Unexpected Love (Jo's Story)

by Nikki Williams

  “Yeah,” she glances at Ryan. “He is such a good guy. Thanks for introducing us,” she smiles. “I don’t know why his ex did the things she did. He would do anything for the people he cares about.”

  “I know. But I was thinking about this earlier when I saw you two all snuggled on the couch. I never saw them together like that. If they were together she was at one end of the room and he was hanging out with his friends. Jarrod used to always tell me that he knew there was something about her he didn’t trust. I guess he was right,” I smile.

  “He sounds like he was a great guy.”

  “Jarrod? He was,” I smile. “We had ten years together before he died and I tell you what, every day was a new journey with him.”

  “And now you have my crazy brother,” she laughs. I look over at him and smile. He is a great guy.

  “I wouldn’t change a thing. He loves the girls and me. That is all that matters to me. He doesn’t have to buy me things, in fact he knows I don’t like it, but he is going to do it anyway. It isn’t his money or his fame. He is truly one of the most caring and loving guys that I know. He would do anything for his family and friends and that makes him a really good guy.”

  “That also makes him too nice sometimes.”

  “I don’t want to talk about Lewis Molly. Let’s just enjoy the night,” I look over and Jake and catch him staring at me. “Did you ever meet any of the girls he dated?”

  “No not really. Most of them were one time dates. He would bring them back here and schmooze them with his money and fame and send them packing,” she laughed. “I was shocked when he told me that he went to your house for your first date. I think I knew then that you were different and that he knew you were going to be someone special. He definitely acted different when he talked about you.”

  “Did he talk about me a lot?”

  “Well yes, for starters when he called me after he left your place he was so pumped about you having kids. He has always wanted kids. You should have heard him. He was a little concerned about your past with Jarrod and thought that it would take you some time to warm up to the idea of having a new guy in your life.”

  “I thought it would take a little while too, but after the way he was when the news stations found out about us and how he handled keeping the girls out of it, I don’t know it was like something clicked. I knew he was for real and wasn’t playing me. And the first night he stayed over at my place when Lizzy woke up with a nightmare he laid in her bed with me until she went back to sleep.”

  “He told me about that. Then how he told you about Trisha?”

  “Yeah, I felt bad asking him about it. I didn’t know he went through something like that. It’s got to be hard. I mean I lost my husband but not like that, and for that I am grateful. I think I would hate all men if I had to go through something like that.”

  “That was hard on him, but I think that was his turning point also. He threw himself into the game and became the best player that he could. He didn’t have her there to hold him back. I think if he would have stayed with her he would have never made it out here to get a real chance at playing.” I watch him and Ryan talking. They are in deep discussion about the patio bar I think.

  “Do you think it is too much too fast?”

  “You two? God no. It’s almost like you two were made for each other.”

  I smile, “I have heard that a lot.”

  “It’s true. You should hear what my parents were saying about you two. My mom is so excited. She kept telling him to snatch you up the whole week she was here.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “To put a ring on your finger.”

  “Whoa, now that would be too fast.”

  “You think so? I mean really?”

  “We have been together for two weeks, yes I think so,” I laugh.

  “Hey baby,” I feel Jake slip his arm around my waist and kiss my neck.

  “Hey,” I smile.

  “What are you ladies talking about?”

  “Nothing really. How about you?”

  “The house,” he turns me toward him. “I have decided to add another room.”

  “Oh yeah?’

  “Yeah, just in case we get company,” he smiles. I see Molly go by Ryan out of the corner of my eye.

  “You are excited about this aren’t you?”

  “More than you will ever know. I have been waiting for you for a long time baby. I guess my waiting and being picky finally paid off.”

  “I'm glad you waited,” I smile. “So I have a very long day tomorrow what do you say we head off to bed?”

