25. Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Blake
A fter confiscating my phone and laptop, then having the audacity to ask if I was okay, AJ disappeared to Jamie’s office. He left me sitting at the table with Meg and Emily, two perfect hostesses, or in my case, babysitters.
It’s not their fault, they're just doing what they were told to do.
I wasn’t upset with them, but with the situation. Being kept in the dark upset me. Losing autonomy upset me.
Not wanting to go down that path, I focused on the two women in front of me.
I noticed how relaxed and easy their conversation flowed, and once again found myself wishing I had a friendship like theirs.
Jealousy joined fear and frustration as I talked to them, playing with the tea bag string hanging from my mug. I doubted any of my friends would have made me peppermint chamomile tea to help soothe my nerves after a horrible day.
They’re probably only doing it because their husbands told them to be nice .
I chided myself for judging them unfairly. That’s not who I want to be .
When Meg and Emily told me about the times they needed help from SSI, I assumed they shared to help me feel better.
I never would have guessed they'd lived through such horrors. Meg was targeted by a trafficker, and Emily by her abusive ex. It seemed crazy to me they’d both hired SSI to protect them. And they both fell in love with the guy assigned to protect them?
I couldn’t imagine it happening to me. AJ was the only person protecting me. Well, the only one during the day, and he and I couldn’t be more different if we tried. Meg and Emily may have found their happily ever after with men from SSI, but I wouldn’t.
They shared more stories while we waited for the guys to decide my fate. The longer I waited, the more my anger built. Being left out of the decision pissed me off something fierce, though I tried not to take my anger out on Meg and Emily. They weren’t the ones interfering with my life.
No, it was their egotistical toxic alpha male husbands who thought they had the right to take away my phone and laptop and tell me what to do.
I didn’t care that Jamie and Emily weren’t married yet.
In an effort to help me feel more comfortable having a call sign (they’d corrected me when I called it a code name, though it seemed like they were the same thing to me), Emily told me hers was Snow White, and Meg’s was Cinderella.
It shocked me how two women who seemed so strong didn’t mind being referred to as helpless princesses. Meg confessed to liking her call sign, and referring to their houses as ‘castles’ when they were used for work.
“And sometimes just for fun,” Meg said.
While I understood the logic of not using real names or locations for safety, it still bothered me. Why couldn't we have warrior or Goddess names? I worked myself into a mood, not understanding how they could deal with overbearing, bossy husbands treating them like they were helpless.
“Doesn’t it bother you?” I blurted out. “Them making decisions for you, telling you what to do, treating you like you’re helpless?” I was about to apologize for being rude, but Meg laughed.
She literally laughed out loud. Emily chuckled and shook her head.
“They don’t make decisions for us. In fact, they tried to send us to their mom’s so we’d be out of harm’s way.” Meg rolled her eyes. “Like we’d ever leave you alone with them.”
They refused to leave? So they could be here for me? God, I’m a bitch.
“Their hearts are in the right place when they get all over protective. Unfortunately, it interferes with their brains, so we have to set them straight,” Emily added.
“We don’t need them to do all the old school chivalric things, but we appreciate they want to. For Jack and I, it’s a delicate balance that isn’t always easy to achieve. He’s an over-protective, true southern gentleman, and I’m fiercely independent.”
“I like that Jamie’s old school. It’s refreshing,” Emily admitted.
As I learned a little more about them and their past traumas, I realized I’d misjudged them. And their men.
“Jack once told me, when I was arguing about his need to protect me, that he doesn’t protect me because I’m weak, but because I’m important.”
Emily added, “There was a point when I’d convinced myself Jamie thought I wasn’t capable of taking care of myself. When I started a fight about it, he said he didn’t do because he thought I couldn’t, but because he loved me and wanted to treat me how I deserved to be treated.”
Listening to them talk, I realized their husband's behavior didn't diminish their strength—it amplified it.
My shoulders sagged as my chin dropped to my chest. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“It’s okay.” Emily said.
“You’re under a lot of stress, and they’re in a room making decisions for you, so it’s understandable,” Meg added.
“No, no way am I leaving my phone and laptop. I can’t.”
Jamie had just told me they’d secured a safe house, and I’d be going there in the morning. With AJ. He’d be with me twenty-four-seven. Why does it have to be AJ? Why not someone who isn’t confusing me?
Having no say in the planning or control over my situation pissed me off.
“They can be tracked, so you can’t take them to the safe house,” Jamie patiently explained. AJ had told me all that before, but surely I’d be safe at the safe house. It was in the fucking name. After fuming for a few seconds, I asked, “How am I supposed to attend classes or do my homework without my laptop or phone?” I’d come up with a plan to ask my professors to let me attend classes virtually. Hiding away shouldn’t mean I had to fail the semester.
They shared a look that made it clear I wouldn’t like the answer.
