Changing Course (Wrecked and Ruined #1)(91)

I thought Sarah went crazy when she showed up at the coffee shop. And I definitely thought she went too far when she slapped Jesse in the grocery store. But this…this is worse than I ever could have imagined. Today it ends. I’m getting Jesse back even if Sarah gets hurt in the process. I want her locked up somewhere where she can’t hurt anyone, including herself, ever again.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“This is detective Brett Sharp, badge number 712, I need to be patched through to the officers on the scene at 12 Daven Court.”

“Please hold, detective.”

A few clicks of the line later, I hear, “Officer Tanner.”

Oh, thank Christ. Eli’s there. He knows what he’s doing. I’ve worked closely with him for years. Best of all, he’s familiar with Sarah.

“Eli, it’s Sharp. What the f*ck is going on? I’m about three minutes out.”

“Brett, do not show up here. Sarah is asking for you. I think she’s waiting for you to get here before she does something stupid. Do not give her that. Stay the f*ck away from here.”

“Have you lost your f*cking mind? I’m on my way!” I boom into the phone. “Tell me what the hell is going on? Have you gotten Jesse out of there yet?”

“No, and Sarah won’t let us talk to her. She’s locked up in the apartment and won’t let anyone inside. She just keeps asking for you. Shots were fired a few minutes ago. Sharp, I’ll be honest here. It doesn’t sound good. She keeps making comments about Jesse not being an issue anymore. I really think you need to let us handle this.”

I feel like someone took a sledgehammer to my stomach. The wind is knocked out of me completely. The car swerves to the side and I over-correct, barely missing oncoming traffic. I’m overwhelmed with crippling panic. I can’t go through this again. I’ll kill her. I can honestly say that. If I have to choose, I will definitely pick Jesse over Sarah. Losing Sarah almost destroyed me, but if I lose Jesse I won’t be able to survive.

“You still there, Sharp?”

I swallow past the knot in my throat, “Call Jones. I have no idea why, but she listens to him. He can talk her down. I’ll be there soon. I’ll stay out of sight if you really think she’s waiting for me.”

“Jones isn’t answering. Shaun is headed to his house now. Park around back. I don’t want her to have any idea you even know this is happening.” I drop the phone and send up one last pleading prayer.



Jesse

“HOW LONG did it take you to realize you were in love with Brett?”

“Ten minutes,” I answer honestly. This conversation has been going in circles for hours. The ground is too hard and my butt is killing me from sitting for so long, but I don’t dare get up.

“That’s bullshit. You can’t know in ten minutes that you love someone.”

“Yes, you can. How long did it take you to fall in love?”

“A week.” I nod at the admission.

Ten minutes or a week, it’s all the same thing. We aren’t talking months or years. We are talking about recognizing that you would share an eternity with a person within minutes or hours of meeting them. I felt that with Brett. I was too afraid to see it at first, but it was always there. That first day he walked into the coffee shop, I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with him. Convincing Brett was the hard part. I laugh to myself and wipe a lingering tear from my cheek.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” I answer shortly, not wanting to share the details that caused the unlikely smile to creep across my face.

“I’d die to feel like that again. To smile like that, and actually feel something. The void is the hardest part sometimes.”

“You could find it again someday. You could find someone who reminds you what it feels like to be truly alive. Someone who will give you meaning and hope again.”

“I don’t want to find someone else. I just want to feel it again.”

I drop my head to my knees. I want to say the right words, but I can’t seem to find any.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I know, Jesse. You’ve said it a million times. Stop f*cking apologizing.” I flinch at the outburst. So much for talking.



Brett

I PULL up, throwing the car into park, and darting toward the line of uniformed officers huddled at the side of Jesse’s apartment. All eyes rise to mine, and the looks of sympathy on their faces do nothing to put out the fire that is currently blazing in my veins.

“Talk to me,” I snap at Eli.

“Nothing has happened since we got off the phone. No more shots, but also no sign of Jesse. Sarah isn’t talking anymore, but we can still see her pacing through the window next to the door.”

“Okay, you’re going to have to let me talk to her.”

“No way. If we give you to her now, we have nothing to use as leverage later when she gets tired of playing games. You know the way this works. We just need to wait her out for a little while.

“I’m well aware of the way this f*cking works. I’m also well aware that my woman could be in there bleeding to death.”

“Sharp, Sarah’s fine. She-” one of the peanut gallery butts in.

“I don’t give a f*ck about Sarah, *. Jesse’s in there!” I roar.