Chapter 11: The Howling Maelstrom
"Thanks for coming, Red," Sam said as soon as he opened the door, quickly stepping aside to let the other man inside the house. "I know you were just here a couple months ago and that you prefer to stagger your visits more..."
"You know why I have to do that, Sam," Red replied, setting down his suitcase to embrace his friend. "I'd come more often-if I could." If he weren't being watched so closely by his enemies, by even his own fucking people. If he didn't hold a spot on the fucking FBI's Most Wanted List. "And I'd've been here sooner but I had to be absolutely certain my trail was untraceable."
The other man winced. "I'm sorry. I know you're taking a risk coming here now. But as I said over the phone... I don't know what else I can do. She has completely shut me out." His expression was pained.
"You're sure she's not seeing Derek anymore?"
"I'm positive," Sam assured him, following Red down the hall to the guest room.
Thank God.
"And I know I have you to thank for it."
"Don't give me so much credit, Sam. I didn't make her do anything," Red replied, kicking off his shoes and shucking out of his suit to dress in something more country-appropriate. "Lizzy has a will of her own. She did it herself. Or...did he break it off with her?"
Sam shrugged, averting his gaze to give his friend privacy while he changed. "I don't even know that much. All she said was that it was over between them. Hopefully she'll tell you more because she sure as Hell won't tell me. And I know something happened, Red. Something happened that night to cause her decline."
Her decline.
Sam never bandied words about carelessly.
Red zipped up his jeans, compartmentalizing the facts of the situation and doing his damnedest to keep his emotions out of it. But oh how they roiled just within reach, straining against the inner barriers of his mind. He mentally leashed them tighter. Now was not the time to allow them to run rampant. He needed stability. Control.
"And you think she'll talk to me."
Sam glanced at him sharply, half in exasperation, half in jealous anger. "That's why you're fucking here, isn't it?" He ran a frustrated hand through his short hair. "She confides in you. Trusts you. She opens up to you in a way she doesn't with me. She always has."
"Sam-"
"She adores you, Red."
"She adores you too."
"Yes, but it's different. I'm her father." The expression in Sam's eyes was serious. "You hold a very...unique position in her life. She doesn't see you as a father figure. You've been protective, a guardian of sorts to her for as long as she can remember. Longer, even... But you're not her father. And she understands the distinction between a father-me-and what you are. Appreciates it. Cherishes it."
Sam smiled, but it was bittersweet. "You were her favorite playmate when she was little. And as she has grown up, you've become her closest friend. I'd even go as far as to say her confidant." Red began to protest but Sam held up a hand and shook his head, stopping him. "Don't try to soothe my ego. You'd be lying. We both know it. And you know what you are to her, Red. I've seen you with her. It's because of your relationship with her that you can help her in ways that I can't."
Red gazed at his oldest friend, momentarily speechless.
His eyes took in physical details while his mind reflected on what Sam had confided. Once swarthy and robust, Sam was now as thin as a rail. And much, much grayer. Old before his time. The cancer had gone into remission about a year ago but he hadn't been able to recover the same vigor and vitality he had embodied before. His face looked so haggard. His eyes were strained with deep concern for his adopted daughter, and yet at the same time they were burning in earnest, compelling Red to understand why he had called him back to Nebraska for her.
Despite the disquiet for Lizzy battering against his mind, Red couldn't help but feel a spark of hot anger directed toward her. Didn't she realize that not talking to Sam was harming him physically? Emotionally?
"I don't want your fucking pity," Sam snarled heatedly.
Ah, there he was. That was the Sam he recognized! "Any adult man raising a teenage girl alone is entitled to some pity being thrown his way."
That made Sam snort, his temper cooling somewhat.
Red pulled on his boots. "Where is she?"
"Terabithia with Bronn. And that reminds me, Red... She takes that dog everywhere with her now."
"She did that before."
Sam slowly shook his head. "This is different. She'll be going to the fucking gas station for a quart of milk and she'll bring him along 'so he can stretch his legs.' But I know better. And on weekdays, she purposefully leaves the back gate open...like she's encouraging Bronn to follow her to school. It's almost like she's-"
"Afraid."
Their eyes met and Sam nodded reluctantly. "And that's not like her at all."
Most definitely not. "Mind if I take a horse out there? I'd love to arrive at Terabithia before dawn tomorrow."
Sam shook his head at his friend's wry dramatics. "But you just got here, Red. Do you want to sit down for a little while to at least catch your breath?"
"I got a second wind, Sam." Even after hours of traveling Red wouldn't be able to sit still after all that had been told to him. It wasn't in his nature to be idle when a problem needed to be solved. He wanted to move on this. He needed to act now.
"You'll have to take the stud. Liz took Conny."
"Fuck."
"He'll be glad to see you too, Red."
