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Author’s Notes…
We’re getting into the nitty-gritty of what happened to Magnum.
This was a difficult week of plotting through this book. I would love some feedback from you to let me know how do you think the story is going and what problems you think Zuri is going to have to face.
off to work on my other stuff and then jumping back into this. Got a Weaving Romance through Suspense workshop this weekend and then another thing at the end of the month.
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Chapter 29 – Writing A Check With Her Mouth
Downstairs was built in a similar architectural style to the original. The houses in this area were built like mini mansions with a 1960s flair. Zuri would suspect only the plumbing, heating, and cooling systems were updated for greater efficiency, while the windows and doors were replaced.
The simplicity of Magnum unsettled her. She grasped the banister more tightly, her knuckles whitening as she followed him. Despite being a very complicated man, he seemed to embody something beyond her understanding.
He led her past an open living and sitting room from the large, welcoming front door hall to the dining room that adjoined the kitchen. There was a six-person dining table complete with a fancy glass chandelier.
Food was already on a large warming tray, ready for them, and a wine bottle was chilling on the side.
She knew someone else had cooked and set this up, but she wasn’t complaining. As soon as her stomach smelled food, it started rumbling. FT sat at one end of the table with his food on his plate already, while Magnum led her to the other end with him. He sat at the other head but waited until she had a seat before he sat down.
Without using her peripheral, Zuri could feel FT’s eyes glaring at her with an intensity that should have lit her on fire. The urge to crawl into Magnum’s lap for safety came to mind, but she knew she had to be strong because FT seemed to like that. The weak aroused him, and she wasn’t trying to do anything more to get his attention.
Zuri met the challenge of his eyes, holding his gaze. In doing so, she denied FT the satisfaction he sought. There was no room for weakness around him.
Yet she wanted to dive in deep to know what they had done together and why the memory of him had come when Magnum had gone down on her body?
Magnum’s snap of her napkin drew her back to the present. “FT and I have come to an understanding that he won’t hurt you, for now.” He placed her napkin on her lap before snapping his own and doing the same for him. “And he will be on his best behavior while he’s here. It was the only way I would allow him to be here with you.” He assured her, “Your room is secure now that you have accessed it. The code was set up to lock it just for you to enter.”
“Thank you,” she said. Seeing that they were both together, she slowly ventured into what she needed to speak to them about. “Whatever happened to Dr. Baelen?”
Magnum and FT looked at one another as if deciding who would answer.
Magnum said, “He’s dead. It was believed to be a suicide, but he had a long list of people who wanted him dead. He worked with a group known for their notorious acts, stealing babies from impoverished women and recruiting followers who were easily manipulated. Dr. Baelen’s cult wasn’t just about villainy; it was an experiment in shaping the human psyche. They used fear as a tool, isolating their recruits and subjecting them to psychological conditioning to remove any lingering sense of morality or empathy. This group sought to create a generation capable of carrying out orders without question, aiming to exploit chaos for power. Their methods were as much about indoctrination as they were about breeding instability.”
“Aww, Magnum, tell her the real deal,” FT cajoled. “Dr. Baelen and others believed evil could be used as a weapon. He wanted an army of these people’s babies to carry out his deeds or the deeds of his friends without conscience, or the capacity for feeling sorry or weak.”
She shivered. “But why? I’ve always believed that even in the darkest situations, there’s a light—a choice to do good.”
“Like your mother,” he hissed.
Knowing he was trying to get a dig at her, Zuri retorted, her voice firm but haunted, “I believe my mother will see the light sooner or later. Even if I have to help her because she needs it.”
“Even if it means losing everything? When killing her could just be the easier answer.”
“Killing is never the answer; it’s a solution to avoid the hard work it takes to face the real problem,” she assessed. “And if losing everything because of my dedication to my mother happens to save her, it might be worth it at the time because it’s the right thing to do.
FT smirked. “Sometimes you need people to make the horrible decisions without worrying about the consequences of their actions. Some people can’t be saved. And the world needs People who don’t get hung up on the morality of it all.”
“I shouldn’t think badly, but I’m kind of glad the doctor is not alive anymore,” she admitted. “What happened to his cult?”
“Killed or committed suicide,” Magnum said. “Seems the leader got a conscience and decided this was too wrong. He took care of whoever didn’t off themselves.”
Slowly looking at FT, who had this sick, evil look in his face, and then back at Magnum, who avoided her eye contact, she could almost read the room. As FT reached for a slice of bread, knife poised like a needle of truth, she dared to ask, “How do you two know so much about this?”
Magnum sighed regretfully, shifting his weight in his chair as if the memories were burdens too heavy to bear. He poured some wine into his glass, though the bottle trembled just slightly in his grip. “Our parents were involved in the experiment,” he said, the liquid swirling like the dark stories untold. “They were deemed psychopaths. But only planned to have one child.”
