51. Kyle

CHAPTER 51

Kyle

" D o you think you're actually helping him?" Theta spat at Kyle once Akira had left the room. The older man's handsome face was contorted with bitterness and anger. "He's already in enough trouble because of you."

That stung, but only because it was the truth. He didn't need Master Theta's reminder, nor the man's toxic presence in their House.

"Listen to me," Kyle said evenly. "You're not going to come back here. You won't speak to Epsilon outside of essential Coterie business. You will certainly cease taking advantage of him."

"Taking advantage of…" Theta gave a hollow laugh, shaking his head. "You pathetic idiot. I'd say you're making a mistake, Randall, but you're too dumb to understand and soon it won't matter."

Ah, deliberately cryptic comments designed to put him off guard and assert superiority. Kyle, well used to the way Master Epsilon liked to pull the same shit when he was in a mood, ignored it.

"You should leave now."

Theta hissed out an irritable breath, brushing strands of silver hair back behind his ear where a lock had fallen loose. "It seems both of you have forgotten that I didn't have to help him out. It was him who came to me, begging for credits to save your worthless ass."

Because of course the debt Akira had incurred was to somehow protect Kyle. Wasn't that so typical of his Master: sacrificing everything for him and not even telling him about it?

"You'll be repaid in full," Kyle said shortly. "But in money, not favours. I won't let you hold it over him any longer."

Theta's body was turned towards the office door, and he kept making minuscule movements as if barely keeping himself from lunging through it. If he did flee, that was fine by Kyle. Yet it was the small, agitated frown Theta had been wearing when Akira had left the room that confused Kyle the most, for it had almost looked like…concern. That didn't accord with how he'd judged the shallow, arrogant Master, not when he hadn't bothered to even give Akira aftercare in the past.

But Kyle was done with giving this prick any more of their time.

He had a man to join in the bath…and then soap up, massage, and pamper for the rest of the evening, and he couldn't do any of that until Theta had fucked off.

But then a scream – a very human scream – echoed through the House. Kyle froze.

"What was that?"

"Probably something from outside," Theta said impatiently. "About the debt, Randall, I expect to be…"

The man carried on rambling about his credits, seemingly unconcerned about the horrific noise, but Kyle was already diving for the monitors set up on Akira's desk. His fingers flew across the screen, inputting the passcode, and then swiping to bring up House Epsilon's security program. Camera feeds steadily loaded: rooms one, two, three, four.

Nothing.

Five, six, seven, eight.

Everything was still.

Nine, ten, eleven, twelve.

Room thirteen's cameras had been disabled when Kyle started sleeping there. Besides, it was on the same floor as the office, and the scream had originated from downstairs.

The foyer's feed flashed up next on the screen and Kyle's heart stopped. Two figures were on the floor: one sprawled out on his back and not moving, and the other, who looked remarkably like Akira, was in the process of having the shit kicked out of him by three unfamiliar men.

Kyle roared out his fury, shoving an oblivious Theta aside as he raced for the door with no plan other than protect, help, stop. How had they gotten into the House? It should have been locked up with the Master's fingerprint scanners and the runed wards, but four strangers had somehow managed to…

Make that five. Another man stood in the doorway to the office, huge and hulking, with the scratchings of a beard on his cheeks and his eyes a bright, vivid blue. A gun hung loosely in his right hand.

"Randall," he acknowledged as Kyle came to an abrupt stop before him. He was tall enough that Kyle had to bend his neck back to look into his face. "Are ya gunna give us as much trouble as your friend downstairs did?"

Kyle shook his head. "I doubt it," he said easily. "I don't know how to fight."

The man relaxed. "Good. Then I-"

He doubled over with a winded grunt, the gun clattering to the floor, when Kyle jabbed his fist into the man's abdomen right above the beefy stomach. Kyle might not be a fighter, but he'd certainly learnt many other valuable lessons as a Dominant at House Epsilon.

Including all the places that could be struck on the human body to best make someone hurt.

"Theta!" Kyle yelled at the startled Master. "Run!"

When the man failed to move, Kyle grimaced and returned for him, shoving Theta through the narrow gap between the heaving giant and the doorframe. Then Kyle pushed past himself and dove for the stairs, but he was too slow.

Far too slow.

A thick hand latched around his wrist and yanked him back. Growling, the blue-eyed stranger straightened from his crouch before throwing Kyle against the wall without letting go of his arm, which knocked the breath from him in a painful show of karmic retribution. A meaty fist was raised and drawn back, clearly destined for his face.

Kyle flinched and closed his eyes.

But the blow never landed. Instead, a pissed off yowl echoed from their feet.

"Argh, fuck! Get ‘em away from me!"

The pressure on Kyle's arm vanished as the huge man danced backwards, waving his hands and kicking his feet as if something terrible had hold of him. Three irate cats swarmed around the stranger, their tails thrashing as they clawed and spat at his ankles. A few lucky swipes were landed by Chaos, blood blossoming through the pale trousers, but the fear that gripped the man was more debilitating than any claws, his shrieks growing more high-pitched as Kyle's cats closed in on him.

Kyle scanned the floor for the fallen gun. He found Master Theta already there, bending to pick it up with a confident grip on the handle that said he knew what he was doing.

Thank the stars someone did.

"Let's go and rescue Akira," Kyle said in relief, but Theta just smirked.

And pointed the gun at Kyle instead.