Chapter Eight - Preventions

Cleaning my body while trying not to get my bandages wet is one thing I don't think I'll ever master. Rinsing the shampoo from my hair I then struggle to rinse the soap off the rest of my skin. Eventually I get up from the stool with a tired breath before changing into my clothes. If I had my skincare I'd no doubt be drowning my body in moisturizer by now.

Tying my wet hair in a sloppy bun I make my way to the meeting room where everyone sits including Judah. I take a seat and thank my lucky stars that I'm not facing Griffin otherwise I would've gouged my own eyes out. We start off with the topic of transportation routes my father uses.

"He uses all the Venezuelan ports to ship weapons and drugs but it's a different one every time. Nobody knows until a few hours before shipment and that information is only provided to his inner circle."

"Are you in this circle?" Griffin asks and I cross my arms.

"I'm the one on the ground to handle interference...so, yes."

"What systems do they use?" Judah asks as he sits up in his chair. I rattle off all the operating, tracking, and hacking systems we use which he notes down on a piece of paper. He grins smugly as he taps his pen on the sheet. "I can hack into most of these but will need time with the last two. They're a bit more complex."

"Good." Griffin nods as he types away on his laptop.

"Which other countries does he use for transport?" Cole asks with a thoughtful frown.

"I only know that he uses Mexico sometimes...well, with Santos gone someone else has stepped up to the plate to run things –"

"Who?" Griffin cuts me off with his demand.

I glare at him for interrupting me before answering. "Nobody knows except my father."

"We need you to find out when we send you back." He grunts as he resumes typing.

I notice Judah glance at me at the mention of me leaving but he doesn't say anything. Instead, his brows furrow as he stares down at the papers before him. There's a brief pause before Griffin turns to fully face me.

"Sex and human trafficking. What do you know about it?"

"He buys people from all around the world then they're transported to the highest bidder to work or pushed into brothels and strip clubs." I explain while rubbing my shoulder when it starts to ache.

Parker notices and slides two painkillers my way which I take with a grateful smile. He winks in response and I fight hard not to chuckle before downing the glass of water. Judah's eyes meet mine as soon as I put the glass down and they flicker to Parker before he looks away. I frown in confusion before Reece captures my attention.

"Before we caught you a group of people escaped one of your bases in El Amparo. What happened there?" She asks and I glance at the stack of papers before her that are brimming with information.

"I let them out."

Everyone's eyes widen momentarily before Griffin speaks. "Were there repercussions?"

"Always." I reply curtly but of course, Griffin isn't familiar with personal boundaries. His mouth opens but I interrupt him. "We're not here to discuss that. Move on."

"Any other groups coming in that we can intercept?" Reece asks and I purse my lips.

"There's two coming in from Colombia...but I would advise letting them reach our bases as planned." I state and hold up my hand to silence them before they can get a word out. "If you intercept before I even get back to main base my dad will know I'm working with you. You'd be blowing your cover before you can achieve anything."

"Smart woman." Judah murmurs and I match his smirk with one of my own.

We continue the meeting for another hour before finally wrapping up for breakfast. I wince when my leg starts to throb painfully as I stand. Following everyone out I take some eggs, pancakes and bacon before I catch Judah gesturing for me to follow him to the conservatory. With a small smile I grab a drink and cutlery before making my way down the hallway.

"Didn't realize this would be a recurring thing." I remark as I sit on the chair opposite him and dig into my breakfast.

"Well, it is until you have to go." He shrugs and I nod in response. "When do you leave?"

"I don't know. Griffin hasn't told me yet but I assume in a few days since we don't want my father to get more suspicious." I explain then notice him dumping a ton of hot sauce onto his plate. "A fan of spice?"

"I love it. It hurts but it's a good pain, you know?"

"Yeah, I feel you." I laugh before taking a sip of my drink.

"I'd let you feel me up anytime darlin."

I choke on the drink and immediately break out into a coughing fit. Judah jumps up and comes over to pat my back with a sheepish yet smug smile. I glare at him as he walks back to his seat and settles into it with a victorious exhale.

"Bastard." I mutter as I stab into my pancakes.

"Out of curiosity don't you feel...I don't know...bad about helping them take down your father? I know you were forced into this but do you feel guilty because of the relationship you have with him?" Judah asks after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

I think about it before shaking my head. "He never feels bad or guilty about robbing me of my childhood, freedom and punishing me so no, I don't either."

"Does it bother you that he doesn't think you're important?"

"Every single time. I used to fall into the trap of seeking his approval for everything I did but that all changed when I realized he'll never care about me." I chuckle sardonically. I feel him boring holes into the side of my head before I turn to meet his gaze and wiggle my brows questioningly. "What?"

"Nothing...I just never thought you'd be this open about yourself." He shrugs with a small smile.

"We're stuck together for a while. Might as well be friends right?" I repeat his words from yesterday and he laughs softly.