  “Sounds good,” he kisses me. “We are headed in,” he says to Molly and Ryan as we get out of the pool. I follow him up to his room and go into the bathroom. I start the shower and go out and get his t shirt off the bed and my shorts. He went back down to get a bottle of water and something to snack on. I get in the shower and get washed up. Once I am washed up I just stand there and let the water run down my back. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I am not looking forward to it. This is the first bust of this size my team has ever attempted.

  “You falling asleep in here?” Jake pokes his head in.

  “No,” I laugh. “Just thinking that’s all.”

  “You have been doing a lot of that.”

  “Yeah, well I'm trying to clear my head for tomorrow. The more I clear my mind the less chance of screwing something up.” I turn the shower off. He hands me my towel.

  “Are you going to be ok to do this?”

  “Yes, it’s just a mind thing with me. I know the different ways this can end Jake, I have seen it before.”

  “Not making me feel better,” he frowns.

  “I'm sorry.” I wrap my towel around me and step out of the shower. “I will get dressed and come out.” He turns and leaves the bathroom. He has no idea what the possibilities are for tomorrow. Oh well, I need to stop worrying about it and get through tonight.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I look at the clock on my desk. Its 7:00pm. Lewis will be here soon, we need to get him suited up and make sure that he knows exactly what is going on. I look up at Ryan; he has been extra quiet today. In fact I think we are all on the edge today. “I'm going to call Jake; I need to get my mind off this for a minute.” He nods at me. “Maybe you should call Molly.” I see him smile and grab his phone as I shut the door behind me. I go to the board room and shut the door behind me as I dial Jake’s number.

  “Hey baby,” he answers.

  “Hi,” I smile instantly. “I just needed to talk to you.”

  “Everything ok?”

  “Yeah, I'm just on edge and needed to get away from my desk for a little bit.”

  “You’re freaking out; I can hear it in your voice.”

  “I never said that I was calm,” I laugh.

  “I wish I could change your mind about this.”

  “Nope, one more hour and this whole thing will be over.”

  “And I'm on my way to your place right now and when you get there we are going to lie in bed and you are going to let me hold you all night.”

  “Sounds perfect,” I hear a knock at the door and see Bob standing there with Lewis. I wave them in. “Listen, I have to go, my job just started. I love you.”

  “I love you too baby, please be safe. I will see you soon.”

  “I will and I can’t wait,” I hang up and look up at Lewis. He looks like a mess. “Nervous?”

  “Aren’t you?” He tries to sound calm.

  “Oh yes, this is big, but after tonight you will be on your way home and this station will be famous,” I laugh.

  “That’s one way to look at it,” he smiles. “Was that Jake you were talking to?”

  “Yes, I needed to get my mind off of this for a minute.”

  “Things are pretty serious between you two?”

  “You could say that.”

  “Good, I'm happy for you guys. He deserves someone like you. Someone that isn’t, well a bitch.�
�

  I smile, “let’s get you a vest,” I motion for him to follow me. I take him downstairs to Andy who gets us another hat cam this time with sound and we get him fitted with a vest that works under his hoodie. After he is ready to go I take him back up to the board room where my team, Captain Williams’ team, and Chief are waiting. “Alright guys,” I stand up in front of everyone and glance at the clock 7:25. “Let’s get into place and hope for the best. I will be standing outside the south door along with Ryan and Jean. Bob, you, Alicia, and Angela will be holding up the north door. Captain Williams your team knows their spots right?” He nods. “Ricky, I want you to get eyes in that building. I found this entrance here, make sure you get in there and get eyes on Lewis.” He nods. “SWAT will be standing by along with a few other officers waiting for our call. Chief, once you get eyes on what we want let me know, we are going in. This is it; we are going to get them. Everyone suit up and lets do this,” I smile. Chief nods and heads out the door.

  “Jo,” Lewis stops me before I leave the room. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me until this is over,” I tell him and then motion for him to go out the door. At 7:55 Ryan, Jean, and I are holding out by the south entrance. I have mic feed from Lewis’ hat and listen to what is going on.

