Chase nodded at him, and Draven ran through the other room and out into the hallway. Despite the sounds of fighting and a gunshot, no one was there, and no one was looking around. Chase raced past Draven, barreling through the door into the stairwell, and Draven sprinted after him, trying to go as fast as he could without risking slipping in the trash or on the crumbling edges of the stairs.
Outside he looked up and down the road without seeing Theron. “Fuck.”
“This way,” said Chase, heading south.
I knew that
. But he didn’t say it. He needed his breath for running. Who knew how far they’d have to run before Theron caught up with them, especially if he had to go around again a couple of times. Draven had no idea how long their raid on the apartment had taken. It might have been four minutes, or it might have been ten.
But less than a quarter of a mile later, they saw their car idling at the side of the road. As they approached, Theron opened the door to the backseat, and Draven jumped in, sliding to the far side so Chase would follow him in.
“Did you get it?” asked Theron.
At the same time, Draven noticed a rip in the sleeve of Chase’s leather jacket. “Did the bullet hit you?” he asked.
“Bullet? What bullet? Fuck! Did they shoot at you?”
Chase pulled the tracker cell phone out of his pocket and breathed a sigh of relief. “Get the hell out of here. We’ve got the right cell phone.”
Theron was already driving toward home. “Will someone please tell me what the fuck happened?”
* * * *
Theron kept his gaze on the road, driving back to the warehouse by a roundabout route just in case anyone was watching them. No one appeared to be following them, which was good news. Even better news was that when Draven helped Chase take off his jacket there was only the slightest powder burn on his long-sleeved T-shirt, and his skin was unmarked, although he might end up with a bruise later.
The Alpha was waiting for them in his office, even though it was after two already. Judging by the files of paperwork on his desk he’d been working, not napping while he waited. Theron was damn glad he wasn’t the Alpha. These days being the Alpha of a pack was far more than just having enough muscles to encourage the other men to follow him. It was more like being the CEO of a company. The man in charge needed to keep the workers happy and make a profit so the company remained financially viable.
Their pack’s job might be a fraction unorthodox, but it sure as hell worked for them. There were plenty of desk jobs for those who preferred them, checking computer and financial records, searching for missing people and things. But there was also some adrenaline-inducing physical work as well for the younger men.
It suddenly occurred to Theron that when they mated Maia—assuming she agreed to mate them—likely they ought to stop doing jobs like this one tonight. One of them getting shot would be highly inconvenient.
How the hell would they explain it to a mate, and how could they expect her to be happy about them continuing to do equally dangerous jobs in future? He might get a little bored working from a desk full-time, but if it meant having Maia, it was a sacrifice he was prepared to make. Besides, they would get some damn good adrenaline rushes in the dungeon if they planned their games properly.
Chase and Draven put all the things they’d found in the thief’s apartment on the Alpha’s desk, and he just stared at them.
“Here’s your tracker cell phone back, sir,” said Chase.
The Alpha pulled on a pair of very thin leather gloves. He pointed to the newest Smartphone. “Is this the one you were supposed to find?”
“Yes, sir,” said Draven.
“The tracker indicates it is,” added Chase.
“Have you looked inside the wallets?”
“No, sir, we left that for you, although since they’re nice and fat, we hoped they’d be worthwhile. Some of them may lead to the owners of these other things.”
The Alpha just stared at them. “Yes, I suppose so. Thank you for getting back the phone. I’ll tell my contact we’ve retrieved it. Then I’ll need to speak to someone else about these other things.”
He rested a gloved finger on the chess set. “This one in particular might be interesting.”
Theron wondered about that as well. It was a very nice chess set indeed. He suspected the person who carried such a thing around with him on public transportation would be someone in a chess club. Maybe even a highly ranked player in the competition scene.
“There might be a reward for that. If these are petty thieves, likely they offload the things they steal very quickly. Since they haven’t sold this, it might mean it’s too identifiable for an everyday pawn shop owner,” he said.
“I agree with you, Theron. Very well, you may all go. Take tomorrow morning off and report for work at noon. There’ll be paperwork waiting for your attention by then.”
Theron managed not to groan. He was sure there would be. And the three of them always shared the boring jobs equally because they were a team.
It was going to be a long time until they saw Maia again. Already it felt more like several days since she’d been in their arms than only a few hours. He needed to talk to his brothers about mating her. He was ready to have her waiting in their bed every night when they arrived home, instead of seeing her just a couple of times a week.
Likely she’d need to keep working at the church, feeding the homeless and doing craft projects at the women’s shelter, and they would continue to help out several days a week as well. But knowing she was there to hold every night would be the best thing ever.
Yes. He needed to organize the mating conversation with Chase and Draven very soon. Like tomorrow.
Maia and Zoe missed not having Leah available to help them, especially on Sundays. During the week, it seemed like either the Reed triplets or the Reilly triplets were around to help. Maia hadn’t had to shift any furniture for weeks now and was heartily grateful. The wooden pews were damn heavy. It took two of the sisters to lift one, whereas any of the men seemed to manage to move them just fine.
But Sunday was different. On Sunday, their father was completely focused on the sermon he had to give and on spending time with his parishioners. Their mother was the musician at the church, playing the keyboard for services and then sitting with the women listening to their needs. That often led to her needing Maia or one of her sisters to fetch items from the pantry to help out or to write notes of things their mother whispered to them so she remembered to follow up on necessary tasks, or people who needed help, later in the week.
