Page 82 of Dangerous Pursuit

I dial her number expecting voicemail, which I’ve memorized by now, but in its place is the disconnected service message.What the actual fuck?She can’t be serious.

Grabbing my keys, I storm out of the office and fall short when I remember the new assistant. I walk up to the desk to apologize for my behavior.

“Sorry for the rude introduction earlier, Rebecca. I’m Jackson.” I shake her hand. “Everything you need to know is somewhere on the desk or in one of the drawers. If you could just find the folder with instructions and do your best today, we’ll work through the rest tomorrow if that’s okay.”

“Thank you, Jackson. I’ll be good here. Go do what you need.”

“Thanks.”

I walk away, already sick of this bullshit and intent on getting my girl back. I strategize on the drive, trying to decide where to start and how to get through to her. I’ve been beating myself up over not telling her the minute she confessed what was going on. My instinct says she would have reacted a lot differently, and I know I’m a coward for not telling her. This is my punishment, I suppose, but enough is enough. You don’t walk away from a connection like ours; it’s that simple.

There’s an ache in my gut pulling up to Mia’s. Something’s off, but I can’t place it. After two attempts at knocking, I determine no one’s home, or she’s painstakingly trying to avoid me. A sense of foreboding hits me, urging me to peer through the front window, immediately discovering what’s off—the house is empty. Standing in shock for a minute, unable to comprehend what I’m seeing, it hits me where to go for answers.

The agents left a card and said to call if I thought of anything helpful before following Mia out the other night. The last thing I’d do is help the assholes who ruined my life, but maybe they can shed some light on what the fuck’s going on and where my woman is. I pull the card from my wallet when I get back in the car and dial the number.

“Good morning, Jackson. How can I help you today?” The pretentious fucker. He knows exactly why I’m calling.

“Cut the bullshit. Where is she?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about. Did you lose your girlfriend?”

“Listen, motherfucker, I’m two seconds from showing up there to get answers any way necessary, so start talking.”

“Threatening an FBI agent is a criminal offense. However, I’d be happy to have a civil conversation if you’d like to come in. Who knows? Maybe we can help each other out. Say around one?” I’m not sure what this guy’s angle is, nor am I waiting that long to find out.

“I’ll see you in twenty minutes.” I hang up, seething.

Fuck, this is all my fault. Can she forgive me? Will I be able to forgive myself? That’s a hell no. But I’ll spend forever making it right and do whatever it takes to win her back.

Exactly twenty minutes later, I’m at the reception desk in the FBI field office. “Jackson Soloman to see Agent Bale.”

“Great, follow me, Mr. Soloman.”

I’m taken to an interrogation room like the ones you see on TV, boasting a lone metal table with a chair on each side and a darkened window to the observation room. Nothing else is inside the baren space other than a camera in each corner of the ceiling. Why am I in a fucking interrogation room in the first place, and what the hell is taking so long?

Fifteen minutes later, the door opens. “Jackson, good to see you again,” Agent Bale says, strutting in wearing a boring suit similar to the last one.

“Just tell me where Mia is so we can stop wasting each other’s time.”

“Well, now, I’m not at liberty to disclose classified information. Mia’s under our protection now, and we take that very seriously.” He sits in the chair across from me and folds his hands on the table as if this is just another ordinary day.

“What do you mean, under your protection? Why has her house been emptied? Are you hiding her until you track these guys down? Is she pressing charges against them?” I fire off some of the questions flooding my mind.

“One thing at a time, okay? First, you must not know who we’re dealing with if you think it’s as easy as pressing charges, so let me educate you. Frank and Jay are only the lackeys for the man pulling the strings. We bring those guys in and there will be two more to replace them, and I guarantee their replacements won’t have orders to collect money. Are you following so far?” He’s a smug fucker.

“Just get to the point. I’m not an idiot. I know who’s involved. All I want to know is where my girlfriend is and how you plan to keep her safe.”

“Hmm, it didn’t sound like she was still your girlfriend by the time we left the other night.” The bastard smirks at me. He’s trying to goad me.

“Good to know you’re an expert at relationships. Now quit fucking around and tell me what I came here for because I’m losing patience.”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to be making demands, but since I have a soft spot for love, I’ll let it slide.”

The fuck he knows anything about love. I decide I’m done talking, filling the room with silence and forcing him to continue.

“The point is, we have a bigger problem than Mia’s, and until we have that handled, she has voluntarily entered our witness protection program until the threat against her has been detained.”

Voluntarily my ass. “What the fuck does that mean? Did you give her a choice? She wouldn’t have left her mom.”

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