BOND

52.

So whether you're an angel or the reason I disable

Is a future and I wonder if you're in mine

Oh I let you rock me back to sleep

With every dream of you I dream

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"What happened?"

Elena could only bring herself to look at Nicholas for the answer. Daniel had helped her up from the foyer, not that sitting on the couch was doing her any more good.

He and Chase had taken control over everybody who had been hurt, tending to them in any way that they could. The guy with the missing ear had fainted about ten minutes ago. The bleeding had stopped. Nicholas had firmly laid down the fact that nobody was leaving the house till Mark and Ben came back with good news.

He had almost said Mark or Ben. One glare from Alex had sent that thought out the window.

Taylor was in the kitchen scraping together whatever she could for a meal while halfway into a mental breakdown. They all looked like they had aged five years in the duration of the past hour since the first car had pulled up in the driveway.

Nicholas slowly raised his eyes, swimming in guilt, up to Alex's. He could not see it but Elena could feel it. Alex was shaking with anger, ready to pounce at the first person who would take a bit of accountability. She inched her hand over to his and squeezed.

Alex looked at her, the misplaced wrath quickly fading into worry. He took in a shaky breath, clutching back at her hand like it was the only tether keeping off the tears. A few had already slipped by. There were dried streaks along his cheeks that he hadn't bothered rubbing off.

There was no effort at words of reassurance. Only one thing would make them feel better.

"Everything was okay when we got there," Nicholas said, his voice echoing in the ghostly silence. He had his third brimming glass of whiskey pressed against his forehead, the free hand buried into his hair, pulling at the strands like if he tugged hard enough he would gain the ability to change reality.

"I had guys on the ground, there was no chance of trouble," he said, slamming back half the contents of his drink without so much as a grimace. If it was a coping mechanism, it was not working. He looked as sober as one could.

"Then where the hell is he?!" desperation crept into Alex's voice and he swallowed hard, fighting to keep his composure.

Nicholas looked back up at them. Elena sucked in a breath at the unbridled pain and self-accusation in his expression. He was hating this as much as either of them. More so since anything that happened could potentially be his fault.

An edge crept into his voice as his shoulders squared up, face a mask of carefully held back rage, "That worthless piece of shit must have had people coming to regularly check up on him."

This was the first mention of Reese since they had left in the first place. Elena had not given his death much thought. She would. Eventually. Right now the only thing on her mind was the possibility of another. The death that would result in a lot more casualties than Reese's.

"They blocked one of the ways out for but we got out without much damage," Nicholas got up, ready to fill his glass back up. He raised the bottle questioningly towards Chase at the back of the room, busy, but paying his complete attention to the conversation. He shook his head, one drink had been enough to ease his nerves.