The Text Message Ch. 05

Sounds? Pain? What? I opened my eyes and looked at a white ceiling, covered with perforated tiles.

Justin!

Alicia!

I jerked when the memories of the attack forced their way into my mind.

"Nick! Master! You're awake!"

Before I had finished remembering what had happened I was distracted by Alicia covering my entire face with kisses.

"Alicia! Love. Where am I?"

"I was so scared, I thought I'd lost you," she mumbled while she kept kissing me all over my face.

"Alicia. Stop."

That worked, a little.

"Alicia, tell me where I am."

"You're in the hospital. Oh! I need to call the nurse and the doctor," she said as she unfastened something from the side of my bed and started pressing the button on its top maniacally.

"What happened?"

"That's what we would like to hear from you, Mr West," a male voice spoke from my right side.

Startled, I turned my head to look at who had spoken but before I could ask him who he was two nurses barged into the room.

"What's wrong?" one of them inquired, pushing Alicia aside, taking a quick glance at the still regularly beeping monitor.

"He's awake!"

"Are you telling me that you go all crazy on the alarm just because he woke up?"

"You asked me to call you when something changed."

Two doctors came rushing in, pulling a piece of equipment with them, "Status!"

"It's all safe. His girlfriend just overreacted when he woke up. The patient is well."

"Good gracious. Lady. Don't pull that on us again," the older of the two doctor's said with a smile on his face, indicating he had seen more visitors overreacting than just her.

"Mr West, how are you?" he asked, looking in my direction.

"My arm hurts like hell and I have absolutely no idea what is going on."

He took the case-history from the foot of my bed and flipped back and forth through a few pages.

"I see. Yes, I can increase the painkiller dose a bit."

He turned slightly on the regulator of the IV-drip before he proceeded to remove the wound dressing on my chest. But before he fully lifted the large plaster, he looked around in the room.

"There are far too many people in this room."

He pointed to the man on my right, "My patient will not be going anywhere in the next few minutes, you can wait outside."

"The patient is involved in a double murder case and this woman is a potential accomplice. I cannot leave them together without my personal supervision."

"Then both of you. Out," he commanded.

"I'm not leaving."

I could not suppress a smile at the stance Alicia took.

"It's ok, Alicia, please wait outside until the doctor is done."

I could see on her face how she was torn between following my command and staying by my side but her obedience won out. Just. When Alicia and who I by now assumed was a police officer had left together with the second doctor and one of the nurses, the remaining doctor and the nurse tended to my wounds.

"You were very lucky, Mr West. The bullet missed your artery and humerus by less than half an inch but instead went right through your muscles. If either had been hit you probably wouldn't have survived. It then exited your arm and entered your chest, was deflected by your rib cage and came to rest in your pectoralis. As it was, we performed a surgery to remove the bullet and patch you back together. My current assumption is that you will regain full health and mobility but you will have to go through a thorough and painful rehab."

"Thank you. Do you know what exactly happened?"

"I can't tell you. You heard the officer. You are a suspect in a murder case."

I reflected a bit on what I remembered and bit by bit everything came back.

The doctor finished examining and treating my wounds, refit the large plaster on my chest and the bandage on my arm, checked the settings on the drip and left me. As soon as he was out of the door, the police officer came back in. Alone.

"Mr West, are you in a state to answer some questions?"

"I'll try."

"Tell me what happened yesterday at the house of Ms Chao."

"Show me your badge, first."

He identified himself as Detective Jack Adams.

"Do I need a lawyer? Am I being accused of anything?"

"So far, you're not being accused of any wrongdoings and I haven't read you your rights. But I can't tell you what comes out of it and whether or not you need a lawyer. You can ask for one and in that case, I'll wait with my questions until he is present."

I reflected on his offer but, as I had defended myself and the only thing they might be able to pin on me was the gun I shouldn't have had with me, I decided to cooperate and gave him a description of what I had seen and done as far as I could remember.

"Do you have any idea why Mr Henreid tried to kill you?"

I relayed the part where I beat him up when we went to pick up Alicia's belongings.

"He is Alicia's previous boyfriend."

"He was."

"Sorry?"

"You killed him."

