Page 62 of Unraveling Connections

“Me too,” Pete whispers back.

Still holding each other's hands in a tight grip, we step closer to the crate again, angling ourselves so that we have got a good view of the inside.

“On the count of three, we lift,” Trick says.

“Did you check it for trip wires? Just in case I missed something?” I ask, before Trick can start counting.

Trick glances over at me and nods, “Yeah, we did. We didn’t see anything to be concerned about.”

I want to ask him if he saw the eyes but before I can he is back to counting, when it hits three, my heart launches itself into my throat and Pete’s grip on my hand becomes painful. I'm not about to tell him that he has to let go though, because I think he is the only thing that is keeping me mildly sane right now; he saw the eyes too, so I know they are in there. Something like this wouldn’t usually freak me out as much as it has, but it is so unexpected that it has thrown me.

Chapter Nineteen

Ever

The guys quickly move the lid off, and I stare in shock, I definitely saw eyes.

“Fuck,” I curse as I let go of Pete’s hand and rush toward the box, “it’s okay, sweetheart, we’re going to get you some help; I’m so sorry if I scared you.”

The little boy, no older than ten, stares up at me with fear in his eyes as he shakes; he is dirty, beaten, and has clearly been in the box for a while, if the smell is any indication. His mouth is taped, and his hands and feet are chained to the bottom of the box, which renders him almost entirely unable to move.

The sound of footsteps approach but I don’t take my eyes off the little boy, instead I talk, hoping that my words help to bring him a tiny modicum of comfort and that he begins to trust me.

“I’m Ever, I’m a secret agent,” I say, “but don’t tell anyone that I told you that.” He doesn’t acknowledge me, so I ask, “Can I take the tape off your mouth?”

He stares at me, and I wonder if maybe he speaks a different language or is so traumatized that he can’t respond, but he slowly nods.

I smile softly, “I'm going to take it off as gently as I can; if you want me to stop at any point, you blink twice or make a noise if you can, okay? And I will stop immediately. We can wait and get some special stuff that will work it off more gently. The reason why I offered to take it off now is because I hated having tape over my mouth and I needed it off immediately.”

His eyes widen slightly as he realizes I may know just a little bit about what it is like to be in his position, but he just nods again.

I slowly and carefully pull back the tape that's covering his mouth. It’s evident that he has had enough pain in his short lifetime, and I refuse to cause him anymore. As I pull it off, he doesn’t even flinch, and when I finally get it removed completely, he licks his dry lips but doesn't speak.

I decide to carry on talking, hoping that I can put him at ease, “That was amazing; you did a really good job; I know fully grown men that haven't handled that as well as you did. So, what can I tell you about me? Oh, I know, I help people like you, we all do,” I gesture to the guys around me who are staying really still, the boy starts to shake again, and I say with a smile that I’m hoping is reassuring, “it’s okay they won’t hurt you. I know that they look big and scary, but they are big softies, really. You see that guy there,” I say, an idea coming to me and pointing at Jensen, who smiles, “he is so clumsy that he trips over air regularly; I’m surprised that he hasn’t fallen over yet.”

Jensen pretends to look indignant but keeps smiling as he says, “Hey, that is just rude. I don’t trip over that reg . . .” Jensensuddenly disappears from sight as he pretends to fall over, and the boy laughs slightly as he pops back up and pretends to look embarrassed.

“Ever,” Trick says as he hands me some giant bolt cutters. The boy's eyes widen with fear, and I have to reign in my anger, so it doesn’t show on my face; if he sees any anger on my face now, he is going to perceive it as anger at him, and I really don’t want that. “These are so we can cut the chains that are trapping your hands and feet. I promise that they won’t hurt you. We just want to get you out of here and somewhere safe.”

Cash steps forward, “Look, we’ll show you, okay.” The boy looks intrigued, and I am curious as Cash puts handcuffs on himself and holds his hands out to me. “There you go, Ever, cut the cuffs.”

I grin and position the bolt cutters so that I can cut the cuffs, gently snipping through all of the parts even when Cash is free to show that I can and that it didn’t cause him any pain at all. As soon as I'm done, I glance back at the boy, and his eyes are full of so much hope.

“Please?” he whispers, his voice broken and hoarse. My heart breaks for the little boy and the innocence that he is lost, and I have to push it away, so I don’t fall to pieces in front of him. He doesn’t need that right now.

I smile as I lean over the edge of the crate and position the bolt cutters carefully, he stays completely still as I make the cuts.

“There you go, sweetheart, all done,” I say gently and watch as he rubs his wrists, which are rubbed raw, oozing, and most likely infected. “Do you need some help getting out?”

He shakes his head as he tries to stand and then immediately falls back down again, his legs too weak to hold him up. He looks up at me somehow looking embarrassed as he nods his head.

I smile gently as I reach for him. “That’s okay; I had to be picked up when they got me, too.”

I was fighting when the guys found me, but that is beside the point; he needs to know that it is okay, and that needing help is nothing to be embarrassed about.

He is tiny due to malnourishment, so it is really not that difficult for me to lift him out. A blanket is handed to me, and I immediately wrap it around him as I put him on a pile of blankets that are on the floor. If he didn’t like me picking him up, he is definitely not going to like me holding him. At least, that is what I assume, but when I move to let go of him, he holds onto me tightly, so instead, I sit down next to him and hold up my arm, giving him a choice. He cuddles into my side with only a slight hesitation, and I wrap my arms around him tightly.

There is a flurry of activity going on around us as the agents are back with crowbars and start to pry open the crates.

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