What the hell? What had his wife told Malone? Up until five seconds ago he was trying to come to terms with his impending arrest and Malone was now asking him about the job. Ken opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, flabbergasted.

Miranda came up behind him. "How about we all head back to the house, get cleaned up, get something to eat, and get better acquainted? The right way this time?" she directed, with a definite glare in his direction. Then she softened. "Honey, are you ok?" she asked placing a hand on his upper arm. Ken still couldn't get a word out. "Come on, let's all get out of here, shall we?"

Miranda seemed to be the only one capable of a coherent thought. They all followed her to the waiting Bronco. Malone opened the door to the back for his wife, then slid in himself. Ken didn't even try to take the driver's seat, sliding into the passenger seat his hand still holding his jaw. Miranda had gotten much better driving stick after he had given her a few lessons.

Before starting the ignition, she turned around to the couple in the back seat. "Mike, Tina, I know that we have a lot to make up for, and a lot of explaining to do. Can I ask you both to give us another chance? A do over? I think we have a lot to offer each other. Give us a few days. Let my husband get his head out of his own ass, and if you still want to call the cops, we'll turn ourselves in. Deal?"

"Miranda," Ken warned.

She ignored him. "Give us a chance?" she pleaded.

Ken continued, "Miranda, I'll turn myself in, not us, this wasn't you. This was my doing."

Malone looked between Miranda, the Commander, and his wife. "Tina, did he hurt you?"

His wife shook her head. Sure, Ken had drugged and kidnapped them both. He had shackled her to a bathroom wall for nearly three weeks. But he had also taken care of her during that time. Sure, she had a few bruises from the kidnapping, but she considered them incidental, not intentional. She had seen the house and the grounds. She was well aware that money wasn't everything, but it did bring security. Before Ken had shown up, she had watched the start of her husband entering a deep downward spiral. She had her doubts that he was going to be able to come out of it. Neither she nor her husband had any close family and few friends. They were out of options. She didn't know how they were going to take care of themselves, never mind their son. God, her son. She was supposed to be picking him up from the extended camp she couldn't afford. She had tried to keep track of the days by the food trays Ken brought her, folding over pages in one of the books to count, but she wasn't sure if she missed a day or not. At a guess she had one, maybe two days before the end of camp.

Her husband was still looking at her, shifting his gaze between her and the other couple. "Tina, did he do anything to you?" he asked, his glance flickering down to her crotch.

Tina knew her husband. He could likely bring himself to forgive what was done to him, if anything had happened to her, there would be no forgiveness. He would kill the other couple if it took his dying breath to do so. Fortunately, she was fine.

"Mike, I'm ok, really. I'm just concerned about you." Her husband's face looked gaunt, his skin color sallow. He had definitely lost weight, she was guessing over twenty pounds. He had more facial hair than she had ever seen on him. The fact that he was sitting next to her, shirtless, in nothing more than snapped on warm-up pants, while she was in a t-shirt nightgown and borrowed sweatpants would have been comical if the situation was any different.

Her husband spoke, "If it was just him, asking," he jutted his chin in Ken's direction, "no way in hell. Because it's you, Miranda, I'm willing to give you a chance. You can trust us, at least for now. Can we trust you? This control shit is done? This is a partnership, not slavery?"

Miranda didn't hesitate, "Yes," she said firmly.

"What about Matthew?" Tina asked. She watched her husband's eyes widen with her question. She knew her husband. He likely hadn't even mentioned their son in an effort to protect him. Which also meant he knew nothing about his safety or where he was at the moment. She placed her hands over his. They were already nearly on top of each other in the back seat as it was, craving each other's touch. "Mike, they know already. He's still at camp. He's fine. Miranda's been calling weekly to check in on him."

"How'd you swing that? And what now?" he asked of Miranda, his voice nearly shaking, finally being able to voice his concern for his son.

"I told them I was a fellow military nurse that worked with Tina and that you were having some major health concerns and that you both didn't want Matthew to know. The counselors took care of the rest. As far as what now, as soon as we get the two of you better settled, we'll pick him up from camp and get him here too. There's plenty of room."

