Page 43

~ SAM ~

She didn’t come back. Three hours of testimony and she didn’t fucking come back.

I got it. I knew they were painting her as a victim, and me as a psycho, and it was killing her. The first time we’d ever bonded it was over the judgment of others. I got it. I did. But I fucking needed her.

I reminded myself that it could have been something else. I wouldn’t have put it past that Jeremy fucker to create a diversion to get her away and unsettle me just when things were going bad.

Whatever. I couldn’t change it. But as the Judge called it for the day, and I stood up with my lawyers, I couldn’t help but rush into the hallway in case she was out there.

Of course, she wasn’t.

I stopped outside the doors and against the wall because more and more media were picking up the story, and I feared after today’s testimony—both mine and the Psychologist’s—we were destined to be the focus of online speculation until something more salacious popped up.

Please, God. Don’t let this turn into a circus. I don’t think I’ve got enough left in the tank for that. And I know she doesn’t .

When my lawyers caught up, they both stood between me and the rest of the hall.

“We told you, Sam. You’ve gotta let us cover you at times like this. This is going to get more intense before it gets easier. So let us help you,” Stephen said, unsmiling. It had been a hellish day for all of us.

“The way you can help me is by finding out what happened to Bridget,” I muttered. “They took her out and didn’t bring her back.”

Both my guys shook their heads. “I know she’s your wife, Sam. But right now, you need to worry about yourself and what’s happening in your world—”

“I can fill you in.”

I almost fell over when I looked over my lawyer’s shoulder to see Jeremy standing there, his jacket thrown over one arm and his sleeves rolled up to reveal forearms that saw the gym regularly.

As soon as my lawyers saw him, they both turned and backed up to cover me. “No.”

“Absolutely not, Special Agent Haines. You know the rules.”

“He is the husband of our witness and legally I have to inform him that she had a… medical event today.”

My blood ran cold. I shoved forward, pushing Stephen out of my way. “What happened? Is it her heart?”

She’d been doing so well lately, even with the stress. I thought the meds they put her on after the problems she had last year were working. But today had been hell on me, I couldn’t imagine what it might have done to her.

Jeremy’s eyes slid from my lawyer to me and hooded. “She has asked me to fill you in. Privately,” he said, eyeing my lawyers.

“No,” Stephen said again. “This goes against all—”

“I’m not on the legal team, and we won’t be talking about the case,” Jeremy muttered, his face dark.

“I don’t give a shit if we do—tell me what’s happened. What’s wrong?” I insisted.

But Stephen put a hand on my chest and leaned me back. “Sam, I’m giving you my very best legal advice. Do not meet alone with this man. There’s got to be someone at the hospital who could—”

“Is she at the hospital?” I asked Jeremy sharply.

“Her situation is covered by HIPAA. I only have permission to talk to you. I’ll tell you everything. The Courthouse has supplied us a conference room, complete with camera. You don’t have anything to worry about,” he said, teeth gritted like he was fighting pain.

What the fuck had happened?!

“I’m going,” I said, pushing past Stephen.

Both my lawyers groaned and started to argue, but I turned on them. “Look, no matter what anyone else thinks, she’s my wife. I’m going. You guys go. I’ll get a bus home. You don’t need to be here—there’s going to be a camera and everything. He said. We won’t talk about the case. But I’m going, so if you don’t want to be involved, leave. I’ll talk to you tonight.”

They looked at each other, then at Jeremy. Stephen shook his head. “Fine,” he said. “It’s your call. But… for God’s sake, Sam—”

“I won’t,” I said quickly. “You go, I’ll fill you in when I know.”

They both shook my hand, then walked quickly down the long hallway. I turned back to Jeremy as soon as they were out of sight down the stairs. His expression was flat. It looked like he was trying not to bare his teeth at me. But he tipped his head and started down the hallway, taking a turn off to the internal stairwell and leading me down three floors and through a maze of narrow hallways. I figured it must have been staffing areas because there weren’t many people. But sure enough, he led me to a small conference room with frosted glass that let light in with no view of outside.

By the time we reached the room, I was sweating with nerves, my mind conjuring every possible option—including that Jeremy had come personally to tell me Bridget was dead.

But then he stepped aside to let me go in first.

