Midnight Toxicity

28.

The weeks bled together. I hardly ever had downtime. Golding demanded we work either on our training or at Motley Hall each hour of daylight. The abundance of summer light meant long hours of work.

Malik never spoke a word about what occurred in the woods on my first day. All I had to do was stare at him for his hands to shake with visibly repressed fury. Nonetheless, my victory in the Five Over Five Challenge garnered me respect. The win made them trust me somewhat.

Physical exercises like running or swimming in the lake were not so bad, but Golding often initiated group time where he paired 'socks' against each other. The sessions provided insight into my housemates' backstories.

Tiana and Malik, both in their early thirties, were the senior members of our group. She was raised by her father in Tucker City, who owned a garage. Things went bad when he started running drugs for the Conry's. She blamed the gang for every bad thing in her childhood, including running away from home when she was seventeen. It explained why she hated the gangs in Tucker City and joined Golding's quest to get rid of them.

She fell into the hired gun racket after dating a man who was brutally murdered, taking revenge to a whole other level by wiping out the perpetrator's entire male lineage. The realization that this stunning woman murdered an entire family for love left me speechless. I did not know if I could ice someone without it changing me.

I did my best to avoid Glen and Emily. That girl threw off cray-cray all-day vibes, and I wanted nothing to do with the creep who assaulted me in the bathroom. He stalked me in dark corners a few times before getting the hint that I would leave his entrails from one side of the house to the other if he did not stop. They too were older, in their late twenties.

It became clear that I was the youngest, and I was not sure how to feel about that. I was so busy that half the time nothing mattered except a hot shower and restful sleep each night. Chace and I fell into a steady routine. It was boring and domestic, but he never discussed his past.

Chace was a treasure trove of practical knowledge, teaching me skills I had thought to employ but had never taken the time to learn. Like picking locks or remotely disarming security systems. I always had Jack do those things, but under Chace's guidance, I slowly became confident in my new skills. I had earned the title of thief by robbing select targets who were weak and easily distracted by a great set of tits.

That would soon change.

It was the end of my third week, and I wrapped up mopping the foyer by tossing the dirty water off the back deck. The chore assignments for the house rotated, and Chace did not allow me to put them off. Every time I tried smooth-talking someone else into completing the jobs, he was there to make me do it anyway.

My attraction to Chace grew the longer we shared a room, and although I caught him checking me out, he never made a move. After our flirtation session in the woods, I thought we would hook up, but his rigid attitude spoke differently. I would rather not make things awkward when he worked hard to make certain I had everything I needed and never complained about my constant stream of chatter when we were supposed to be working.

During the day, Chace breathed down my neck, yet he vanished each evening, returning only at bedtime without a word of his whereabouts.

Chace could be overly condescending when speaking with a detachment that spoke of cold, rational thinking, but he was also the hottest guy in the house next to Golding. His hair often distracted me with how it matched his esoteric personality.

Our connection grew, though he would abruptly leave if the conversation did not suit him. He held secrets behind his sensuous lips, and I suspected many had to do with our boss. Tension simmered between them, their hushed, intense exchanges hinting at a deeper conflict.