Page 113 of Come Back To Me

I see the pain hit him. It’s undeniable. It seizes him, twists him, pulls him in different directions. “No,” he sighs. So, Jack faked his own death and told no one. For what? Is he working? “We should talk about why I’m here.” I don’t speak. I simply wait. Jack links his hands, his arms still on the table in front of him. He takes what feels like an eternity to finally open his mouth and start explaining. “After the accident, I had visitors. They told me I was no longer on the force.” He drops his head. Just telling me appears to hurt him.

“Why?” I ask.

“Didn’t want to wait for my recovery. Rehab was going to take too long. They offered me a position behind a desk.” He looks up. We both know he’s better than being stuck behind a desk. Jack is front line, hands on. No way he would have accepted that offer.

“Is that why you didn’t want us to see you?”

With a sigh he admits, “Partly.” Only partly? “I was gutted. The force had been my whole life. You know that.” I understand how much it meant to him, still doesn’t make sense why he wouldn’t see us. “I didn’t want to see anyone because I was distraught. Then out of the blue, I had an offer I couldn’t turndown.”

“Must have been worth it,” I huff. “Worth more than letting your grieving family know you were actually alive.”

The way he looks at me, it sends a shockwave crashing through me. His eyes pin on mine, his face slightly lowered. Whatever he’s about to say, I can tell he means it. “It was.”

Leaning back in my chair, I let my body sag. Meanwhile, Jack’s fists clench on the table. I don’t miss it. He didn’t want me to. He wants me to know how much his decision means to him. “Who was it?” I ask needing more.

“ASIS.”

I narrow my eyes at him. He’s working with the Australian Secret Intelligence Service? “Must be a big case.” My tone is nothing but arrogant.

Jack’s temples twitch. “Bigger than you’ll ever be able to comprehend. Took me a while to get my head around it.”

“But not too long that you couldn’t see us before we left?”

“Enough,” he barks at me.

I huff again with a laugh. “Or what, Jack?” He needs to start talking or so help me God. “Tell me right fucking now what was so huge you couldn’t pick up a fucking phone?”

Mirroring the way I’m sat, the only sound I can hear is that of my own heart booming in my ears. “You made a wrong choice.” His voice remains as tight as the air sitting between us.

“Which one?” I’ve only ever made one good choice in my life. “The list is pretty long.”

“The one where you thought you were doing the right thing for the club. That fuckin’ one,” he hisses.

“Saviours?” I question, and he nods. “That was about peace, Jack. The deal was changed without me there. Co—”

“Costa,” he simply says, finishing my sentence for me.

My ears prick up when he says Costa’s name. “What do you know of him?”

Leaning forward again, Jack sighs then takes a breath. “I know you made a deal with the devil, Deano.”

My stomach bottoms out. My eyes flare wild with terror.

“The club is soon to be on every federal radar from the US to back home.”

Unsure of how to move or how to react, I let Jack’s words sink in. How can this be happening? The move to work side by side with the Saviours was to ensure peace. We knew we’d be in deeper by moving guns, but this new deal… we could handle it. We brought in more men so we could run things smoothly. “How do you know Costa’s the devil?” I ask.

“I've seen it with my own eyes.” A haunted look sets itself upon him.

“That bad, huh?” I ask.

His body stiffens. “Worse.”

Another silence. “Why you?”

“'Cause it was easy for me to disappear. No one would question it. I could work in the shadows. Bring this organisation to its knees.”

I frown. “How? How are you going to stop him running guns? What's your plan here?”

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