Wishing on the Water (Water Series Book 1) (21 page)

Looking back, the police were all over my room and Andrew’s room. When we got to the end of the hallway, there was a room with an open door that we walked inside.

Upon entry, there were people with guns and video cameras. It seemed they had cleared out the area to run surveillance. It was like something out of a Bruce Willis movie. A short man began handing each of us bullet proof vests and that was the moment I crumbled. I had sucked it up and stood tall while people came in and out of my hotel room. I had pretended I wasn’t affected whenever Jax looked at me, but watching him put on a bullet proof vest broke everything inside me.

The moment of realization that you might die. The moment you realize the last face you made at your dad was one of anger as you stormed out of the restaurant.

“
Candice put it on. It is only a precaution.” Brooklyn whispered behind me.

I walked behind a screen. I wanted to drop to the floor and cry, but my heart wouldn’t let me put more on Jax than he already had to deal with. My body tremored from the new stress of Jax being a target and someone wanting to hurt others just to get to him.

Jax walked behind my curtain and gave me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, as he attached the Velcro on my vest. I stared at his face as he made sure I was fastened in. When he finally did meet my eyes, it spoke volumes of worry and love. I could see that he was as scared for me as I was for him.

“
Where are we going?” I whispered.

“
Mark and I have some things we need to get from my house. Then we will move you to a safe house.”

“
You’re coming too, right?” I asked, but the look on his face said the answer was no. He didn’t say a word and he didn’t have to. I knew he was going after Andrew, but it felt more like he was contemplating suicide.

“
Won’t he know to look for you at your house?”

“
No. The house is covered. Vanessa knows that Mark and I play racquetball at 9am every other day. We will go to my house at 9am while Andrew is looking for me to play racquetball. We have other officers who will be at the courts, waiting to see if he shows. We have it covered. Don’t worry.”

My anger superseded my fear and reached a boiling point with the words ‘Don’t worry’ coming out of Jax’s mouth. Doing things his way was going to get him killed.

“
Why don’t I just call him and set up a meeting? He has sent out notes for other officers to bring you to meet him anyway. You have a price on your life; let me call him and set up a place to meet. Then you can kill him when he comes.” The entire room went silent. Officers began backing out of the room as if I had done something wrong.

The man with the salt and pepper hair in the suit walked up to me and took my hand in his. I wanted to take it back, but felt like that would convey the wrong message.

“
Ms. Carson, I am Commissioner Donnelly. I believe we met at Detective Matson’s funeral. I just want to tell you that I have the utmost faith in my detectives and their plan. I have been doing this a long time and would never allow them to be vigilantes. Our plan is to arrest Andrew Thomas and bring him in alive.”

I did pull my hand back and I put my blue, off the shoulder sweater over the vest while I thought about it. This was not going to work. Chase went with one of their plans and got slaughtered.

“
I have something I need to do,” I stated, as I grabbed my purse. Jax went to reach for my elbow and I gave him an evil smile that said don’t try and stop me. I got out the door when Brooklyn came running up behind me.

“
Where are we going?” She asked with a smile on her face.

“
I am going to handle something. Where are you going?” I asked, as the elevator opened.

“
I am going where you are going.” Brooklyn replied.

“
Brooklyn, I might be committing a crime and you are the acting Assistant District Attorney. So you see where that could be a problem?”

“
No, a lawyer is a lawyer; besides, we work better when we have all the facts. What could be better than a bird’s eye view of the events?”

“
Candice, wait!” Jax bellowed, but I nodded my head for Brooklyn to enter the elevator and walked in behind her.

“
I have to do this Jax.” I spoke softly as the elevator doors shut on a hurt look on Jax’s face. The face that said he thought this would be the last time we saw each other.

I thought about the characters in my books at that moment. I asked myself what would they do to achieve a happy ending and I drew a blank. If this was a book I had been writing, I would have written myself into a corner with no clue where to go.

I walked out to the street and headed west. No clue where I was going because I was still working on the chain of events in my head. Brooklyn caught my arm and held me there as she hailed a cab.

“
Figured out what you are going to do yet?” Brooklyn asked, as we piled into the cab. I had to buy some time.

“
Take us to the Crossfit on Columbus Ave.” I shouted to the driver as my voice was finally finding itself.

Brooklyn merely smiled at me. I don’t know how this was going to work. Anything illegal I do, my accomplice will also be my prosecutor.

“
Brooklyn, we don’t know each other very well. If you are not prepared to go the distance with whatever I do, I think you should jump ship now.”

“
Don’t worry; I have our bail money.”

Brooklyn reached across the cab and placed her hand on mine in a comforting way.

“
Candice, I have been in your shoes before. I have wanted to save the people I loved by sacrificing myself. I know how you feel. I don’t know what you have planned, but whatever it is I am in. Let’s finish this, so our men won’t have targets on their backs.”

