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Jennifer comes home to Georgia, divorced. The last thing she expects is loving again. |
| Jennifer sat on the exam table and pressed her shaking hands between her legs. She stared at the doctor in shock. “Are you sure?” He smiled. “I'm positive. You're not very far along. A month I'd say. It wouldn't have even showed up on a store bought test. It was only detected because we drew blood.” Jennifer's breath whooshed out. She pressed a palm to her flat stomach. A baby. She was going to have Jordan's baby. Tears burned her eyes. She would have his baby, without him around. Would he want to do the right thing when he found out? Will I let him? Jennifer knew the answer to that as soon as she thought the question. As much as she loved Jordan and wanted a future with him, she couldn't bare the thought of having him marry her out of obligation. She thanked the doctor and left with a follow-up appointment in a month and prescriptions for iron pills, nausea medicine, and prenatal vitamins. Her hands shook as she tried to pull her keys from her pocket. She hit the unlock button and opened the door. Something hard pressed into her back. “Easy now.” Jennifer's mouth froze on a silent scream. “You have something that belongs to me. I want it back.” Jennifer shook her head. “I don't know where your money is.” The man's harsh laugh chilled her to the bone. “I don't believe you. Now, I'm going to get in, and you're going to take me to the waterfall. You try and fight, I'll put a bullet in your head. Then I'll go to your house and shoot your pretty daughter and everyone else.” Jennifer nodded in understanding. She stepped back so Jean could climb up. Her limbs felt like noodles as she tried to get in after him. He grabbed her arm and jerked her up. Fire shot through her arm socket. “Put the key in and drive. If I see you trying to signal for help, you will regret it.” Jennifer did as he asked. She had to follow his rules. She had a new baby to think about. As she drove out of town, she risked a glance in his direction. Without the suit, he looked more menacing. His hair stuck up near his left ear and a muscle ticked near his jaw. “How do you know about the waterfall?” Jean smiled at her. It was a purely sinister twisting of the lips. “I read it in your father's journal.” Jennifer frowned. “What journal?” He pulled a book out and tossed it towards her. It fell against her thigh. “You can have it. It isn't useful to me anymore.” Jennifer glanced down before returning her attention to the road. “It'll be a bit hard to read while I'm driving. Mind giving me a summary?” He shook his head. “You're just like him. Always trying to talk when there's business to be done.” He looked out the window. “I guess it won't hurt to tell you, since we have a bit of a drive.” He took a deep breath. “After our last robbery, I escaped the bank. I went to Steve's apartment and found his safe. I figured that's where he'd hidden his money. But it was empty. Except for that.” He nodded to the book. “I stashed it when I heard the cops coming. Your dad ratted me out. He knew where I would be going. I hoped he'd be dead before the cops got there.” Jennifer frowned. “How did you get the book then?” He laughed. “I offered an old friend a couple grand to keep it safe for me until I got out of jail.” She wondered, “How did you get out so soon? I mean, you and Dad robbed almost twenty banks. And you killed a lady.” Jean turned to her and winked. “Good behavior. Most of the charges were lessened since they found my stash of money. And the lady didn't die so I wasn't charged with murder.” “The great American justice at work.” He slapped a hand to his leg. “I know. Ain't this country great.” Jennifer drove past the driveway to the ranch and slowed for a curb. “Hey, where the hell do you think you're going?” She raised an eyebrow. “You have a gun pointed at me. Where do you think?” He jabbed a finger in the direction behind them. “You passed the damn driveway.” Jennifer braked and turned onto a rutted driveway that most people wouldn't have noticed. She kept at a low speed, swerving to miss the largest potholes. Jean grabbed her arm and tried to jerk her across the cab of the truck. She hit the brakes. “What are you doing? You're going to make us wreck.” He pressed his nose against hers. “Lady, this is your last chance to get me where I want to go.” Jennifer pointed to the cabin a half mile down the road. “You can get there from here. We'll have to go on foot. I figured it would be safer. People would have seen us if we parked at the house.” He stared at her for a minute before releasing her. Jennifer rubbed her arm where his grip had bruised. Jean waved the gun at her then at the windshield. “Fine. Let's go. But you better not be playing me. Or you're dead.” *** Jordan looked at the printout in disgust before tossing it onto his desk. The lab had finally gotten around to his evidence, but he didn't need answers anymore. He knew who was behind everything. The DNA had pointed to Jean Prescott. The four wheeler incident had been him too. Jordan had found the stolen dirt bike at the cabin. Jordan's hands clenched into fists. He had to find that bastard and soon. He hoped Jean would put up a fight. He needed to vent his rage. It would be hard enough not to put a bullet in his head for what he put Chloe through. His intercom beeped. “Chief, you have an important call on Line 1.” Jordan sighed. He'd asked that all calls be held, but with the turmoil of his mind, he needed a distraction. He'd tried to stay buried in work so he wouldn’t think of all he'd lost this week. Even now, he fought to resist calling the ranch, just so he could hear Jennifer's voice. He never thought he'd miss her this much. If he was honest with himself, he would accept that he couldn't live without her. No matter what she'd done, he still loved her. Maybe when all of this was over, he'd give her another chance. “Fine. Put it through.” Jordan put the phone to his ear and pressed the blinking light. “Chief Jordan.” “Hey, this is Ashleigh. There's a problem.” His hand clenched around the black handset. “Did something else happen at the ranch?” “No, it's worse.” Jordan's heart tripped. “Ashleigh, what's going on?” Silence filled the line and he wondered if the call had been dropped. He tapped his leg as he waited for the nurse to speak. “It's Jennifer.” Her voice broke. “She was here for an appointment an hour ago. I ran out to talk to her when she left but a man walked up to her. She looked scared Jordan. I don't think she wanted to go with him. I think he had a gun.” Jordan jumped out of his chair. “What way did they go?” She sniffled. “Towards the ranch. I called but no one has seen her.” Jordan pulled his gun out of his holster and checked the clip. He put it back and closed the snap. “How long has it been since they left?” Soft sobs filtered through the phone. Jordan had to reign in his patience before he could console her enough to get an answer. “They left about thirty minutes ago. I tried to give her enough time to get home, just in case I read the situation wrong. Oh God Jordan. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. You have to find her. She's in danger. I just know it.” Jordan grabbed his hat off the desk. “Don't worry. I'm going after her.” He slammed the phone down and ran out the door. He had no idea where Jean might have taken Jennifer, but he had to try and find her. As he raced towards the ranch, an idea came to him. Jennifer had thought her father's money had been hidden in the waterfall. Maybe Jean knew about that too. He pressed the pedal harder as he prayed he would get there in time. |
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