Page 25 of Four Times Saved

I was looking between the two of them, bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

Ethan hissed. "I almost killed Marco, okay? And I don't regret a damn thing." He stalked away from us and I stared at his back in amazement. Did I blame him? No. Was I shocked to my core? Yes. I even quivered a little.

"So what happened when you showed up at the old man's house?" Tyler ignored our shock and shifted the conversation without a beat.

After we filled him in on how we lost our shit, he grinned. Of course he did. There we were fretting over breaking and entering and Ethan almost killed someone. What we did was child's play.

"Alright, well, since I'm the most level-headed one here...never thought I'd say that a day in my life...why don't you guys stay out here and I'll go get your snake? I have a better chance anyway, he doesn't know me from Adam," Tyler offered.

Tyler

Okay, I was having fun. I'd been trying not to. Hung up my shoes a long time ago, remember? But it had been so long since I'd landed my fist into someone's jaw and reveled in the bones cracking, that I couldn't help the injection of thrill in my veins. Watching Ethan black out was like stepping inside his body for a moment and living vicariously through him. Oh, I'd been fighting it, focusing on this as a mission of love, not a mission of fun. This was the last place anyone should be having fun, but I was, damn it.

Can a tiger truly ever change its stripes?

I loved my life with my wife. Being good and sensible satisfied me. Watching adoration for me bloom in her eyes set my heart and body ablaze. But I couldn't help wondering whether she'd rip my clothes off just as fervently if she saw the pure satisfaction that rushed through my veins at the sight of a crumpled up Marco on the floor.

If she knew that I still craved that violence, would she still love me? There must be some part of her that was okay with it. After all, she was the one who asked me to get involved in this way. We could've financed a search for Lily, she could've advocated for Lily's case with the police, turned to the media and worked with the Women's Shelter to use their resources to locate Marco. I couldn't help wondering whether she asked me to use my special talents out of desperation, or because my wife wasn't as good or as innocent as she thought she was. That deep down, she wanted Marco to be punished in the most brutal way. And her own past had left her so traumatized and angry, that she hungered for revenge.

I let my thoughts run away with me, and they got me hot in a sick and twisted way. My depraved desires were less likely the reason she asked me. People suggest desperate things during desperate times. In fact, if I were a good human, I could've talked her down, persuaded her to take another route. I jumped right in with both feet because I missed this life. These guys were supposed to help keep me on the straight and narrow. But it was like walking with my own gang again, if my gang were in over their heads.

"Hello," I flashed a smile at the receptionist. It was intended to dazzle and distract her. It didn't. She looked at me with a blankness in her eyes. Hm. Must be gay or drained, because my charm always works.

"Is Terry Thornbread in today? I spoke to him about a purchase..." I stated, already spotting the shipping containers and knowing how good they are for hiding people. I've used them myself, back in the day. Pfft. 'Back in the day.' I'm only in my thirties. "He told me to come and speak with him today?"

"We can refer you to a sales executive or the purchasing department..." she suggested, already picking up the phone to make the call.

"He's not a sales executive?" I asked, interrupting her.

"No." She chuckled. "He's a crane operator."

"Ah." I chuckled along with her. Interesting, so he had direct access to the loading and unloading of shipping containers. That knowledge alone was suspicious enough. "Still, if you don't mind. Since I already spoke to him and he told me to come in today, I'd prefer to see him. I don't have long..." I checked my very expensive watch and looked out the door behind me.

She nodded. "Okay, if you're sure. If you don't mind waiting a minute, I'll see if I can get a hold of him. Is there a name I should give to him?"

"No. I didn't give him a name yesterday," I smiled. "He'll know who I am when he sees me."

Playing it cool, I headed toward the gray couch in the waiting area and pulled out my phone to 'look busy'. I was glad to see a text from my wife.

'Any news? I'm losing my mind here.' She wrote.

'It wasn't Marco. But I'm about to meet with Lily's deadbeat dad.' I texted back.

'Oh dear. It wasn't him? Please tell me you found that out before you did something drastic!' My wife responded and I was washed with beads of sweat. She's the one person who can make me sweat, and I gulped. I'd gotten my answer. When I didn't respond right away, she texted again.

'Please, Ty. Tell me I didn't say anything that caused you to do something to him.' She continued.

It had been reaffirmed that the darkness in me must remain locked away so that I wouldn't lose her. I was just not sure I was ready to suppress it again so soon.

'He's alive, baby. If that's what you're asking. Don't let yourself think of what I may or may not do to extract information. Just know that I'm doing what you asked me to do.' I sent. Oof. Was that too much?

'That's the problem. I shouldn't have asked you. This is nerve-wracking. What if you had killed him before you found out? That would've been my fault.' She panicked.

'No. It wouldn't have been. Forget about it.' I didn't know how to console her.

'Come home, Ty. We'll figure out another way to help Lily.' Her message read.

"Somebody here to see me?" A scraggly, wiry man with crazy eyes and crazy gray hair, thin lips, and a smashed-in mouth stood before me.

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