The name of someone who was ill and needed visiting, or a young mother struggling with sleepless nights, or a husband who’d lost his job. Even though it wasn’t a very numerous church community, each new week seemed to bring more than one new need, and it was Maia’s mom who dealt with that side of things.
Maia was wearing a thicker sweater than the weather demanded because her nipples were always hard and her breasts full and achy. The last thing she needed was her nipples poking through her clothing, so, to a loose shirt, she’d added her thick sweater, hoping to disguise her problem. At home, she’d taken to surreptitiously pinching her nipples several times a day to ease the pressure on them. But she knew nothing would make them stop aching until one of the men was sucking them again. Or, better yet, biting them. It might be unusual, but when the men bit her nipples, she not only orgasmed damn hard, but her breasts stopped hurting for a while.
Monday was just as busy as Sunday had been. The Reed brothers arrived to help shift the furniture, so her mom sent Zoe to start preparing the hall, which meant Maia had to work twice as hard in the kitchen beginning the food preparation while her mom got everything ready for the women’s showers.
When her mom returned, she sank into a seat at the table, pulled one of the big pots across, and began chopping carrots and onions. “I need more towels as well. With winter coming, those thin towels just aren’t enough for the women to dry their hair and their bodies.”
Maia looked at her mom. “You have to sit down and organize a meeting with our sponsors. I know we talked about it several times already, but it has to happen really soon, Mom. Likely even this week.”
“I can’t even remember what we planned. The men were going to come one day so I could book some appointments and either you or Zoe or even your father could come with me. But I can’t remember what day we thought of. I suppose I’ll have to ask them again.” Her mother rubbed a hand over her forehead and then started chopping extra fast.
Maia didn’t stop her work either, but she tried to think back to the conversation. It was with her men, she was sure of that, not a day when the Reed triplets had been here. She was sure they were interested in Zoe, but so far, Zoe scarcely even spoke to them.
“Thursday. You were going to have meetings set up with potential new sponsors on Thursday because it’s a men’s shower day and it’s not a women’s shelter day.”
Her mom smiled at her. “Thank you, sweetie. That’s right. I’ll make some lists this evening, and then I can begin setting up the meetings after we get back from the shelter tomorrow.”
By the time Tuesday arrived and Theron, Draven, and Chase appeared at the kitchen door, Maia’s whole body ached for their touch. Of course it wasn’t going to happen. After the lunch today, she had their regular time at the women’s shelter. Maia even spent ten minutes wondering if she could wiggle out of the afternoon program and leave her mother and sister to go alone. But she couldn’t do it. It was too unfair.
The women there had suffered all kinds of problems. Some were escaping violent or abusive home situations. Others had simply fallen on hard times after losing their jobs and not been able to find accommodation they could afford. For still others, it was a temporary situation before affordable or safe accommodation became available. But the one thing they all had in common was that they faced lives a lot tougher than Maia’s with strength and courage. She refused to put her needs for her men ahead of the women’s simple request for her company and friendship.
Besides, the craft afternoons were fun. Some of the women were really talented, and the craft store in town sold some of the creations the women made, raising a tiny income for them.
Just before she, Zoe, and her mom headed off to the shelter, the three men hurried across the parking lot and stood in front of her.
“Come out with us again tonight, Maia, please. We’ve missed you,” said Chase.
He spoke with his Dom voice, and she had a mental picture of him standing over her in the dungeon paddling her ass while she sucked his cock. A shiver of lust shot through her body, and she smiled at him, then Draven, and then Theron.
“I’d like that. Thanks.”
“Is six o’clock too early?” asked Draven.
Wow, that was a whole hour earlier than before. She did some quick math. They always left the shelter shortly after five, as the women had to prepare their supper and bathe the babies, and they were busy then. It would be a bit of a rush for her to get home, showered, and changed in just under an hour, but she wanted that extra hour with them.
“It might be a bit tight time-wise. I’ll try to be ready for you though.”
“If you aren’t, we’ll wait,” said Theron.
“Thank you.”
All afternoon all she could think of was being spanked, whipped, or otherwise punished by her men and then being fucked. It was only as she was driving home again after her time at the shelter that she remembered they’d said they’d put a hood over her head and let men watch them fuck her. Instantly her panties were drenched in cream, and her nipples ached more than ever before.
Fuck yes. I want that.
* * * *
Six was very early to pick up a woman for a dinner date. Chase was worried that the reverend or Mrs. Crawford might want to question them about their activities. He wasn’t sure what they’d think if he said they were going to the BDSM club, but he really didn’t want to lie to Maia’s parents. His best hope was that they wouldn’t ask. Fortunately they didn’t. The family was caught up in a conversation about items they needed sponsorship for, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables.
“A leaf blower and a dishwasher,” said Draven, joining the conversation.
“Both of those would make your work much easier,” Theron agreed.
The pastor looked at them with a worried gaze. “They would indeed. But don’t you think people might feel we’re being too demanding, too selfish? People have been washing dishes by hand since the first dish was invented.”
Chase answered him. “If you ask a dishwasher company, and have their name on prominent display on the machine, I think they’d be proud to be associated with your ministry. The same with the companies that make leaf blowers.”
John-Paul gazed at them some more and then nodded. “Very well, add them to the list, Naomi.”
Maia said, “Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. I’ll be back by midnight.”
Zoe called out, “Have fuuun,” as usual, but Mrs. Crawford was already asking a question about pickles, so Chase put his hand on Maia’s back, ushering her out of the house.
“Would you like to eat somewhere different tonight?” Draven asked Maia.
She blushed a little bit and then raised her chin. “Can we eat later, please? I want to go straight into the dungeon with you.”