Winning His War

33

Andrew's POV

The second Jem left his wing, slamming the door behind him; Devon's gun was in his hand as he waved us to come sit in the living room.

He didn't say a word to us as he flipped on the TV and put in a code that brought live footage of the drive way, the outside of the house, and several seemingly random places in the woods.

His eyes were glued to the screen for only a few minutes before he let out a sigh as Jem's car sped down the long driveway. His phone was gripped harshly in his left hand, texting Barrett without even having to look at the phone to do so.

A sharp whistle was pulled from his mouth and within seconds, all three dogs came racing into the room. All of their tails wagging with excitement now that Devon was home to see them but it didn't last long.

"Hades, guard," he said harshly as he pointed to the front door. I watched as the dog began snarling the second his eyes landed on the door as the hackles on his back raised. He stood there in a readied stance, waiting for the door to move every so slightly.

"Nyx, guard," he repeated, this time pointing to Patrick and I. She mimicked Hades perfectly as she stepped in front of us protectively. Her eyes darted to every little thing that moved leaving Devon being the only thing she wouldn't glare at.

"Is Jem going to be okay," I asked as I watched Devon pace.

It was weird to see such a usually calm and unsettled man act like this. For once his emotions shone brightly, broadcasting the panic and anxiety coursing through him.

"He'll be fine," he dismissed without even looking up from his phone.

"Then why are you acting so scared?"

"I said Jem would be fine, not that something wouldn't happen."

"How can we help," Patrick asked as he looked around for anything that could be done.

"Sit here and do nothing."

"That sounds like the opposite of what we're going for here."

"Jem needs to know that you're fine. He needs to know that we're here, in the house, where we're safe so he can bluff and make deals with who ever he needs to in order to get everyone home safe and to figure all of this out. If we try something he's not expecting we could end up getting him killed. For now we wait for Barrett to get here, watch the cameras to make sure there won't be another attack, and wait for Jem to check in."

"That's infuriating," he sighed but said nothing else as he stared at the TV blankly. Nothing but birds leaping across the screen could be seen.

"It's all we can do."

It wasn't much longer before Barrett came in. The doorknob had creaked ever so slightly when he touched it, leaving Hades to growl deep and loud before he saw who it was. The snarl dropped quickly but the second the door was closed again he glared, waiting for the last of the trio to finally come home. 

"What happened," Barrett demanded as soon as he walked in, not even sparing Patrick and I a glance.

"Warehouse D was attacked but that's all we know. We're waiting for Jem's check in."

"Jesus Christ," Barrett cursed as he hung his low for a moment before bringing his head up again, this time aiming a glare at his friend. "Why would you let him walk into something like that without back up?" He all but screamed. "You were standing right here when he left and you didn't think it was a good idea to go with him? He could be dead for all we know!"

"What did you want me to do? Jem told me to stay here and make sure the house didn't get hit. You know how he gets when these things happen, don't act like you would have fought to go with him."