Enemy From The Past (Unseen Enemy Book 4) (14 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Jim woke up in pitch darkness. Confused, he tried to lift his head and felt a far-too-familiar kink in his neck. He groaned.

Fuck. Why am I back on her sofa-bed? Did we have a fight last night or something, and I’m in time-out?

His head hurt, his whole body hurt. He lay still, trying to figure it all out, trying to remember how much he’d had to drink. It must have been an astonishing amount; this was by far the worst, most brutally-painful hangover he’d ever had. He felt floaty and dizzy, disconnected from his own limbs somehow, and he closed his eyes again, took a few deep breaths. He felt sick to his stomach, and he wondered if he was going to throw up.

But
did
I drink last night? Why can’t I remember?

Images were appearing behind his eyelids and he squeezed his eyes tighter, trying to retrieve them. Beth’s face bubbled up to the surface of his memory. Beth kissing him… telling him that she loved him. He smiled.

Did I say it back? I sure as hell hope so…

The memories were changing now, and he clenched his jaw in concentration. Beth kissing him and saying goodbye… her standing above him, telling him to get up… her saying she’d lure Ferguson away from Denver. His eyes popped open as it all came rushing back.

She drugged you and she walked out that door. Hours and hours ago. She’s gone; long gone.

Jim stared in to the darkness, his thoughts now painfully clear and vivid. No matter what she said, Beth didn’t really trust him to keep her safe – that was the long and short of it. The woman preferred to take her chances, alone and unprotected, before she’d trust her life to Jim. She knew, on some level, that he wasn’t good enough to stick around for. He wasn’t worth the risk – not worth
any
risk.

You’re not worth it, and she knows that.

In his mind, Jim ran over and over what he could have done differently, how he could have made her feel safer with him. Again and again, he remembered how hard he’d tried to show her that he
could
protect her, that he
would
protect her. And in the end, he knew that he’d done all he could, all that he was capable of. He’d given it his best fucking shot, and it
still
hadn’t been good enough for her. She hadn’t trusted him, she hadn’t believed in him. She’d run from him, even after it all.

“Goddammit, Beth,” he said aloud.

“Jim?”

He jumped and turned to where the voice came from. A small table lamp was switched on now, and he shut his eyes against the glare before forcing them open just a bit. The light sliced through his head and he gave a muffled curse. Right away, the lamp was set on the floor.

“Is that better?” Her green eyes were soft as she gazed at him.

“Beth?” His voice was gravelly and harsh.

She sat up. She’d been lying down next to him, pressed right up against the back of the unfolded sofa so as not to touch him. He turned over all the way and just stared at her, wondering if the whole thing had been a bad dream. But then he saw the guilt and worry on her face, and he knew that it had all happened.

“Are you OK?” she asked.

“You drugged me.”

“I – I know.” She swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

“You fucking
drugged
me.”

“I…”

She inched away from him but he grabbed her by the wrist. “No way, Beth. You stay right the fuck where I can reach you.”

She stopped moving and leaned back against the sofa cushions. She looked terrified but right at this moment, he couldn’t make a single effort to comfort her. He needed some answers.

“Now.” He sat up slowly, his head spinning, trying to organize his thoughts. “Why are you still here?”

“Because… I couldn’t go.”

“Why not?”

“I mean, I
did
go. I got as far as the street outside, then I just – I came back.”

Jim glared at her. “Why?”

She bit her lip.

“Beth.” She heard the warning in his voice. “Tell me. And I mean
right the fuck now
.”

“Because I got outside and I was heading for the train station, looking over my shoulder, totally panicked, and I realized that I’d been doing that exact same fucking thing for four years.
Four years
, Jim.” She shook her head. “Four years of being so scared and so lonely and not being able to sleep at night. And I stood there, about to flag down a taxi, and all I saw was four more years of the same. Then four more after that… then another four. You know? I saw my future. The
only
future I have if I keep running, and it’s exactly like my past.”

Jim stayed silent.

“Then I started to think about what you said… about being safer here with you and the guys than I’ve ever been before, and ever will be again. And I knew that you were right, that being out there alone was stupid. Almost suicidal, probably.”

