Chapter 11 #2
“Webb.” Tyler’s voice is hard. “I don’t think that’s necessary. Mel is stressed enough already.”
“Let me finish,” Webb retorts. “I think Melissa would rather hear the truth.”
I squeeze Tyler’s hand. “I would.”
Webb gives me a reassuring smile. “I’m telling you this because I want you to know I trust you. I’m not worried about you living at B and A, and I’m not worried about you spending time with Noelle.”
Indy slows the car as he turns down an unmarked driveway. We travel a short distance before stopping at a tall, metal gate with an intimidating-looking fence attached to it. Instead of opening his window to reach the keypad outside it, he turns in his seat to look at me.
“It was a group decision,” he says. “All five of us, and the women. We all agreed, unanimously.” He pauses. “Do you think we should be worried about you?”
“No,” I blurt. “No. Never. I would never do anything to hurt— I learned my lesson. If I notice my symptoms flaring up, I know what to do. I’ll call my counselor.
I’ll warn Tyler. And I’ll use the strategies my counselor gave me.
Meditation, walks with Oscar…” Tears press behind my eyes.
“I promise. I would leave before I did anything. I swear.”
“Mel.” Tyler flashes an irritated look at his friend. “Indy doesn’t think you’d do anything. He’s just trying to make a point.”
“Tyler’s right,” Indy says. “And I’m sorry. That’s not how I intended it. I just mean, we’re not worried about you. And if you say you’re okay, we believe you.”
“I’m not okay,” I admit, ducking my head. “I’m scared.”
Indy touches my knee with his prosthetic hand.
“We’ve all made mistakes, Melissa. After my injury, I did some shit I’m not proud of.
I bailed on my family when they needed me.
I was an asshole to the people who tried to help me.
I’m not proud of those things. But accepting them makes me more determined not to let them happen again. ”
Tyler lifts his chin at Indy before turning to me. “I screwed up, too. Does that mean I should be judged for it forever?”
“But you didn’t shoot someone,” I mutter as the familiar guilt presses down on me. “What I did was so much worse.”
“You were suffering from PTSD,” Tyler says. “You were hurting. Confused. Scared.” He slides his arm around me and hugs me to his side. “You were sick, Mel. You didn’t know to ask for help. Now you do. If you feel like you’re struggling, you have us.” His gaze holds mine. “You have me.”
My heart tugs. A lump swells in my throat. “Thank you.” As the heavy gate swings open and Indy drives through it, I add, “I’m sorry for being such a baby about this.”
Webb snorts. Oscar wakes from his doze and looks around with interest. Realizing we’ve slowed even further, Oscar sits up to peer out the window. His ears perk. His tail wiggles against my leg.
“A baby?” Webb asks, shaking his head. “You’re far from a baby, Melissa. How you’ve held up with all of this? It’s damn impressive.”
As we continue down the driveway towards—presumably—the main building, Tyler kisses my cheek. “You’re very brave,” he tells me quietly. “One of the bravest people I’ve met. And that’s saying a lot.”
“Tyler.”
He kisses me again, this time lightly on the lips. “I mean it. You are.” Then he nudges me and says, “There it is. The Shadow Team HQ.”
I lean forward, peering out the windshield at the building ahead of us. “It’s huge!”
Though Tyler showed me photos on his phone, it was impossible to fully appreciate the size of the place in them. In the pictures, the Shadow Team headquarters looked large. But in person, it looks enormous.
“Eight thousand square feet,” Webb remarks. “And that’s not counting the three other residences on the property. With them included, it’s probably closer to twelve.”
Despite its impressive size, the house somehow seems to fit perfectly into the nature surrounding it.
Flowering trees and shrubs are planted around the exterior of the house.
Large windows allow a panoramic view of the forest just beyond the yard and the bright blue sky stretching above it.
Off to the side, there’s a smaller building I assume must be the garage, in the same muted beige stucco as the walls of the house.
“The garage fits fourteen cars,” Tyler says. “We each have our own, plus a company SUV. There’s an underground passage from the garage to the house. I’ll show it to you.”
“An underground passage?” I ask.
Tyler hesitates. “In case we need an alternate escape. Or we need to get into the house without being seen.” He gives me a little squeeze. “We’ve never needed to use it here. With all the other precautions we have, no one’s getting onto the property unless we invite them.”
“There were a couple of… incidents at the New York branch,” Webb explains. “And the underground passage at their HQ really helped. So we all have one, just in case. But it’s also nice for days when the weather is bad and you don’t want to walk outside.”
