Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
JADE
It’s kind of surreal being back here.
The last time I was at work, my life was radically different.
I still naively believed terrible things like human trafficking couldn’t happen to me.
And I thought I was happy.
Was I?
I liked my job. I liked meeting with patients I’d built relationships with and helping them. I liked the little minutia of the workday—talking with the other nurses and PAs, meticulously going through my files at the end of each shift, and contributing money for whoever’s birthday it was that week.
Outside of work, I kept myself busy. There was always something to do—a barre class, reading a new book, renting the newest movie and texting Shea about it, errands, cleaning my apartment—and I thought that was enough.
What I’ve only realized recently is my life was kind of empty. And all the times Shea would encourage me to get out and meet someone, I already had. We just hadn’t come back together yet.
Though I’ve been through some terrible things since the last time I was here, I’m so much happier now.
I’m in love, and it makes everything better. Brighter. The things that give me anxiety are easier to deal with. And I’m so hopeful.
As I walk back into Regan Family Practice for the first time since I was abducted, my job isn’t the most important thing to me anymore. Niall is.
But that doesn’t mean I’m about to quit my job. It still matters to me, which is why I’m here. Now that my case is nearly wrapped up, it’s time to make plans for getting back to regular life again. Which means working and earning money so I can pay Niall back—he insists he doesn’t want me to, but I’m doing it anyway—and not hiding out at Blade and Arrow anymore.
Not that I don’t like being at B and A. I love Niall’s apartment, which I guess is our apartment now, and I love the barn and the common area where I invariably find one of his teammates hanging out, and the beautiful property I haven’t come close to exploring all of yet.
I’m actually wishing I was back there right now, though I won’t admit it to Niall. As we drove here, he told me, “It’s okay if you aren’t ready to go back to work yet. You can take as long as you need.”
I insisted I was fine, even though leaving the safety of Blade and Arrow makes my chest feel all tight and fluttery. But I know the longer I wait, the harder it’ll be to go back.
Niall’s hand is solid and comforting around mine, and as I get ready to head into the back area of the office, I have a fleeting thought of asking him to come with me. Which would be ridiculous and completely unprofessional; I’m here to convince Dr. Regan I’m ready to come back to work, and I’m not going to accomplish that by dragging my boyfriend into the meeting.
“Are you okay, hun?” Niall rubs his thumb across the top of my hand. His eyes darken with concern as he gazes down at me.
“Yeah.” I pitch my voice low so the patients waiting in the reception area won’t hear me. “I’m okay. Just… a little nervous. I’m not sure why, it’s fine, and I know everyone here…”
He turns to face me, still cupping my hand tenderly in his. “It’s normal to be nervous. After everything…” He trails off, frowning slightly. A second later, his expression clears. “Anyway. You’re okay. But if you’ve changed your mind and want to go home, we can leave right now. No one would judge you for it.”
Niall wouldn’t, but I would. Setting my shoulders and lifting my chin, I tell him, “I can do this. It’ll be fine.”
He stares at me for a moment, assessing. Then he presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “Alright, sweetheart. I’ll be right out here waiting. And when you’re done, we can stop by your favorite bakery on the way home. Pick up some of those cookies you’ve been talking about.”
How did I go so long without him?
As I walk back to Dr. Regan’s office, my mind is filled with very non-PA things. Like eating those cookies in bed, naked, after Niall and I make love. Setting up the bookshelves in his spare bedroom to display my books and the comic books I convinced Niall to pull out of storage. Sneaking peeks at wedding dress Pinterest boards.
Not that I’m expecting anything. Just out of curiosity.
But I have to set those thoughts aside as I knock at the door to Dr. Regan’s office. Now’s the time to prove I’m still a capable physician assistant ready to get back on the schedule, not a love-struck woman with hearts in her eyes.
I’ve barely stopped knocking when the door opens. Dr. Regan—Hector, he always tells the staff to call him, but he’s my boss and it feels awkward to call him that—beams at me, and says, “Jade. I’m so glad to have you back.”
“Me too.” I try to give him my most competent, definitely not on the verge of a breakdown smile. Not that I am, but he doesn’t know that. All Dr. Regan knows are the basics—I was abducted, escaped, and had to stay in a safehouse until the people who took me were captured. If I were him, I’d be concerned about my mental wellbeing.
“Come in.” He gestures for me to come inside, then shuts the door behind us. “I’m sure you want to keep this private,” he explains with a kind expression. “Not to have people walking by and listening in.”
