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“I grew up in the state of Florida foster care system. I was never adopted. So I don’t have any family.”
Silence filled the air for a moment. “I’m sorry—I didn’t know,” he said.
“No need to apologize. I’ve been on my own basically forever, so I’m quite used to it.”
“I feel bad for asking you.”
“Please don’t. I’d like to hear about your family,” she said.
“It’s not exactly an uplifting story, either, although it seems like nothing compared to what you went through. My dad split when I was a baby. I don’t even remember him. It was just me and my mom growing up. She had a tough time, and our relationship is rocky to say the least. We don’t talk very much. It’s a difficult situation.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I guess we all have our baggage.” And hers just happened to weigh a hefty amount. She was relieved when he let them ride in silence. Thankfully, they weren’t far from her apartment.
Jessica was jerked out of her thoughts as Zach floored it. “What in the world are you doing?” she asked. Was he trying to be some kind of hotshot all of a sudden? That wouldn’t make any sense especially given how cautious his approach had been so far.
“I think we’ve got a tail.” He gripped the wheel tightly.
“Are you serious?” She craned her neck and took a look out the back window. It was still light out, and she could see a dark Escalade approaching them quickly from behind. This was not good.
“Hang on tight.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to try to lose them.”
She grabbed the sides of her seat and said a prayer asking for protection. Zach accelerated again, and she turned to look back. The Escalade was gaining on them and getting much too close.
She watched nervously as the SUV closed the gap between the two vehicles. “Can you go any faster?” she asked.
“I’m doing the best I can.” Zach jerked the wheel to one side, causing her body to slam against the door.
But his evasive maneuver only gave them a moment of respite. With the vehicle not far behind them, she knew there was no way out of this. The only thing she could do was keep praying. Because she realized that the person driving that Escalade wasn’t just playing games. No, he was out for blood.
When the first impact occurred, she continued to brace herself. But the second time, the Escalade pounded into the back of the car just as a truck approaching them from the side came barreling toward them.
Jessica heard herself scream as she readied for a direct hit. Screeching tires and the sound of crashing metal filled her ears, and her body shook in pain. And then there was nothing.
THREE (#ulink_46e6583b-0938-5e4a-8296-09b3b0b5631f)
Jessica woke with a major headache and slowly realized that she was not at home in her own bed but in a hospital. An IV was hooked into her left hand. It all came rushing back to her. The car accident—which was probably no accident at all, but another attempt by the Hernandez family to intimidate her. Unless...they were through with threats and the car crash had been meant to get rid of her.
She was alone in the hospital room, and her heart immediately sank as she started to worry about Zach. Was he okay? There was no one around for her to ask. Her heartbeat started to race, and with it the beeping monitor she was attached to.
A petite gray-haired nurse walked quickly into the room. By her side was a uniformed police officer. “You’re awake,” the nurse stated with enthusiasm.
“Yes, I just woke up. Where is Zach?” Jessica couldn’t bring herself to ask the dreaded question as to whether he was alive. What if he had died trying to protect her?
“He just went down to the cafeteria to get some coffee. He’ll be back any minute.” The nurse motioned toward the officer. “And this is your security detail that has been assigned to you during your stay. But don’t worry. You’ll be very safe here.”
Jessica let out a huge breath. She wasn’t that worried about herself right now. She was just thankful that Zach was alive. “So Zach’s fine?”
“A few bumps and bruises, but you got the worst of it. How are you feeling this morning?”
Morning. She must’ve been out all night. “My head hurts.”
The nurse walked over to her. “I saw a picture of the SUV you were in. Honey, the fact that you weren’t more seriously injured is absolutely amazing. The doctors couldn’t believe it.”
Jessica took a moment and closed her eyes and thanked God for watching over the both of them last night. From the nurse’s words and the serious look on her face, Jessica understood that it could’ve been so much worse. “My head?”
“A concussion. Plus lots of bruising all over your body, and I’m sure you’re sore. But CT scan and an MRI confirmed no internal bleeding and nothing is broken. We’re giving you fluids to keep you hydrated and antibiotics to ward off infections from some of the cuts you suffered from the car metal.”
