“You have a madman after you.”
“Which it turns out has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me. I care about you, Jessica.” He stared into her eyes. “I love you.”
He’d said it earlier, but her heart still soared for only a moment...that was all she could give it.
Andrew loved her.
Hurt him to save him.
Hurt him to save him.
Hurt him to save him.
She was used to staring down monsters and masking her fear. She could do the same with love...couldn’t she? She had to. She steeled herself against the overwhelming emotion that threatened to spill over.
She turned to Officer Brown standing guard by the front door. “Would you give us a minute please?”
He nodded in understanding. “I’ll go get myself a cup of coffee.”
When he disappeared down the hall, she turned back to Andrew. It was time to be strong.
“I’m sorry, Andrew. I never meant to give you the wrong idea.”
“What do you mean?”
“I see where this is headed—a relationship—and I’m sorry but I just can’t go there right now. I have responsibilities, people who depend on me. I can’t allow anything or anyone to get in the way of that.”
“I would never get in the way of what you do. I think you’re amazing.”
Her heart wrenched. It was so unfair! After all this time, after all these years, she was hearing the words she’d longed to hear for so long from a truly wonderful man and she couldn’t even enjoy them.
Mitch had truly taken everything from her.
She searched for something to say, her mind coming up blank due to the wonderful daze of his declarations.
A scream from the back grabbed her attention.
Jessica took off running, Andrew right behind her. She ran toward the kitchen, sliding to a halt when she saw Officer Brown sprawled unmoving on the floor.
She peeked into the kitchen and saw Joan crouching beneath the table. “Someone’s inside,” she whispered, her voice grainy with panic.
Jessica felt her gut clench. Someone was inside the shelter? Mitch? Or someone else? These women were all still in danger from outside sources that had nothing to do with Mitch.
Andrew grabbed the officer’s gun, still in its holster, and stepped in front of her. “I’ll check it out.”
She wasn’t letting him go alone. She followed him through the kitchen and into the hallway leading toward her office. The door was partially open.
She gasped. Someone was in her office.
“Wait here,” Andrew commanded her.
She shook her head. She wasn’t leaving his side to face the danger alone.
She followed him as he pushed open her office door and surveyed the room. He turned back to her and shook his head. “I don’t see anyone.”
Screams still resonated through the halls. These women were scared and they had every right to be. Danger was lurking somewhere in these hallways.
“Call 911,” Andrew said, handing her his cell phone.
Jessica nodded and dialed the number as Andrew moved cautiously further down the hall.
Before she could hit the send button, a loud crash grabbed her attention. She looked up to see a man step from around the corner and tackle Andrew, knocking him against the wall. The gun fell from his hand as he slid to the floor.
Jessica screamed and dropped the phone. Terror ripped through her at the sight of those broad shoulders. She recognized his frame, his stance, his presence even before he turned his steely blue eyes on her.
Mitch!
It really was him!
She turned to flee but he lunged for her, catching her ankle and dragging her down. She screamed, kicking and fighting to free herself, but she was no match for his overpowering weight.
He grabbed her chin then leaned in real close. “Happy to see me, babydoll?”
She pulled at his grip. “What do you want? Why are you here?”
“You know why, Jess. You belong to me. Never forget that.”
She heard the cries of fear coming from the den over the shrill of the alarm. Those women had trusted her to keep them safe. She couldn’t let Mitch take out his revenge on them. “Please don’t hurt anyone. I’ll do anything.”
“Oh, babydoll. You’ll do everything.” He pulled her to her feet. “Where’s the alarm control?”
“Up front by the main door.”
He motioned that way. “Let’s go.”
“Get your hands off her now!”
Mitch turned toward her and Jessica saw Andrew still dazed but on his feet, the gun aimed toward them.
Mitch’s hand tightened around her neck. “Drop the gun or I snap her neck.”
He didn’t flinch, and he didn’t drop the gun. “Step away from her. Now!”
Mitch leaned down and whispered in Jessica’s ear. “What are you going to do? You can’t protect them all can you, babydoll? Someone has to suffer. Maybe I’ll slit his throat like I slit Dean’s.”
Andrew stepped closer. “I said move!”
She fell back on the training Margo had shown her. She kicked Mitch hard in the shin then spun around and jabbed her palm into his nose. He hollered then stumbled backward, blood gushing from his face. Jessica dropped to the floor as shots rang out and Mitch fell backward. He grabbed his shoulder then took off running out the back door.
“Are you okay?” Andrew asked as he moved toward the back door.
She nodded, but lay on the floor waiting for her heartbeat to return to normal as Andrew ran out the back after Mitch. He returned a moment later.
“He’s gone.”
“Jessica!” Mia rushed toward her. “Are you hurt? What can I do?”
“I’m fine,” Jessica assured her. She crawled to her feet.
