Page 134 of What We Don't Say: Part Two

Something heavy strikes a wall near the nest. Theo cries out immediately afterward, the sound sharp and frightened before it cuts off altogether.

I follow Sloane through the hall, nearly catching his shoulder when he takes the corner too fast. Idris reaches the opposite end at the same time, already moving toward the nest because the bonds have given both of them a warning I can only read in their faces.

The doorway is partially blocked by an overturned chair and one of the narrow tables Theo dragged in for scent objects. Sloane kicks the chair aside, and the room opens in front of us.

Garrett is on one knee inside the nest.

Blood runs from his nose and stains the front of his shirt. One of the pillows lies crushed beneath his hand, while Callie stands several feet away with her fists raised and Theo behind her against the far wall.

Her right hand is already swelling across the knuckles. She is terrified, but she is still between Garrett and Theo when he pushes himself upright.

For one stunned moment, all I can see is her. She met him before anyone reached the room, and the blood on his face proves she did not wait to be rescued.

Garrett wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and stares at her as though the blow offended him more than the break-in.His polished calm remains, but it is thinner now, stretched over rage he can no longer hide.

“You have made this worse at every turn,” he says, taking a step toward her. “Move away from Theo before you frighten him further.”

Callie does not move. Her shoulders shake, but her voice is steady when she answers. “You broke into our house and came into his nest.”

Garrett’s eyes flick toward Theo. He is pressed into the wall with both hands clenched against his chest, his mouth open around breaths that don't make a sound.

“Theo knows me,” Garrett says, softening his tone in a way that makes Sloane bare his teeth beside me. “He knows I have always taken care of him.”

Theo’s face crumples at the words. Idris crosses the room carefully, keeping Callie between himself and Garrett until he can reach Theo without stepping into Garrett’s path.

Garrett sees the movement and turns toward him. “Do not touch him when he is distressed. You have already made him unstable with that permanent bite.”

Idris places himself in front of Theo and gathers him against his chest. Theo folds into him without resistance, his fingers clutching Idris' shirt while his body begins to shake hard enough that Idris has to brace his weight.

“You are trespassing in his nest after forcing entry into a protected residence,” Idris says, keeping his voice low. “The police are being called now.”

Garrett takes another step toward Callie. The movement is small, but Sloane reacts as though Garrett has lunged.

He reaches him before I do and drives a fist into Garrett’s jaw. Garrett hits the side of the nest platform, knocking loose a lamp and sending it crashing across the floor.

Sloane follows him down, grabbing the front of his shirt and striking him again before Garrett can lift an arm. The rage in Sloane’s face is nearly blank, burned past thought by whatever fear is still tearing through the bond.

Garrett twists beneath him and reaches toward Callie. I catch his wrist, wrench it behind his back, and drag him away from the nest before he can touch her.

He drives an elbow into my ribs as I pull him across the floor. Pain flashes through my side, but I keep hold of him and slam him facedown against the rug.

“You think this protects her?” Garrett spits, fighting beneath me. “She destroys every structure she enters, and you are too blinded by sex to see it.”

Sloane drives his fist into the side of Garrett’s face. Blood smears from Garrett’s mouth against the rug, and the sound that leaves Sloane is rough enough that Callie flinches behind us.

I tighten my grip on Garrett’s arm as he tries to buck me off. His free hand scrapes across the floor toward the folded papers that fell from inside his coat, and I drive my knee more firmly between his shoulders.

The papers are copies of the expired order he used on campus. Even after Zana dismantled the lie in front of him, Garrett carried the dead document into this house as though paper could still force everyone back into place.

Idris has his phone against his ear now. He keeps one arm around Theo while giving the dispatcher the address, the forced entry, and Garrett’s condition with a control that does not touch the terror in Theo’s face.

Theo tries to say something against Idris' chest. His lips form Callie’s name, but only a thin breath emerges before his throat closes again.

Garrett hears him and turns his head against the rug. “Theo, tell them to stop. You don't want this.”

Theo goes rigid in Idris' arms. His eyes fix on Garrett, and whatever confusion remained inside him breaks across his face.

Callie steps closer before any of us can stop her. “He does not have to tell us anything.”