TIFFIN 3

61

I rubbed my stomach, the need to empty my breakfast out onto the mat growing stronger with each minute that passed. 

We may have lost some men. 

No. It couldn't be. People called in the swat team for one reason; they were the best.

Surely some kidnapper that had failed with me on all accounts couldn't outsmart Captain Willard. 

Just as I thought this, my stomach doubled over, forcing me to lose my footing. I did my best to cover my mouth, but with my luck, I spewed bile.
 
Everyone jumped out of my line of fire, then as if noticing what was happening, scurried around to find something to clean up my mess. My mess. God, I was so out of sorts. What was the matter with me? 

Nothing except the fact that you may have lost Kylie and all your new friends forever...

Oh no. Niall...

Now that I had some paper towels to pad the sweat off my face, I now saw that Josephine was in hysterics, hunched over near my puke.

She couldn't have cared less about the stench. How could she? Her future was being ripped from her. 

After I'd managed to relax, I stared up at the guards that had joined us after receiving orders to retreat from outside the compound. 

"What do we do now?" I murmured, unable to look them in the eyes.

"We may have to involve the government," A gruff voice replied, "some undercover agents... my god, this hasn't happened in years." 

I joined my other friends on the floor, enveloping Jo in a tight hug, unwilling to let go. 

"Jo... are you okay?" I whispered.

She slowly lifted her head, her mascara smeared across her cheeks. 

"How could I be?" She sobbed. "This is all my fault! If we hadn't suggested that we come here, my husband would still be here! What if he got shot? What if any of our men got shot?" 

All of the girls and Brendan began sniffling. 

I blew out a strangled breath, resting a hand on my stomach that was now shifting from my child kicking. 

"We all knew that this was what we were supposed to do. We had to. Kylie is our friend and she needed us to fight for her." 

Josephine now stood to her feet, sending a glare my way. 

"You don't understand at all, Kristina! I had something good going for me! Niall is a good man, through and through. He's it for me. Do you get that? No. You don't. Haven't you done enough already?"

I struggled to my feet. 

"Look, I know you're feeling emotional and everything, but we can't lose our heads. Let's focus on the positive. It could have been a glitch. Next thing we know, the captain will be walking through this door, with the kidnapper in custody and Kylie with us-"

Josephine snorted. 

"Oh, don't even act like she mattered. Please! You two never got along. She was never a friend to you. We all know she still wanted Hero to fuck her!"

I gasped, taken aback by my best friend's behavior. I'd taken time to get to know Kylie and she was past that phase. She loves Ezekiel. 

As I stared at the guards, they all stood by watching our confrontation. 

"Listen to yourself, Jo," I said, "She's been through God knows what in that place. She's a person, just like any of us. She has people that love and care about her. Brothers, sisters, a mother, and father..." 

Josephine scoffed. 

"Sister and brother... I remember how much my brother meant to you-"

I shook my head in disbelief. 

"Who are you anymore. My god. You're being so conceited and selfish and you don't even see it."

"I'M BEING SELFISH?" She screeched. 

"Yes," I countered, "You are being selfish. Here you stand, claiming that someone's life doesn't matter because of their past and you say that I don't get it because my husband abandoned me and left me pregnant? Well, do I have news for you. I have suffered loss far more than most people. I've had a kidnapper gun for me, I lost my real parents due to being kidnapped as a baby, and I'm a single mother. If you really think your worries mean more than anyone else's, then you need to wake the hell up and smell the roses because we are all suffering. You need to get with the program because with everything you've said, I'm not sure I should be surrounding myself with someone like that." 

Jo didn't respond at all. She simply stared back at me, with tears in her eyes. 

"Okay!" One of the guards shouted. "Time to break it up. Let's all just go to separate corners of the room." 

As we all dispersed, I couldn't help but wonder if that really had been a malfunction with the monitor.