Tony and my attack. He then went on to ask why I had left your house and was living with Jessie, and who it was that had replaced me. When I realized he had been following me to know all this, I reported him. Michael’s lawyer kindly got a protection order through the court. It’s okay as it’s in hand. But I thought it best to tell you that too.”
Now that I’ve said the words out loud, it all sounds so bad. How can one person have so much drama in her life?!
Jake still has his eyes on the road, but I see the anguish in his eyes. Again, Michael has been the one to save the day and not him. This can’t be boding well for his caveman tendencies.
“That fucking asshole!” he barks, hitting the steering wheel, making me jump. When he notices, he says, “Sorry. I’m just pissed. I thought he had gone away after all this business with the senator came out.” He clears his throat like he’s uncomfortable. “I’m glad Michael got that taken care of for you.” And there it is. The reason for his discomfort.
“He’s just a friend, Jake. I promise.”
He smiles back, but there’s definitely a hint of sadness to it. It makes my heart hurt knowing he’s suffering like this. What a twisted world we’re both suddenly living in.
As we pull into the car park at work, I quickly realize I’m going to have to go in there now and reveal the whole story to people I know. The knowledge of this only makes the whole situation ten times worse.
Once we’re in, Jake motions for me into his office then calls Michael. We wait for a few minutes before Michael knocks on the door. Jake shouts for him to come in, and he notices me straight away. He frowns a little, unease written all over his face as he takes a seat.
“I’ve called you in here because you’re aware of a situation that has just been brought to my attention. Ana and I were just at lunch, and afterwards, the waitress brought a note to our table.” He hands the note over to Michael, and he looks at it, shaking his head.
I inhale a deep breath, knowing that I have to tell them everything now. “He called me.”
Jake snaps his head towards me. “When?”
“Yesterday at work. He said some rather disgusting things, which I do not wish to repeat, but he knows where I am. He mentioned seeing Michael and I leaving the apartment.” Michael uncomfortably shifts in his seat, and I notice Jake’s jaw tic. Whether that’s because of the phone call or Michael, I don’t know.
I suspect both.
Eventually, Jake inhales before saying, “Michael, get a tap going on Jessie’s phone so that if he calls her at home, we can trace him. Also, get a report of all the phone records to this station yesterday to see if we can get a trace from there. Contact Agent Marcos to get any details he has sent over, and we will need to visit La Bistro restaurant in Reston to interview that waitress. That needs to be done ASAP. She saw the suspect, and we need an up-to-date description of him.” Michael nods at Jake, still looking uneasy. “Ana, is there anything else?” I shake my head, and he quickly turns his attention back to Michael again. “We’ll have to start an investigation on this, but try and keep it quiet. Only a few people really need to know. The rest can just be made aware that we have a wanted suspect in an assault case from twelve years ago.”
He shoots up from his seat and tells Jake he’ll be right on it. Once he’s out of the door, Jake looks at me. “Are you okay?”
I’m slightly shaken and nervous, so not really. I thought he may have been mad at me, but instead, he’s just being nice. “I’m fine. I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I don’t want you to think badly towards me because of it.”
Sitting on his desk beside me, he says, “I could never think that way about you, and as I already told you, I completely understand why you did it.”
I shake my head with a smirk. “You’re making it impossible for me to hate you, Jake Bennett.”
“And you’re making it impossible for me not to throw you over my shoulder and take you back home … where you belong,” he huffs in frustration.