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Cross That Line

Page 62

by Barbara Freethy

"Where…where am I?" Jack asked.

"You're in an FBI safe house. I brought you her last night. Rachel Thorne, the person you just tried to strangle, has been taking care of you." Tyler let go of Jack but stayed in front of him, ready to pounce if he tried to move.

"I thought I was at the clinic. They were trying to inject me again."

She realized now that touching his wrist had triggered his response. She should have been more careful.

"You're not at Waverly. You're here with me. No one is trying to hurt you. Do you understand me?"

Jack slowly nodded. "I'm…uh, sorry."

Tyler finally stepped back and crossed the room to help her to her feet. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, even though she didn't feel even close to all right.

His gaze darkened in anger. "Damn! There are bruises on your neck. I'm so sorry, Rachel. I shouldn't have left you alone with him. I thought you were both sleeping."

"It's not your fault," she said. "It's mine. I tried to check his pulse. He was having a nightmare. He didn't know what he was doing."

His fingers lightly grazed her neck, as if he were afraid that he'd hurt her more. In fact, his hand was shaking. She'd never seen Tyler's hand shake, not even with bullets hitting the car. His gentle touch made her want to cry.

His hand dropped to his side. "Let's get you to the couch."

She sat down on the sofa where she'd fallen asleep hours earlier and pulled the throw pillow in front of her, holding on to it as if it were armor.

Jack sank to the ground, his back against the wall, a hand going to his head, which he was shaking back and forth. "What did I do?" he asked.

Tyler ignored him, looking at her. "Do you need some water? Do you need anything?"

"Just…talk to him," she said, her heart still racing too fast to think.

Tyler moved to the wall, squatting down in front of Jack. "Look at me," he said, waiting until Jack slowly raised his head and met his gaze. "I need to know what's been going on with you, starting with what kind of drugs are you on, and when did you last take anything?"

"I don't know. What day is it?"

"It's Tuesday morning."

"Tuesday. God! What the hell has been happening to me?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Tyler replied. "Can you stand up?"

"Maybe."

"Let's do that. Let's get you back on the couch." Tyler helped Jack to his feet and walked him to the couch across from her.

It felt a little too close, and her arms instinctively tightened around the pillow.

Jack's gaze moved back to her. "Why is she here? She's one of them."

"She's not one of them," Tyler said firmly, sitting next to Jack. "Rachel has been trying to find you ever since you disappeared from the hospital Thursday night. Do you remember being at East River? Apparently, you collapsed not far from my house. The EMTs took you to the hospital, and then you disappeared a few hours after you were admitted."

"The nurse said he was taking me home. That's where I wanted to go. But he didn't take me home." Jack shook his head in bewilderment. "He lied. They all lie."

"Where did he take you?" Tyler asked, trying to get Jack to stay focused.

"It looked like Waverly, but it was different. The walls were brick, and we never took an elevator. We just walked in." He blinked a few times. "When I got out, it felt like I was in a warehouse. There were boxes and pallets. It was by the river. I could smell the fish when I got outside."

"Okay, let me get this straight. The van that picked you up at the hospital took you to a lab at a warehouse."