Splintered Oak (Winsor Series Book 3) (30 page)

I turned to see Issy’s reaction. She was shaking her head and tears were spilling over. “That poor girl,” she whispered.

Her tears seemed to visibly hurt Grant as he wrapped a supporting arm around her.

Agent Phillips shuffled papers in his files and then continued. “I was able to get Cassandra’s file, including her DNA, thanks to her parents who had provided hair samples to the local police years ago. Anyway, we did a cross search in our system and found a match. Jane Doe 286, found dead outside of Southampton, Virginia. Cause of death, drug overdose.”

Agent Phillips looked up at Grant and Issy. “The same drug they found in your system at the hospital, Issy.”

The air seemed to leave the room as we all stared at him in silence. Robbie had killed her, just as he had every intention of doing to Issy. I could feel the rage starting to churn in my stomach. He had gotten away with it and truly thought he would again.

“So what now?” Grant finally asked, his jaw tight with tension.

Phillips smiled at him. “Now we have the good news. Since this crosses state lines, I can take the case, which, as you can see, I already have. That means Issy’s case comes to me as well, and out of the hands of the sticky detective at the local PD. When Jane Doe’s body was found, they did a full autopsy and found she had also been sexually assaulted. Because of that, forensics took the evidence and we have DNA of whoever she was with the night she died. So far, there has been no system match, but with probable cause, we can certainly get a sample now from Robbie and I have hunch it will match.”

I turned to look at Issy as the thought crept in my mind. “Did he…” I couldn’t get the words out. It was like they were daggers stuck in my throat.

“No,” Issy assured me, shaking her head. “Naomi got there before he could.”

I sat back in my chair and put my head in my hands. This was all so real, so much to take in, hearing it out loud in some case file with Issy right there. Seeing her tears, imagining the fear of that night, it was all too much.

Naomi leaned in to comfort me. “Don’t think about the what if’s, okay? Look at what God is doing now. Don’t let Satan pull you back into that pit.”

I nodded, but tears blurred my vision. The guilt had subsided, but it would always be there, lurking just below the surface to remind me how I failed her.

Agent Phillips cleared his throat. “Since I don’t trust anything I got from ‘sticky detective,’ I’d like Issy and Naomi to do another statement, recorded this time, on exactly what happened the night Robbie attacked her.” He looked between Issy and Naomi. “Can you handle doing that?”

Both girls agreed eagerly and stood to leave. I wiped my tears and prepared to follow them when Phillips stopped both me and Grant at the door. “Listen, I know it’s hard, but we’ve found that the victims tend to be more specific when they don’t have to worry about how the words will affect their significant other. It would be better for everyone if you both just wait here until they’re done.”

Grant looked over at Issy. “He’s right,” she assured him with a smile. “It will be better if you stay here. Don’t worry, I have Naomi, and she’s tougher than nails.” The girls hugged and then followed Agent Phillips away from us. 

Without them in the room, the air felt charged, uncomfortable. This was the closest Grant and I had been since the hospital where he made it very clear what he thought of me.

Unsure of what to say, but knowing something needed to be said, I found the words. “I know sorry isn’t enough, and I truly understand if you never forgive me. But I hope you know I would never intentionally let Issy get hurt. I just couldn’t see past my own despair.”

Grant let out long sigh and put his hands on his head. “She still has nightmares. Not every night like before, but still they’re there. The night she saw you was the first time she slept soundly in weeks.” He turned to look at me. “I haven’t forgiven you, Jake. I know I should, but every time I look at her, I see that night all over again.”

“I understand.”

“But I also know Issy loves you and she needs you, so I’m going to somehow have to find a way to be in a room with you without wanting to hit you.” Grant sat back down and rubbed his temples. “Maybe when this is all over and I can hear her laugh again, genuinely laugh, I’ll feel differently.”

I sat back down too, feeling as helpless as he did while we waited. “You’re a good man, Grant, and I’m glad Issy has you. If one day we can put this behind us, I want you to know I fully support the two of you. It may be a highly dysfunctional one, but when you married Issy, you became part of our family.” It amazed me that not only did I get the words out without choking, but I genuinely felt them. Grant had become family.

He sat back and closed his eyes. The conversation was over, and I said all I could. Now it was up to God to mend whatever was left. I trusted Him to do that, just as I trusted Him to finally bring Robbie to justice.

38.
JUSTICE

NAOMI

The waiting game wa
s terrible. Every day we kept Fox News on the TV in hopes that we would see some kind of headline on Robbie.

Agent Phillips had assured us it wouldn’t be long before he got a warrant, but we
were now going on four days without a word. Worse, Jake was nervous and tense, and becoming overly protective.

He worried I was
in danger because I gave my deposition to the FBI. He even went so far as to ask my parents if I could stay in the guest room again just until an arrest is made. Even more surprising, my parents agreed, which meant I’ve been on house arrest for days and was going insane.

