Lost Inside: Chapter 33
“I
don’t want to go.” Yuri winced and lowered his voice. “I want to stay here.”
Benny had tucked Yuri into his bed while he and Dav worked on finding Sheshtun.
He was holding his head, and he still looked sick. Benny hated making him get
up, but he couldn’t guarantee when he’d be back. Someone had to look after Yuri
while he recovered.
“Don’t
you want to see Cleara? The younglings?”
“They’re
too loud.” Dark shadows inside Yuri’s eyes were made darker by the purple
shadows under them. He’d been asked to endure so much. Benny tried to keep his
ears upright. Dav thought one of his contacts had a lead on Sheshtun’s
whereabouts. Bastard was hiding—big surprise. He’d never put himself at risk if
he could get others to do his dirty work.
Benny’s
phone range, and Yuri flinched. Benny growled as he yanked it out of his
pocket. “Yes?”
“We
need to head out. I have a bag of weapons ready. Stockins is double checking
his surveillance footage, but he’s pretty sure a Tiger matching Yuri’s father’s
description came through Lexer. My car has a full tank; I say we take it
instead of your gas guzzling truck.” Dav wasn’t going to let Benny go on his
own, even though Benny’d snapped at him, insisting taking down his mate’s
father was his problem. A single glare from Dav when Benny had tried arguing
had stopped him in his tracks.
Sometimes
he forgot his friend Dav was Davis Retic, the
Snake. When Dav asked him if he was putting his pride before his mate’s safety…
Benny had caved. He knew he didn’t have a leg to stand on.
“I’m
not ready yet. Yuri….” Benny trailed off. He didn’t want to say his mate was
being difficult—but he was. Benny ran a hand over the soft bristles of his
hair, wishing he could tug on it.
“What’s
wrong with Yuri?” I heard a tussle, then Ellis’ voice came over the phone.
“What’s
wrong with Yuri?” he repeated.
“I
just asked him that.” Benny heard Dav in the background. He sounded
exasperated.
“Well,
are you a medical professional? No. I am. Now shut it.” Benny listened in
silence.
“Benny?
I asked you a question.” Now Ellis sounded exasperated at him. Benny cleared
his throat. That was the last thing he wanted.
“Sorry.
He doesn’t want to leave the apartment. Says Cleara’s younglings are too loud.”
“Hmm.
His head probably hurts. He’s been through a lot. Being in your bed, with your
scent, will probably help him. I’ll call Dr. Pannar and beg off for a few
shifts. I’m sure he’ll understand. He’ll probably want to see Yuri, though, as
well as the other doctors.”
Bile
rose up to burn Benny’s throat and his breath caught in his chest in a painful
lock. “No! No. He doesn’t go out.
Yuri has to be safe, and guarded, at all times!”
Ellis
lowered his voice to a soothing tone. “Oka, Benny, calm down. I understand, and
I actually agree with you. Would it be okay for them to bring some portable
equipment here? We’ll check it all, and I’ll only let the doctors you know in.
No one new, and the guards will be there, the whole time.”
Benny
tried to calm his breathing, which came out in pants after his outburst. Maybe
it was better for Yuri not to leave.
“Okay.
He stays here, with you, and at least two guards outside, and another two
inside if anyone but you comes in.” No one, and he meant no one, was ever going to hurt his mate again.
***
“Come
on, buttercup, I don’t have all night.”
Yuri
had fallen asleep just before Ellis came over. Benny sat next to him on the
bed, holding his hand and stroking Yuri’s soft hair away from his face. He
flipped Dav off but didn’t get up.
“He’ll
be fine,” Ellis assured him. “Go. Do what you have to do.” A dark look crossed
over his face. Ellis had once done what he had to do, at the same time he
learned he had fangs and venom—though he’d been born a full human.
Killing
Sheshtun wasn’t the hardship. Benny didn’t think of it as anything but an act
of long-deserved recompense for the evil Sheshtun wrought on those he should’ve
protected. For his sons, his clan, and the future of all the Tigers… the
bastard deserved to die.
“Make
sure he gets a bacon cheeseburger for lunch, with fries. He likes those.” Kissing
Yuri’s sweaty forehead one last time, Benny pulled his hand away and stood up. He
let out a deep breath.
“I’m
ready to go.”
He
followed Dav out to his car and got in the passenger seat silently. The click
of their belts was loud in the silence.
“We
have confirmation on his location, and my informant is watching the house to
ensure he doesn’t lose Sheshtun. Guns and knives are in the bag.” Dav gestured
with his head toward the back seat of the car as he smoothly merged into
traffic on the freeway.
“What’s
our plan?”
“That
depends. Are you going to do this the smart way or the guns blazing take no
prisoners’ way?” Dav raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.
His
question was one Benny had been bouncing around in his brain since he found out
Dav had a lead. “Don’t know if I’m capable of a smart way.” Then again… if the
result was Sheshtun’s bloody head in a sack, along with the dead bodies of his
co-conspirators, Benny would be happy.
“Hear
me out.”
Benny
sighed. “We have a few hours.” He was exhausted, but he had so much adrenaline
in his system, Benny knew sleeping was out of the question. “Okay. Tell me.”
TBC
Now go check out the Briefer's website or follow this list of links to find lots more great flash pieces by my fellow Briefers:
I'm worried about Benny being so exhausted, and being okay when they meet up with Yuri's father. It's good to have a formidable friend like Dav. I really liked how feisty Ellis was here.
ReplyDelete