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Pacing, I try to determine where I should begin.
A few minutes later, Micah and Jackson carry in a huge whiteboard. It looks like they ripped it directly off the wall. There are little chunks of paint and drywall still stuck on the back.
“There are tools for that,” Bennet points out.
“Not fast enough, and I had some aggression to release,” says Micah. No one argues.
We set the huge whiteboard on top of the buffet table, leaning it against the wall. I start writing out some notes, getting out everything we know and what we don’t.
We work on getting everything out on the chart, Bennet filling us in on small details from the accounts. We also open the evidence bags from both Luis’ and Jackson’s mothers’ deaths. Sure enough, there was evidence at both scenes that pills from TAC Pharmacy had been consumed. As it turns out, both cases would have ended in overdose if not for Annette Boyd’s jump.
This is yet another chain of corruption in the Adley line, and I can see Bennet is out for blood. Luis seems strangely numb, and I don’t think Jackson knows what to think or how to act. He is certainly more reserved than I’ve ever seen him.
As we work, Mrs. Coolson brings in a few homemade flatbread pizzas and a tray of drinks. She sets them in the middle of the table instead of on the buffet since we’ve taken it over.
We keep adding and erasing information here and there, making random notes and building onto our chart. By the time we’re done, it’s past midnight. We have a shortlist of action items we can work on tomorrow, which will hopefully help us determine what our next steps should be.
One thing I know is we’re in deep. But we’re also determined… to get to the bottom of what Jackson Adley and BioCere, Inc. have been up to, and what it has to do with all of us.
Jackson
We stay up well into the night talking everything out and making a plan for what to do next. Once it’s all up there, we stare at it for a while, letting it sink in and making sure we aren’t missing anything important.
I’m having trouble moving past the connection with the pills. I knew she had taken something before she jumped, but I had no idea she had taken a whole bottle. And I certainly wouldn’t have expected she might have gotten those pills from my supposed father.
This is what hurts the most. Because she had been doing so well for months. To think she left everything behind because of a disgusting excuse for a man she had been pining over since before I was born? It makes me sick. I’m angry, and I can feel the fog of depression and uncertainty trying to drag me down.
These moments happen to me occasionally, but I’ve always filled them with action. A flight overseas, a rock-climbing adventure, hiking across the Appalachian Mountains.
For the first time in my life, I can’t just get up and leave and run from my problems. But also for the first time, I don’t want to. I look around at the four guys that have become important to me these last few days. My brothers. And Six…
I look down at her perfect face with her perfect eyes and perfect nose and exceptionally perfect mouth. And I know for sure I would never leave her willingly. I love her. Timing and circumstance be damned, I know what I feel.
She’s leaning against my shoulder, starting to doze. We’re all wrecked at this point, and there’s not much more we can do at this time of night.
“I think it’s time for bed, what do you think?”
Although I know she is perfectly capable of walking, I lift her up and hold her against me. The rest of the guys stand up as well, turning off computers and lights as we make our way upstairs.
Bennet makes a suggestion. “I was thinking someone should stay with her at night. We could rotate, make a schedule. Maybe you should take tonight, Jackson. After everything we learned today, it’s possible she might have another night terror. You seem the best at helping her. Of course, we are all nearby so we’ll come running if we hear anything.”
Everyone agrees and heads off to their own rooms. No one shuts their door, making sure they can hear if rescue is needed. I love how we’re all so in tune with whatever she needs.
I’ve always been a kind of “free love” type of guy, but this is different. It’s almost symbiotic, we all feed off each other and give and take. We each offer something different to the relationship. It feels natural, and I’m looking forward to building a new normal together once we get through making sure our girl is safe. Hopefully we bring down Adley in the process.
Six doesn’t bother with nightclothes. She removes her bra through a sleeve, like some kind of magician, and pulls her leggings off. She crawls into the bed in just her t-shirt and panties. I’m hit with another weirdo creep moment where I want to shove my face in her ass, but I try to act cool.
I shuck all of my clothes except for my boxers and shut off the lights, climbing in next to her. I pull the duvet over both of us and pull her close, tucking her body into mine. She falls asleep almost immediately, and I follow her into the darkness.
I’m not sure how long we sleep before she starts jerking and whimpering in her sleep. The moonlight casts a soft glow across the bed, and I watch as her face contorts in fear and pain. Pulling her snuggly into my body, I make soothing sounds, murmuring that she’s safe. I hum a little and she settles at the sound of my voice.
Not much later, I’ve barely started drifting off again when she shoots upright, frantically looking all around her. She makes a movement like she’s grabbing something and holding it to her head, crying softly and intermittently holding her breath. She runs her hands over her eyes and then holds them in front of her face, staring at them in horror.
What is she seeing right now?
Very, very slowly, I reach out and place my hand on her hip. She gasps and swings around. This time she doesn’t panic, only stares at me, a terrified and concerned look in her eyes. I ease forward into the beam of moonlight filtering through the sheer curtains. She reaches for me. I scoot closer to her, allowing her to rest her palm on my face. Her eyes gaze into mine like she’s searching for something.
“What do you remember?” I whisper to her.
