Chapter 78
Chris slowly became aware of movement around him. He knew something was wrong. He could feel someone touching him, talking to him but he couldn’t answer.
His body wasn’t his own anymore. It belonged to anyone who wanted to hurt him. It belonged to Whelan, Wilcox, and Sharpe. They’d proved they could get to him
no matter what his friends did or said. He drifted back towards unconsciousness until Sharpe’s words penetrated the fog. ‘Tell anyone I was here and I’ll just
have to kill Tanner first.’
With that threat echoing through his troubled mind he knew he had to find out if Vin Tanner was ok. Steeling himself against the pain he knew would be there on
awakening he opened heavy eyelids and turned to the sound of the voices. His eyes focused on the worried faces of Josiah Sanchez and Nathan Jackson. The two
men were turned towards each other talking conspiratorially. A third figure, Chris recognized as Jake Taylor sat in a chair across the room. “Not a suicide risk,” he
hissed as he tried to sit up in the bed.
Jackson and Sanchez moved as one. Each man pressing a shoulder back onto the bed. “Easy, Brother,” Sanchez said.
“Lie still, Chris,” Jackson ordered.
Larabee glared at the two men, angered by his own weakness as well as their ability to keep him down. “Why’s he back here?”
“Chris, Dr. Miller ordered it last night. Dr. James and Dr. Midland are going to talk with the board this afternoon. For now he stays.”
“Dammit, Nathan, I’m not gonna do anything stupid,” Larabee protested. His eyes suddenly widened as memories of the night before flooded his mind. “Oh, God,
JD, is he alright?”
“JD’s gonna be fine. He’s got a bit of a headache and Buck took him home,” Jackson explained.
Larabee swallowed as he remembered his inability to wake the young man. “Where’s, Vin?” he asked worriedly.
“Vin was still sleeping when we left,” Sanchez told him.
Larabee once more fought to get up. “I have to see him. Have to make sure he’s ok. He’s not alone, is he?.”
Two pairs of strong hands held him down once more. “Vin’s with Ezra, Chris, now just lie still. Dr. Midland and Dr. James will be here in a couple of minutes.”
“Please, Nate, I have to see him,” the pale blond begged.
“I’ll call and see if he’s up to coming over,” Jackson assured him.
“T...thanks,” he whispered, his eyes filled with worry for his best friend. Sharpe’s threat kept repeating in his mind and he wondered if he’d make good on the threat.
He tried to move his fingers but found they’d stiffened up again. He lifted his hands and gasped as he saw the swelling surrounding the area again. He remembered
Sharpe pressing his fingers into the injured joints and the stomach churning agony it caused. ‘Will I ever get my freedom back?’ he thought as he dropped his hands
back to the bed.
Flashes of the night before continued to replay in his mind. He flinched as he remembered the tip of the cattle prod pressed against his skin, the jolt causing his body
to arch upwards on the bed. He fought to breath as he leaned heavily into the pillow.
“Chris, what’s wrong?” Jackson asked worriedly.
“Can’t s...stop t...them,” Larabee hissed weakly. “Gotta stop them f...from h...hurting V...Vin.”
“Nobody’s gonna hurt Vin, Chris,” Sanchez soothed as he gently placed his hands on Larabee’s shoulders.
“Have to make sure, J...Josiah. God, everything h...hurts,” the blond gasped as he tried to get comfortable on the bed.
“Want me to press the button?” Jackson asked, lifting the little box used to control the morphine.
Larabee shook his pounding head before answering. “Not till I s...see Vin.”
“Chris, I haven’t even called him yet. He’s probably still sleeping.”
“I c...can wait,” the blond told him as he watched two women enter the room.
“Chris, how’re you feeling?” James asked.
“F...fine.”
“Chris,” Jackson’s tone assured the blond that if he didn’t tell the truth the medic would.
Larabee was quiet as he watched the doctors come closer. He didn’t have to answer as the doctors could see the pain etched on his handsome face.
“Chris, if you don’t use it like you should I will have them reprogram it to automatic again,” Midland warned.
“After I see Vin.”
“Now.”
Larabee nodded his head and Jackson placed the box under his hand. Chris reluctantly depressed the button delivering the much needed pain relief to his body.
“Stop trying to be so tough all the time, Chris,” Midland scolded.
“Not tough. Never will be again,” his quiet voice told them.
“Yes, you will, Brother, it may take some time but we’ll be there with you and we’ll make sure you’ve got all the time you need. I promise you that.”
