Page 98 of Breaking Sanity
“Take Alley to the day room after she gets ready,” he orders while still looking at her. “Keep an eye on her in Baron’s office. Today Annie’s contract is up, so Annie and her will be having a group session.”
They are a new level of assholes. Baron talks about treading lightly with her from what Shadow said yet they are going to kill her roommate in front of her? Yeah, because that fucking makes sense.
Gunner softly closes the door behind him and I just keep my position watching her. I honestly don’t really have anything to say to Shadow. He stayed while I went on my two weeks leave and the fucker wouldn’t even answer my texts about how she was doing. Wolf told me to leave it be and Killer agreed, but I couldn’t.
With no other options, I set up a lunch with Declan, Titus, and Salvator to touch base with them. I’ll call it pulling a Shadow, since he would prod them for information abouther. They would talk and then next get together it would be the same thing. He brings her up, they blab. Most of the time I would tune them out, but now I am kicking myself for it. I tried but given everything it was unsuccessful.
2 months ago
Declan stays quiet as Titus and Salvator start to jest each other about something trivial. They have been working for us for a couple of years now, but on the cleaner side of things and only on special occasions. Declan though, left his government job and the military to work more tech and coms for our darker side, including tracking the Fallen.
“You good,” I ask, looking at Declan.
“Yeah,” he sighs, averting his gaze to the T.V. hanging above the bar.
“She was dead the second he found her,” Salvator states.
Sal is a good man and will have your back no matter what, but the way he has referenced Alley makes me want to shoot out his knee caps. Now, I understand why Shadow went after him one drunken night. He had been tailing Alley for a solid three months prior to it and Salvator’s wife made a comment in response to her name and Sal laughed. It set Shadow off and he picked a fight with him just to cover that he was kicking his ass because of Alley.
“Seriously man?” Titus hits his shoulder. “She didn’t deserve that.”
“Never said she fucking did, okay? I am just saying there is nothing to do. She has been gone for months. She is probably already dead,” Sal exhales.
She probably should be dead by now, but they won’t let her die, and I can’t say I will either. Alley is different and feels every emotion more intensely than anyone I have ever met. She tries to run from it when it gets too much though, which is a lot considering how much she lashes out.
Her intelligence is to be admired. Like her roundabout way of saying I love you to us while also saying goodbye nearly broke me. I wanted to get on my knees and beg her to understand. She needs to know the truth and why we can’t help her just yet, but I also don’t want to see that pain in her eyes again. Or hear her heart break in the shower for a third time.
“What is it about her that has all of you hooked,” I ask. None of them know that Shadow and I are at Hell’s Asylum so asking about her is easy. Now if they did, I don’t think this lunch would be happening, and one of them may just pay us to kill her.
Declan is the only one that has seen the pictures and videos of what happens to women once their contracts are up. The poor guy wassick for three days. To be fair though, the claim just happened to be Carson’s so I will give him a pass. When you don’t grow up around that or are exposed to it on a daily basis, it’s one hell of a pill to swallow. Plus, Carson is a different breed of what the actual fuck. Melinda did train him well.
“Alley is just Alley,” Declan says. “No other way to describe her.”
He is not wrong.
“Well, I have kids and a wife to get home to and I don’t want to go down this road again with you two.” Sal gets up to leave.
“You didn’t fight her on staying,” Titus points out to Declan.
“Think I’ll head out too,” Declan says, grabbing his coat and bolting for the door.
“What about you? Going to high tail it out of here too?” I try to make a joke.
“No,” Titus stares into his drink. “I am not scared to admit what I did wrong. I left her there to be taken to the slaughter.”
“You think she’s dead?”
“No, worse she is still alive, and they are breaking what’s left of her, piece by broken piece. I don’t think her sanity will survive and they will have unleashed decades of pent-up anger and hostility. No one will control her at that point and the Alley we knew will be gone forever. Then that is when someone will kill her. The humane thing would’ve been to snap her neck when I gave her one last hug.”
“But you didn’t because,” I pry.
“Because the Collector would’ve come after my wife and myself.”
When Killer went with them, he suspected that it was Gunner but wanted to make sure considering that she escaped him. Neither Declan or Titus knew that it was him until they got into the car and were leaving.
“So, you let her be taken and subjected to all of that?” I start to clench and unclench my fist to keep myself from punching him. She loved all of them and they just abandoned her again.
“Yep,” he sighs, “I love my wife, and she means more to me than anything.”
