Chapter 48
Mary’s whispered words stuck with me, creeping into my mind over and over, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she had given me some kind of hidden message.
“Eyes up,” John shouted.
We had started practicing my take-down skills that morning. He would charge, and I had to defend myself by taking him down. My fourteenth attempt finally worked.
John tucked his chin and ran at me, and this time, I put him on his back. He quickly jumped up from the mat.
“Well done, Ellie. That’s it then…the spin. You’re too delicate for other methods.”
I threw him back down, then with a grin, I offered to help him up.
“Don’t call me delicate,” I said.
Will had asked Ben to supervise us.
Ben gestured for my hands, unraveled one wrap, and tightened it.
“These must be quite snug to protect the joints. And John’s right, you know. You are delicate. There’s nothing wrong with that…you’re not supposed to be a fighter.”
His lectures were his affection. But still.
“That’s quite sexist, Ben. Any woman can fight if she trains for it. I need to defend myself. What if I’m attacked again?”
Ben rolled his eyes.
“Christ, you’ll never be without proper protection, and you know it.”
“Have either of you heard from Will today?”
I hadn’t heard a word from him. I knew only what Ben or Thomas told me. And it hurt like hell knowing Will cut me off again even after we agreed not to let it happen anymore.
Ben and John said “no” at the same time.
I rolled my eyes back at them.
“Where is Thomas this morning?” I asked.
“Looking at the monitors last time I saw him,” John said.
Ben narrowed his dark eyes in warning.
“Don’t put him into a difficult position, Ellie.”
“I want to talk to Will, that’s all. God, you act like I can reach through the phone and drag him back through it by his ear.”
“Can’t you?”
I squared my shoulders.
“I want him to come home.”
“Exactly, and he’ll say no, but then you’ll plead with him, and he’ll give in, because no doesn’t mean no when he’s saying it to you. Listen, if he comes back before he finishes what he set out to do, if you guilt him into it, he’ll get distracted, and you’ll be at greater risk…and one of you will die. So for fuck’s sake, let him do what he needs to do.”
He walked away with a smooth stride and his chin high.
I should have told Ben that I wanted to be an extension of Will’s strength, that I wanted to protect the man I loved. I should have shouted it at his fucking confident back.
Thomas understood me.
An unexpected wave of sadness rolled through me.
Isabel would have loved Thomas.
Isabel, my beautiful sister, the perfect liar.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a second to block out the fact that she had lied to me so perfectly about Lissie, about Ethan, about our father, and who knew what else, then I headed upstairs to the war room to find Thomas.
When I got there, Thomas had his back to the door while staring at the monitors and talking on his phone.
“You’ve tied my hands, so you fucking fix it.”
He paused, listening for a minute before going on.
“Good. We agree. Yeah, all right…but you call her today.”
I covered my gaping mouth and caught myself on the doorframe.
Thomas heard me and turned around.
“Wait in the other room for me, Ellie.”
I shook my head, crossing the room. Because I knew he was talking to Will.
“Give me the phone, Thomas. Let me talk to him.”
Will’s curses into Thomas’s ear were loud enough for me to hear.
Thomas handed me his phone.
The sound of Will’s voice crashed into me when I heard him say my name. I closed my eyes and exhaled heavily.
“Say something, baby. Let me hear your voice,” Will said.
“Please say you’re coming home.”
“I’m not quite finished but soon. I’ll be home soon, Elle.”
“If you can’t come home, then let me come to you.”
“You will stay at Eastridge.”
“No, I can’t. Not without you.”
“You can and you will. I’ll call you at night.”
But I needed someone out there with him. If not me, then?—
“Ben…send for him to come to you,” I blurted.
“No, I want him there with the team to protect you.”
“Will, please. I have your brothers and five other men.”
“Elle, listen carefully?—”
“—no, Will. I won’t listen. I need to know someone is with you, and you must give that to me. I’ll accept nothing less from you.”
He got quiet for a minute, thoughtful, while breathing into the phone. I ached to feel that warmth on my skin.
“You swore to me, Will. You said you would never shut me out again.”
“I know. I did. Promise me you’ll stay put until I get home.”
“Promise me you’ll come home.”
“I’ll always come back to you, baby.”
“And you’ll send for Ben right now and call me every night?”
He sighed, cursed my name, and I knew he was smiling.
