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The three memorial plaques illuminated by tiny spotlights did.
It was ridiculous how people’s survival depended so much on others. From sick patients relying on doctors and nurses, to the average person falling prey to someone’s choice to take a life.
Parents shaped their children with every decision they made for them, good and bad, like shepherds guiding sheep down a steep cliffside. One misstep could send them plummeting into despair, but the right path led to happiness and fulfillment.
Callie paused. “Did you know them? The ones who died?”
“No, babygirl. They were killed before I met Braun and the others.” Evander gestured to one of the simple markers. “This one, Wyatt. He was a member here. He sacrificed himself for someone else, leaving behind his Dom and their shared sub.”
“That was brave.”
“Yeah. Liam and Sierra are moving on slowly; she’s a lot like you. Sweet and shy, a little sassy when she’s in a mood. I think you’ll like her company.”
God, if she got any more friends thrown at her, she might implode from the stress. Her life was becoming cluttered with all these people, faster than she was comfortable with.
Shona had been the first, and now there was Evander and Elias. Atticus and Alicia—although he was on her tentative list. Braun and Bodie were on that list with him, because welcoming or not, they were unknowns.
Callie made a noise in her throat and, out of habit, recited a silent prayer for the men who’d had their ending written too soon.
A couple passed them, the man tipping his head in greeting, and strolled into the portico.
“I’ll go ahead and make sure the arrangements are in place,” Elias murmured. “I’ll meet you at the bar.”
“You’ve got your membership card?”
“Brand-spanking new,” he confirmed, then kissed the top of Callie’s head. “No coming before you get inside, minx. I want you to be incoherent by the time we take that clamp off.”
Take it off? Hell no. The damn thing was integrated with her body now, and if anyone tried to touch it, she’d bite them. She knew how bad it hurt when blood rushed back into her nipples after they were held hostage; she didn’t want to find out how much pain would hit her clit after a prolonged clamping.
“Speaking of, we need to hurry up. We have just under an hour before the risk of nerve damage increases.”
“Wait, what?”
“Sixty minutes, minx.” As though there wasn’t a ticking timebomb biting into her unmentionables, Eli walked away whistling.
Callie blinked. Blinked again. The next thing she knew, two of Evander’s fingers were clutched in her sweaty hand, and she was dragging him after Elias like the hounds of hell were on her heels.
The blond half of her pair of keepers laughed. “Slow down, sweetness.”
“There is a clamp on a sensitive part of my anatomy, Evander. Apparently there’s now atime limiton how long my private parts have before a necessary piece of them falls off.” Her tone adopted an irritated edge. “It might not work as well as it should, but I’d prefer it stays attached to my body in some semblance of working order.”
“Babygirl, we wouldn’t do anything to—”
Towing him along was akin to pulling a World War II tank. She tugged and yanked on his arm despite the fact he was walking with her, desperation fueling her blood. Of all people, she knew how quickly five minutes turned into ten, into thirty, into a goddamn hour.
There was a creak, followed by a snapping sound, and her left heel bowed under the pressure. Stupid fashion items weren’t designed for practical uses like trying to move a three-hundred-pound mountain of muscle.
Evander sighed and bent down, hooking his arm beneath her ass to lift her onto his hip. The fit of her dress didn’t have room for her legs to hug him, so she just clung as best she could. “As I was saying, Callie, we wouldn’t do anything to harm you. We keep reiterating that point, do we not?”
“Yeah,” she mumbled.
He carried her through the portico up to the glass doors, and through into a small reception area with a curved desk. It was manned by a striking woman with pale blonde and lilac hair, whose bare upper chest, neck, and arms were liberally covered with colorful tattoos.
“Good evening, sir. My name is Tina, and I’m here to welcome you to Avalon. Do you have a membership card?”
Evander set Callie down on her feet, keeping her pinned in front of him. Probably so she couldn’t bolt—not that she’d get far with a broken heel and her clit resisting every breath she took.
He pulled out his wallet and passed over a sleek black card that didn’t have any details embossed on it at all. He said nothing while the woman scanned it, then touched his thumb to a small black box on the counter when she nodded.