I gasped. I had killed a human being. I tried to remember but my memory stopped at the picture of Justin swinging his weapon in my direction and trying to dodge the bullet. I couldn't even remember pulling the trigger but it made sense; how else could I have survived.

"Are Theresa and Dolores alright?"

"Unfortunately, Ms Theresa Chao was already dead when our men arrived at the site."

I closed my eyes. Poor Theresa. She hadn't done anything to deserve such an untimely death.

"I understand from Ms Blue and Ms Anderson that you were close friends. My condolences, Mr West."

"Thank you. Dolores is alright, though?"

"She is uninjured but is still suffering severely from the shock of the events and losing her partner."

"Where is she?"

"Next door. Your girlfriend is with her right now."

"What happens next?"

"I can't tell for sure but if the ballistic analysis shows that Ms Chao and you were indeed hit by bullets from Mr Henreid's revolver and the fingerprints and the comparison of all testimonies don't show any irregularities, this will most likely be registered as a case of self-defence. Maybe you have to show up in court to give a sworn statement but I don't think it will be needed. Mr Henreid was not an unknown and there are quite a few in my department that consider presenting you with a medal for solving our problem."

"I killed a human being. I don't feel like I deserve a medal."

"You did and I know this is not easy to deal with but maybe it helps if I tell you that you possibly saved dozens of lives of people who will now not get involved with drugs. He was one of the dirtiest drug dealers in the city, targeting young boys and girls, angry with their parents or teachers. But he was too smart to be caught, we were never able to prove his involvement. Believe me, his death is a blessing for the city."

"Thanks. Maybe it helps in the long run, but it certainly doesn't comfort me right now."

The officer pulled out a business card and handed it to me, "This is the contact information for Doc Dario. He works with many officers from the police department who have difficulties for various reasons. Please consider contacting him, he's really good. He will be able to help you."

At that moment Alicia barged into the room like a predator looking for her prey.

"Hi again, Beautiful," I said quickly, conveying calm and peacefulness with my voice.

"Thank you for your time and cooperation, Mr West. You have been very helpful. The entire CI Department wishes you all the best and a speedy recovery," he said, signalling to Alicia that he was no threat to me or her. "Ms Blue, look after him well. He did the entire city a big favour yesterday."

Alicia acknowledged his statement with a wary grunt.

"Alicia, be nice."

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, stretched, exhaled and opened her eyes again.

"I'm sorry, Detective. Thank you for your help," she held out her hand for him to shake, indicating that she might act nice but still wanted him gone. A desire she communicated further by taking his right elbow in her left hand and softly but insistently pushing him towards the door.

Detective Adams looked over his shoulder on his way out and grinned at me. Before he let Alicia get her will, he added a last remark.

"Mr West, don't mention the gun you used unless somebody asks. You'll want to avoid having to answer related questions."

As soon as we were alone Alicia showered me with praise and lauded my resilience and my unlimited will to save her from all evil. I let her babble for a while until she tried to slip her head under the blanket to give me a blowjob but I wasn't very keen on having a nurse walk in on that and stopped her. I was getting tired, most likely due to the painkiller in the infusion, but had one last thing to discuss with her.

"Alicia, I want you to go home tonight and get a full eight hours of sleep in our bed. Also, I don't see much sense in you sitting here next to my bed when I have nurses around that will take care of me. Therefore you'll stay at home, work on your tasks, study and relax. Treat it like a holiday."

"No, Master," she slapped a hand in front of her mouth to shut herself up. "Nick. I will stay here until you are well enough to come home with me."

"Alicia."

Again I saw her submissiveness fight her desire to stay close to me and again her submissiveness won.

"Yes, Nick."

"I'm fine here, the doc and the nurses will take good care of me. Don't worry."

She leant closer and whispered in my ear, "Master, can I ask you a favour for Dolores?"

"Of course. I'll do what I can to help her through everything."

"As you send me home, would it be ok if I took her with me? The hospital wants her out of here but she is so shaken and lost, I'm afraid she could do something rash if she was left alone."

"That's an excellent idea, Alicia. Take care of her."

"I'm not sure if I can be of much help, M... Nick, but I will try to look after her as good as I can."

