Chapter 3
Jace
“Where is he?”
“Inside,” I said as I took in Mav’s harried expression. I wasn’t at all surprised to see him, since I’d expected as soon as Memphis told him where Caleb was that Mav would want to come and see for himself that he was okay.
I’d gotten Memphis’s text a few minutes earlier that they were nearby, so I’d gone outside to wait for them.
And not just because I didn’t want to wake Caleb up.
Restless energy thrummed through my veins as I watched Memphis and Mav tense up at roughly the same time as they realized I wasn’t going to invite them inside the cabin. Mav took a step forward, but Memphis put his hand out to stop him.
I was almost disappointed because I was itching for a fight.
Anything to get rid of the rage that was making my blood run cold.
Caleb was hurting himself.
On purpose.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around it, despite having seen the proof on his arm. Despite having felt the weight of the box cutter in my hand .
I didn’t know the young man who’d lain calmly beneath me last night and had told me he was too far gone already… that he wasn’t worth saving anymore.
Well, fuck that shit.
After I’d climbed off Caleb, he’d turned over on his side again.
I’d sat on the edge of the bed for a long time as I’d tried to figure out how I’d managed to fuck all this up so badly, but when there hadn’t been any answers to find, I’d laid back down next to him and put my arm around him.
He hadn’t melted against me like he had the previous night in the motel.
There’d been no tears of despair on my skin to prove he hadn’t meant what he’d said about being beyond my or anyone’s reach, and no whispered fears or pleas to take his pain away.
There’d been absolutely nothing.
Just like there’d been nothing in his beautiful eyes when he’d declared himself shattered beyond repair.
Nineteen fucking years old and acting like his life was over.
No.
Fucking.
Way.
Not on my watch.
I shifted my eyes to Mav. He looked like complete and utter shit and remembering why he looked like that helped tamp down some of my anger.
“How’s Eli?” I asked.
“How do you think he is?” Mav asked, his own anger getting the better of him.
Though I doubted it was all directed at me.
“Twelve people watched and listened as he was forced to recount every single thing he had to do to survive as a kid and decided that somehow that meant he deserved to be repeatedly raped by a man twice his age who he also happened to call ‘Dad.’”
Memphis put his hand on Mav’s arm to calm him and Mav sucked in a deep breath. “He’s coming apart,” he murmured. “He’s with his fathers until I can get back.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. And I was. I’d met Eli several times and he was a really good guy. He’d made a good life for himself, despite all his suffering, and he’d taken Caleb in when Caleb hadn’t had anyone left.
“Eli needs to know his brother is safe,” Memphis suggested.
“He’s safe,” I said.
“I don’t have time for this shit,” Mav snapped, then he stepped forward. He stopped abruptly when I threw the box cutter at his feet.
“He’s safe,” I growled. “But he’s not okay. Far from it.”
Mav stared at the box cutter in confusion.
“He’s using that to cut his own fucking skin so he can escape all the shit inside him that he can’t deal with,” I bit out. Mav swallowed hard and then looked at Memphis before returning his attention to me. He began shaking his head, but I cut him off before he could speak.
“Believe it,” I snapped. “I saw the scars myself. You were supposed to be taking care of him!”
Mav’s expression hardened and this time when he came at me, Memphis had to step in front of him and force him back. “And where the fuck were you, Jace?” Mav yelled. “Not even one fucking phone call to see how he was doing?”
“You know why I couldn’t do that,” I retorted as the guilt cascaded through me.
“Yeah, I know why,” Mav ground out. I knew he wasn’t talking about Caleb’s attachment to me as having been the issue that had kept me away.
He hadn’t said the words, but he knew the real reason I’d stayed away.
And it wasn’t just because of the bullshit I’d spouted to Caleb the night before about wanting to protect him. I’d been protecting myself too.
I forced a deep breath of air into my lungs and then looked at Memphis and said, “Who’s the guy?”
Mav had calmed enough that he wasn’t trying to get past Memphis anymore.
“His name is Richard Jennings. He’s the headmaster at the prep school Caleb was attending. He doesn’t have a record… not even a parking ticket,” Memphis said. “He led a perfectly boring, quiet life until yesterday afternoon. ”
“I doubt that,” I bit out. “Caleb wasn’t gunning for him because he assigned too much homework,” I said snidely. I paused and asked, “Did the cops track Caleb back to Seattle yet?”
