When Dominic arrived the ambulance was
already there and the paramedics were inside tending to Skye. She had woken up
with a slew of strange faces over top of her making her feel a bit more than
claustrophobic. Dominic did not come alone however, he never did. Even though he was almost six feet tall and was a rather firm round man for his
height, he was always protected. Skye’s ears waffled at the sounds around her
but once she set her eyes on Kyra, she stayed focused there.
Kyra didn't know what to do or say as her
mother’s gaze found hers. She was fascinated by her Uncle and the men he always
had with him although she didn’t know why a pawn shop owner would always need
people so big around all of the time. She wondered if the lived with him too
because every time she say him he was never alone. He always had his driver
Maury and his bodyguard Chase with him everywhere he went. Usually Maury talked
too much and Chase barely spoke at all but both of them had been around as long
as Kyra could remember.
Kyra stood behind the female paramedic that
was checking Skye’s eyes. She could see her mom was getting annoyed with the
light in the eyes thing and the questions about if she had eaten that morning.
Skye started to swat at pen light every time it came near her and that made
Kyra smile because she hated that stuff too. Since she felt a little better
that her mother was awake now and pissed off Kyra decided to go outside and
escape all of the people in the house. She didn’t go far though, the farthest
she got was the step directly in front of the front door and when Dominic caught
sight of her and stormed across the yard towards her. Immediately he put his
hands on her shoulders “Are you OK kid? How’s your mother?” Kyra shrugged and
pointed inside.
Dom didn't wait for an invitation; he
barged through the open door bellowing for Cyrus as he went. Maury looked at
Kyra and then over at Chase with his big eyes and said with a smile “We just
can’t keep you chatter boxes from monopolizing the conversation can we?” When
he attempted to elbow Chase in the ribs he received a solid unimpressed look
from him and Maury decided that might not be a good idea to poke the bear
afterall.
Feeling like he wasn't really needed
Maury went back to the car rapidly punching buttons on his cell phone while he
walked. Chase watched him until he got in the car and then sat down on the top
step and gestured for Kyra to sit down. His voice was soft as he leaned over
and asked with a gentle voice, As he leaned forward and rested his forearms on
his knees he asked her, “Are you scared?” Kyra couldn't look at him for fear of
him seeing the tears welling up in her eyes but instead she nodded. Chase couldn’t
blame her for being scared after what happened to Deacon and felt the urge to
console her. “Your mom will be OK.” He said “She’s tough like you are and you
know we’re not going to let anything happen to any of you.”
Did she really know that? They didn’t
have much to do with Uncle Dom and Chase but they were family she supposed. Kyra
tried to suck up her tears as they were about to overflow but she couldn't. She
didn't feel tough at all. She knew something bad was coming and didn't know
what to say or who to tell. What if no one believed her? What if they thought
she was just being a silly little kid? Chase seemed nice… maybe he would listen
but she didn't know him very well either.
“CHASE!” Dom hollered from inside the foyer.
“Come make these damn dogs shut up! I can hear a thing these people are telling
me!” Chase let out a soft sigh and winked at Kyra as he stood up and went into
the house. Kyra got up as well and followed closely behind him. He was built
like her father and the looked a lot alike but Chase was not a jokester but
always serious. As he walked past Savannah he ruffled her hair and her smile
beamed at him, then when Kyra went by her, Sav wrapped her arms around her
older sister stopping her in her tracks and didn't let go.
As he slid past the paramedics who
were still checking Skye’s vitals he dropped his gaze to her long enough to see
her eyes rolling at everyone for fussing over her. “I’m fine, really. I just
need to eat,” she kept saying over and over again. He could hear the
frustration in her voice every time Dominic tried to tell them what to do. The
only thing that kept her even somewhat calm was Cyrus crouching beside her,
holding her hand being the man of the house. There fear in his eyes was evident
by the way he was searching Skye’s face for things that weren’t normal and
looking for her lies to the paramedics.
Sidestepping the lot on the floor to get to
the sliding door he could see why Dom was so upset with the dogs. They were
barking and snarling at the paramedics from the other side of the glass door.
There was drool and fur stuck to the glass and Kona continued to bark at the
EMT's but Angel stopped and waited once she saw Chase at the door. Although she
didn’t calm down so much as be ready to bolt through the door as soon as it
opened but neither of them would get the chance.
He slid the door
open slowly and Kona tried to bolt through it before it was opened enough and
all he got for it was a knee under the neck as Chase put his leg in the
opening, pushing him back out the door. The large dog tried to wiggle around it
and even bared his teeth at Chase. Chase understood the urge to protect and the
want to get to Skye but a firm knee across the opening worked and stopped the
massive dog and he pushed him back further as he stepped outside himself. He
closed the door behind him while Kona frantically paced back and forth in front
of the glass but had turned the barking into snuffling and growling instead.
Angel followed Chase across the deck as he crossed to the railing where he
leaned back against it and… she sat down directly in front of him as attentive
as ever. Quietly surveying the man and waiting, the only thing that Angel moved
were her ears as she listened to the voices inside the house. Once Kona noticed
that he was the only one putting up a fuss he trotted over next to Angel and
sat right beside her with his tail swishing gently across the wood.
Chase watched them both and when he
was content that they were on their best behavior he reached in his jacket
pocket and took out a plastic bag that had pepperoni ends in it. He knew these
dogs and their weakness for pepperoni so he had brought them just in case he
needed them…and it turned out that he did.
In the kitchen Kyra watched Chase
through the window...in her hand, half crumpled and damp from her clammy hands
was the piece of paper she had taken off of Skye's dresser.
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