Page 153 of Broken
“I’ve been at war with myself ever since I found out we had to work together.”
“What does your therapist tell you?”
“I haven’t seen her in years, but she told me that Janey would want me to be happy. She asked me if the situation had been reversed, and Janey had gotten away, what would I want for her?”
“Whatwouldyou want for her?”
“I’d want Janey live a full and happy life. I get it, but my heart is broken. That one incident changed me. While I’m proud to be a survivor, I’m also wrecked that she died at the hands of that monster.”
He kissed her cheek. “I adore you, Jack. What can I do to help you to have that happy life?”
“Just accept me, and know I struggle with things that, maybe, other people don’t.”
He caressed her back before dropping a worshipful kiss on her lips. “You’re an amazing woman and I’ll support you however I can.”
Then, he stood and raked his hands through his hair. “Since we’re being honest with each other, there’s something I need to tell you.”
* * *
Prescott
Prescott had toldJacqueline he was falling in love, but he’d already fallen.
Hard.
Knowing what he did about her, he was relieved he’d soft-pedaled his feelings.
After they moved to the love seat in the sitting room, he covered her with a throw, then held her trembling hand.
“I know you hated me for taking out the cult leader, but I didn’t go rogue,” he said. “I was following orders.”
Her mouth dropped open and she bolted upright. “No, you went off script.”
“That’s what everyone was told to keep the truth from getting out. The command to take out the cult leader came from my boss who pulled me aside on day twenty-five of the standoff. The Director told him that if I got the leader in my scope, to take the shot. Then, the rest of HRT would get the cult members out.”
“I had no idea,” she murmured.
“Do you remember how the standoff started?” he asked.
“Yeah. A woman from the cult came into our office and told one of my agents that the leader was a sexual predator who was keeping everyone against their will.”
“The night you were on the phone with him, he stepped in front of a backlit window. I took the shot.”
“Why didn’t your team get in there faster?”
“The place was wired to blow,” he explained. “If HRT had gone in there, they would have died too.”
“How do you know this?” she asked.
“Z.”
“Why wasn’t I informed?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “The standoff was considered a total mission fail, but according to Z, the Directorhadn’tmade that decision in a vacuum, so someone had to be the scapegoat. I was an easy target. I’d fired the kill shot, so they claimed I went rogue—”
“Why didn’t you fight that?”
“My word against my superiors. They needed someone to take the fall.” Prescott pointed at himself. “Yours truly got the honors.”