Larabee shook his head viciously as he looked at the people in the room. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Josiah.”
James shook her head at the others, not wanting any of them to speak. “Chris, Are you ready to tell us what happened last night?”
‘Tell anyone I was here and I’ll just have to kill Tanner first.’ The hated words echoed in his mind as he looked towards the psychiatrist. “JD fell asleep and I fell
off the bed.”
“That doesn’t explain the burns on your chest and legs, Chris,” Midland said.
“Guess I was careless.”
“Careless?” James asked.
“Yeah, careless, not s...supposed to smoke in the h...hospital,” Larabee mumbled as he was pulled towards sleep.
“They’re not cigarette burns, Chris,” James insisted. “What really happened?”
Larabee yawned as he answered in an almost robotic tone. “S...Sharpe s...said he’d k...kill Vin if I...” his voice trailed off as he slipped into a deep sleep once more.
“That son of a bitch,” Sanchez snarled as he struggled to control his anger. “If I get my hands on him I’ll tear him apart.”
“Calm down, Josiah, that won’t do Chris or Vin any good,” Midland ordered.
“Did you hear him? Did you? He said Sharpe did this to him,” Sanchez hissed.
“No, he said Sharpe threatened to kill Vin. He never said Sharpe did this to him.”
“You can’t be serious, Nathan?”
“Josiah, think about it. Until Chris comes right out and says it was Sharpe the DA won’t charge him with anything but threatening another person. At least he’s got
police protection outside the door now. With one of us in here at all times he’ll be safe.”
James turned to Taylor, “Jake you can leave now.”
“You sure, Doc, I don’t mind staying with him.”
“I know, Jake but right now your presence is too much of a reminder of why he’s here.”
“Alright, Doc, think he’d mind if I stopped by later as a friend instead of a sitter?”
“I think he’d like that, Jake,” Jackson answered, smiling as the retired police officer left the room.
“Doc, how bad a setback is this?” Sanchez asked.
“It’s set his physical recovery back a few days. The swelling is not as pronounced as it was when he first came in but it’s enough to make the Physio painful again.
The wound in his side opened a little but it’s also not as bad as it could’ve been,” Midland explained.
The two men turned towards the psychiatrist and waited for her to speak.
“Until Chris is willing to open up and talk about what happened he’ll be considered a risk. I’m sorry but he really needs to tell us what Whelan, Wilcox, and Sharpe
did to him.”
“Don’t you mean what they’re doing to him?” Sanchez asked.
“I mean both. He really does need to let it out. He needs to talk about the fear, the anger, the torture he was put through. He also needs to face how this has affected
his trust in Vin Tanner. Oh, I know he’s talking to him and says he knows Vin had nothing to do with all of this but deep down a part of him hasn’t come to grips with
it. He needs to talk everything out and the sooner the better.”
“He was asking to see Vin,” Jackson told her.
“Did he say why?” James asked.
“He wanted to make sure he was ok.” Sanchez answered.
“I was just about to call him when you came in.”
“Is Vin alright to come in?” James asked.
“Are you kidding? We won’t be able to keep him away,” Jackson told her.
“Alright have him come in when he’s ready. Meanwhile we’re going to let Chris sleep for awhile. Nathan, let the nurses know if he needs anything.”
“I will, Doc, thanks.”
Chapter 79
His blue eyes were filled with anger as he sat in the chair next to his best friend’s bed. His own body ached but the pain medication the doctors provided him with
took enough of the edge off for him to get around. His rage at Gary Wilcox continued to grow each time he looked at his friend’s injuries, the reminder of what his
friendship with Wilcox had almost cost him.
Vin watched the sleeping man, concerned when the blond head would toss to and fro as if caught in a nightmare. He looked at his watch then back to the man on the
bed. Nothing had changed since his arrival nearly two hours before. Chris continued to sleep, sometimes with an expression bordering on peace but most of the time
his face was contorted with pain and anger. The worst part came when Vin saw the palpable fear creep over the handsome features. He’d been reading up on
victim’s of torture and what to expect afterwards and he’d vowed to be there to help Chris through it. The experience and its aftermath would be with Chris Larabee
for the rest of his life but so would Vin Tanner. He was going to make sure Chris found the strength he needed to rid his body and soul of the horrors Gary Wilcox,
Whelan, and Tony Sharpe did to him.
The sharpshooter watched the eye movement that signaled the injured man was on the verge of waking. He listened to the muttered groan as unfocused green eyes
opened. “Hey, Cowboy, how’re you doin’?”
