“Is there anything I can get you, Mrs. Seidler?” the nurse’s aide that came on duty at the shift change asked while checking Mason’s PICC line.

It still seemed odd at times for Julie to be called that. Mrs. Seidler. For fifteen years she’d been Mason’s wife but she’d been his slave even longer. Angel was who she was first and foremost. For seventeen years they’d been devoted to each other and now as Julie sat vigil in this dimly lit hospital room, she felt her world slipping away with each exhausted breath Mason took. Life as she knew it was changing and she was terrified to think of what was at the end of this road they’d travelled together.

Mason came into her life at a time when she needed what he offered the most. Comfort, safety, a place to come unglued, and a place to be picked up. Eighteen years her senior, he was her everything and although she’d been fully prepared to take care of him in his old age, she never expected him to be ripped from her by a relentless, unforgiving disease. She didn’t know what she was going to do without him.

“No, thank you,” Julie whispered. “I appreciate the offer, though.”

“There are two men waiting at the nurse’s station. They wanted me to ask if you were up to company right now,” the petite young woman asked, taking Mason’s vitals. “What would you like me to tell them?”

Dante and Blake. For a moment Julie’s mind went back to that day years ago when she’d been grateful she hadn’t followed her first instinct to yield to Dante and wondered now if it wouldn’t have been the easier path. In spite of his stricter way of running his household and relationship with Blake, at least if she’d chosen to pursue a poly-relationship with them, she wouldn’t be suffering this agonizing grief now. Would loss of self then have been easier than complete loss now?

“I’d like the company.” How could they even think she’d turn them away?

“I’ll let them know.”

“Thank you,” she answered weakly.

A few minutes later, Dante knelt on one side of her while Blake knelt on the other, both holding her as she continued to sit as close to Mason’s bed as she could get, her head laying on the edge of the mattress, her hand entwined with Mason’s cold, near lifeless one.

“Jules, love, you’re exhausted. Let one of us stay while the other takes you home to rest a while,” Dante told her, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back. “Please. You know Mason wouldn’t want you making yourself sick. And God forbid you should get so wound you go home and alphabetize his library to your liking.”

Julie couldn’t help the watery giggle that spilled from her. It had been years since she’d had to organize anything to deal with stress. Lately the urges were pulling at her like the moon pulled the tide.

“I’d mess them up on purpose if it would change things,” she said over a choked sob.

“I know, love. I know,” Dante soothed. “Please. Let me take you home. You need to eat, you need to sleep, and I hate to be the bearer of this sad news, but you need a shower.”

Another clipped giggle left her. Julie knew all those things were true.

“What if he leaves before I get back?” she forced out.

Blake tucked a strand of her graying hair behind her ear. “I’ll watch for you, pumpkin. And if he needs you, I’ll call. I swear it.”

“Okay,” she reluctantly agreed. She allowed Dante to help her to her feet and before she let him take her from Mason’s side, she leaned in and kissed Mason’s dry lips. “I love you, Master,” she said, her voice hitching.

She knew within reason it would be the last time he’d hear those words spill out of her.

“Tell me what you need, Julie.” Mason’s oldest son, Drake, squatted in front of her taking her hands in his. “Do you want them all gone? I’ll make them leave,” he said.

“No, not yet. They need this closure,” she answered, looking over his shoulder at the throng of people milling about her house.

Her house. No longer Mason’s. Hers. God, how she hated this.

It had been four days since Dante had taken her home. Only two hours into her fitful sleep Blake called them back to Mason’s side. By the time they arrived, Mason was gone.

“What about what you need?” Drake asked with concern.

He wasn’t the first one to question Julie’s needs or voice worry over her state of mind. For three days she’d been the straight backed, hold-it-together widow. Not a tear had been shed. Dante asked repeatedly if she was okay as had Blake.

“I only need one thing,” she said, swallowing an unwanted and unwarranted lump in her chest.

“I wish I knew what to do for you,” Drake said, tears welling up in his eyes. She knew her lack of visible misery was a source of concern for him because he was one of only three other people in the world that knew it was invisible misery that was most dangerous for Julie.

While all three of Mason’s children had come to know and love her, Drake was the only one that had come to truly understand her.

“I wish I knew, too,” she told him, smiling bravely at some cousin or other she’d never met until three days ago.

Funny how people went a lifetime without speaking or making their presence known until it was time to say good-bye and find out if they’d been left any of the goods. Such a notion set her jaw to aching from grinding her teeth so tightly. How dare these leeches come here in hopes Mason had left them a crumb when not a single one of them had bothered with as much as a phone call while he was sick?

Hours later when Drake had seen the last person that Julie didn’t recognize away, he sent his younger sister and brother with Dante and Blake’s twins to wait in the kitchen while he led Julie, Dante, and Blake to Mason’s den. Julie glanced at the chair that had stood in the corner since Mason moved it from her apartment to where it now was. Her heart lurched and twisted at the memory of him tying her to it and scaring the fear right out of her.