Luckily Red had been able to saddle and mount the stud without incident. Well, without serious injuries, anyway. There had been a bit of drama. There always was. And Sam had just stood there, guffawing, while the stud had not only tried to take Red's hand off with his teeth, but had also tried to lop off his head with his gigantic one. Red wouldn't be surprised if he lost hearing in his left ear for a fucking day-or week-after that collision of skulls. Jesus fucking Christ. So to show the stud just who was the boss around here, he'd slapped him on the nose, just like Elizabeth had taught him to do when the sly stallion misbehaved. Well, maybe it had been more of an open-handed punch, but that was open to interpretation. Then the devilish horse had stomped on his toes in retaliation. Luckily Red's hardy boots had saved his bones from breaking.
Honestly, considering their years of history together, it was one of the calmer experiences he'd ever had in mounting the stud.
Of course, once they were outside beneath the open sky, following familiar trails beyond the barn and paddock, man and horse got on swimmingly. On any other day Red would have taken the time to really soak up the beauty around him, to relish the feeling of being astride this powerful animal that could take him across the fields in mere minutes at the slightest touch of heel and rein.
But this wasn't a pleasure ride. Lizzy waited at the heart of his destination, unknowing that he was here in Nebraska specifically to make her talk.
Red mulled over what he had been apprised of back at the house. It hadn't been easy on Sam to admit defeat. Normally Elizabeth was communicative with him, even when she was angry. A half-smile touched Red's lips. Perhaps especially when she was in a temper!
He tapped his heels against the dapple-gray and they broke into an easy lope.
Of course there were exceptions to this behavior but she did tend to open her heart to her father more often than not when something was wrong. She hadn't this time, and Sam had told Red that the weight of this particular burden she carried within her was taking its toll on her in every possible way. Sam had tried everything he could think of to convince her to unburden herself, but nothing had worked.
Red guided the stud carefully through the grove of trees, following the unmarked path to Terabithia he now knew just as well as Lizzy did. He had seen that it had wounded Sam deeply to admit to him that he, Raymond Reddington, may be able to do more for Elizabeth due to the unique bond they shared.
The man pulled gently on the reins, halting the stud just at the edge of the small clearing. The long shadows of the trees and the thick green foliage hid him from sight. His eyes roved over the idyllic area. Almost immediately he spotted Conny hobbled and grazing contentedly where the grass grew the sweetest.
His nostrils flared slightly, aware of something, or someone, watching him. As he continued to scan Terabithia, he realized it was Bronn's intent gaze he felt. The huge dog sat on the slab of rock that stuck out into the pond, intelligent eyes staring directly at Red.
Red was extremely honored by the dog's apparent trust in him, for he hadn't sounded any alarm to Lizzy, who was floating on her back in the water.
Even from his position beneath the trees he could see her ribs clearly defined against her skin. Already thin, losing that much weight made her look almost sickly. It was good that he had arrived today, but after seeing her like this, he wished he could have come sooner.
Elizabeth certainly wouldn't appreciate the ambush the two men had set but it was better this way. If Sam had told her Red was coming, she would have had plenty of time to think of ways to evade him. With him surprising her like this here in this special place she had shared with him for years, she wouldn't be able to run and hide...literally and figuratively speaking.
He dismounted quietly, leading the stud over to Conny, then hobbled him. He bent over and took off his boots and socks and then rolled his jeans up his calves. The moss was cool and as soft as velvet against the soles of his feet as he made his way to the pond's edge.
Of course, with him backing Elizabeth into a corner like this, his and Sam's plan could just as easily backfire. She could very well lash out, or sink even deeper into herself and remain unresponsive. He sat down on the rock beside Bronn, who silently nuzzled his hand in greeting.
Red sincerely hoped their instincts were guiding him in right action.
Using his foot, he splashed water over at her. The droplets sparkled in the sun as they rained down. Startled out of her meditative reverie, Lizzy spluttered and then went immediately vertical, wiping her face and shading her eyes against the sun.
"Red?" Her tone was a mix of shock and pleasure.
"Hey, Lizzy," he smiled, wiggling his fingers at her.
"God-you sacred me for a second! But then I figured Bronn would've sounded the alarm if it had been anyone else. What are you doing here?"
As she swam closer to him, Red could see that she had even lost weight in her cheeks. Her blue eyes seemed huge now, almost fey-like in how large they were in her narrow, pointed face framed by her long mass of wet hair. She could have been a lake sprite from Irish mythology come to life...but the stark, dark circles under those eyes shattered that fantasy, the shards of reality falling back into place.
"Red?" she asked uncertainly into the silence that was stretching between them. Her fingers grasped the edge of the rock and she looked curiously up at him, slowly treading water.
Better to be straightforward and honest with her, especially since he wanted those two sentiments reciprocated. "Sam told me that you and Derek broke up."
