Jack didn’t have answers to those questions. The ones he supplied via his imagination filled him with internal disgust. How could he leave her after she was shot? She was never going to forgive him. He didn’t blame her.
Instead of approaching, instead of offering a lame excuse that would only hurt both of them, Jack settled on the ground and rested his head against the roughened bark of a nearby tree and watched her. He spent hours like that. He never uttered one word … and she never turned around.
“WAKE up,” Brian ordered the next morning, tossing a glass of water on Jack’s face and causing him to bolt upright.
“What the hell?” Jack sputtered.
“You were snoring loud enough to wake the dead,” Brian said, moving away from Jack’s bed. “What are you even doing here?”
“I … what … I live here! What are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for you because you were supposed to be at work an hour ago,” Brian answered, his tone hostile. “Now, I wasn’t initially worried because I figured you were at Ivy’s house and you didn’t want to wake her. Imagine my surprise when I found out that wasn’t the case.”
Jack stilled. “You didn’t go over there, did you?”
“I did,” Brian replied, irked. “I knocked on her door and found an incredibly angry Max on the other side. Don’t worry, Ivy didn’t wake up. They gave her powerful painkillers that knocked her out once she finally relented and let Max shove them down her throat.”
“That’s good,” Jack murmured, rubbing his forehead. He had a killer hangover. “What did the doctor say?”
“The doctor said you’re an ass.”
Jack rolled his eyes and tossed the covers off of him as he shifted his legs to the side of the bed. His stomach felt queasy. “What did the doctor really say?”
“She’s fine, Jack,” Brian snapped. “She’s going to have a rough day today, but then she should pretty much be back to normal. That is if she’s done crying by then.”
Jack rolled his neck, cracking it. “Why was she crying?”
“Why do you think?”
“I have no idea,” Jack lied. “What did Max say?”
“What did Max say?” Brian was beside himself as he strode around Jack’s bed and lifted his partner’s cell phone. He wordlessly powered it up, his finger gliding over the screen until he found what he wanted. He put Max’s voicemail on speaker so they both could hear it.
“Jack, I don’t know what’s going on, but Ivy is really upset,” Max said, his voice calm. “She said you left her. I told her she was overreacting and that you were probably just out getting some air, but she’s kind of … hurt. Call me when you get this.”
Jack’s heart sank. “I … .”
“We’re not done,” Brian said, waiting as another message kicked in.
“Okay, Jack, I’m not going to lie. I’m worried.” Max’s voice was cold this time. “It’s been an hour. They’re going to release Ivy in another hour. Why aren’t you here? She says you’re gone and you’re not coming back. I … don’t you even think about doing this to her. This was exactly what she was afraid of. I … call me.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Jack said softly.
“Oh, there’s another one,” Brian said, his smile grim as Max’s voice filled the air for a third time.
“I’m going to kill you,” Max seethed. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You abandoned her after she was shot. You’re a … piece of crap. Don’t you ever come near her again. It’s two in the morning and she’s refusing to take the painkillers because she doesn’t want to see you in her dreams. She’s afraid to sleep. She’s in pain! I hate you. Don’t you ever even think about looking at my sister again. I’m not joking. I will kill you.”
Jack was gutted. Max would only say those things if he was at his wit’s end. For that to happen, Ivy would have to be wrecked. “I … .”
“Don’t bother making excuses,” Brian warned. “I’m on Max’s side on this one – which is why I’m deleting these messages so you can’t have him arrested for threatening a police officer.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” Jack said, forcing himself to his feet. “I … I needed some time to myself. I needed to think.”
“No, you needed to drink and wallow in your misery,” Brian corrected. “Do you know what I find interesting?”
“I don’t really want to hear this.”
Brian ignored him. “You were shot in the chest and left for dead,” he said. “You then turned around and watched your girlfriend get shot and instead of giving her a shoulder to lean on, you abandoned her and made things worse. That’s a pretty obnoxious personality defect you’ve got going on there.”
“Is there something else you wanted to tell me?” Jack asked, shuffling toward the bathroom. “Do you have actual news or do you want to yell at me some more? If you’re going to yell, you could at least make coffee while I’m in the shower.”
Brian studied his partner for a moment. They’d only known each other for a short amount of time, but he could see the man crumbling in front of his eyes. Despite knowing Jack’s tortured past, Brian was having trouble mustering any sympathy for a man who would do what Jack did.
He tossed the file he was carrying on Jack’s bed. “Make your own coffee.”
“What is that?” Jack asked, his eyes zeroing in on the file. “Is that the ballistics report?”
“It is,” Brian replied.
“What does it say?”
“The gun used to shoot Ivy came up with two matches in the system,” Brian replied coolly. “The first was a recent entry. Those results came in yesterday.”
“It was Mark Dalton, wasn’t it?” Jack was dumbfounded. “Whoever shot Mark drove over here to shoot Ivy. Why?”
“I can’t be sure that Ivy was the target,”
