Page 59 of Jolene's Justice

JolenedisregardedGrady’sorderto wait and rushed into the cabin. Her heart lodged in her throat as she took in the sight that greeted her. The bitch was in front of an obviously bruised and battered Finch. A knife was gripped in her hand. Finch had a hold of her wrist with his zip-tied hands, but she was still putting all her weight into thrusting the blade into Finch’s stomach.

Her heart pounded as she watched Angelica back off, muttering about needing to defend herself. Grady was about to put her in cuffs, but Jolene couldn’t hold herself back anymore.

“Omigod, Finch!” she cried and rushed toward him. That was a mistake. Angelica spotted her, and instantly, all that rage and craziness was turned on her. The knife gripped in her hand was the only thing Jolene could see as it came at her. She sucked in a panicked breath and spun away at the last minute. The knife caught in the sleeve of her coat, ripping through the layers but not hitting skin. Unfortunately, she didn’t escape far. Angelica caught a chunk of her hair and pulled. Jolene stumbled and somehow ended up with Angelica behind her, the knife at her throat.

She could hear the men yelling all around her. Sorcha growled. Jolene was only conscious of the blade’s tip pressing lightly on her throat. Everything else faded into background noise.

Grady said something. Then Finch. Whatever Finch said angered Angelica. Jolene sucked in a breath through her nose as the knife dug deeper, piercing her skin. A warm, wet trickle of blood slid down into her collar, and the room rushed back into focus.

“Okay, Angelica. You win,” Finch was saying. “Put the knife down, and I’ll leave with you. We’ll start over. Okay, baby? It’ll be just you and me. Just like always.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. She was in danger, and Finch was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her. She couldn’t let that happen. There was no way she was going to let this bitch get her claws back into Finch. Not happening. Not on her watch.

The blade started to slip away from her throat as Finch pleaded with his ex-wife. “Please. Just back away from the woman and we’ll leave. What do you say? We can get remarried. It’ll be just like before.”

Angelica’s grip on Jolene loosened further. She held her breath as she realized the blade was no longer piercing her skin. Now was her chance. Moving without hesitation, she grabbed the hand holding the knife and twisted out from under her. Angelica cried out as she wrenched her wrist at an unnatural angle. With a clatter, the knife fell to the ground, and the woman collapsed to her knees. Jolene held on tight, standing in front of her as Angelica screamed bloody murder. She still held her hand tightly in her grip as Grady rushed forward and slapped a cuff on her.

“You can let go now,” he ordered, but she found herself unable to obey. It wasn’t until she felt Finch’s body heat behind her and his hand gently prying hers off Angelica that she was able to release it. Grady immediately had her face down on the ground and both hands cuffed behind her.

Jolene slumped against the hard chest behind her and closed her eyes as his arms wrapped around her. “Fuck, Jolene,” he breathed in her ear.

She spun in his embrace, flung her arms around him, and buried her face in his neck, breathing in his scent. The outdoors and candy.

They held each other close as Angelica screeched and cursed them out from the floor. Grady’s voice was dull and unemotional as he read her the Miranda rights, but she was in her own batshit crazy world, and it was evident that nothing else mattered.

Jolene tuned it all out and pulled back to rake her gaze over Finch’s battered face. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably at the sight of the darkening bruises. She cupped his cheeks gently, turning his head left and right to take them all in.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he assured, and she knew he was full of shit.

“Looks pretty bad to me.” Her voice broke, revealing the vulnerability she was trying to hide with bravado.

He laid his hands over hers. “I’m okay.” His gaze fell to her neck, and a shadow passed over his face. “You’re still bleeding.”

“I’m okay.” She repeated his words back to him. The fact was, she didn’t even feel the cut. She was more concerned about him. It hadn’t gone unnoticed to her how carefully he was moving. She’d seen the lines of pain in his face as he tried to stop Angelica. Her answer elicited a narrowed gaze from him, but she met his stare with a defiant glare of her own. Neither of them would show the other the true extent of their pain, and so they remained at a standstill. It would be funny if she wasn’t so worried about him.

Brodhi approached Finch and handed him a soft gauze pad, which he gingerly used to clean her cut. She watched him apply the bandage and sensed his frustration with the limited supplies.

“That was a pretty badass move,” Brodhi said to her while packing away the small first-aid kit in yet another pocket in his vest.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Finch asked.

“Emma’s been teaching me some things.”

Surprise flickered across Finch’s face. “Remind me to thank her.”

“She’s the one who led us to you.”

Finch tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“She got an image of the driver who ran us off the road. It was her,” Jolene said, with a tip of her head in Angelica’s direction. She filled Finch in on everything Emma had managed to find. Including the fact that the text messages had come from New York City.

“I don’t know where Angelica’s been for the last year. She could have been living in the city. I just don’t know. My lawyer might have information about her location since I last saw her. I’ll call him tomorrow.”

Grady hauled Angelica to her feet. “Don’t worry. I’ll question her thoroughly. I’ll see what I can get out of her.” Jolene and Brodhi had filled Grady in on the text threats as they drove out to the trailhead. She made a mental note to send him the screenshots of the messages promptly, knowing he’d need them while questioning Angelica. After she’d seen to Finch’s injuries. She was worried about how gingerly he was holding himself.

“You good to fly back?” Brodhi asked.

“Yeah. I’m good. Thanks for your help.”

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