“I heard the commotion. I hid behind a desk. I’m so sorry, Jessica. I didn’t know what to do.”
“It’s okay, Mia. There was nothing you could have done.”
“I’m pretty sure I got him in the shoulder,” Andrew said as he got up and walked to the door, closed it and locked it.
She turned to Mia. “Please go check on everyone and let them know everything is fine now.”
Mia glanced at her then at Andrew before turning and leaving the room.
Jessica saw the determination in Andrew’s face. He would die before he would let Mitch hurt anyone.
He would die...and Jessica just couldn’t let that happen.
Hurt him to save him.
Hurt him to save him.
She pushed against the wall, needing the support for what she was about to do.
“What were you thinking, Andrew?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“I told you the day you brought Sarah here that your form of protection is going to get someone killed. Today, that almost happened.”
“He had you by the throat, Jessica.”
“Yes, and your macho bravado only made the situation worse. I don’t need you to take care of me. I told you before that I can take care of myself. All you did today was to put me and my girls in more danger.”
“I know you’re scared, but—”
“This isn’t about me being scared. This is about you getting in the way. Now please leave...and don’t come back. Whatever it was you thought we had between us is over.” She walked away from him, her legs threatening to buckle at any moment, but she’d stood her ground.
This time, he didn’t follow her.
* * *
The act of walking to his car took all the strength Andrew could muster. He didn’t start the engine right away, but sat in his car, trying to grasp what had just happened. One moment, J
essica had been the only good thing left in his life, and the next, she was pushing him away and speaking daggers into him.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breath, ignoring the rock that was forming in the pit of his stomach. Was she really going to throw away what they had? Or had they ever really had it?
He was torn between believing she was only pushing him away because she was scared and believing she meant what she said.
He’d survived Tory’s death, but how would he ever survive Jessica’s departure from his life?
ELEVEN
Margo arrived at the shelter with two FBI agents in tow, a male agent who looked like he could have been a linebacker and a petite female agent.
“They’re taking over the hunt for Reynolds,” she told Jessica. “These are Agents Vince Robbins and Anna Warren.”
Agent Robbins slammed a thick file folder onto the kitchen table. “We need to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”
“Fine.” Jessica took a seat opposite him as he flipped open the file and skimmed through it.
“I know what he did to you, Jessica. I read the file. I spoke with the detectives who worked your brother’s case. I know how Reynolds tortured you. When did you learn that Reynolds had escaped?”
“Today.”
“It says here the Department of Corrections made multiple attempts to contact you but didn’t have your correct information.” He slid a form with her contact information listed.
“That was my address in Atlanta. I updated it when I moved. I don’t understand why it wasn’t changed.”
“Didn’t you think it was odd that no one had ever contacted you about his status?”
“I’ve been checking the website. I checked it two weeks ago and his status hadn’t changed. I had no reason to think he was out.”
Margo sighed, frustrated. “Jessica, you don’t check a website. You pick up the phone.”
“I didn’t want it to be that important. I didn’t want to give him that kind of control.”
“So you haven’t seen him or had contact with him?” Agent Warren asked.
“No. Not until I remembered it was him who was at my house the night Robert was killed, and then tonight when he broke into the shelter.”
“But you’ve been having some issues lately. I understand someone has been following you, leaving you notes and sending you text messages.”
“I thought that was someone else.” She glanced away. She had nothing to hide and the truth was the truth. “I hoped it was.”
“We have a theory here. He’s been watching you for a while now, Jessica. He squatted at your neighbor’s house until her death was discovered. He knows where you’re staying, where you work. He’s obsessed with you. But he’s been underground for too long. Someone must be helping him. Who would he go to Jessica?”
“I don’t know.”
“Does he have any other connections in town besides you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
“Someone must be helping him,” the agent repeated.
“Well, I don’t know who it is.”
Agent Warren approached her. “Why did he come here, Jessica? He could have been halfway across the country. Instead, he tracked you down. He’s watched you. Toyed with you. What does he want from you, Jessica?”
She stared into the kind but tough eyes of Agent Warren. “He wants me to know that he’s still in control. He still holds the power. He won’t give up.”
“Why? What’s his end game?” She slid into a chair opposite Jessica. “You’re the expert here on this type of behavior. Profile this guy for us. How will this end?”
“It won’t end. It will never end. As long as he has the power, he will always continue to exert control over my life. He’ll use anyone and everyone in my life against me. I don’t know what I did, why he’s fixated on me, but he is and that won’t end until one of us is dead.”
“Then he does want to kill you?”
“Eventually, but not until I and everyone around me has suffered.”
Robbins nodded toward his partner. “I think we should go public. Flood the area with his photograph. I don’t want him to be able to go anywhere in this town without being recognized.”
Agent Warren nodded her agreement. “I’ll make the necessary calls.” She pulled out her phone.
