Page 22 of Saving Wyatt

“I always do.” I smirked and picked up a slice to devour. “Any news about the investigation? Wyatt said the detectives wanted to talk to him yesterday.”

"Actually, yes," Warren said. "They've dropped the charges. They couldn't match the ballistics to Wyatt's weapon, and it turned out his watch had monitored his sleep. So they've cleared him—for now, anyway. But I don't think this is over. I don't think any of this is over.”

I dropped my slice of pizza and took a swig of my beer, pondering over his words before I said, "If what you've told me about this island and the criminal organization is real, then I'm not surprised. I just hope Wyatt is okay. He's already got so much shit to deal with. Poor guy."

What was I doing? Why was I talking about Wyatt's well-being? Why was I talking about him, full stop? I shouldn't care. I was a married man. For fuck's sake, what was wrong with me?

"Yeah, I know. He’s taken the whole world on his shoulders. I don’t know how he does it sometimes. How he gets through each day.”

I licked my lips in thought before I said, “Maybe I should check up on him, huh? See if he needs some extra support.”

Warren laughed. “The guy is a closed book. You think he’ll open up to you?”

“Sometimes people tend to be more vulnerable with strangers than their friends and family.” I shrugged.

It was worth a try, even if I was anxious about being anywhere near Wyatt. The way this man was haunting me was unreal. I shouldn’t have been trying to spend more time with him. I should’ve been running the other way.

“Do what you feel is right. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though. Wyatt is a very private person. And he’s gone even more into his shell since the murder.”

I pressed my lips together and nodded. “That’s understandable. It’s a lot to take in and process for anyone.”

Warren shrugged. “Yeah, well, he’s only going to get worse until this ends. And something tells me it won’t end well. I have a very bad feeling about all this.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You do? What kind of bad feeling?”

Warren towered over his plate and inhaled deeply. “This thing my brother started is a war. A full-fledged war. I can’t help but feel there’ll be casualties.”

A shiver coursed through my spine. These were terrifying words to say out loud. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how it felt to experience them. What Wyatt must’ve been going through living through this…mess.

If there was one thing I knew about war, it was that they always had innocent victims. That was the scariest part. I might not have had experience with battlefields—that had been Evan’s territory—but I knew that much.

“Do you think we can help somehow?”

Warren rubbed a hand over his mouth and beard and sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I just know I need to be here for my brother. I know that much."

I couldn’t even fathom the idea of the scale of this conflict. Of who could get hurt and the extent of this Wilson guy’s power. Was everyone in danger, or just Wyatt’s little team of men. What about my patients? Was everyone on this island in danger? Were Warren and I?

"This might be a stupid thing to say, but…can't we go to this man and tell him—promise him—that we’ll drop this whole thing, this investigation, if he leaves everyone alone?”

Warren smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I don't think so, Ari. Maybe before he revealed himself, but now he has—and he knows that Wyatt is thirsty to bring him down—I don't think that’d be wise. Or that it would achieve anything. He's a dangerous man in a dangerous position who wants to keep doing dangerous things so that he can make more money. He’s unstoppable, especially now he’s got the key to the island."

He put his beer down and looked at the ceiling as if searching for answers. "I just hope nothing happens to Wyatt. He doesn't deserve this. He's a good man trying to do good in this world. I hate what is happening to him. I hate what's happening here and that I didn't come sooner. Maybe if I had⁠—"

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, searching his eyes. “Don’t beat yourself up about this. You couldn’t have known what was happening. You said it yourself. You two don’t have the closest relationship, so how could you know?”

He looked at me and pressed his lips together. “Which is exactly why I need to be there for him now. I’ve already lost my parents. I can’t lose him too. I…I…just can’t.”

“You won’t.” I squeezed his hand again.

“You don’t know that.”

I nodded. “You’re right. I don’t. All we can do is be there for him to help him in every way we can. A burden shared is a burden halved.”

He laughed and pulled his hand back. “He’s used to being the one helping. He will never admit he needs help.”

“He doesn’t have to admit it. We know he does, and if we’re there for him, then he’ll have no choice but to lean on us.”

Us? Where the hell had that come from? We were talking about how Warren could be there for his brother.