Chapter 16

The small pause in between songs had Tahlia notice Mideon shoveling snow and she had to fight the urge not to laugh. She wondered if breakfast had been prepared. "Probably not." Deciding to head back inside, Tahlia sighed when she was stopped by the sound of Mideon's voice and shut her eyes briefly. She had to acknowledge him or else it would be disrespectful to the entire group, which is something she wouldn't do. "Hey, I was gonna make some coffee or hot chocolate. Do you want some?" It looked like he'd just finished shoveling and was frozen solid. "Come on, let's get you inside."

Nodding, he let her lead the way, stomping his boots off and inwardly cursed Paul. Only that evil, spiteful prick would send him out here in the freezing weather. "I-I c-can h-help." He chattered through his teeth once they had shed their winter gear. "Boss likes his coffee black." Mideon added, not aware she already knew how Taker took a lot of things. Like her, sunny side up.

"No, you just sit down and try to warm up. And try to stop chattering, it's not good for your teeth."

Tahlia took her hooded sweatshirt off and draped it over his shoulders since it was twice her size. She loved huge sweatshirts. They were comfortable and warm, this one would almost fit him, so the shoulders would be covered.

"So hot chocolate or coffee for you?" When he said coffee, she nodded and began brewing a pot, not seeing anything made for breakfast. That was her next task, especially since a hot meal would warm Mideon up good and proper. "You should really invest in some gloves." He was out there with bare hands; Tahlia actually felt sorry for him.

"Didn't think about it."

He managed with a smile, though, if Paul was going to have him out shoveling and stuff in this horrendous cold, Mideon sure would be buying himself a couple pairs. And some proper snow boots or something. When he realized what she was doing, he started to get up.

"Let me help. I can cook." Breakfast for sure, because that was his favorite meal. Pancakes, waffles, eggs, French toast... a bowl of Kix.

Now that he looked warmed up and the chattering had stopped, Tahlia didn't mind him helping, returning a genuine smile. Mideon was her friend, but ever since they'd been initiated into the Ministry, things between them had been tense. She missed her friend, so it was nice to stand beside him talking and laughing while cooking. Hopefully, Taker managed to get through to Mabel or else they would more than likely be staying here a few more days. Home cooked meals were a lot better than fast food or room service at a hotel, so maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing. Her and Taker couldn't break any more beds though since they were limited, if they jumped into bed together again.

"Do you want me to finish up while you go inform everyone breakfast is ready?" She offered, taking over stirring the pancake batter and could see the elation on Mideon's face to do it. "Go on, I can finish up."

Nodding, he took off down the stairs. Mideon was greeted to the Acolytes facepalming themselves while Paul was shaking his head. Taker was standing there, smiling that evil grin of his that made chills go through Mideon. That was not a good smirk. He took in Mabel, who was laying on the ground, twitching and gathered what had happened.

"Uh, breakfast is ready."

"Good. I'm starving." Mabel was going to need some time to think about it. He had Taker fooled and acted like he was accepting of everything, then attacked the minute that door was open. Fine, he wasn't above brainwashing a person.

Tahlia had just finished the last of the bacon when the Acolytes, Paul, Mideon and Taker, with taser gun in hand, walked inside. "Okay gentlemen and master, there is bacon, pancakes, waffles, French toast, eggs and hash browns to choose from. Mideon did the majority of the work, so dig in."

Fixing herself a plate, Tahlia walked out of the kitchen and found the sitting room, where there was plenty of room for everyone to sit down and eat comfortably. The table and chairs wouldn't hold their weight, it would buckle for sure. Her thoughts went back to Mabel, wondering if the big man would accept being in the group or decline. He hadn't eaten since they abducted him, but food was a pleasure and Taker could be an evil man when he wanted to be.

It wasn't like they had Mabel all that long, less than 24 hours, so Taker wasn't worried about starvation kicking in anytime soon. Might actually be good for the guy. He made sure there was a bottle of water in there. Mabel would need it after pissing himself.

"Mideon... when you're finished eating, toss a bucket of water on Mabel." So the guy didn't reek of piss the next time he went down there.

After breakfast, Tahlia was thoroughly bored while Taker and Paul talked over who the next recruits would be. How many men would Taker allow to follow him? She knew another woman wouldn't, she was the only one, but couldn't help wondering who else he had in mind. Needing to get her mind focused on something else, Tahlia strapped her fingerless gloves on, pulled a long-sleeved shirt on with black stretch pants and boots before going outside. There was a court of sorts, a patio, so she began shoveling it off in order to get some kind of workout.

