Loopholes

When we walked into the third-floor living room, the two hundred women huddled like sardines in a can, parted like the Red Sea and spoke in hushed voices. I glanced at Devon, shifting uncomfortably and trying to put his eyes elsewhere. Orion and Nexus are way better at keeping themselves outwardly calm. When his eyes found mine, I could see the panic pouring into his mind, simmering to a manageable level.

Fucking hell, this is diabolical!

I know, but I will fix it as much as I can.

"Shut the fuck up now," Ferona bellowed over the chatter and our internal conversation.

I stopped where I was standing halfway to her vulgar self and sneered, the sound amplified and turning the heads back to me.

"Did I tell you to shut them up?" I hissed, and she lost her confidence.

Her freaky charm power dissipated from the room. I saw a thin layer of energy shoot out of the room in several directions, appearing to jump for the exit at my question.

Did I give Casper a scare?

Are ghosts real?

Is it a power?

I didn't get an alert.

'She's in the horde. You won't get an alert, but you will notice their manifestations,' Ad said.

Ad pulled up the power portal, and I hissed out loud, the guilt rising in my body as I scared some of the women. He could have done it for me, but he had me tapping with my brain.

Without accumulating mental ability points? Does Adam think I am a charity?

Fuck, I need to get this over with and free them from this hell hole.

Amen.

I'm assuming It's specific to the type of power?

'It fills me with pride at how clever you are.'

Are you being sarcastic?

'No, sorry. That tone is a bit of a default for me," he sounded embarrassed.

Huh? Since when are you humble?

'Shut up, Devon. Why couldn't Nexus have your power? Stuck with a tic.'

Ad, don't talk to him like that. He has done a lot for me and was the first one on my side after I returned.

Adam snorted and left the chat like a teenager. I carried on walking with a shake of my head. Ferona clicked her fingers, and a couple of her lackeys were enveloped in her power cloud and dropped a comfortable chair that was behind her desk.

That is quite a power for level two.

She might not have been this successful…

I turned to Devon and noticed his face looking green as he dead-stared at a young, short, bleach-blonde woman dressed as a "sexy maid".

Don't kill Ferona in front of everyone. We don't know how they would react.

Breathe, Daria.

Breathe in and out in even breaths.

Oh god, the air had left the room, and I turned to Orion on my left and caught Nexus in the corner of my eye.

Oh god.

They stared at her with pain and disbelief. I took Orion's longer leather jacket off and stepped towards the girl. She jumped back and stared at me like a rabbit caught by the fox. I dropped the coat around her, and she took a deep breath. The smell of Orion must have triggered her memories because she stared at me with relief and ran into Devon's arms.

Oh, man. Is there a way to remove people from my horde?

'No,' he sighed.

I cursed under my breath and shot a deadly glare into Ferona's soul. I slapped her once when she first woke up, and she is pretty compliant now, but I think I want to play the brain game with her.

'The brain game?'

Her charm is handy, and the dirt she will have on other people, likely in the entire county, will be helpful, but she is otherwise useless, and I continue to need her sanity. I only need her sane enough to use her powers with a decent pass rate. When my charm…

Do I have a charm stat? Since I copied her powers, I should also be able to use them. Helpful for those out of the horde.

'Why would I show you that?' He muttered.

What the fuck does that mean?

'As with your intelligence, they are high enough and rise too fast when you improve them. I assure you the notifications will get you sectioned in the mental hospital for a couple of months.'

I shook my head and leaned into Devon's ear.

"Do you want to take her to my house?" I whispered too low for anyone beyond the guys and her to hear.

"I want to stay and hear what you say," she whispered.

I gave her a single nod and looked at Nexus and Devon. They stood next to her to keep her between them and, hopefully, provide her with a sense of safety.

She's our older half-sister. She went missing nearly six years ago.

I froze for a second, and it didn't cross my notice that it isn't typical for two siblings to go missing unless they have a common connection that made them go missing. I stood next to Ferona, and my teeth could chatter out of my mouth with the anger and grievances I felt on behalf of the guys and their little half-sister. She's older, at least thirty-two to thirty-five, but short.

They don't need my grievances.

They need revenge.

My men have been hurt deeply by this world.

Now, I have women who need me too.

"The first and most important point that you need to understand is that I don't believe in the ownership of a sentient being. However, many in this world can't keep their hands to themselves without permission from the person they're touching…" I turned to Ferona and squinted my eyes at her. She took Nexus… "There are no men here," she froze and looked away from me, "where are they?" I screamed, scaring the shit out of her gang members.

The women were looking much calmer than at the start.

Did she hide them because I didn't mention them? Wow, that is on me. How stupid am I? I threw my fist out into her face, and the sound of her nose breaking boomed around, like when I screamed at her; as she fell onto her knees, it echoed around the room.

My head snapped to Rain, and I narrowed my eyes at him. He noticed, shifting his nervous gaze to me through his plain black mask.

I will need to work on those rules tonight.

'I second that,' he said in a voice below a whisper, a tone I had not heard in him before.

Third.

When Nexus and Orion stood back, I sighed and kicked her from my immediate vicinity. She sprawled across the floor as she squeaked over it and into the darker end of the hallway, which likely led to the kitchen or bedroom.

Fucking disgusting!

Their heads turned with her flying body and snapped back to me, many with sly smiles and smirks. A small group of women had shuffled closer to the front and were staring at me with glints of envy.

What did I say about those girls wanting to play birthday party piñata?

Devon laughed out loud and cleared his throat when his sister looked at him with questions he couldn't answer right now.

"Okay, we have established that I need to work on her discipline. Now, listen carefully. If you want to leave this filthy fucking place and go home, stand on the left, and we will call your parents or relatives, old partners (not likely, but we will if you'd be safer, and we will have police check them before we let them take you), best friend, whoever you trust the most. If you don't want to go home or don't have a home to go to, stand on the right, and I will give you houses to live in by yourselves or together in groups," the room exploded in screaming, squealing, and rivers of tears. Bodies shuffled from the left to the right side and vice versa as they made their choices for the rest of their lives.

Now that I see the lack of room for the development of needing to save men, too, it might be better for them if they're separated. I don't know if they know each other or if only particular couples know each other. I nearly cried on the spot. This is a lot, man.

How do the police do these types of cases every day?

I sighed when the movements stopped, and I blinked at the bigger group on the right side.

More than half of them were saved and added to the security forces.

Devon took his phone from his pocket, rapidly typing and making hushed calls off to the side. His big sister buzzed around him quietly, asking how she could help.

She's so sweet.

I pulled out my phone and took a deep breath as I called my aunt and uncle from my father's side. They are all lawyers with their firms and work with the other prominent law firms in the city, run by another rich family circle. I wouldn't be doing this, but I am desperate for the best.

"Daria! Sweetheart, get here now. It's her. She's not dead! You can cancel the milk carton enquiry," I pulled the ear from my phone, squinted at her comment, and stifled the laugh for a smirk.