Evangeline

Chapter 15. On The Bed

The rhythmic click-shuck of the heavy industrial push-broom against the marble flooring of the grand residential corridor was the only anchor Mia had left. After the intense, suffocating interrogation inside Master August's office, her chest still felt tightly bound, a knot of lingering adrenaline making her small hands pulse against the plastic handle of her cleaning caddy. She had managed to guard her past from the king of Pride, but she knew the walls of the Crowe mansion were shrinking. Every day she survived under this roof, the brothers looked closer. They didn't just see a maid anymore; they were looking for the flesh and blood underneath.

​Determined to outrun the clock in her mind, Mia threw herself into her daily routine with a frantic, humble efficiency.

​She began with Master Blake's quarters. As she swiped her master keycard and pushed the heavy door open, a soft breath of relief escaped her lips. The room was still cluttered- a couple of discarded blankets draped over the sofa and a stray gaming controller resting on the floor, but the chaotic ocean of crumpled fast-food wrappers and empty soda cans was entirely gone. True to his word, the lazy younger brother had made an effort to lessen her load, leaving the space remarkably easy to manage. She dusted the surfaces, straightened the silk pillows, and moved on within fifteen minutes.

​Master Luke's suite was next. The pleasant, rich aroma of roasted coffee beans and expensive spices greeted her, and though the kitchen island had a few clean dishes stacked neatly by the sink, the overall state of the room was immaculate. Luke hadn't left a single mess for her, his newfound respect for her culinary talents manifesting as a quiet, protective consideration for her physical labor.

​Mia moved seamlessly from the Luke's to Master Malachi's quarters. The green-eyed brother was absent, but his room was a tense, orderly sanctuary of dark wood and heavy velvet drapes. She wiped down his mahogany desk, emptied the small wastebins, and swept the floor without a single hitch, her timeline perfectly intact. Even Master Richie's clinical, subterranean vault was entirely vacant, allowing her to dust the glass display cases containing his precious gold bars and historical books in absolute, uninterrupted silence.

​Her efficiency had kept her precisely on schedule. But as she approached the fifth door on her schedule- Master Dominic's silk-lined trap, the familiar, freezing dread returned to clog her throat.

​Dominic represented lust she assumed. He was a ravenous, unchecked predator who viewed every woman under his roof as a conquest to be thoroughly broken and consumed. Mia hadn't forgotten the terrifying events of her first day inside this room. She vividly remembered the terrifying weight of his command as he tried to force her to her knees to perform a degrading s****l act, and the sudden, clinical intervention of Master August that had barely saved her from the assault.

​Her small hands began to shake violently as she swiped her keycard. The indicator light chirped a soft, mocking green, and the heavy door swung open.

​Unfortunately for Mia, the room was not empty.

​Master Dominic Crowe was sprawling across his massive, king-sized canopy bed, which was draped in dark crimson silk sheets. He wore only a pair of black silk pajama pants, his lean, muscular torso exposed and gleaming under the dim, warm ambient lighting of the chandeliers. A glass of expensive amber liquor rested in his hand, and a dangerous, predatory smirk instantly curved his handsome lips the moment he took in her petite, gray-uniformed frame.

​Mia's heart slammed against her ribs like a trapped bird, but her deeply ingrained humility and defensive compliance forced her to drop her gaze immediately to the floor. She bowed her head deeply, her voice a tiny, trembling whisper.

​"M-Master Dominic," Mia murmured, holding her caddy tightly to keep the plastic bottles from rattling. "I am here to perform the daily cleaning of your quarters. I am exactly on schedule. If... if my presence is an inconvenience to your privacy, I can return at a later hour."

​"An inconvenience? Never, darling," Dominic purred, his voice a low, gravelly rasp that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. He set his liquor glass down on the nightstand with a soft clink, swinging his long legs over the edge of the mattress. "In fact, you are exactly the distraction I've been waiting for all morning. Come inside. Shut the door."

​"Yes, Master Dominic," Mia whispered.

​She closed the heavy oak door behind her, her mind racing as she tried to focus entirely on her duties. She pulled a fresh microfiber cloth from her caddy and immediately moved to the far corner of the room, keeping as much physical distance between them as possible. She began to meticulously wipe down the polished surface of a marble vanity, her bright blue eyes fixed strictly on the stone.

​Dominic didn't stay on the bed. He stood up smoothly, his steps entirely silent as he stalked across the room like a leopard tracking prey. He bypassed the luxury furniture, closing the distance until he was standing directly behind her, his intense heat radiating against her back. The heavy, cloying scent of his expensive cologne enveloped her senses, making her feel utterly claustrophobic.

