Splintered Oak (Winsor Series Book 3) (18 page)

21
. BELIEVE IN ME

JAKE

Still restless from the night before, I woke in an equally foul mood. Naomi’s words were moving inside my head and taking a good portion of my energy to block out.

Why was it that every Christian thought they had this miraculous answer to all the world’s pain? I’d known a fair share of Christians and they were often no different than anyone else, even with their so-called “faith.”

Most of them frequented the same bar I did, and despite their insistence that they never did that kind of thing, they still occasionally fell into my bed. Pressing my palms to my head, I again pushed away the nagging thought.

Naomi is different
.

Cursing to myself, I threw off the covers, my back and arms screaming in agony. It took me a second to remember why as I was so sore and then thought of the room called Apocalypse. Knowing how much that small room had helped, I quickly changed into some workout clothes and slipped out of the apartment before anyone else stirred, eager to kill the pain that went well beyond my abused muscles.

Naomi had class today, making it easy to avoid her. Maybe I’d hit the Blue Spot tonight. It had been a while. At some point, my life had to start again. Issy was lost to me; it was time to accept that.

The Storm only had a few cars and one motorcyc
le in the parking lot, making the small gym appear pretty bare. Just knowing I would be hitting something soon made my adrenalin soar. Issy’s face kept slipping into my mind—the bruises, the pain, but most importantly, the look in her eye when she saw me. I punched the steering wheel and cursed again, the nausea from yesterday returning. Slamming my door shut, I jogged across the parking lot, needing the calming power of the bag.

The bell on the door let out a slight ding as I pushed it open. The workout machines were all
empty as was the boxing ring. A couple of guys were wrestling in the other ring, the smaller of the two seeming to have the upper hand. I watched in fascination as the little guy made two moves and had the other one pinned with no where to go.

Someone yelled instructions from the sidelines as the guys got back up and in their ready stance. Glancing my way, I recognized Matt immediately and secretly wished I had slipped to the back before he noticed me. Too late. He had already called a break and walked over to me.

“Jake? Didn’t expect to see you so soon. I thought you’d be dead to the world after that workout yesterday.” Chipper as ever, he approached me with a warm smile that seemed to grate on my nerves.

“Yeah well, I guess the demons are back,” I replied flatly, hoping to end the conversation. “Ok if I head on back?”

Matt shook his head apologetically. “Usually it would be open, but Bruce has been in there for an hour this morning.”

My head jerked his way, surprised to think of Bruce needing to pound on anything, let alone a bag in the middle of an empty room.

Matt shook his head sadly. “He had a kid in his office last night. Those tend to get to him the most. I’m guessing he didn’t get much sleep. Be glad your appointment’s not today, that’s all I’m going to say.”

Matt crossed his arms and looked back at the ring. The guys had started their dance around each other again, both waiting for the right time to make their move.

“So you ever wrestled before?” he asked turning my way with his steady smirk.

“Do you always talk this much, or am I special?” My irritation had reached new levels since the one hope I had for letting off steam was now unavailable.

Matt let out a hearty laugh. “Yeah, pretty much,” he admitted as he slapped me on the back. “Come on. It’s not The Apocalypse, but it’s still a great workout.”

For some reason, I followed him up to the ring where the little guy had pinned the stronger one once again. Noticing my surprise, Matt continued to talk.

“It’s not about size. It’s about the mind and heart. You have to be smarter than your opponent, anticipate his moves, and then want it worse than he does. You do that and it won’t matter how powerful they are, you’ll win.”

I rolled my eyes. “I suppose you’re now going to tell me you always win.” Matt probably did. He was a fierce looking guy, solid stature with evidence of many, many years in the gym. Standing equal to my 6’2” frame, it was doubtful he ever met someone he couldn’t take down.

Laughing again, Matt shook his head. “Most, but not this guy. I haven’t seen anyone take him down yet. The little guy is slippery.”

Little was relative. I could tell he was still at least 5’8’ or 9”, but Matt was right. No matter what his opponent did, he always got the upper hand and found a way to take him down. I had to admit, his quick movement fascinated me.

“Jake.” My name booming across the gym startled me as I turned to see Bruce. He was covered in sweat, and the thin tank top he wore exposed just how huge he really was. I’d only seen biceps that large on TV, and his came complete with a tattoo of a cross on his left arm. If I was intimidated before, I now felt completely vulnerable, especially since he said my name with a heavy undertone.

“I need to talk to you…outside.” His demanding tone took me off guard and seemed to puzzle even the outspoken Matt. I watched as Bruce pushed the front door open, and let out a breath. Forcing one foot in front of the other, I followed him until we were both standing outside in the orange glow of the oncoming sunrise.

“I got a call from a Detective Edwards yesterday. He wanted to know if you were agitated when you left my office. Asked a bunch of questions about your cousin. Said she got beat up pretty bad.”

A slow burn began to move through my body as I read through the lines of his questioning. “Are they trying to pin that crap on me?”

Bruce eyed me carefully. “Did you do it?”

I glared at him, my outrage reaching new levels, and I could feel myself trembling as I answered. “No. I would die for that girl.”

Bruce watched me again, his eyes glancing down at my clenched fists. “I believe you.” A simple statement, but for some reason his declaration made tears spring to my eyes. I turned away so Bruce wouldn’t see them.

“I don’t think they have anything concrete on you, Jake, and it’s going to be pretty hard to charge you without an eyewitness. But, you need to watch every move from here on out. No bars, no drinking, go nowhere that might provoke you. You need to avoid confrontations. Got it?”

His voice had turned from hard to almost fatherly, if I even knew what that would sound like. “Yeah, whatever,” I said shrugging my shoulders before turning back around, finally in control once again.

