The Amber Shift

Remi & Avery: Part 2

Remi

All day yesterday, I thought about nothing but Avery and the fact that she's about to be locked up in that fucking cell in the basement all by herself in a few hours. I picked up my phone to call Elijah at least four times, but every time, I stopped myself because I know if I talk to him, it's going to end in a fight.

I want to call Avery, but I'm afraid it will just upset her more, knowing I can't be there with her. The more I think about all of this, the angrier I get. Avery was my friend before she was anything else, and Elijah keeping me away from her is not fair. And she's about to go through the scariest time of her life. Alone.

Not on my goddamn watch.

With two long strides, I cross the dated motel room and snatch my phone off the table. My fingers move fast to dial Elijah's number, not giving my brain a chance to overthink my decision.

"Elijah Holt, who's speaking?"

I roll my eyes. "Eli. It's me. Did you delete me from your contacts already?"

He scoffs. "No, I got a new phone, and my shit didn't transfer. What do you need, Remington?"

"Lay off the attitude. I want to talk to you about Avery."

"Don't bother. Whatever it is, the answer is—"

"Hear me out, please. I want to be there with her for her first shift tonight. I want to sit in the basement with her and hold her hand, like we did for Noelle. Please, Elijah. Not as an employee. I know I'm suspended. I just want to come to your home as a friend. As fucking family, Eli. Are we not still brothers?"

"Always, Remi," he says, his snark set aside. "But we've never let our relationship come between our duty. Orders are orders and failure to follow them has consequences. I didn't ask anything of you that I wouldn't ask another guard. If I pretend like you didn't disregard my command, others will expect the same treatment. You know that; you've overseen your own soldiers."

"Did you not hear me? I understand I'm suspended. I want to be there for her as a friend. I want to sit down there with her and hold her hand and tell her it's going to be okay. What is the harm in letting me visit the home where I spent almost my entire life?"

Elijah's heavy sigh is like a roaring wind in my ear. I can picture the exasperation written into his chiseled facial features, and I know his answer before he asks, "Since when do we allow family and friends visiting hours during a first shift? There is a reason that the cells are watched by the most experienced guards. You know that. You've sat through countless shifts."

My jaw nearly hits the floor. "Oh my fucking God, Holt, do you hear yourself? How about your mate's first shift when we took turns sitting with her, so she didn't have to be alone? Granted, Asher's dumb ass made an idiotic decision by unlocking the cell, but Noelle wasn't alone not for one second while she went through the shift. And you're going to sit there and act like we've never done it before?"

"Fucking listen to what you are saying, man. We were the gods dammed elite guards! Taking turns is the name of the game during a full moon. Noelle wasn't treated any different from the next lycan. Yes, we were closer to her than most, but we were there to do our fucking job. And my sister won't be alone. Killian and I will trade shifts during the night. This is exactly why you aren't here right now. You can't think rationally where Avery is concerned. Get your head out of your ass."

I clench my jaw so hard my teeth nearly crack. "You have a very selective memory. I'm the one who didn't want Noelle to be alone. Killian is the one who offered to sit with her in the cells. It wasn't a thing that had been done before. We started doing that for Noelle. But whatever you say, Elijah. Just know this isn't fair to your sister. I'm the one she wants with her tonight. She was even ready to leave your house and come with me yesterday. I should've fucking let her."