by Maddie Wade
“No, because I don’t heal them completely, I just speed up the process and the medical profession puts a lot of it down to the children’s resilience.”
He nodded as if agreeing with her. They turned back to Drew.
“Continue,” Dane, stated coldly.
“You have to understand I didn’t know about any of this. I overheard a conversation between my father and his head of security, Michaels. They were talking about Claire. Father said that Michaels would have to deal with her. Now I know you are going to think I’m lying or just stupid, but I honestly didn’t realise he meant to kill her. But anyway, after hearing this I decided I wanted to know more about what was going on. I sneaked into his office when he was out and found a book of names all listed as Watchers, and believe me they are everywhere and from what I can determine, they are ruthless.
Inside the drawer with the book, was a picture of a man who had been hung, drawn, and quartered! It was then that I realised what they intended to do with Mrs. Thompson, but it was too late. It was a warning for those who did not follow the path correctly. I put the book back. I and was going to come back and copy it, but when I went back, it was gone. Anyway, our father was sending Michaels to retrieve you, but I persuaded him to send me. I wanted out and I wanted to find you.”
“How did you know it was too late for Claire?” Lauren asked.
“I hacked the police records and found out she had been murdered.”
She felt Dane tense beside her.
“It’s okay, he isn’t going to hurt me.” She said, more confidently than she was actually feeling.
“No, I’m not, I had no intention of letting him know where you are, but I wanted to warn you and meet you. Ever since I was a little boy, I wanted to find you. I’ve wanted to meet you. You all might think I’m stupid for not realising earlier or getting away sooner, but I really didn’t know.” Drew hung his head in defeat. She could be wrong, but she had a feeling he meant every word. “I promise you Lauren I had no idea he would kill her, I never would have stood back and let that happen.” He said this so quietly that she hardly heard him.
Standing, She walked around the table to Drew. She saw Dane stand as if ready to defend her. She bent down and hugged him. Drew tensed. Not used to physical demonstrations of affection, and then hugged her back as best he could with his arms zip-tied.
She could feel the shudders rack his body as he gave into long suppressed emotions. She squeezed him to let him know she heard and believed him. This man had obviously never been shown love or affection and it hurt her to know that he had been hurting.
~~~
Lauren turned to Dane. “Now, what?”
He looked at Drew. “If your father doesn’t trust you, why did he let you come on your own?”
“He doesn’t trust me,” Drew emphasised every word “and you’re right, I have to check in every twelve hours with Michaels.” Nate and Dane shared a look and then Dane turned to Lauren.
“Well, first-we’ll check out his story by doing some background checks on him, and asking around, and then if that checks out we will see.”
Before anyone had any chance to say anything else Lucy came rushing into the room, like a whirlwind. As ever, she was dressed in her black skinny jeans and black tank top with the 3-inch black leather knee high boots, which made men want to worship at her feet.
“We have a problem, bro; I need a word, please!” Following Lucy out into the hall, Dane tried to tamp down his frustration at the interruption. He knew Lucy would only interrupt if it were important.
“What’s going on?” He asked, impatiently.
“It’s Daniel, he was on the phone looking for you, and going on about Claire having an affair. He sounded drunk.”
“Shit!” He exclaimed, looking at his phone, “When is Zack gonna get over his obsession with having this room as some sort of cone of silence?” He brushed a hand down his face tiredly. He was anxious to get this interrogation with Drew over so that they could get some leads to follow, but knew he couldn’t leave Daniel like this. Shit. “I’ll go over there now. Can you find out where Paige is please, Luce?”
“Already done, Claire’s parents have her for the day.”
“Okay, call and see if they can have her for the night, I don’t want her seeing her daddy like that.”
“No problem. So who’s this guy?” Lucy asked, indicating the conference room.
“He’s the guy who’s been trying to get into Lauren’s flat. now he’s saying he’s her brother.”
“Well, I can definitely see the family resemblance,” she said, peering over his shoulder.
“Yes, well maybe, but until I’m satisfied he is who he says he is and isn’t a threat to her or anyone else, he will be treated as hostile.”
Lucy rolled her eyes at him.
“You’re not in the SAS now big brother, but you are the boss.” She said, holding up her hands as she saw him frown.
“Ha, you only humour me and I know it.” Dane smiled, feeling some of the tension go. He knew he had a tendency to take things a little too seriously. Lucky for him Lucy was always there to pull him back and kick his butt to keep him grounded.
Marching back into the room with a frown, he swore again. He still didn’t have the full story from this Drew Preedy and though Lauren seemed to trust him, he didn’t. He wasn’t sure he trusted the ignorant and innocent act, but for now they would bring him into the fold and get Nate to shadow him as a “friend”. Nate was good with people and he was great at ‘good cop’. God, he wished Zack would get his ass back here soon.
Returning to his place beside her, Dane said,
“Nate, can you show our guest to the den, he looks like he could do with a meal and some sleep, and make sure he checks in with Michaels as per the routine. I don’t want to tip our hand just yet.”
