Savage had it particularly difficult as a child. Intellectually, Maestro knew they all had suffered tremendously, but to him, what happened to Savage was some of the worst. They had turned him into a sexual sadist, unable to get off without causing his partner pain. Hell of a thing for any man to live with, especially when you loved the woman more than life. There had been a time Torpedo Ink had worried they would lose him. They’d come close until Seychelle had entered into his life. Maestro almost managed to fuck that up with his idiotic advice to the two of them.
He ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. What was he thinking? How was he supposed to do the right thing for his woman when he didn’t have a clue about relationships? He detested most women. He didn’t believe a word coming out of their mouths. They seemed to delight in betraying their man. The only good ones were the ones married to his brethren and Alena and Lana. The rest of the world of females seemed fucked up to him. Or maybe he was the one fucked up. More than likely, he was.
“Maestro.” Czar used his low, commanding voice. “We’re going forward with the recording. Has anyone else noticed that it’s eerily silent? We can’t hear her breathing, and we should be able to, shouldn’t we, Mechanic?”
Mechanic was the king of gadgets. He continually came up with new and unique designs for keeping eyes and ears on their enemies as well as communication devices.
His head went up alertly. “Damn it, the lower she goes into that hellhole, the more the audio is affected. He has it soundproofed down there, but I didn’t think that would matter.”
“Jamming device?” Transporter asked, moving up beside his birth brother.
Maestro stopped with the introspection, his heart clenching hard in his chest. Azelie’s heart rate had accelerated. The camera was still sending that data, and they could see the shadows of grays in front of her as she approached the office. What they couldn’t do was hear anything.
Billows waited for her, pacing back and forth. He swung around and snapped something at her, but she wasn’t looking directly at his face, so they couldn’t read his lips. She made her way to the desk and sank into an office chair. That was bad. The camera was pointed at the computer, not at Billows, and they didn’t have audio.
Mechanic swore under his breath. “Sorry, Maestro. I thought we’d have it all when she went in.”
The worst of it was, there was no doubt that Azelie was frightened. She held it together, but Maestro couldn’t see her. He could only read her heart rate, and at times it was frantic. Once, she changed positions in the chair, shoving away from the desk, and they caught a glimpse of Billows coming close.
“The discussion is a long one,” Lana said. “I can’t see her directly, but I’ve caught several glimpses of her reflected in the computer screen. Can you enhance that, Code?”
Maestro looked to Code, the miracle worker. Code immediately tried to adjust the screen on the scene he’d frozen. He stepped closer as if that would get him what he wanted—her safety. Could he leave her hanging out there virtually unprotected to finish what they’d started more than two years earlier? Did having relationships make you indecisive?
“I’m sorry, Savage,” he murmured aloud. “Really sorry, brother. I’ll go to Seychelle and apologize to her.”
“You did apologize to her, multiple times, Maestro,” Savage reminded him.
“Yeah, I know, but I didn’t mean it the way I do now,” he admitted. “I told her I was sorry, and I was, but it was because I hurt her. Seychelle isn’t a woman who ever deserves that kind of hurt. She didn’t think I wanted her with you. I’m sorry for making her feel that way. I was trying to save the two of you, keep her from getting hurt when things got extreme, but I still didn’t understand.”
Savage touched him briefly on the shoulder. Savage rarely touched anyone other than Seychelle unless he was interrogating them—and no one wanted to be the man Savage was questioning. It was shocking to Maestro that Savage gave him that brief moment of affection and reassurance. And it meant a whole hell of a lot, especially when he felt so confused and frustrated.
Maestro didn’t do well in the world of confusion or frustration. It was the reason he always maintained control and demanded it in his life. It was safer for him and everyone around him. Not knowing whether to allow Azelie choices when her life could be in danger was maddening. He was a decisive man. He was in charge.
He guarded their vice president for a reason. Every move was instinctive and precise. He could easily run an army if need be. His brain worked at high speed to solve puzzles, particularly problems that put those he cared about in jeopardy. Yet now, when he needed clear thinking the most, he found emotions hampered him.
“I can see her reflection much clearer on the screen,” Lana reported. “What about everyone else?”
All of them could lip-read, but Reaper was particularly adept at it. He appeared totally absorbed as he stared at the screen.
“She’s telling him she doesn’t have the skills to track money that was stolen from the accounts. She’s being upfront with him about what kind of specialist he needs.”
It was all Maestro could do to keep from laying his hand on the screen. He wanted to touch her. To hold her close. In the reflection, her expression appeared surprisingly serene, but they had the evidence of a pounding heart to clue them in to the fact that she was terrified.
“Look at that woman of yours holding it together,” Reaper said, awe in his voice. “She knows he’s an asshole and dangerous, but she’s standing up to him. I have no idea what he’s saying to her, but she’s not letting him walk on her.”
“Can you tell what the conversation is about?” Lana asked. “It seems intense.”
Reaper shook his head. “She turned her head, and I can’t see her mouth anymore. I suspect she’s looking directly at him.”
“Another spike in her heart rate,” Code reported. “Big-time.”
“I’m looking as close as possible at her reflection in the screen,” Reaper said. “I can see the side of her face, but there doesn’t appear to be a change in her expression. That woman is pure ice.” He grinned at Maestro. “You’ve got your work cut out for you living a lifetime with that one.”
“I can read her.” Maestro was confident he could. She might try to hide from him, but he was too adept at reading people. It was a gift, instincts he’d developed and honed over the years. He didn’t miss the slightest nuance when he was with others. He knew when someone lied. He knew when they were uncomfortable. He knew when women were attracted to him. He was always aware of the most dangerous man in the room and kept his eye on him. He knew who was a bully and who was the real deal.
He’d started out learning the hard way about deception and betrayal. After years of living with both deception and betrayal on a regular basis, it wasn’t difficult to begin to see the signs in people the moment he met them. He had been so ready to condemn Azelie, and yet, despite what she’d gone through, she was honest. A ray of sunshine in his dark world.
“She has a protective streak in her a mile wide,” he informed the others. “She actually tried to protect me from Billows. No doubt, she will again.”
Lana and Alena flashed him a smile. Savage scowled. The others exchanged worried looks.
“Spit it out,” he invited.
“You can’t have your woman standing in front of you, Maestro,” Savage counseled. “I’m serious. You’re going to have to stop being the good guy and make it very clear she’s to do what you say. She’s in a very dangerous position and she needs to understand you’re the man to trust. What you say goes.”
Maestro didn’t need to be reminded. “Not a pussy, Savage. And I’m not whipped. I’m still feeling my way with her. I trust her, but she isn’t there with me yet. Her instincts are to run.”
“Girl’s got good instincts,” Alena murmured. “You can be overbearing, Maestro, sweet and gentle, but you’re always going to want your way. That can be trying to independent women.”
“She’s a pleaser,” Maestro said. “She thinks for herself, but she likes to do things for others. If I can find a way to win her trust completely, I’ll have it all.”
This time he did touch the screen, his touch as gentle as Alena had claimed he was. There was a lump in his throat and a fist of heat in his gut just looking at her.
TEN
“I thought we were past this,” Maestro said, leaning down to cup Azelie’s face between his palms.
