Page 93 of Resolve
“Mallory wants to see you,” I tell her, carrying my voice to whisper in her ear.
She blinks when it reaches her, then looks over her shoulder at me with raised eyebrows. But there’s hidden pain in her eyes at the mention of the girl’s name. As I’ve seen any time she’s been mentioned.
It’s time to fix those broken pieces and turn them into something new.
She doesn’t move or respond immediately, and I don’t rush her. She’s likely running through a wild flurry of imaginary reasons Mallory might want to see her and is mentally preparing herself for it, ordebating if she’ll be able to keep her cool around the young girl.
I let her process it all while holding her gaze, keeping still and silent so I’m not a distraction. I’m here. And I’ll be here when she returns from the swirling thoughts that cloud her mind.
“Raegan! It’s your turn,” Cassandra prompts her when she doesn’t throw a card down with the others.
That snaps her out of it. Raegan gives me a short nod, then puts her cards on the table. “Sorry, I need to run out for a little bit.”
“Are you coming back?” Tinsley asks, her head angled with curiosity.
Raegan hesitates. I answer for her. “No.”
Either she’s too emotionally raw from her meeting with Mallory, or I’m going to finish what I’d started this afternoon until she passes out.
“Okay. See you tomorrow, then!” Tinsley waves, and the others follow suit.
Once we’ve closed the door behind us, Raegan tilts her head back so she can see me. “Did she say why? Or, what it’s about?”
I lace my fingers with hers and walk us to where Briar and the kids are staying. “No.” I catch her frown from the corner of my eye. “But she’s wanted to see you for a while now.”
“Why?”
“I helped her understand you were only doing those things to protect her.” Even if Mallory had gone along with it, that didn’t make her life any less in danger. Gordon still may have hurt or killed her if it got him what he wanted. Raegan understood that. “You didn’t want to hurt anyone. GE did.”
I don’t tell her that Mallory told me everything. Every “training” she had to endure. Every life she’d been forced to take. There are stillholes missing in her story when she’d been returned to her room and had no idea what happened to Raegan then. Missing pieces I’ll need to coax from her, since the only other people who I think have that information are dead already.
Holt’s death should have lasted longer. I’d have gladly taken him back with us to do what Raegan had threatened him with.
And Gordon—I’m still dealing with that failure every day.
We stop in front of the door, and I turn to her, pinching her chin and lifting her gaze to mine. “Tell me you don’t want to see her, and we’ll go back to our apartment, little one. This is your choice.”
Her ocean eyes harden with determination. “No, I need to do this.”
Smiling, I nod and release her to knock.
Briar answers within seconds, with a bright smile and glittery tattoos on her face. “Oh, thank goodness you both could make it! Mallory was pretty insistent she see you before she went to bed. Oh, I don’t think we’ve actually met. I’m Briar. You must be Raegan.” She offers her hand to Raegan, who takes it.
“Yeah. It’s nice to meet you, Briar.”
“Please! Come in.” She holds the door for us to enter and then closes it. “The others are going through their bedtime routines. We don’t have the extra room here, so why don’t you use my bedroom to talk? Mallory doesn’t like to talk about her time with GE in front of the others.”
It’s a two-bedroom apartment, similar to what most Guild members were given. Fortunately for Briar, since moving in here, Elias has sped up the process of getting kids into homes. There are only four left—plus Mallory, who will be staying here.
Briar beams at Raegan. “She’s come a long way from the shy, quietgirl when she first showed up. Her confidence has really grown since she started training with Jackson. Oh! The bedroom is this one over here,” Briar continues, indicating the bedroom to the left. “Mallory! Your guests are here.” She turns to us. “I’ll send her in once she’s ready. Thank you again for coming on such short notice.”
Briar leaves us in the bedroom with the door partially open. I find a spot in the back of the room to lean against the wall and keep out of the way of this interaction.
Raegan starts to pace, then stops herself when she realizes she’s doing it and shakes her hands. She’s tense. It’s as if she’s about to step onto a battlefield rather than talk to a six-year-old, which only shows me how much she’s been suppressing since she came back from her time with Gordon.
The door creaks. “Hello?” Mallory’s voice is small and shy. She finds me first, smiling nervously and then peeking around the door to Raegan. Her eyes widen, and she grips the door.
“Hi.” Raegan gives her a small smile, trying to hide her own nerves behind it.
