“Go kneel between the two A/C units.” A poke in the back reminded him not to try anything.
It was smart to make him go in between the machines. They were huge and not likely to break down so his body wouldn’t be found for a while. “If you are going to kill me you better look me in the eye.” Sebastian was getting more pissed by the second and was shaking with the need to attack the other man. He had to have faith though that his unit would come before anything happened.
“That won’t be a problem,” The man was younger than Sebastian first thought, sweat was rolling down his face, he was clearly nervous. “I want to watch you die, maybe it will heal this hole you’ve left in my heart. You’ve taken everything from me and I need retribution or I’ll never have closure.”
“Sebastian still had no idea what he was talking about, “I’ve never hurt another person in my life, what is it you think I did?” A movement at the doorway caught Sebastian’s eye. A large chimpanzee had snuck in and was climbing the machines quietly. If there wasn’t a gun in his face he would laugh at the absurdity of seeing a monkey in the mall and knowing it was one of his best friends. He did feel a little relief knowing the cavalry arrived.
“Airmen First Class Justin Chappel.” The blood drained from Sebastian’s face, how was this nightmare still following him. “Yeah, I can see you recognize that name. After you murdered him my dad couldn’t cope with losing his son so he swallowed a bottle of pills and left me all alone. I had to leave my high school, live with an aunt I’d never really known and learn to live without my brother and father. You ruined my life and now I’m going to take yours.” He raised the gun higher, it shook violently.
“Wait, let me tell my side first, please.” The room had slowly been filling up, the giant lion and tiger were ready to pounce and his friends were standing behind them with guns drawn. He never wanted to relive those days again and now he was going to have to say it out loud in front of everyone.
“Your brother’s death was the reason I left active duty, I couldn’t get past what happened either, I’ve never forgiven myself for not being able to save him.” Tears were threatening to fall, Sebastian did not want to cry in front of everyone.
“Save him? You didn’t even try, I read the reports, the medicine was nearby and you didn’t go get it, you sat there for two days watching him die and did nothing to help him. The autopsy report showed where he was shot, I want to do the same thing to you then I’m going to leave you here to bleed out like he did. I want you thinking about him till your last dying breath.”
“That’s not how it happened, we were pinned down in a remote area. We had been under fire for days and were running low on supplies. I did everything I could to stop your brother’s bleeding but we had run out of blood products.” Sebastian knew the tears were pouring but he was in his head remembering those hours.
“Reinforcements were close by, all you had to do was get the supplies and you could have saved him. Instead, you were a coward and hid until he died.”
“No, you are wrong. We got the report that the supply trucks were a few miles away but the bridge had been taken out and they were stuck being shot at too. They weren’t allowing helicopters in either, it was too dangerous. Some of the unit volunteered to go, they were willing to risk their lives to get him what he needed but we were ordered to stay. Our commander weighed the risks and decided he wasn’t going to risk four lives to save one. I begged him to let me go on my own but I was denied. Those were the worst hours of my life, knowing what could potentially save him was close and we couldn’t get it.”
“You are so brainwashed that you decided to follow orders rather than save a man’s life. You are a coward, you should have given him your blood, you could have saved him.” Sebastian’s heart was breaking, the boy was sobbing.
“It doesn’t work like that, we have to give packed red blood cells and we didn’t have any. I couldn’t give him whole blood directly from me or anyone else. It would have killed him faster if he had antibodies that didn’t match. My blood alone wouldn’t have saved him as he had lost so much already. We had to hold out hope that the trucks would get to us before he died. His death is my biggest regret in life.”
“Liar! You just didn’t want to risk your own life for his.”
“That’s not true.” A voice behind the boy startled him, he screamed at the sight of the large cats. He backed up to one of the machines pointing the guns at them, the air rushed out of Sebastian’s lungs. Even if Aeslyn healed fast she couldn’t handle another gunshot so soon.
