could place his mind on a different track and block it out. He didn't bank on Henry having the same ability. Even if by chance that was the case, Grae knew it was more than likely that he would outlast him.
Finishing off one knife, he picked up the next one and began on it.
This would be step one in breaking him. It was a simple process. It didn't seem like much, but the repetition of something annoying would disturb anyone after a while.
By the time that he had finished with his third knife, he could see the subtle movements of Henry in his chair.
An hour. That was how long it took before Grae got this reaction from him. It surprised him honestly. He had been so tough and kept his mouth closed when they were inflicting physical pain on him. Mentally, however, he seemed to be weak.
Though Henry didn't break, he had at least expected it to be
a bit longer before he received a reaction from him. Grae fully expected it actually to be a couple of days. The uncomfortable shifting had come far sooner than that.
Still, he picked up his last knife to continue the torture. There was no point in stopping just because he had garnered a reaction. He would be able to judge the man's response after having entered the point of irritability.
Once he finished with the last knife, he placed everything back where he got them from and headed back up the stairs. He turned the light out before he left out of the basement.
Maleiha had fed him a little after noon and given him water. He would have her feed him again tomorrow night after Grae had another go at him.
Making him go over twenty-four hours without food or water would weaken him, and Maleiha's kindness would affect him more. He wasn't sure if that would make him break, but the establishment that the man was weak-minded, didn't mean that it was impossible.
Making his way towards his office, he made a mental note to start his next round of psychological torture before he went to bed. It would be tedious, but he knew that it would have the desired effect that he was looking for.
When he opened the door to his office, he found Maleiha sitting in his chair. Grae closed the door behind him.
“How did it go?”
“Do you really want to know?” Grae questioned.
Maleiha simply shrugged.
Grae walked over and pulled her up before sitting down and pulling her into his lap. “It was fine.”
“I think I want to plan a bonding activity for all the women. Well, excluding Emery. I think it'll give us a sense of sisterhood, maybe. We're all in the same position, and I think us getting closer would make them feel better. Especially Korrae.”
“Sounds like a good idea. When did you want to do it?”
“Sometime next week. I have to work the next few days.”
“Beauty, I don't think you should go to work.”
Maleiha sighed. “I've been going. This is no different. You'll have someone there watching me, and then they'll follow me back here.”
Grae thought about it. She had a point, and he didn't see a reason for them to change their routines. Though it would keep her safer, he knew that his little beauty was stubborn, and he was not going to talk her out of going.
“Fine, but I'm sending extra men, and I'll probably come as well.”
“No, you have things you need to do here with your siblings. Like finding the other three men and figuring out what they want since you all don't seem to know any of them.”
Grae knew that she was right. There was a lot that they needed to do, and once Sutton and Miles found out additional information, there would be more that needed to be done.
“Alright, compromise. I'll stop in for a little bit, but I won't stay all night.”
Maleiha leaned in and kissed him. “Deal.”
“Now, why don't we occupy ourselves for a while.” He told her with a smirk. Lacing his fingers in her hair before pulling her head back and attaching his lips to her neck.
6
Maleiha straddled Ashton as she looked down at him. Her position was short-lived as he rolled them over, pinning her hands above her head. She grunted out as her back made contact with the mat they were on. After a few seconds, he released her hands, moving back as he helped her sit up.
“You're distracted.” He told her.
She didn't see any reason to deny his claims. “Yeah, I know.”
“You want to talk about it?”
Maleiha sighed. “This whole situation is stressful, but it isn't exactly what we're going through that's stressing me.”
“Elaborate.”
“It's the other women. While I feel like Sutton and Larkin are fine, I know for a fact that Korrae is still having a hard time coming to terms. I don't blame her. It's only natural for her to be skeptical. I wish there were a way to put them all at ease, or even more at ease than they may be.”
She didn't see the need to worry about Nyela. She knew that the older woman was fine with everything happening. Because she had been involved in all of the siblings' meetings, and because Grae had told her three nights ago that Nyela had contributed to the torture of the man in the basement.
“She is having a hard time. It's been four days, and she still hasn't wanted to talk about it. She hasn't been any different with me either. So, I'm taking it as a good sign.” Ashton paused for a moment, and Maleiha raised a brow at him. “You know it isn't your job to take on the task of calming or pacifying the other women.”