We sat in the cab outside the Crossfit while I thought about what to do next. The sun was shining and the snow had stopped. That meant I was on my own, as there was no water nearby to wish on. I had no traffic jams to buy me time. It was do or die, and I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do.

Vanessa walked out of the Crossfit and went and got inside of a maroon Honda.

“
Follow that car.” I screamed and grabbed my throat from the pain. I don’t even know why I shouted, just seemed like the thing to do. Brooklyn reached into her purse and held up two bottles. One was Tylenol and one was Motrin. I merely stared at her.

“
I need you to be 100% here. Pick your poison and let’s get on with this!”

I was starting to like Brooklyn more and more. I already knew that she and Mark had a thing going on. They tried not to let it show, but there was something dark and delicious going on between them. If whatever we did ended well, then those two would wind up characters in my next book.

We followed Vanessa to her house and waited while she was inside. I would have done something there, but my writer’s brain was coming up with all kinds of unrealistic situations that would not help. I needed a sign or something that said I was supposed to do this.

It was never a question if I loved Jax. I knew I loved him. After the shock had worn off from Chase’s death, I realized how much I loved Jax. The question was, did I love him enough to go to prison for life? Did I love him enough to put myself in between him and Andrew? Did I love him enough to die for him?

“
You have that look.” Brooklyn stated.

“
What look is that?” I whispered as I stared out the window so my face would stay hidden and give nothing away.

“
That look someone gets when they are trying to decide if they want justice served or if they want to become a vigilante.”

“
I was wondering if I loved him enough to die for him.” I looked at Brooklyn wishing she had answers, but I knew only I could answer that.

“
Do you love him?” Brooklyn asked and I nodded. “Can you envision your life without him?” I shook my head. “It is simple; if you don’t want to live without him, but one of you has to die then you have already answered it. I would give up my life to save Mark, as he would I. Ask yourself this; would he die for you?”

As I stared down at my ring and it flickered in the sunlight, I knew what the answers were. I looked up in time to see a cab picking up Vanessa. I took a deep breath as we followed her in the cab to Trader Joe’s.

I watched from a distance to see Vanessa walk into Trader Joe’s, a thought came to me. I then looked over at Brooklyn and nodded that I knew what we needed to do.

Vanessa had the driver drop her off at Jax’s house. She let herself in with the same spare key I had used. I wanted to rip every blond hair out of her head at that moment. I seriously had to get my jealousy under control. I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths and tried to remember that she did not have a clue about what her brother had done, or how that drug her into this.

We watched from outside the house as she put groceries away. I seriously felt like a stalker and was behaving like one as I watched her through the front window. I guess Andrew didn’t tell her about me and Jax, or maybe she didn’t care. Either way I was going to have to confront her and she would find out if she didn’t already know.

“
Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Brooklyn asked, making sure I was ready.

“
Yes, just be near the back door so when I unlock it you can come in.”

“
Here take my scarf.” Brooklyn handed me her blue scarf to cover the bruises on my neck that were still purpling under the skin.

Then I got out of the cab and headed for the front door. I walked up the steps and took a deep breath as I got close to the door. The last time I was here, Jax told me “goodbye” and it had cut me in a way I could never imagine. I wasn’t going to ever feel that way again.

I rang the doorbell and waited. A few minutes passed by and I rang the doorbell again. Vanessa finally opened the door and stood before me in a black crop top sweater, a pair of skinny jeans with cut-outs everywhere and a pair of knee high biker boots.

I stared at her green eyes that looked nothing like Andrews. I could not seem to find any family resemblance between the two. Maybe they were step-siblings because she was taller, leaner, and nothing matched up. To be honest if I didn’t have to hate her I would probably admit that she really was gorgeous.

“
Yes, can I help you?” Vanessa asked, as if she didn’t know who I was.

“
I’m Candice, I was here the other day to see Jax.” I responded.

“
Oh, yes I remember. What can I do for you?” Vanessa asked.

“
I think I left my phone in the guest room when I was getting my luggage from Jax the other night. Can you see if it is up there?”

It was not the most creative lie I could have come up with, but it worked in the ten seconds it took me to create it.

“
Sure. It is really cold out there, do you want to come inside while I go look?” Vanessa asked sweetly and opened the door for me to enter. She was being so polite I almost felt guilty about what was going to happen here. I almost felt bad that she was related to the lunatic that left me covering my neck with a scarf.

“
Yes, thank you,” I replied and walked inside.

When Vanessa headed up the stairs, I ran to the back door and unlocked it. Brooklyn came in and immediately went into the pantry, I pointed out to her, in the kitchen to be a witness or my shooter, considering her holster was popped and she was ready.

“
I am winging this, so just go with it.” I whispered to Brooklyn, as we cracked the door. Then I ran for the couch and sat down, waiting for Vanessa to return from the upstairs.