Chapter 12
Once the agents do their initial pass, they hook up my electricity. They attach a backup generator designed to kick on automatically, if the power goes out for any reason. After all of that is settled, the doctor in Wes’ team takes Jordan to the living room for his exam.
In the dining room, I tell Wes everything I know.
His brow furrows at parts and his lips tighten, too.
I get the distinct impression he’s frustrated.
It almost makes me happy. He says, “I’ll be speaking to my supervisor to see about getting you some more local protection, but even with the increase in attacks, she won’t approve your relocation. I asked.”
For the first time I’ve known him, he sounds angry.
It’s refreshing. “I know you’re trying to get me out of here and Wes, I appreciate it,” my voice shakes less this time.
I wonder if that means I’m doing okay, or if I’m officially losing my mind.
“What about Jordan’s feet? He needs real medical attention, I know it.
Like a hospital with doctors and surgery and antibiotics.
I’m sure your people are great, but it’s not the same and we both know it. ”
We subtly turn to look at Jordan, without him noticing us. He’s on the couch in the living room, under examination from one of the agents. Wes quietly mutters, “He says he’s fine.”
I whisper, “Do you believe him?”
“No. But he’s a big boy, so it’s not my choice.” He shrugs.
If I think about it too hard, then I’ll worry too much about Jordan and get sidetracked. I turn my attention directly to Wes. “Did you find out anything about the last attacker? Anything from the blood samples, or—"
“I’m sorry, but no. We don’t have his information in any law enforcement databases. But since we have new samples, hopefully we’ll get something good out of all this,” he gestures around my house, “havoc, and then maybe it’ll all be worth it, right?”
My foot is tapping. “Will it?”
He smiles with pity in his eyes, “It was a rhetorical question. Of course, it will. We will catch them, and we will get Riker, and we will make you safe.”
I sigh. “Maybe.”
“I know this is hard on you—"
“Hard on me? Are you kidding? This is—"
“Something my people will handle. There are two main roads in and out of Floyd. I will have agents posted to watch for anything suspicious, as soon as I get the approval,” he smiles.
“Why not post them here?”
His eyes dart to Jordan, then back to me. His voice is quiet again, “You have protection here.”
“Jordan isn’t even on your payroll!” The agents near us stare, and Jordan and the doctor give us a fast glance, before they go back to what they were doing. Okay, maybe I should have been quieter when I pointed that out, but the point still stands.
He says, “Which means they don’t know who or where or what he is. Jordan is our secret weapon against Riker. We need to keep it that way.”
I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I guess.”
“And I hear Sugar did her job, too.” Wes pets her.
I nod and proudly say, “She did. From what Jordan says, she went after the one who threw Max.”
“I understand, he’s okay, too?”
I nod. “Jordan says he landed on the couch and he’s fine.”
“That’s a relief. Max is a great dog.”
“And it’s my fault he could have been hurt, Wes. I hate this.” I slump at my dining table. My heart aches with the thought of any harm coming to them. It’s too much. All of it.
“None of this is your doing, Stella. You’re trying to do the right thing. No one can blame you for that,” he says and shakes his head.
“I can,” I admit. “I’ve been faulting myself for that for three years.”
He sighs. “I can’t change your mind on that.
But what I can do is tell you that none of this is your fault.
Since you decided to enter the program and testify against Riker, you have been a good guy fighting against the bad guys.
It’s not an easy path, certainly, but it’s the right path.
And every day you don’t give up on doing the right thing is another day you’re a hero. ”
“How many times have you given that speech?”
He grins. “Unsure. But it usually works. Is it working now?”
“Maybe,” I begrudgingly admit. Then, I smile at him. “Wes, thank you for coming. I know I’m not your easiest case. You shouldn’t have to deal with all of this. I wish I could make things easier for you. I just—"
“Stella, you aren’t easy. But that’s why you’re on my caseload. I like the challenging ones. You make my job interesting.”
I laugh. “I doubt you want your job to be this interesting.”
“You’re sure you told me everything?”
I nod. “I’ve told you everything that I remember. But I wasn’t the one dealing with them. Hell, I didn’t even see these guys. That was all Jordan.”
Wes says, “I’ve already taken his statement. I just wanted to make sure everything was covered, no stone left unturned.” Then his voice quiets down again, “So, you and Jordan?”
I am a grown ass woman, I should not be blushing about this. But Wes’ tone makes me think of every schoolyard taunt about sex, and somehow, I’m a teenager again, giggling about boys. I roll my eyes. “Yes, what about it?”
“Seems you two have gotten close.”
I shrug and nonchalantly say, “Some.”
“Alright, be coy. Whatever it is, I’m glad he’s nearby.”
I nod. “Same here.” Whatever it is.
What is it? What are we? After such a strange night, my head is a mess.
I shouldn’t be thinking about this sort of thing, too.
But then I look at Jordan, and my heart jumps in my chest. I shake my head.
Probably just the craziness of the night.
I feel closer to him than I have to anyone in a long time.
