Page 10 of Ignited Heat
"Then I'll have your discharge papers in about an hour."
Mama and Carlos are smiling encouragingly. Now is as good a time as any to tell them.
"Mama. I'm not going home."
"What? What do you mean you're not going home? I can take care of you there until you heal enough to go back to work."
"I…"
The door opens, and the police detectives who took my statement the day I was attacked come inside my room. The look on their faces tells me they've got some bad news for me.
"Miss Dalton. Mrs. Lee."
"Detectives." My mother answers.
"Miss Dalton, we came here to inform you that Marcos Solis was released from custody this morning on bail."
A chill goes through me. He's going to come here to kill me. I'm sure of it. I start panicking, but then remember I've got a protector. The detectives finish their report and then leave. So I turn to Carlos.
"Carlos, get Jason."
He is already on the phone contacting him, so he just nods and moves to the side of the hospital room so he can fill Jason in on what's happened. Twenty minutes later, Jason enters my room and I can finally breathe easier. My mother's demeanor changes, and I worry about what she's going to say.
"Mr. Harris, are you going to take care of this problem?"
Jason just looks at her, his eyes the only tell of the anger that is brewing inside him.
"Mama, no! I don't want that. I'm sure Marco will be convicted. We just have to wait for the trial."
"It's not safe for you, Cassie. Not until he's gone," Carlos says.
"Jason, they're releasing me today. Take me home with you.” I plead. “It’s the only place I’ll feel safe.”
For a moment, he looks conflicted, but then he squares his shoulders and whispers something to Carlos.
"Are you ready to go?" Jason asks me.
"I've got to change."
When I'm finally ready and the nurse gives me my papers so I can leave, I carefully hug my mother and whisper in her ear.
"Jason will take good care of me, Mama."
"Protect your heart, little one." She whispers back.
An orderly comes to pick me up in a wheelchair, and we all walk together to the entrance where Carlos's car is parked waiting for me. Carlos and Jason trade keys, and he ushers me into the vehicle. The drive to Jason's place is quiet, and I worry when Jason finally addresses me.
"Why did you want to come to my house?"
"Marcos is…"
"No. Tell me the real reason."
"I want you to teach me how to defend myself."
Jason shakes his head. "It'll take weeks for you to heal."
"We can start with a gun."