Seeing the unspoken ‘keep your eye on him,’ Nate nodded and herded Drew out the door towards the back of the warehouse. Dane stopped Drew as he was about to leave,
“Drew, do not let on to Michaels that you are here, or what has been discussed. If I find out you’re lying about any of this I’m gonna make you wish you had never set eyes on Lauren. Do I make myself clear?”
Drew nodded.
“Perfectly.”
He couldn’t see any attitude in his response, but time would tell. Catching her eye, he could see she was worried.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Dane reassured her.
“Don’t you think you were a little hard on him?” she asked.
“No, I don’t. Look, I know you want to believe him and so do I, but we don’t know anything about this lad and we have to be careful.” She nodded. “Listen, we have a situation. I’m not ready to let him out of my sight just yet and he did look like he could use the rest. It will also give Nate time to feel him out and see if he is what and who he says he is.”
Kneeling so that he was eye level with her, he took her hands in his and gave her a strange look.
“Was Claire having an affair?” he asked bluntly.
~~~
Lauren was speechless for a second. She snatched her hands back from Dane. How could anyone ask that? Claire had adored Daniel and would never have jeopardised what they had. How could anyone even think it?
“What the fuck, of course she wasn’t! She loved Daniel and would never have cheated on him.” Dane was so shocked to hear her curse that he couldn’t suppress the small smile that tugged at his mouth. “What’s so funny?” she demanded, looking at him angrily. “How can you ask that and then smile?”
“I’m sorry,” he said all serious now, “but Daniel’s been on the phone talking about Claire having an affair and he was drunk, which isn’t like him.” The anger left Lauren and was replaced by worry for Daniel.
“Well, let’s go see him then,” she said, striding to the door.
~~~
Dane followed, shaking his head. This woman was a complete contradiction. She made his head spin. He liked to
compartmentalise things and she just didn’t seem to fit any particular box. The thought both unsettled and excited him.
Chapter Ten
Arriving at Daniel’s house, they were shocked to find him slumped in a lounger on the back deck with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. Daniel hadn’t even heard them approach. The way he just looked up at him with such desolation in his eyes made Dane wince. He looked so grief-stricken and dejected. Dane crouched down to eye level with him. He noticed Lauren hung back while he talked to his oldest friend.
“What’s this all about Dan?” he asked softly, using his nickname for his friend. Daniel didn’t say anything, just thrust the piece of paper at him, and took another swig of the whiskey. Taking the paper Dane was surprised to see it was a picture of Claire with a man he didn’t know. It was recent by the looks of it, and seemed innocent enough. Claire was sitting in a canteen of sorts and the man who looked to be around 40-ish and of average height with thinning blonde hair and a pasty complexion, stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder. It was almost like a 1920’s family portrait.
“Where did you get this, Dan?”
“It came in the mail with a note.”
“What note?” he said more urgently now.
“This one.” He picked it up off the floor and thrust it at Dane.
Reading the note, Dane felt a coldness seep over him. He had a bad feeling about this.
She was mine, and you let them murder her! None of you loved her like I did and now you will all pay the price for neglecting her!
“Do you still have the envelope?”
“Yeah, it’s over there somewhere,” Daniel said, waving towards the kitchen.
“Okay. I need to take this and get it checked for prints,” he said it gently, realising how fragile his friend was right now.
“Fine, take it,” Daniel said, belligerently.
~~~
Just then, Lauren stepped forward from the shadows and hesitantly approached them.
“Daniel?” she said softly.
Daniel looked up at her angrily. She felt her heart start to race. She’d never seen him like this and she didn’t like it one bit.
“Did you know?” he asked, with an angry sneer. “Of course you did. She told you everything,” he said, answering his own question.
Before she had time to process that, Daniel had pushed by Dane and was storming towards her.
She froze and in that moment, all she could see was Jeff rushing at her with his fists raised. Dropping her head, she raised her hands in a defensive pose trying to ward off the blows she knew were coming.
“Lauren,” she heard Dane call her name urgently and looked up into his worried face. “Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asked, cupping her shoulder gently. She turned to see Daniel looking pale and shaken a few feet away. Daniel looked at her then.
“God, Lauren. I’m so sorry I scared you, I would never, ever hurt you. You’re like a sister to me,” he said, as small sob slipped out. “I was just so angry and upset and I reacted badly.”
Daniel was running his hands through his hair agitatedly. “I was only going to speak to you. Please say you forgive me?” Standing up straight, and angry at her reaction, but still slightly wobbly, she strengthened her resolve. Dane let her go, but stayed close to her, so that his arm was touching her shoulder. She pushed down her feelings. This was about Daniel, not her, and she didn’t want Daniel to feel worse than he already did. She took a deep breath and shook it off for now. She would deal with this later.
She could feel Dane looking at her and avoided his eyes and the questions she knew would be there. She walked over to Daniel and hugged him tightly.
“I know you wouldn’t, I overreacted, and I haven’t reacted like that in over a year. It must be the stress and tiredness of the day getting to me.” Dane joined them then and she felt his hand at her back.
“I don’t know what that was about, but don’t ever blame yourself for your reaction to others.” Dane said addressing Lauren.
