“Meh. I’ve been better.”
How could the woman joke at a time like this? Tears filled Chloe’s eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“Hey. None of that. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“But you got shot protecting me.”
“That’s the job. If you’d gotten shot, I would’ve failed in my duty.”
She reached for a cup of water on the tray table, and Chloe quickly grabbed it, guiding the straw to Jayla’s mouth. She took a sip and flinched slightly as she swallowed.
“Erik’s on his way to New Mexico,” Chloe told her. “Have you heard?”
Jayla nodded. “General Davies told me.”
Chloe nodded as well, suddenly at a loss for words. “Well, I just wanted to stop in and see you, but I should probably let you get some rest.”
“Knock, knock.”
Chloe turned to look to see who was at the door. He was a big guy, almost as tall and broad as Kong, with ash blond hair, a short beard slightly darker than his hair, light skin, and blue eyes. If his hair and beard were longer and braided, Chloe thought he’d makea perfect Viking. He was holding flowers, and if Chloe had thought Jayla’s face had brightened seeing her, she had nothing on this guy. Jayla’s face turned positively luminous as she breathed, “Nova.”
Jayla hadn’t mentioned having a boyfriend, but there was definitely something between these two. “Okay. I’m going to go.”
As she made her escape, she was almost positive that neither of them had even heard her.
From there, she went to the mess hall and grabbed some breakfast to go. When she got back to Erik’s apartment, she picked at her food, staring at her phone, waiting for a text or a call from him. Logically, she knew he was still in the air, that it could be hours before she heard from him. But logic had nothing to do with the way she was feeling. She was restless, agitated, and that sick feeling of worry lingered.
Giving up on eating, she called her parents. She had planned on calling them last night, but she’d been too absorbed in Erik’s artwork, and then too tired.
“Chloe? What’s wrong? What happened?” Her father’s sleep-gruff voice had her closing her eyes with a wince. She hadn’t even thought about the time difference. It was, what? Three A.M. there?
“I’m fine, Dad. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about the time.” What little she ate churned, and a lump suddenly formed in her throat so she couldn’t get the next words out.
“Chloe? Are you okay?”
“Jackson’s dead.” Saying it out loud, it hit her all at once, and suddenly she was crying, the tears streaming down her face, and she didn’t even know why. Any love she’d felt for him had died a long time ago. He’d done terrible things, hurt people, killed people, and yet, she couldn’t even speak because she was crying so hard. Why? It didn’t make sense.
“Where are you, Chloe? Are you home?”
Through her choked sobs, she managed to push out, “Black… Bay.”
“Good. Stay there. Marshall will take good care of you. Your mother and I will fly –”
Her mother must have grabbed the phone, because it was suddenly her voice on the other end. She didn’t ask Chloe to repeat what happened. She didn’t even ask how Chloe was. She started telling some weird story about her latest trip to the hair salon.
It was such a shock, and so unexpected that Chloe’s tears dried up, and she realized the random story had done exactly as intended. Chloe was finally able to catch her breath and compose herself once more.
“Thanks, Mom.”
They spoke for a while longer, and Chloe managed to explain what happened calmly and with minimal tears. Before they hung up, she assured them that she would be fine and they didn’t need to fly out. They’d see each other at Christmas as planned. Butafter, as she sat there alone with her thoughts, the silence of Erik’s apartment closed in around her, and that sick feeling returned.
Chloe watched as the helicopter banked and came in for a landing. Erik had called her from New Mexico to let her know that everything had gone smoothly. Doctor Dietrich hadn’t lied, and they were returning to Black Bay with the fetal cells for Jayla.
Nerves fluttered in her stomach just thinking about what she needed to say to him. Earlier, she’d made herself so sick with anxiety that she’d finally given in and called her therapist. She’d told the woman everything – about Jackson finding her, taunting her, and how he’d likely killed Danny. How he’d forced her to sing while holding Jayla at gunpoint, how Jayla had gotten shot, and the resulting paralysis, Jackson’s death, and then about her feelings for Erik and this new nagging worry whenever he left her side.
“You’ve been through a traumatic ordeal, Chloe. It’s natural to grab onto anything or anyone who makes you feel safe, loved, but I would encourage you to take a step back, allow yourself time to heal before plunging into a relationship. Trust me, if it’s real, he’ll be there when you’re ready.”
Chloe had bristled, not wanting to hear it, so she’d been a little sharp with the therapist. But as she’d sat there later, waiting forErik’s return, she’d thought over what the therapist had said – really thought about it – and recalled some of her recent behavior.
