Page 6 of Soul

Chapter Three

Chase

The flightto San Diego is just over an hour. Another hour without Gillian. Seventy more minutes that she is held against her will by a psycho. Both Agent Brennen and Thomas try to offer polite conversation. For the most part, I ignore them. Jack doesn’t even try. What he does do is ensure I have a tumbler filled with the amber liquor of the gods. The whiskey goes down smoothly but twists and churns in my gut. At some point in time, probably when I’m staring seemingly out the window, a turkey sandwich is set in front of me.

Is Gillian being fed?

“If her stalker claims he loves her…” I issue the statement into the cabin, but my eyes are directly on Agent Brennen. “He’ll feed her, right?”

The Agent clasps his hands and leans back into his seat. “Yes, I do believe he will. He will want her alive. Unless, of course, she fights him.”

Without responding, I stare out the window again. Unless she fights him. I smile thinking about my feisty redhead kicking, screaming, and throwing punches every chance she gets. She will definitely fight him. The miniscule moment of elation passes when it sinks in what he said. “What will happen if she fights him?”

The Agent licks his lips. I wait patiently, my body temperature heating from the inside out as real fear seeps deep into my bones. “Tell me,” I grate through clenched teeth.

“He’ll hurt her. Try to break her into submission.”

I close my eyes and lay my head against the soft leather.I’m coming for you, Gillian. I will find you and bring you home.

The plane lands, and the four of us shuffle into the two vehicles. We could have taken the same car, but I need the space. With Jack, I can be myself. He doesn’t judge or share his thoughts and opinions unless asked. Over the years, we’ve experienced a great deal together forming a strong bond that goes beyond Jack’s service to me. He’s the only man I’ll ever trust to protect my life, and the one man whose opinion I trust above all others. I can always count on an honest, straightforward response regardless of the circumstance.

“Do you think she’s alive?” I ask him from the back seat of the SUV.

Jack’s eyes meet mine in the review mirror. “I’m afraid I can’t answer that. It would be speculation at best.”

“I’m asking you if youthinkshe’s alive. Not whether or not you know it to be fact.” My tone is harsh, cold.

“Chase…” he warns.

“Why don’t you like her?”

Jack’s shoulders stiffen and his jaw clamps down as he maneuvers the car through town, to the outskirts where Daniel McBride’s land is located. I wait, watching the subtle nuance of the man I’ve come to know better than any other. My one true confidant, aside from Gillian. He’s considering how to respond to me and something about it makes me angry. Over-the-bend, pull-out-a-gun, and shoot-somebody type rage.

“You’re delaying. Why?” I finally ask.

He clears his throat. “Because you are taken with her.”

“Again. You’re evading the question. I’ve been taken with people or things before.”

His eyes find mine in the mirror, and he shakes his head. “Not like her.”

“Dammit, Jack. Answer me? Why do you not like Gillian?” I’m exasperated and ready for a fight. My blood is pumping, heart pounding, and I feel better than I have in four days. Alive. I feel alive.

Jack’s brows narrow. “It’s not that I dislike her.”

“Then what is it? God damn it! Admit it. She has felt it since day one. You have avoided all conversation when it comes to her over the past year. And when I told you I was going to marry her, you didn’t congratulate me. You couldn’t even spare a handshake. As a matter of fact, you’ve never said a kind word about her. So what the fuck is it about Gillian Callahan…”

He cuts me off. His tone his tight, firm, and crackling with frustration. The only other time I’ve seen him break his titanium emotional exterior is when Megan fucked me over on our wedding night. “Gillian is perfect for you.” The words come out of his mouth sounding sour and bitter. “Beautiful, smart, driven and the type of woman every man with half a brain would bow down to secure.”

I’m about to lose my fucking mind if he doesn’t get to the point. “So what the fuck is the problem with her if she’s so damned perfect?” I lean forward and grip the back of the passenger seat in front of me digging my nails into the soft black leather.

“It’s nother. It’s what she does toyouthat I have a problem with.” His voice is a dull growl when he finishes. “Chase, that woman makesyouweak.”

After that revelationin the car, I sit back and let the scenery roll by in swaths of black and midnight blue, splotched by flickering street lights. It is late, and down this path through the landscape, we haven’t passed a soul.

“Where are we headed?” I look down at my watch and realize we’ve been in the car for an hour. Sixty additional minutes that she’s been with him. I bite my tongue and hold in the desire to scream, roar, and destroy anything within a ten-mile radius.

Jack briefly looks into the rearview mirror. “The land is just outside of the Cuyamaca Mountains. Ideal place to hide if you ask me.” I nod. “Should be there in ten minutes.” Jack fiddles with the car and dials a number.

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