Good going, Wyatt. Just great.
The worst part is the way she’d subconsciously thrown herself at me, trusting me to save her from it, as if she believed in me despite knowing she shouldn’t.
Idiot!
I’m so angry at myself right now. I’m pissed and taking my frustration out on a punching bag till my knuckles split and start bleeding. I keep going till the bag is slick with blood and I’m so exhausted and sweaty that I collapse to the floor in a heap.
Fear and revulsion of spiders and snakes is one thing, but Ellie’s reaction was extreme. What I saw three hours ago was something beyond natural fear, and if not for my anger at myself, I would have realized it sooner. I consider all the reasons for her hysteria and come to my feet in a rush, my screaming muscles and pain forgotten as I run for the stairs and hit the office minutes later.
“Yo, bro, what’s up?”
Jared answers this time and I wince. I could talk to Miah without the threat of getting my eardrums blasted. Jared is another animal entirely and already half smitten with Ellie from all the watching he’s done over the months.
He’ll likely go mental when I confess what I did and how my poor baby went so crazy.
“I need you to hack into Dr. Hanley’s files, bro.”
An indrawn breath and then curses reach my ears.
“That’s a violation, Wyatt, and you know it. I was down with watching her and you taking her off the streets because of all the other shit that was going on, but you know how I feel about going too far.”
Yeah, and yesterday I would have agreed wholeheartedly with him, but today…I can’t help her if I don’t know what’s going on.
“Jared…”
“Why? Tell me why you want her confidential files and maybe I’ll do it.”
Shit.
“She tried to run.” I sigh, closing my eyes at the memory.
After a night of excruciating torture touching my Ellie, I’d finally dropped off to sleep and had one of the best nights of rest I’d had in years.
I’d woken in the early hours and escaped to the downstairs gym to stop myself from going too far too fast, only to hear the alarm trip when my watch started beeping.
The guards had notified me of her direction and I’d followed closely behind, stalking her slowly but surely, watching her smile and almost yell her victory right before bouncing off that wall.
I’d felt amused at her daring nature and then just pissed that she hadn’t woken needy and looking for what only I could give her. Unreasonable, yes, but I never said I was a saint or a patient man.
Now I just feel like garbage and it’s driving me nuts.
“Where’s Miah?”
“Tell me what you did, asshole! Miah may take your shit and not ask questions because he’s the youngest, but I smell your stink from a mile away.”
Jesus, save me from this lunatic. I have to tell him now, whether I want the info or not, because knowing this psycho he’ll be on my doorstep and ready to beat me to death if I don’t.
“She ran and came up short at the wall, okay? I…I told her there was a snake behind her, expected her to freak and jump at me…”
Silence follows and I grit my teeth in frustration. I hate it when Jared does this silent shit because I know he’s just waiting for me to finish instead of jumping in and drawing his own conclusions like Miah usually does.
“She went nuts, Jared, like meltdown, total-terror nuts,” I finish.
My heart aches at just the memory of her face losing all color, and it’s all I can do not to start bawling like a girl. My fault, my fault.
“She okay?”
“No. I had to sedate her to get her to stop screaming. Christ, it broke my heart seeing that shit, Jared.”
He’s quiet, but I hear his teeth grinding on the other end of the line and I can well imagine that if Bolton were alive right now, he’d be the unluckiest son of a bitch on earth.
Miah is nuts, but Jared is a different kettle of fish altogether. He’s an eye-for-an-eye type, like us, but that much worse because he believes in multiplying shit as if intent earns that extra suffering.
“I’ll get it to you soon as I can. May take a few minutes to hack in undetected depending on what they’re running and if it’s in the system. If not, I’ll have to fly down to Philly to get the hard copy.”
“Thanks, bro.”
I can always count on my boys, no matter what. I have army buddies across the states and love those men like family, but no one will ever have my back like these two and I know it.
“You hurt her again in any way and you won’t be giving her those kids you keep talking about.”
“I hear ya, bro. Believe me, I hear ya,” I mutter, running my bloody hand through my hair.