Faithless (Mistress & Master of Restraint) (126 page)

“See, you admit tha
t he knows,” he mutters, voice filled with shame.

“I admit nothing. I don’t speak in circles like you do,”
I angrily hiss, not having the patience to talk to Ez when he’s like this. He needs to be put into a padded cell for his own safety.

“You want me gone…
” he says in suspicion. “What play is going down tonight?” He looks at me like I’m a stranger, like he’s not talking to me, but to someone else entirely.

“Go,” I command
. “You either go peacefully or I’ll call him over,” I say in exhaustion, using Wil as the boogieman. Ez has always been frightened of Wil.

I’m pregnant and I need my sleep, but I haven’
t slept in almost two damned days. Last night, Wil had to play nursemaid to Marcus while Regina followed me around my home asking incessant questions that I couldn’t answer yet. I sicced Torian on her, and she finally left me alone. Believe it or not, it was Zane that comforted Marcus. The pair has built up a rapport over the past few years, and I think Marcus finds Zane’s unflinching honesty refreshing. Zane would just plainly say,
I can’t answer that, but you will know at twelve-oh-one on the twenty-sixth
. No rules were broken, and Marcus and Regina were safe.

Why the precaution?
Marcus’ grandmother, Rebekah, was slated for execution just before the Zeitler family’s probationary time was over. They wanted her dead before she could vote. Grant was tasked with her death. Instead, Grant made sure Rebekah was out of town with his mother. Grant removed Rebekah’s important belongings from her familial home, and then burnt her house to the ground. He was severally punished for not following orders.

Marcus Zeitler and Regina Regal’s probationary time is over at midnig
ht tonight. I don’t think Ez would hurt his father and his future mother-in-law. But insanity can’t be predicted, and he’s done some evil shit in the past decade. I needed them safe for all our sakes. It’s why I’ve distracted Ez so thoroughly.

Right now,
I just need Ez to go home, so I can go home and take a nap before the meeting. I need to have my wits about me since it’s the biggest meeting of my life. Most importantly, I need Ez to go somewhere safe, somewhere I don’t need to worry on whether or not he is plotting against his father and Regina. He might not regret whatever actions he commits at the time, but he will. It’s why he looks lost right now. He’s dwelling in his guilt. And it makes him crazy.

Dalton promised to occupy Ez if I lur
ed him over to their apartment, and then he would make sure Ezra came to the house. Dalton came up with the idea for Ez to spill the truth to Whitt- tell him that Grant is The Whittenhower. It would guarantee Whitt running off to the Castle, with Ez in tow.

Several long minutes go by as I watch Ez glare at my husband. Many people would use the expression
, if I only knew what he was thinking
. I don’t want to know what Ez is thinking. Five seconds in his mind would render me crazy- the level of Ez’s insanity is dangerous.

“Is it your mother? Is she going against me this eve, or one of your fellow bastards, perhaps? At least offer me that small boon.” I barely register Ez speaking to me, because Katya is now involved in a ménage with Dexter and Monica. Kat is using a cat o’ nine tails on the thin woman.

My mind spins to think up a play that doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things. I could tell him nothing was going down, but he would sense the lie. Most people prefer a lie over the truth anyway… and Ez is most definitely one of them. I pick a play that will piss Whitt off when Ez narks on me. I don’t care how pissed Whitt gets, just as long as he brings Dalton and Ez to Misery Castle tonight.

“No, The Whittenhower is making a play,” I unemotionally say. I’m glad I chose that as my lie, because it gets a reaction out of Ez.

“Oh, really?”
he says with great amusement. “That is interesting. He is turning out to be a good ally for your mother, is he not? He surprises me. If he weren’t so afraid of me, I’d ask him to join me. But… it’s more fun to be one against six,” he arrogantly hums. I watch plots play out over his facial expressions. No doubt he thinks that he can get Whitt and Dalton to join his maniacal plan.