  “He’s inside,” I hear Chief’s voice. “We are keeping an eye out for the products. They have a lot more in this building then they did Monday.”

  I can hear Lewis talking to who I assume is one of the brothers. I hear him say that his product is laid out on the table. I motion for the team to get ready. I can hear some boxes getting moved around. My heart is racing. I wish Chief would just confirm that he has a visual so we can get this done.

  “That’s it Jo, we got them, move in,” Chief voice rings in my ear. I motion to Ryan to go in. We storm the doors. I hear a lot of yelling and a lot of cops are running in at the same time.

  “Ricky, I need a visual on Lewis,” I yell into my mic.

  “Just north of you behind the boxes in front of you,” I go where he tells me. The guy Lewis was talking to is standing there with a gun in his hand and Lewis in the other.

  “Drop it,” I point my gun at him.

  “You first my dear,” he snarls. I see two other officers next to me, one of them Ryan and one from Captain Williams team.

  “Drop the weapon, we have you surrounded you’re not getting out of here. This entire building is now on lockdown,” I don’t take my eyes off him. I recognize him as one of the brothers from the footage that Lewis got on Monday.

  “Jo, I have a clear shot want me to take it?” I hear Ricky in my ear piece.

  “Not while he is holding a gun to Lewis.”

  “Jo, we need to get him out of there,” I hear Chief. I look down and see I have a clear shot at his leg. I aim and shoot. In retaliation he takes a shot at me and next thing I know I am on the ground.

  “Dammit Jo,” I hear Ryan as he is by my side. I can hear the other guy cussing as they are putting him in cuffs. Ryan rolls me over onto my back and looks at me. “He got you in the shoulder,” he shakes his head at me. I see Lewis next to me. “Chief, I need paramedics in here for an officer down.”

  “Shit Jo, Jake is going to kill me. Why did you have to do that?”