“You don’t. I’m sorry, but we can’t risk it,” Jack answered.
“You can message your professors before you leave here, and let them know what’s happening,” Jamie said.
“So I can have my phone back?”
Jamie answered, “No, you’ll have to message them from one of SSI’s secure servers and I’ll need to read it before you send it.”
He needs to read my email? I rolled my eyes and huffed in disbelief. Did they really think I'd say something wrong?
“I know it seems like overkill, but your phone doesn’t need to be on for long to be traced, and I won’t risk anyone’s safety.” Jamie looked at Emily as he responded. Love, concern, and determination written all over his face.
AJ leaned against the counter as Jack and Jamie answered my questions and countered my arguments. Why isn’t he saying anything? Maybe he had nothing to say. Maybe it was because Jack and Jamie were his bosses. I shook my head; it didn’t matter.
“How will I talk to my dad? My friends?” I asked. The idea of being alone with AJ, unable to contact anyone else, filled me with dread.
“We can relay messages to your father, but he’s the only person you’ll have outside contact with,” Jack answered. “Blake, I know this is hard, but everything we’re doing is for your safety. And while I can’t promise you it’ll be over soon, I can promise we’re doing everything we can to bring this to an end as quickly as possible.”
My eyes stung with unshed tears. I can’t believe this is happening . By now, everyone on campus had probably heard about what happened. Paige and Danny must be worried out of their minds. Well, Paige, at least .
“Can I get a burner phone, like they always do on TV?” I asked, feeling smart for suggesting a solution to my problem they hadn’t considered.
“Blake, that only works on TV. The minute you contact your father, the person looking for you will trace the call back. It’s frightening how easy it is to track people these days.” Jack’s answer wiped away my smugness.
“But they can’t track yours?”
“Yes, and no. We’ll contact your father from the office. If they trace the call; it won’t lead them to you,” Jamie answered.
AJ still hadn’t answered any of my questions, which bothered me for no other reason than he usually had something to say. And in a way, I missed his sarcasm.
Before I had time to process that revelation, a new question occurred to me.
“Will AJ have his phone?” I asked, frustration lacing every word.
“No. He’ll have a company burner phone to contact SSI,” Jack answered.
“And Doug will monitor it, so we’ll know if it’s traced,” Jamie added.
“Can’t you do that for my dad’s phone?” Desperation filled my voice.
Jamie and Jack shared a look, their hesitation obvious as tension filled the stretching silence. More and more, I sensed they were hiding things from me.
I had to assume they thought my father had done something illegal, provoking the threat against me.
But he wouldn’t. My dad was a good guy. He upheld the law and put criminals in jail. He was a respected member of the community.
They only suspected him because they didn’t know him like I did.
“We asked him if we could monitor his phone,” Jamie finally said, compassion filled his voice. “But he declined.”
He said it like it proved Daddy was a criminal, but he worked with a lot of high-powered clients and important political figures. I couldn’t blame him for not letting them monitor his phone.
“Blake, I know this is hard, but the person looking for you isn’t messing around. The guy they sent for you today had a syringe in his pocket, and I’d put money on the lab verifying it’s a sedative,” Jack said.
AJ uncrossed his arms, stepped away from the island, and walked towards me.
“In our experience, the first attempt is usually the weakest. Next time, they’ll send more than one guy, and they’ll be a lot more aggressive,” Jamie added. “Right now, the best way to keep you safe is for you to be out of sight while we sort this out.”
“We’re doing everything we can to find out who’s responsible and bring this to an end,“ Jack said.
AJ still hadn’t said anything, but I could feel his presence behind me.
“Do you even know anything yet?” I hadn’t meant to sound snarky, but I was ‘this close’ to losing it. They didn’t deserve my attitude, so I reframed the question, dialing it back as I asked again, “Who’s so mad at my father that they want to hurt me?”
“We don’t know, yet, but the evidence leads to a known criminal your father has,” Jamie paused and looked over my shoulder at AJ, “dealt with in the past.”
What was he going to say before he looked at AJ? What did he mean dealt with? Is he accusing my father?
“My father is not a criminal!” I yelled, emphasizing each word.
AJ stepped up beside me and placed a large, warm hand on the small of my back. “No one is saying he is. But someone he works with could be.”
AJ’s words sounded hollow, but his touch comforted me. It shouldn’t have. I wished it didn’t. I don’t want to be comforted by a big, dumb ogre who works for a company that thinks my father might be a criminal or have ties to one or whatever it is they think.
“He’d never do anything to hurt me,” I said as tears filled in my eyes. This time, I didn’t bother holding them back.
“Of course not. He’d never intentionally do anything to hurt you,” AJ said.
I was months away from earning my law degree, so I didn’t miss his use of the word intentionally. Words matter . Despite what he’d just said, he thinks my father is somehow involved.
Could this nightmare get any worse?