Luke would rather have been anywhere else than this dinner table. Owen and Sean were not present. Sean working night shift, and Owen phoned saying a emergency would keep him at the office. It was a bit of a reprieve.
Being under North's intense scowl made his skin crawl. His brother intimidation didn't phase him, neither did his brooding silence. He was more irritated by it than intimidated.
He was tired. It has been a long few days and his body was warning him that it was close to the point where it would collapse on him. He really didn't have patience to deal with North shit. Not today.
Max and Legend did the butt sniffing ritual and after that ignored each other. Kota was correct. The Lab has aged and it didn't escape him how careful and gentle his own hound was around the older dog.
The question came at the end of the meal. Luke was surprised that his brother could keep it in so long. Tucking at his ponytail and frowning at him, Luke contemplated how to answer.
"I will wait till all of my brothers are together before I give you what you want fully. Short story: I was in witness protection. That's all I'm willing to say now." He turned to Sang. "Thank you for the food. Can I use your spare room to sleep? I am exhausted." He admitted to her. Legend came and leaned against him.
"Your room hasn't been changed so you do not need to use the spare room." She didn'tell him that there was a debate of changing his room into an office. Luke sighed. "I would like to spend more time with you all but my body is going to shut down on me soon." He went over and kissed his only true love, nodded his head at his brothers. He plucked the old backpack off the ground next to the door and headed down the hallway to the room he called his once. Legend on his heals.
Pain shot through his leg and he stopped pretending, limping to his room. It was like stepping into a time capsule. His room was like he left it. Minus the clothes in the clothes hamper in the corner.
Luke wasn't unintelligent, in fact he was as clever as Victor and Kota but never bothered showing it completely. His skill would most likely never rival his brother's computer skills but he learned a hell of a lot from a hacker friend he made.
Luke downplayed a lot of his skills. He wasn't really as bad at martial arts as everyone thought. In fact he picked up krav maga and kick boxing, and parkour while he was gone. His aim with weapons have improved. The Academy taught them all basic hand to hand and how to use weapons and a few other skills.
In the past he was unsure of himself and let everyone believe his skills was mediocre at best. He let his brothers shine cause he didn't want to hog what was theirs. He was happy being the one that made others laugh. His obsession with Houdini let him become great at lock picking. And he was heading into trouble with his pick pocketing before Sean recruited them. He let others believe his only value was as a thief and pick pocket. All that changed in that cell.
A shirt stuffed over the camera he knew paranoid North put in the room sorted out the problem of having his secrets slip out. He knew Sang would see his scars hidden under his clothes but he didn't want it advertised to others. He was a bit apprehensive about her reaction to the scars the torture and fighting left him with.
The wound on his leg as well as the one in his side was bleeding and he redressed it. He remember Ben swearing when she dug the bullets out and stitched him up. He pulled the old flannel pajamas pants on and slipped a thin t short over his head. Experience taught him being completely naked when you fleeing gets you all the wrong attention.
He fell onto his bed. In pain and tired. The knife under his pillow was instinctive and without thought. He never let himself be without a weapon, even if the place he was could be deemed safe. Being safe was just an illusion.
He laid with his back against the wall behind him. Exhaustion made his bones ache. For the last few days he been running on little sleep. Shallow catnaps only. No real sleep.
Legend laid next to his master till his breath evened out. He was asleep and the big dog got off the bed, laying down on the floor facing the door.
Silence followed his departure from the kitchen. "What happened to my brother?" North voice was raw with emotion. It didn't go unnoticed to him that Luke hardly smiled during dinner.
"Good question. Is that even really Luke?" Nathan asked. He got stared down by North and a few of his other brothers. "For all we know it could be someone impersonating as Luke." He pushed on in spite of the glaring. He didn't like how Luke spoke to him. Luke has always backed down from him.
"He reminds me of the war veterans I work with." Victor added. North frowned. "Luke has never been in the army." He stated. Victor shooked his head. "We don't know where he has been or what happened to him at all. I seen that over cautious and dead look before." Victor reasoned. And he hated that he saw it on Luke's face.
"We need a family meeting." Sang spoke up. "But preferably when Owen and Sean can be part of it." "And Luke preferable not." Gabriel's voice was quiet. He didn't say much the whole evening. Just watched as his best friend that he thought as dead sit across from him.
