Page 65 of Cross That Line

"He's next on my list. It sounds like I need to get Jason and the team involved."

"Yes. This isn't just about Jack anymore. It's about national security and the exploitation of probably multiple veterans, who may or may not have survived their treatment program."

"I understand. How's Jack doing?"

"Not great. He attacked Rachel this morning. He tried to strangle her while I was taking a shower."

"Oh, my God! Is she all right?"

"She's hanging in there. Jack was in the throes of a nightmare. He wasn't aware of what he was doing. He thought he was fighting the people who were drugging him."

"We need to isolate Jack. Rachel can't be there with him."

"I know. I'm thinking about how best to keep him safe without putting him in a situation that will make him more paranoid and uncomfortable. While I deal with that, if you can get things rolling…"

"Absolutely. I'll touch base with you soon."

As he ended that call, he made another one. "I'm calling Evan. I need to get someone here who can control Jack but not terrify him."

"Evan lives pretty far away, and he has a lot of responsibilities," she said, wondering if Evan would even want to get more involved with Jack.

"He'll come," Tyler said confidently.

Evan answered the phone. "Tyler? You're up early."

"I found Jack. He's in bad shape. I've got him in a safe house, but I need you to come and stay with him. I can't put someone here he doesn't know. He's still combative, out of his mind at times, not sure what's real and what's not real, but I can't stay here indefinitely. I need to find the people who've been drugging him to get information about our missions."

"To get information about our missions?" Evan echoed in astonishment. "This is about our missions?"

"It looks that way. I can give you more information later. How soon can you come?"

"I can be there in ninety minutes if I leave now," Evan said shortly. "And I will leave now."

"I'll text you the address. Thanks, Evan."

"You were right," she said as he got off the phone. "He was willing to drop everything."

"Jack was our brother, and while he was always a lightning rod for big emotions—both love and hate—he's in trouble. And we have to help him."

She saw the steadfast loyalty in his gaze and couldn't help but admire his choice to put all feelings aside to help a former team member. But she had seen that loyalty before in Tyler, so she shouldn't be surprised. "Okay. Let's go back in the living room."

"You're sure you don’t want to stay in here and take a break?" he asked. "That would not be a bad choice, Rachel."

She did want to hide away, but she knew she couldn't. "I'm good."

"No, you're not," he said pointedly.

"Well, I want to be, and this is the first step."

A glint of admiration filled his gaze. "You're amazing, you know that?"

She didn't feel amazing. She felt terrified and off-balance and completely out of her depth, and those out-of-control feelings were almost as bad as the idea of facing Jack. But she couldn't hide away; she had to face her fear.

When they returned to the living room, Jack was sitting on the couch, resting his head in his hands. When he lifted his head to look at them, she could see the tight lines on his face that matched the hopelessness in his gaze, and that put her right back into physician mode. "Are you in pain?" she asked.

"Why would you care after what I just did to you?" he challenged. "God, the bruises on your neck are turning purple."

"You weren't aware of what you were doing." The man in front of her now looked nothing like the guy who had assaulted her. But she was wary that the other guy could come back. His condition seemed unpredictable. "Is your head hurting?"