“I’ll have Matt schedule something for you tomorrow. We’ll talk more then.” He turned to leave but stopped when I yelled.

“What? I was just there yesterday. Once a week. That’s all that’s required of me,” I fumed. Who does he think he is?

Bruce grabbed the front of my shirt—a motion so fluid it paralyzed me. “You want to go to jail?
Because that is what they want. I believe in you…are you going to believe in me?” he demanded.

Believe in him? A man I
barely knew? No way. He pushed me away, his eyes still hard as he addressed me. “We’ll talk tomorrow. I’m in no mood for this today.”

This time I didn’t argue and watched as he disappeared back into the gym. Grateful my keys were still in my pocket, I took off back to my car and drove straight to the hospital. Avoid confrontations? Sure, after Grant and I had one more.

Heat coursed though me as I rode the elevator to her room, tapping my hand on my leg to try and do something with the violent thoughts that wouldn’t go away. Heading straight to her room, I tried to get my breathing under control. I let her down, in an unforgivable way; I knew that. But I would not let Grant pin this on me.

I pushed her door open, more alert this time as I didn’t feel like getting sucker punched again. The room was completely empty. Machines were gone, and the bed was freshly made with new sheets. I felt my heart move to my throat as the worse case scenario came to mind.

Forcing the thoughts out of my head, I made the long walk down the hallway in a daze. The sterile sounds of clicking and beeping all I allowed myself to focus on.

The nurse looked up at me when I approached her. “Issy Forester. Was she moved?”

“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t give out patient information.”

“I’m her cousin. I was here yesterday. I just need to know what room she was moved to.” My voice got more urgent as I recognized her as the one who had seen Grant and me wrestle on the ground just yesterday.

I watched as she carefully clicked the keys on her computer. “Mrs. Forester is no longer a patient here. I’m sorry. That’s all I can tell you.”

I grabbed my hair in frustration and tried to calm my beating heart. “Can you just tell me if she’s okay? Please?” I begged, gripping the counter.

The nurse seemed to take some pity on me as she softly placed her hand on mine. “I think she will be.”

I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding and almost collapsed. She was alive. That was all that mattered.

The nurse pulled out her drawer and took a small envelope out. I could see Naomi’s name printed on the front. “They asked me to give this to her friend if she came by. Will you see her today to tell her?”

“Yeah, she’s my roommate. I can give it to her for you.”

The nurse looked a little concerned and held the letter tighter. “I don’t know. They were pretty specific that only she could get it. Are you sure you won’t open it?”

Knowing I was completely lying, and recognizing the way she blushed when I made eye contact, I turned my eyes to her, allowing them to show all the sincerity I knew didn’t exist. “You have my word,” I promised calmly, giving her a slight smile.

She blushed some more and handed me the letter. “Okay then. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you more.”

I squeezed her hand and smiled. “You were wonderful. Thank you.”

Reddening more, she turned to answer her patient’s page. I took the opportunity and hurried to the elevators. The doors hadn’t even closed before I ripped open the paper.

I wondered if I looked as defeated as I felt when I unlocked the apartment. To my surprise Naomi sat on the couch in total silence with her eyes closed. I calmly shut the door and joined her.

“She’s gone. Disappeared this morning,” I said, letting out a discouraged breath.

Naomi turned her head slightly to look at me and then closed her eyes again. “I don’t
blame her. He’s going to get away with it.” Her voice sounded as defeated as mine did, and we just sat there in silence for what felt like hours, feeling completely lost in our new reality.

I pulled out the envelope, the one burning a hole in my back pocket since I’d read it, and handed her the crumpled paper. “They left this for you.”

Naomi took the letter and then raised her eyebrow at me. “You read it?”

“Of course I did,” I snapped, irrita
ted by the guilt I felt. “It had to do with Issy.”

She seemed unwilling to argue with me and just threw the letter on the coffee table. “Well, you may as well tell me what it said since you’ve already looked at it.”

I rolled my eyes at her subtle accusation. “It’s contact information for Grant’s friend at the FBI. They want you to call him if you suspect anything out of the ordinary or if Robbie contacts you at all. They’re worried about you. They think the local detective is dirty.”

I was glad, in part, that they considered the backlash this would have on her, but felt the shame again as I knew I was responsible. Naomi should have never have been brought into this mess.

She let out what sounded like a half chuckle and half snort. “Is he ever,” she agreed sarcastically. “I’d watch your back, Jake. There was no missing his implications when I talked to him this morning.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard all about it.” A chill ran through me. It was a weird feeling to be a target.

The silence echoed until Naomi finally let out a loud sigh. “What I wouldn’t do to just forget the last two days ever happened.” She pressed her fingers to her temples and winced as if in pain.

“Headache?” I forced
myself not to panic. My mom had headaches for years before we ever found out about the tumor. I often wondered if I’d taken her pain more seriously, if I’d just pushed her to go to the doctor, then maybe. I squelched the thought. It didn’t matter now.

“Yeah. Can’t seem to get rid of this one. I’ve taken a pharmacy of aspirin with no luck. Guess it’s tension. Goodness knows, I’ve had my fair share of it in the last 24 hours.”

My heartbeat sped up as I took her chin and looked into her eyes to search for any other telling signs of something more severe. They widened in response, surprised by my touch. “If the pain continues, promise me you’ll get checked out, okay? Headaches can be your body’s way of telling you something’s not right.”

She softly pushed my hand away. “You’re such a puzzle,” she mused. “I’ve never seen anyone go from hard to soft like that in a matter of seconds. How do you stand it?”

“I guess I’ve never thought about it. It’s just always been that way.”