Page 43 of Beautiful Prey

“Sure, sure,” he said.

Finally, he left me alone once we got to the second level security point. “I better get the bastard ready for you,” he said. “I’ll be sure to make it unpleasant for him, don’t worry.” He winked at me and left before I could protest.

Anxiously, I paced the security room, waiting, watching the monitors and cursing under my breath as the idiot pulled Emery out of his room and hit him with his baton for no reason, while the other men took time to chain Emery’s arms and legs. When he came back to get me, he had a huge grin on his face. “All ready for you, Doc.”

As we got to the meeting room, I worried Ethan was going to follow me in.

“Therapy is private,” I told him, blocking the doorway.

“You're right, sorry.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “I just don’t think you should be so close to that guy, you know?”

My heart hammered, horrified and ready to hear him make some slip about me to Emery. For Emery to hear.

“I’ve been seeing him for a while,” I said in a low voice. “I feel fine and perfectly safe.”

Ethan’s gaze flicked past me. The amusement in his eyes was gone, his body going rigid. His hand quickly slipped off me. “Alright. Suit yourself.” He turned away. “But I’ll be close.”

I wondered about his sudden change in attitude when I glanced back into the room and saw Emery’s head turned towardus with a look that could kill. But his burning gaze wasn’t directed toward me.

“Who's the new sack of meat?” he asked when I took my usual seat opposite him.

“Just a guard taking John’s shift.”

“You know him,” he said.

“Yeah, he’s someone I knew from high school. It’s nothing.”

Emery straightened. “But he wasn’t a friend, was he?”

I laughed. “And what makes you think that?”

“You're irritated.”

I huffed. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s not talk about it.”

Emery watched me, his sharp eyes intense. “I can probably get a good chunk out of his leg if he gets close enough,” he said casually. “Maybe break a kneecap if he pulls me up the wrong way again.”

“No!” I snapped. Then I covered my eyes and laughed softly. “No, please. Just forget about him.”

Emery sighed as if I were no fun. “Alright. Fine.”

I tried to collect myself. Ethan was a problem. If he said anything to Dr. Langley or Hannah…

“What’s wrong?” Emery asked, sounding concerned.

He needed to know; it was now or never. “Emery, I just…you’ve been doing really well.”

He tilted his head. “I’ve been trying for you. You know that, don’t you?”

I smiled sadly. “I do. But, Emery, the therapy…it only does so much. The journal writing, the meditation, the eating and sleeping habits, confronting your fears, it all helps in small ways. But…”

Emery leaned forward slowly. “But?”

I pursed my lips. Why did I feel so awful telling him? “If you truly want to heal…to recover from your past, to make thenightmares disappear, to make the smiling woman go away…Emery, the medication…”

“Why…why can’t the therapy be enough?”

I shook my head. “It just isn’t, sweetheart, I’m sorry.” I was trying to talk to the terrified child in him, to make him understand.

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