"He is underfed. He also hardly ate anything. He also looked like one of the victims we rescue and that doesn't sit well with me. He doesn't trust us." Silas spoke up. It actually hurt how guarded Luke was.
"What ever we do, pushing him for answers may just make things worse or force him to run. I lost him once, I'll be dambed to lose him again." Kota had that it is final sound in his voice.
"We will see what Owen and Sean says." He added. They all looked at North as he swore. "He covered the camera. How did he know where it was?"
He came clean about putting cameras in their rooms and was made to remove them by Owen. That only happened after Luke's abduction. He never removed the one in his room.
Shortly after they all went their separate ways. Victor and Silas, sleeping in Sang's bed as she didn't want to be alone.
North could not sleep. On the way to the kitchen he heard a muffled scream coming from Luke room. His reaction was instant. Wrenching the door open he was met by a growling dog. The animal let him pass though as he moved to a thrashing Luke.
The moment his hand touched Luke shoulder, he was pushed back with power and found himself on the floor, a knife at his throat and Luke was staring at him, no recognition in those brown, hard eyes.
"Luke it's me." He kept his voice calm staying dead still. What Victor said suddenly made sense. This was what veterans described. This Luke was deadly. And there was no doubt in his mind that Luke would push down on that knife. "Come on big brother. It's me, North."
As fast as he was on him, Luke let go and moved till his back hit the opposite wall before he slid down and curled up in a ball. His breathing came out ragged and he was shaking. The dog was at his side whining. Luke was having a panic attack. North moves carefully.
"Bro I need you to calm down. Breath with me. In and out. In and out." Luke followed his instructions. Carefully he pulled Luke up. Being careful not to touch him too much. The knife was laying on the floor.
Slowly he got Luke to calm down. Luke was still shaking. "I could have killed you." His brother voice was soft and there was a sound of terror in his voice.
"It was my fault. And you didn't." North kept calm. His inner agitation would only make it worse. He remembered dealing with Sang's panic attacks. What exactly happened to Luke to cause this? He needed to speak to Sean.
Luke's phone rang. "Ben." Luke mumbled between gasps. North picked up the phone and sure enough the contact id read Ben. But Luke was in no state to answer a call so he did.
"Put on the speaker. I need to talk to Luke." Part of him wanted to tell who ever this Ben was to shove it. That Luke was having a bad moment and she, cause it was definitely a woman's voice, should phone back tomorrow. Instead he found himself doing what she said. And she started to speak to Luke in the same language he spoke to his dog in.
He watched as Luke calmed down and started to talk back. His breathing became more normal, the wild look on his face and eyes started to disappear. All that was left was tiredness. Luke looked drained.
"Are you still there?" The voice asked. This person had a very Irish accent. "Yes." North answered. "Look Luke most likely is going to need help moving. Can you make sure he is in bed if he is not?"
He helped Luke up. He wasn't difficult to move, he was light, which bugged North. He helped him to the bed. The dog joined him as soon as he laid down and Luke's finger grabbed onto the animal coat.
Something more was said in the infernal foreign language and North watched as his brother close his eyes, his head pressed close to the massive animal's side. The huge dog whined and licked his ear.
"Don't leave him alone. He rarely has these attacks but when they hit.... He don't like being touched though."
"I figured that out. I tried and had a knife pressed to my throat." North mumbled as he watched Luke fall asleep. There was a short silence and then a sigh. "And he is going to beat himself up for it in the morning. Look just keep an eye for him. Sometimes it's a really bad night and the nightmares come more than once."
"And you will know this how?" North voice was hard and cold. "Cause we share the same nightmares. He has always been there for me when mine hits. We return the favor. If he start dreaming again order Legend to wake him up That's what family kind of do."
"Family how? I don't know you." North watched the dog move closer to his brother as he twitched. "Look we will be there tomorrow, Uncle and me and I can explain better. I'm as exhausted as Luke and your Uncle is starting at me...."
"The girl has a point. We will see you tomorrow nephew. I need to see your brother."
North felt the knot in his throat. "Luke is different Uncle. I don't know how to explain." "You don't have to I know. See you tomorrow North." There was a click as his uncle disconnected the call.
Running his hand through his chin long hair, North slipped out to his room. He grabbed his pillow and a blanket. He settled down on the couch in Luke's room. He worried about his brother. It took a long time for North Taylor to fall asleep.