"Hey Marcella – oh, hi Judah." Parker smiles as we look at him over our shoulders.

Judah nods but doesn't say anything and I speak before it gets awkward. "Hey Parker. What's up?"

"I wanted to check your wounds if you're okay with that?" He flashes a charming smile at me and I shrug.

"Sure, let's go. I'll see you later Judah."

"Actually, I'd like a check-up too!" Judah blurts before following us.

Parker looks at him weirdly before crossing his arms. "I checked you this morning. If you're experiencing pain I can give you some stronger painkillers?"

"No, I think it's to do with my stitches. Let's go." He makes a shooing motion and I find myself smiling before we follow Parker to his room.

I take a seat on the bed and Judah sits beside me while Parker takes his supplies out. After rolling my sleeves and the leg of my sweatpants up I sit still as Parker checks everything and changes the bandage on my leg. I hiss when my wound stings and his eyes meet mine as he curls his hand around my knee with a soft apology. That causes me to become uncomfortable and I move my leg quickly before telling him I'm fine.

"So, Parker...what made you want to become a doctor?" Judah suddenly asks and I mentally thank him for the distraction.

"You heard the story a week ago Judah." Parker mumbles as he finishes up with my leg before moving onto my arms.

"Well, Macy hasn't and I'm sure she'd love to know."

"My mom was a doctor. Everyone loved her and she enjoyed her job very much." He recalls with a small smile but glances at me worriedly when I jolt from the pain. "Are you alright?"

"She's fine." Judah dismisses and I stifle my smile at Parker's obvious frustration over his behavior. "As you were saying?"

"She got into a car accident and the doctor operating on her couldn't save her. I was never good in school but she always hoped that I would graduate and have a career in science like her. So, I decided to follow in her footsteps and worked hard to become a doctor." He explains before finishing up and turning to Judah. "Now, show me your stitches."

"Thank you for telling me Parker. I'm sure she's incredibly proud of you." I murmur and his face lights up with a smile.

"It was bleeding!" Judah blurts and we turn to him with frowns of confusion.

"What?" Parker asks as he takes off the bandage and inspects the stitches. "Judah...the stitches aren't even opened. Everything's fine and healing."

"How weird! It was all bloody earlier." Judah gasps in surprise.

"There's no traces of blood on the bandage." Parker argues.

"Hmm, yes. I guess I must have hallucinated." Judah shrugs as he sticks a new bandage on himself and rolls down his pant leg before standing. "Oh well, thanks for checking anyways."

"Actually, that's concerning so I'd like to discuss it with you. Sit down."

"No thanks, I'm good! Let's go Macy."

"Sit down Judah or I'll get Griffin." Parker smiles, almost deviously, before glancing at me as he takes out a notepad. "You're free to go Marcella. I'll take off both your bandages tomorrow and you guys can take proper showers. Not before then."

"Alright, thanks Parker." I nod before waving at Judah as I walk past him and out of the room.

"Hey Marcella." Cole greets me once I step into the kitchen. "Grapes?"

"Sure, thanks Cole." I grin as I take a seat on the stool next to him.

"Oh my god!" He exclaims as Reece walks in with a sheet mask on her face.

"What?" She frowns, which I barely make out, as she opens the fridge to take out a bottle of juice.

"You look even more hideous than usual!"

I almost choke and feel tears brim my eyes as I burst out laughing. Cole screams bloody murder as he runs around the kitchen island trying to get away from Reece while throwing items at her. I grab the cake on the stand and pass it to Reece which she takes gratefully. She throws it at Cole but he moves out of the way just in time so it hits Griffin's face next as he walks in.

"Reece!" He yells as he wipes cake from his eyes and stares at her angrily.

"It was Cole!"

"How was it me when you threw it?!" He cackles and I notice her fists clench.

"You're on guard duty tonight Reece." Griffin fumes as he turns to leave.

"But Griffin it wasn't –"

"I don't want to hear it! Clean up the mess!" He seethes before leaving for the bathroom.

"You fucking asshole!" Reece shrieks as she lunges for him and they resume their chase.

I chuckle as I finish my grapes before getting up to clean the mess of cake splattered across the tiles. Reece eventually gives up and joins me with supplies, cursing Cole to the moon and back as we clean which makes me giggle. I watch as Cole sneaks closer when we finish and eye him curiously when he gestures for me to be quiet.

He then makes a noise of exclamation as he rips off her sheet mask. "Wow! That didn't do shit –"

She cuts him off by pressing a spot behind his neck that has him dropping to the floor unconscious. I burst out laughing again and an amused smile blooms on her lips just as Judah walks in sulking with Parker not too far behind. They take one look at Cole before asking what happened which Reece explains.

"Want to draw on him?" I suggest and they perk up in excitement.

"Get me a pen." She mutters with a wicked smirk.

Needless to say, Cole wasn't happy when he woke up a few minutes later.

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