"You're a gift from heaven, my beautiful Alicia. Now let me sleep. I will let you know when I'm allowed to return home."

+++

I remained in the hospital for two more nights and was released on Wednesday morning with clear instructions to keep my wound dry and my arm in a sling. I had also spoken to the psychiatrist the detective had recommended and had to admit it was helpful to speak to someone with a really independent mind about what had happened so I made an appointment to meet him on a bi-weekly basis for the time being.

I had stayed in touch with Alicia over the phone and knew that Dolores was still out of her depth and would need my help in arranging everything for the funeral. The funeral director was subtly pushing for answers as he couldn't keep Theresa's body in his cooling chamber for long so I knew I wouldn't be able to rest when I came home but needed to take charge of the necessary proceedings.

I paid the taxi driver, entered the house, took the elevator and walked to my entrance door. Awkwardly, I used my left hand to fish my keys out of my right front pocket and inserted them into the lock. Just as I was about to turn them, the door was opened from the other side.

"Welcome home, Master," Alicia greeted me after ensuring I was on my own and stepped aside to let me enter. I proceeded with the standard procedure of removing my shoes and giving Alicia a kiss, careful because of my injury, before walking along the short corridor into the living room. Just as I turned the corner after passing the guest bathroom, I stopped dead in my track.

In the middle of the living room stood Dolores, dressed in nothing but Alicia's sexy apron, holding a tray with a steaming cup of coffee, her head bowed, "Welcome home, Master."

"Oh, shit," was all I could say, thoughts racing through my mind. I should have expected this or at the very least something like this. Dolores had been a faithful and committed sub for Theresa and while we had never really discussed the reasons for and the background of their relationship it had been obvious that sex was, at most, part of it and the rest was pure bliss from Dolores being able to follow Theresa's commands and some motherly protective instinct towards Dolores from Theresa.

"What's that exactly going to be when it's at home?"

Dolores lifted her downcast eyes without raising her head although not looking at me but past my shoulder.

"Master," Alicia spoke from behind me, "she needs you. She's lost, she's in an even worse state than I was after I'd left Justin. I did it on my own accord but Mistress Chao was taken from her, brutally torn away, violently ripped out of her life and she was left behind, alone, vulnerable and frightened."

"Why me? Is there nobody else?"

"Because you're perfect, Master."

I leaned my butt on the dining table, closed my eyes and sighed. I rose my hand to pinch the bridge of my nose. Time. I needed to win some time.

"Wait here. Both of you."

I took the coffee from the tray and wandered into my office, closed the door and started pacing back and forth.

What were my options? I could say no. What would then happen? I would send Dolores back to the house where her Mistress had been murdered. And while I felt guiltless I had to admit that I had been some kind of agent in this whole affair. What would Dolores do? She would either set out to find a different Dom or she might hurt or even kill herself. That was an unacceptable risk so saying no was not an option.

That left 'yes' or 'yes but' as viable alternatives. I was not prepared to say 'yes' unconditionally so 'yes but' would be the way forward.

Yes but what? Yes, but I won't fuck you? Yes, but only until the funeral is over? Yes, but only until Alicia gets pregnant?

I came to some kind of unsatisfying conclusion and returned to the living room where, as usual, my strategy was torn apart by reality. They both hadn't moved away from where they had been when I left the room and were still looking at the door through which I had disappeared a few minutes ago. As soon as I turned the corner, Dolores dropped to her knees.

"Please, I beg you! Please save me and take me in as your sub. Please. I'll do anything you want, I'll clean the unflushed toilet with my tongue if you want me to but please don't turn me away. I wouldn't know what to do."

Tears were running down her face, her fine facial features contorted, fear and panic in her eyes. I looked up from her to Alicia and the moment our eyes connected she broke into a wide smile.

"Come here, my gorgeous blonde little sub," I said, spreading my arms or rather my unhampered arm.

Dolores lurched forward and threw herself at my feet, starting to kiss them.

"Stop that. Stand up."

She was in such a state of confusion that it took her a few moments to process the command and stop kissing my feet and standing in front of me. I embraced her carefully and pressed her head against the uninjured side of my chest.

"Alicia?"

