Page 74 of Dark Gambit: The Play

"Perhaps we can deliver a message to my father with one of them." She winced. "I just hope he doesn't squash it before it delivers the message."

"We can send a message to Jade as well," Eleanor said. "I wish those bugs could carry earpieces, but then they would be too big. Just imagine what Jade could do if she was free of Igor's compulsion."

"We can drop earpieces with a small drone," Leon said. "The problem is the distance. We will have to deploy a larger drone with the small one piggybacking on it, have it glide over the compound with the engine off, and drop the small one to free-fall somewhere that is not heavily patrolled."

"The human quarters," Sofia said. "We have a large grassy area with a playground for the children, and the Kra-ell hardly ever visit it. You can drop the small drone there, but first, let my father know that it's coming with one of those spider communicators so he will know to look for it."

"Will he cooperate with Jade?" Eleanor asked.

"That might be a problem." Sofia let out a breath. "My father works in the laundry, and he has no reason to seek Jade out or vice versa." She tapped her lips. "But my aunts work as maids in the Kra-ell quarters, so they can slip her a note while they clean her room."

"We've gotten sidetracked," Leon said. "Our first concern is gathering intel, and since the only way to get to the compound and its immediate area is through tunnels that are guarded twenty-four-seven, our best option is to capture the guards securing the first one instead of waiting for a hunting party to come out. We can easily disable the cameras on the dirt road or circumvent the road altogether." He flipped one of the printouts around. "We need you to draw the layout of the compound and mark all the areas according to function and security level, and by that, I mean the frequency of patrols."

She nodded. "Can I get a ruler? I'll try to draw it to scale as best as I can."

From not seeing any options to free the compound, they suddenly had several, and one of them was helping those who opposed Igor's rule to rebel against him. Sofia still didn't know how they were going to accomplish that, but if they kept working on it, they might figure out a good plan.

"I'll get a ruler from my office." Emmett rose to his feet. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

Eleanor got up as well. "I'll make coffee while we wait."

"I'm excited," Sofia said. "It seems like we are starting to develop a plan, but I'm not sure for what. Are we going to start a rebellion?"

"That's one option," Leon said. "After we are done, I'll share what we discussed with Turner. The guy is a strategic genius, and he should be able to put this new information and the ideas we came up with to good use."

57

ERIC

"Is it okay?" Max threaded the tongue through the buckle on the cuff around Eric's left wrist. "Or is it too snug?"

"It's fine." Eric tugged on the chain. "But I think you went overboard with those titanium chains. I'm not a gorilla." He moved his hips to adjust the blanket covering his privates.

"I got them from Brundar. I guess that's what he uses himself."

Eric chuckled. "I didn't know that Callie was that strong."

Max cut him an amused glance. "They are not for Callie."

"Brundar doesn't strike me as the submissive type. Come to think of it, neither does Callie, but I don't know much about that lifestyle and its rules of engagement."

"Neither do I." Max took hold of Eric's right wrist and pulled the leather cuff over his hand. "Maybe they take turns being tied down. It takes a lot of trust to be at the mercy of another person like that." He lifted his eyes to Eric's. "I appreciate it that you trust me to do this."

"I trust Darlene with my life. You are just the help."

Max snorted out a laugh. "Thanks a lot. Now I really feel special."

"You are, and I'm grateful." Eric let out a breath. "I use humor and sarcasm to alleviate the stress." He glanced at the closed bathroom door. "If I'm nervous, I can imagine how hard it is for Darlene. All I have to do is lie here like a slab of meat while she has to do all the work."

Darlene was hiding in the bathroom.

She was still uncomfortable about having Max bite her, and although she refused to admit it, Eric suspected that she was also scared.

Her standard answer was that if all the immortal females who had immortal partners enjoyed it, it couldn't be too bad.

Except, those females were doing it with males they loved, and that made a difference.

Max tightened the strap, threaded the tongue through the buckle, and put Eric's arm down on the mattress. "It's going to be alright. After I'm done, I'll put on soft, romantic music, light up the candles, dim the lights, and leave. You can forget that I was even here."