Back at the house, Ken sat at a table in the kitchen icing his face while the three other adults worked to prepare a meal. Miranda was still inept on her own, but he had taught her enough that she was able to help, and Tina apparently liked to cook. In short order, four meals were plated, and he was being directed to move to the dining room.

Miranda had shown Mike and Tina into the bathroom off from the kitchens. It was a full bathroom that was available for staff use but was more than adequate. She told them that she would bring them some clean clothes while they showered and to leave the door unlocked.

Getting naked didn't take long for either one of them, especially not for Malone given his single garment. His eyes raked over his wife. She had lost a little weight, but otherwise looked not the worse for the wear. They went into the shower together and Tina had barely started to soap up when Mike put his hands on her, followed by his lips. As he kissed her, he backed her into the tiled wall. She cringed as her back hit the cold wall. She didn't have time to process further as her husband reached down, lifting her from beneath both thighs to wrap her legs around him. He breached her a second later.

Mike couldn't get inside his wife fast enough. He was a man unhinged and he needed to feel her. Needed to feel that this was real and that he had her back. He'd feel bad about it later, but he couldn't stop himself from thrusting into her before he had even got her ready for him.

Miranda had returned with a combined stack of clothes that she thought would do the job for now. She was guessing that she had a good five inches on the other woman, so she had brought Tina a pair of her capri pants. Ken and Mike were a little closer in size, but Mike was a bit taller and heavier. She had brought him one of Ken's basic t-shirts and a pair of sweat shorts. She had just planned on popping into the bathroom and placing the garments on the counter for them. She opened the door and was heading to the sink and countertop when a deep man's groan, followed by a woman's throaty cry announced themselves over the sound of the running water. Miranda stopped in her tracks. A second later the wall adjacent to the shower shuddered. Miranda clasped a hand over her mouth. Just like Ken indeed. Malone was obviously fucking his wife into the shower wall. She had to stifle her laughter as she exited the room.

Mike didn't mean to be being a dick, literally. At the moment his focus wasn't on his wife's pleasure. He just needed to claim her, he needed his release. He also wasn't going to last long. Five or six hard and fast thrusts later, he pulled himself from her folds as her feet returned to the shower floor and ejaculated down her lower abdomen and thighs. Hands braced on the tile, he lowered his head to gently rest his forehead against hers as he panted warm breaths against her skin.

Tina gently embraced her husband. He hadn't gotten her there and that had been a hair on the side of more uncomfortable than pleasurable, but she understood where he was coming from. There would be time for more later. As his breathing slowed and returned to normal, she looked him over. She placed a gentle hand on his face. "I'm trying to decide if I like this look on you or not," she stated, running a hand through his thick scruff. It scratched her face a bit when he kissed her, but it also made him look all the more, well, manly. As a military man, he was generally clean shaven. Even his typical buzz cut had started to grow out. There was more of his dark brown hair on display than she had seen in years. Her inspection dropped down to his torso. There were two surface wounds there. She ran her hands over them softly, checking for infection, judging healing. "What happened here?" she asked.

"Taser," he answered her matter of factly.

Shit. "Baby, are you ok?" she asked with obvious concern.

He kissed her forehead and moved his hands and arms to hold her against his wet chest. "I have you. I'm fine," he answered.

She allowed him to hold her for a few moments and then wiggled out of his arms to reach for the soap. She moved around him, sudsing and washing, cleaning him as she continued his inspection. He had lost a little muscle mass from disuse the past couple of weeks, but his body still screamed raw male power. She relished in gliding her hands over him. There wasn't much of anything feminine about her husband. He of course had hair on his legs and a moderate amount on his broad chest. There was a little sprinkling on his back too, but fortunately it wasn't excessive. Mike periodically moaned with pleasure as she worked and hissed every now and then as the soap ran over the chafe marks on his wrists and ankles. Satisfied that there wasn't any other damage, they both finished getting clean and exited the shower to get dressed.

Tina checked the medicine cabinet. Finding bacitracin and bandage material, she had him sit on the closed toilet seat once he had dried and pulled on the provided shorts. She massaged in the ointment and wrapped gauze and placed bandaids as needed. She had been careful herself, so her own ankle had barely gotten chafed. She popped a bandaid on herself in the worst spot.

