And then Brennan had been there and he’d taken over. I’d been afraid to go to the hospital even though I’d known that was what had to happen. I was sure they’d call my fathers, but Brennan had assured me they wouldn’t since I was over eighteen. I’d been given some painkillers so I’d actually fallen asleep in the curtained-off cubicle we’d been waiting in for my discharge orders to be completed. Brennan had shaken me awake a couple of hours later and he’d started to drive us home, but I’d been too scared to go back to the apartment so we’d gone to my fathers’ place to talk, since they’d left for Disneyworld a couple of days earlier.
I’d told Brennan the whole humiliating story and he’d insisted we call my fathers or at least my Uncle Cade who hadn’t gone on the trip. I’d staunchly refused and my shame and fear had been so profound that I’d begged Brennan until the tears had been streaming down my face. He’d finally relented and as he’d held me in his arms, he’d whispered that he was going to take care of me. He hadn’t told me where we were going right away and luckily my fathers kept a supply of my medication on hand, so we hadn’t had to risk going back to the apartment. I’d still been groggy from the pain pills and had fallen asleep within a few minutes of getting on the Interstate and hadn’t woken until the GPS on Brennan’s phone had started giving him directions. It was then that he’d explained who we were going to see and the role Memphis had played in saving his life nearly two months earlier.
I’d been horrified when my fathers had told me about Brennan’s shooting and how close he’d come to losing his life. The truth about what had happened to Eli had been just as hard to hear and while both of my fathers had been devastated, it was Dom who was going through the greatest torment since he’d been the one to introduce Eli’s abuser to Eli’s mom. I’d gone to see Eli myself last week before everything had gone to hell with Ray showing up. Eli and I hadn’t really talked about the abuse, but I’d gotten to meet Mav, the man who’d saved Eli in more ways than one and I had no doubt my big brother was as happy in his new relationship as my fathers and all the other men and women in my family were in theirs.
I went to the bathroom and got cleaned up and then pulled on my jeans. I managed to find a new toothbrush in one of the drawers next to the sink and hoped Memphis didn’t mind me breaking it open. Once I was feeling fairly human again, I left the room and was pleased to see Tink following me.
Memphis’s house was gorgeous with lots of neutral, warm colors, earthy textures and comfortable-looking furniture. It had definitely been built with comfort in mind, but it didn’t take away from the raw beauty of the surrounding land because many of the windows went all the way from the floor to the ceiling. While my guest bedroom had been on the main floor, there appeared to be a second floor that looked more like a loft. I made my way through the kitchen and found the door that led to the balcony. The deck ran the length of the back of the house and had a breathtaking view of the lake as well as Mt. Hood off in the distance. I spotted Memphis and the other man he’d called Phoenix sitting in a couple of oversized patio chairs in one corner of the balcony. They were both looking at a laptop, but Memphis closed it when Phoenix noticed me and said something to him.
Both men got up and met me halfway.
“How are you feeling?” Memphis asked.
“Better,” I said.
“Good,” Memphis nodded, his eyes staying on me until I shifted them to Phoenix. That seemed to snap him out of whatever reverie he’d been in because he said, “Tristan, this is Phoenix. Phoenix, this is Tristan Barretti.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, holding out my right hand before I remembered my broken finger. I extended my left hand instead and smiled when Phoenix carefully shook it. I couldn’t exactly say I blamed him for acting like he was worried he might inadvertently hurt me because he was a really big guy. There were several intricate tattoos on his dark skin including both biceps. His shirt fit snugly across his bulging muscles and his hair was cropped short. He had a neatly-trimmed beard and a wide, kind smile.
“Phoenix is going to be shadowing you,” Memphis said. “Like we talked about yesterday.”
I nodded. As tired as I’d been, I’d listened intently as Memphis had outlined his plan to have someone watching me 24/7 until Memphis found the men who’d hurt me. I hadn’t asked what he planned to do to them because a part of me didn’t want to know.