Page 84 of Forever Mine

The night before the mission I dropped Oscar off at Jessica's for another sleepover at Bobby's. Since school had started back, Oscar was thriving with other kids his age. They typically only did sleepovers during on the weekends now. A Wednesday night sleepover was unexpected and apparently super exciting for the boys. I had thanked Jessica profusely. All she knew is that I needed to leave early the next morning and would be out of town for the day. I could have left him with Mary, but didn't think he'd ask as many questions or draw too much attention towards my plans if he was distracted by Bobby Moore.

“So tomorrow?” Liam asked, noticing Oscar was not around for dinner or to say good night to.

I simply nodded. He had asked me not to tell him the details. He didn't want any part of it, but I wouldn't lie to him to maintain that request, either. My admittance made him very possessive. I headed to bed early, knowing morning would come quickly, but he had followed me and there had been little sleep that night. When he had lain over me, something he hadn't attempted since the first time we had tried to have sex, the panic began, but I pushed it aside, knowing he needed the control more than I did for once.

It was arguably the best sex we'd ever had. I found I really enjoyed the aggressive side of Liam in the bedroom, even if I was a little sore and a whole lot tired on this very important day. I could have sworn I even felt my canines sharpen as a result, and wondered if I had just imagined it or if nature would find a way to truly bond us. I blushed and smiled thinking about it. We had gotten very little sleep, but he woke long enough to claim me once again before I headed out.

“You look very happy for someone who's about to cause mass chaos on an already dangerous mission today,” Patrick said when he picked me up. We had a couple hours of driving to reach Jacob's office and there was no real point in him riding in the trunk the entire way.

I was surprised to find Patrick O'Connell very easy to talk to. He didn't pry into anything too deeply. We talked about how Oscar was adjusting to school, the wedding plans, Elise—basically anything but the mission ahead of us. I was grateful for his company, but it didn't stop my nerves from increasing the closer we got.

Just before we arrived at Jacob's office, I stopped at an abandoned gas station that I knew would not have any cameras watching, and helped Patrick into the trunk. Apparently, there was already a release button from the inside so a person would not actually get locked in there. Who knew?

It was a rental car. Jacob had rented it and somehow gotten it to Patrick beforehand. A cover story had already been fabricated so no one would question me driving it. It was supposed to allow us to remain untraceable, and no DNA could ever be pulled from it showing our part in the escape. It had sounded a little paranoid to me, especially since the plan was for everyone to believe Raina was dead, but Jacob had insisted.

I pulled up next to the dumpsters at the side of the building, exactly where Jacob had told me to park. The lot was largely full, so it didn't even look odd for me to park there.

"Ready?" I asked Patrick in what appeared to be an empty car.

"Just breathe, Maddie. You can do this," he told me.

"I know. I know. I'm just nervous. We left absolutely no room for error."

He chuckled. "It's just a good thing humans don't have heightened hearing. You need to try and slow your heart rate. You're going to freak out every shifter in there."

I laughed. "Okay, okay, I can do this. Here goes. Good luck."

"Good luck, Maddie."

I got out of the car and walked around to the front desk. By all appearances, it looked like a small, elite research facility. That's what I had always thought it was. I just didn't know that the research being performed involved my kind against their will.

"Janie!" the receptionist greeted me, sounding a little surprised.

"Hello, Helen," I said, trying to remember what the old Janie would have said and how she would have acted. I wasn't that scared, fragile girl anymore, but I needed to act like I was.

"Jacob said you've been struggling some lately. I hope this is a sign you're doing well?"

"Yes, thank you," I said, barely making eye contact with the woman. "I'm here for lunch with Jacob."

"I suspected as much," she said, nodding to the food I was carrying with me. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you out and about. Just sign in here," she said, pointing to a visitor log on the desk. "You remember how to get to his office?"

"Of course," I said politely.

"It was really good to see you, Jane."

‘You too, Helen," I said as I turned and headed down the hall I knew would take me to Jacob's office. I was a nervous wreck. My hands were even a little shaky. Fortunately, that only confirmed the severe depression stories and anxiety attacks Jacob and Annie had told people in light of my absence. It wasn’t that I was really ever around these people, but I supposed they at least asked about me and kept up through Jacob.

I knocked on his door and waited for him to welcome me in, but as the door opened a young man I didn't recognize stepped out, shaking hands with Jacob.

"You sure you can't do lunch? We could finish this discussion once and for all," the stranger said.

"Sorry, Trevor, this is my daughter, Janie. I don't believe you two have met before. Janie, this is Trevor Daniels, Stephen's son. You remember him, don't you? He's one of the proprietors of the clinic. I'm afraid I have to decline your lunch offer. As you can see, I already have plans," Jacob told him.

"Hello, Janie, it's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you," Trevor said shaking my hand. It gave me chills all the way to my bones. He couldn't have been much older than me, but the vibes coming off him were pure evil.

"You as well," I said quietly, not making eye contact with him.

"We'll talk soon, Trevor. Janie, come on in. I'm so happy you could make it."

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