Page 2 of Her Last Warning
"Smart woman," Jack said, his attempt at lightness not quite masking the concern in his voice."You're just going to have to take my word for it, though.I've been extremely cautious this past week or so.And not because I think this card is really anything to worry about…but because I knowyou’reworried."
Rachel watched a pair of cardinals flit between the bare branches of the maple tree.The female landed on the bird feeder she'd hung last spring, while the male kept watch from a higher perch.Always vigilant, always aware of potential threats.She recognized that behavior all too well lately.
“You still think it’s just a threat?”she asked.
“I do.Whoever left that for you would have to be an absolute fool to come after a federal agent.”
“What about the bombing, though?”She wasn’t coming out and saying it—mainly because she’d already said it far too often—but she was sure Cody Austin was behind all of it.
“The FBI and State PD are looking into the bombing, Rachel.You know this.And so far, there’s nothing to go on.”
She nodded.They were venturing onto ground they’d already worn out, so she sensed the conversation coming to a close.“But this isn't just a threat, Jack.This is Cody Austin showing us exactly what he's capable of.The numbered items, the playing card – it's like he's laying out chapters in a story he's writing.Our story."
The glider creaked as Jack shifted his weight, and Rachel felt a bittersweet pang as the sound triggered another memory of Grandma Tate.That old thing needs WD-40 worse than my knees do,she would say, but Rachel had never gotten around to it.
"I've been going over and over it in my head," Rachel continued, pulling her cardigan tighter against a sudden breeze."The obituary was marked number one – the beginning.The bombing article was two – escalation.So what's this card?What's chapter three supposed to be?"
"Could be nothing more than mind games," Jack suggested, but his tone lacked conviction."Getting in your head, making you see patterns that aren't there.And that’s the case whether or not itisCody Austin.You have to remember, Rachel.You’re something of a mild celebrity."
She knew it was true but hated to hear it.Her sordid history with Alex Lynch, beating cancer…there had been news headlines and a few stories.She’d hated all of it for this very reason—all of the unnecessary attention.
She turned to face him fully."I know what you said earlier in the week about how it might be a bad idea, but I think I need to go to Anderson with this.And I need to tell him I think it's Cody Austin."
Jack's hand found hers, his thumb brushing over her knuckles in that familiar, comforting gesture she'd come to rely on."He'll listen," he said carefully."Anderson has always had your back.But you know as well as I do that he won't let you anywhere near the investigation.Not after everything that happened with Lynch and Alice.It'll go to someone else."
The afternoon light caught the diamond in Rachel's wedding ring, sending tiny prisms dancing across her lap.She watched them shift and scatter, remembering how this same ring had caught the fluorescent lights of her hospital room during her cancer treatments, how Jack had never let go of her hand through any of it.
"That's why I've been sitting on it," she admitted."I know it's stupid and prideful, but I can't stand the thought of being sidelined.Not with this.Not with him."She paused, watching the cardinal pair take flight together."You know I even considered pulling Paige out of school until we figure this out?"
"I remember that conversation," Jack said."But she's finally finding her place there, Rach.Making real friends for the first time since starting middle school.You’ve said that yourself.We can't take that from her."
"I know you're right.But every morning when I drop her off, I scan the parking lot, the streets around the school.I'm looking for his face in every crowd, Jack.And the worst part is, I don't even know if I'd recognize him anymore.Ten years in prison changes people."
Rachel closed her eyes, feeling the weak winter sunlight on her face.Fear had become such a constant companion lately that she sometimes forgot it wasn't normal to triple-check the locks before bed, or to wake up in cold sweats from dreams where Austin's face morphed into Lynch's, into Alice's, into every threat that had ever come for her family.
"Which is exactly what he wants, isn't it?"she whispered."To make me afraid.To make me doubt everything.To have me jumping at shadows until I make a mistake."
A crisp breeze rustled through the bare branches overhead, carrying with it the first hints of evening chill.Jack shivered slightly and got to his feet."The sun's nice, but it's getting too cold to stay out here much longer."
Rachel nodded, rising from the glider.As they headed inside, she cast one last glance at the porch swing, remembering how Grandma Tate would wrap them both in her favorite quilt on days like this, refusing to let a little cold chase them indoors.And Paige would either be bundled up and playing in the backyard or nestled between both of them—another sort of day of the past that was now long gone.
Inside and with the door closed against the cold, Jack pulled her into a tight embrace, slipping the playing card from her fingers and tucking it into his coat pocket."It'll be okay," he murmured against her hair."We'll figure this out.If thereisa legitimate threat, we’ll face it together."
Rachel breathed in his familiar scent – a mixture of coffee and the sandalwood cologne she'd given him for Christmas.The solid warmth of his body against hers pushed back against the cold tendrils of fear that had wrapped around her heart these past weeks.In his arms, she felt safe and secure.She knew he was trying to help her do what was best…not just for their family, but for her job.
She loved him fiercely, and in that moment, she started to feel a little more thansafe.To her surprise, despite the heavy conversation they’d just shared, she started to feel a little something else as well.
She turned her face into his neck, pressing a soft kiss just below his ear."I don't have to pick up Paige for another hour and a half," she whispered, letting her lips brush against his skin as she spoke.
She felt rather than saw his smile as she placed another kiss higher up, closer to his jaw.Their bodies swayed together slightly, caught in a dance between comfort and desire."Anything you want to do before then?"
His answer came in the form of a kiss that started gentle but quickly deepened, carrying with it all the worry and love and need they'd both been holding back.They stumbled together toward the living room, hands seeking warm skin under winter layers.The back of Rachel's legs hit the couch and she pulled Jack down with her, their bodies fitting together with the easy familiarity of long-term love.
Jack's mouth found the sensitive spot below her ear that always made her gasp, and Rachel's fingers tangled in his hair, holding him there.His weight pressed her into the soft leather of the couch, grounding her in the present moment.For a few precious minutes, there were no playing cards, no threats, no shadows lurking at the edges of their happiness.There was only this – the solid strength of his shoulders under her wandering hands, the heat of his mouth on her neck, the way their hearts seemed to beat in perfect synchronization.
Later, they would have to face the reality of Austin's messages.Later, there would be meetings with Anderson, arguments about jurisdiction and protection details, difficult conversations with Paige.But for now, in this surprising moment that was very quickly becoming one without a single article of clothing, Rachel allowed herself to forget everything but the feeling of Jack.
The playing card lay forgotten in Jack's discarded jacket, its silent message temporarily discarded.Outside, the sun continued its slow descent toward evening, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold that neither of them noticed,.For this brief moment, at least, love was stronger than fear, and the future – with all its uncertainties – could wait.
