Page 34 of Jackson

I exhale, my fingers curling around the patio railing. “I can’t just sit here any longer, Spike. I need to do something. It’s my life, too.”

“Jackson is onto it; you have to trust that he’s making the right choices.”

“Jackson doesn’t even want to speak to me right now.”

“He’ll come around, he’s angry but he doesn’t stay that way for long. You know that.”

I exhale, hanging my head. “I need to see my daughter, Spike.”

“Know you do, precious. We’re doin’ the best we can.”

“Is someone going after Gerard?”

He pulls out a cigarette, lighting it. “Jackson has got the club scoping out the location, see if we can lay eyes on him. Have a feeling he got the police presence at the rally, the man is smart, which is why we need to be smarter.”

That makes sense.

The cops were too close for them not to have been in the area.

Of course, Gerard would have called them. It seems everyone is on his side.

“He has cops on his side, you need to find who they are and bribe them away from him, otherwise we are never going to get what we need,” I suggest.

“Already on it,” Spike assures me. “We’ll find out who is protecting him and why.”

“It must be someone who is working for him, or is being paid a lot of money, because why would you protect someone like that?” I ponder out loud. “Do you think it’s a family member?”

“It’s possible,” Spike agrees. “Hell, he probably isn’t even using his legal name. These are all things we need to find out, and we will, you just have to be patient.”

That’s easy to say.

But being a mother away from my child is something I’m not willing to be patient about.

I have to find a way to draw Hound out, so that I can clear my name and we can prove Gerard killed Alyssa and have him locked away.

It isn’t going to be easy, but my determination is strong.

One thing is for sure, I can’t stay here.

I need to be closer to town so I can help.

Convincing Jackson of that might not be easy, but it’s worth a shot.

I have to do this.

For my baby.

TAKING A WALK IS THEonly thing that keeps me sane right now.

The woods surrounding this house are thick and lush, so I spend hours on end exploring them. It’s literally the only way that I can stop myself from running. Every ounce of my being is screaming at me to run, to go and fix this, but I know I have to be careful about any future decisions I make.

No matter what, I have to be sure that they are well thought out so I don’t make those same mistakes once more.

Ahead I can hear the trickling of water. Quickening my pace, I move toward it, hopeful that I might have found somewhere that I can swim. That would at least give me something to fill my days. Smiling, I walk toward the sound, when I hear a stickcrunch behind me. Pausing, I tip my head to the side, wondering if an animal is out there, following me.

I glance behind me, but I don’t see anything.

Shrugging, I keep walking, but I could swear I hear leaves crunching, like someone is following me.

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