Chapter 79 Jacob Risk
seventy-nine
Jacob: Risk
“The pictures are all at least four months old.” Nate says.
His call pulled me out of a fitful sleep, filled with dreams of Jess and Iraq. I don’t remember anything concrete, only that she was in trouble and I couldn’t get to her.
“That old?”
“Yeah. They’re all extremely creepy. This is the guy from before, Brad?”
“It has to be. I don’t know who else would be stalking her.” Brad should have been in jail then, but maybe he got out without my knowing. Maybe that's why Jess started hiding right after we broke up.
“What did she say about it?”
I hesitate for a minute. “We aren’t exactly on speaking terms.”
“Idiot,” Nate says.
“What?” I say.
“You’re an idiot when it comes to Jess. You always have been.”
I’m waiting for him to tell me to get over her, to stop acting like a whooped dog, like everyone else has. I’m ready to defend myself and say, “I broke up with her.”
Instead he says, “You’re an idiot for letting her go. You have no idea what you have with her. You have no idea what I would have given to have her look at me the way she looks at you, even one time. Hell, I’d be happy if any girl looked at me that way.”
“Angel?”
“Long gone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He lets out a long sigh. “What happened with Jess?”
I keep it brief. I’m positive Nate will agree with her, that I should have done what I could to get out of the deployment. He stays quiet as I finish up. “It’s an impossible situation. I can’t not go to Iraq. Jess can’t accept that.”
“Did you give her time to process the whole thing, or did you just lose it when she asked you to stay with her?”
“I lost it,” I admit.
“Everything is so black and white with you, Jake. You forget that people have different opinions and different views of the world. You fly off the handle when someone questions your loyalty, especially when it comes to the Army. I know you’d never go against your oath.
I’m sure Jess knows that too. But she probably would have appreciated it if you had listened.
She might have even come around to your opinion. ”
I sit for a long moment, realizing he’s right. “What do you think I should do?” I ask.
He laughs. “You’re asking me for advice about a girl? That’s a first.” He’s quiet for a minute. “First thing, save her life. You’re pretty good at that. After that, try not to be so hardheaded.”
“I’m a couple thousand miles away and deploying in less than thirty-six hours. There’s nothing I can do to fix either situation beyond what I’ve already done. I sent the police and a guy who's closer to check on her.”
“You’re going to let someone else rescue her? You must trust this guy a lot if you let him take your place.”
I consider what he’s saying. “I don’t actually, not when it comes to her, but–”
My call-waiting beeps. It’s an unknown number. “I’ve got to go. This could be her,” I say.
“Let me know how it all turns out,” Nate says.
“Thanks I–” but he’s already gone.
I hurry to answer the phone. Immediately, I know it's a cop on the other end. “Sergeant Ricks? I have good news for you.”
“You found her?” I ask eagerly.
“No, the house was dark and unoccupied. But I was able to get some information about the inmate you asked about.”
“Brad? Did you find him?” I ask.
“In a manner of speaking. He’s still in jail. Before he was released, additional charges were brought against him, charges that had been dropped due to a lack of evidence and are now pending.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“It means your friend is safe, at least from him. There’s no word on when he might be released, but you and Ms. Roberts will be informed when he is.”
I think I manage a thank you, but I’m not sure. The surge of relief is short-lived. If Brad isn’t out of jail, he couldn’t have taken the pictures. He isn’t the one who is stalking Jess. Could this whole thing be someone’s idea of a sick joke?
Jasmine comes into my room, her hair piled on her head. She’s wearing the shorts and tank top she sleeps in, but it doesn’t look like she’s been sleeping.
She sits on my bed. “I got Jess’ mom to answer a text.
She said Jess is at their house. She’s staying there tonight.
I already let Michael know. He’s still in Pullman, so it will be awhile, but he said he’d get there as soon as he can.
