Page 56 of Stolen Goods
Jo sighed. “Thad.”
“What, Jo Jo?”
“Have you warned her at all about what’s coming?”
He winced. “It’s, um, never come up.”
“Thad,” she growled. “Does she understand that she’s a media sensation right now? Reporters will be calling. Talk shows too. I mean, people can’t get enough. It’s sort of sick, actually. They won’t stop playing the clip of her parents crying, begging you to let her come home safe.”Oh, God.He hadn’t seen that one. “I mean, life as she knows it is over. For a while, at least.”
“I know, Jo.”
“Do you?”
“Iknow.”I ruined her life, like I do every time.The past few days had been like living in a dream, in a bubble. But that fragile peace was about to bust open in a big way. Because Jo was right. No matter how the dust settled, Addison’s life would never be the same. He’d shattered the small-town existence she’d been living. There was no going back. Though a tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered that somehow, she’d be better off for it. “I’ll talk to her. I’ll explain.”
“Okay.” He could sense the hesitation in her tone, so he waited silently. “It’s just…”
“Say it, Jo.”
All he heard was steady breathing on the other side of the line.
“Say it.”
“It will be better for her if she hates you.”
His shoulders dropped, heavy with the weight of her words, because they were true.
“The Russians can’t think of her as leverage. Until the trial is over, they have to think she hates you. That you mean nothing to her, and she means nothing to you. It’s the only way she’ll be safe.” Every word was like a punch to the gut. He leaned against the wall for support as Jo continued talking, unaware. “I’ll teach her, when she gets here. I’ll tell her how to lie and what to say, how to paint you the villain. It’s what America already believes anyway, so they’ll take her words at face value. But the Russians, they’ll be studying her answers. They need to believe her. They need to think she hates you.”
Just like that, he finally had a plan.
She’ll hate me, Jo.
Soon enough, you both will.
After days on the road, and countless hours of brainstorming, he knew exactly what to do. Talking to Jo had always had a way of clearing his mind, of setting things straight. The pieces came together swiftly, forming a map he knew he could follow. He didn’t care what happened to him, truly he didn’t. Right now, all that mattered was her. And Emma. And Jo. And keeping the few things he held dear safe.
But he kept his mouth shut.
Because for the first time in his life, he was acting solo.
No Jo. No partners.
It was better that way. It meant he couldn’t hurt anyone.
“I’ll see you in a few hours, Jo. Just you and Nate—no other Feds. Keep it between us for now, until we figure out what to do with Addison.”
“Nate won’t want to keep it secret,” she said cautiously.
“Then don’t tell him I’m coming.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“You can, Jo. For old times’ sake, you will.”
She sighed. Within that sound he heard a silent promise, for her father’s memory, for Addison’s safety, maybe for all the love between them too, she’d do him one last favor. Then she was through. “Here’s the address of the safe house.”
She rambled it off and they hung up.