“Can we please go somewhere?” I begged, pushing at Jake’s shoulders as he browsed the Internet for something.

“No.”

“Come on, Jake. What is he going to do in broad daylight?”

Jake shut his laptop and looked at me like a stubborn little kid. “Naomi, he’s a murderer. He managed to attack Issy in a building with twenty-four hour security. I won’t take any chances with you, I’m sorry.”

I huffed and folded my arms. “Can we at least go to your gym? We’ll be surrounded by macho fighting males just waiting to defend us.”

“No, but for completely different reasons.” Jake smirked at me which just made me more agitated.

“Fine, but I’m done watching the news. If I’m trapped here, I’m watching the sappiest chick flick I own and you are watching it with me.”

I jumped up and turned the TV so we could watch a movie. Selecting
The Notebook
from my digital library, I snuggled in close to Jake and forced him to close his laptop. “This one is guaranteed to make you cry.”

Jake just laughed and pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. I felt my heart swell as it often
did when I was next to him, and pulled him down for a real kiss. Just when I was getting started, he pulled back and ran his finger along the side of my face.

“Beautiful,” he whispered before grazing my lips one more time, and then shifted me to end the kissing.

I understood that he could only go so far before desire becomes physically uncomfortable for him, so I settled for the snuggling, appreciating his respect.

The movie was just getting to my favorite scene when Issy’s name flashed across my phone. Grabbing it quickly, I answered.

“Are you watching the news?” she asked breathlessly. I could hear the elation in her voice.

“Turn on the news,” I told Jake and he rushed to switch everything back to cable.

In front of us in full color was the image of Robbie in handcuffs being led away from his New York office. My heart pounded and I grabbed Jake’s hand.

Robbie’s lawyer came on the screen next, assuring the reporters that this is a mistake and his client is innocent of all charges. Within seconds, the screen switched to side by side photographs of Cassandra Wakefield and Issy as the reporter announced the charges of first-degree murder, sexual assault, human trafficking, and assault with an attempt to kill.

“My father also gave a deposition,” Issy told me, reminding me she was still on the phone. “He agreed to cooperate any way he needed to if it means I am safe.”

“Wow, that is unexpected.
How do you feel about it?” I knew the history with Issy and her father. It was full of hurt and betrayal.

“I don’t know. I’m just taking it one day at a time and praying for the faith to forgive him.”

“That’s all you can do,” I assured her, silently hoping they would find resolution in their relationship.

“May I talk to Jake?”

I handed the phone off to him and saw the tears in his eyes. I could only hear one side of the conversation, but it was pretty easy to ascertain what was being said.

“You’re welcome. I love you too,” he whispered as a tear fell. “Yes, I’ll talk to him.” There was another pause and Jake squeezed my hand. “Yes, I meant it. Okay, you’re on, but don’t think I’m going to go easy on you just cause your family now.” Then he laughed, truly laughed, and hung up the phone.

Turning to me, his face full of both joy and turmoil, he smiled. “She’s coming home.”

Those were his last words before completely breaking down. Head in his hands, he cried tears of joy and relief. I heard him praying quietly, thanking God for answering his prayer. My tears came too as I hugged him and prayed alongside him.

Alex’s words filled my head as I prayed with Jake.
Find a man who will pray with you.

Who would have thought that man would be Jake? But as I sat there, holding him, sharing his joy and his fears with him, I knew without question that he is the man I had been waiting for.

39. IT IS FINISHED

JAKE

“Tell me again why we are doing this,” Naomi demanded as we got out of the car. She looked towards the building and the zip lines in the distance and shivered.

Chuckling, I pulled her in for a hug. “We are celebrating freedom, new beginnings, and the fact that Robbie’s bail was denied.”

I heard Grant’s car pull in beside us and watched as Issy and Grant exited. Issy was grinning from ear to ear as she shut the door.

“I’m so ready for this!” she yelled, clapping her hands and jumping a little. She had gotten the brace off earlier in the week, and looked as if she’d never been touched. The emotional scars would take a little longer to heal, but Robbie being behind bars is helping. 

Grant looked between her and me and just shook his head, grinning affectionately as he slammed the door.

Things between the two us were better. Not completely relaxed, but we were making progress every day. I had yet to get him to come into the wrestling ring with me, but I knew I’d eventually break him down.

Now that I
could see him as more than my enemy, I found myself not only liking him, but genuinely respecting him.

I let go of Naomi and folded
Issy into a tight embrace. She’d been home two weeks, but I was still getting used to seeing her every day. She looked radiant and relaxed. She even told me that she hadn’t had a nightmare in a week.

Grant stepped up and shook my hand. “Can’t say I’ve ever done this before, but Issy promised me it will be an experience.”

