Fractured Lies (MAC Security 1)

“Corey?” Charlie asked.

“Can you take some kind of unofficial statement?” Ty interrupted.

“Yeah,” he drawled “But now might not be a good time?”

Ty stared at me, his eyes doing that thing that they did, assessing the situation.

“Why don’t you rest for a couple of days and then we can talk?” he directed at me.

I nodded slightly, the more time I had to think things through, the better.

“I don’t-”

“Corey?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah.” Ty ran his hand down his face.

“Well, what’s he got to do with this?” Ty looked out of the windows, his jaw clenched.

“Kay’s his little sister”

Charlie’s eyes widened, his body slumping down in the chair as he looked from me to Ty.

“Are you two-”

“No.” Ty growled.

“Cuz you know he wouldn’t-”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“Well just-”

“I said” Ty stood “I got it”

He tilted his head to the door and said “A word”

He didn’t move until Charlie was by the door, which I was grateful for.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” he said and leaned down planting a soft kiss on my head “Then you need to get some food down you then go to bed and rest.”

“Okay.” I nodded and watched him leave.

*~*~*

The following couple of days went by quickly, I wasn’t apart from Eli for long and each night I fell asleep beside him. I couldn’t bear to be apart from him, I had to know that he was safe.

Ty had given us each a guest room but I hadn’t stayed in mine yet. Every time I would close my eyes I would see Max standing there with a knife which meant I didn’t sleep much so I watched Eli sleep instead. The evil look on Max’s face was burned into my brain, nothing I did would ever make that go away.

We’d made it to Thursday night before Eli asked to go back to preschool. I hated the thought of not being able to see him, to make sure he was safe. Just thinking of him not being behind the compound gates gave me chills.

But when he asked me with those sad green eyes I couldn’t say no, he had this way of wrapping me round his little finger.

We’d settled into a routine over the last couple of days. But now, as I sat watching Eli eat his breakfast, I couldn’t help but notice how relaxed he was in this environment. He was only ever like this around me, at preschool or when we were at Miss Maggie’s.

Never around a man.

But with Luke and Ty he’d been his animated self and I knew that he would be the same around Evan, but he hadn’t been around since I freaked out on him.