“Any at all is better than none, right?” she prompted gently, leaning forward just a little and offering a soft, warm smile.
“How about you tell me some of those? If you’re feeling up to it, of course?”
“Migh’ hur’ less if i’ was none,” he muttered, turning to grab one of the better bottles of whiskey Cord kept around.
Not even Zeke knew the extent of what Bailey had been put through before he came to live with him, but Zeke also knew enough that he had never tried to push the kid into talking about it, so he at least understood why Bailey would be apprehensive.
“Think about it like this, okay? Once it’s out, you don’t have to worry about anyone ever trying to set it off or it happening accidentally. They won’t be able to find you anymore. You’ll be even safer than before, alright? I’m not leaving you. I promise.” Zeke reassured the kid gently.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat this shit, those things they put in you kids are damn dangerous. Even the smallest bit of damage can make them leak enough to poison you slow. You won’t even notice at first. The sooner it’s out, the better off you’ll be in the long run.”
He had seen it in one of the kids he had tried to help, but even removing the implant hadn’t been enough, the organ damage was too severe for the pup to heal. It had been kinder to just drug the poor thing to end the pain until they passed. He wasn’t about to let anything like that happen to these two.
“I’m not trying to be an ass or scare you, but I need you to understand how important this is.”
