All The Ways We Touch [BxB]

seventy-six - hell is a place on earth pt. one

Two days later.

"What else do you want me to do?" Timothy asked, throwing his hands up as Sarah looked at him expectantly. "That rich prick blocked every phone number we have."

While Sarah had busied herself with packing up the apartment between cooking duty and continuing to secretly swap out Jamison's C.D., she'd had a feeling that Timothy had been less successful with the ransom situation than he'd let on. "Cut off one of his ears or fingers and mail it to Henry," she answered as if it was obvious, her arms folded tightly across her chest, a deep, disapproving frown on her face.

Hearing his wife speak so coldly sent a shiver through him, making goosebumps appear up and down his arms. On the one hand, it was unnerving to hear how cold she could be, but on the other, he couldn't deny that he found it attractive. Maybe God had made her for him, maybe she'd be understanding of his past if he shared it with her, but he'd wait until they got the money. Then he'd unveil his whole plan to her. "Elliot doesn't deserve that," he said, pulling up his jeans and buttoning the fly. "He shouldn't have to pay for his father's crime."

Her face soured further. "You've developed such a weak spot for him that you're not thinking clearly," she said, tapping the side of her head in emphasis. Timothy became a different person after what Jamison did to him. The passion and light within him had faded along with the blood loss, which was why she had hoped that bringing him back would help fix him. Instead, he seemed to be more caught up with Elliot, and he wasn't even supposed to be there. "Just stop and think for one minute about our plans. What're we supposed to do without that money? You kno—"

"You don't know him or the effort that he's put into learning about Jesus," Timothy interrupted, turning away from her and that awful judgmental expression. Perhaps she was right, and he had gotten soft. Maybe he should allow her to see Jamison, then her opinion of him would change. "He's different than I expected. It's like he's been possessed by the Spirit. You know, he hasn't mentioned Jamison once in three days? All of his time has been spent reading the Bible, and that includes when I'm not around. He's memorizing scripture and reading beyond what I've recommended..." He turned back around, his nerves steeled. "I'm saving that boy's soul, Sarah. That's more important than the money. We'll figure it out."

"God is good," she said automatically, as she turned and busied herself by making the bed. It was one of Timothy's favorite phrases and worked well when she had nothing nice to say or was trying to recover from showing him attitude.

Sarah was growing impatient. They'd originally only planned to keep Jamison at the facility for a few days, until Timothy broke him so they could safely get moving to their next destination. Now, it seemed that Timothy had forgotten that plan, and that every day they stayed in Shepherd's Flock put them at risk. It didn't help that every night since their return from Astoria, her dreams had been filled with lush landscapes that she'd only ever seen on television before they moved to Shepherd's Flock. Didn't he understand that they'd made plans with that money? That she was finally going to get out of there and have a real life? Well, she hadn't emphasized that part to him. "Go ask Elliot to pay his own ransom. Then we'll release him and move on like we're supposed to. It's risky for us to stay here for long."

His nose crinkled up at the idea, but he didn't say anything. It wasn't unreasonable, but asking him to pay his own ransom felt like begging for charity. "Just keep packing," he said, "and let your husband do the worrying. It's not your place to be concerned with our finances or safety."

"Yes, sugar bear," she said through her teeth, trying to keep the bitterness from her tone. Timothy had put up with a lot from her, but pushing it too far was dangerous, and she had no interest in familiarizing herself with his temper. "I'll have lunch ready at the same time. Is that okay?"