​"You know, Mia, you've been avoiding me," Dominic murmured, his voice dropping to a seductive, dangerous cadence right against her ear. He reached out a long, tattooed arm, his fingers gently brushing against a stray lock of her ink-black hair that had escaped her ponytail. "I see the way my brothers look at you now. Luke is babbling about your cooking. Blake is actually getting off his lazy ass because of you. Even August has you sitting in his private office like a little secretary. But you belong in here, with me. You're too beautiful to be wasting your energy on a broom."

​Mia shrank away from his touch slightly, her voice laced with a profound, defensive humility. "I am only a maid, Master Dominic. I am performing my duties as I have been commanded to do. I do not wish to cause any disruption."

​"You don't cause disruptions, darling. You cause a fever," Dominic whispered, his hand sliding down to grip her small shoulder. His touch wasn't overtly violent yet, but the absolute command in his posture was unyielding. He turned her around slowly, forcing her to face his bare chest. He pointed a finger toward the massive crimson bed. "Drop the cloth, Mia. Go sit on the bed."

​Mia's stomach turned to absolute lead. The memories of his previous assault flared violently in her mind, screaming at her to run, to scream, to fight back. But the ultimate rule of the mansion echoed fiercely in her thoughts: You must ALWAYS obey the brothers. If she refused, his lust would instantly turn to a volatile, destructive rage that could end her life.

​"Yes, Master Dominic," Mia whispered, her tears of psychological exhaustion finally welling on the edges of her long lashes.

​She carefully set her cloth on the vanity, her small legs trembling as she walked over to the massive canopy bed. She climbed onto the edge, sitting rigidly on the soft crimson silk, her hands folded tightly in her lap, her head bowed in complete submission.

​Dominic followed her, a triumphant, ravenous glint entering his dark eyes. He climbed onto the mattress beside her, towering over her petite frame. He reached out, his heavy hand pressing against her shoulder, applying a slow, deliberate pressure.

​"Lay down, Mia," Dominic commanded softly, his face hovering just inches from hers. "Let me look at you without that damn apron in the way."

​Mia didn't fight. She let her body slide backward against the silk sheets, her head hitting the plush, oversized pillows. She closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the horrific violation she believed was about to occur, her small hands clutching the fabric of her gray skirt.

​SLAM!

​The heavy oak door of the suite flew open, slamming violently against the reinforced wall with a thunderous bang that shattered the seductive silence of the room.

​Mia's eyes flared open in shock. Dominic snapped his head around, a feral, vicious snarl instantly contorting his handsome features.

​Standing in the threshold, his green eyes burning with an intense, suffocating hatred, was Master Malachi. His lean frame was rigid with an absolute, venomous fury, his knuckles white as he gripped the doorframe. Malachi stepped into the room, his gaze sliding from Dominic's bare chest down to Mia's pale, trembling form resting on the pillows.

​"Get the hell off her, Dominic," Malachi hissed, his voice a lethal, vibrating wire of absolute envy.

​Dominic slowly sat up, his teeth gritted in sheer, unadulterated frustration as he threw his hands in the air. "Are you f*****g kidding me? Again? Every single time I touch this girl, one of my goddamn brothers walks through the door! What the hell do you want, Malachi? This is my suite!"

​"I don't give a s**t whose suite it is!" Malachi roared, marching over to the edge of the bed, his face twisted in a bitter, venomous rage. He pointed a shaking finger at Mia. "I told her three days ago that she had to shake you off! She is mine to break first! I am not going to let you have her just because you're a mindless animal who can't keep his pants zipped!"

​Dominic scrambled off the mattress, stepping directly into Malachi's face, his chest pressing against his brother's shoulder as his own aggressive temper flared. "You want her? You don't even know what to do with a girl like this, you pathetic, jealous worm! You just want her because everyone else is looking at her! I am sick of you trailing after me, trying to steal my scraps!"

​"Scraps? She's the only thing in this entire mansion that isn't corrupted by Richie's money or August's pride!" Malachi screamed back, his hands balling into fists as he shoved Dominic backward. "I am taking her out of this room right now!"

​"Touch her and I'll break your f*****g neck!" Dominic shouted, shoving Malachi back with a brutal, heavy force that sent the green-eyed brother staggering against a mahogany nightstand.

​The two men lunged at each other, their hands ripping into each other, their faces tight with a volatile, deep-seated hatred that had been brewing for years under the weight of their respective sins. They were seconds away from tearing each other apart, their breathing heavy, their raw aggression filling the room like toxic gas.

​Mia looked at them from the bed. The sight of the two powerful, terrifying men preparing to bleed for her didn't make her feel like a prize. It made her feel a profound, aching sorrow. These men were trapped in a hell of their own making, consumed entirely by their own traits, unable to see the destruction they were causing to themselves and each other.

​Driven by her pure, inherently honest nature, Mia scrambled off the silk sheets. She didn't run for the door. Instead, she stepped directly between the two massive, brawling brothers, her small, fragile hands reaching out to press firmly against their chests.

