Page 56

"Yes, in Brooklyn. Hang in there, Jack," he said.

"Got no other choice," Jack mumbled.

And neither did they, she thought. She'd made her choice to stay in this, and she was definitely in it now. She just wished she knew exactly what kind of trouble they were all in.

The safe house in Brooklyn was a one-story house in an older part of town. When they arrived, Tyler hopped out with his phone and put a code in the box on the side of the garage. Then he got back behind the wheel and pulled inside.

Once they were safely locked in, she opened her door and helped him get Jack into the house. She only got a quick view of the kitchen and half bath that they passed on their way to the living room. They put Jack down on one of two couches, and he sprawled back against the gray cushions, looking exhausted and confused.

With awareness returning to Jack's eyes, she couldn't help wondering if he'd suddenly go off like he had the night she'd seen him in the ER.

Tyler sat down next to him, while she perched on the edge of the chair adjacent to the couch.

"Jack," Tyler said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm messed up," Jack replied, his gaze swinging from Tyler to her, and then it suddenly sharpened. "Wait! What the hell is she doing here? She's part of them. I gotta get out of here."

As Jack tried to stand up, Tyler pulled him back down. "Look at me," he said forcefully. "You know who I am, right?"

"It's not you I'm worried about, Iowa. It's her." Jack shot her a look so dark, she felt like she'd been stabbed.

"She's not involved in whatever has been happening to you," Tyler said. "She's been trying to find you ever since you disappeared from the hospital. She found a piece of paper with my address on it in your hospital room. She came to me with it. She told me you were in trouble. We've been looking for you ever since."

"I can't trust her."

"You can trust me."

"Can I?" Jack asked, uncertainty in his voice.

"You know you can. That's why you called me. No matter what, we always have each other's back." Tyler spoke slowly and forcefully, and his words seemed to be getting through as Jack sat back on the couch and let out a breath, followed by a groan.

"I feel like shit," he said. "They've been drugging me. I don't know what they've been putting into me, but sometimes, I feel like I can't breathe. I can't speak. I can't stay awake. But then they keep talking to me, keep asking me questions. I know I'm not supposed to answer them. I fight hard, and then they jab me with another needle."

Every word Jack spoke made her wonder who he was talking about, what they'd been doing to him, and most importantly why.

"Jack, do you know what medication you've been taking?" she asked.

"No."

"I want you to know that I care very much about your health, and I've been worried about you since you showed up in the ER last Thursday night."

"Thursday," he muttered. "What day is it?"

"It's Monday," Tyler put in. "Someone took you out of the hospital. Do you know who that was?"

"It wasn't anyone I knew. He said he'd come to take me home. But he didn't."

"Where did he take you?" she asked.

"Not sure. Can I have some water?"

"I'll get you a drink," Tyler said.

"Just half a glass," she told him. "We don't know what drugs are in his system. We need to be cautious about food and water. It would be wise to go to a hospital and get him checked out, put him on an IV and a monitor, and run a tox screen."

"Not going anywhere," Jack said, gathering more energy to make that statement. "Don't let her take me to the hospital, Iowa."

"You're not going anywhere tonight," Tyler said, then turned to her. "There's medical supplies here. Whatever else we need I'll have delivered. Why don't you make a list and text it to me?" He sent her a pointed look with a subtle shake of his head, warning her not to push a hospital visit in front of Jack. So, she wrote down a list of things she would need to keep an eye on him while they were in the safe house and texted it to Tyler as he returned with half a glass of water.