The Desperation Inside

Chapter 11: Fear in the Darkness

      

Jake looked into the living room where Glory sat curled up in a blanket and heaved a sigh. "I need to keep my promise to her. I swore he would not get to her, and I need your help to keep that promise." He looked around the table. Drake met his eye with a nod.

Charlie immediately jumped into action, pulling out various video and security equipment. Within an hour, there was not an inch of the house that was not fully wired. Jake had been given a hand held monitor to carry with him. Glory had watched the process, never moving from the couch. Jake had checked on her several times, concerned by her lack of movement, but each time she said she was fine.

When the men finished working, Drake sat up for the first shift. Jake flopped on the couch next to Glory, throwing an arm around her shoulders. He ignored the automatic flinch, focusing instead on the way she began to relax into him after her initial jump.

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Glory was numb. She looked over at Jake knowing she needed to tell him about Leanne, but humiliation ate at her. Nausea churned in her stomach and she suddenly jumped up to make a run for the bathroom. Jake followed, rubbing her back and handing her a rag to wipe her face. She shuddered, then forced herself to meet his eyes.

"Leanne was involved too. Alex's wife- she knew what was going on. She...she knew the whole time" Glory dropped her head in shame. Shuddering, she took a deep breath in. "I am pretty sure that he didn't kill her because he wanted her to help him with his plans."

"If that is the case, Glory, then we will make sure that they both are punished. Neither of them is getting to you. It is going to be ok." Jake took her hand and led her back out into the living room, where Drake was now waiting for her.

"Here, Glory. This is a GPS tracking device. I want you to wear it at all times. It looks just like a set of earrings, but it will provide us a with an exact location of where you are at all times. " Drake handed her a small box containing the "earrings" and motioned for her to go ahead and put them on. "While I do not anticipate you going anywhere where you will be out of our sight, I also do not believe in taking chances.'

Glory nodded, and put the earrings in quickly. While it added to her panic slightly, the fact that they could see where she was at also gave her a measure of comfort.

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"Ok guys, I am starving! What is the plan for dinner in this joint?" Charlie popped out of Jake's bedroom, startling Glory and causing her to jerk closer to Jake. Jake placed a reassuring hand on her arm.

"How does pizza sound? I have the stuff to make our own personal pizzas in the fridge. They only take about 20 minutes to cook." Jake glanced around the room. Receiving nods from the guys, he guided Glory to the kitchen and began pulling toppings out of the drawers of the fridge. "Drake, look in that cabinet next to you and grab the sauce."

The four set about making pizzas, the atmosphere light and friendly banter flying between the men. Glory was quiet, but seemed to be less tense. Before long, pizzas were in the oven to cook, and they had moved back to the living room to argue about what to watch. Jake was scrolling through the listings, when suddenly, Glory squealed, causing him to jump.

"The Princess Bride!! I LOVE that movie!! Please can we watch it?" Glory bounced on her seat like a child, her eyes lighting up. Drake and Charlie both looked at him and shrugged.

"Sure," Jake said, clicking on it. "I have never seen it before. What about you guys?" Drake shook his head no, but Charlie rolled his eyes and nodded. "That bad?" Jake questioned.

"Yep, but I am going to be headed to get some sleep after I eat anyway so that I can relieve Drake in a few hours, so you guys enjoy!" Charlie responded with a sly grin.

One hour later, Glory was giggling helplessly as she alternated between watching the movie and watching the guys reactions. Jake shook his head, catching Drake's grin out of the corner of his eye. He was pretty sure Drake was going a little overboard with his exaggerated reactions to the movie just to keep her laughing. He smiled to himself, admitting that he was doing the same thing. Her light, tinkling laugh was warming him from the inside out, and he would be as silly as needed to continue listening to it for as long as he could.

As the movie came to a ridiculously dramatic close, Drake shook his head and stood up. "Well, time for me to go do a perimeter check and settle in by the cameras for the night. You guys have fun!"He slipped out the front door.