Damn it, she did not need her brothers help. She could do this on her own. She bit her lip, damn, damn, double damn. She was being stupid. She would want them to come to her. It had always been a two way street.
Then there was Nate. She had really come to depend on him, but it seemed like he was never there. With everything going on with the found, and all the missions he was on, she had only seen him for maybe three weeks in eight months’ time. Then she remembered when he had been in Miami and helped her from a distance. There was no denying their connection. Damn, she wanted her brothers and she wanted Nate’s help.
“Amy, we’re going to figure this out. Your baby girl, your son and you are going to have a great life, and Chris is not going to be a part of it. You’re going to be safe. I promise.” Amy’s blue eyes were swimming with tears.
“You can’t promise something like that. Hell Sarah, not even my parents would believe Chris beat me. He was always so perfect, like I was made of glass. You had to see it the couple of times you saw us together.”
“Did he ever hit you before?”
“Never. But, he was always so strict. I had to do everything so perfectly. I had to give him all of my attention. We had to be in the same room, unless I was getting something for him. He hated it when Jeremy was really young and needed my attention. That’s why he wanted me to get an abortion. He didn’t want me to have another baby and take time away from his needs.”
The way she said needs made Sarah shudder. Something seemed off.
“Is there anything else? Something you’re not telling me?” Sarah felt bad for probing, but she felt she had to.
“Nothing. Nothing that matters.” Amy’s voice was a choked whisper.
“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but you’re going to need to talk to someone.” Sarah watched as two tears twisted their way down her friend’s face.
“I was nothing to him. I was never there. He said he loved me. But he really didn’t. He just wanted to own me, to use me.” Amy looked down. “Sometimes in bed he would hurt me and he didn’t care because I belonged to him. I was his. But he never beat me before that night.”
Sarah wrapped her arms around Amy and rocked her back and forth cursing Chris Jeffries. It didn’t matter how mad Cyrus was going to be, or how hard she was going to knock Kyle in the head, she needed their help, and she would do whatever was necessary to get it. But first she was going to take the next forty-eight hours to plan. That’s what she was good at, she gathered information, she dug deep, and her brothers executed, hopefully not literally.
And Nate. Nate was already there. He wasn’t off on some other mission, he was actually there. But then again, she was the mission this time.
Chapter Five
“Got it.”
“What do you mean, got it?” Nate spent the past twenty-four hours with boy scouts training them how to survive in the wilderness. He knew Cyrus and Sierra were doing everything they could to find out what Sarah was up to, and he and Brayson were in a holding pattern.
“Our girl set up a fake Skype account at the coffee shop downstairs. It was different than the secure one we set up to contact her family in Georgia.”
“Dammit, she said she was just surfing the web downstairs. That was supposed to be a secure place, because we had cameras and a guard down there. It was one of the few places of freedom we’d been giving her.” Sarah and some of the other found had been chafing at the bit, so they had to make a couple of concessions and that had been one of them. Who would have guessed Sarah couldn’t be trusted.
“I pulled information on the Skype account, apparently she’s been in contact with your guy Ramone Sands. He explained all about a mutual friend of theirs, Amy Jeffries.”
“Yeah, he mentioned she was meeting up with Amy, I didn’t get the last name.” Nate had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was not going to be good.
“Ramone said it was a matter of life and death she get in touch with Amy, and he said to expect a call from an Atlanta number. It was a throwaway cell phone. It gets worse.”
“How?” Nate was not going to like this.
“Amy’s husband is Kyle Johnson’s boss.”
“Fuck,” Nate damn near yelled.
“Exactly.”
“No wonder Sarah did this all on her own.” It made no sense she didn’t go to her family. “Shit Sierra, I understood why she avoided us, there was no way we were going to let her leave our protection. But her family? They are her rock.”
“Not if the problem is a cop. She’d want to get all of her ducks in a row first. I checked it out. Amy went into the hospital, apparently she was injured in a car accident three days before calling Sarah. Lots of contusions, cracked ribs and the like. If this was domestic violence instead…” Sierra’s anger was clear.
“Adds up,” Nate agreed.
“But I don’t get how Amy thought Sarah could help her. She doesn’t know about her healing abilities.”
“That’s not what she wanted. She wanted to put this on record and have someone in her corner.” Nate couldn’t think of anyone better than Sarah to have on your side. But the idea of some dangerous cop with a screw loose, out looking for his wife, with Sarah in the cross-hairs was bad news as far as he was concerned.
“Do you know where this husband is?”
“His name is Chris Jeffries. He’s a police captain in the Atlanta PD. Everything I’ve pulled up shows him as a straight arrow. He has commendations out his ass and he’s even in line for a promotion.”
“No wonder his wife would be worried and want help. It would be hard to prove. You said the doctor at the hospital corroborated the auto accident?”
“Yeah. I’m still looking to see if there has ever been any connection between the good doctor and Jeffries. I want to know if Jeffries has something hanging over his head.”
“Good work,” he complimented Sierra, impressed with all she discovered.
“No it’s not, I’m still kicking myself on the Skype thing.”
