Page 5 of The Last Ultimatum: Part 2

Waiting for Archie’s return call felt like torture. I didn’t consider myself an impatient man. Actually, I’d been told I had the patience of a god on more than one occasion. Right now that “god” felt more like Zeus, temper and all. If I could wield lightning bolts, Australia would be experiencing the worst thunder storm in history.

I kept trying to tell myself that getting angry wasn’t going to fix the problem.

I already had a path worn down in the carpet from my pacing and despite Taylor having ordered practically everything from the room service menu to entice me to eat something, I hadn’t been able to stomach even a single bite.

“He’s not usually like this at all,” Taylor assured Chelle.

“What’s he usually like?”

“I don’t know, patient and kind. He’s a psychologist and has helped so many people. I just wish there was some way for us to help him now.”

There was,I thought.Get my mate back safe and sound.

Part of the problem was that I knew it was already too late. I’d worked with so many victims over the years in my time with Westin Force that I knew the full extent of psychological damage a kidnapping like this did to a person.

Every second she remained in this nightmare caused additional and often irrevocable trauma. Would she even be the same Tilly I’d started to fall in love with after this?

What Chelle had painted for us was far more reminiscent of the Raglan. Those patients of mine that had suffered underthat environment had left deep scars on me. I’d often stayed up late at nights reliving their descriptions. Some of the stories had given me nightmares even.

People often joke about psychologists, brushing us off as quacks and calling us shrinks. They have no idea what we have to endure walking clients through their trauma and diving deep into the human psyche. Perhaps being a natural empath makes that journey even harder, but I love what I do and wouldn’t change it for anything.

The best part about my chosen career is that I can literally work anywhere in the world. There may be some added certifications and paperwork in certain countries, but for the most part I can find work anywhere. It wasn’t something I’d given much thought about when choosing it, but now that there was a possibility that Tilly and I would stay in Australia, I was grateful for it.

I allowed myself a moment to really stop and think about a future with Matilda. Maybe it seemed silly when I wasn’t even sure I’d ever find her or hear her voice again.

I shook my head.

It wouldn’t do me any good to think like that knowing it would just send me spiraling into depression, or worse, my dingo would become so agitated that I wouldn’t be able to control him at all. It was possible. I’d seen it before.

No, that wasn’t going to be the outcome for us. Tilly was strong and a fighter. Even the men who took her knew it. And with any luck she was taken with my parents and kept together. They’d all look out for each other as best as they could.

Everything was going to be fine.

It had to be.

While I did preach to my clients to envision the future they wanted and allow it to manifest, at some point there was atilt of reality where they had to face the truth of their situation. I wasn’t there yet.

She’d been gone only a few hour. Chances were she wasn’t even to her destination yet. I had every reason to believe with all my heart that she was alive and would get out of this just fine. And if there were any lingering issues, I could always help her through them or find a friend from school that I trusted for her to talk with.

We would survive this and be all the stronger for it.

With that thought in mind, I considered my options. I wasn’t helpless, dammit. I was a fighter too, a valued member of Delta, and I had all the resources of Westin Force at my disposal.

I stopped pacing and walked down to the bedroom my backpack had been taken to. Digging inside it I retrieved a notepad and a pen before heading to the dining room table to jot down my thoughts.

Ignoring the unease and concern through my colleagues, I sat down and got to work.

It wasn’t long before Taylor nudged Grant as they tried to whisper out a plan.

“I’m fine,” I assured them.

“I think that’s what’s freaking them out,” Chelle told me. “What are you doing and why are you suddenly so calm?”

“Done freaking out. Time to get to work.”

“Okay, and what exactly is work? You’re a psychologist, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

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