Protecting Her(101)

Jack’s car is waiting just past the sign, but it’s hidden behind the bushes so I almost didn’t see it. I park and turn off the engine. I storm over to Jack’s car, furious that he’s making me meet with him at a time like this.

His window is down and he says, “Get in.”

He puts his window back up as I go around to the other side of the car. I get in the front seat, slamming the door shut.

“What the hell is this about? My wife just died! And you think now is a good time to meet?”

He turns to me. “Just listen to me.” He still sounds out of breath. Panicked. “I have to tell you something. Something that changes everything. Earlier today, I was with—”

He falls forward, his head hitting the steering wheel.

“Jack?” I push him back against the seat.

It’s so dark I can’t see anything, so I turn on the overhead light in the car. I notice the hole in the glass.

A bullet hole.

In the side window.

Right next to Jack’s head.

I turn him toward me and see blood running down his face.

“Shit!” I quickly shut off the overhead light and duck down, assuming more shots are coming. The shooter had to have seen me. Just moments ago, I got out of my car. He had to have seen me walk over here and get in Jack’s car.

I don’t have my gun with me. I’m sure Jack has weapons in the trunk, but I can’t go out and get them. Not now. Not with someone lurking in the bushes, waiting to kill me.

It could be anyone. A freelancer. An enemy of Jack’s. A fellow Dunamis member who found out that Jack and I had been secretly communicating. Jack said someone found his phone. If that person told Dunamis, they’d know Jack didn’t follow the rules. But they wouldn’t kill him because of that, would they? They need him. He’s extremely valuable because of his knowledge of surveillance equipment and his company’s development of it. They wouldn’t kill him just for talking on the phone to me.

It’s possible Jack did something else to anger them. He could’ve betrayed them some other way. But how? What could he have done that would make them want to kill him? Tonight? At this very moment?

Maybe he didn’t do anything. Maybe this is my punishment. Maybe it’s finally happened. They know how much I love Jack, so they took him from me. The one person I could confide in. The one person who knew both sides of me and still believed I was good. The one person who gave me hope that I could get out of Dunamis someday, and keep my son out of it.

Jack’s body is limp, slumped back against the seat.

“Jack?” I shake him a little, hoping by some miracle he’s alive, but I know he’s not.

He’s dead. Jack’s dead.

I move his suit jacket aside and find what I was looking for. There’s a gun in a holster attached to his belt.

I take it, and check to make sure it’s loaded. Then I listen for noises. Rustling of the trees or the bushes. But it’s a windy night and it’s hard to discern rustling from the wind from the rustling of a person’s movements.

My mind suddenly switches to Garret. I can’t leave him alone at the house. What if he wakes up and sees I’m not there? He’ll panic. He’ll think I’m gone, just like his mother.

I have to get out of here. I have to go home. I slowly open the door, my gun aimed and ready. Again, I listen for any noises, but I only hear the howling wind. I decide to make a run for it. There’s a good chance the shooter won’t hit me if I’m running.

I bolt to my car, then shove my keys in the ignition and start the engine. I back up onto the road and speed off. I check that no one’s behind me, following me. There’s nobody there. Not a single car.

When I reach the house, I park in the garage and close the door. I go inside and make sure every door and window is locked. Then I race up to Garret’s room. He’s still asleep. Sound asleep. I don’t want him in here alone, so I carefully pull back his blankets and pick him up and take him down to my room. I set him on the bed and lie next to him, putting my arm protectively around him.

“It’s okay,” I whisper. He’s still asleep so I’m saying it more to myself than to him.

But it’s a lie. It’s not okay. Nothing is okay.

Rachel is dead.

And now Jack is dead.

What the f*ck just happened? Why was Jack killed? And why did he want to meet with me? What was he going to tell me?