Wren

Part 35

"I want to see Daddy!" Sophie screamed as loud as she could, stomping her foot as tears slid down her face. "I want to!"

"Sophie, please," Dace pleaded, his back turned to her as he dug through her clothes, trying to find something she was willing to wear. "You can't see Daddy yet."

"Why?!" She demanded, stomping again and crossing her arms. 

"Because he needs to rest. But we'll see him soon, okay?"

Sophie considered for a moment, then huffed an angry breath and stomped off to her room. Dace was in Wren and Matteo's closet, sitting on the floor, digging through her drawers of pink and purple dresses. He pulled out one that looked more comfortable than the others, less ruffles and sparkles, and pulled himself to his feet. He tossed the dress to the bed, deciding to wait until Sophie came out on her own. Why bother her when she had finally distracted herself in her room?

His phone rang in his pocket, and he slipped into the bathroom when he saw that it was Leo calling. "Hey, what's up?"

"Wren's fever. He's--ow, hold him still--" Dace could hear struggling grunts and crashing noises. "I think we need your help. Take Sophie to Vivian, please, and come here. Bring some ice."

Dace hung up, sighing as he walked out of the bathroom. He grabbed the dress from the bed and headed to Sophie's room. If he played this right, she might cooperate.

"Hey, Sophie, you wanna have a girls' day with Vivian?" He tried to sound appropriately cheery. 

"Vivi? Yeah!" She jumped up and snatched the dress, running to her 'dressing room' (it was a curtain Wren had hung up for her in the corner after she'd seen it on a show), and changed. She ran out with the dress crooked and her curls messy, but Dace was just glad she'd forgotten about their dispute. He watched her jam her sandals onto her feet, and grab her stuffed bunny. She took his hand and they started out the door. 

"Where's Grandpa?" She asked.

"He's busy right now." He couldn't tell a six-year-old that her grandfather was interrogating Wren's captors in the mansion's lower levels. 

He took Sophie to one of the guest rooms, where Vivian was staying. She opened the door with a wide smile, enticing Sophie in with the promise of cookies and nail polish. Dace left the two giggling. 

Now free of Sophie, he rushed all the way back through the mansion, into the kitchen where he grabbed a bag of ice from the freezer chest. Cook glared at him, but she didn't say anything. He then trekked all the way down to his own room that'd been taken over. He loved Wren, so he didn't mind.

When he opened the door, he was dumbfounded by what he saw. 

Matteo was on the floor beside the bed, struggling to hold onto a swaddled, thrashing bundle of blanket that wriggled and kicked in his lap, as Leo was trying to catch a limb to inject sedative into. But his attempts were futile; Wren's arms were flailing everywhere, trying to blindly protect himself from the danger he thought was there. Leo noticed him and glanced up.

"Oh, Dace, can you--" He was cut off when a kick landed in his stomach. He hunched over clutching his middle, the breath knocked out of him. 

Dace would've laughed if it weren't for how serious Wren's trauma was. It was like he didn't even know who they were anymore. They'd had to wrap him in a blanket to keep him from attacking them. Strangely though, he still hadn't opened his eyes. . . 

Dace set the ice down on the floor and crouched beside them, pinning Wren's flailing legs. Leo recovered and was able to restrain an arm by tucking it under his own, then stretching it out. He stabbed it with the needle, and Wren slowly relaxed until he went completely limp. 

"That bad?" Dace asked as Matteo started to unwrap the wads of blanket.

"Yeah. His fever suddenly spiked, and he freaked out when I touched him." Leo said, sadness seeping into his voice. "I can't imagine what they did to make him so scared of people. It's like his humanity was beat down until all that's left is animal instinct."

Dace glanced at Matteo, trying to read the blank expression on his face. He looked. . . Heartbroken. They'd completely destroyed Wren, and he wasn't sure he'd ever get him back. Dace could tell he also blamed himself for everything happening in the first place; if he'd been more careful, watched him better. . . none of this would have happened.

"I don't know what to do." Leo said, interrupting Dace's thoughts. "I hate to keep him sedated, but he keeps working himself up and he won't eat. The only thing I can do is keep him out, and put in a feeding tube for a while. His body is dangerously malnourished." He looked at Matteo, seeming to be asking for permission.

He seemed hesitant. He looked down at Wren's body; injured and broken, so thin he could count his ribs. "I-- I guess," his voice was unsure. "If it's best for him." He whispered, kissing Wren's feverish skin.

"Alright. Let's get him back in bed, and we'll get some food in his belly."

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Vincenzo stared in disgust at the man in front of him. 

Bound to a chair and covered in his own blood, his head lolling to one side, Eduardo was nearly unconscious from the blows that had been rained down on him.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Vincenzo demanded for the tenth time, grabbing a fistful of hair and forcing Eduardo's head back. 

"Nothing." A slimy grin crept across his bloody lips.

This bastard still had the balls to smile in his face?

Vincenzo snapped his fingers, and one of his men stepped out and handed him a pair of pliers before disappearing back into the shadows. He held them up in front of Eduardo's face, watching the way his eyes widened. 

"Obviously, simply beating the shit out of you won't work. So now, we have to do the nasty stuff." He pried open Eduardo's mouth, hovering the tool over it. "Last chance."

Eduardo hesitated, his breath heaving. But Vincenzo had no patience for his games. He gripped a tooth and yanked it out, blood pouring everywhere.

Eduardo screamed and thrashed as Vincenzo dropped the tooth into a glass dish. 

"What did you do to that boy?" Vincenzo growled again, holding the pliers up to indicate he was more than ready to add to his collection.

                       Part Thirty-Six Coming Soon