Instinctual 2 (17 page)

He looked on the second shelf of the trolley and found a box of tissues. They would have to do. Pulling a large handful out, he rammed them into the oozing gap between Jake’s remaining four fingers and pushed in with some firm pressure to try and staunch the flow of blood. Job done.

Now all he needed to do was dispose of the finger. Without any gloves, he pulled some more tissues out and picked up the finger, deciding a trip to the cliffs outside was in order.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It was two o’clock in the afternoon before Rob and Jenny made it back to the hospital. They walked into the room with coffee and food.

They found Kate sleeping soundly, so settled into a chair and began eating their meals.

Jake sat on the bed when they’d entered, glad they were back. Hopefully when Kate woke up she’d finally be able to notify Robert of his whereabouts and get a rescue team organized. Rob would take care of everything. They needed to get in and out while Carlos was on his own. They could remove Jake from the equation and then deal with the rest once he was safely away and hidden.

Of course, things were never so simple in the real world.

***

At ten minutes to four, Kate stirred.

Both parents stood and moved to the bed to greet their daughter as she sleepily opened her eyes.

“Mom. Dad. You’re back!” A smile played on her lips as her gaze floated over both Rob and Jenny.

“Hi, sweetheart. Glad to see you awake again. How are you feeling now?” It was Rob who asked the question with one arm around Jenny’s waist and the other hand reaching out and touching Kate’s cheek.

“I’m okay. Thirsty again.” She turned to look at the water, feeling as if her mouth had totally dried up again.

Jenny moved first, grabbing the glass and pouring some fresh water into it from the jug. Kate was able to lift her own head towards the straw this time, proving that some strength was returning.

After a few big sips, she relaxed back onto the pillow, a grumble emanating from her stomach. “And I’m hungry, too.”

“Honey, I’ll go and let the nurse know and see if we can get you something to eat.” Jenny squeezed Kate’s hand, smiled at Rob, and walked out.

Jake moved up to the head of Kate’s bed and brushed his fingers along her other arm. She looked over and lifted her hand towards Jake’s face being careful not to dislodge the drip that was embedded into the back of her hand. He leaned into her touch and then kissed the palm of her hand, motioning with his eyes towards Rob, as if urging her to say something about what they had spoken about earlier.

Suddenly remembering, Kate nodded and turned back towards her father who looked on in confusion.

“Kate?”

“Dad. Jake’s here.”

Rob could clearly see nothing as he eyed every corner of the room, shaking his head. He rubbed the back of his neck and let out a breath. “Katie Bear…You’re not thinking clearly. He’s not here, angel.”

Jake squeezed Kate’s hand. “Keep pushing.”

“Dad! He is here. He’s in trouble. He needs your help!”

Rob was giving Kate the strangest look. “Why don’t I go get the nurse? She might need to increase your medication.”

Kate grimaced. “I don’t need a nurse! There’s nothing wrong with me. I swear he’s here. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Your dad is so frustrating sometimes!” Jake growled.

Rob moved his gaze from Kate to the floor, appearing extremely uncomfortable.

Kate widened her eyes as recognition set in. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

“No! I don’t think that at all. It’s just, well, there have been some pretty weird things going on lately and I can’t get my head around any of it.”

“Be honest with me. You know he’s here but you just won’t admit it, right? How can you deny it after he wrote you the note telling you my body was on a ledge?”

Her dad looked up and into her eyes. “How do you know about that?”

“Jake told me.” Kate also remembered other things Jake had told her. “He told me you asked him to infiltrate The Organization. What the hell were you thinking, Dad?”

Hearing that word had Rob’s immediate attention. “How do you know about The Organization? What are you trying to say, Katie?”

“How do you think I found out? I know it all, Dad. You took Jake from me! You knew how dangerous the job would be and yet you still asked him.” Kate could feel the anger seeping out of her pores as she clenched her teeth. “Why?”

Jake tried to soothe her. “Easy, baby. Settle down and see what he has to say.”

Kate’s dad pulled the chair over to the bed and sat down, placing his head in his hands for a minute before looking up sadly at Kate. “I’m sorry, Katie. Jake hounded and hounded me about getting onto the force. I kept knocking him back, you know that.” He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times as if to say something before letting out a long breath.

“What is it?”

“There’s something you don’t know.”

Jake was now sitting up straighter, looking directly at her dad.

“About?” Kate was sure there was a lot she still didn’t know but whatever her dad was deliberating over had him look extremely vulnerable.

“Your Uncle John. He didn’t die in a car accident. He was murdered.” Kate watched her father’s face screw up in pain and heard the disbelief in her own voice.

“He was murdered? How? Why?”

“The Organization that I had Jake infiltrate.”

“Fuck!” Jake rose from the bed, both hands on his head clenching his hair. Kate wanted to reach out to him but needed to continue on with her father.

“What? You’ve lied to me about that, too? All this time I thought he’d died in a car crash and he was murdered? Why didn’t you tell me?” Kate closed her eyes before the tears came.

“Kate. It was better on you and your mother if you thought he had an accident. It’s not a world I wanted you to know about. After I found out how he was killed and by whom, I sought revenge. I saw no other way than to get Jake involved. He was willing and I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’m so, so sorry, baby girl.”

The tears that had been threatening came. Kate broke down completely, succumbing to the mountain of shit that had been hurled at her recently. It was all too much. Her dad wept his own tears.

Jake moved back to the bed and snuggled close to Kate, his nose in her ear. “Baby, I had no idea. Words can’t express how sorry I am that those filthy scumbags killed your uncle. Jesus! I can’t fucking believe it!”