"Yes, Master?" she replied, looking at me with unveiled love in her eyes.

"Tell and explain Dolores the base commands."

"You will not injure or harm yourself executing an order or a wish. This command is absolute and stands above every other order you'll ever receive."

"Yes, Mistress," the prompt confirmation came.

I realised that this command was insufficient, now that there were two subs in the household and therefore interrupted Alicia, "You will not injure or harm yourself or each other executing an order or a wish."

"Yes, Master," they replied in unison.

"Go ahead, Alicia."

"If you are unsure of something, don't understand something or need something Master hasn't thought of, you will ask for clarification or inform him about the need he hasn't met."

"Yes, Mistress," her voice became a bit unsteady.

"You will take care of your most basic needs on your own. Eating, drinking, using the toilet and showering are to be taken care of independently. You will not wait for an order from Master but you may ask for his permission."

"Yes, Mistress," I could hear how she tried to hold back the tears.

"You will never call him Master when we have visitors that are unfamiliar with our lifestyle or when we are outside of the apartment."

"Yes, Mistress."

"You will never simulate an orgasm or happiness or any emotion you are not feeling. He wants to know how you really feel."

Dolores took a second to reply to this rule but then agreed without reservation, "Yes, Mistress."

"I'm not your Mistress. I'm your fellow sub."

"Yes, Alicia."

"Master, may I add a few things I have learned about you?"

"Sure," I asked curiously. That could turn out to be fun or embarrassing but I would probably enjoy that as well.

"Master takes a lot of pleasure from your pleasure. He is proud of himself if he can make you cum. Don't fight it, enjoy it. Also, he prefers sensual, long lasting sex to rough quickies.

Master is uncomfortable using pain as punishment. Just be aware that his punishments are far worse and far more effective. I recommend to avoid them by all means except lying.

Master doesn't like to eat alone, Master doesn't like to sleep alone. I'm not sure yet whether in future one of us will be allowed to serve while the other keeps him company. Maybe we can trade places."

At this point I cut in, "Dolores, how did you handle this when you were alone with Theresa? Did you eat with her? Did you sleep in her bed?"

"I prepared and served dinner and ate with her but was always ready to replenish her glass or serve her in any way. And we always shared a bed at night."

"Ok. Enough for the moment. I have a to-do list in my head. I want to go to your old place and collect the mail and your clothes and anything you need. While you do this I will need to look around if I find information about a will. Do you know anything about one?"

"No, Master."

She looked almost as scared as Alicia had in the beginning when she had to reply with a no.

"Ok. Don't worry. I'm sure I'll find something. When we are done there, we will go and look for an additional bed. I want to sleep alone for a while until my wounds stop hurting."

Alicia was not at all happy hearing this but I thought I saw relief on Dolores' face which made me wonder if she was a pure lesbian and if so, what Alicia had thought when she made her my sub. She should know that I would not force myself on Dolores. Submissive or not, I would not rape her.

With the help of my two subs, I changed from the clothes I had been provided with at the hospital into a better fitting pair of jeans and a wide T-shirt. I didn't even bother to try and get my right arm through the sleeve but left it in the sling and pulled the T-shirt over it. When I was ready I sent them to dress, at first forgetting to provide sufficiently detailed instructions, and went to the office to prepare a few things.

They appeared next to each other standing in front of me a few minutes later. I took a moment to amuse myself about how different they looked on the outside. Dark-skinned, black-haired Alicia on one side and light-skinned, blonde-haired Dolores on the other.

"I should call you Ying and Yang," I grinned.

"However you wish, Master," was the simultaneous answer from them and they exchanged a smiling glance when they had finished.

"Girls, one more thing. This is important. I don't want any ugly scenes of jealousy. Absolutely none. If one of you feels ignored or mistreated you will tell me immediately. Not a week later, not a day later, not an hour later and not even a minute later but at the very second the feeling comes up."

"Yes, Master," they confirmed concurrently.

We were just about ready to go when the doorbell rang.

"Are you expecting anyone?" I superfluously asked my two girls.

"No, Master."

"Please, go and wait in the living room while I check who this is."

"No, Master, don't take any risks. Let me check."