***
Donovan watched from the retirement home's security room as Jessica entered the visitor's area. For her visit with Mrs. Drevin she had ditched her trademark blue jeans and tennis shoes for an off-white suit dress, high heels, and her hair was worked into a neat French twist. As elegant and charming as she appeared, her eyes held nothing but sadness each time they had looked into his since they had made love.
He had to admit she did a good job at hiding her feelings, and he was sure he had as well. As far as he could see, his team didn't know or suspect Jessica had spent the night with him or that he had committed a serious breech of ethics in sleeping with her.
"Check in," he ordered over the earpiece.
"Quiet out front," Cody responded quickly.
"East side clear, I'm heading around back," Jake announced.
"Same here...west side of the building is clear," said Alex.
--
Jess smiled as she approached her old friend who was staring out the window of the recreation room. "Good morning, Addy."
Addy turned slowly toward the voice calling her. "Jessie, oh honey...it's so good to see you!"
Jess wrapped her arms around Addy in a friendly hug. "Addy, I can't stay long, I just came to tell you that..."
"And I'm so glad you're here. You see, there's someone here that you'll want to see," Addy assured and smiled genuinely.
"What? Who?" She asked just as her nostrils were assaulted by the sickening smell of body odor.
"Me," a deep voice responded from behind her.
Jess turned and her voice caught in her throat. Standing before her was the murdering bastard who took her family from her.
"Honey, isn't it wonderful that your sweet friend Jessie came over to play today?" Addy beamed happily at her son.
Jess stood speechless. Over a year of chasing him and she couldn't find the strength to move, let alone speak.
"I've been hoping you would come calling on Mother," Wayne said, sickly sweet. "She's spoken so highly of my good friend, Jessie. It would be a shame if I had missed you."
"I..." she stammered. God, I have to get out of here! Her eyes shifted, looking for away to escape without causing a scene. Several of the retirement home's residents were gathered in the room with their families. She eyed Drevin's jacket pocket, his hand thrust deeply inside. She could tell he hid a gun. If she took the chance and ran, it was likely an innocent bystander would be hurt.
Drevin closed the distance between them quickly, gripping Jessica harshly by the upper arm. "Do you mind if we go for a walk?" he asked through clenched teeth. "We have a lot of catching up to do."
Jess shook her head, "No, really...I have to be going." It was a feeble attempt, but she was trying more to stall him than to convince him to let her go. She knew Donovan and Cody were monitoring the room. They would be sure to see Drevin and come after him.
"Nonsense, dear. You and Wayne go outside and play," Addy insisted. "I'll watch from the window."
Jess had no choice but to go with her mortal enemy; she couldn't take the chance that anyone would be hurt or killed because of her. He dragged her forcibly by the arm through the double glass doors to the grounds at the back of the facility. She turned her head, looking over her shoulder. Surely Donovan or someone from his team had seen Drevin by now. This is it, Melanie, Jessica, or whoever the hell you are. You're about to join your family in death.
--
"Sonofabitch," Donovan growled, as he watched the man approach Jessica and Addy in the recreation room. "Drevin's got Jessica...and they're headed out the back." His throat tightened with frustration and fear. Frustration that he had let this happen; fear that Jessica was now in the very hands of the man he was supposed to be protecting her from.
"I'm on it!" Jake and Alex acknowledged in unison.
Donovan raced from the security room to the exterior exit catching up to Drevin and Jessica before Alex and Jake arrived. He spotted Drevin holding Jess by the arm and had a gun held to her side. "Freeze! Federal Agent!" he yelled forcefully.
Drevin turned, positioning Jessica in front of him like a human shield. "Holster your gun, Fed...or she dies."
"You bastard, you filthy bastard," Jessica ground out, finally finding her voice. "Kill me, you sonofabitch...just like you killed my sister and niece."
"Your sister was an unfortunate circumstance," he replied flippantly. He knew instantly to whom she referred. He had only killed four women in his lifetime. Three were whores and one was the woman who had witnessed the shakedown at the convenience store. The woman's daughter died at his hand as well. "Now shut up," he ordered, tightening his grip on her arm and shoving the barrel of the gun under her chin.
Donovan locked eyes with Jessica's. He silently willed her to remain calm. He could occupy Drevin until Jake or Alex arrived on the scene. "You don't want to do this, Drevin. All the charges have been dropped in that case. You're a free man...why screw it up now?"
Drevin released a bitter laugh. "You're such a stooge, you know that?" Before he could finish his thought, he felt cold steel touch the back of his neck.
"Let her go or I'll blow out what little brains you have."
Drevin glanced over his shoulder and slowly released his grip on Jess, who stumbled over to Donovan.
Donovan placed a steadying arm around her shoulder, but still held his gun on Drevin. He eyed the newcomer and nodded briefly. "David."
"Hello, Frank," Director David Kersh acknowledged. "Stupid of you not to bring her in when you arrived."
Donovan shrugged. He really cared little what was thought about his approach to this case. He knew he was out of line and had given Jessica too much leeway, but sometimes policies and procedures didn't fit the situation.
