“Go!” the nurse encourages again before nudging her head to the window I squeezed through when I noticed Jae’s mouth was being held shut by a man with wide shoulders and an angry scar down the back of his neck.
With the roar of the officers’ boots stomping my way deafening and my mind shut down, I snatch off my necklace, stuff it into Jae’s balled-up hand, spin on my heels, then race for the window.
The procession of mostly rogue police officers almost reaches me before I dive through the minute opening. My landing into the bush the second time around isn’t any less painful than the first. That might have something more to do with the nurse announcing Jae’s time of death than the spiky branches digging into my calves and arms.
She said she’d protect her.
Instead, she pulls the sheet over her head before wheeling her out of the room.
After swallowing down my shock, I sprint across the soggy land just as quickly. I run and run and run until the image of Jae’s flopped head demands a breather long before my battered lungs, and I find a tree trunk capable of holding my weight.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Jae
“Will you please talk some sense into him?” I spin to face Isaac, never more relieved to see his stubborn and determined face. “They sedated him even with me advising them he could be suffering from grave internal injuries.” I grip his business jacket like I’m on the verge of collapsing. That’s how upsetting it is knowing a patient is hurting but being denied the opportunity to help them. “He put his body on the line to save me, Isaac. I don’t care who he is or what he may have done, he doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.” I toss my hand at the window of JR’s holding cell. “They’re treating him like an animal.”
“It’s okay.” He cradles my jaw in his hands like he does Callie anytime her thoughts spiral to a time before she was his daughter before promising, “I will take care of this. I will make it right…afterI’ve ensured you’re okay.”
I value his friendship greatly but not enough to forget my objectives. “I’m fine. As I’ve been telling them the past two hours, he didn’t hurt me. He took care of me.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod. “Yes, I’m sure, Isaac.”
He takes a moment to gauge the authenticity of my reply before shifting on his feet to face Alex. “What’s the issue?”
Alex shrugs before scrubbing a hand along his beard that can’t conceal his smile when he spots Regan at the other end of the corridor, talking on her cell phone. She looks so fierce in a red mini skirt, red pumps, and a silky blouse that clings to her body, it takes me ramming my elbow into Alex’s ribs to remind him of my earlier threat.
It brings him to heel remarkably quick. “It’s out of my clearance. This area isn’t in my jurisdiction, so I havenosay onanythinghappening.”
That’s the same excuse he’s given me the past two hours, but Isaac doesn’t take no for an answer. “So who do I need to speak with to make this happen?”
“It’s higher than you realize.”
The blood is nowhere near as stale between Isaac and Alex as it once was, but Isaac forgets that when his temper gets the better of him. Izzy only gave birth to their fourth child a couple of weeks ago, so this is the last place he wants to be. I told him not to come, but that isn’t how he operates. If you’re a part of his inner circle, he’s there for you no matter what. “I didn’t ask how high this goes. I asked who I need to speak to.”
My smile is ill-timed, but it can’t be helped when Isaac threatens Alex the same way I tried earlier. “Do I need to bring Regan into this?”
After leaning in close to keep his words out of Regan’s ears, Alex hisses out, “You can’t fuckin’ use her against me all the time.”
“Wanna bet?” Isaac fires back, his voice a mix of humor and sophistication. “But I won’t need toifyou do the right thing. You know murky shit is happening in this region of the Bureau. You’ve voiced your concerns numerous times, so why aren’t you doing anything about it?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” Alex strays his narrowed eyes to me. “We found her as requested. Now my hands are tied.”
“They won’t be if you point me in the direction of someone with some say around here.” Isaac unbuttons his suit jacket, then flings his hand at the window I highlighted earlier. “Look at him, Alex. He’s on the verge of…” He stops talking when his eyes follow the direction Alex takes. “Jesus.” I’ve never seen Isaac speechless before, but since it isn’t the right time to relish it, I store it away for a better time. “Are you sure he is who you say he is?”
“DNA proves it,” Regan announces before I can after joining us in the corridor. She’s finished her call, but I can’t tell if she’s happy about what was shared during her brief conversation or frustrated. She looks a bit of both.
“He just has beast-mode activated,” Alex mutters before he cozies up to Regan’s side so he can drink in her expensive perfume without making it obvious he’s smitten with her even years after they became an official couple.
Although jealous about all the lovey-dovey relationships forever thrust in my face, I’ll never have the opportunity of achieving the same if I forget the reason several high-powered figures are convening in the one space. I felt things for JR I haven’t experienced before, and although some of them could be excused under the circumstances of our confinement, I’m confident not all of them are from that. I felt things for him years ago, and back then, he was a stranger.
They were so strong when the Bureau first came to me with an offer of protection, I denied their suggestion. Waking up in a morgue already had me on the back foot, so I only imagined it getting worse when I conjured up ways to unearth the identity of the man who survived the crash.
I only changed my mind when Isaac’s warning about the Petrettis leaving no witnesses proved accurate. I felt like I was being watched at all hours of the day and night, and when that unease stretched to my family, I had no choice but to agree with the Bureau’s suggestion. I either hid who I was or lost who I was. There was no other option.
At the time, I thought the decision was easy. It was only after meeting Cecil did I realize I had made the wrong choice. I wasn’t honoring the woman I was, I was hiding like a coward.
