Wake of the Dead | Two

Chapter Forty | Killian

The look in Jasper's eyes was enough to make Killian sick. He'd never seen his partner look so enraged, so...bloodthirsty. It shook him down to the bones, making him want to look away. Was Jasper really going to kill Cohen? Much as he wanted to support Jasper, he just couldn't imagine killing Cohen. He couldn't imagine Jasper killing anybody. He didn't want to. Not unless there was no other option.

Everybody in the living room were watching Jasper carefully. The man was pacing back and forth, hand dangerously close to the gun at his side, but nobody had the courage to try and pull it away from him. "Jasper, love." Killian murmured, placing a soft hand on his lover's arm, "Come now, calm down. You're scaring the others."

"He has Aubrey," Jasper's voice was uneven, easily interpreted as anger. But Killian could hear the worrisome undertones. He'd never completely seen Jasper's protective nature spill over the boundaries of what was considered reasonable until then. He had the right to be worried and frightened. But with the others watching, he was only making things worse.

"I know he does," Killian said. He did his best to keep his tone even, but it was harder than he thought. "We're going now. Look, Casimir's done getting ready. We're headed out now." Killian had learned long ago what to do to keep Jasper calm—because that's how Jasper made him calm—keep them centered in the present, ground them in the reality of the situation and remind them of their surroundings. Instead of demanding Jasper's gun, Killian just took hold of his hand.

Without skipping a beat and to Killian's surprise, Casimir joined in. "We're headed out now, man. If they're in danger we'll find them." The tension in the room dissipated as Jasper processed his situation again. Killian could imagine the gears turning in the other man's head until he nodded.

"Right," Everybody relaxed alongside Killian when Jasper's usual authoritative disposition took control once again. "Let's go, then. We're losing light." Like Killian observed earlier in the day, it had begun to snow. The white powder covered the ground in a thick layer, the wind piercing cold and battering against them every few seconds.

The more relaxed nature of the patrol was immediately broken when they stepped out of the door. Cohen was limping a few yards away, hunched over with one arm gripping a gash in his shoulder. Scarlet drops fell to the ground and stained the snow a dark, inky-black crimson.

Before Killian could stop Jasper, he tore away from the group and stalked across the grass to Cohen. "Jasper, don't!" Killian's breath caught in his throat, his heart beating faster by the second. The rest of the group perked up from inside the house, gathering around to see what the new issue was. When Killian tried to grab Jasper, Darren pulled him back. "Darren, what...?"

"Listen to me," Darren hissed in his ear, "Shouting will only set him off even more." Tom attempted to take a step forward, but Darren held his arm out to stop him. "Tom, please. There's something going on. You know he wouldn't do this if there wasn't."

Killian held his breath as Tom remained silent, mulling over the scene in front of him. He parted his lips to say something, but hesitated. Killian's chest felt tight, as if all of the breath was being squeezed out of his chest. The tension among the group was rising. Keagan, Samantha and Harley stood on the far side of the porch, with Casimir and Chris on the other. Tom, Darren and Killian all stood on the top steps. At last, Tom spoke. "For everybody's safety, stay back."

Even if that wasn't the best response Killian would have hoped for, it was good enough. He let out the cascade of breath trapped in his lungs, taking deep breaths in an effort to force himself to calm down. Standing back as Tom said, he fought the urge to run to Jasper's side and stop everything once and for all. But he also knew it would be safer for him if he didn't. Jasper would never hurt him on purpose, but he could very easily do so in an accident.