Woody's POV:
"She's with Cal," I tried to calmly explain to Nigel. I wasn't sure if he was comprehending exactly what I was saying. He didn't know that I covered for Cal at the crime scene. Nigel hadn't been privy to the long conversations I had with Jordan about Cal's rather tumultuous life.
"She's with your brother," Nigel clarified.
"My brother who's a junkie and a liar," I replied.
The hospital room was dark. My hospital room was always dark. I hated the blinding, unnatural glow of the fluorescent lights. I preferred the darkness. I preferred not seeing Lily look at me with pity or Nigel stare at me like I was somehow broken. I hated to admit that I was broken in more ways than one.
"Jordan is . . . . she's Jordan. She is more than capable of taking care of herself," Nigel replied with a smile. I knew that her absence was also hurting him. They were close to say the least. Nigel had always been an honorary member of her family. Jordan always ran to Nigel if she needed help; she used to run to me.
"My brother nearly got her killed last time. He does drugs . . . he steals drugs. He gambles away all his money. I'm willing to bet that where ever he is he's causing trouble," I replied.
"So what is it that you want me to do?" Nigel asked. He didn't sound like he believed that someone sharing my genetics could possibly be the monster that I had just described.
"Find her. Drag her home. Just get her the hell away from Cal," I replied.
"Let's give her some time to cool off before we start an international manhunt," Nigel suggested. I shook my head. I wasn't sure what I needed to say to get Nigel to believe that my little brother was a danger.
"That's not good enough, Nigel," I replied. My voice was a little softer than it was a few minutes ago.
"Jordan's probably still stewing about those things you said to her. Give her time. Give her six weeks, Woody. She'll come back," Nigel replied. I immediately felt mortified that everyone knew about my less than graceful way of telling Jordan to back off. I wondered if this was going the way of the Devan fiasco. It took what seemed like ages for Nigel, Bug, Garrett, and Lily to stop looking at me as if I was the enemy. At that time, I probably was the enemy but didn't realize it. Now, I knew that I was the enemy. I had hurt their friend . . . their family . . . their daughter, sister, best friend that had a penchant for roaming the country.
"She's pretty good at holding a grudge," I replied. For as many times as she assured me that she understood why I ran to Devan and Sam, I don't think she ever really forgave me for it. Jordan ran across the country; I ran to other women.
"She's got nothing on Garrett," Nigel said with a smile. Garrett would do anything to protect Jordan. He would move mountains for her. He told me more than once not to screw around with her. I remembered him cornering me in the morgue and telling me that Jordan was a fragile girl. I remembered the look in his eyes when he warned me not to break her. I, unfortunately, broke her more than once.
"Nigel, I'm being very serious when I say that Jordan's in danger. My brother is dangerous. I don't want him to get her killed," I said, "Right now, I'm not in a position where I can do anything about it."
I never admitted that I needed help.
"Okay, I'll look for her, but on one condition," Nigel replied, "You've got to decide whether you love her or you're going to leave her. No more games. No more breaking her heart. You've got to decide what you want."
"It's now or never, huh?" I said to no one in particular.