~~~
He pulled her into his arms; he couldn’t resist holding her after seeing that reaction. He didn’t know what had caused it, but he vowed to find out! He turned to Daniel then.
“What the hell man? Why would you speak to her like that? She doesn’t know anything more than you do and if you sobered up, maybe you would see that.” Dane’s words were harsh, but his tone was gentle. He knew his friend was in a very bad place right now. He would never have gotten through losing his mum if it hadn’t been for Daniel’s friendship and he wasn’t gonna let him down now. But he also wasn’t gonna allow anyone to speak to her that way, not even Daniel. Daniel sat down on the lawn and just sobbed as if his heart was broken, which it was.
“I’m so sorry, Lauren, I didn’t mean it, I know you don’t know anything-I’m just so confused.”
~~~
Lauren crouched down beside him and rubbed his back as she would a child. This was hitting him hard. She had a feeling that Daniel hadn’t let himself grieve for Claire yet. He had been so focused on the funeral and looking after Paige, that he hadn’t given himself time. Letting his grief out was a good thing and would help start the long healing process.
“Listen Daniel, I’m fine, just a little tired that’s all. I understand, please don’t worry about me. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up, you could do with some food and then sleep.”
“Just sleep, I just want to sleep forever until this nightmare ends. Oh God Paige, my baby can’t see me like this.”
“Paige is fine-Sylvie and Malcolm are keeping her tonight, you just get some sleep and we’ll talk later.” Dane told him. Daniel just nodded like a zombie and just let them guide him into the house.
Between the two of them, they managed to get Daniel into bed, where he promptly passed out.
Shutting the door gently, they headed for the kitchen.
“Can I see the picture please, and the note?” Lauren asked to fill the silence. He didn’t want her to see the note, but as he hesitated, he saw her spine stiffen ready to argue.
“Yes, fine, but don’t touch it. I’m going to see if I can get some prints off it.
~~~
Dane went to retrieve the note and the picture from the lawn where he had dropped them when Daniel had flown at Lauren. He still couldn’t get her reaction out of his head. He had seen men who had been involved in horrific things in combat react like that, and it made his stomach twist to think that she had been involved in something that made her so upset.
He made a mental note to talk to her about it when things had calmed down. It went against everything he believed in to harm a woman and to think someone had harmed Lauren made his blood boil. She was getting under his skin in a big way. The feelings she evoked in him were things he hadn’t felt before, the need to protect her was overwhelming.
Thinking back to this morning when he’d let Drew get close enough to touch her, made him shake his head. He couldn’t believe he’d done that now, what had he been thinking? What if he had stabbed her? His belief in his abilities was fine on a mental level and it had been a solid plan, but now all of a sudden the thought of her broken and bleeding, froze him in his tracks.
How had things changed so much in a few short hours? He was going to have to sort this out in his head as soon as he got a spare minute. Second guessing himself was not Dane’s style.
Concentrating on the job at hand, he carefully picked up the note with tweezers he’d found in a drawer and turned to carry it inside. He quickly found a clear bag and dropped the note and the picture into it to try to preserve any evidence that might be on it, although he wouldn’t hold his breath.
Inside, he found Lauren waiting for him on a stool by the breakfast bar.
“I need to get this back to Fortis and see if we can get any prints off it. How about we all look at it together there?” She looked at him-trying to decide if he was just trying to put her off and he must have read her mind, because he said
, “Look honey, I’m not trying to put you off, I just think it would be good to get everyone’s thoughts on this.”
He seemed genuine, so she conceded, and him calling her honey only helped his case.
“Okay, you’re right, let’s go.”
~~~
The drive to Fortis was quiet and Lauren knew he was probably wondering about her reaction to Daniel this afternoon. She really wanted to see if things could work between them and to do that, she knew she would have to tell him everything that had happened with Jeff. It was just so humiliating, and she felt so stupid for allowing it to happen.
Her feelings for Dane were already stronger than those she had felt for Jeff and that scared her. Allowing someone to have so much control over how she felt was terrifying, but it wasn’t like she could stop anyway. And really, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her or treat her like Jeff had.
He was honourable and kind. She kicked herself for not seeing this before and wished she could turn back time. She recognised now that her feelings for him had already been strong then and instead of being brave, she had gone for boring and average Jeff, and look where that got her. No, she was going to be brave from now on and take a few risks. She would let this thing, whatever it was with her and Dane, play out and see what happened. She just wanted her life back; this was another step on the road to recovery.
Sitting back and looking at the surroundings as they drove, she was happy and felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. There was a certain freedom that came with being brave.
She turned and offered a small smile to Dane as they came to a stop outside Fortis. As they walked in, she slipped her hand into his large calloused one and he rewarded her with a heart-stopping smile. It was the first contact she had initiated and it felt good.
Dane punched in the security code to get to the tech room, he pushed through the doors as Lucy and Nate turned to see who it was.
“Hey, I thought you were gone for the day,” said Lucy. Her gaze dropped to their linked hands pointedly, causing Lauren to blush. Dane just ignored it. He was obviously used to his sister teasing him.