Page 64 of Cross That Line

Tyler turned to her. "I left my phone in the bedroom when I heard things crashing out here. Come with me, Rachel."

She wanted to say she was fine to stay where she was while he retrieved his phone, but even though Jack was calmer now, she was shaken by memories of his hands around her neck, the rage in his gaze. He'd intended to kill her, and if Tyler hadn't been there, he might have succeeded. So, she got up and followed him into the other room.

He picked up his phone from the bed, then put his arms around her now-shivering body. "I am so sorry, Rachel. Let's get some ice and put it on your neck."

"That might feel good," she said tightly, her lips quivering. "Maybe in a minute. I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" he asked in astonishment.

"I don't want to cry. I don't want to be weak. I just need to hold on to you until I can feel my feet under me."

"You're not being weak, and you don't have to move. You can also cry if you want. That must have been terrifying."

"He was going to kill me, Tyler."

"Jack wasn't in his right mind."

"I know that. But that just means he wouldn't have stopped if you hadn't come out. I never thought I'd be in danger from him." She still couldn't quite believe what had happened.

He tightened his arms around her. "You're shaking."

"I'm trying to stop. I've just never been attacked like that. It happened so fast. And even though I've taken self-defense classes, I felt powerless." She leaned her head against his broad chest, loving how safe she felt in his embrace. She really didn't want to move, because moving would put her back in reality, and everything about their situation had become very real.

He stroked her back, giving her reassurance with his words and his touch. "It's going to be okay, Rachel."

"I know. I'm just not sure when it's going to be okay."

"Take your time."

Despite his words, she knew she couldn't take that much time, so she forced herself to lift her head and look at him. "It's too quiet. You should check on Jack."

"Stay here," he said as he let go of her.

After he left, she sat down on the bed and tried some breathing exercises. They helped a little, but her neck was still painful, and her anxiety hadn't backed too far off.

Tyler returned to the room. "Jack is okay. He's just sitting on the couch, saying he's sorry, and he's tired."

"We shouldn't leave him alone."

"I agree, but I need to make a call first. And I'd rather do that in here."

"Can you put it on speaker?"

He nodded, then punched in a number. When there was no answer, he tried another one. A moment later, a woman's voice came across the line.

"Kara, it's Tyler. Sorry to call so early. I tried Jason, but he didn't pick up."

"What's up, Tyler?"

"My theory was correct. Jack confirmed that he was asked questions about classified information. He's not entirely sure what he said, because he was heavily medicated, but he remembers being asked about a woman named Mei Zheng. She was a CIA asset and a former Chinese spy. My team rescued her after she'd been captured. Our government faked her death, but she was brought to the US. She's someone who would be very valuable to the Chinese government if they knew she was alive."

"Got it," Kara said crisply. "We need to find her fast."

"CIA was at the forefront of that mission. Max might know who was involved. This was probably seven years ago."

"I'll check with him and with our contact at the CIA. Also, I got some information on Dr. Megan Prescott. Before coming to Waverly, she worked at a VA facility in California. She moved to New York and started at Waverly six months ago, which correlates to the date of her divorce being final. Zane is going to look into her finances, but she doesn't appear to live a lavish life."

"What about the doctor? Neil Levitan?"