“I'm aware. However, I think bringing us together somehow, forming a support group among the five, well six of us, including Luna, would be beneficial. Especially since we're all dealing with the same situation. It's also quite obvious to me that Nyela will not be the one to attempt it.” She shrugged. “So, I'm taking it upon myself.”
“I don't see the harm in trying. Go for it.” Ashton told her. He stood, helping her to her feet. “Let's call it a day. You're too distracted to focus properly.”
Maleiha nodded her head and headed out of the training room.
Getting onto the elevator, she rode it up to the third floor and headed into the bedroom. While she hadn't lied to Ashton, the situation with the women was not the only thing on her mind.
Today, she was supposed to go back into the basement and take care of Henry, as Grae had told her was his name. Initially, she was only supposed to wait twenty-four hours, but her boyfriend had extended the time frame to almost seventy-two.
She had to be honest, she didn't know what she would find when she went down there later, and that scared her a bit.
Maleiha knew that Grae wasn't physically torturing him. However, psychological torture was often far worse, and a person’s psyche could snap once worn too fragile. So, she wasn't sure what state he would be in. If he would be hysterical, or if he would be desolate. The possibilities were endless, and while she knew she should try to prepare herself for all of them, there was no way that she actually could.
Stepping into the shower after the water had heated, she washed her body, ridding it of the sweat. Once she was done, she stepped out, wrapping a towel around herself.
She had no plans for the day. So, she decided to dress in a pair of jean shorts, a plain yellow V-neck, some socks, and her yellow Nike's.
It was going on six o'clock, and since she didn't have anything else to do, she decided to make dinner for everyone. On her way down the stairs, Maleiha bumped into Larkin.
“Hey.” She greeted with a smile.
“Hey,” Larkin responded. “I was actually about to come look for you.”
“Okay. What's up?” Maleiha inquired as the two of them continued down the stairs.
“I just wanted to talk to you about a few things.”
“Sure. We can talk while I make dinner.”
“I'll help.” The younger woman volunteered as they rounded the corner into the kitchen.
Maleiha wasn't planning on making anything extravagant. Just something quick that would feed all the people in the house. She wasn't going to force them all to eat together like she had done with breakfast a couple of days ago. So, they could all eat whenever they decided they were ready.
Going through the cabinets, she pulled out all of the ingredients to make Baked Penne Pasta. It wouldn't take but about forty-five minutes to prepare.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Maleiha questioned as she made her way to the sink to wash her hands.
“I asked Emery to teach me to shoot, but she told me she wanted me to train with Ashton first.”
“Okay,” Maleiha stated, merely to fill the space as Larkin trailed off.
“You train with him. How is it?”
Maleiha threw the paper towel she used to dry her hands into the trash. “It's fine. Ashton's a patient teacher.”
“I've never had any formal fighting training. I mean, I've gotten into fights before when I was younger, but those were
street fights.”
“I'd never had any either, though I feel like I'm pretty good now. Nowhere near any of the siblings' levels, but proficient enough to be able to defend myself. My training with him is a testament to how good of a teacher he is.”
“I don't know. For me, I think it would be easier to learn to shoot. Hand to hand combat would be pointless if I could.”
Maleiha hummed as she went about prepping to make the food. “I disagree.” She told her.
“Why?” Larkin questioned, and Maleiha listened to the water go off as she finished washing her hands.
“I get that you think being able to handle a gun is the best option, but what if you're not able to use it?”
“What do you mean?” The other woman questioned as she stepped up to begin helping.
“What if you're put in a situation where you can't pull the gun fast enough? Or what if you do, but the person you pulled it on finds a way to disarm you? Most importantly, however, when dealing with a gun: what if you can't pull the trigger?”
It was quiet in the kitchen for a beat, and Maleiha figured that Larkin was taking in what she had said. She understood that people felt safer with guns. It was human nature. She was also aware that it was human nature at times, not to be able to hurt someone even if it was warranted or justified.
That was one of the reasons she had opted to learn hand to hand instead. She knew, in that aspect, she would be able to inflict enough damage to protect herself, and yet not severely hurt or kill the other person. The same could not always be said about a gun.
Because she was about to be a nurse, for her, it would be easy to pinpoint where none vital spots were on an individual to shoot. It gave her an advantage that others didn't have. Though the same rule applied in a sense with the questions she had asked Larkin.
In a panic, would she, or anyone for that matter, be able to aim for a non-vital spot? Would they have the mental capacity to think logically and not let adrenaline rule their actions? The answer was a resounding no.