  “I told you I was getting you out,” I say before I black out.

  ~~~~~

  “Hello?” Jake answers the phone.

  “Hey Jake, its Ryan.”

  “Ryan, why are you calling me?”

  I take a deep breath, he is going to flip, “Jo is in the hospital.”

  “What do you mean she is in the hospital?” He voice gets louder.

  “She was shot.”

  “What? Holy shit Ryan, what hospital?”

  “Holy Cross.”

  “I'm leaving now,” he hangs up. I stand in the waiting room with the rest of the team waiting for news. Why is this taking so long? She was shot in the shoulder. I didn’t think there was anything they could hit in that area that would need this much repair. I dial Cindy’s number that I found in Jo’s phone.

  “Hello?” She answers.

  “Cindy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hey, this is Ryan.”

  “Hi Ryan,” I can hear her voice change. I can imagine she knows there is only one reason I am calling her at 9:30 at night.

  “Cindy, I have some bad news.”

  “What happened?” I hear her choke up.

  “Jo was shot on our bust tonight. She is at Holy Cross Hospital. She is in surgery right now.”

  “John and I are on our way,” she hangs up the phone. I hate this part of my job. One more call to make. I dial Annie’s number.

  “Ryan?” She answers “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Jo,” I can’t help but tear up this time.

  “Oh god no, what happened?”

  “She is in surgery at Holy Cross. She was shot.”

  “I'm on my way, hang in there.” She hangs up.

  I sit down on a chair in the waiting room. I look around and see everyone in a daze. We are in shock that this happened. There is no reason that Jo should be laying in surgery right now. We had that bastard. I see Lewis stand up. He is so nervous. I'm not sure if it because he feels responsible for getting his brothers girlfriend shot or what. It feels like forever when I hear someone yelling from the waiting area. I stand up and walk down there. Jake is standing there demanding to know what is going on.

  “Jake,” I look at him. He looks like shit. I don’t know what he is thinking but I know he is out of his mind right now.

  “What happened?” He lowers his voice. He looks at me and I realize that I am still in my gear and have blood on my shirt.

  “I have no idea. We had them cornered. The guy was holding a gun to Lewis’ head she shot him in the leg and he shot her. I have no idea how he got a shot off on her.” I replay the scene in my head. “He got her in the shoulder.”

  He goes pale. “She told me she was going to be fine,” he looks at the ground. “Dammit, where is Lewis?”

  “It’s not his fault Jake,” I try to talk to him.

  “You can blame me,” Lewis is standing behind me. “She did it to protect me. That is what she said.”

  “Dammit Lewis, your always fucking things up,” he goes at him. I step between him and Lewis.

  “Jake,” I see Molly come down the hall. She grabs his arm. “It isn’t his fault. This isn’t going to make anything better,” she pulls him a little. She smiles at me. I assume he called her on his way over.

  “Ryan?” I see Cindy coming down the hall.

  “Hi Cindy,” I reach out to hug her. I can tell she has been crying.

  “Hear anything yet?”

  “Not yet, I tried getting something out of one of the nurses but she is still in surgery.”

  “Jake, are you ok?” Cindy turns her attention to him. I can tell he is miserable right now. I could not imagine going through that. She is one of my best friends and I am having a hard time holding it together.

  “Hey,” Molly grabs my hand. “Are you ok?” She pulls me into a hug.

  “No, not really,” I hold her tight. “This was supposed to be done in a flash everyone in and out. She was not supposed to be anywhere near something like this. I told her I would take the lead on it.”

  “Yeah, but we know how stubborn she is,” Cindy and Jake are back over by us. “My daughter, she doesn’t give up easily. She will fight like crazy, you all know that,” she musters a smile.

  “Mom?” I hear Lucas yell from down the hall. “Hey,” he grabs her into a hug when he gets to her. “Have they said anything yet?”

  “No, she is in surgery,” Cindy says quietly.

  “How long has she been in there?” I see Annie and Michael walk up next to Lucas.

  “About an hour,” I look at the clock above Jake’s head. “Here, you guys go sit in this waiting room, there isn’t room down there, the whole team is here.” I point to a waiting room a
cross from the reception. I don’t go in just stand outside the door. I hear them talking and I hear Cindy crying. I look down the hall and see Chief standing there. He motions for me to come talk to him.

  “Did you get a hold of everyone?” I can tell he is concerned.

  “Everyone that I needed to for now. I'm sure from here they can call who they need to.”

  “How are you holding up?”

  “Not that great to be honest.”

  “I bet not,” he pats my shoulder. “Take your gear off, I have an extra shirt in my squad car I will get you. Clean yourself up a little. I know you aren’t going anywhere soon.” I nod and start taking off my vest and radio. I walk to a sink that the nurse says I can use to clean up and take off my shirt and scrub my hands and face.

  “Are you all here for Jodene Lewis?” I doctor walks up behind me.

  “Yes,” I say. “Hold on let me get her family.” I go to the waiting room. “Cindy, the doctor,” I say and turn back around. I hear them all follow.

  “Jodene Lewis?” He looks at all of us. We all nod. “She is out of surgery. It took so long because the shot didn’t clear through and we had a hard time getting the bullet out. She is stable but sleeping right now. We did not have to keep her in ICU she has her own room on the third floor. I would give her a little bit before you go up there. I can foresee her sleeping for a while but I'm fine with you visiting. Only a few at a time though. Lucky girl to have so many people that care about her.” He smiles and walks back down the hall. I feel like a weight was just lifted off my chest. Chief walks up behind me and hands me a shirt.

  “Thanks,” I smile. “Did you hear what he said?”

  “Yes I did,” he looks at Jo’s mom. “I think you guys should go up and see her first.”

  “Oh no, I want Ryan up there first. He needs to see her,” she smiles at me.

  “No, its fine Cindy, you go.”

  “No, she’s right,” Jake looks at me. “You need to be the first one up there. You can scold her first,” he smiles. Everyone lets out a little laugh. I nod.