Page 40 of The Wolf and the Monarch

He sighed. “But what about your family?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. But that’s the only place I know to go. Someone there will help. Whether it’s my sister, dad, uncles…even my mom.”

“They won’t want me there.”

“They won’t say anything about it. You’re as much of a victim as I am.”

He could see the skepticism in Sawyer’s eyes at that statement but he didn’t say anything about it. Benji would just argue with him if he did because he really believed his words. Sawyer had been a captive for most of his life. There was no doubt about that. “What if they don’t help you?”

“They will.”

“What if they don’t want to help me?”

“They will.” He repeated. “I know they will. I’ll tell them everything you’ve done for me. They’ll be so thankful for you.”

Sawyer frowned a bit. “But what if they only care about the fact that I’m related to the man who kidnapped you?”

Benji shrugged. “Then they’re not the people I thought they were. And we’ll just…find our own way.”

Their gazes met once again. “You barely know me. Why are you so adamant about this?”

That was a valid question. Benji really didn’t know much about Sawyer but his actions since he had been there spoke louder than any other conversation they could have. He did everything he could within his power to help him. “Because I trust you,” he said, “You’ve been nothing but kind to me since all this has happened. And you said it yourself, you want out of here just as much as I do. We can do it. We can leave here together. And when we’re free and safe, you don’t have to talk to me ever again if you don’t want to.”

Sawyer chuckled at that. “And if I did want to?”

“Then that would be great.” Benji smiled softly.

Sawyer was silent for a few moments, clearly thinking about the options before him. And that was understandable. It was a lot to think about. After a bit, he did finally speak up. “Okay, Benji. I’ll go with you.”

Benji smiled just a bit and he nodded his head. “Good.”

“Now eat your protein bar. You look pale as a ghost.”

He snorted. “You try having hypothermia and an infection all within however many hours.”

Sawyer chuckled. “I’ll pass, but thanks for the offer.” He fell silent for a moment then said, “There’s another dose of the antibiotic. You should take it.”

Benji nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“I think it’s helping you some.”

“Yeah, probably.” Benji reached out beside him and felt around on the floor for a moment and found the bottle that Sawyer spoke of. He popped one of the capsules and swallowed it down with the water he had been fighting for earlier. Once done, he unwrapped the protein bar and took a bite. It wasn’t the most filling food in the world, but it was at least something. Beggars certainly couldn’t be choosers at that moment.

The two were silent while Benji ate his ‘dinner’ and by the time he looked back over to Sawyer, he saw that his eyes were closed. The poor guy had fallen asleep. Figuring that was a good idea, he tossed the wrapper onto the ground and laid down beside him. For a while, Benji just stared at the ceiling and thought about nothing and yet everything at the same time.

Then a small moment of clarity hit him.

He’d be getting out there with Sawyer.

That was a nice enough thought to lull him into the first restful sleep he'd had in days.

Chapter Twenty One

Sawyer

Sleeping really was the cure to most things. And this was true sleep. Not the ‘I fell unconscious’ sleep, which really couldn’t even be counted as sleep. When Sawyer awoke, his body was still sore and he imagined it would be for some time, but he at least felt rested and he could move better than the day before.

He rubbed at his eyes and stretched as much as he could without hurting himself. But it still felt good to do. When his eyes finally adjusted, he saw Benji lying beside him. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling above them. Something Sawyer often caught himself doing since there wasn’t much else to do down there. “How long have you been awake?” He asked, voice groggy.