Jessa paused and considered what she was up against here. “You don’t think I did something wrong, do you?”
“The only thing I feel you’re doing wrong is what’s happening right now. You holding back on me.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Then try me.”
Jessa swallowed hard. “He was here. He got out of prison and came right to me. To finish what he started.”
“And who is he?” Dr. Ashland asked.
“The he who took everything from me. My best friend. Her daughter. My dream of becoming a doctor. Everything collapsed…”
Her stomach started to flip. She looked left, right, seeking a trashcan. She lunged to her left, falling to her knees. Jessa got sick right there in front of the woman who helped her through the darkest time of her life without really knowing why it was so dark. All Dr. Ashland knew was that Jessa’s best friend and her daughter were murdered and she discovered the bodies. She didn’t know anything that happened before it or what it all meant now.
Or what she had to do next…
“Oh, Jesus,” Dr. Ashland said. She crouched and rubbed my back. “You’re afraid for your life.”
“Bingo,” Jessa said with her head dangling in a trashcan.
“Here,” she offered her a tissue.
She wiped her mouth and she was then handing Jessa a piece of mint gum. She took the gum and stood back up.
“You need to talk to the police,” she said. “Get yourself some help or advice. If anything, contact a lawyer. I can set up a meeting with my lawyer. She’s an old friend. We’ll talk over wine. Tonight. My place. Sleep there.”
“No,” Jessa said. “It doesn’t work that way. The police… Jesus, I can’t believe I’m going through this again.”
“Going through what?”
“It was all a mess back then. The whole thing. There were so many pieces purposely lost. Okay? There’s only one person I can talk to about this.”
“Okay… is that why you’re leaving?”
“Sort of.”
“Then why do you seem so uneasy still?”
“Because this person is as dangerous as the man who was here.”
And that was the scariest part of it all.
***
Jessa was finally home, but she didn’t feel safe. She knew how powerful he was. He, being Vin, the man who lived with one foot in the path of justice and the other in the path of crime. He was the guy that could make charges disappear or make charges appear and stick. He had been serving time in prison and it wasn’t for the crime he committed by murdering Jessa’s friend, Meghan, and Meghan’s daughter. That was terrifying in itself. The fact that Vin got off on murder.
He had been serving time for a corruption charge. The best part of it was that he went into prison almost voluntarily while the legal system worked its magic to ensure the safety of Vin and the good will nature of his name. It was horrible to think about and even worse to see in action.
Promising to keep herself off the internet and researching Vin’s name was useless. She had learned from Blaine a long time ago that if she was going to face an enemy it was smart to know everything possible about that enemy.
The problem with Vin was that he had too many people in his corner. Men with badges. Men with nothing but the urge to kill. Men who were addicted and willing to do anything for the next high.
She sat in her bedroom with the door locked. She didn’t have a gun - she had no idea how to actually fire a gun either - but she had a knife from the kitchen. And a needle loaded with some heavy sedatives. If by some chance Vin tried to attack, she’d be prepared.
For how long, Jessa?
That was the question she had been asking herself over and over. Like a song stuck on repeat, she kept asking how long she was willing to do this. Sure, one night of fear, she could survive that. She could wrap up tight in blankets and let the storm pass. But this wasn’t a summer thunderstorm that would lead to blue skies and a cool breeze. This was a fucking hurricane. A category five, headed right to her.
Bad enough she was taking a leave from her job, now she was going to sit in bed with a knife and a needle and wait?