A Wolf's Purpose

•Chapter 71• Thinking in Silence

Casper tried his best to stay steady on his feet. The man in front of him did not bother to pay much attention to him as he stumbled after him. The uneven paths were not making it easy on him either. He heard the other man behind him curse under his breath one or two times because he stepped wrong. His knees were wobbly and his legs weak. His whole body felt weak. His neck almost felt like it wasn't supporting his head. Not to mention the shoulders holding all that weight as well. Casper was sure he had never felt like this before. They were armed. He couldn't go against them. He'd tried to sit down and both men had told him to keep moving. Casper wondered where they were taking him. They weren't in the woods but they weren't in the city either. Did they work for Jade? Or was it Bill who hired them? Could it be Louis who had something to do with this? "Should I be on my feet?" Casper asked them as they walked. "Just keep walking." The man in front of him answered. How does one sit on a hospital bed – feeling terrible – and go for a hike barely two hours later? And why? "Sorry. I was just wondering. You know, since I was in the hospital, and the lady said I needed to rest." Casper replied in a bratty tone. His feet – no, his entire body – was killing him. "You're walking, are you not?" Barely, Casper thought to himself. "I'm not sure if you could call it walking." The man behind him placed his hand on his shoulder and shoved him harshly. "You're walking, so keep walking." So, that's what he did. He kept moving with an armed man in front of him and one behind him. He had to resist the urge to start acting like a child, and constantly asking if they were there yet. Just to annoy them. Maybe they would tell him something. His mind wandered off to Jade, where she'd be right now, how she was doing.

Jade was still in her bedroom. She'd pulled the warm covers over herself even if it was far too early to take a nap or fall asleep entirely. Bill would ask her to come out soon for another treatment. She'd do anything to avoid it. Ian was still with her which brought her a bit more comfort. He was still trying to come up with something to get them out of there without a bullet between his brains. With Bill right outside the door, there wasn't much they could do. Jade missed her uncle and her brothers. She missed Casper and her job. Being in charge of all that brought her so much. She felt like she belonged somewhere. People listened to her without shoving her away or waving her opinion straight off the table before she even finished speaking. Barely anyone talked to her in school because her brothers were always with her. Most people thought she was a bit weird anyway. And yet, now she felt alone. She had her brothers, or her uncle, or Casper... even Andrew. Andrew. Once his name entered her mind, this aching feeling returned to her. She missed him, maybe more than anyone else. Andrew listened to her, he smiled at her, and he liked her when no one else did. A knock sounded on the other side of the door. Jade glanced up. "Sweetie, could you open the door, please?" Bill called out to her in a soft tone. Ian wanted to protest but he knew this was important. Jade pushed her blanket aside and stood up to open the door, wondering about her brothers and the others.

Liz shyly remained seated with Louis at the table as the triplets were talking to Andrew about their sister. Megan was silently listening to their conversation but didn't have much to add to it. Liz looked at Louis who was focused on the empty coffee mug in front of him on the table. He wasn't completely occupied. He felt Liz's eyes on him. He made that clear by looking up at the young girl. Liz gulped and pulled her eyes away from the man and suddenly felt heat rushing to her cheeks. Louis was a handsome man, a very handsome man. He might be older but he still has his good looks. Though, that was not why she was looking at him. "What is it, bird?" Louis asked her. Liz turned her head back to the man sitting with her. "What's on your mind?" Liz shot a quick glance at Jerry talking to his brothers and Andrew before she looked at Louis again. "Don't look at me and then start thinking about whatever you were doing upstairs with the kid, alright?" Louis chuckled his best effort to keep the situation as breezy as possible. "I wasn't." Liz replied shyly, "I just had a thought about Bill." Louis turned his full attention to her. He beaconed her over to sit in the chair beside him. Liz stood up and moved to the other chair. "Thinking about what?"
"Well, we need Jade, but we also need Bill. We don't want him to expect anything. Andrew just said something about the whole 'telling us things about Bill to help us', right?" Louis nodded his head as he listened closely to her words. He knew Liz was smart. Jerry wouldn't fall in love with some stereotypical dumb lamb who was too popular to think. He fell in love with his perfect match. And in one go. Louis would have to give him a pat on the back one day for that. "I've had a thought. About bringing you and Bill together again. Become partners. Get to know his routine and all that." Liz suggested to him. Louis allowed her words to sink in for a few seconds as he leaned back into his chair. It was a smart idea. There were two problems with it, though. One, wouldn't Bill expect him to do that? Coming back after all that? And two, would Louis be able to keep his promise to the triplets to go against their father? Louis looked at Liz to see that she was studying his face. "It's a good idea. It really is. I'm not too sure about it, though, bird."

Liz couldn't help but blush a bit at the nickname Louis had apparently given her. He never intended it like that, obviously. Louis' charm comes out whenever it wants toward anyone. He gave her a slightly awkward smile. "Sorry. I can't –"
"It's fine." Liz returned the smile, "But you're not sure?" Louis shakes his head and gets a bit closer to her. "I'm not sure if it'll come as a surprise to him. And –" He cut himself off to look at the triplets standing close behind them, "I don't want to fuck it up because he's already onto us. He sees through me sometimes and I don't know how he does that. But it's a good idea." Louis said to her. He would not tell her about his doubts to be able to stay loyal to the triplets. It would be like going against your brother. Louis couldn't see himself doing that. No matter how much wrong Bill had done. "It was a suggestion. Something to keep in mind, that's all." Liz assured him. Louis gave her a slight nod. "So, do you want to interrogate me right away, bird? Or do you want to wait a bit?" His charming smile made her cheeks and ears heat up yet again. "Oi!" Jerry called out to his uncle. Liz immediately backed away from the older man and kept the distance between them. Jerry stood protectively behind his girlfriend. Louis glared at the boy. "You're not flirting with her, are you? That's disgusting."
"If I were flirting, she would look very differently right now, I promise you that." Louis replied smugly, "And she's a bit too young for me, don't you think? I've got my eyes on someone else, kid. She's all yours, man. Bird." Louis smiled at her and stood up. Jerry looked down at Liz. "He wasn't making you uncomfortable, was he?"
"No, he wasn't," Liz answered. Jerry's hand cupped her chin and tilted it up carefully to make her look up at him. "Okay, then. Bird, huh?" Liz's cheeks burned up again. "It's just a nickname." She assured him. Jerry wasn't jealous. He just enjoyed to tease her with it a bit. "You seem to like it a lot. How about I remind you of another nickname of yours? One you'll like a whole lot better." Liz blinked at him without being able to get any words out of her mouth. Heat spread across her entire face. Did he mean that? Jerry smirked a little and pressed a kiss to her lips and one on her forehead. "Good girl." He praised her.