Chapter Fifteen #2
"You two seem perfect together and so damn in love. If you're within fifty yards of each other, you're drawn together. I find it hard to believe there's something so flawed in her that would have you questioning whether you could be with her or not."
"You don't understand, and it's not my story to tell, but there are some huge morally differing opinions that I don't know how to wrap my head around."
"You honestly don't think you can work them out?"
"That's the issue. I think we can, but if we do, I put everything I've worked for and stand for on the line by choosing her.
Being with Jolene could set my whole world on fire and erase the good I've been able to do if—" I almost tell Davis what I know.
"Like I said, it's not my story to tell.
Although, if I trusted anyone on the force to know what's going on, it would be you. "
"Thanks, that means a lot. I'm not going to ask because I can see you struggling not to betray Jo.
Obviously, whatever the issue is, it's pretty big.
Avoiding her isn't helping anything, though.
You're walking around here like a bear with a thorn in its paw.
Have you tried talking it out with her instead of having a one-sided conversation in your head? "
"How do you know that's what I've been doing?"
"Beau, you've been here almost around the clock the last couple of days. Before that, you were worse than the rookies waiting for their shift to be done so they could go out drinking and chasing tail. You'd hightail it out of her the first chance you could, to get to Jolene."
"Fine. I hear ya. I've actually been thinking about heading out to see her when I'm done here today. I just wanted to get my head on straight so she doesn't end up kicking my ass when I finally get the chance to talk to her."
"That's definitely a smart move. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of Jolene DuVall's fury."
"Since I've been such an ass, maybe I'll head to the diner and grab some grub for everyone. You want anything?"
"Hell yeah, but don't tell Brant. He's got me on a diet since we eat out so much here, and I'm dying for a burger and fries."
"Your secret’s safe with me. Why don't you go round up everyone's order and call it in. I'll walk down and grab it. I need to stop in and see Thatcher."
"Sounds good. Thanks, Chief." Davis, the shit that he is, smirks at me. He's a habitual flirt and can't seem to help himself once he knows he can be his true self around someone.
I'm just glad my department is now a safe space for Davis to truly shine.
Grabbing my phone, keys, and ball cap, I head out of the station towards the hardware store. I'm not sure how seeing Thatcher is going to go, but I need to get an idea on how to approach Jolene. Grant it, Thatch might be just as volatile as my girl if I don't word what I say right.
I'm relieved to find the store empty, except for Thatcher. The bell on the door alerts him of my presence.
"Be with you in a minute," he calls from the counter, where he's working on a laptop.
I keep my mouth shut, not wanting to tip him off that it's me.
"How can I he— What do you want?" Thatcher is on guard as he glares at me across the counter.
"To talk to my best friend."
His jaw twitches, then finally unclenches as he relaxes a bit. "Fine. Talk."
"I think I'm ready to talk to Jolene, but I have no idea where to even begin or if she'll give me the time of day. I know this puts you in the middle, where you shouldn't have to be, but any help would be much appreciated."
"She might be stubborn as hell, but she's also logical. She knows she's put you in a shitty position. Fuck, she puts us all in a bad spot doing what she does, but she also believes to her core that she's meant to do it. Whenever you're ready to talk, she'll give you a chance."
"Thank fuck." I blow out a relieved breath.
"So, do you know what you're going to say to her?"
"Not really, but I know I need to talk to her.
I can't keep having a one-sided conversation with myself.
And honestly, I get why she does what she does.
I've lived that hell she's saving others from, but it goes against everything I believe in, everything I fight for when I get up and put this uniform and my badge on.
It also feels like she doesn't trust me to do my job, which really fucking sucks.
I know I'm only a portion of taking out the scum that pollute the world, but I'm damn good at what I do.
I don't want any innocent person being a victim any more than she does.
I just believe that the law will do what it's meant to protect them.
It's what I've spent my life fighting to achieve. "
"Fuck, man, I know this sucks." Thatcher's anguished face mirrors my own. "I don't know if this will make you feel better or worse, but what happened the other night was a fluke."
"How so?"
"Jo's mentioned Boomer, right?"
"Yes," I grit out as jealousy flares inside me, like it always does at the mention of Boomer. I flip Thatcher off as he chuckles at my scowling face.
"I know you're not a fan of him because God forbid someone else be close to your girl, but he's actually a pretty cool guy. Anyway, a couple of years ago, when he was here for his annual visit, we got hammered at Pour Decisions and I spilled my guts about how much what Jo does worries me. He had no idea what she had taken upon herself to do, but he wasn’t surprised in the lease when I explained how she got to be where she is today.
He assured me I had nothing to worry about and that she was honestly scarier than a lot of SEALs he knows. But that still didn't really help.
"So, the night they decided to do their 'exercise', Boomer set up several cameras in the woods, had himself and Jo wearing cameras, and he set up a camera in the cabin that Jolene had to breach to rescue the victims. What Boomer didn't tell Jo was that a couple of his buddies came to play the game that year.
She always knew there were no rules when he showed up and to be on her toes.
The other guys also had cameras, so I had a front-row seat to the show that was about to go down.
"When everything started, the forest was eerily quiet, but the craziest part was that if I wasn't watching a camera feed of Jo moving through the trees, I wouldn't have had any idea she was out there.
She moved like a panther, fast and silent, as she made her way to the cabin.
She was halfway there when she got close to the first guy's hiding spot.
I have no idea what tipped her off that he was there, but when he struck, she efficiently took him down without a sound. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"The rest of the exercise went much the same: Jo meeting another hidden beast of a man and taking him out as if she were playing with a child.
When it finally came to her rescuing the victim, it was just her and Boomer left.
Their sparring was much harder to watch as they were so evenly matched.
Where Boomer was bigger and more skilled, Jolene was faster and lithe.
Ultimately, she ended up besting Boomer and therefore winning the mission.
"After that night, I didn't worry about her nearly as much. She helps appease me by letting me know when and where she’s going on a mission.
Well, up until recently. But even then, the night when everything went to shit was just supposed to be a recon mission.
I've done several of those with her, and been out of my mind sitting back while some poor person was so clearly suffering, but Jolene would remind me that we had to stick to the plan.
"She's smart, and she's efficient. She makes sure there's no loose ends and that nobody will miss the person when they're gone.
Or she'll come up with a plausible reason why they up and left.
It's not hard when the people she's dealing with are evil.
She's never had anyone suspect what she does, and as far as I know, nobody has linked the disappearances in the area to anything nefarious since the people who have gone missing are far from upstanding citizens.
"So, I hope that gives you a different perspective because Lord knows my cousin is a cocky shit. She'll tell you everything I just did, but she'll also boast and brag to mislead you on how deadly she truly is."
We both fall silent for a minute as I process everything Thatcher has said.
Over the past few days, I've discreetly looked into the missing persons filed over the last few years in Aspen Hollow and was surprised how little there were.
I don't know the number of people Jo has taken out, and I don't think I want to.
But I can also say with confidence that I wouldn't have thought anything nefarious was going on in our town if I didn't know what I do now.
"Thanks, Thatch. This was really helpful. I gotta head out. Lunch is on me for being a grumpy bastard. I can't keep my crew waiting."
"Sounds good. Let me know if you need some back-up when you talk to Jo-Jo. I think a 9-1-1 text will do the trick."
"Har har. Real funny."
With a plan, I make my way to the diner. I think I know what I need to do where Jolene is concerned. Now, I just gotta get my girl to come to me and see if we can move on together, consequences be damned.