They exited the bath holding hands. Ken and Miranda were waiting for them in the small sitting area adjacent to the bathroom. Tina's nursing instincts were taking over. She crossed the space to approach Ken, letting her husband's hand go in the process. She ignored his grunt of displeasure behind her. She took Ken's chin in her hand. He tried to turn and pull away from her, but she wouldn't let him. "Let me look," she directed.

Ken let out a breath allowed her to lift his face. Tina held his chin in one hand and used the other to slide down the bruised side of his face and then the other side, comparing. "Open and close your mouth," she instructed. He grimaced a little with the movement but did as asked. Tina placed her hands on either side of his temporal mandibular joint. "Again," she said. She ran her hands back over both of his cheeks. She could feel a little click of bone in one place but that was about it. "I think you may have a small chip from your jawbone but otherwise nothing seems broken. You do need ice and some ibuprofen." Ken softly nodded his head in response, knowing it was more than he deserved.

"I'll get the meds, do either of you need any?" Miranda asked.

"I'm fine, but please get a dose for Mike, too." Tina replied.

"Babe, I'm fine," Malone tried.

"Honey, you've been through a decent level of trauma. I don't want you taking much, but one dose will help you feel better."

"I'll grab them. Can you three head into the kitchen, get the ice and start to figure out something for lunch?" she asked. Normally, they had a delivery service of groceries but either she or Ken had been meeting the driver at the front gate, using driveway repairs as an excuse, or Ken had been running into town. Regardless, the kitchen was still well stocked.

"We can do that," Ken answered her.

So that was how the four of them now found themselves sitting around the main table in the dining room, eating lunch together. Ken watched his wife and the other couple. He could tell by how relaxed the three of them were with each other that this was not their first meeting. Ken was surprised to see Malone eating so normally after being on a hunger strike for nearly a week. He knew that Tina had been eating fine, at least after the first few days of her being understandably cautious and distrustful. Malone noticed Ken watching him. "Miranda's been coming to see me the last three days or so," he explained. "I'd eat for her, just not for you."

Ken's eyes shot to his wife. "You've been going to see Tina too, haven't you?"

Miranda nodded her admission. "You'd go to Mike, and I'd go to Tina," she explained. "Getting to Mike was more of a challenge, but I don't want to think about what might have happened if I hadn't."

"We're going to chat about this later," he told her sternly.

Malone answered for her. "Give the woman a break. Look man, if everything she's told me is true, I'm in, but seriously, you've got to change tactics. If I'm the type of man you're after that little stunt you pulled is going to fail every time. You need guys to fall under you because they want to, because you give them something, not because you threaten to take everything away."

"Why don't you two talk while I get a few things with Tina to get them settled. The upstairs of the carriage house is almost finished and that will give them some privacy," Miranda suggested.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ken asked, not caring that he addressed his concern in front of the other couple.

Miranda had to fight to not roll her eyes at her husband. "Ken, we either trust each other or we don't. There isn't a halfway here. Not to mention you've had the man locked away from his wife for weeks. Put yourself in their shoes. What do you think?"

The two women stood, taking dishes with them. Ken saw Tina whisper something in Miranda's ear. Once they left the room, most of the positive energy in the room went with them. He and Malone still had a lot to work out. Neither said anything. Malone rolled the ice around in his glass. Ken just watched him. Malone took a drink. Ken folded his hands together on the table. Malone looked at the bruise on Ken's face and Ken seemed to notice. Malone left out a huff of satisfaction. That punch had felt good. The light bruise on his knuckles was well worth it.

Back in the kitchen, Miranda went to the liquor cabinet, grabbing one of the best bottles of whiskey and two snifters. "Are you sure about this?" she asked Tina.

"Malone is the epitome of the strong silent type. If you want to get him talking, you need some booze to loosen his tongue."

"Didn't they both just have some ibuprofen? Isn't that bad?" Miranda questioned.

"Not great, but if it's not all the time, they'll be fine. Does Ken have a problem with alcohol?" Tina asked.

"He drinks, but casually."