“It’s not your fault. Sarah duped us all.” Nate wondered how deep a relationship she had with Ramone, and if she had been having secret conversations with him. “Has Sarah turned on her computer yet?”
“Nope. As soon as she does I’ll send the coordinates to your satellite phone, and you can go get her. In the meantime, I’m going to dig until I know everything there is between Jeffries and this damn Dr. Jarrolson.”
“Thanks.” Nate knew he was damn lucky to have Sierra on his team.
Nate hung up, he didn’t like the idea of a bad cop being on Sarah’s trail. This was not good.
“Brayson,” he bellowed. Dozens of camper’s heads popped up. He saw Ramone and Brayson look over from a spot where they were surrounded by young boys. They signaled asking if he needed them both, he indicated just the one, and Brayson made his way over.
“What’s up?”
“What do you know about Chris and Amy Jeffries?”
“Chris is Kyle’s boss. They’ve been over to our house a few times.”
“I think he’s been beating on Amy and that’s why Sarah is here. She’s meeting with Amy trying to figure out a way for her to leave him.”
“Not a chance in hell. He’s devoted to her. Seriously man, the whole thing is kind of weird. It’s like a Stepford Wife kind of thing and he just eats it up.”
“Dude, haven’t you ever studied psychology?” Nate asked incredulously. “Trust me on this. I need to know Chris’s whereabouts. Can Kyle find out where he is?”
“Kyle isn’t going to believe this anymore than I do.” Nate looked at the young firefighter and decided to treat him like he would any raw recruit on one of his teams.
“Johnson, this is not a request this is an order. Get your brother on the phone now. Hand it to me. I will take it from there.” Brayson had his phone out and was dialing before Nate’s voice stopped echoing in the forest.
Nate took the proffered phone. “Kyle, this is Nate. I
need you to listen carefully because your sister’s life could be on the line. I need you to ascertain the whereabouts of your superior, Chris Jeffries.” Nate patiently ignored the questions.
“Johnson, I repeat myself, your sister’s life could be in danger, and you determining where Chris Jeffries is could save her. Don’t question me, just get me the goddamn information. Call me back on this phone.” He hung up and handed the phone back to Brayson.
The phone immediately rang but Nate was walking. He heard Brayson, “Fuck yeah he’s serious. Dude, Sarah’s in trouble. You better fucking do this.”
****
Chris Jeffries was feeling pretty damn satisfied as the man escorted him into the richly appointed private corner office of Rixitron.
“Captain Jeffries, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Lee Stovers.” He stood from behind his deskand shook his hand. There were two other men in the office who didn’t bother to stand. Private security. Chris knew the type. “Please have a seat,” Stovers said, indicating a chair in front of his desk.” Chris really didn’t like having the two goons sitting behind him, but he didn’t have a choice.
“What made you think to call so many different people within our organization about Sarah Johnson? You caused quite a commotion.” Chris squirmed, nobody in the room was smiling.
“I am on a tight timeline and I have the impression she is important to the Rixitron Corporation.”
“You’ve never heard of discretion?” Chris had to turn in his seat to see the man behind him who said this.
“I got a call back. I got a meeting, didn’t I?” Chris defended himself.
“He’s right Rick, he did.” Lee Stovers was smiling again, so Chris relaxed a little.
“Captain, the reason you got a meeting is because we did a little background check and found you are very tightly connected to Sarah Johnson.” Lee sat comfortably in his leather chair, his fingers steepled. “We deduced you have some information that would be of benefit to us. However, this news you are on a tight timeline is interesting. Would you care to explain?”
“Sarah has gone into hiding with my wife.”
“Yes, we know Sarah is in hiding. We’ve known for quite a long time now. She’s been in hiding for almost a year.” Lee lost his smile and looked bored.
“Actually she’s been in California but now she’s back in Atlanta.” Chris, again, had everyone’s attention.
“Would you care to explain what you’re talking about?”
“My wife Amy got Sarah to come out of hiding, and now they are somewhere holed up together, and I can’t find them, but I figure you probably have the resources to help me out. I need to get my hands on my loving wife and son and you want Sarah Johnson.”
“If you can’t find her what makes you think we can?” the man named Rick asked.
“I have the number of the throwaway phone my wife has. I figure you can track the coordinates on that.”
“You’re a police captain, I would think you have that capability yourself.”
Chris squirmed not wanting to let on what he had done.
“I’m trying to keep this under the department’s radar.”
“In that case, I do believe you’re right, we can be of service tracking the phone.” Lee said.
“So what are we up against?” Rick asked.
“I think it’s just them. If it was somebody else, it would have been her family, and trust me, they would have already confronted me,” Chris said with a sigh of relief.
“Excellent,” Rick said with a great deal of satisfaction.
****
Two hours later, Nate’s phone pinged. Halle-fucking-juha. Sarah was seven miles away as the crow flew. It would take about the same amount of time to hike back to the trailhead and get Brayson’s car and drive to the cabin, but he didn’t want the company.
He didn’t think Jeffries was a problem at this point, but he wanted to talk to Sarah without Sands or Brayson. Especially without the good Reverend. He needed to find out what Sands meant to Sarah.
