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“All right then, leave it with me and I’ll start knocking on some doors. Merrick… have you considered the ramifications of those doors opening? Last I heard, Archie was finding some concerning links between that place and local law enforcement, the city council, all the way up into the state office. There’s a trail of bribery and corruption stemming back years, decades even, with hundreds of thousands of dollars involved in covering their asses.”

Mindful of the ears listening in, Merrick phrased his response cautiously. “You think pursuing the paperwork will alert them.”

“I think there’s a definite possibility we’ll have visitors before the end of the week once I kick this process into motion. My contacts will want to know where she came from, why she’s undocumented, where she is now. I can ask for confidentiality, but if those assholes are desperate to find her, they’ll be pushing their own connections hard.”

“It’s going to happen, Van. We’re better off being prepared than getting complacent.”

“I agree. Mack and Grit have upgraded security on the blind spots in the system, particularly around the perimeter where Tamsyn originally slipped through. Grit’s negotiating with Atticus to hire the new dog handler team he’s added to his rota—apparently they rescue pound dogs and train them in various aspects of security work, which is something we support. With any luck, they should be here in the next few days.”

“Jasper and Tabitha need briefing.”

“They’re already in the loop, but I’ll update the entire team. Beta team sent up a drone which met no interference, but the community compound remains abandoned for now. They’re reluctant to move in on the rock formation Tamsyn told us about, fearing a mass hostage situation involving the women and children. Right now, their focus is on Jedidiah and whatever crew he’s running around with; finding them is the priority.”

Merrick nodded, pressing a kiss to Tamsyn’s forehead. Her eyes were fluttering shut again, already halfway back to dreamland. “Does Serenity have a protocol for this?”

Evander laughed but he wasn’t amused. “After the shit went down with Tabitha before we opened, we outlined one. It’s been tweaked constantly the last couple weeks, but I’ll speak to Grit about implementing it immediately. The threat is aimed at Tamsyn; it doesn’t mean her father won’t drag everyone else here into conflict if it gets him what he wants.”

Merrick refused to feel guilt over it. It was not his fault, and it sure as fuck wasn’t Tamsyn’s, that this was happening. He’d stand on the front line to defend her and the club, but he wouldn’t take the blame.

That fell squarely on Jedidiah and his cronies.

“Put it in motion, Evander,” he decided gravely. “The paperwork, the protocols, all of it. The sooner this nightmare is over, the sooner we can all get back to fucking normal.”

“We can,” he agreed. “I do feel sorry for Atticus. He’s the one taking the countless women and children under his wing until the authorities step in. That’s a monumental task.”

In all honesty, Merrick couldn’t imagine tackling it. He’d been run ragged by justonesurvivor of Jedidiah’s regime, tending to her injuries and battling through the mental damage those fuckers caused. Handling twenty, forty, sixty of them, if not more?

Fuck.

Not his problem. As sorry as he was for their circumstances, he wasn’t a hero. Taking care of Tamsyn was a choice he’d made because of who she was—falling in love with her was just an added bonus. He’d help with the rest of her community if it was needed, but his emotional and physical reserves were for her and her alone.

“Don’t envy him, that’s for sure.”

“No, me either.” Evander cleared his throat. “I’ve assigned Fordham as the medplay DM tonight, and closed the bookings for the other room. He can wait outside or monitor from an inside corner, but I think you need backup if you’re tackling Tamsyn’s phobias. Fear is a powerful motivator, Merrick. She’s comfortable with Fordham’s presence?”

“She’s not uncomfortable.” And he wasn’t averse to the idea.

“Excellent. Keep him close in case you need him; I don’t want to hear about any incidents that could’ve been avoided simply by using a second pair of hands. And on that note,” he continued, “I’m going to go and prepare the team for war before I pull in those favors. Enjoy your afternoon, Merrick.”

“Thanks, Van.”

When the call ended, he gave thought to carrying Tamsyn to bed, letting her sleep a while longer so he could sneak out to the medplay room to set up the equipment exactly how he wanted it. He had a scene in mind, one that would touch upon the areas of her phobia he most wanted to address.

Tonight, he was going to ask her for the biggest leap of faith, the highest level of trust she could give and, if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t convinced she’d be able to do it. She would if he gave her no other option, but he wanted her to offer it rather than take it from her.

So he stayed where he was, eyes blindly staring at the screen as he stroked her back, and listened to her snoring lightly, her face smushed against his chest.

The calm before the storm.

*

Tamsyn

Standing in the cold, Merrick’s oversized jacket draped over her shoulders, she stared at the innocuous building and shook her head vehemently. It was just walls and doors, windows and a roof, but the thought of voluntarily walking into it made her want to throw up the soup Merrick had forced into her, spoonful by spoonful, just an hour before.

Her breath spilled into the air in shaky plumes of white, a visible sign of her anxiety.

She knew Merrick wasn’t planning on justexaminingher arm or any of her limbs—that had been bad enough. She’d spilled too many of her darkest secrets, too many of her fears, and now he felt obligated to guide her through those shadows.