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“Here he is,” the nurse said before I could comment. We stopped in front of a room, and I heard the sound of machines beeping from the hallway.
“Let me go wake him up and make sure he’s comfortable. Wait here for just a moment,” she instructed. Through the window I could see the man, Jeremiah, looking much better than the last time I saw him—less bloody.
The nurse woke him and explained he had a visitor. There was an instant change in his demeanor—nervousness, and jitters took over his limbs, and his heart rate spiked. He was afraid someone came back to finish him off.
The nurse motioned for us to enter the room, and I entered first, slowly. Adam followed a few steps behind. In my peripheral vision, I saw Adam try to make himself appear small, less intimidating.
“Hi, Jeremiah, my name is Abby, and this is Adam.” My voice was soft, as if I were speaking to a child I didn’t want to frighten. “We tended to you until the professionals showed up. How are you feeling?”
He looked at me for a moment, as if he were trying to read my thoughts, and it unnerved me. “I remember your voices,” he finally said.
“You do?”
“Yes, I wanted to close my eyes, but your voice pulled me back. Thank you.” He blinked back a few tears. I bit my lip to keep a handle on my own. I wasn’t normally an emotional person, but today’s events and his gratitude blasted through me like a tidal wave.
“You’re very welcome,” I said softly.
“Do you mind if we sit with you for a while?” Adam asked.
“Go ahead.” He gave Adam a small smile, a good sign. Maybe he would let his guard down with us, enough to tell us about why someone wanted him dead.
The nurse stood in the doorway still, watching our exchange. “I’ll go now and give you guys some time. If you need anything, just call out for Mandy.”
“We will. Thanks, Mandy,” Adam said with a soft tone of his own. She looked at him like he hung the moon. I felt a pang of something I’d never felt before, possessiveness. The man wasn’t even mine, and I was already scared that he would lose interest in me.
Mandy left the room, and Adam took the seat in the back corner, under the TV mounted on the wall. That left me to take the seat closer to Jeremiah. I knew I couldn’t go straight into the tough questions like I wanted to. As soon as I saw how anxious he was through the window, I formulated plan B.
“Tell me about your injuries. It looked pretty bad when we tried to stop you from bleeding out.”
“Ah, yes. They told me that the bullet missed everything vital. I bled a lot, but they fixed me up,” he said.
“I’m glad you are okay,” I told him. I reached out and took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I meant every word.
He looked down at my hand with a small smile. He squeezed back. “Thanks to you.”
“I was just in the right place at the right time. I have some medical training and knew how to use it. Would you laugh if I told you we stuck a tampon in your wound to help the bleeding?” I asked.
“Yes, I think I would, and it hurts to laugh,” he said with a chuckle and a twinkle in his eye.
“Okay, then I won’t tell you,” I said with my own chuckle and a wink, causing him to smile.
“Do you mind that we came to visit you? I wanted to make sure that you were okay,” I asked. If he minded, I wasn’t sure how I was going to gently coax what we needed from him. I didn’t want to cause him any pain or make things worse for him. He was probably terrified out of his mind, and forcing him to share what he knows wasn’t going to help either of us.
“No, not at all. It’s actually nice to have visitors. I have friends and family who are too scared to come,” he said. I wasn’t sure if the slip was due to a developing trust in us or the painkillers that were pumped into his arm, but I’d take advantage. It was what I came here for.
“Why would they be scared? You are alive and well. They should be happy and not scared.”
He was silent for a moment, and I could practically see his thoughts bouncing around in his head as he planned out his response. “Life is not as it seems on the island. I put my nose where it didn’t belong, and I was shot because of it. Others will be afraid to be associated with me from now on. I’m afraid I’ve made a pariah of myself.” He frowned, and I felt sorry for him. The traffickers were ruining more lives than we originally thought. I just hoped he was on our side.
“I’m so sorry to hear that. What happened?” I pressed gently.
It wasn’t lost on me that Adam still sat quietly in the corner. He was likely soaking in the conversation, looking for any other angles that I might miss, and that was okay. I had extensive training on questioning and leading an individual to get the information I needed. Adam had extensive training on other valuable skills, like how to jump from planes and helicopters, and how to invade a foreign country without getting caught. This was my expertise, except for sleeping with men to get what I needed. I was even better at that.
Jeremiah winced. “I can’t share that. You are in enough danger as it is. You interfered with them killing me, and they might not want you around because of that. You’re a tourist. The best thing you could do for yourself is go back to your hotel, pack your things, and go home, immediately,” he warned. His hand trembled slightly in my grip. I felt the urge to put my other hand on top of his and tell him everything would be all right, that I’d protect him.
“Jeremiah, why do you say that? What could be so bad that they’d want me dead by association?” I asked.
According to the monitor, his heart rate increased. I saw panic form in his eyes. The best thing for his health would be for me to change the topic and give him the opportunity to calm down, but I was so close to finally getting some answers that I couldn’t risk doing that. What if we ran out of time before visiting hours ended and he was dead in the morning?
