Page 68 of Unraveling Connections

“You were focused on Emmerson and Joe at the time.” Trick says, and then asks, “Have you let Rylie know that we’re on the way back like you said you would?”

I shake my head, “No, I completely forgot about that. I will do it now.”

“Let her know about Joe too,” Peter says from next to me.

I nod and send her a quick text, and her response makes me smile.

Rylie:Fuck. Alright, I'm ready for them. I will just have to add an extra blanket and more snacks and change the movie; what is a child-appropriate movie?

Me:I have no idea. You are awesome, have I told you that?

Rylie:Not today ; )

Thankfully, the coffee place isn’t that far away. For some reason, the fact that it is one I recognize is hugely comforting to me right now. Today has been a lot. So much has happened since I got up this morning. Well, I suppose it’s yesterday morning now? Trying to work that out is hurting my brain, so I move on quickly. I need sleep, and I'm sure everything will seem so much better after I have slept, but right now, I am running on empty, and it is making me feel a bit vulnerable.

None of us were prepared for what we found tonight, but I am really glad that we did find it and that we were able to stop any more of the people who were imprisoned in those boxes from dying.

I'm especially glad that we have found Joe and managed, against all odds, to unite him and Emmerson.

It is those things that I am going to focus on and hold in the forefront of my mind, not the bad, not the disturbing, and not the people that we were too late for. Mr R will make sure that their loved ones are aware and will also make sure that they are all given proper funerals. It is the least that we can do.

“We need to make sure that Mr R gets Emmerson and Joe counseling,” I suddenly announce as Trick hands coffees back to Pete and Me.

“Emmerson is already attending counseling,” Pete says, adding, “She seems to get on with it quite well, although I’m not sure if she’s been going recently.”

“Good, hopefully because if she goes, then maybe Joe will go as well.” I reply, taking a sip of my vanilla mocha and smiling happily, “Ah, I really needed that. How far away from headquarters are we?”

Atlas glances back at me, “Not far at all, maybe another thirty minutes or so. We could have waited until we got there to get coffee, but with the way things are spiraling at the moment, I think it is a good idea that we stopped now.”

I nod, “Yeah, although I really fucking hope that something else isn’t going to get thrown at us so soon, I need sleep before anything else happens.”

“Me too,” Trick mutters.

“I’m supposed to be going to the stake out the shipping yard today,” I mumble, as the thought suddenly occurs to me.

Trick shakes his head, “Not today; we all need to catch up on some sleep today. It wouldn’t be safe to ask you, Jensen, and Cash to go now; I will message Ezra and Quinn and let them know that we will leave first thing tomorrow morning.” He looks in the rearview mirror at me, “If you need more time, you can have it, and we can check it out next week instead, but we really need to check the place out when it is at its busiest, so on its peak days. So, we would need to go midweek.”

I nod, “Yeah, I get that. I will be honest with you if I need more rest, but honestly, I think a few hours of sleep and some food in me, and I will be good to go.”

“Okay, just make sure that you mention it if you feel tired or anything, I’m not sending you out if you’re sleep deprived even if it’s just surveillance.”

Peter chuckles from beside me, “Nothing is ever just surveillance.”

“No truer words have been spoken, my dear bestie,” I tell him with a smile.

He grins, “Uh oh, she’s getting to that stage of tired; she’s gone weirdly formal.”

“I have not,” I retort making the guys all burst out laughing.

Chapter Twenty-One

Ever

We make it through all of the security gates with no problem, thank god and when we park up outside, Rylie is the one that is waiting for us.

“You look like shit,” she says as soon as I step out of the car.

I burst out laughing at her bluntness, “Thanks, Rylie, I can always count on you to give it to me straight.”

---