That Day, Karen Deen [early readers .txt] 📗

telling me what a dumb bitch I was that I just gave away our location, because he knew where Bull went when he left the agency.”

Kurt growls. “Bastard, he used me to get to you both. I told him to look me up if he was ever out this way when I left the agency.” The tension is radiating off Kurt now as I’m looking at him over my shoulder.

“Steady,” I mouth to him, so he doesn’t lose his cool and wreck the progress we’ve made.

“Keep going, what happened when he got here?” I ask her.

Scott now rejoins us in the room as Badger leaves to watch over Davina’s sister.

“Is she okay?” she asks, her pleading eyes brimming with tears again.

“She’s going to be fine. Doc checked her out and sedated her, so her body has time to rest and get over the shock, but physically, she is fine.” Scott smiles at her.

She closes her eyes for a minute and nods her head, acknowledging what he said. Finally looking back up, I can tell she is getting close to breaking.

“Almost there, Davina, just tell us the rest of the story and then you can see you sister and rest.”

“When did you become the hard-ass agent and I become the target in this relationship?”

“Since I spent so much time hanging around and learning from you.” We both have a little halfhearted laugh together.

“Anyway, once he got there, he staked us all out and obviously got into your cottage and spiked your water, but he must have been way too heavy-handed with the poison, because you dropped from one mouthful. I knew as soon as I got there that something wasn’t right. So, I destroyed the evidence and told him he had to leave before I reported him. That was when he told me he had gotten himself into debt to the wrong men and now was in all sorts of trouble. He needed to either kill or deliver Asha to them before the court case or he would pay the price with his life.”

My heart plummets when I realize how close I came to being back in the hands of the men I’ve run from for so long.

“He had run up a drug debt of over two hundred thousand dollars in the last twelve months, but they obviously knew what they were doing. They had a WITSEC agent now on their payroll, and he had no choice. I didn’t care about his problems and refused to help him. His power of blackmail was out the window with the record of drug use I could accuse him of. And that’s when…” As she hesitates, I know it’s hard for her to get past the image of her sister gagged and bound to a chair today.

“Nearly there, just a little more,” I say, encouraging her to finally get it off her chest.

“That’s when he kidnapped her and sent me a video of her naked while he threatened to do all sorts of things to her. The fear in her eyes will haunt me forever.” She can no longer hold back the tears as they quietly stream down her face. “It’s then that I knew I had no choice, and you handed me a lifeline, worrying about Kurt and his phone call. So, I jumped, and you know the rest… I’m just so thankful that Hawk used his own intuition and ruined my plan, otherwise I could have destroyed any chance you had… and I would have… sentenced you to… to death.”

Sobs ring out around the room, as I can’t hold back either. I want to hate her, but I can’t, I just can’t.

My heart is pounding in fear, but I feel my calmness descend on me again as Kurt wraps me up in his arms from behind. He whispers in my ear, “You’re alive and safe. I love you and will protect you. They can’t get to you now.”

I want to believe him, but there is still a large chunk of me that won’t rest until this is completely over and they are all behind bars for good. Hopefully for a very, very long time.

I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through this without him. Through every storm in my life, he is there, whether they’re the kind full of rain or the type that the wetness is from the river of tears.

“I’m okay,” I whisper back as I pull myself together.

Slowly he releases me a little from his arms but doesn’t let go. Still his hands hold onto my shoulders.

Reaching out, I take both of Davina’s hands in mine. “He can’t hurt any of us now. In the end, he got what he deserved. We all make choices in life, and he made the wrong ones.”

“How can you be so calm about all of this? They want to kill you!” Davina screams, like she is trying to release the stress that has been part of her for so long.

“Because I decided a while ago that life is something we can’t take for granted. Live it, day by day, and if that day ever comes where it’s your time to leave, then I want to be able to feel I’ve lived and loved, with no regrets.”

Feeling Kurt’s lips kiss the top of my head, I know he feels the same.

We can’t live our lives in fear, running all the time.

It’s time to finish this and let the universe decide our fate.

It sounds simple, but I can’t overthink this anymore. If they don’t kill me with a gun, then the stress of worry will kill me anyway.

“I need some air.” As I start to stand, Kurt pulls the chair out for me.

I look down on Davina. “I can’t say I forgive you, but I understand, and part of me doesn’t blame you in some way. I wish you luck, and I hope life is kind to you and your sister, who was the innocent party in all of this. Just like me.”

I walk straight