“Dad wanted me to read this part of his wishes with just the three of you. It involves his requests for Julie’s care,” Drake said, sitting in Mason’s leather, high backed chair behind his mahogany desk, another piece of furniture that held special significance for Julie. “I’ll make this as quick as possible.”

Dante helped Julie into one of the chairs across from Drake then took the other while Blake stood behind them. With trepidation, Julie watched as Drake pulled a letter from the folder that contained Mason’s last will and testament. His hands shaking, he turned the envelope and ran one finger under the seal, a sickening hiss of disengaging glue filling the space between them. After skimming the contents, Drake blinked twice, cleared his throat, and looked up.

“What is it?” Julie whispered, her heart pounding.

Drake cleared his throat again, took a staggered breath, and began to read.

“My dearest Angel. I’ve asked Drake to read this to you as I knew it would be a very hard thing for anyone to do. Dante and Blake are with you at my request as these instructions involve them as well. I’m so sorry I left you alone. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you, but karma and fate had a different plan and I was powerless to stop it. But I’m not powerless to play a part in your future. When you gave yourself to me, you willingly gave me the power to make your decisions for you, although I only did so in cases where what was best for you was against what you thought was right. It never happened often as I never wanted you to lose yourself or your voice. Angel, what I’m about to do will go against all your instincts, but make no mistake. This is one of the rare times I’m setting my foot down and doing what I know is best for you regardless what you might think.”

Drake stopped and wiped the sweat off his brow, glancing at the three of them.

“Dante, there is a small black box on the edge of my desk. Inside you’ll find the key that will open Julie’s collar. I ask that you un-collar her and set her free of me. She’s yours now. Please put a temporary sign of your ownership on her until she can accept what I’ve done and wear a permanent symbol, to be chosen by her new Master.”

Julie’s sharp intake of breath caused Drake to stop again and Dante to reach for her hand which she promptly jerked away.

“She can be difficult at times. You know that, but I have every confidence you’ll find your way with her and get her through this. Julie, do this. Don’t over think it. Don’t try to fight it. You’re to go home with Dante and Blake and find your way there. Do as Dante asks of you. He loves you and won’t harm you in any way, and I trust him to know what’s best for you right now. Don’t balk at this. Know that I will love you always. Your devoted Master, Mason.”

Dante looked as shocked as Julie felt at Drake’s declaration. She remembered the day Mason assured her she would always have a voice.

But Mason had done something she never fathomed possible. He’d taken her voice. And not just in this matter, but in all things. Julie knew Dante didn’t believe in a slave having a voice in his house.

“Son of a bitch,” Dante mumbled, running a hand over his head. “Tell me he didn’t?”

“Thanks,” Julie said, trying to control her anger. Her mind was running in circles. On the one hand she was glad Mason had thought far enough ahead to make sure she wasn’t alone and was taken care of until she could find her footing. On the other hand, she could hardly believe he’d left her to the one person she feared being attached to. She wasn’t sure if Mason’s judgment or Dante’s attitude pissed her off more. “You sound as happy as I am with this.”

“You misunderstand, Jules. He’s giving you back,” Dante snapped.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I gave you to him.”

“Again, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Eighteen years ago, the last time we…the last time we got Cassie out of Turner’s, he called me because you wouldn’t answer your phone,” Dante explained. “He said he knew I was in love with you and our situation was a tangled web. I told him I knew I couldn’t give you what you needed. I told him he could. I handed you over. Now he’s given you back.”

Julie was appalled. Dante talked about her like she was a commodity to be traded. Was that all she’d been to Mason? A business deal? And now he’d returned her like a defective product?

“You gave me to him? I wasn’t yours to give! I’ll try not to be too needy while in your care,” Julie spat as she rose from her chair. She walked to Mason’s desk, flipped the top of the small black box that sat on the corner up, and retrieved a small silver key. She reached around her throat and with a shuddering gasp, unlocked her collar. After the initial shock of the dull click sank in, she tore it from around her neck and threw it at Dante. “As soon as you’ve deemed me recovered enough, I’ll be sure to move on and not bother you further.”

“Jules, that’s not what I meant,” Dante said, standing and grabbing her arm.

“Let go of me,” she said with her teeth clenched. “Everyone out! Get out of here! Leave me alone. Now.”

Julie tore away from Dante and went to stand in front of the windows that overlooked the river. This had been her home. Mason’s home. Now it wasn’t anyone’s home as she was being forced to go live with Dante and Blake. And just where the hell did she fit in there? She put one arm across her chest and placed her hand over her mouth. She could see the shadows of the men behind her leaving the room reflecting back at her as she stared outside. Then the door shut with an almost inaudible thump.