Zuri slowly looked at FT. “You weren’t planned,” she determined.
“They weren’t ready,” FT snarled.
A lot of people think that’s when the experiment went to shit. Like any unwanted offspring, they tried to kill him, but it was hard because of his connection to me,” Magnum said. “Somehow, no matter what they did, FT wouldn’t die. Barely made it to five years old, but that’s when things got dicey. Babies had been dying, and no one could understand why, and then other kids started having accidents, unexplained. The experiment was a radical psychological study to create and observe behavioral tendencies deemed ‘evil,’ with the aim of determining whether such tendencies were inherent or could be nurtured under controlled conditions. It started to become a case study on whether you’re born with evil or evil is learned.”
She looked back at FT. “I guess you proved you’re born with it.”
He clicked his tongue with that wicked smirk still plastered on his face. “You almost hurt my feelings, Little Queen. Sometimes you don’t need a weapon to hurt people or get them to do what you want. I’m good at that, and that’s what they weren’t expecting.”
Magnum leaned forward, clasping his hands with his eyes narrowed. “Since we’re putting it all out on the table, little brother, let her know how youpicked up some of Dr. Baelen’s hypothesis skills and convinced a lot of people to do things to themselves.”
FT could only smirk as if the secret to his magic trick had been revealed to the audience.
That dark feeling lurched inside of her, making her cold all over. A flash of whispers pulling her mind in so many different directions, confusing her, guiding her, making her feel she was not in her body. Had that happened in the past? A fear of losing control overwhelmed her, and suddenly, a warm touch on her hand brought her back to the present.
Zuri looked over at Magnum’s hand covering hers, then at his glass of wine, and saw he had not touched a drop of the alcohol, opting instead for his water glass. This untouched wine had become a silent testament to Magnum’s self-restraint and discipline, a stark contrast to FT’s indulgence. This recurring symbol mirrored the divergent natures of the two brothers, encapsulating the hidden battles and shifting loyalties in the room. Should she be grateful?
“I never drove my brother to start drinking,” FT said, reading her thoughts. “Magnum chose that for himself because he didn’t want to embrace what he was born to become.”
“What was that? A psychopath like you?” she retorted and then looked at Magnum in annoyance. “But I still don’t understand why he needs to be here.”
“Because Mag wants a quick lesson in you,” FT growled.
“And you know me?”
FT leaned forward with a wicked smirk. “Every crack andcranny.”
Challenging him, she said, “Or I could just unlock my memories, and we wouldn’t need you.” She hadn’t meant to reveal this to them like that, but FT’s presence sent a surge of adrenaline through her veins, her heartbeat quickening with a drum-like intensity. Her palms began to sweat, and she could almost taste the metallic tang of anxiety on her tongue.
Both men looked at each other and then back at her, waiting for her explanation.
“When I went to the bank today,” she said, looking at Magnum. “My father explained in a letter that I could unlock myself. I don’t think it was highly recommended, but he said Dr. Baelen implanted something to make me release all the memories he blocked. There was a red envelope I could open, and inside was what could do it.”
The brothers looked at each other again, as if having a mental conversation.
Magnum asked, “Do you want to?”
Immediately, she responded, “No. From what I know, I was a horrible person, and I don’t want to go back there. Delving into those memories is like opening a door to monsters I can’t confront again. I don’t want to know what drove me there either; the motives are as terrifying as the actions. And who I was wasn’t what I wanted to be. My father knew that and saved me from that life.” She felt a sudden shiver run down her spine, a haunting reminder of the potential darkness lurking within her. Her palms grew clammy, and she could sense a slight tremor in her hands, a visceral reaction confirming her resolve. Deep down, a part of her feared that confronting her past would unravel her sanity, leaving her helpless to the frightening possibilities of who she could become. Deliberately, she stuffed her food in her mouth to avoid speaking again for a moment.
The room was quiet for a moment, and she could feel the radiated tension between the brothers, but then a heat in her chest made her look up to see Magnum staring at her. His plate was halfway empty, and all of FT’s food was gone, while she had only gotten through a quarter of her plate.
Magnum darted his eyes in FT’s direction, and she reluctantly looked that way.
“But what if there was a piece you did enjoy?” FT questioned. “A piece that brought you peace.”
The heat in her chest disappeared immediately as deep inside, she felt something that scared her. She needed something from FT, but she didn’t want to ask. This man was hell-bent on taking her away from Magnum, so every word uttered and every action delivered was a deliberate attempt to make her choose him over his brother. Still, she couldn’t deny he brought a familiar darkness that her core seemed to welcome, but it wasn’t the sensual darkness Magnum brought out. Grabbing her glass of wine, which Magnum had poured earlier, she drank half of it, trying to clear her head, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling that FT was right.