” She gives me a hug. “It will be okay, Jacob. Jess is tough, and I know you don’t want to hear this, but Michael is almost as obsessed with her as you were. He’ll keep her safe.”
“Right,” I say, but something is nagging at the back of my mind. Something I’m missing. Someone is stalking Jess. If it’s not Brad, it could be anyone—a patient from the hospital, some guy from one of her classes, someone else who is obses— I stand up. “What did you say?”
Jasmine is at the door of my bedroom. She turns. “I said, try not to worry. Jess is–”
“Not that. What did you say about Michael?”
“I said he’ll keep her safe.”
“No. You said, ‘He’s obsessed with her.’”
Obsessed. Possessive. Controlling. All things I’ve heard people say when they described Michael’s relationship with Jess.
I've seen it too, how Jess wasn’t herself when he was around, how he seemed to always be telling her what to do.
How he wanted to take her away—not just from me, but from everyone she loves.
“What are you saying?” Jasmine asks.
But Michael was supposed to be in Korea until June. If the pictures are four months old, it couldn’t be him. Unless he wasn’t there, or he came home early, or… I grab my phone again, this time dialing Bryan’s number. It’s early in Germany, but he picks up on the first ring.
“What can you tell me about Lieutenant Stephens?” I ask, almost before he’s said hello.
“Stephens?” His voice is husky with sleep. “Why do you need to know?”
“I’ll explain later, but it’s important. You were in the same unit before Fort Lewis, right?”
Bryan hesitates. I’m not sure if he’s thinking or if he’s not sure how to answer my question.
“Yeah. He was a good guy, but…I got the idea he was always hanging on by a thread. Physically he was as good as anyone, but mentally…I don’t know.
There were some rumors about a hunting accident when he was a kid, something that messed him up and maybe should have disqualified him from service.
Someone told me he had friends in high places who kept covering for him, but there were a lot of guys who were jealous because he had money.
It could have just been that.” He’s quiet again.
“Funny that you should ask about him. I heard he just got out.”
“Out?” I ask.
“Out of the Army. A few months ago. His deployment to Korea was cut short, and he came home, some medical thing.”
My heart freezes. “How many months ago?"
"Four or five maybe, I'm not—"
"Do you know what kind of medical thing?"
“No idea. Jake, what’s all this ab–”
“Thanks for the info. I’ll explain later.
” I hang up, and start rummaging through my drawer for some clothes and my wallet.
I grab them and turn to Jasmine. “Call Michael back, tell him you were wrong, that Jess isn’t at her house, that she’s back in Pullman, or Spokane, wherever will take him far away from her. ”
“Where are you going?” She's looking at me like she thinks I've lost my mind. Maybe I have.
“To the airport. I’m going to Washington. It was Michael. It is Michael. At least I think it is. And I sent him there. I asked him to take care of her.”
“Jake, you’re not making sense,” Jasmine says. “You can’t just–”
“What are you doing, Jacob?” Steve is standing in the hall, blocking my way.
“I have to go. I have to make sure Jess is–”
“You have no proof she’s in any real danger. Nothing to go on but blind fear. She could have sent those pictures to you herself to get you to come running back.”
“She wouldn’t do that,” I say, trying to move past him.
He doesn’t move. “She’s not your responsibility. What are you going to do when you get there and find her with him? When you risk everything you've built your whole life on only to find out she’s been playing you this whole time?”
I keep my voice steady because I know he might be right about all of this.
I’ve always had blinders on when it came to Jess, but I don’t think I’m going into this situation blind.
“If I’m wrong about all of this, if she’s with him and safe, then I can let her go.
But she’s not. I don’t know how to explain it, but I know, I know she’s in trouble.
I know if I don’t go, something is going to happen to her. I could never live with myself if–”
“Think about it, Jacob. Think about what happens if you don’t show up for your deployment. Think about what you’re risking. At best you lose your promotion, at worst–”
“I know. I know what I’m risking. But I also know what I stand to lose if I don’t find her.”