The Stranger Beside Me (5 page)

Nick turned his head to the side as he watched.

Jo cleared her throat and balled her hands into fists.

“Well?” she said.

“I’m told you want to be called, ‘Jo,’” he said, ignoring her question. His voice was soft, like a man dealing with an injured child. “Jo, I believe you when you say you don’t remember anything.”

He paused as if waiting for a reaction. She was relieved she didn’t have to go over everything again, but she didn’t want to give this man anymore than she had to. A deep distrust of him grew stronger and stronger, the longer she sat in his presence.

“You took something from me,” he continued. “I want it back.”

“You mean Garrett?”

“Garrett?”

“Garrett said…” Jo had to stop herself from divulging too much. She wasn’t sure what Nick knew. “He said you were after him.”

“That old man’s a fool. He can’t tell me anything I don’t already know.”

“Then why was he being held prisoner?”

“Because he gave me you.”

Nick’s words took her by surprise. He spoke with a level of affection she found oddly touching. She didn’t think he was just after some mystery object; he also wanted her back.

“Where’s John?” she blurted out.

“John is safe. He’s here actually. You can talk to him later.”

“You brought him? Is he hurt?”

“Why are you so concerned for his safety?” The intensity in his eyes turned to suspicion.

Jo squirmed under his gaze. “Would you like to see him? Perhaps, the two of you would like a moment alone. You can ask him how you ended up in the lake.”

John had helped her and killed Nick’s men. Jo didn’t- couldn’t, believe he had anything to do with the attempt on her life.

“You’re angry,” she said. “Why?”

Nick spread his hands and leaned back. “Oh, I don’t know, Jo.” He said her name like it was an insult. “Maybe because you left me, because you stole from me, because I’m in deep shit with some powerful people- all because of you. And now you have the nerve to ask me about John? Have you lost your fucking mind? He was the one who put you in the lake.”

Jo suddenly felt cold all over. Her chest burned with the memory of suffocation. “Stop,”

she whispered.

Nick took her hand. “I want to forget this,” he said.

Jo was barely listening. She took a deep breath. She had to focus hard on her breathing to stop from hyperventilation.

“Jo,” Nick said, squeezing her hand. “I know you’re upset, but I need the code. What is it?”

The room began to spin. She looked out the window and saw John. He was beaten and bloodied. He stared at the house nervously. A man stood behind him with a gun pointed at his back. Suddenly, the world came into focus.

“Nick, you’ve never seen me upset.”

She broke his grip and twisted his arm. He fought against her, but she had the element of surprise on her side. Jo managed to get around him. She pushed him down face first into the couch and lifted the back of his shirt.

“Christ Alison, what are you doing?”

“Shut up.”

She raised his shirt high and examined his back. His skin was clean; no tattoo. She racked her memory for an explanation. All she had was flash of pale skin and black ink. Who did the tattoo belong to?

“Whatever you’re planning-” Nick said.

Jo put an arm around his neck and squeezed. Nick fought against her. He punched and clawed at her, but she had him in a tight grip. His face turned purple as he fought for air.

Finally he went limp.

Jo released him. He was unconscious, but he would live. For some reason she couldn’t bring herself to kill him. She looked outside again at John. He stood by an SUV. Several men milled about, waiting for orders.

“I’m sorry,” she said out loud.

She would have to leave him. It pained her to go, but she had no other option. There was no way she could take on an entire unit of well-trained soldiers.

Jo pulled Nick’s gun off his waist and began to leave when something caught her eye. A small piece of paper fell out of Nick’s pocket. She picked it up. Several numbers were scribbled on it, along with the word, ‘Hawk.’ Jo crumbled it up and stuck it in her pocket.

She bolted for the back door. Luckily, she’d set the car keys on the table when they entered the house. She picked them up and headed out the back.

As she left, she stopped and turned back. She was racked with guilt. Was it guilt over what she’d done to Nick? Or because she was abandoning John? She wondered.

She closed the door behind her and jumped into the car. Slowly, she moved down the back alleyway of the house. None of the men were stationed there and she was able to sneak out through a side road undetected.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she put the town in her rear view mirror. She turned off the road and headed back from where she’d just come, towards the underground prison.

There was a house there and hopefully some answers. She would find out who lived there and what they knew. She would find John and Nick, then she would decide: who lives and who dies?

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