Page 129 of Anchor
Reid’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Tell them I didn’t forget them.”
Julian nodded. “I’m in town meeting with Lincoln.” He leaned forward, arms resting on his knees as he turned serious. “Reid, your request for the raw feed of your attack triggered an automatic restricted-access alert to the entire executive board. This rule’s been in place since they rolled you from the OR. If you ever asked, the board decided it would take at least two members and a medical officer to clear it. And with the first sightings of Vos and Heather, you seeing it makes sense. Linc and Hedgessigned off. Since I was already here, I co-signed the release. Kieran and Ian also signed off.”
Julian studied him closely. “It’s ready. But before we log in… I need to hear it from you. Are you sure you want to see this? Once you do, there’s no taking it back.”
Reid felt Claire’s breath catch beside him before he saw her turn. Her eyes found his, tight with worry, her throat working as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t. He knew what she was thinking. She wanted to pull him back, to shield him from what waited. But she understood he needed to see it. Until he did, there would be no rest, no peace. And the look in her eyes told him she hated that almost as much as she hated the footage itself.
“Good,” Reid said evenly. “Then let’s go.”
Julian looked at Claire. “He doesn’t want you in the room.”
She didn’t flinch.
“I didn’t say that,” Reid snapped. “I didn’t know I’d have access until now.”
Julian held up a hand. “You didn’t have to. But I will. She’s pregnant. I’d be out of my mind to let her watch this. It’s not tactical; it’s personal slaughter.”
Tuck nodded reluctantly. “He’s not wrong.”
Claire turned to Reid. “You decide.”
Reid met her eyes. “I want you near when I come out. Please.”
She nodded, jaw tight, then leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I’ll be right outside the room.”
He stood slowly, walker steadied by Tuck, and followed Julian out.
SECURE VIEWING SUITE
The room the kind of quiet that pressed against the skin. Reid sat forward in the chair, eyes fixed on the glow of the screen.
Julian said, “I need to tell you something first. When they scraped you off the floor, an entire team was focused on you staying alive. No one more than your uncle. You know how big that scar runs. In addition to the physical attack, you were poisoned.”
Julian continued as Tuck sat silently beside him, “Your heart stopped. Your Uncle Tuck straddled you on the table, and for over three hours, he compressed your heart, keeping you alive.”
Reid swallowed hard, pushed up to standing and opened his arms. Tuck stood and met them with his own open arms. Reid tucked his head into his uncle’s shoulder. A hoarse “thank you” was followed by and some tears. “I love you. I never say it enough.”
Tuck lifted Reid’s chin. “I love you too. When you watch this, remember how much love you’re surrounded by.”
And then it began.
Reid didn’t hear his own voice so much as felt it, reverberating in his chest, tinny through the speakers. Movement. Shouts. Then silence. His jaw locked. His hand tightened on the armrest until his knuckles blanched. He forced himself not to blink, not to look away.
Pain bloomed across his cheek as though memory alone could split the bone again. The pain in his ribs made his breath shallow. He could almost taste the iron. A blade. A name. His own scream cut through him harder than anything else, a sound both familiar and foreign. His stomach turned, but he didn’t flinch. Not once.
Then it ended.
Julian froze the screen. Silence filled the room again, heavier than before.
Reid swallowed hard, forcing air into his lungs. The image burned behind his eyes, raw and merciless. He hadn’t realized he was gripping the chair so tightly until his fingers ached.
“Is that all of it?” His voice came out steady, sharper than he felt inside.
Julian’s answer was low. “Yes.”
Reid let out one hard breath. “Good. Because I needed to see it. I needed to know what I was before…” His words caught, then steadied. “Before everything broke.”
Julian held his gaze. “You didn’t break.”