“All right, baby, for you. Thomas will give you a burner, and I’ll ring you later.”
“Okay,” I breathed. “How is your shoulder?”
“My shoulder’s fine. I’ll be with you soon, Elle…home…in our bed. Wait for me.”
Then in his usual abrupt way, he hung up. And in my usual comforted way, I hugged the phone against my chest to my heart.
“Everything okay?” Thomas asked.
“For now. You heard?”
He nodded, holding out his hand for the phone.
“I did hear everything, yes.”
Neither of us knew Will’s location—he wouldn’t budge on that condition. Still, I wanted to be there when he talked to Ben, so I tugged on Thomas’s arm, and we went down to the gym.
Will would make Ben swear to be secretive about the details, but at least it would give me some peace knowing Ben would be out there with him, wherever he was.
When we found Ben, he was already ending the call. He gave me one of his rare smiles and slightly bowed of his head.
“Well done, Ellie. Well done.”
I leaped at him with a hug.
“Bring him back home to me, Ben.”
He quickly put me down and nodded.
“I know you’ll help take care of Chelsea for me.”
“I definitely will,” I said.
Thomas and Ben turned and walked away from me, heading for the weapons room with their heads together and their voices low. Thomas glanced over his shoulder and smiled before the door slid shut behind them.
Ben left within the hour.
I fell asleep early that night, staring at the burner phone.
My dreams had been pleasant as I snuggled Will’s pillow in our big bed while wrapped up in a blanket that still smelled like him. I dreamed about seeing him again.
But just after two a.m., the phone rang and woke me up. Not the burner, my own cell phone.
Jess’s image appeared on the screen. It was only nine p.m. in Stonington.
“Hey, Jess…are you still at Nick’s?” I asked.
She shouted into the phone. Conversations and music boomed in the background. Panic elevated the pitch of her words.
“Ellie, thank God…are you okay?”
“Yes, fine. You sound upset…what’s wrong?”
“Where are you? Wait, I’m going to step outside. Just hold on a minute…”
“No, you talk to me,” I demanded.
“Are you still in England?”
“Yes, I’m at Eastridge. What’s going on…why are you freaking?”
“Something isn’t right. I can’t explain what I mean, it just doesn’t feel right.”
“What do you mean, something’s not right? You’re starting to scare me. Find a way to explain, Jess.”
She shushed me.
“Listen. Detective Parker is sitting at the bar. He nevercomes here. He showed me your picture, asking if I knew where to find you. He’s definitely looking for you, but why? Josh said the police were no longer interested in you, so it doesn’t make sense for them to be questioning people again.”
“It makes no sense at all. Will spoke with Josh to confirm they had cleared me.”
“I went heavy on Parker’s drink, but damn it, he still won’t give up anything. Did they find something else, some new evidence? No, don’t answer that…I’m just thinking stupid shit out loud.”
She went quiet for a moment, and then lowered her voice to a whisper.
“There’s more, Ells.”
“What is it?”
“Wait…Parker’s leaving now.”
“Don’t hang up, Jess. Keep me on the phone.”
“Okay, he’s gone. So the guys from McFarland’s year-round crew were in earlier. They come in and drink all day when there’s no work. Anyway, they talked about Will. I asked why they had brought him up, you know, since he’s been gone, and how they even knew him. Ellie, they’ve seen him here in town.”
They’ve seen him.
Muscles through my body locked down. My heart sped. I knew…I fucking knew…Will had absolutely gone back to Stonington, and he risked more than I could accept—he risked his own life.
“Ells…is he here? Hello…Ells, you okay?”
I knew what I had to do.
“I’m coming there,” I blurted.
“You mean right now?”
“Yes, I’ll call you back after I get a flight out. Don’t tell anyone I’m coming or that you’ve talked to me…no one at all. Promise me.”
“But why would he be here without you? Girl, you tell me what the hell is?—”
“I need your help, Jess. Just promise me.”
The tone of her voice broke at first, but then she decided to bargain with me.
“Okay, I promise. But. You will call me back very soon, and you will explain everything…or I swear, I’ll break this promise and tell Josh.”
“Deal. Go straight home, and I’ll call you soon.”
I leaped out of the bed and ran to my dressing room, pulled on a hoodie and jeans, and began throwing things into a suitcase.