I’ve never understood why, but Ezra has it in his mind that Gwen has some ego-maniacal scheme to take over the game. She is stronger, and she is playing stronger. But it’s been slow and painful for her. She’s not the woman I thought she was. Wil had warned me that I’d regret thinking negatively about Gwen, and he was right. It’s why I’m trying to save Ez from the same fate.
 

“We could make it one against eight, but you won’t allow them to join us. Are you afraid of them, Ez? Afraid your Daddy would kick your ass?”
I let my West Virginia accent out to play. I don’t use it often, but when I do, it’s with purpose. It puts people to ease. And in this case, it makes Ez think I’m not at his level, that I’m weaker.

Ez laughs at me, just as I’d intended. I flip him off and snarl.

“It’s more fun this way. Speaking of matricide…when will
The Meyers
allow you to fill her shoes, Faith? I so would like you to join us.”

“I’m not telling you what’s g
oing down tonight, asswipe,” I snarl, hating it when Ez calls me out for being a murderer. It’s his way of putting me in my place. “I was born for this position, as you well know,” I remind him of my status as Game Master.

“Yes, quite the killer, indeed…
The Whittenhower, interesting… what could he possibly do that would affect me without harming one of his own in the process.”

I
flinch to make Ez think he’s on the right path, hoping he will lead me to whatever he is plotting. I let Ez create his own play because I’m fresh out of them.

Ez’s evil laugh is filled with anticipation
. “Oh, Niel, that poor boy… What is going to happen to him as a result?”

“Leave,” I growl, sick of playing word games with him
. I just want a fucking nap. Niel… what game play would affect Niel? I have no idea where Ez is going with this, but whatever.

“I’d prefer nothing happened to the boy. I’m very fond of him. How could
he
do this to him? Am I really more important than the boy?” Ez rapidly rambles on and I’m barely tracking his words. His insanity reaches new heights. My mind whirls and I start to feel sick. Ez’s dizzying conversation is bringing on the morning sickness.

“Silence,” Wil’
s deadly calm voice has my eyes closing in relief. He’d noticed my distress and rode to the rescue. I sway, fighting the weakness that overcomes me. “Master Ez, it would be best if you went next door to seek solace with your friends.”

“I believe that is ene
my territory as of last week,” Ez growls, baring his teeth at Wil.

“Marconi is more understanding than I am,” Wil seethes. “Leave, please. You should return home in a few hours. It’s best that you find a distraction in that time frame. You’re close enough to cracking as it is.”

“My daughter?” Ez hisses. White-knuckled fists are clenches at his sides, preparing to fight.

Ava? What and Why? I have
no fucking idea where Ez got that idea from. How Ez can jump from A, bypassing B through Z, and dives right into the Chinese alphabet is beyond me.

“
You’re using Niel against my daughter? You’re harming my first born this eve? How? She’s still a child?” he spits, getting into Wil’s face.

What the hell is Ez going on about? What is playing out in his mind? I change my mind. I just want a snapshot of his thought process. I pray to God my son doesn’t turn into this… lunacy.

“Collateral damage,” Wil smoothly answers, coming up with shit on the fly. “The Whittenhower wishes for a secret to be revealed. It’s all the better that it will hurt you and yours. But the reason isn’t about you. He wishes for Niel to live a stress-free life. The boy has been…” Wil trails off.

I turn away from Ez, hiding my reaction. I love my husband. I think he is an incredible man. But sometimes he says or does something that make
s me want to marry him all over again. He just came up with a play on the fly that perfectly fits into Ez’s insanity- genius!

“You all think me a monster. He is telling
that
,” he draws out in disbelief. “It will hurt his family far more than my own. Is he fucked in the head?”

“As you see,” Wil
takes over our negotiations. Overcome by morning sickness, I ghost away to breathe through the nausea. I stay close enough to eavesdrop. “Ava will not be harmed.”

“Is this because your partner ratted out your third last night to the nosy pawns? I thou
ght Faith stronger than that,” Ez hisses.