I clocked the two-way mirror on one wall, and the camera on a tripod in the corner and whirled on Jeremy who was shutting the door behind me, locking it from the inside and blocking my access to it by standing in front of it .

“Is this a fucking trick?” I said, letting my voice drop to a Cain-worthy growl.

He shook his head. “I needed to make sure we were alone and this was all that was available,” he said tightly.

“I’m not going to give you anything. If you’re trying to corner me—”

“This isn’t about the case. This is about Bridget.”

I eyed him warily, but I needed to know what was going on with Bridget. “Talk. What happened? Is she safe?” I was trembling.

“No, she’s not fucking safe. But you knew that,” he said suddenly, his tone dropping to venomous.

I tensed, but Jeremy huffed. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not here to kill you—though I wish I could.” Then he turned to the camera and waved. “I’m not here to kill him, but I wish I could. And I might one day.”

Then he looked at me flatly. “There you go—if I so much as touch you, you can use that to nail me.”

I stayed back, watching as he walked across the room to throw his jacket over the camera, then turned to face me, arms folded.

“What the fuck is going on?” I muttered.

“Not what you think. There has been… an incident. I’m here to fill you in. But not as an agent, or a law enforcement officer, or a lawyer. Just you and me, man to man. No legal counsel, no official interview, no records unless you want to get your phone out and start recording. Which you’re welcome to do. My point is only, say what you mean, mean what you say.”

I kept my back to the wall and watched him. “I don’t trust you.”

“Shocking.”

“Tell me what you came here to say, then leave.”

“You sure?”

“What the fuck is going on, Jeremy.”

His expression grew intense. “What’s going on is that Bridget had a meltdown today. A full-blown panic attack. She’s still being assessed for a mental break. She’s refused medication so far, but… we’ll see.”

“What happens now? ”

Jeremy scowled. “What happens now is that Bridget is no longer going to protect you, and I’m here to tell you that I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure she never sees you again. Ever.”

I took one step closer, then caught myself, hands clenched at my sides. “What the fuck did you do?”

But he continued like I hadn’t spoken. “Even if I lose this case, I’ll just take her away. I have the contacts to make that happen, you know. I could keep her away from everyone she’s ever known, forever. For her own good.”

Every muscle in my body went tight. “Not against her will you won’t.”

Jeremy dropped the sarcastic act and strode right up to stand at my toes. We were eye to eye and he looked about as angry as I felt. But when he spoke his voice was low, and dark.

“I just had to watch the woman I’ve been trying to protect for ten fucking years go through a complete mental breakdown because you had her fooled into believing you loved her. And watching her go through that after everything else she’s endured made me so angry I’m ready to use my teeth if that’s what it takes to take you the fuck down.”

“I call bullshit. I say she had a panic attack, you hid her away and now you’re desperately trying to get me to tell you something that doesn’t exist. She’s upset because she knows I’m not what they said—and neither is she.”

Ignoring me, he continued. “If I hadn’t made a vow to my country to abide by its laws, I would be beating the shit out of you right now,” he said, looking down my body then back up. “I’ve had a lot of experience beating people senseless, Sam. I suspect you have too. Difference is, I get promotions for doing it. You get caged. You know why? Because when I get violent, it’s justice. Just one more predator tasting their own medicine.”

“You’re fucked in the head.”

Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “I know how it feels when bone cracks under your knuckles. It’s a very peculiar feeling. And incredibly satisfying when the bone in question belongs to a bastard like you. Are you familiar with that sensation, Sam? If not, I’d be happy to demonstrate.”

I leaned in. “The real question is, why do you care so much? ”

“Because I’ve been watching out for her since she was sixteen years old.”

“You creepy bastard.”

Jeremy smiled. “Nice try. You think you’re the only one who gives a shit what happens to her? Some of us have been caring for her a helluva lot longer—and saved her from a helluva lot more. You’re a speed bump in her life, Sam. I saved her from a guy who wanted to eat her intestines. Saving her from you is going to be easy.”

“She doesn’t need saving from me. She needs you and the rest of your government coven out of her fucking head so she can breathe and start the rest of her life. With me. ”

Jeremy shook his head. “Not any more, Mister Dom. Guess who found out the truth?”

