Page 27 of Protectors

Chapter Fourteen

Geek

AFTER ALANA’S SESSIONwith Debbie, I helped her into bed and held her as she silently cried until sleep overtook her. Debbie told Ghost and me that when Alana’s done with a session, she’ll more than likely need to be alone and want to sleep. She goes over a lot when they talk and Debbie doesn’t let her hide away from the situation she’s in. Our girl has to face feelings she doesn’t necessarily want to and begin to process what Terrence has done to her and how it’s impacted her life on every level. Neither one of us has a problem holding her in our arms as she sleeps. We wake her up only when she has a nightmare and let her talk if she needs to or remain silent when that’s what needs to happen. Ghost and I learned really quick that we can’t push Alana for answers or anything else because it will only make her pull away from us and build her walls up higher. We’ll always knock them down and won’t let Alana hide from us, but we don’t want to hurt her unnecessarily by forcing her to talk about things she’s not ready to. That’s up to Debbie to do.

Ghost and I talked about the situation when we went down to eat breakfast before leaving for work this morning and decided that we won’t push her to talk and will be there in any way Alana needs us to be. If she needs us to sit in the bedroom with her and do absolutely nothing or say nothing, that’s what we’ll do. When she’s ready to leave the compound, we’ll take her out and do whatever she wants to do. If it’s to go out by the lake and just sit back and watch the waves crash against the shore, that’s what we’ll do. We’ll go to dinner, watch a new movie, or spend hours watching her take pictures. There isn’t anything we won’t do for our girl and I hope she realizes that. That’s why I’m laying in bed with her right now as she sleeps and tries to get the rest she needs.

I knew she was gonna have a hard time during her session when I saw what was on her laptop. She was editing pictures that she took and got to some that Jameson and Reagan wanted with her in them. The evidence of her abuse is still very visible on her face and I know she hates it. She won’t want to send her family pictures with bruising and cuts showing and I know there wasn’t time to cover the wounds better before getting in front of the camera. Alana doesn’t want to remember what happened to her and she doesn’t want her family to have the reminder of her attack either. Still, I know she’ll send the pictures once she’s worked her magic because it’s what her brother and sister want. That’s why I’m not going to say anything about the pictures we did when we were in Cedar Bay. Yes, I want them, but I know our girl won’t want them to hang in our home as a daily reminder of what’s been done to her. Especially when she has the scarring on her torso.

When I climbed into bed with Alana, I left my phone on the stand next to the bed. I really don’t want to answer it as it vibrates next to me, but seeing Ghost’s name on the screen tells me I have to take the call. I carefully get out of bed, making sure our girl doesn’t wake up before grabbing it and heading into the bathroom. Closing the door behind me, I answer his call and keep my voice low.

“What’s goin’ on?” I answer, not sure why he’d be calling when I know he’s got a full day today.

“A lot’s happened today. I banned that bitch Brittany when she thought she could come in here and offer to fuck me sayin’ how Alana never has to know. Then went on to expose her tit when I only told her to lower her shirt a little bit. She thought I wasn’t gonna ban her from the shop and found out real quick I’m not gonna have anyone fuck around like that. Then, I got a call from Cage,” he informs me, his voice filled with rage and I know it’s not gonna be good news he’s got to share with me.

“They don’t know where he is, do they?” I question, already knowing the answer.

“No. They’ve pulled in every club they have an alliance with and those clubs have pulled in their allies to help. Even some of the guys from Cedar Bay have made their way up to Clifton Falls to help them search. I’m gonna talk to Vault when I get done for the day about puttin’ more effort into searchin’ here in Pine View. If there’s a chance he’s found out where Alana is, we need to be prepared and cut him off before he gets too close to her. I don’t want this stupid twatwaffle anywhere near her if we can help it. It’s the only reason we’ll be able to move forward and truly start livin’ our lives,” he answers me, his voice defeated because we both know Alana won’t leave the compound until she knows without a doubt that Terrence is no longer out there somewhere with the possibility of getting his hands on her.