But considering my situation, that’s not saying a lot.
Stress can bond people in weird ways, so I shouldn’t read too much into it all.
I’m sure this is all just a fun, if not adventurous, hook up for him.
He’s talking to that doctor agent too long.
She’s looking at his feet, but does she need to look for four whole minutes?
He said it was nothing. And why is she laughing at something he said?
He’s not particularly funny. I mean, kind of, but in his own way, and it takes time to appreciate his sense of humor, so why is she laughing?
I should say hi. Interrupt them. In case she’s just laughing to be polite.
I can be nice and give her an out. That’s something girls should do for each other. Girl code. Right?
“Hi,” I jump in.
The doctor is startled, but smiles. She says, “Ms. Collins, are you injured?”
“No. Just, um, wanted to see how the patient is doing.”
He smiles, “Doc here says I’ll be good as new in a few days.”
“Mr. Waters is a very good patient, and as long as he listens to doctor’s orders, he will be as good as new. But he needs to stay off his feet as much as reasonably possible,” she says.
I smile at Jordan. “Then you can spend more time on your back.”
“Maybe you can help with that,” he says, then winks at me.
“I just meant, uh,” I stammer, “that um, you can—"
The doctor says, “I’ll leave you to it, then.” She packs her bag up and rejoins the team. Wes signs off on the paperwork, and they leave.
The sudden quiet is strange. No more agents.
No more bad guys. Just the two of us. And the dogs.
I sit next to him on the couch and we snuggle up in front of the lit Christmas tree again.
The dogs are asleep by his feet, and I am safe in his arms. He smells manly and feels like home. Maybe for tonight, he is.
His deep voice rumbles, “You awake?”
“Mm, hmm.”
“Do you want to clean up now?”
“I want to pretend there isn’t blood and glass on my floors. I want to be magically transported to my bed, so I don’t even have to walk. And I want to sleep for a year. I haven’t been this tired in a very long time.”
He chuckles. “Well then, how about we clean all this up in the morning, and we sleep in as late as you want.”
“No magical transportation to the bed?” I whine.
“Seems unlikely.”
I shrug and smile. “Two out of three ain’t bad.” I stand up and reach a hand down for him.
Jordan takes it, then whisks up me in his arms, and winces.
I smack his shoulder, “Your feet! Put me down!”
“I’ll be fine.” He laughs. But then his body tenses up with pain.
“You’re a lunatic, you’re gonna hurt yourself. Let me go.”
“I’m never letting you go,” he says firmly. His tone is so serious that it takes my breath away. I wrap my arms around his neck and let him carry me to bed. Once we’re there, I call the dogs to the bedroom, and Jordan asks, “I thought you preferred they sleep downstairs.”
I shake my head. “Not with all that blood and glass everywhere.” I toss a few extra blankets into the corner for them, and the pair trot into the bedroom. They happily snuggle into the blankets and each other. It brings a smile to my face. “That’s better.”
“Agreed.”
“You don’t mind them being in here?”
“To be honest, Max usually sleeps with me. He’s not a great sleeper, usually kicks a lot, so I apologize in advance for any noise.”
Max yawns, then gives us a look, as though we’re the ones making too much noise. Then, he snuggles Sugar again.
I tell Jordan, “He’s a hero, like his dad. He can make all the noise he wants.”
Jordan, plainly uncomfortable with the hero label, smiles, then looks away. “I’m gonna get ready for bed, then.” He walks to the bathroom, and it’s hard to watch. Each footstep makes his back tense up. I know it hurts him to walk, and I cringe when I see his pain.
After we both clean up, we bed down for what’s left of the night.
Sleep is so much easier with Jordan in my bed, and two snoring dogs.
I shouldn’t feel this close to him this soon, but I do.
Everything in my bedroom feels exactly the way it should be.
And maybe it’s the shared trauma speaking, but this feels like something more than… whatever it is.
Is it too late to stop all of this with him? Should I? I don’t want to stop. I like having him and Max with me and Sugar.
But last night, he could have been killed trying to protect me, so maybe I should reconsider our involvement. Am I being selfish to make him risk his life for me? How would I feel, if something were to happen to him?
Devastated. I’d be devastated. I sigh when I realize it.
And what if he’s reconsidering all of this? I couldn’t blame him for that. Maybe last night was too much for him. He left the Marines for a reason. He’s a normal guy with a normal life in the capital city of normal. Why should I come along and ruin his whole world? That doesn’t seem right.
For that matter, is he here just because of Wes? I’ve known military guys before and if their brother in arms asks for a favor, they do it, no questions asked. Am I just a favor?
But when I pull away from his arms, he tightens them around me. Maybe this madness hasn’t been too much for him. Maybe Wes isn’t a factor in our involvement anymore. Maybe Jordan is here for me.
I hope so.
The three snorers in the room are too much to resist, so I decide to join them. All these questions, these doubts, they are Tomorrow Stella’s problem. For now, I snuggle back into his embrace and drift away.