Kate could only nod as she let herself feel, clinging onto Jake, heaving heavily. When she gained some composure she blurted out what she needed to in order to save Jake. She wouldn’t let those monsters take away someone else she loved.

“Jake. He’s not well. They’ve got him in an old prison. They’re keeping him alive for their own selfish purposes. You have to do something to get him out!” Kate’s voice was croaky with the effort of having said so much in one go and the crying. She was feeling tired again but had to fight to stay awake to tell her father all she could.

“Christ, Kate! I’ll ask you again. How did you find out all this?” Robert’s mouth pulled tight.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to get through to you! Jake told me! He’s here! Will you listen to me, already?” Kate had nearly lost her voice and was at her wits’ end.

“Honey, how can Jake be here if he’s in some prison somewhere?”

Kate snarled, “Because he’s out of his body. You have to hurry!” He was the only one that could help Jake. She could feel adrenalin surging through her at the desperate situation.

“Dad, I’m not making this up. I’m begging you! Please!”

The heart monitor accelerated with Kate’s rising voice. Rob looked panicked. “Okay. Okay, honey. Shhh. It’s all right. Don’t talk about it anymore. Just relax. I’ll call Gary and relay what you’ve told me. Your mother will be back any second. Just close your eyes and rest.”

She sank back into the mattress and tried to slow her heart down by sucking in some deep breaths. Rob kissed Kate’s forehead and went to phone Gary. Just as he was about to disappear out of view, Kate whispered, “Dad?”

“Hmm?” Rob turned.

“Don’t let them take him from us.”

Rob frowned with his jaw tight and just nodded as he walked out of sight.

Jake brushed some of the drying tears from Kate’s face. “You did good, baby. Really good. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

“I don’t think he believed me.”

“Even if he doesn’t, he’ll still check it out. I know your dad. He’s not silly. He has nothing else to go on, and besides, how would you have known about any of this unless I told you?”

“I hope you’re right.” She closed her eyes, having done what Jake asked of her. All she wanted to do was rest. Not sleep, but lie beside Jake, basking in his presence with her eyes closed, feeling his soft touches, thinking of nothing else. She let out a sigh and turned on her side. She ran her fingers through Jake’s silky mess of hair and then traced his thick eyebrows with her thumb as she opened her eyes to find him staring at her. He was owning her with that look and it took her breath away for an instant. He was just too beautiful. In his ethereal form his skin and features glowed like an angelic being, his eyes blue, crystal gems. He radiated at her touch, the heat warming her to the core. “Don’t leave me.”

“Baby, I couldn’t if I tried. You have me. All of me.”

“What if… what if my dad doesn’t make it in time to save you from those assholes?”

Jake closed his eyes for a second, as if to find an easy answer to Kate’s question. “I’ll always be with you, no matter what. I won’t leave you.”

“Jake…”

“Shhh. Baby. Don’t say anything.” His thumb touched her bottom lip, moving backwards and forwards as his face drew so close that Kate had to close her eyes again before she went cross-eyed. She parted her lips, waiting for the contact. Instead of the initial kiss, she felt him grab her lower lip in his teeth and nip gently, tugging it out and playing with it as both hands moved down to her neck so that his thumbs could rub the length of each side of her jaw.

He sucked on her bottom lip, running his tongue playfully along the edge. Kate mewed like a kitten, overwhelmed by the gesture. Her right hand held Jake’s head as her body responded.

“Will you kiss me already?”

“So impatient.” Jake smiled against her mouth before opening for her and letting her initiate the kiss to her liking.

She found Jake’s tongue and lapped at it, breathing into his mouth, still not fully understanding why she was needing to kiss him so badly but giving in to it, falling. Drifting away from the hospital room and sounds that occupied the busy halls, to another place that had no one expect Jake. He had her mind and body in that moment. His glorious lips that tasted like ripe peaches on a hot summer day, the small growls that he fed her through his open mouth and the burn of his fingers on her skin that framed her face. She could imagine his amazing eyes shut tightly with the lush lashes fanning his face as he drowned in her, miles away from the bed they both lay on.

Jake pulled away, looking up just as Jenny walked back into the room, having organized some food for Kate. His heavy lids failed to mask the raw desire in his eyes as he breathed heavily.

Kate quickly turned, grateful for Jake’s expert senses and hearing, wondering how her mother would have reacted to seeing her in a passionate air kiss with nobody. It was a struggle to bring herself back to the present moment after being lost to Jake. She turned onto her back, a little hot and embarrassed, hoping her mother didn’t pick up on it as Jake lightly traced his finger over her collarbone.

“Well, that’s done. Dinner will be at five. I discussed with the nurse what you could have and she said something light to start with so I went ahead and ordered some pumpkin soup with a bread roll. I hope you don’t mind, sweetie.”

“No. That sounds perfect.” And it did. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to eat anything too solid at that point so soup sounded fine. “Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome.” Jenny scanned the room. “Where’s Rob?”

“Oh. He had to go and make a phone call. I’m sure he won’t be gone long.” Trouble was, she kind of hoped he would be gone for a while. That would mean he’d taken her seriously and was organizing a search and rescue for Jake. She didn’t know if she should discuss any of it with her mother so she didn’t offer anything more.

Jenny seemed okay with her response and sat down in the chair next to Kate.

“Mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Thanks for bringing in Pig and the photo of me and Roxy. It means a lot. I thought you would have thrown out Pig long ago.” Kate brought the scruffy toy to her nose to sniff the long forgotten smell. It reminded her of wonderful family times.

“There are some things you just can’t bring yourself to put in the trash. That was one of them. I know how much you loved that pig and it represented so many great memories. I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it.” Jenny smiled. “It looks like I kept it for a reason.”