23. Chapter 23
twenty-three
Graveyard Dancing - Destroy Rebuild Unitl God Shows
Dimitri returned to Jackie’s office and settled heavily into his usual seat. He didn’t know what he needed or would say to her when she saw the state he was in, but he knew he didn’t want to be alone. As always, when he felt in crisis, he needed to be near her.
Jackie looked up from the letter she was writing to find Dimitri with his head in his hands.
His shoulders sat up around his ears, telling her he was stressed about something.
Her mind drifted back to the phone call he’d declined; the way he’d deflected.
She wasn’t sold that it was his mom who had called him.
“Are you okay?” she asked, jotting down a note on a sticky so she didn’t forget what she was saying. “Where’d you go?”
He shook his head no before answering, “I was talking to Kendra.”
“I didn’t know you were seeing her, too.” Jackie stood and rounded her desk to sit in the chair opposite Dimitri.
“It’s not a regular thing, only as needed.”
Jackie nodded her understanding, though Dimitri wasn’t looking.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, reaching out to put a comforting hand on his knee.
“You don’t have to share if you don’t want to, but I’m here, too, if you want to talk.
” He looked up at her, eyes pleading with her to understand what he couldn’t tell her.
Her face fell looking at him. She pulled her seat closer and took his hands in hers. “What’s wrong?”
Dimitri shook his head, unable to answer as tears welled in his eyes. Jackie’s heart broke looking at him. Besides the night he came home from Algonquin Park, she’d never seen him cry like this.
She stood and climbed into his lap, cradling his head against her chest as he sobbed. She played with his hair, trying to offer whatever comfort she could while he got whatever this was out of his system.
She chose to believe it was just the stress of everything happening getting to him.
She tried not to think about how cagey he’d been lately.
About the phone call earlier that she didn’t believe had come from his mother.
She had wondered about it more than she cared to admit over the last hour or so.
She had a hunch—one she’d been in the process of writing to Cliff about—but she knew if she brought it up and was wrong, it would put a strain on their relationship.
Or worse—if she was right—she didn’t know how she’d be able to move on from it.
She held him tight, trying to stop her mind from wandering too far. When the sobs began to subside, she pulled his face up to look at him. She’d never seen him so broken, even when he was physically broken and fighting through physical therapy.
“We’re going to get Talia back. We’re so close I can feel it,” she said gently, choosing the safe route.
She wiped away the tears streaking his cheeks and leaned down to kiss him hard.
“I love you so much,” she breathed against his mouth.
She pulled away, holding his face so he had to look at her.
“I’m going to love you forever, Dimitri Fraser. No matter what. I promise.”
Tears fell again, and Jackie pulled him back against her chest. He squeezed her tight enough that she wondered if he didn’t believe her. Her chest ached while listening to him. She hated seeing him like this. She wanted to push him to talk, but he’d never pushed her when she broke down.
She kissed the top of his head. “Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’m always ready to listen,” she said softly.
He looked up at her, his eyes red-rimmed. “I love you so much,” he breathed, as if begging her to believe him.
“I know.” She nodded. “I love you too.” She kissed him again, more gently now, letting him slowly explore her mouth with his tongue.
His hands splayed across her back, pulling her more tightly against him.
She sighed into the kiss, a hand caressing his cheek.
He pulled away, breathless and looking exhausted.
He kissed the base of her throat and laid his head on her chest again.
Jackie rested her cheek on his head, holding him there for a moment before speaking again.
“You’ve been taking such good care of me the last few weeks. Can I take care of you today?”
He looked up at her, a gentle smile on his lips. “What did you have in mind?”
She glanced around her office. She’d been in the middle of that letter to Cliff, but it could wait. They were at a standstill, waiting for news from their contacts again.
“Let’s go home. We’ll change into comfy clothes and get set up on the couch with a joint.
I’ll put on The Conjuring since that’s your favourite.
And if you’re up for it, I’ll touch you and make you feel good.
And then, I’ll make your favourite dinner.
” Dimitri’s smile shifted at the mention of dinner, turning suspicious.
Jackie smiled. “I still have some of your mom’s pierogies in the freezer from Christmas. ”
Dimitri sighed in excitement. “Think you have some of your homemade egg rolls left, too?”
Jackie laughed, happy to see him perking up. “I think so. Let’s run to the store on the way and grab some other finger foods and make a mini buffet like we did on Christmas Eve.”
“That sounds awesome,” he said, looking grateful. He sighed, some of the tension in his shoulders loosening. He turned toward Jackie’s board, and she felt them tighten back up. “We’re running out of time. You said we’re close. Did one of your contacts get back to you?”
“Not with anything useful. You?”
“Nothing yet, but I expect the same.” His eyes wandered back up to the last name listed under Leads. “He’ll likely be at Temp on Thursday. That gives us two days to plan how we want to ambush him at home,” he said, pointedly avoiding speaking JP’s name.
“I can go alone,” Jackie offered gently.
Dimitri shook his head. “No. I know you can handle yourself, but I’m going, too. I need to know you’re safe and okay regardless of what he demands.”
“Maybe we can threaten or talk our way into the information.”
“I doubt it,” Dimitri countered. “But we can try.”