"Mike, too, generally. Unfortunately, when Ken came for us, he was using it as a crutch. In some respects, I don't think any of this would have happened if he had been sober. But considering I was at a loss of what we were going to do, maybe all this happened for a reason."

"Tina, I am sorry for what happened to you both. Ken has his issues, I suppose I do too," she admitted. "But, if he cares about you, the man will literally do anything for you. I hope in time we can put this behind us and that we can make it up to you both."

"I hope so too," Tina replied.

The two women returned to the dining room, Miranda carrying the glassware upside down by the stems. Reaching the table, she poured both men a generous helping, leaving the bottle on the table. "Can I trust the two of you to pay nice?" she asked with a hint of a seductive drawl.

Ken reached for his glass, taking an appreciative swig. The whiskey did its familiar initial burn, followed by a wave of warm pleasure. The drink was likely to help his face way better than the ibuprofen, at least until morning that is. Malone picked up his own glass, and nodded his consent. Miranda gave her husband a peck on the top of his head. Tina leaned in to kiss her husband's lips. He grabbed one of her hands and the side of her cheek, forcing the kiss to linger longer than she had intended. When he let her pull her lips from his, he still held on to her hand. Tina padded the top of their joined hands with her free one. "Mike, I'm ok. I'll just be with Miranda. You two need some time to talk. I'll be with you later and tonight and for the rest of our lives. It's over. We're ok. You're ok." Malone nodded, releasing her hand. The women left and he turned back to both his drink and his new boss.

Malone took a sip of his drink. After the brief burn, it was about the smoothest he had ever tasted. From his brief look at their new home, this was definitely going to be a step up. That is, if he hadn't just inadvertently sold them all to the devil himself.

Ken took another swig of his own drink and then cleared his throat, "So, what do you want to know?"

Malone took several sips of his own drink before he answered. Talking was never his strong suit. "Well, Miranda already filled me in on the general plan that you're looking to build a private military group with a goal of big payouts. Considering my only skills are military based and it's all I know, I don't think I'm going to get a better offer. I'm also apparently the first recruit."

"I didn't choose you lightly, Malone. I'm hoping you can build this little operation along with me."

"Why do you keep calling me Malone? You know it's my middle name, right?"

"I do," Ken answered. "Personally, I don't have a middle name. But, just like the military tends to refer to men by last name, I want to designate how everyone is addressed in the field and under working conditions verses personal time. I want you to still refer to me as Commander. I'm going to use middle names."

Mike/Malone took another hefty swig from his glass, considering. The alcohol was doing its job. "I think from you, I like it."

"So, I'll continue?" Ken confirmed.

"Yeah," Malone answered. His eyes fell on the darkening bruise on his boss' face. He jutted his chin in the other man's direction. "You know, I'm not sorry about that."

"I don't expect you to be."

Malone added, "You know your wife is obviously the brains of the outfit. Instead of using the best bargaining chip you had, you gave me no access to my own wife. I didn't know if she was alive, dead, or anything else. You get the men in here you want, dangle the woman of their dreams in front of them, with every means to hold on to them, and you're going to sell them every time, brother. That's the way to do it." He paused, taking another swig of his glass, nearly finishing it. "Add a glass of this to sweeten the deal. This is some good shit."

Ken laughed and topped off both their glasses from the bottle. "You didn't ask about her or your son. I guessed because you didn't want to give me any ammunition to use them against you."

"Damn straight," Malone admitted. "I didn't know what you were going to do with me. I certainly wasn't going to give you anything. I was being hopeful that they were an unknown."

Ken was pensive for a moment. Between the injury to his own face and Malone's responses the last few weeks, he knew he had the right man for the job. In hindsight, he knew Malone wasn't wrong about their best method for handling new recruits. The average man would go to lengths of utter insanity for the woman that they loved. History certainly proved it time and time again. The U.S. Military was far from the first to encourage soldiers to marry young. It was biologically and anthropologically part of especially an alpha male's makeup. Alpha males were what he wanted and needed. "So, what do we do if we get guys in here with no girl?" he asked.

Malone took another swig and answered nonchalantly as if the answer was obvious, "We find them one."