Gloria had her hands up and was walking towards the boy. “We were there, Sebastian isn’t lying, we all begged our commander to let us go. Every one of us offered up our lives. Following orders is what we are trained to do, Sebastian didn’t sleep or eat the entire time he was treating your brother. He never gave up on him and did everything he could to save him. Our commander thought the trucks would get free in time.”
“You are right, I should have defied orders, I should have gone and if shooting me would help I would let you take the pain from me too but I have two little boys, you’ve seen them. They would be just like you but alone at a much younger age. Please don’t take me from them, I’ll help you any way I can but let’s end this.”
The boy still had the gun pointed at the cats but staring conflictingly at Sebastian. He never saw the chimp who was standing on the machine above him, jump down and land on him. The gun slid from his hand, Connor locked his arms around the boy, he was too strong, the boy went slack and gave up fighting him.
Sebastian jumped to his knees and ran to Aeslyn, he paused unsure what do, he wanted to hug her, he didn’t know if he should pet her since she hadn’t shifted back?
The liger chortled before shifting then Aeslyn jumped into his arms. Words weren’t needed, she was kissing him trying to heal his pain and he was kissing her, relieved she was safe.
“Has someone called the cops yet?” Fernando had his phone out.
“Stop, no, he’s been through enough. Let’s take care of this on our own.” Sebastian shocked everyone, he was not going to be responsible for this boy’s life getting any worse. He didn’t care if it made him look like a bleeding heart, he was going to help him turn his life around, he owed him that much.
Epilogue
It had been three days since the kidnapping at the mall. The boy agreed to go with them to Sebastian’s house to talk if they didn’t call the police. After a lot of arguing and fighting it was agreed the boy would stay in Jackson’s spare room. Sandra’s brother owned a store in town and she was going to get him a job. Gloria offered to tutor him so he could get his G.E.D. Most of them had known his brother and bore some guilt over not being able to save him. They all agreed to take Tristan under their wing and unofficially make him their little brother.
He still wasn’t talking much, he hadn’t gotten over his brother’s death but talking with them about Justin and the good times they had was making it little easier each day.
To thank everyone for their help Sebastian had made dinner for everyone. Ash stood off from the group, still unwilling to be nice to Sebastian.
Sandra and Elliana walked around handing everyone glasses of champagne, their goofy smiles puzzling Aeslyn.
Sebastian stood at the end of the table and waited for everyone to quiet down. “The last few years have been difficult for me, all of you were there for me and supported me even in my darkest days. You never let me wallow in my pity or hide away but I did keep a part of myself shut off from everyone and I didn’t even realize it until I met Aeslyn.” He turned and looked directly at her. “When I look at you I see love when I hold you I feel peace when I taste you I feel satisfied.” Whistles and catcalls went up all around them. He got down on one knee, Aeslyn’s mouth went dry, tears welled in her eyes, “Fate has given me the perfect mate, and thank god I’m not allergic to cats,” Aeslyn laughed through the tears, “I realize marrying me means marrying the boys as well so I understand if you hes
itate.” He pulled a ring box out of his pocket and held it open to her, “I want to be with you till our last dying breath, I will devote myself to you, I will cherish every kiss you give me and promise to love the liger in you with every cell in my being, that is my oath to you.”
~Other Books by the Author~
Sassy Mates: In My Mate’s Sight
Sassy Mates: In My Mate’s Defense
Broken Dreams
Forever Yours, Casey
The Laird’s Promise
Loving the Monster Within
To Steal a Prince’s Heart
Wicked Wonderland Retreat
The Love’s Protector Series
Awakening Her Desires
The Evolution of Sam
Finding His Swing
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cassidy lives in the Tampa, Florida area with her high school sweetheart, their three children, two crazy dogs, a guinea pig and a skinny pig. She loves reading and going to the movies but not nearly as much as she enjoys watching her kids either playing ball or performing with one of their instruments. She also loves to travel and hopes to one day watch a baseball game in every MLB stadium in the country.
To learn more about Cassidy please visit her online at
www.cassidykoconnor.com.
You can also find her on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/cassidykoconnorauthor
She always welcomes new friends and encourages readers to reach out to her.
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