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Quinn whistles low into the phone. “Well, that is one hell of a monkey wrench thrown into the mechanics of our plans, isn’t it?” Despite Quinn’s muscle power, out of all of us, he’s actually the best technical guru to handle all electronic devices.
“I thought you said incoming signals were damn near nil out at the cabin.” I grow irritable with an accusatory tone while I walk toward Jules and sit down beside her. I grab her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, trying to give her some level of comfort while I work this out with Quinn.
“With that type of new technology, Travis, I’m sure they received a lot of false positives over the last few weeks, meaning those signals had to have been extremely weak, especially given where the cabin is located. I think maybe that’s why it took them so long to find you.”
“So what now?”
“I’ll let the other guys know, and we’ll reassemble while you calm your woman down. I’m sure she’s a wreck over the news.”
“Yeah, shock is more like it right now.”
“You know, since we did want to draw them out, knowing what we know now…well, it can give us the upper hand. We’ll just have to be more vigilant, because once you step out into the streets, it’s fair game. I can only imagine this will unfold very quickly.” He pauses for a brief moment, saying something in the background to Stryker before he returns to me. “This does put her at more at risk, you know. Are you willing to expose her like that?” A deep sigh escapes me as I close my eyes and think for a long moment. “Travis?” Quinn prods, trying to get me to respond.
“I’m here,” I reluctantly reply. I force myself to come to a hard and fast decision, one that will put Jules back in the line of fire, but it’s the only way. “Let’s do this,” I say with resolve. Quinn and I talk for a few more minutes, working out a few semantics. Some of what we say is in code, so Jules can’t decipher all of the conversation, and by the time I hang up, her face has drained of color.
She pulls her hand out of mine and stands up, clutching her robe tightly around her body for false security. She stutters in dazed shock, “I’ve got something in me?” Her voice escalates in panic, and all I can do is give her a quick nod.
“Oh, God!” She goes weak in the knees, and her legs lose control as she slinks to the floor with a stunned look on her face.
Rushing to her side, I kneel down on the floor in front of her and cup her cheeks with both of my hands. My poor Jules. I lean forward and slow my speech, wanting her to comprehend my every syllable. “I need you to listen to me, and pay close attention to my words.” The pleading in my voice matches the desperation in my eyes. “I need you to trust me, Jules. I’ve got you,” I implore. I don’t know what else to say to convince her of this. I’ve already shown her that I’d take a bullet for her, and I’d do it again without hesitation.
She breathes short, tight breaths, indicating the beginnings of a panic attack, and if I don’t find a way to calm her down, she’ll be on the brink of having a full-blown meltdown within seconds. I rest my forehead against hers, and softly assure her, “Baby, to the best of my ability, I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you. They will have to pry you from my dead fingers if that has to be the case.”
I lightly kiss her lips and whisper, “I’m here, baby. I’m not going to leave your side for a split second. The guys and I have put a game plan into motion, and you need to calm down so we can go over it together. I need your head on straight.”
Taking her by both hands, they tremble in my hold as I carefully lift her to her feet.
I guide her to the edge of the bed and have her sit down as I squat in front of her. Poor thing looks like a zombie coming off crack cocaine. A tear slips from the corner of her eye, and my chest constricts from the sight of her distress.
I don’t know how to calm her frayed nerves, and I have to be careful how I approach the sensitive subject of the man chase at hand, but I can’t sugarcoat the severity of what’s going on either. Shit’s getting ready to hit the fan at warp speed, and there is no hiding that fact.
Speaking in a gentle, yet serious tone, I tell her, “Jules, I need you to listen to me, and do everything I’m fixin’ to tell you to do. I have protective gear here, and both of us are going to wear it, okay?” She squeezes her eyes tightly, which forces two more tears to leak out the sides of her eyes. She takes in a deep, shaky breath while making the most God-awful face, as if she’s in pain.