“Yeah.”

“And
then
I realized that I had to make a choice. I had to choose a place to stay. To – to stand. You know what I mean? If I don’t want to run anymore, then I have to stand still, and that means choosing a place to do that.” Her eyes were full of tears now. “And I realized that I want that place to be next to you. I want – I want to stand with you. All of you.”

“You do?”

“I know it makes me selfish, that I want to see Liv and Dallas as a married couple, and that I want to meet Emma and Dean’s baby,” Beth said. “And it puts everyone in danger, and I’m so, so sorry for that… but maybe I can go in to hiding at Dallas’ safe house until he’s caught. I mean, just me. If Dallas' team throw out some pretty convincing red herrings that I’ve left Denver and then I’m out of sight, the rest of you should be fine, right?”

“So, wait.” Jim’s head was still fuzzy. “So you really want to stay? To be with me?”

“If you’ll have me,” she said. “If you can forgive me.”

“For drugging me?”

“For everything,” she said quietly. “For temporarily losing my faith in you guys, and for not talking to you, and for thinking that you’d be better off without me in your life.”

“I
wouldn’t
be better,” Jim said. “I’d miss you like hell.” He was quiet for a few seconds. “I’d be lost without you.”

“I saw that on your face, just before you passed out. You looked – wrecked. Devastated.” She hesitated. “I didn’t expect that.”

Finally, Jim reached out to her. Beth closed her eyes in relief, his touch gentle on her cheek.

“Why didn’t you expect it?” he asked. “Don’t you know I love you?”

Her eyes flew open. “N – no.”

“Well, now you do. I love you.”

She stared at him, the tears flowing. His face softened and he held out his arms to her.

“Come here, baby.”

At those amazingly familiar words, she moved in to his embrace, her head pressed against his chest. Jim stroked her hair and pulled her closer as she cried. He shut his eyes and just held on as she shook.

Minutes passed and Beth calmed, but he still didn’t let her go. He needed her right there, just for a little while longer; he needed to be damn sure she was in his arms and not on a night bus to anywhere-but-here. She sensed it in him, and didn’t make any attempt to move away.

Finally, he pulled back a bit. She looked shaken and afraid, and his chest tightened at how scared she still was. She’d made her choice, but she was now looking at the fall-out of having made it. Jim would be with her, and she’d be protected, but Beth was hiding, still. It’s not like she was totally safe. Not yet.

Maybe not for a while. Maybe not ever. How’s she supposed to build a whole real life while she’s hidden away from the world? What the fuck are we going to do?

Beth saw it in his face. “You regret it already?”

“What?” he said.

“Regret me staying?”

“Never, Beth. We’ll figure it all out, somehow. Me and the boys will make it all OK.”

“You really think you can?”

“I do. Honey, I really do.” He kissed her. “Trust me, OK?”

“I do.” She smiled at him, and his stomach flipped over at her beauty, her belief in him. “I promise you that’s why I’m still here.”

“Speaking of
here
.” Jim stretched and groaned. “Can we please get off this sofa-bed? It’s killing my neck.” He gave her an accusing look. “You
promised
me I’d never have to sleep here again, baby.”

She laughed. “You want to move to the bedroom?”

“Yeah.” Jim sat up, wincing at the all-over aches and pains. “What time is it, anyway? How long have I been out?”

“Uh.” She blushed. “You went down at just past one o’clock yesterday afternoon, and it’s almost four o’clock in the morning now.”

He blinked at her. “I was out cold for fifteen hours?”

“Ummm. Yeah.” Beth shifted. “I – I gave you kind of a large dose. You’re a big guy, and I had to be sure you couldn’t stop me, or follow me.”

Jim shook his head. “Goddamn, girl. Remind me to never piss you off.”

“So you think you can walk?” she said. “You OK?”

“Yeah.” He put his feet on the floor and she scrambled to stand beside him. “Let’s go get a few more hours sleep, alright? Then we’ll call Dallas and we’ll sort this whole fucking thing out. One way or the other.”

"I love you," she said softly.

"And I love you," Jim said. "You just never stop amazing me, Beth... not for one second."