Jessica nodded slightly, realizing it hurt to move to her head.
Zach walked into the room holding coffee, sporting a bandage over his left eyebrow. His eyes widened when he saw her. He approached the side of the hospital bed. “I am so glad you’re awake.”
“Me, too.”
“Okay, you can talk for a few minutes, Agent Taylor,” the nurse said. “Then she’ll need to rest a bit.” The nurse walked out of the room with the officer, leaving her and Zach alone.
He pulled the chair up right beside her and took a seat. Her breath caught and she winced slightly as he reached out and grabbed her hand. She wasn’t expecting the contact.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he let go.
“No, it’s not you. I appreciate you being here.” What was she supposed to say? That she didn’t like anyone touching her because she was skittish from her violent past? Growing up in the foster care system, she’d lived through physical abuse. The foster parents that were supposed to protect her had ended up causing her the most harm—both physically and emotionally. And now she was understandably on edge.
“I thought you weren’t going to make it, Jessica. I prayed that God would intervene. It was a direct one-two punch between the Escalade behind us and the other truck that slammed into your side of the car.” His eyes showed his deep concern, and he leaned closer toward her. “I didn’t want to fail you.”
“And you didn’t. You did what you could.”
“The FBI is working on a safe house. It’s too dangerous to stay at your place. Not after this. I was wrong, and I underestimated the threat against you. A true rookie mistake. But I won’t let it happen again. I can promise you that.”
“Please, don’t beat yourself up over this.” She took a breath. “But I do need some help. My cat, Tiger, will need to be fed. When do you think they’ll let me out of here? And I want to take him with me if we go to a safe house. I don’t want to leave him there alone.”
Zach nodded. “We’ll have to figure out those logistics. But there’s actually a Miami PD officer at your apartment standing guard just in case the Hernandez family sent someone else. And as far as moving forward with the safe house, wouldn’t the cat be happier in his own surroundings?”
Her head pounded, and it all became just too much. “I’ll think about it later. In the meantime, can you just please have the officer feed him and put out fresh water?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Thank you.” She could no longer keep her eyes open and fell back asleep.
* * *
That afternoon, after being issued a brand-new vehicle, Zach drove Jessica back to her apartment. Once she’d been alert enough, they’d picked up right where their conversation had ended. She’d been insistent about getting Tiger and packing up some things before going to the safe house.
He was still in awe of the fact that Jessica walked away with only a concussion, scrapes and bruises. The Lord had really been looking out for her.
Zach’s mom had never gone to church, so he hadn’t, either. It wasn’t until he went away to college and had started attending the chapel on campus that he found out what faith in God really meant. It had changed his life forever—and for the better.
When Jessica had spoken about her faith, it seemed so natural to her. For Zach, it hadn’t been a natural process but something he had grown into. It had taken him all four years of college to really find out what it meant to be a man of God. It was refreshing to see someone who had been through so much have such a resilient belief in God. When Zach had been young, he had always associated religion with wishful thinking. People wanting some supernatural force to solve all their problems. He now understood what it was to have the comfort of knowing that God was going to be with him no matter what. When he looked at Jessica, he saw something special and different in her. It made him want to know more about her.
“This is me,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. “I’m on the second floor.”
He pulled up into the parking space in front of her place. “Wait for me before you get out,” he said.
She didn’t argue and sat quietly as he exited the car and walked around to the passenger side. He was beginning to think that the attack last night had served as a wake-up call that she was really in danger.
He opened her car door and took her gently by the arm, guiding her out. She insisted she was fine to walk on her own, but he was going to be guarding her much more closely.
“Are you going to be okay to walk up the steps?” he asked.
“Yes, I can handle them. I promise you.” She gave him a weak smile.
He’d called ahead to speak with Officer Lewis and make sure he was expecting them. Even though it was Jessica’s apartment, he knocked on the door to be extra cautious.
Uniformed police officer Sampson Lewis answered the door. The short and stocky African American officer smiled. “Glad you two made it.” Sampson looked at Jessica. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. I’m Officer Lewis.”
“Thank you, Officer Lewis. I appreciate you keeping an eye on things here at the apartment and watching Tiger.”
