Broken Doll {ManxMan}

CHAPTER 34

Tobias meant it when he said he wanted me with him for the rest of the day. We didn't even go down to join the others for dinner that night, instead deciding to stay in our room while Bryn brought us a platter of food. I thought it was kind of odd of him to do, but it was nothing he'd never done before, and he insisted. Like he had been just as worried for me as Tobias had been.

My husband kept me close, clinging to me, and though I'd known him for years, it still took me a bit to realize that while he wasn't angry anymore, he was still upset, essentially pouting in indignation as he kept his arms around my shoulders, holding me to his chest with his chin in my hair, making it difficult to glance up at him and the honestly cute pout on his lips.

I wasn't hurt, so instead of being angrily protective, he was just being childishly possessive of me. I'd been a victim to both those moods, but lately I saw him protective rather than so pouty like this. It was a nice change of pace honestly, that he wasn't worried or overthinking things, just upset that I didn't tell him what I was doing, upset he wasn't there even though I had such a decent and not at all dangerous time at the market.

He probably figured it wasn't fair, more than likely disliked Demi even more now, and I didn't have a clue what he thought of Emyr. They hadn't spoken a word to each other, Tobias had barely spared him a glance as he ushered me into the plantation house and up to our room, where we stayed for the rest of the day and into the night.

I didn't see Emyr again until the next morning at breakfast, though Demi seemed to personally make a point of putting him rather far from my seat and on the opposite side of the table. He didn't look all that upset, thankfully, and seemed to be getting along fine with the people he was talking to, so I decided to focus on the immediate issues at hand, like eating breakfast and preparing for Adalwolf's arrival.

Somehow I hadn't noticed until now, lifting my cup of tea and frowning down at the reflection, turning it a bit to the side so I could see Bryn's face against the backdrop of dark water. He looked exhausted, like he hadn't been sleeping, there were shadows under his eyes and a frown on his lips, something much heavier than he normally wore. There was a heaviness in his eyes as well, a spark that glinted every now and then that I saw when he thought no one was looking. Some sense of fear...

It could easily be passed off as fatigue from overworking himself due to Adawolf coming so soon, he had a lot to plan and prepare for, accommodation for the Syndicate soldiers, filing weapons and supplies so he knew what they had to replace in their own warehouses later on, not to mention the issues with myself, and with Diego, joining the fray.

Yet at the same time, something in me said that was wrong. The look in his eyes was familiar, and maybe that's why I kept trying to think up excuses, because I didn't like the idea of Bryn being so scared. I wasn't stupid though. I'd already caught him passed out on the couch in the library, having simply blacked out while working. He'd been shifting around uncomfortably, mumbling words in his sleep I didn't understand, and when I woke him up, he had grabbed his gun and nearly shot me from his delusion brought by the sudden consciousness.

Something was wrong with him, but he wouldn't confide in me, so I couldn't exactly help him. I couldn't tell Tobias, because if he hadn't attempted to help Bryn on his own yet, then he likely didn't have a clue what was happening either, or Bryn was hiding it well enough that Tobias had yet to sense anything was off.

It probably wasn't hard, since Tobias had been so distracted by me and my recovery lately, but that made me feel just as sick as not knowing how to help Bryn through whatever he was going through. I remembered in the past, just a few months ago, when I didn't even care. It was a much simpler time in my opinion. Caring for people was so stressful.