Page 28 of Vicious Butterfly
I’m thinking, knowing time’s slipping away from us, not knowing how long we’ve got, when I hear the distinct sound of someone pecking out text on an iPad.
I turn. “Griff, what the fuck? That’s Major Jarvis’s iPad.”
He shrugs as if to say,his fault for not leaving it password-locked, and keeps typing. I don’t know why, but that sends wave after wave of relief through me.
Griff hasn’t been broken. Not yet.
When he’s done, he gives it to me.
Dad won’t care. You know he won’t. It’s time we were honest about this, Rye. Stop getting into trouble because of me.
He doesn’t get it. Stopping is death for me.
Griff relaxes his hands, staring at the place on my jaw that must be bruised to fuck
“I’m fine, Griff.”
His hands move quickly as he frowns.You don’t look fine.His hands pause.Which is why I think we should comply.
“Griff—”
His hands fly faster, cutting me off, fingerspelling my nickname with purpose. “We can’t win, Rye, and I hate seeing what this is doing to you.”
“And what do you think it’s gonna do to me to wonder how you are all the fucking time?”
You’re not,he signs.
“Impossible.”
Try. Please. For me.
“Have you met me? If you think I can be emotionally manipulated by you, you’re wrong.”
God, I can’t stop thinking about that asshole touching my brother—hell fucking no. I’ll kill him. They’ll never find his body.
The door swings open, and Major Jarvis enters unannounced, which I guess is his prerogative, considering it’s his office.
We’re out of time. I still have so much more to say. More questions. And I don’t believe for a second he actually thinks this is the best solution, it’s the one that he thinks is gonna protect me. But he’s not used to dealing with people like Major Jarvis. If they can make you do one thing, they don’t stop there.
“Family time is over. If you can behave yourself and adhere to the rules, I’ll allow another supervised visitation.”
Anothersupervisedvisitation? Was he fucking spying on us? I lock my jaw so that what I think about him doesn’t come flying out.
“I’ll send you a comprehensive list via email, so we’re all on the same page with the rules. You’re dismissed, Cadet R. Savage. Cadet G. Savage, you stay.”
My heart races so fast. The worst feeling washes over me. “What are you going to do to him, sir?”
Major Jarvis doesn’t get the chance to answer as Griff pushes me toward the door. He points, but there’s no more signlanguage. Major Jarvis watches us, amused, as if we’re nothing more than rats he’s studying in a lab.
I gulp in air, but it doesn’t reach my lungs fast enough. My hands shake, and my feet won’t move, anchored to the ground. Griff stands taller, but he’s still a head shorter than me. He sets his jaw.
Go.
He doesn’t say it, but his demeanor does. There’s a slight tremor to his body. Someone else might miss it, but not me. I know him. We face off, his face begging me to leave, my body refusing to. Who’s gonna save him next time? That fuckhead Rowan? Not likely.
“On second thought, I think we need a teaching moment so you both understand the gravity,” Major Jarvis’s voice drawls from where he’s standing by his desk. He reaches into his drawer and pulls out something leather. “If you refuse to speak, you’ll wear this. If you and your brother are caught in proximity in an unsupervised setting, you’ll wear this. If you continue to use the methods of communicating that I’ve expressly forbidden, you’ll wear this. Here, put it on.”
Griff stares at it like it’s a viper that could bite him at any moment. He loses his bravado. Gone is the cheeky guy who used Major Jarvis’s iPad. He takes a step toward me, gripping my uniform, using me as a shield.