“She does see the real truth. If she saw something that bothered her, I’m guessing it came from you manipulating her to try and force her in whatever fucked up direction you want her to go.”

“I’m not the manipulator here, Sam. That’s the difference between you and me. I don’t need to pretend, or lie, or deceive her about my motives. I have the backing of the United fucking States of America, and together we are going to make sure you don’t get to ruin her life.”

“You already did.”

“See, it’s a funny thing, Sam. Before you showed up, me and Bridget were tight. I watched out for her, she helped me. Everything worked pretty well—”

“Was that before or after the guy almost ate her alive—on your watch?”

“—but then you show up and everything starts to go to shit. And I asked myself why? Why did this guy get in her head when she kept everyone else at arm’s length?”

“Because I fucking love her and she knows it. See, that’s the thing, Jeremy. When something’s real, it doesn’t matter what you say… it’s still real.”

Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “I think you got in because you were told how.”

I frowned and my body tensed. What the fuck was he —

“I knew it was only a matter of time until you showed your true colors and she got a clue. At this point I’m just angry with myself for missing it. We could have finished this a lot sooner.”

“Nothing is finished.”

“But the good news is, the good guy won.”

“I am the good guy.”

“Oh? Guess who she’s always come to before when she’s scared? It wasn’t you.”

“I don’t give a shit—”

“So, a funny thing happened today when shit got real in that courtroom and she finally woke up and saw the truth about you… Guess who she came to today for comfort?” Then the bastard smiled.

And fuck me, but I took the bait. “Why did she need comforting?”

“Because I showed her the picture of you talking to her Dad in prison. The two of you scheming when you thought no one was looking. Prison ministry, my ass, Sam, you’ve been in his pocket this whole time. And now she knows you’re just one more Gordon Reynolds puppet—”

My hand shot out to grip his neck of its own accord and I plowed him backwards, right into the wall, pinning him there by his throat.

Way in the back of my mind a voice screamed caution, but this bastard was touching her. I knew it.

“What the fuck did you tell her?”

Jeremy was choking, but I hadn’t cut off his air completely. He gripped my fingers, trying to pry them loose, but he wasn’t panicking. He was crowing.

“Feel free to… make me pass out…” he managed to shove between his teeth. “There’s… bailiffs and… Police out there… you won’t… get five feet—”

I cut off his air entirely. As he jolted and clawed at my hand for real, I leaned right up in his face.

“Just a chat? Man-to-man? Not talking about the case, huh? But you have to invoke the United fucking States of America… You’re not the good guy here, Jeremy. I don’t care how many medals or promotions, or commendations or whatever the fuck you get. She’s all that matters . If I find out you hurt her… well, it sounds like I’m going to prison anyway, so what’s one more charge?”

His face turned purple and the veins in his forehead stood proud.

I gave him one more shove against the wall, then let him go. He coughed and slumped, sucking at the air like he’d been underwater.

I opened my mouth to threaten him again, to make sure he stayed down there when I left and saw what I’d done.

I stared in horror at Jeremy—a fucking FBI Agent—curled up on the floor, gasping because I’d strangled him.

He provoked me, I reminded myself. He started it. But he hadn’t touched me. He’d said he wouldn’t and he didn’t, and I lost my fucking mind.

I clawed my hands into my hair. “I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m sorry. I just… I’m sorry.”

Then I whirled for the door, but I’d forgotten that he locked it. I struggled for a few seconds to work out the lock, and meanwhile Jeremy gave a wheezing laugh.

“You… lose… Sam.”

His voice was hoarse because I’d almost crushed his larynx. Shit.

“I could have killed you and I didn’t because I’m not that guy anymore ,” I snarled, rattling the door and slamming the back of my fist into it.

“You… should have. Because I got you… I fucking… got you.”

Shuddering with fear and rage, I finally turned the little tick on the doorknob so I could get out of this fucking cage. I yanked that door open and bolted faster than Bridget when she wanted me to hunt.

But I was still shaking an hour and a half later when I got home.

Bridget wasn’t answering her phone. The court case was going bad. And I put hands on a fucking FBI Agent. What the hell had I been thinking?

I called Bridget’s burner phone again, and again it just rang and rang until it hit voicemail.

I dropped onto the couch in my living room, face in my hands. “God, help me. What the fuck is happening?”