"Oh." It was incredible how her guileless eyes turned suddenly so flinty, as if she were laying brick and mortar over them from lower to upper lid. "Yeah. We did."
"He said you haven't been eating much."
Her expression was tight.
"Or sleeping well."
Her lips were pinched.
"And that you take Bronn out with you everywhere you go."
"That's why you gave him to me, remember?" Lizzy retorted defensively, voice clipped.
"Yes, I remember." He forced his tone to be calm. Even. "But I don't remember you ever being truly afraid enough of anything to where you had to have him nearby all the time." He held her eyes with his. "It's unlike you to be afraid. Even when you were thrown off that horse and broke your arm. Remember? No fear whatsoever."
She quickly dropped her gaze.
"Of course, you didn't have Bronn then, but the fact remains: you weren't afraid."
She wouldn't look at him.
"So the question now isn't whether or not Bronn is doing his job. The question is why you want him doing his job in the first place."
"I knew he'd tattle on me," Elizabeth muttered in annoyance, more to herself than to him. "I knew Sam wouldn't leave well enough alone." Her eyes gleamed angrily as she chanced a glance up at him. "That's why you're here, isn't it? To run interference for him?"
"I'm here for you, Lizzy." He added a bit of emphatic heat to his voice to get her attention. It worked. "It makes sense now why you wouldn't take my calls this last week. I knew something was wrong then. And Sam finally confirmed it for me. So I came here. For you."
"You don't need to worry about me." Attempting to regain her reserved composure, she shrugged an aloof shoulder. "I'm fine."
"Suffering from a broken heart, Lizzy?" He purposefully made his words sarcastically cruel, and he fucking hated himself for it.
"No!" she snarled vehemently, eyes flashing with fury. "I hate the fucker!"
His own eyes widened in shock at her word choice-but he'd finally gotten an honest confession out of her.
Elizabeth suddenly and swiftly clamped her mouth shut with an audible snap, as if she almost couldn't believe what she'd said herself.
An awful silence fell between them as Red watched her face. Then she began to laugh. It was a cold, twisted laugh that he had never heard her utter before.
But his soul recognized that deep, dark place where it came from. Oh yes...he knew it well.
"I've called him that in my head a lot of times," she confided in a low murmur. "But that's the first time I've ever called him 'fucker' out loud." And then she laughed again, her eyes glittering peculiarly.
If it had been anyone else before him with that look in their eyes, he would've thought they were mad. Her expression combined with that eerily wild laugh actually made the hairs stand up on his arms.
"What did he do, Lizzy?" he asked quietly once that horrible laugh died away.
She shrugged a shoulder yet again, looking away, once more trying to hide her true feelings from him. "He was a dick." One of her hands unconsciously slipped to her chest, just below the water.
His sharp eyes followed that movement.
"So I told him it was over." Turning away from him, she heaved herself up and out of the pond. Christ, she was too thin. She knelt down and smoothly reached behind her for her towel, all the while keeping her back to him.
Odd.
"What did he do, Lizzy?" Red asked again, standing up even as she rose to her feet.
After wrapping the towel around herself, she finally turned to face him, expression guarded.
Red couldn't help but notice how tightly her fist clenched the material close against her body...almost as if she were holding a shield instead of a towel.
"I already told you." Her tone was too casual.
He took a careful step toward her.
She took a careful step back. "He was a dick. So I told him it was over."
He took another step closer, eyes intent on the way she held herself. Her chin was raised defiantly, but her hand was beginning to tremble under his scrutiny.
Before she could retreat any further, his index finger slid down between the towel and the damp skin of her throat.
She stood rooted to the spot, suddenly paralyzed.
"Elizabeth." Her name was a soft growl on his lips. "What did he do?"
"Please, Red," she whispered as his finger gently tugged at the towel to see what she was purposefully hiding beneath. Her shaking fingers released their death-grip just enough to where he could see her pulse beating frantically in the hollow of her throat. The material slowly slid down her chest. "Please. Don't tell Sam."
Rage, white hot, momentarily blinded him. Something down deep within him reared up, howling in near-uncontrollable wrath.
Then he blinked and the blazing inferno abruptly left him. But a worse kind of anger immediately roiled to the fore, taking its place.
Red had only experienced this kind of intense ferocity thrice before. It was a bitterly cold and savage fury, and it swelled, swiftly spinning and spiraling through him. He could maim and murder without a second thought or regret when he allowed this type of glacial maelstrom to sweep him away.
That something residing deep in his soul ceased howling just long enough to unsheathe its claws, snarling, clamoring for blood, blood!
Revenge.
His hand shook slightly as he softly traced the skin just below her collarbone. Three deep burns, blistered pink and red, inflamed and perfectly circular, marred the skin just above her right breast.