Tahlia was restless, blasting music in her ears away and didn't stop until the entire thing was completely clear. Changing out of the boots into her workout shoes, she began to do exercises, needing to keep her body in shape and did sprints back and forth on the patio, touching each side every couple seconds. It was a way to keep her speed and agility intact, exercises that didn't require being at a gym. Maybe going for a run around the property wouldn't be a bad idea either. However, her workout was cut short when Paul walked out and informed her she was being summoned by Taker. She walked back in with him, pulling her ear buds out and stuffed her fingerless gloves in the back pocket of her pants, wondering what this was about.

He was waiting with a list and held it out to her. "We're going to be here a few days. This is what I want. You may ask the men what they need and add whatever you wish." Taker then held out a credit card between two fingers. "You should also invest in appropriate nightwear. Something I can tear off you." Her practical pajamas... he would feel almost bad about destroying. Lingerie, not so much. "Take one of the boys with you."

"We need another first aid kit."

"Add that as well."

He wants me to go shopping, had been her first thought and it took A LOT of restrain and resolve on her part not to slap him for that lingerie comment. She did NOT wear any of that lacy crap, not like she had the night of initiation. However…Tahlia smiled sweetly and took the credit card, bowing her head with absolute wicked intentions in her eyes.

"It will be done, my Lord." Mideon was OUT of the question, but at the same time…maybe it would help get their friendship back on track if she asked him to tag along. It could be amusing to watch how he reacted in a lingerie store, of all places. "Brother Paul, do you need anything?"

This sickly-sweet tone of voice of hers told him one thing: Taker was in TROUBLE later on and he had to fight back a smirk. "Not at the moment, no. The Acolytes will probably request beer, though. Fair warning."

"I'll go find out." Turning, she left the room to go track down who she considered to be her boys. "Being sent on an interesting errand, do you two need anything besides beer?"

Taker had caught that tone and wasn't overly concerned. She'd probably rack up his credit card and he didn't really care. He had other, more pressing, things to worry about than her being annoyed with him. Not like she wouldn't forgive him later when he took her to heights only he could.

"I'm going back downstairs."

"Pizza." Ron grunted, smirking when she rolled her eyes. "Cigars."

"Sunday paper and a deck of cards, darlin'."

"You got it, anything else?" Tahlia asked while jotting those items on the list Taker had given her and kissed each of their cheeks. "Hold the fort down while I'm gone and there's leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry." Walking out of their room, Tahlia went on the hunt for Mideon and found him in his room, laying in bed. "Hey big guy, wanna join me for a shopping trip?" She waved the paper with a smile. "It's for everyone, mostly the master though. You can pick out what you need or want. He gave me his credit card to use." Tossing him the keys, Tahlia didn't give him a chance to respond and handed him the coat. "I'll even let you drive."

Nodding, Mideon scrambled off the bed to follow her while putting on his jacket. He definitely needed some winter wear and laundry stuff. "Think there's a working washer and dryer in this place?" He asked curiously, mostly because they had been on the road awhile, at least the men had, and he needed to wash his clothes badly. "We should find a truck stop and take hot showers." He did not understand how Taker could tolerate the cold the way he did.

"Yeah, it's downstairs though…where Mabel is." Tahlia didn't want to go down there and nobody else did besides Taker, apparently. "Maybe we can get some stuff washed or just pick out new clothes while we're out. And cold showers aren't that bad, just work out beforehand. They feel good actually." She shrugged, not bothered by them either, but then again Taker had kept her heated since they'd gotten there. "But if you want to stop at a Laundromat to get some stuff cleaned, we can do that. He didn't give me a time frame, so we can do whatever as long as we picked up everything on the list."

He shook his head, she was crazy. "It's freezing, the middle of winter, we're shacked in a drafty, condemned building with ice cold water and it's not that bad?" He began laughing, shaking his head and wrapped an arm around her in a quick one-armed hug. "You're a lot tougher than most people give you credit for." Mideon already knew she was tough. Tahlia had spent a month in a cage and not broken. Mabel, on the other hand… he frowned. "I don't think he's going to mind us being gone a bit. Mabel is being... stubborn. Should we gather up everybody's things? We can drop it off and pay the people to do it while we run errands." Laundromats usually had attendants who did that sort of thing. Mideon had used that service a lot since becoming a wrestler.