“I’ll take you on a tour,” Tyler says. “In addition to the offices and the apartments, we’ve got some common areas—a shared kitchen, living room, and dining room we use for events—plus a gym, game room, theater, and bowling alley in the basement.”
“And a shooting range,” Indy adds. “If you’d like—”
“No.” I haven’t touched a gun since the night I shot Gage, and I have no intention of doing it again. “I’d rather not.”
“We try to do some sort of game night once a month,” Tyler says. “Bowling, cornhole on the back deck, board games…”
“Extreme Jenga?” I ask.
“Extreme Jenga,” he affirms. “In fact, now that I’m thinking about it, we should have a game night soon. Since we still have a couple of weeks until the next out-of-town job.”
“That would be nice,” I reply. Seeing how nice this place is, and hearing everyone’s reassurances, I’m feeling less anxious than I was five minutes ago.
Tyler smiles at me. “It would be nice.” The car stops in front of the garage, and Tyler winks at me before adding, “Here we are. Home, sweet home.”
My stomach lurches.
My heart leaps to my throat.
Yes, I know Tyler and his friends said it was fine. That I’m welcome here. That they trust me.
But still. I’m scared.
Once the engine shuts off, Tyler gives my thigh a quick squeeze. “I’ll come around to get you.”
I could get out by myself. But right now, I don’t want to. So I wait for him to come around to my side of the car, taking a few seconds to steel myself for whatever comes next.
Tyler opens the door, and Oscar bounds out first. After being cooped up for hours, Oscar is beside himself with excitement to be outside again.
Tyler grabs Oscar’s leash before I get the chance to, then holds his hand out to me.
With an encouraging smile, Tyler says, “It’s going to be okay, Mel. I promise.”
“I’ll grab your bags,” Webb offers as he rounds the car to the trunk. “I can bring them over to Tyler’s.”
But Webb doesn’t even get one bag unloaded before the front door to the house bursts open. A woman with beautiful auburn hair comes hurrying out, a wide smile stretched across her face. The instant Webb sees her, he sets the bag on the ground and jogs across the lawn to meet her.
She flings herself at him, and his arms automatically come around her. Then he kisses her hard. “That’s Noelle,” Tyler says unnecessarily. Webb showed me pictures of her, and it’s not like there’d be some other red-headed fiancée running out to greet him.
But I don’t say that. I just say, “She’s even prettier in person.”
“I suppose,” he replies. Then his eyes meet mine. “Not nearly as pretty as you, though.”
My heart melts into a puddle on the grass. “Ty.”
“Bea!” Indy brightens as soon as he spots a slender blonde in the doorway.
She beams and rushes down the porch steps to greet him.
Indy swings Bea into his arms and spins her around before kissing her.
It’s so romantic, my heart aches with it.
But it’s not an unpleasant pain, like it used to be whenever I’d see a couple in love.
It’s a sweet sort of hurt. And I’m not jealous, but happy for them.
Tyler grasps my hand firmly and leads me towards the front door. “I’ll get your luggage later,” he says. “Come meet everyone.”
We walk past the two embracing couples and into the house. As we enter into a large living space with two-story windows and a giant fireplace on one wall, a voice calls out, “Melissa! You made it!”
Another couple emerges from the hallway adjacent, both of them smiling at me.
The man is tall and dark, with an intense gaze and stern features.
But his smile is warm. When he looks at the woman beside him, his expression softens.
Across his chest is a baby sling with just the top of a dark-haired head poking out.
A different pain pokes at me, but I steadfastly ignore it. No, I tell myself. You knew Rafe and Eden had a baby recently. You’ll just have to get past it.
The curly-haired brunette, who I’m assuming is Eden, rushes across the room towards me. “It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she continues. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
I can’t help feeling uneasy at the way she says it. I know she doesn’t mean it in an ominous way. It’s just how my mind works. But I work up a smile that I hope looks real and say, “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
Eden exchanges a quick glance with Tyler before adding, “All good things, of course. Tyler’s been talking about how great you are, and how smart—”
“Eden,” Tyler interrupts. His cheeks are slightly pink. He glances at the baby and asks, “How’s Amanda doing?”
“Oh!” Eden beams. “She’s amazing!”
Rafe joins Eden’s side. He extends his hand to me and says, “Hi, Melissa. I’m Rafe. Glad you could make it.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I reply as I take his hand. “Thanks for having me.”
Unhappy at being left out, Oscar butts Rafe’s leg with his snout. Then he thunks back on his haunches and lifts his paw for a shake. Rafe looks down at Oscar and laughs, then shakes his paw. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”