time was what I just told you. I crashed in Sam Houston National Forest and woke up alive and crawled out, and in retaliation for the second attempt, this happened, and Cyrus Parks is in prison for life with no chance of parole and, knowing what I can still do to him if I chose, happy to be there. I will answer questions for thirty minutes unless they offend me, in which case one of my friends in the FBI will escort your ass out of here, or if they’re too stupid to discuss, we will all say a prayer for your mama’s grief in raising an idiot. So pick your topics wisely. And do not hound me anywhere in the days to come. Even though I have revealed my truth, my life is not your business. You may not have forty million dollars to spare, but I will make you sorry. Forever.”
She didn’t know people had been crying throughout her statement. And she hadn’t seen the constant shock and disbelief on their faces. She took the silence that ensued afterward as disinterest or disapproval, and at this point, she was too numb to care.
And then a man in the front row stood up and started to clap, and then another in the back of the room stood and joined him, and then one by one, everyone present was on their feet, clapping. And they kept clapping and clapping as the waves of emotion washed through every inch of Wyrick’s body.
Then she looked at Charlie.
“I want to go home.”
“After you,” Charlie said.
She nodded. But when she turned around to walk off, there was another moment when the audience realized there was more of the dragon tattoo on her back, and below the waistband of those black leather pants, as well. And the mental images of her naked made their hair stand on end.
And then she was gone.
The agents followed her and Charlie out, and then formed a convoy around them as Charlie loaded her into the Jeep. He took a cold Pepsi out of the cooler, wiped it dry and opened it up, then handed it to her.
“You rocked that, lady. This should be champagne, but the Snickers in the console will make up for it,” he said, and then got in.
“About the water,” Wyrick said, referring to the glass he’d knocked out of her hand. “I didn’t think. Thank you.”
“Like you said, it’s all about the bear claws,” he said, then put the car in gear. They drove home, surrounded by Feds.
* * *
As far as the media was concerned, the press conference worked. They saw her in person. They got her on film. And after that parting shot she gave them about making them sorry, no one had the guts to push her further. The applause they’d given her was far less than she deserved, but it was all they had.
The impact of the press conference was felt around the nation, then, as it spread, around the world. And the sight of her had been far more than what they’d expected. She was a beautiful oddity in a fascinating way. And every person who’d ever had a tattoo was in awe of what she’d endured to wear that red-and-black dragon.
* * *
Tony Dawson and his parents had watched from their home, amazed that this woman on television had been instrumental in saving his life.
Trish Caldwell and her mother clung to each other as they watched, weeping for a little girl’s tragedy.
Wanda Carrollton cried for the childhood Wyrick lost, and the granddaughter Jade Wyrick had given back to her.
Every cop in Dallas who knew her from Charlie Dodge’s office had a whole new appreciation for the badass she was, and were now impressed that Charlie wasn’t scared of her.
The Dunleavy family from Denver they’d helped before had come to love her odd ways while she and Charlie were their guests, and after watching the live feed, they wept for the loss of a life she’d never known.
But it was Jordan Bien, the young girl Wyrick and Charlie rescued from the cult of the Fourth Dimension, who was the most affected by what she’d seen.
Jordan’s psychic powers were continuing to develop, but she’d never “seen” any of what Wyrick had just revealed, and she was in awe of Wyrick’s bravery in the face of all she’d endured.
The mental image of Wonder Woman had given Jordan the mental strength to endure the cult until she was rescued, but Jade Wyrick had