Absolute

17

I guess I should have known that the sweet period would have an end.

Sean showed up first, insisting that I didn't have to call him doctor unless he was being a doctor. He looked over my bruises and applied some sort of miracle cream, saying that it should take care of the pain, and that the color would fade after a few days.

But it wasn't until the self-proclaimed 'Mr.' Blackbourne showed up that things really got down to business. They called a family meeting, and while everyone settled it, I couldn't keep my mind from wondering what his first name was, and how I could go about figuring it out.

All of the others called him Mr. Blackbourne, or I'd heard a few of them refer to him as Mr. B. But no one had mentioned a first name, or if they had, I'd missed it.

I wrinkled my nose, and Luke, who was next to me, threw his arm over the back of the couch and my shoulders. I looked up at him, squinting as if this would help me decipher how willing he'd be to help.

I considered asking Gabriel, but he'd yet to give my hat back and so I'd resorted to giving him pouty looks.

They'd work soon.

"Luke?" I whispered.

He looked over at me, raising an eyebrow with a slight smile on his lips. He didn't have to say anything for me to know he was giving me his full attention.

"What's Mr. Blackbourne's name?"

To my shock, Luke burst out in a loud laugh.

Mr. Blackbourne, who was trying to call order to this meeting, glared in our direction.

"Something funny, Mr. Taylor?"

Luke, still laughing, shook his head at Mr. Blackbourne, "Nope, nothing here. Carry on."

Mr. Blackbourne continued to look in our general direction for a few seconds longer than he needed to. I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks, but Luke looked as if I'd made his day. Gabriel caught my eye and I pushed out my bottom lip at him while glaring at the same time before making it a point to give Mr. B my whole attention.

Mr. Blackbourne sighed as he witnessed our exchanges, rubbing his nose, though I thought I could detect the slightest smile. It was gone before I could convince myself that it had ever been there in the first place.

"Please, if you could all behave for fifteen minutes, we might be able to get through this." He waited a second or two before continuing, "Miss Sang's house has been completely outfitted for surveillance. I know you asked that the team not put invasive countermeasures into your sister's room, but upon the actions of last night she's gone from a dormant to active member of abuse in the household. She has one camera place in her room, it's under her bed and will only show footage of the floor, but it's enough."

I swallowed, his words made sense, and while I didn't disagree with the move, I felt guilty. I decided to keep this feeling to myself and only nod at Mr. B to continue. He hesitated as he watched my face, but I kept my eyes steady on his. I didn't need to channel my inner alpha to believe that I deserved safety from my family.

He nodded back to me.

"In addition to this, Miss Sang needs to return home. But first, we need a plan of action."

I guess I knew this had always been a part of the plan, but him saying it out loud brought on a wave of feelings I'd been ignoring. I made this mess, I needed to own it.

North leaned forward, his voice soothing some of my nerves in a way I didn't understand. "How are we even going to do this? At first it was just the father we had to deal with, now the sister is being outwardly aggressive, and who knows what the mom knows at this point."