“Fuck. We need to double check everythin’ here. I’m thinkin’ he’s still layin’ low but is makin’ moves to find out where Alana is. We know he’s been able to track her in the past and that’s somethin’ none of us have really checked out since she’s been here. We might have to get Doc to check her over thoroughly to ensure he didn’t manage to implant some kind of trackin’ device on her,” I say, not liking that’s where my thoughts have gone because it’s a massive violation and Alana won’t be able to handle that kind of bullshit. No one should have to even think about it happening to them.

“I agree. We’ll talk to Alana and Doc at the same time because she needs to know that’s a thought we have. It’s not fair to keep her out of the loop in a matter this huge. How’s she doin’ after her appointment with Debbie?” he asks me, worry filling his voice.

“She’s sleepin’ right now. I put her to bed as soon as the session was done. She’s exhausted and I know she did manage to get some of the pictures edited. The one on her screen when I walked in the room was of her, Jameson, Reagan, and their kids. All the pain and evidence of the attack is on full display. I know it’s botherin’ her and she doesn’t want to send those pictures to her family as a daily reminder. Still, she’ll send them after workin’ her magic on them because it’s what they want,” I inform my best friend as I remember the look on her face when she saw the picture on her laptop for the last time before I got her in bed.

“Good. I’m gonna get through the last of the clients I have for the day and then I’ll be there. We’ll have dinner together and then talk to her about the possible trackin’ device. I think we need to talk to her without Doc around first. She might feel ganged up on if we mention it in front of him,” Ghost says, thinking of our girl and what she truly needs in this situation.

“Okay. I’ll let Valor and King know we need to get with them after we talk to Alana. They’ll want to help us go through every aspect of our security system here so everyone’s protected and Alana can truly feel safe. I might give Doc a head’s up too about needin’ to get here tonight even though Alana goes to see him tomorrow about her hand. I’m not gonna have her thinkin’ about that shit if she doesn’t handle the news good,” I tell Ghost and know he’ll agree with me in this because Alana will go insane if that’s on her mind and she won’t sleep.

We hang up and I climb back into bed with Alana. She still hasn’t woken up, but I know she’s been having bad dreams because the blankets are tangled around her body. After straightening them out the best I can, I slide back in next to our girl and she moves around until her body is wrapped around mine and she’s laying her head on my chest. This time, I send out my messages to everyone who needs one and then allow myself to fall asleep with Alana. I won’t sleep heavy so I can wake up if she needs me.

We’ve had dinner withAlana in the common room and she was still kind of out of it when we went down to meet Ghost when he got home from work. The exhaustion is weighing heavily on her and she really didn’t talk to us or anyone else. This isn’t unusual when she sees Debbie because she becomes lost in her head and what’s going on in her head. Looking at Ghost, I know it’s time to bring up the possible tracker in her body somewhere.

“Tink, we need to talk to you about somethin’,” Ghost says, standing up and lifting her from her seat before placing her in his lap.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, her posture immediately tense in his arms as I place a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

“Have you ever wondered why Terrence was able to track your movements before everythin’ happened?” I ask, lacing our fingers together as she looks between the two of us.

“I have. Do you guys think he actually put a tracker in me somewhere?” she returns, her words voicing our thoughts immediately without us having to say a word.

“We’ve been wonderin’ about it for the last few hours. It would mean he knows you’re here in Pine View and could be on his way to you now. That could be why no one can find him. Even with help, I don’t believe he truly has the resources to hide out as long as he has been, Tink,” Ghost says, pressing his lips against her temple and lingering there for several minutes.

“It’s possible. How are we gonna find out?” she asks, once again looking between the two of us.

“That’s actually a two part situation. We’ll have Doc come in. He’s already waitin’ for our call. Plus, we’ll have King run one of his devices over you to see if it gets set off. I don’t know what the hell it is or how it works, but he’s able to find bugs, trackin’ devices, and all sorts of shit like that. He also knows it’s a possibility and is also waitin’ to help us figure it out,” I answer her, looking across the room at King as he gives me a nod while whispering something to Brynn as he holds one of their babies in his arms.

“Can we check now please? I can’t go on wondering if that’s how he’s been tracking me. There are so many kids here and the last thing I want to do is put them in danger because Terrence followed me here,” she says, her voice small and wavering as she tries to hold her tears back from spilling over.

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