Forsaken (The Protectors 4)

“He’s a friend, Dom!” Eli said quickly.

Dom released his hold on me just a little bit as his eyes drifted to Eli’s face. “He hurt you,” Dom muttered.

Eli shook his head emphatically. “I’m upset because I said something to him I shouldn’t have.”

“And that bruise?” Dom said as he finally released me and stepped back. Eli kept his body between us.

“Some guy tried to mug me last week. Mav” – Eli motioned over his shoulder at me – “stopped him.”

Dom was clearly still suspicious, but he gave me the slightest nod and took several more steps back, presumably to give me and Eli a bit of privacy to finish our conversation. But since we were already finished, I pushed past Eli, ignoring the way he whispered my name, and left the apartment. My insides burned as I hurried to my rental car.

I don’t want you.

My throat felt tight as I climbed behind the wheel. I tried to draw in several deep breaths so I could get myself under control, but my anger won out and I slammed my hands down on the steering wheel. The fact that I was this out of it was proof enough that I was in too deep and as I pulled the car away from the curb, I fished out my cell and hit the speed dial. I only drove around the corner so my car would be more hidden, but had enough of a view that I could still see Eli’s apartment.

“What’s up, Mav?” I heard Ronan say when he answered my call.

“I need you to have someone look into something for me,” I said.

Ronan was quiet for a moment before saying, “Okay.”

“Subject’s name is Eli Galvez,” I said even though my mind rebelled at using that word to describe Eli.

“Is this the kid who visits Matty?”

“Yeah,” I said. I gave Ronan a rundown of the attack on Eli and that he’d admitted the man was his own stepfather. To Ronan’s credit, he remained silent, but I didn’t take that for lack of interest on his part. “He said the guy doesn’t have a history of abuse – that it was a one-time thing.”

“You don’t believe him?” Ronan asked.

“Can you get someone over here to sit on his place?” I asked, ignoring Ronan’s question.

“You’re there now?”

I nodded and then said, “Yeah.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Ronan finally said. “You good there for a bit?”

No.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll call you back in a few.”

I nodded. “Ronan.”

“Yeah?” Ronan asked softly and I didn’t miss the curiosity and concern in his voice.

“Can you talk to Memphis about putting me on a case?”

Ronan was quiet for a moment before saying, “Seattle no longer appealing to you?”

“You know me,” was all I said. Within seconds of hanging up on Ronan, I saw Eli’s door open, but instead of Dom leaving the apartment, it was actually Eli himself who was trotting down the stairs. It had been less than five minutes since I’d left.

I kept my distance as I followed Eli’s car and I was surprised to find that he was driving much more aggressively than he normally did. I felt my heart drop out of my chest when I finally realized where he was going.

My hotel.

I pulled the rental car to a stop along the curb across from the hotel and shook my head in disbelief. Having Eli search me out was the last thing I’d expected. I waited several minutes to see what would happen when Eli realized I wasn’t in my room, but instead of seeing his little sedan sputtering out of the parking garage, there was nothing and after fifteen minutes, my concern started to ramp up and I got out of the car and hurried into the hotel. It took just minutes to get to my room, but I was on edge the entire time as I worried that I might have missed something. What if Eli had been intercepted between my room and his car? What if his stepfather had confronted him again?

But all my panic dissipated when I saw Eli sitting on the floor in front of my hotel room door. His head was hung and he was resting his arms on his bent knees. The position reminded me of the day I’d found him in the stairwell. When he looked up at my approach, I saw a mixture of relief and concern go through him and he scrambled to his feet. I came to a stop within a couple feet of him, but I couldn’t find my voice.

“I…I thought you might have left town,” Eli murmured.

“What are you doing here?” I finally asked as I searched out the room key.

“I wanted to tell you how sorry I was-”

“You did that,” I cut in and then moved past him to open the door.

Eli shifted back and forth on his feet. “I didn’t mean what I said.”