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“Lose me. You didn’t.”
I snuggle closer and let myself drift off to sleep.
I’m jolted awake by a forceful knock. Jackson starts when I nudge him, and the door swings open to quite the crowd: Admiral Jameson, O’Reilly, Knot, Judge, Birdie, Bash, Sadie, and a stranger in uniform. “We could probably fit a few more in here,” I mutter when the door closes.
Knot snickers. “Believe me. They wanted to come in. I ran them off.”
Jackson rubs his eyes, becoming temporarily tied up in his IV lines. “Speaking of running someone off, will one of you make Hawk go home?”
“Already done,” O’Reilly announces. “Fish took his place guarding the hall.”
The stranger shoulders his way to the front of the group with Judge on his heels. “This is my cousin. Jasper Lockmore, Judge Advocate General. Jasper, this is my platoon leader, Jackson Bennett, and former Marine, current private military contractor, Chelsea Danforth.”
The man looks a lot like Judge, just with less muscle. “Nice to meet you,” he says. “Let’s get to work.”
Chelsea and I share our accounts of the night before for the fifth time. The police needed to hear it four times from each of us, but Jasper was satisfied with just once. “The police are out of this investigation. Every military investigative service is involved, given the nature of the case. Based on what I’ve learned before and from you now, you two have nothing to worry about. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open, anyway.”
Jasper turns and offers his hand to the admiral. “Sir.”
Jackson swings his feet to the floor to get up. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m feeling my liquids,” he says, pointing to the empty IV bags. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some things to take care of, and I’d like to check on my son.”
Jasper perks up. “I’ll go with you…after you hit the head.”
Jackson pauses after he’s vertical. “Captain?” he addresses to his commander.
“The staff at the animal hospital shaved the fur at the site instead of washing it to avoid any more of the fentanyl absorbing into her skin. After sleeping for several hours, Knot’s trainer reports that Captain is sluggish but on her feet and talking to Piper.”
Jackson drops his head, masking a wave of emotion at the good news. Once he’s gone, an awkward silence settles over the room, but I refuse to be a wallflower. “We’ll probably be sent home shortly.”
“How are you doing, young lady?”
I smile at the admiral and flex my shoulder blade. “Just a few stitches, sir. I’m fine.”
“Good. I’ll see myself out then.” Admiral Jameson turns to the two leaders with him. “Stone, Warden, I trust you can take care of your people from here. I’m headed back to Washington. I’ll keep you posted.”
The admiral walks out, and Bash speaks for the first time since arriving. “Sirs, I’ll get these two home. You can head out.”
O’Reilly grins at his friend and former teammate. “I guess we’ve been dismissed, Warden. You know, Laurent was never this pushy as a SEAL.”
Knot laughs. “You may have trained him, but I toughened him up.”
He inclines his head toward the door. “Let’s get out of here.”
Sadie steps up and squeezes my hand. “I’m glad you’re alright, Yeet. We still haven’t rafted the Big Pigeon.”
I roll my eyes and laugh.
Jackson returns a bit later, bringing a nurse with him. “I’m being sent home. Caleb’s already been sprung, and Shelby is taking him back to campus. I wanted you two to meet, but he said he’d be by later.”
Birdie pipes up, then. “I’ve already contacted a company to replace your window and repair any other damage to your house. They promised to check in throughout the day and get to work as soon as the police allow. It may be tomorrow or later, though.”
“You can crash at my place,” Bash offers as he stands. “We’ll get you some breakfast while you work it out.”
The door closes behind the couple, and I conjure Jackson’s deranged meanie face from Spain. “If you think you’re going anywhere but my place, you’ve lost your mind.”
Chelsea
I rip off the dangling police tape, remove my purse from the evidence bag, and unlock my townhouse front door. I trudge past the signs of my struggle with Ames, not caring about anything but my bed right now.