Larabee focused on the caring blue eyes of the younger man. The relief he felt washed some of the weariness from his own face, replacing it with a small smile. “Vin,
are you ok?”
Tanner couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m fine, Chris, it’s you we’re all worried about.”
“I’m doing ok, Vin,” Larabee muttered. “Can you help me sit up?”
“Sure,” Tanner said as he pressed the button, raising his friend to a sitting position.
“Thanks,” Larabee whispered as he waited for his head to clear. Finally his eyes came to rest on the empty chair across the room. “Where’s...”
“Dr. James says you don’t need him when you got us to look after you,” Tanner interrupted.
“Good. I wouldn’t mind Jake coming back to visit though. He’s amazing, Vin.”
Tanner smiled at the wistful look on his friend’s face. “I’m sure he is.”
The two men lapsed into companionable silence. Chris closing his eyes and snapping them open as memories of the night before came over him.
Tanner watched his friend’s face, knowing the fear wouldn’t go away until he talked about what happened to him. “Chris?” Larabee’s eyes opened and gazed at the
other man. “We need to talk.”
“About what?”
“About Gary,” Larabee’s eyes turned cold as he listened to his friend. “About Whelan,” the cold became glacial. “About what’s been done to you.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” the blond told him.
“Chris?”
“Not now, Vin.”
“Now’s as good a time as any, Chris. Was Sharpe here last night?” worried about the flat tone of voice the blond was using. It sounded as if he was trying to
distance himself from what happened.
“Can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Told me not to.”
“Who told you not to?”
“Can’t tell you. Kill you if I do, Vin. Don’t you see? I can’t be the cause of your death as well. Already killed S...Sarah and Adam...”
“You didn’t kill Sarah and Adam, Chris.”
“I know that, Vin, and I keep telling myself that b...but I hear him t...telling me I did it. He’s in my mind, Vin, inside my head and I can’t get rid of him. I hear him
telling me how I murdered Sarah and Adam. I hear him t...telling me it was you paying him. I know it wasn’t, Vin, I swear I don’t believe him but when I’m sleeping I
can’t get away from him. I can’t tune him out and he says the same thing over and over. Oh, God, I can’t get him out,” Larabee screamed and placed his injured
hands to his pounding head. “Why can’t I make him stop? Why can’t I get past all this? Why does he want to torture me, Vin? Why?” the blond cried angrily, fighting
back the tears, not wanting to show his friend what he perceived as his own weakness.
“Chris, it’s going to take some time but if you’re willing to let me I’ll help you through it. I’m here, Pard, I always will be. All it take is for you to want that help. For
you to want to take your life back.”
“I want that, Vin, I want that so much. It’s just they always seem to get to me.”
“Not anymore, Chris. There’s a police officer outside your door and one of us will be with you constantly.”
“Do you really think that matters, Vin? He got in here last night. Thought JD was dead, Vin. Thought he’d killed him. I can’t seem t...to think straight.”
“JD’s fine, Chris. I saw him a few minutes ago and he feels terrible. Blames himself for letting Sharpe get to you.”
Larabee shook his head, “Not his fault. Sharpe must’ve drugged him.”
“Callie Willis gave the police a statement. She told them Sharpe was in the vending room while she was there getting coffee for JD. That’s probably how he drugged
the kid.”
Larabee nodded slowly. “Sharpe’s not gonna give up, Vin. He’s gonna keep coming until he’s ready to kill me.”
“Sharpe won’t get in here anymore, Chris. There’s an APB out on him. The police want to question him about what happened to you.”
Larabee twisted on the bed until he was resting on his right hip, “They won’t find him,” he said, his eyes suddenly growing heavy. “He’s a cold blooded animal, Vin,
and he’s going to kill you if he finds out I told them he was here,” he yawned and felt the pull of sleep once more. “Dammit, why do I feel so fucking tired all the
time,” he swore, grimacing as he struck out with his hands, hitting the rails again, crying out in pain and anger at the painful contact.
“Chris!” Tanner snapped as he grabbed the injured hands, wrapping his own around them. “That’s not going to help.”
“Nothing helps, Vin,” the blond whispered weakly. “Nothing at all. Just can’t seem to do a...anything on my own...”
Tanner settled the hands back on the bed and lowered the head as his friend once more slipped towards sleep. “You will, Chris. So help me, God, you will. I’ll stick
with you until we both feel safe,” Tanner whispered, finally admitting the fear he felt about what was being done to both him and his friend.