Officer Lewis grinned widely. “That cat was very skeptical of me at first. But once I started feeding him, I became his new best friend. Curled right up next to me on the couch.” He looked at Zach. “It’s all been quiet here, Agent Taylor. Not a peep of any kind.”
“That’s good.” The last thing they needed was more action.
Jessica walked over and picked up Tiger. “I’m going to go start packing up a few things. It won’t take me long.”
After she walked to her bedroom, Zach looked at Officer Lewis. “Thanks for taking this on.”
“No problem. She looked pretty banged up.”
“Yeah, the crash was no joke. She’s got cuts and bruising all on her face, neck and arms.”
“You think it’s tied to the Hernandez family?”
“Yes, unfortunately so.”
“Just keep your eyes open, man. I’ve heard some scary stories about what that family is capable of. I have to ask you. Do you think Ms. Hughes even realizes what kind of target is on her back?”
“If she didn’t before last night, I think she does now.”
True to her word, Jessica walked back out of her room just a few minutes later.
“Ms. Hughes,” Office Lewis said. “We just lost our cat of seventeen years a couple of months ago. My daughter is off at college, and my wife and I would be more than happy to pet-sit for you while you get through this ordeal. Tiger would be more than welcome at our place.”
Zach watched her hesitate and protectively tighten her grip on Tiger, pulling him close to her body.
“I know you want to be with him,” Zach said. “But it will actually be safer for him if he stays with Officer Lewis and his wife.”
Jessica continued to hold on to Tiger. Zach was surprised when her eyes started to mist over. She’d been through a lot so far, but he hadn’t seen her get emotional. It was clear that her pet was special to her.
“I can’t just give him away,” she said.
Officer Lewis walked closer to her. “Absolutely not. As soon as you’re in the clear, Tiger will be ready for you. I wouldn’t think of taking him from you. This is just temporary.”
She nodded. “Thank you for being so kind. And my hesitation isn’t because of you. I just don’t want him to think that I’m abandoning him.”
It hit Zach at that moment that Jessica probably felt such a strong connection to Tiger because he was the only family she had. Given her childhood, she probably had totally understandable issues with abandonment. “Jessica, if it’ll make you feel better, we’ll work something out and take him with us to the safe house.”
She shook her head. “No, Officer Lewis is right. I need to think about what is best for Tiger. Not my own feelings.”
“All right,” Zach said. “But if you change your mind, you can just let me know.”
She turned her attention back to the officer. “I need you to promise me something, though, and it’s a big promise.”
“Sure,” he said.
“If something happens to me, you’ll help find him a new home. A good home. You won’t take him to the shelter.”
Officer Lewis’s dark eyes widened. “First off, nothing is going to happen to you. But secondly, you have my word that I’ll personally take care of Tiger. Don’t think another thought about it.”
“Thank you.” She held the cat for another minute and then looked back at Zach.
“All right,” she said quietly. “I guess we should go.”
“Don’t you worry, Ms. Hughes. We’ll take great care of Tiger. And we’ll keep you updated.” He looked at Zach. “Any reason for me to continue standing watch here?”
“No,” Zach said. “Just wait for us to leave, give it a few and you and Tiger can get out of here.”
Jessica didn’t speak until they had been on the road a few minutes.
“How exactly am I supposed to work on the case? Are you expecting me to prepare for trial out of the safe house?”
“I’m afraid it’s gotten a bit complicated where that is concerned.”
“How so?”
“You should talk to your boss. But I think it’s a possibility that there may be some sort of postponement.”
“No! Absolutely not. That’s exactly what they want to happen. We can’t give in to them.”
“The trial and all surrounding it isn’t the FBI’s call. It’s your boss’s decision.”
“This was just a setback. It’s not reason enough to call it quits. I can do this, Zach. I’m fully cooperating with you and whatever you want as far as security goes, but I need to try this case.”
“I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m taking a circuitous route to the safe house to ensure we aren’t being followed.” He paused. “And, Jessica, I’m sorry about Tiger. I didn’t think the whole thing through.” He’d touched a nerve and needed to smooth this over.