“That still won’t make me desire to open that envelope,” she responded.
“What if you could know what you desired without the envelope. What if I could show you?” FT offered.
Zuri looked at Magnum, and the warmth returned to her immediately, along with an understanding that this was what he desired as well. Removing her napkin from her lap and cleaning around her mouth, she said, “Well, let’s see what you have to show me, FT. The faster Magnum learns, the faster you can leave, right?”
FT looked at this brother. “You won’t interfere.”
“Long as you stick to your promise. You can’t hurt her.”
“You know that’s not specific in my world, Mag. Hurt is rather a wide fence. But if you want to see what I can show you, you’ve got to trust me.”
She watched as Magnum looked indecisive, and then it felt like they were having another mental conversation. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife, making her heart rate feel like it was about to jump out of her chest.
FT shot out of his chair, pulled a knife from the back of his waist, and jammed the tip in the middle of the table. Before she could react, Magnum had already jumped in front of her as protection, while she almost fell back in her chair.
“Meet me in the front room and bring that,” FT ordered, before storming out.
Magnum turned to her. “Are you trying to provoke him on purpose?” he questioned with a brow of curiosity raised, pulling her up to her feet and into his arms.
She welcomed the hug, nuzzling her face in his chest. “He brings something out in me. It’s like the more I’m around him, the more I want to fight him.”
He looked down at her as if he completely understood what she was talking about. “Then you and I are on the same page, but he knows I will jump in on a moment’s notice.”
The way he’d jumped up to get in front of her when FT had shot out of his seat proved that Magnum could move faster than lightning to protect.
Yet, despite all the challenges she had faced, she now felt an icy terror creeping over her as she approached the inevitability of the front room with FT. She could hear the distant, ominous ticking of a clock, each tick a reminder of precious time slipping away. True, she felt Magnum would protect her, but could he really intervene in time if FT decided to cause her irreparable harm? The subtle creaking of the wooden floor beneath her feet mirrored the strain building within her, sending a chill down her spine. Each heartbeat thundered in her chest, a pounding wave of uncertainty and dread threatening to drown her in its relentless surge. Lingering at the threshold, the air felt heavy with tension, almost too thick to breathe, wrapping around her throat. A fleeting thought crossed her mind: Will I survive this? This quick internal question intensified her fear, echoing in the silence, as every sense came alive in apprehensive anticipation.
Magnum walked to the doorway of the dining room. “Are you ready to face your past?”
Zuri wasn’t ready, but with Magnum there, she felt more confident. As she moved to take his hand, he nodded towards the knife on the table, silently reminding her of its presence.
“You forgot something,” he reminded her.
“He was serious?”
“FT never leaves his knife, so he’s damn serious.”
She went to the knife with the tip embedded into the smooth wood table. There’d be no way to buff that mark out. “You’re going to need a new table,” she said, straining to take the knife out.
“It will be my third one since moving in,” Magnum said as if it were no big deal. “I’ll order another one when I replace the rest of the furniture. I have a feeling it will have to be replaced by the time FT finally leaves.”
The knife’s grip was firm in her hand, the cool metal grounding her.
It took two tries to get the knife out, and then she took Magnum’s hand, letting him guide her out of the room. The firm grasp of his fingers around her palm calmed her nervous system. The warming in her chest brought her to a oneness with him that only they could share, and she was almost of the inclination to descend the stairs and return to his bedroom.
Just because he was unable to fully make love to him, as FT had indicated, didn’t mean they couldn’t foreplay all night. She’d never tried that, but she was sure they’d get some kind of satiation somehow.
“Later, Zuri,” he said.
She gasped. “You can read my thoughts.”
“I can feel your arousal,” he answered.
“How do you know I’ll be physically able to enjoy you later?”
“I don’t,” he admitted with a playful wink. “But we’ll damn well try.”
The complicated layers of Magnum Knight were pulling away, revealing so much more to this man than she could imagine. Each layer was drawing her closer to him, weaving her soul around his presence in her life, binding her core to Magnum Knight. As Zuri embraced this connection, she found herself caught in a web of emotion. Yet as she pondered this bond, a flicker of hope glimmered amidst her uncertainty. The warmth of his presence suggested a chance for refuge and strength in their connection, a potential escape from the shadows she feared. While she hadn’t yet decided whether the bind thrilled or doomed her, a part of her dared to believe in the possibility of salvation. This uncertainty echoed in her mind, leaving her on the edge of anticipation.
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He Touched Me (c) 2026 Sylvia Hubbard All Rights Reserved
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- Companion Books
- Stealing Innocence 1
- Black’s Innocence
- Sin’s Iniquity
- The Other Side of Love (WIP)
- Tanner’s Devil
- Dreams of Reality
- Emperors Addiction / Heart
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