“Thanks.” I smile at him as I take one of the seats in front of his desk. “It’s not that it’s a secret, exactly. But?—”
“I understand.” Dr. Regan runs a hand through his salt and pepper hair. On the way to his desk, he stops to adjust a picture frame that’s hanging slightly askew. “I was so upset to hear what had happened to you. To think…” His brows pull into an unhappy V. “That anyone would want to hurt you, Jade. It’s unthinkable.”
I’m not sure exactly how to answer that, so I settle on, “It’s still hard to believe sometimes. But I’m doing okay. Better than okay. Which is why I’d really like to come back to work soon.”
Still standing, he gives me a probing look. “Are you sure? Not that I don’t want you back; you’re my best PA. But do you feel like you’re ready?”
“I’m sure.” It might be too much information, but I tell him, “I’m talking with a counselor. And I have a strong support system. I’m absolutely confident I’m ready.”
A strange expression crosses his face. “I don’t know, Jade.”
My chest goes tight again. Is he going to say no? Will I need to find a new job?
He moves closer and puts his hand on my shoulder. “I don’t want you pushing yourself. You’re a special woman, Jade. And?—”
His smile slides into something more sinister.
A flicker of a thought.
Something’s wrong.
Run.
Then it’s too late.
Something stabs into my arm.
What—
Pain. Agony.
My muscles won’t work.
Everything burns.
Tiny dagger-teeth cling to my bicep.
I’m dimly aware of my body jerking.
Then I’m boneless, sliding out of my seat.
Panic tears through me, terrible claws ripping at me from the inside out.
What’s happening?
Why?
I’m on the floor; a puppet with all its strings cut.
All I can do is gasp against the pain.
Dr. Regan kneels over me with a grimly satisfied expression. “Sorry about this, Jade. But you’ll be okay.”
My heart is fluttering hummingbird fast. My lungs don’t want to work.
Mid-gasp, he shoves a piece of fabric in my mouth and ties it tightly behind my head.
The terror is suffocating.
Part of my brain wants to shut down. Make this all go away.
But Niall. He’s out there. He won’t let?—
Oh, no . He’s touching me. Rolling me on my side.
While my limbs are still limp, Dr. Regan pulls my arms behind my back and starts to tie up my wrists.
Niall has to know. But how? I can’t signal him. Can’t yell for help. Can’t fight back.
“I was going to win you, you know.” He says it in a conversational tone as his fingers graze across my wrists. “I knew about the group. Not that I was involved; I’m not that reckless. But once I knew you’d been taken, I had to have you. I’d been waiting, you see. For the right woman to be available. And then—” His voice goes silky. “There you were.”
How? Dr. Regan? The kind, fifty-something family practitioner? He gives all the employees gift cards for their birthdays. Throws a big holiday party for the entire staff, with an open bar, no less. How is this possible?
My legs are starting to come back to life, but he’s already at my ankles, tying them together. “I was upset when you escaped,” he continues. “My prize, snatched away from me. Then I thought… maybe Olivia would be an adequate replacement. But she wasn’t you.”
How did I not know? How could I have worked for this man for over a year and not seen?
Now done with my ankles, Dr. Regan moves in front of me and crouches down again. He’s close enough to see his white stubble and the tiny cut under his jaw and the flakes of dry skin on his nose. The scent of deodorant is strong, but it doesn’t entirely mask the slight aroma of sweat.
“It actually worked out better this way,” he says with a smirk. “If I’d bought you, I’d be in jail. But I never went to that place, so no one could identify me. My name wasn’t anywhere.”
In a contemplative tone, he adds, “I’d thought about going there to check you out. Touch you.” He strokes my cheek, and I have enough control of my body to jerk away from him. “But this is better. Now I can take you. And I don’t have to pay anything.”
He’s a monster.
“It’s going to be fun, Jade.” His finger traces the line of my jaw. “You have so much fire. Escaping? Then using yourself as bait to take the whole thing down?” A pause. “I’m really going to enjoy training you. You’ll be perfect when I’m done with you.”
Terrified birds are flapping madly in my chest even as I try to keep myself calm.
Niall is out there. Once I don’t come out, he’ll come looking for me.
“I’ll have to stash you in the closet for a few hours,” Dr. Regan says off-handedly. “Just until everyone leaves. Then I’ll bring you home. Well.” He lets out a harsh chuckle. “ Your new home.”
No. No. No.
He grabs my legs and starts to drag me across the floor.
