Teague

I paced the hallway, anxiety gnawing at my insides as Keane and Beau watched on, leaning against the cool brick wall, staring at me, silent and unspeaking. Patients passed by the phone banks, most of them refusing to stop and use the phone as soon as they spotted us standing there, safeguarding the area. No one dared speak to us, and that was fine by me.
"He's late," Keane said, dark eyes flickering towards the clock on the wall. "He should have called with information by now."
"Give it time," I muttered. "He’s never not come through.”
“I don’t like it,” added Beau, folding his arms over his chest menacingly as a meek-looking young boy hurried past us, muttering something under his breath. “If we’re going to protect Eve, we need to know what the fuck is going on with this douchebag.”
I sucked in a lungful of air, ready to rip both my friends a new one, but at that moment, the phone rang, startling me out of my angry trance. I wheeled around to find which one was ringing, pushing aside a woman who’d made the mistake of trying to step over and use the phones. She glared at me, but I ignored her, yanking the phone from the cradle and putting it to my ear.
“Mike?” I barked, relieved to hear my cousin speak on the other end of the line.
“Hey, man,” he said, sounding breathless. “Sorry for the delay.”
“It’s fine,” I said, pressing myself closer to the wall as Keane and Beau huddled around me to shield us from eavesdroppers. “What do you have for me? What’s the word on Warrick?”
Mike sighed, and I heard the shuffling of papers on the other end of the line. “Grant Warrick is a piece of work,” he said, dropping his voice as if telling us a secret. “Every time I check the database, I swear he’s up to something else, and it’s never anything good. Just last week, he allegedly beat the hell out of a college freshman at a party after she refused to have sex with him.”
“Allegedly,” I muttered, thinking of Eve. “This piece of shit should be in prison, Mike.”
“I know. But your girlfriend there wasn’t wrong when she said she heard he was being admitted to Blackwood. That’s what the judge wants. The problem is, daddy-o is trying to fight it, and since Jack Warrick is who he is, there’s been a delay on admittance.”
“He can only delay it for so long,” I said, meeting Keane’s gaze. My friend was cracking his knuckles as he listened in on Mike’s words. Beau stood slightly behind him, looking furious. I knew we were all feeling the same way.
“It’s basically between Blackwood and prison,” Mike continued. “And if Warrick is smart, he’ll choose Blackwood.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Because they’ll kill him in prison.”
Keane laughed at this, an icy, chilling laugh that sent a shiver of euphoric glee down my spine. “Not if we get to him first,” he said.
I couldn’t agree more.
“Listen, Mike, if you get any more news on Grant Warrick, let me know. I appreciate you keeping us in the loop.”
“No problem, cousin,” he said. “Just remember what I told you, though—the Warrick’s aren’t ones to fuck with, you know? I know Grant Warrick seems like just one person, but he has an army behind him. Hence why he’s still out here instead of in there. So just throw caution to the wind, you know? For your family.”
“My family?” I met Beau and Keane’s gaze, shaking my head. All I could think about was Eve and my brothers. They were all that mattered anymore, and it had been like that for a long time. “My family is in here now, Mike, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect them.”
After hanging up the phone, Beau and I followed Keane out of the academy and down the concrete steps of the front doors, keeping our mouths shut as patients around us moved out of the way, creating a path for us to move flawlessly through as we headed towards our safe spot on the shore. It was still early, so I knew Eve would still be asleep in our bed, getting her beauty rest, or so I hoped. We tried to refrain from talking about Grant so openly in front of her, at least until we knew better what the plan was. Not knowing when he’d be admitted to Blackwood was difficult because it rendered us unprepared for his arrival.
Once we were deep enough into the forest and trees, on our way to the old boat under the early morning sun, Keane pulled a small join from his back pocket and lit it, taking a deep inhale as we walked.
“I just can’t believe that sonofabitch beat the hell out of a girl and still isn’t here,” he said, shaking his head in frustration.
“It’s fucked up,” Beau agreed, taking his usual seat on top of a headstone as we emerged into the clearing. “If Grant was here now, I’d kill that motherfucker with my bare hands.”
“Shred him,” I added. “Tear him limb from limb.” Just the thought of finally coming face-to-face with Eve’s rapist sent a shudder of rage down my spine, and I didn’t realize I’d been gnawing on the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. I closed my eyes and took a breath, ignoring the pointed look from Keane, who was staring me down as he leaned against the old banister.
“We can’t lose control of ourselves,” he said. “At least not yet. Not until Grant is here. Otherwise, just the thought of him will drive us crazy, and we won’t be any help to Eve.”
“We need to stay sane,” Beau agreed. “If not for us, for her. She deserves us at our best right now. Are we all in agreement?”
I nodded, and so did Keane.
“In other news,” Keane said, crossing the grass to offer me a hit from the joint. “What do we know about this new head shrink coming into the facility? Dr. Sodder?”
“Amanda Sodder,” said Beau. “I heard some of the MAs talking about her yesterday during lunch. But no one knows much yet.”
“So John Carter was finally run out?” I said with a laugh. “No real surprise there. He was weak.”
“And now they’re putting a female in,” scoffed Keane. “Great thinking on their part. The women never last.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure this time,” said Beau, taking the joint from me. “I heard she’s coming from the city, and she’s worked in some of the shoddiest asylums in the state.” He shook his head, looking between Keane and me. “I heard someone say she’s almost as crazy as she is smart. And that she’s not necessarily against the use of corporal punishment in her facilities.”
“Ha,” said Keane. “I haven’t been intimidated by a shrink since I’ve been here, and I don’t intend to start now. Some bitch doctor isn’t going to distract me from the important goal, and that is making sure Grant Warrick doesn’t lay a hand on another woman ever, ever again.”