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Sighing, I put it all out there for him, knowing it was the only way he would truly understand. “I can’t sit here and do nothing. If we don’t get him back…” I hated to even say it. “If we don’t get him back, I have to be able to tell her I did everything I possibly could.”
“Fine.”
Surprised, I looked up at him, wondering what the catch was.
“I’ll get you what you need, but when we get him back, I never want to see you touch that shit again.”
That was a promise I could keep. “I swear.”
When he walked out of the room, I pulled the IV from my arm and slowly stood, grateful I could actually keep my feet under me this time. I shuffled across the floor to the bathroom, shutting the doorbehind me. The bright light of the bathroom nearly had me turning off the light, but the reflection in the mirror had me pausing.
The face that stared back at me was one I hardly recognized anymore. Hannah would be so fucking ashamed of how I turned out. Even trying to do good, I ended up failing her. Walking over to the sink, I rested my hands on the countertop, studying the eyes that stared back at me. I didn’t like what I saw, so dull and lifeless. I had to make a change, and that meant no more working for Rafe. No more chasing causes that would get me nowhere. I had to live my life to make a difference, not tearing it apart to make me feel less.
I hadn’t really realized until this moment that’s what I was doing this whole time. Every job I did for Rafe tore me apart, punished the kid that messed up and got his sister killed. I was putting myself in these situations as punishment for what I should have done. It twisted me into a man my sister would have hated. It all had to stop now.
I turned on the tap and cupped my shaky hands under the faucet, then splashed the cool water over my face. The shock to my system wasn’t nearly enough to take the edge off, but helped me focus on what I needed to do.
“You’re better than this, Jack. You know what you have to do.”
“I know,” I whispered. “I won’t let you down.”
“You never have.”
Her voice felt like it was right beside me. I knew the drugs had altered my brain, making me see and hear things that weren’t there. But it still soothed something inside me to hear her voice again.
“She needs you. Her son needs you. Be strong enough to fight this and become the man she can depend on.”
I nodded, closing my eyes. Hannah smiled at me and a wave of memories pushed through me. I gasped at the overwhelming feeling of love that surrounded me. I didn’t know if any of it was real or if it was all in my head. But for a moment, it felt like Hannah was standing beside me, choosing to fight this battle with me. I could feel the soft touch of her fingers wrapping around mine, and I knew I wasn’t alone.
“I will not let her down.”
28
RAE
“We need to go!”I shouted to Skylar.
There was no time to take the equipment with us. Only the bare minimum could be brought, enough to keep me in contact with the team and out of enemy hands. If we didn’t leave now, there was a good chance we’d never be seen again.
Skylar rushed to my side. “What do you mean? We don’t have Parker back yet!”
“We’ll get him back,” I told her, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. “Right now, we have to get the hell out of here.”
I ran to the computer, uploading the virus that would spread to every computer in the house, destroying any information stored on the hard drives. I hit enter and ran for the front door. Peering outside, it appeared clear, but that didn’t mean it was.
Bending down, I grabbed the gun in my ankle holster and held it out to Skylar. “Do you know how to use this?”
“No,” she said, staring at me in disbelief.
“You’re gonna learn really fast. Only use this if you’re intending to kill someone.”
“I don’t want to kill anyone!” she shouted hysterically. “I’m not doing this!”
I grabbed her by the arms, shaking her to get her to focus. “Alright, calm down. Just…stay behind me. When I tell you to do something, you do it without question. Understood?”
She gave a jerky nod, then bit her quivering lip.
“It’ll be okay. I’ll get you out of here.”