“I’ll make arrangements for a team to dust for prints and collect evidence.” He stood and closed his file. “I understand your boyfriend shot him?”
“He’s not my boyfriend...but yes. There’s blood by the back door.”
He stood and pointed toward Mia. “Show me.”
“We’ll need to place you in protective custody, Jessica,” Agent Warren told her. “We have safe houses where he won’t be able to get to you.”
“No, I’m not going anywhere.”
Margo spoke up. “Jessica, listen to the FBI. Go to the safe house.”
“I can’t...not until my girls are safe. I’m still trying to find a place for Joan and Deloris to go. I can’t leave until I know they’re safe.”
“I will take care of Joan and Deloris. You have to take care of yourself.”
She stood her ground. “I’ll go to your safe house, but I need a day, two days at most. I won’t leave until they’re out of harm’s way.”
Agent Warren must have noticed her determination because she didn’t try to change her mind. “I’ll make arrangements for a protection detail. We can set up here until you’re ready.”
Jessica nodded her agreement. “Thank you, Agent Warren.”
She opened her phone and turned away.
Margo jumped to her feet, glancing at Jessica then at Agent Warren. “Are you seriously allowing this? The maniac has already broken in here once. He knows where she is. How can you allow her to stay here? She needs to be somewhere Reynolds can’t find her.”
“The shelter has its own safety features that we can build on for the short-term.”
Margo’s eyes blazed. “You’re hoping he comes back here, aren’t you? You’re planning to use Jessica as bait.”
“If he returns, we’ll be ready for him.” She placed her phone to her ear and walked off as an angry Margo turned to face Jessica.
“How can you let them do this to you, Jessica?”
“It won’t be for long, only a day or two.”
“I don’t understand how you can even choose to stay here.”
“Do you think I’m not terrified? I am, but I have two women in my care who rely on me to protect them. But instead of making their lives safer, I’ve brought danger to their doorstep. Now, I have to rectify that. I have to place their safety before my own. I can’t leave them vulnerable.”
“I can handle that.”
Her voice shook but she pressed her hands against the table and stood on unsteady legs. “You don’t get it, Margo. He’s taken everything from me—my home, my job, Andrew. Dean’s Den was the culmination of my life’s dream. I sunk every dime I had from Dean’s life insurance into making this shelter work. I’ve poured my heart and my soul into this place, into this mission to help. Now, it’s nearly gone and once it is, I will have truly lost everything.”
Margo stared at her then nodded, seeming to understand her need to finish this.
Jessica felt bad for not letting her friend in. “I’m sorry I never told you about Mitch. I should have.”
As usual, she shrugged off any touch of emotion. “I guess we all have our homicidal maniacs after us, don’t we?”
Jessica grinned as she pulled her friend into a hug. “When this is over, I want you to promise me that you’ll move on with your life. Find you a nice man and do what normal people do. Go out to eat, see a movie, get married, have kids.”
“I will if y
ou will.”
Margo’s comment was offhanded and flippant, but the truth was Jessica was thinking about how wonderful it would be to settle down with Andrew and start a family. And how impossible it would be.
When she didn’t respond, Margo looked over and nodded knowingly. “Oh. I see. You really have been thinking about this, haven’t you? It doesn’t have to be over, Jessica. You don’t have to let Mitch win. Andrew loves you. You can have that life.”
Oh, how she wished that were true. But that part of her life was over. Forever. “It’s too late for that.”
Agent Robbins reentered the kitchen. “We have a problem. There’s no evidence of forced entry on the back door or on the gate. This was an inside job. Someone either let him into the building or gave him a key.”
Jessica was shocked by this news. Someone she knew was helping Mitch? The FBI had seemed so certain when they’d suggested it, but Jessica had a hard time believing anyone she knew would help Mitch terrorize her.
Someone she knew had betrayed her.
* * *
Jessica helped Deloris pack her things so that they would be prepared to leave immediately once a bed opened up elsewhere. When they were finished packing, Jessica hugged her. “I’m going to miss you.”
“Listen to an old woman who’s wasted most of her life, Jessica. Learn to take a chance, and I don’t mean risking life and limb. Honey, learn to risk your heart. Andrew is a nice man. Give him a chance. Take a risk on love.”
Jessica hugged her again wishing she could take a chance on love. Mitch would make that impossible. He would never give up on her. He would never stop interfering. And he would kill anyone she loved just to hurt her.
Mia was at the front desk taking down a list.
“We’re almost through here. I’ll be home as soon as I can.” She hung up when she saw Jessica approach.
Jessica eyed the list—gauze, bandages, antiseptic. “Is someone hurt?”
“It’s John. He cut his hand chopping up some onions at my apartment. He said it’s bleeding pretty good. I told him I would be home soon.”
“Sure, go ahead, Mia. See about your fellow. Hopefully, my friend in Shreveport will call soon about those beds.”
No Safe Haven Page 16