“That’s the funny thing,” Memphis murmured. “Caleb’s name never came up in the investigation.”
“What?” I asked, completely taken aback.
“Daisy got her hands on the initial police reports. Jennings says he didn’t recognize the kid who tried to mug him.”
“That’s impossible,” I said. “I heard the guy say Caleb’s name. Why wouldn’t he tell the cops—” I stopped suddenly as my mind put two and two together.
“He said the guy wouldn’t tell the cops who he was,” I murmured, more to myself than anything else. I looked up at Memphis and Mav, expecting to find them watching me with confusion, but their eyes weren’t on me.
I followed their gazes to see Caleb standing on the porch of the cabin. He was leaning against one of the half-rotted posts, his arms wrapped around his slim body. I turned and went to him. Pain slashed through my belly when he took a step back from me as I reached for him.
“Go back inside,” I said. “It’s too cold out here.”
Caleb’s eyes shifted to Mav. “Eli?” he asked.
“Hanging in there,” Mav said. “He’s worried about you.”
Caleb was quiet for a moment before saying, “Did Jace’s name come up in the investigation?”
“No,” Memphis said before I could tell Caleb it didn’t matter. “There’s no video footage of the incident. The one security camera with a view of the front of the Jennings’ house wasn’t working.”
Caleb looked at me. “So Jace can go back to the way things were, right?”
Irritation went through me as he threw my words back in my face. I didn’t miss the fact that he didn’t say anything about himself going back to the way things had been.
Caleb held my gaze for several long seconds, but unlike in the past, I couldn’t tell any of what he was thinking.
He finally tore his eyes from mine to look at Mav.
“Tell Eli I’m sorry. For everything. But I’m not coming back with you.
” He let his gaze slide back to mine. “I’m not going with anyone,” he said, his voice low.
I was about to protest when a flash of red on Caleb’s shirt caught my eye.
“Down!” I screamed as I lunged at Caleb, knocking him backwards.
I had no hope of cushioning his fall as my heavier body landed on his.
The soft popping sounds over my head had me wrapping myself tighter around Caleb as he gasped for air beneath me.
A split second later, gunfire erupted all around us.
I rolled with Caleb so we were somewhat blocked by the porch railing.
“Caleb, are you hit?” I asked as I began running my hands over his body. “Are you hit?” I practically shouted in his face.
He coughed and gasped, then began shaking his head. Since I knew I’d probably knocked the wind out of him, I didn’t wait for him to confirm that he was okay with words. Instead, I grabbed my gun from where it was tucked in my waistband and turned to survey the scene.
Memphis and Mav had taken cover behind their car.
They were shooting in opposite directions, so I quickly scanned our surroundings.
I could still hear the distinctive popping sounds, a sure sign our attackers were using suppressors on their guns.
There was no way to tell how many shooters there were, but I guessed there were at least five based on the volume of shots being fired.
I forced myself to focus on the woods around us and finally zeroed in on what I was looking for.
I raised my gun, slowly blew out my breath and pulled the trigger.
The man who’d been about to take a shot at Memphis and Mav crumpled soundlessly to the ground.
“Get inside!” I yelled at Caleb, but just as he started to crawl for the front door, I heard glass breaking and I grabbed his leg to drag him back to me.
I covered his body with mine and closed my eyes at the same time that I covered my head as best as I could.
A second later, there was a deafening bang followed by a bright flash of light.
A flash grenade.
I fought through the haze of pain and confusion as my ears rang.
“Jace, go!” I heard Memphis yell. “Get him out of here!”
I grabbed Caleb by the shirt and hauled him to his feet.
The flash grenade had done its job and completely disoriented him, so I leaned into his body so that I could get him over my shoulder.
Despite all the weight he’d lost, he wasn’t a small man and I staggered beneath his bulk as I rushed down the stairs.
I managed to scan our surroundings as Mav and Memphis covered me.
I was able to take out another shooter just as I reached my car.
I’d had the sense to turn the car around the night before so that it was facing the path leading to the road, rather than the cabin itself.
And luckily, Memphis and Mav had parked next to me instead of blocking me in.