He’d also been doing some serious thinking since he’d heard she’d left California and the safe environment his team arranged. Noah might technically lead the team that had her under lock-down, and he might be another found member like Sarah. Hell, her brother Cyrus was there looking after her well-being, but he knew better. From the day he helped her through the after effects of the healing, she had been his responsibility. He mulled the phrase over, it wasn’t right. Since the day he touched her, since they connected on such a visceral level, the soul deep level that defied all logic and description, Sarah Johnson was his. There that phrase was right.
Nate easily made his way through the forest, occasionally checking his phone to ensure he was going the right way. Years of trekking through jungles had given him an innate sense of direction.
In no time he cleared the tree line and was in the clearing looking at a small cabin. He leaned against one of the large trees and just looked at the cabin.
Sarah was in the cabin and it wasn’t because of the coordinates that he had been provided, or that it was logical, or because Sands had told him about the cabin. Nate knew she was inside because he could feel her presence. That sometimes happened out in the field. He c sensed they were coming up on the enemy, or someone was watching him and he would be right. He hated it, even when it saved his life. But sensing Sarah was so much clearer than those other times, and he would bet his last dollar that she could feel him as well. He waited.
****
She looked up from her computer, and moved her head back and forth trying to work out the kinks in her neck. Despite the discomfort she was smiling, she was pretty sure she figured out what Chris had over Jarrolson. Chris had been on scene during a wreck near the doctor’s neighborhood when the good doctor and another driver collided. Chris even wrote it up, instead of letting one of the regular beat cops do it. Jarrolson had run a stop sign, and Chris just cited him for running the sign, not reckless driving.
There was only one reason she could think he would write it up, and not charge the doctor for reckless driving. He was covering something up. When she had done more digging, she found out the accident was after a fundraiser, so it was likely the doctor had been drinking. Chris probably was giving him a pass on a DUI, so he could hold it over his head and call in a favor. Covering up Amy’s injuries was the favor.
Sarah looked around the cabin and realized Amy and Jeremy went on another walk. She grimaced. They had asked if she wanted to go with them, but she had been too engrossed to really respond. She hated when she got like that. She would get so caught up in things, so hyper focused she would ignore everyone and everything. Even though it was too late to catch up with them, she needed some fresh air. They probably wouldn’t be back for another hour or two, maybe she’d take a walk herself. Hell, she might find Bambi.
She took two steps towards the cabin door and realized Nate was outside. It was one of the things that happened since she had been around other found. She picked up slight traits of theirs. Noah could sense other people’s presence. He could find people. Since she had been around Noah she had a little bit of his ability. Not much. Definitely not enough to sense somebody outside, but it was Nate. Nate and she were connected. She straightened her shoulders and opened the door. In an instant she spotted him. He stared at her. She felt like a deer caught in headlights. Finally he started towards her.
****
God she was beautiful. He loved her hair long, but seeing it short, framing her sculpted cheekbones and trailing down to curve against the edge of her sumptuous mouth did him in. He’d been missing her long before he heard she disappeared. Fourteen long strides and he was in front of her. His hand sliding against her jaw, cupping the back of her head, then he dipped his head to plunder her full lips.
Her taste exploded across his senses like some potent liquor. He swept her lower lip with his tongue, satisfied as she opened and granted him access to sweeter tastes, headier delights. He stroked again
st her tongue, loving the way she wrapped her arms around his neck and moaned. This kiss was more than a kiss, lasting a moment, lasting an eternity.
Their lips slid back and forth, a slow sensuous dance and in between the deep forays he tasted the honeyed depths that spoke to his soul, he felt himself spin. Never had one kiss felt like he was making love to a woman.
She pulled back but he clutched her closer. He took another sip of her glistening mouth. She nipped his lower lip and he smiled and jerked.
“Hello Sarah,” he said holding her close. Her big brown eyes weren’t smiling, they were slumberous with passion but also cautious. He kissed the tip of her nose, her forehead. Then another slow kiss against those luscious lips until she responded. He slowly lifted up and smiled again. This time she was smiling as well.
“Hello Nate,” her voice came out a trembling sigh.
“I should have done that five minutes after meeting you.”
“I think you were a little busy saving me from kidnappers.” Then she stopped smiling again, and looked down at his gray T-Shirt. He tilted her chin upwards.
“What Angel?”
“It wasn’t the right time or any point since, and it’s certainly not the right time now.”
“That’s all going to change. As of this moment, I’m making it the right time. When I realized you were gone, that something might have happened to you, I went a little crazy. I’ve been out of my mind not exploring this with you. You’re so special, and here I’ve been letting time run through my fingers instead of grabbing on with both hands.”
“I’m special, because I can heal. Because I’m found.” She was looking down at his shirt again, her voice forlorn.
“You’re special because you’re Sarah. You’re special because you speak with the most beautiful southern accent. You’re special because you’re the woman who douses everything in Pepto-Bismol pink. You’re special because you have gorgeous mocha colored skin that glows. You’re special because you care so much about people they shine more when they’re around you.” He put his knuckle under her chin and tipped her head so he could look her in the eye. “You’re special because you’re my angel.”
Healed (The Found Book 3) Page 6