“That it will,” I agreed with a smirk, knowing that first jump was all it took to get someone hooked.

We all turned to head toward the building when I heard gravel crunching behind us, way too close for comfort. I turned just in time to see Robbie and his two bodyguards exiting his black sedan.

Grant and I instinctively pushed the girls behind us as we faced the man who had tormented all of us.

“You didn’t really think this was finished, did you?” Robbie’s gaze skimmed over the four of us as he made a “tsk” sound. “Why don’t you just make this easier on everyone and give me what I want?”

“But how?” Issy whispered, fear ever present in her wide eyes.

Robbie turned his cold eyes to Issy who was completely blocked by Grant’s large body. “Why Isadora, the same way I tracked you down, followed you, and got behind your ridiculous security. I don’t lose. Surely you know this by now.”

The vicious rage came quicker than I was prepared for, and I had to mentally force myself to focus and stay calm. I watched as Robbie’s goon reached in his jacket and pulled on a metal handle. Losing control wasn’t going to help anyone.

“He has a gun,” Grant hissed, tensing up beside me while keeping Issy pressed against his back. I wanted to check on her, but didn’t dare take my eyes off of the approaching figures.

“I see that,” I whispered back. I went through the steps mentally, picturing each stage of the fight. “If we can distract him, I can disarm him.”

My body was shaking, but I willed my mind to remain r
eady. It didn’t matter that he was bigger and had a weapon. If I was smarter and exploited his weakness, I could take him down, or die trying.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

The man with the gun stopped a foot away from us and nodded towards Issy. With a hand I was trying to steady, I wrote 9-1-1 with my finger on Naomi’s palm and pointed to the building sitting only twenty feet away. “Go.”

She took off immediately as I watched the guy’s eyes intently. The minute he looked toward her, I jumped him. Heart pounding with fear and adrenaline, I used the take down technique Matt taught me in the ring to bring him down hard on his knees. Within seconds, the gun dropped from his hand as I used all my strength to squeeze the artery in his neck.

Grant and the other bodyguard lunged for the gun. Feeling the momentum shift, I snapped back to the man struggling beneath me. I couldn’t lose focus. Twisting my body one more time, I felt him go limp under me and knew he’d be passed out for a few minutes at least.

Glancing towards Grant, I saw he had the upper hand and my eyes immediately darted for Issy. Robbie had her by the throat and was pulling her toward the car. As if seared by a branding iron, my eyes could only see red as I ran toward them and made the first contact, hard knuckles on flesh. He fell to the ground, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy.

Straddling him, I beat him again and again, the picture of Issy’s broken body the only image in my mind. When he quit struggling, I pulled back one more time, knowing I could kill him and wanted to, was absolutely ready to.

Vengeance is mine.

The voice was as audible in my head as if He was standing right next to me, and I felt my arm slowly drop to my side. My vision cleared and I could see Robbie beneath me, curled in the fetal position. His face was a bloody mess, but he was alive.

Looking behind me, I stood, the aches and cuts in my knuckles finally making themselves known. Grant was pointing the gun at both bodyguards, who were now lying face down on the parking lot. He had taken a few hits, but didn’t seem too bad off, with only a slight cut on his upper lip.

“You want to get in a few before the cops get here?” I asked Grant as I stepped away from Robbie who was now writhing in pain.

Grant just shook his head and absently swiped the blood from his face. His eyes fired like torches, but he remained steady. “If I start, I won’t stop until he’s dead.”

I heard the sirens in the distance and leaned down to whisper in Robbie’s ear. “Now it’s finished.”

I stood and watched as two police cars swung into the parking lot. They jumped out with guns raised. Grant put his down and we backed away, letting the cops take over. 

As the adrenaline began to subside, the heat seemed to drain with it. I could feel my body trembling and my breath taking sharp short breaths. Issy was hugging Grant and crying. I looked around for Naomi just in time to see her jump into my arms. She was also shaking as she checked me over.

“Are you hurt?” she cried, noticing the blood covering my shirt.

“No baby, I’m okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

She let out a deep sigh of relief and fell into my arms. We held each other and watched as Robbie was taken away in handcuffs for what I knew would be the last time. The nightmare was over, finally. He would never hurt any of us again.

I looked toward Grant. “I guess I should have gotten some training after all,” he admitted, still breathing heavily as he held Issy. Eye to eye, I saw his fear. “You saved her, Jake.”

That was the moment it hit me. The Lord had been preparing me all this time. Little details I had missed, taken for granted, had all been done to get me to this exact point.

The magnitude of His sovereignty hit me. Even while I resisted, and long before I surrendered, God was working in my life—guiding me, protecting me, and training me.

I was His, the Father who never gave up on me or abandoned me. The One who had been walking with me all along, just waiting for me to reach out and grab ahold of Him. Well, I was holding on now, and I knew I would never let Him go.