**

The sun was high in the sky when Jim opened his eyes again. Beth was next to him, still sleeping, and he gazed at her, amazed, grateful, worried.

Carefully, he got out of bed, trying not to disturb her. He found his jean jacket in the living room and checked his cell. It was no shock at all to see that he’d missed eleven calls from Dallas. It
was
a surprise, however, to realize that Sully had also called him. Six times.

He glanced over at the bedroom, debating waking Beth up before returning any calls, then he decided to get the news first. He’d find out what was happening, if anything, and then he’d fill her in. Maybe they could make some decisions today. Together.

Jim called Dallas, barely breathing as he waited for the other man to pick up.

“Jim? Where the
fuck
have you been, Alden?”

Jim grinned. “Uh, well. That’s kind of a story. What’s up?”

“Ferguson is holed up on a farm in Utah.”

Jim stood totally still. “What?”

“Yeah. Sully and Mark went to Oregon yesterday and immediately, Sully figured out that some cop named Halloway was in on it in a big way.”

“How did he figure it out?”

“Dunno. Some Jedi mind trick that Cordelia taught him, apparently. Something about Halloway’s eyes and Sully said that he just
knew
that Halloway knew way more than he was letting on. Anyway, turns out that Ferguson had gone to this guy’s parents’ house in Salt Lake City and was holding them hostage in their own living room. Called Halloway, threatened to slit their throats unless he got some help with a place to hide out.” Dallas sighed. “Halloway told him about the family farm down-state and the parents took Ferguson there.”

“So, wait. You’re telling me that he’s trapped – with
hostages
?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Not the best plan, but I think he’s panicking.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah, but the thing is, he doesn’t know he’s trapped and surrounded.”

“I don’t follow you,” Jim said.

“Nobody’s made a move. Sully and Mark and the local cops are there, but they’re way back out of sight. Halloway’s been in contact with the dickhead and not said a word about anything. As far as Ferguson knows, he’s still safe.”

“So when are they going to bring down the hammer on him?”

“Soon. They’ll grab him when he leaves, hopefully alone. I can’t see him taking two seventy-something-year-olds on a state-wide escape, can you? They’d slow him down.”

“Any idea when he might be leaving? Any sign of movement?”

“No. But there are two ways for this to end, man. Either he surrenders and they haul his ass back to jail – or they shoot him dead. At this point, I have no real preference.”

I do, Dallas. God help me, but I want him dead. That’s the only way to be totally sure that Beth is safe.

“So we wait?”

“We wait.”

After hanging up with Dallas, Jim made a pot of coffee and thought it all through. He felt sick for the elderly couple, and he hoped with every fibre of his being that they came out of this with nothing more than a few bumps and bruises. He hated to think about how afraid they’d be after, though.

This asshole just terrorizes and hurts people everywhere he goes. The world would be better off without him.

His days were numbered, though, that much was absolutely true. Jim knew that Ferguson was as good as captured, as good as in jail, as good as dead. Any way this ended, he was done.

Jim looked out the window at the Rocky Mountains in the distance. He was so, so grateful that Beth had changed her mind and come back to him the day before… if she’d gone, then he might well have lost her forever.

She may have never heard about Ferguson being captured or killed – and if she had, she may have been too afraid or ashamed to return to Denver. She may not have wanted to face any of them, in their anger and hurt. She may not have believed that they’d have forgiven her… that they loved her.

He took a few deep breaths, looked up at the clear blue summer sky. Then he went in to the bedroom to wake up Beth and tell her what was going on. Jim couldn’t say for sure how this was all going to end – in handcuffs or in a body bag – but he
could
tell her that it was almost over. That she was safe.

At last
.

**

Dear Reader,

I very much hope that you enjoyed following the individual and group stories of the ‘Unseen Enemy’ series characters. These stories will continue in ‘
Solid Muscle’ (Unseen Enemy #5), which focuses on Cordelia and Hunter. It will be published in March, 2015.

If you want to know when it – or any of my upcoming books – is and are available for purchase, please check on my website at: marysoljames.com or at one of my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, and my blog).
Thank you for reading!