Tahlia wasn't sure if Taker would condone that, but it was worth asking. She would not take his belongings without permission, enjoying having her head attached to her shoulders. "Go start the car, I'll go ask everyone really fast." She took off out the door, first asking the Acolytes and carried out a bag of their clothes before heading back into the sitting room. Taker was alone, Paul was nowhere to be found and Tahlia surmised he was probably downstairs doing something with Mabel. "Mideon made a good point about our laundry piling up. Do you want me to take your stuff to have washed at a Laundromat, sir?" She used that word just in case someone walked in and had already grabbed her things on the way to ask him. "He's also going with me shopping."

"Yeah, that's fine. Take everything." It wasn't like he was in the habit of leaving anything in his pockets usually. "Look," He caught her by the arm before she could walk away, pulling her into him. "Watch what you say around Mideon. I know you two have a... unique... relationship, but he's not all there." Which was probably rich coming from him since he wore robes and called him the Lord of Darkness.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea for her to ask Mideon to be the one to shop with her, but…there was no changing it now. "I'll be careful." She murmured, reaching up to stroke his beard gently with her fingers and accepted a kiss from him, only pulling back when they began melting against each other. Plenty of time for that later. "See you in a little while."

Tahlia winked over her shoulder and headed to the room they shared to grab his clothes. Lugging 4 bags of clothes outside to the car, Mideon hopped out of the car to help her and Tahlia made sure to tie them all tightly so nothing would fall out. They took off a few minutes later, heading toward the nearest Laundromat and turned on rock on the radio.

When Paul found out Taker had sent not only Tahlia out, but had allowed Mideon to go with her, he arched an eyebrow. "Is that wise?"

"He calms down around her. Also, if he runs his mouth, she'll come right back to me and report it."

"You're cruel, you know that?"

He grunted and nodded; it seemed about right though he preferred to think of himself as a man with a plan.

Instead of going to each store together, Tahlia split the list in half with Mideon to knock it out quicker. The clothes wouldn't take that long to have washed and dried, so they were on a time constraint as far as picking them up before the Laundromat closed. It wasn't a 24 hour one like others she'd gone to. So while Mideon took care of Taker and Paul's items, she grabbed what the Acolytes wanted and then reluctantly walked into a lingerie store, groaning. This was not her. This wasn't who she was.

Sighing, Tahlia began sifting through everything that was black, purple, grey or white, knowing any other color was off limits. She absolutely refused to buy anything with a G-string or thong, not caring if that's the type of lingerie Taker preferred. After picking out 5 sets, she paid for them and had them bagged up before walking out, meeting up with Mideon in their meeting spot. When he asked what was in the bag, all she did was shake her head, muttering 'don't ask' under her breath.

He eyeballed the bags, trying to figure out what she had bought, but they were just plain black plastic, much like any other store. Then Mideon realized it could have been something... personal, feminine hygiene for example, and shuddered, letting it go. He liked her and didn't want to know about her personal belongings.

"I got what was on the list, and a few extras." Such as deodorant for the guys because Bradshaw needed it badly.

Along with the lingerie, she had also gotten toiletries like shampoo and conditioner for herself, shaving cream with a shaver, things like that. The lingerie store had it all, surprisingly. She still couldn't believe the things she picked out to wear for Taker, contemplating if she should go through with her devious idea. Probably not, he would paddle her backside until it was black and blue if she did. Tahlia nodded when Mideon asked if she was ready to go to the Laundromat and followed him out, trying not to let her cheeks turn crimson at the thought of wearing any of this lingerie in front of the master.

They put the bags in the backseat and took off with Tahlia deep in thought staring out the window. It shouldn't have bothered her Taker wanted her to look a little…sexier for him, but for some reason it did. She was a very simple woman, not complicated and apparently he wanted sexy and complicated. She just hoped he enjoyed whatever she picked out because it would only be worn for his eyes only, no one else's.

Truth be told, one could tell a lot about a person by what they wore underneath their day clothes. For example, Tahlia usually wore cotton underwear and bras. She was a very practical sort of woman who preferred to focus on what was outside as well as be comfortable. Taker wanted to know what Tahlia would bring back to wear for him, if she would be comfortable in it or if she would sigh in relief when he did rip it off of her.