​"Stop it! Please, just stop!" Mia cried out, her sweet voice cracking with an intense, emotional power that completely shattered the violent air of the room.

​Both Dominic and Malachi froze, their fists raised mid-air. They looked down in absolute astonishment at the petite maid standing between them. Her porcelain face was tracked with silent tears, her bright blue eyes blazing with a quiet, unshakeable strength that completely defied her humble uniform.

​"Look at yourselves!" Mia said, her voice trembling but carrying an immense, grounding weight that forced both men to listen. Her eyes locked onto Dominic first. "Master Dominic, you have all the luxury, all the women, and all the pleasure this world can provide, yet you are so starved for control that you must force a captive maid into your bed just to feel powerful. Is your life so empty that you can only find joy in taking what is not freely given?"

​Dominic blinked, a sudden, jarring shock neutralizing the lust in his dark eyes. Her words struck a deep, agonizing chord within his soul, forcing him to look inward at the hollow void he spent his life trying to fill.

​Mia turned her fierce, emotional gaze onto Malachi, her small hand pressing harder against his chest. "And you, Master Malachi. You do not even want me for who I am. You only want me because you cannot bear to see your brother have something you do not. Your heart is so consumed by bitterness that you would destroy this entire house just to satisfy your own jealousies. Are you truly so small that your worth is only measured by what you can steal from others?"

​Malachi recoiled as if he had been physically struck. The venomous rage in his green eyes instantly dissolved, replaced by a sudden, harrowing look of shame. The quiet, unblemished truth of her words tore through his defenses, exposing the raw, pathetic insecurity that fueled his hatred.

​For a long, agonizing moment, the room was completely silent. The two dangerous cartel princes stood frozen, their chests heaving, completely neutralized not by weapons or guards, but by the quiet, unyielding grace of a simple maid.

​SMACK! SMACK!

​Two incredibly heavy, brutal open-handed slaps suddenly descended from above, striking the tops of Dominic's and Malachi's heads with a loud, ringing crack.

​"Ow! What the f**k?!" Dominic yelled, stumbling forward as he clutched the top of his skull.

​"Son of a b***h!" Malachi grunted, his knees buckling slightly from the sheer force of the blow.

​Standing behind them, his massive, heavily scarred arms crossed over his chest, was Master Kane. The embodiment of Wrath looked thoroughly completely irritated, a dark scowl tightening his hard edged face as he glared at his brothers. He had heard the shouting from the corridor while walking back from the tactical room.

​"Quit it, you absolute idiots," Kane barked, his rough, gravelly voice cutting through the remaining tension like a chainsaw. He looked down at Dominic, then at Malachi, his eyes flashing with a dangerous authority. "You two sound like a pair of stray dogs fighting over a bone in the alley. It's embarrassing. August is downstairs trying to finalize an international shipping route, and I can hear your pathetic whining all the way down the hall."

​Dominic gritted his teeth, rubbing his head. "Kane, mind your own business! Malachi started it!"

​"I don't give a damn who started it," Kane growled, stepping forward until his massive frame completely dominated the space between them. He snapped his head around, his sharp gaze locking onto Mia, who had stepped back toward her caddy, her head respectfully bowed once more.

​Kane looked at her porcelain face, remembering the quiet, unyielding grit she had displayed down in the gun range just last night. A subtle, profound look of respect softened the harsh lines of his face for a split second.

​He looked back at Dominic and Malachi, let out a heavy snort, and then looked directly at Mia.

​"I will tell August that you will be behind schedule today because of these two idiots," Kane said, his rough voice surprisingly clear of any aggression directed at her. He pointed a thumb toward the vanity. "Continue cleaning, Mia. Do your job."

​Mia lifted her bright blue eyes, a sudden, profound wave of gratitude warming her chest. "Thank you, Master Kane."

​Kane didn't reply. Instead, he reached out with his massive, calloused hands, grabbing Dominic by the scruff of his neck and pulling Malachi by the shoulder of his jacket. With a display of effortless, brute strength, he dragged both of his protesting brothers toward the threshold.

​"Hey! Let go of me, Kane!" Dominic shouted, struggling against the iron grip.

​"Get your hands off me!" Malachi snarled.

​"Shut up and move," Kane commanded roughly, hauling them out into the grand corridor. "You both need to cool your heads before I throw you both into the training ring."

​The heavy oak door swung shut behind them, the latch clicking into place with a definitive, peaceful snap.

​Mia stood entirely alone in the massive, silk-lined suite. The air was still warm, but the suffocating, predatory energy had completely vanished. She drew a long, deep, and peaceful breath into her lungs, the tears on her cheeks finally drying in the warm light. She walked over to the marble vanity, lifted her microfiber cloth, and resumed her work in absolute, unbothered peace.