Toward the closet.
No.
Then a silent, calming whisper in my ear. A reminder.
The tracker. It’s still there. Still hidden under the skin, right below my shoulder blade. Dante offered to take it out, to give me something I could wear instead, but after two abductions, I was fine with leaving it.
Niall will find me. He and his team. So I just need to hang on.
“Jade,” Dr. Regan grumbles as he keeps dragging me. “You’re heavier than I thought. You look so slender. But I’ll have to put you on a diet, I see.”
What?
This asshole .
White-hot anger floods through me, chasing away the cold fear.
Now that the effects of the stun gun? taser? are wearing off, I start wriggling around, trying to make it impossible for him to get a good hold on me.
“Shit,” he hisses. “Do you want me to drug you?”
No. But I’m not going to let him just do this, either.
My knee catches him in the thigh and he grunts in pain. “ Fine . Drugs it is.”
But before he can do anything, the office door flies open with a splintering crash.
“Get your fucking hands off her.”
Niall!
He storms into the room, an avenging warrior with death in his eyes.
Not the gentle man he is around me, but the dangerous one he keeps hidden. The man who’s faced off against countless enemies to keep our country safe. The highly trained special forces soldier who’ll do anything to protect me.
Niall looks at me and his features go rigid. A storm of emotions move across his face. Worry. Guilt. Relief. Fury.
“What did you do to her?”
Dr. Regan is frozen, staring at Niall with wide, fearful eyes.
Honestly, I can’t blame him. Niall looks every bit the Green Beret he was, tall and strong and intimidating. While Dr. Regan looks like he might run on the treadmill twice a week if he’s lucky.
Niall storms toward us, vibrating with intensity. “Step away from Jade. Now.”
Now that Niall’s here, my fear is subsiding. Dr. Regan is no match for my boyfriend.
But instead of giving himself up like I’m expecting, the older man makes a last-ditch move. Face twisting with rage, he jumps up with the taser outstretched. “No! I’ll say you attacked me. It’s self-defense!”
I’m not sure how that’s going to explain me tied up on the floor.
Niall snarls at him, “There’s no getting out of this .” And he leaps forward, easily batting the taser—is it a taser or a stun-gun?—out of Dr. Regan’s hand. In that same fluid move, Niall slams him down hard enough to make the floor shudder.
Turning, Niall snaps at the small crowd of nurses gathered in the doorway, “Call the police. Now.” Then he pulls a wad of zip ties from his pocket and restrains the doctor in quick, precise movements, growling curses under his breath the entire time.
Once Dr. Regan is dealt with, Niall rushes over to me, dropping to his knees beside me. His expression softens. “Ah, Jade. Sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”
As he reaches for my gag, his hands tremble for a moment before steadying. “I’m so sorry,” he repeats, guilt seeping through each word. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I should have gotten here sooner.”
“You got here in time,” I tell him as soon as my mouth is freed. “It’s not your fault.”
But judging from the look on his face, he doesn’t agree. Instead, he pulls out a small switchblade and sets to cutting through the ties around my ankles and wrists. His fingers stroke across my skin tenderly and he keeps murmuring, “I’m so sorry, Jade. So sorry.”
A flurry of new noise enters the room, and a familiar voice says, “We got here as fast as we could. But it looks like you have things under control.”
I glance over to the doorway, where Dante is glowering in the direction of Dr. Regan. Xavier crosses the room and gives the doctor a not very gentle kick before growling, “You think you can hurt our Jade?”
Now that my wrists and ankles are free, I start to sit up, but Niall sweeps me into his arms instead. He stands up while still holding me and hugs me to his chest. His lips brush across my forehead. “He tased her,” he tells Dante with a scowl. “I want to make sure Jade’s okay.”
“I’m okay,” I start. A little sore, shaken, but overall, okay.
“I want to know for sure,” Niall replies quietly.
Since I can see the fear still shadowing his gaze, I just nod at him.
Dr. Regan bleats from the floor, “It was self defense!”
“Shut up,” snaps Xavier. “You don’t want to test me.”
Footsteps clatter down the hallway, accompanied by the rise and fall of more voices. Police, I imagine.
Niall is still holding me with this desperate look on his face, and something shifts inside me.
Yes, I was terrified. But so was he. “I’m okay,” I whisper. “Can we go home? Dante can look at me there.”
He closes his eyes for a second. On an exhale, he opens them to look at me. “Okay, sweetheart. Let’s go home.”