"How?" he rasped.
"With his cigarette."
An inhuman sound escaped his throat and her eyes snapped up to his. "You can't tell Sam." There was real fear in her voice now. "Promise me, Red. You can't tell him."
Control. He needed to fucking control himself.
He forced his gaze away from her wounds to her face. Their eyes met, and he held hers intently with his own. Those clear blue depths anchored him...keeping him from being swept away by the savage storm of howling rage. He could feel her heart thudding against his palm. Timing his breathing to it, he was able to catch his breath, and with it, a shred of composure.
"He needs to know."
"No!" She shook her head vehemently. "He'll-he'll try to kill him."
"Ridding the world of this particular fucked-up asshole is an excellent idea," Red snarled furiously.
"No! Because Derek could hurt him. Even-even kill him. Red, Sam's not as strong as he used to be. If he went after Derek, it would end badly for him." Her panicked eyes beseeched him. "And if by some miracle he escaped, the police would come knocking on our door and haul him away." She shuddered. "Red, he'd die in jail. He can't confront Derek. He can't!"
And this, Red realized, was why Elizabeth hadn't confided in her father. Because she thought that revealing this dreadful secret to him could very likely lead to a serious injury, imprisonment...even his death. She had harbored her pain and humiliation deep down within her soul to spare Sam. She would rather rape her own heart and wither away from the trauma than see the man dearest to her suffer.
Red gazed down into her adamantly entreating face and recognized himself mirrored there in her eyes. His heart twisted agonizingly in his chest. Oh yes, he understood her sacrifice...more than she would ever truly know.
"I won't tell him," he promised quietly, hearing her deep breath of relief as he carefully rewrapped the towel around her body. "But you could have told me."
"You would have told him. I know how close you both are. How you talk about me." She shook her head, self-consciously pulling the towel tighter around herself. "I couldn't risk it, Red."
He gazed down at her. She was probably right. He most likely would have told Sam if events hadn't played out like they had this evening. However...
"You still should have told me."
In seeing the strained expression on her face, Red was aware again of that piece of himself just beneath the surface quivering with bloodlust and the need to remove the breathing, walking, living threat from her life.
Derek had to pay for what he had done to her.
Before engaging a target, Red normally would gather all the nitty-gritty facts he could to make the correct decisions. But now wasn't the time for Lizzy to tell him the whole story. He wouldn't make her relive it until she was ready to unburden herself on her own terms. But he did need to know the truth of a couple things before he went...out...tonight.
Bracing himself to hear the worst, he touched his fingertips to her chin, guiding her eyes back up to meet his again. "Did he rape you?"
She hesitated. "No."
"But he tried?"
She swallowed hard, looking away.
Christ. "What stopped him?" he asked in a low, fierce growl.
Her eyes lifted quickly to his at his tone. "Bronn," she whispered. "He came out of nowhere and jumped on him and..." Her breathing hitched, voice trailing off. Her eyes were wide and unseeing as she began to relive those terrifying moments.
Gently Red caressed her cheek, bringing her back to him.
She blinked, shuddering. "Bronn hurt him. I was able to get in the car. Drive away. Get home. Bronn...he came home later. He...he saved me, Red."
Yes, he had.
"You don't need to tell me anything more, Lizzy. Not until you're ready."
Her wide eyes gazed up into his face, understanding suddenly dawning on her. "What are you going to do?" she breathed.
He didn't ask her how she knew. Perhaps she had seen the howling maelstrom of icy rage in his eyes and had recognized it for what is was. Had anyone else asked him that pointed question, he would have lied. But since this was Elizabeth...
"The less you know the better, I think."
"I want to know."
"No," he denied her sharply.
Elizabeth glared fiercely up at him. "I need to know, Red."
He shook his head, unshakably resolute. "Trust me, Lizzy. You may think you do. You may believe you can find closure this way. But instead...it'll infect your soul. It'll warp a part of it into something unrecognizable." And he wouldn't allow that to happen to her.
"But...what about your soul?" she asked quietly.
"Mine?" His smile was pained. "It was damned long ago."
The moment the words slipped passed his tongue he knew he shouldn't have said them. Not to a girl of sixteen-especially not this girl. But it was done, and he couldn't take them back.
"Why don't you put your coverup on and we'll ride back to the house," he finally said into the heavy silence stretching between them. "I can get us something to drink while Sam throws some burgers on the grill?"
Her expression was unreadable as she slanted another intently searching glance at him before turning to shrug into her clothes and then carefully pick her way through the mossy undergrowth toward the horses.
As she got ready to leave, Red looked over at Bronn. The huge dog was watching her with such protective adoration in his golden eyes.
A predatory smile slowly curved the man's lips.
Perhaps when he went out tonight, he wouldn't need to go alone.