Kersh glanced around at the relative seclusion they had. Trees and bushes lined the area and onlookers would have a difficult time ascertaining what was happening between the small group. He slowly moved his gun from the back of Drevin's head and lined up Jessica in his sights. "And I'm really sorry it has come down to this...but it's her...or me..."
"Goddamn you, David," Donovan growled, angry and frustrated with a man whom he had known for years and considered a friend. "You set this whole fucking thing up, didn't you?" His mind worked furiously trying to devise a plan to get Jessica out safely. His only hope would be Jake and Alex. It was entirely possible for him to take out Kersh and Drevin, but he feared either he or Jessica would take a bullet in the process.
"You might say that," Kersh sneered.
"Destroyed evidence and had anyone killed who knew the slightest detail about this case. Tell me, David...is it all worth it?" Donovan asked, desperate to stall Kersh.
"It will be," Kersh assured, firming his grip.
Donovan's eyes flicked just slightly to the area behind Drevin and Kersh. Inwardly he felt a little relieved; Alex and Jake had taken their positions and were ready to move in.
Kersh glanced over at Drevin, who stood beside him with his gun also trained on Jessica. "Go, get out of here. This is all to save your ass, so go...NOW!"
Jess watched as Drevin nodded and started to leave. Kersh would kill them all and Drevin would go free. She couldn't bear to see that happen. She wrenched herself from Donovan's grip and started after Drevin, screaming his name.
Donovan saw Kersh's finger squeeze the trigger when Jessica moved. Drevin also turned in her direction at the sound of her voice. Both guns were trained on her; both men's fingers pulled the trigger without hesitation. He lunged for her, calling out her name as he fired his own gun in time with theirs.
At the same time as his weapon fired, he heard the report of several other shots. From the corner of his eye, he saw Drevin and Kersh fall to the ground. He felt the spattering of the warm, sticky liquid on his face and neck at the same time he collided with Jessica, but had felt no pain. Not my blood.
She was planted firmly underneath him when they landed on the hard ground. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't breathing. His hands roamed frantically over her searching for her injury as his eyes took in the sight of the blood pooling the ground beneath her.
"Oh, God, Jessica," he moaned, devastated. Within seconds he found her shoulder wound. The bullet had gone clean through. Thankfully there appeared to be no head wound. "Come on, breathe!" he ordered determinedly. One hand drifted to her throat and felt for a pulse while his other began unbuttoning the jacket of her dress.
Jess choked in a ragged breath as her eyes flew open. Sharp, searing pain ripped through her shoulder and she was having trouble breathing. For a moment she thought she was dead, but looming above her, was the most beautiful sight she had ever laid eyes on. "Shit, Donovan, I'm not dead...get off me," she sassed not unkindly.
His eyes found the teasing glint in hers. "You didn't complain last night," he whispered, hearing approaching footsteps.
Although in pain, Jess couldn't stop the smile that played on her lips. "And I wouldn't be complaining now," she responded lightly, "but you weigh a ton when you're not engaging in that particular activity." She placed a tender hand to his cheek, but removed it quickly when Alex, Jake, and Cody kneeled down beside them.
Jake reached out and tapped Jessica's chest. "Good thing you listened to Donovan," he commented.
As the others nodded their agreement, Jessica noticed for the first time the bullet lodged in the Kevlar vest she wore under her jacket. If she had done as she had wanted and not worn the vest, the bullet would have gone straight into her heart.
Cody and Donovan helped Jessica to a sitting position and then he wrapped a pressure bandage over her wound. "They should have been so lucky," he commented, nodding to the two still forms lying a few feet away.
Jessica gazed unfeelingly at the men. One had killed her sister and niece in cold blood; the other had helped cover it up. They had gotten far better than they deserved and she hoped they rotted in hell.
--
Donovan stopped the attendants before they loaded Jessica into the ambulance. She was pale and had lost a good amount of blood, but she was very much alive and that was really all that mattered to him. He touched her cheek softly and smiled down at her. "I'll meet you at the hospital."
Jess nodded and took his hand tenderly into hers. "I owe you, Donovan."
He shook his head and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "You don't owe anyone anything, Jess," he assured her. "Cody's going with you to the hospital right now. I need to meet with that task force and Kersh's superiors, but I'll see you as soon as I can."
"Until then, Donovan," she replied, bringing his hand to her lips and pressing a kiss to his knuckle.
Donovan nodded to the attendants as he withdrew his hand. Minutes later the ambulance was on its way to the hospital. "Let's go," he ordered.
After meeting with the task force and Kersh's superiors, Donovan was able to ascertain that Kersh had not revealed the new identity of Melanie Burgess and they knew nothing of Jessica Crenshaw. As far as he was concerned it could stay that way. Vague was a good description of the details he provided the agents who interviewed him.
He didn't give much credence to the threats they issued for his behavior either. A month's suspension was handed down to him for not following procedure in bringing in a witness when ordered. A month's suspension weighed against giving an emotionally tortured woman a little peace of mind? He could live with that.
The only thing he regretted was that by the time he and the team had been debriefed, Jessica had disappeared from the hospital although she had been under guard. Somehow the FBI agent posted at her door had been distracted and she slipped away without being noticed.
***
Epilogue to follow...