I cover my snort with the back of my hand. We had to come up with a reason for Marcus to go postal in the study. It looked like an EF5 tornado breezed through- total devastation. Only thing I could come up with is if Marcus learned the truth about Cortez being The Hunter. It paled in comparison to the real reason. Plus, Cort is the world’s worst enforcer- lazy bastard.

“The Whittenhower didn’t appreciate last night… Neither did I,” real emotions fill Wil’s voice.

Neither did I
, I whisper underneath my breath.

“I’m sure watching Syn screw
him wasn’t pleasant for you.” Ez’s arrogant chuckle is taunting.

I don’t know what Ez heard, but Wil found it more than pleasant. It was the finale that was unexpected. But I have a feeling the rumor mill didn’t hear about Wil being my husband or that Wil was involved with the sex. Zane heard about it instantly, and he was waiting for me at the
front door, readying to launch into a lecture on morality and diseases. Marc’s state of shock got me out of that lecture. But Torian was the worst. He’s teased us relentlessly all day long-
Merry Christmas, Aunt Faith. What did Grant give you? An orgasm?
Wil grounded him on the spot.

Strange thoughts flash over Ezra’s face, so fast that I can’t track them. His eyes repeatedly blink as if he is warring with himself. But it’s no longer about his inner-halves fighting. It’s like he’s sucked back in time or seeing things that aren’t there. His eyes keep lighting on spots, and when I look i
n their direction, no one or nothing is occupying that space.

Maybe Ezra doesn’t have DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder. Maybe his
alters
: Master Ez, Ez, and Ezra, are actually figments of his imagination. If you hear voices, doesn’t that make you Schizophrenic? Something is very wrong inside Ez’s brain. Malfunctioning isn’t a strong enough word to describe Ez.

“Alright, the play isn’t about me. I’ll go…. Tell me this, is there a reason. Is she… Hmmm… I bet she is. The Whittenhowers are going to be blessed with another?”
Ez sings in an eerie voice that puts my hair on end.

Leave it to Ez to find the truth in the middle of the Chinese alphabe
t. I can jump from A to maybe C or D without royally fucking it up. But this man… epic.

“Go next door and visit your boys, and then go home and make sure your sociopathic child doesn’t kill the girl. All three Daniels would d
ie if something happened to her,” Wil robotically murmurs, adding another layer of need for them to return to the Castle before the night is through. The meeting can only happen if we are all present.

“Yes, but would
The Whittenhower give a shit? I didn’t think he was worse than me, but now I doubt,” he muses. “I’ll give Niel my condolences when I see him… I mean congratulations,” he chuckle. “I bet that little shit wishes he never had sex- see what happens when you cheat on my daughter?”

“Jesus, he is more e
xhausting than ever,” Wil spits the moment Ezra is out of earshot. “Let’s follow that fucker.”

“I’m scared,” I hesitantly admit as we slip from the side door and out into the ally between Restraint and French Kissed Kink. We make our way around the back of Restraint, towards Alt.

“Pixy,” Wil sighs, grabbing my hand and holding it. “The meeting will be fine. Ez is so far gone that he doesn’t even know what color grass is anymore.”

“That’s what I’m scared about,” I whimper, tears falling from my eyes. I quickly clear them away, and try to hide my sniffle. “I don’t want him to be broken.”

“Sweetheart, Ezra has always been broken,” Wil reminds me.

“More broken,” I sob out, but I can’t help but smile at how ridiculous this all is.

“Maybe Ezra will find a way to fix himself. Everyone has been trying to fix him for so long. Maybe it’s Ez that needs to fix himself.”

“Sometimes I think you’
re enlightened past your years. You’re very wise, Leviticus Wilson,” I praise.

“And you are very exhausted, Faith Wilson,” Wil says with amused aff
ection. “Ezra is in Dalton’s loving tender care right now,” he murmurs, while we stare up at the large front window into the guys’ apartment. Inside the living room, Dalton and Ez are chatting. “Let’s go take a nap, and then we have a game to change.”