I literally scarf down my food and
drank the huge glass of water they had given me. With a full tummy
I lay back, and fall asleep.
When I awake Jesse is sitting in the
chair by my bed watching me. “Ok, that’s embarrassing.” I grin. He
laughs and gives me a beautiful smile.
“You shouldn’t feel embarrassed.
You’re beautiful when you sleep,” he whispers. He coughs. “Sorry,
sometimes I can’t help what comes out of my mouth.” He chuckles.
Wow! I can feel my face getting warm, and I’m sure I am blushing
terribly.
Jesse gets a serious look on his face.
“Look, we need to talk. I made some calls while I was gone, and I
need to ask you a few questions, ok?” I nod at him scared of what
he might ask.
He clears his throat. “Cassie, I’ve
been after these guys for two years. I need to know that if they
are taken in that you will testify against them for what they did
to you. This is really important. If you do it this it will put
them away for a very long time.”
I lay there for a minute, but it
doesn’t take me long to nod and say, “Absolutely I will.” He smiles
at me and sighs with relief. “I’ve made arrangements to take you to
my Safe House to protect you while my men are trying to locate
them. Since they’ve returned to the house and found you gone, they
are running now.”
“You have a Safe House?” Who has a
Safe House just lying around?
“Trust me. I will explain everything
when we get there, ok? Right now, as soon as the hospital lets you
leave we need to get on a plane and get you there so you’ll be
safe.”
Chapter five
The Doctor came in and told us they
wanted to keep me over night just to keep an eye on me and the test
results should be done by morning. So, Jesse spent the evening
mostly on his phone making arrangements for us to go to his Safe
House. I could hear some of the one sided conversations as I dozed
on and off.
“Yes get the plane ready to leave as
soon as I call you in the morning. Phone Allie to go out and get
some clothing for Cassie. Tell her she is about her size. Oh! And
women’s necessities too. Get some medical supplies in case we need
them and have the Johnsons go stock the fridge and pantry. I don’t
know, for a few months at least, just in case. Grab my Satellite
phone and my laptop too as well as some clothes for me. Have Avery
pick up my truck. Yes, I know. I know!”
I can see him from the corner of my
eye as he looks over at me. “You know what else you need to pack
for me. Yes. Ok. We will see you in the morning.”
Wow, a plane? Where the hell are we
going? He seems to have thought of everything we will need. I
secretly hope we have to stay for a long while. I mean I love
Stella and the gang, but I need something more in my life. I guess
when this is all over I will have to face the inevitable, but I
have time before I have to do that.
Bright and early the next morning, the
Doctor comes into the room waking me up. Poor Jesse had slept in
that uncomfortable chair again. I feel bad.
“Good Morning. How are you feeling
today?” Dr. Moore asks.
I wince as I shift in the bed. “Sore,
but I slept pretty well.”
She looks at my chart and her eyes
look up at me and smiles. “Good. I’ll make sure you get another
shot for the pain before you leave. The test results came back and
everything looks really good. No STD’s, no internal issues and no
pregnancy.” She looks over at Jesse before returning to
me.
“However, I feel that you should take
another pregnancy test or maybe a few within days of each other
because it could have just been too early for anything to show. As
I told you yesterday, the morning after pill is 95% effective so
there is still a small chance of pregnancy. The tests you can buy
over the counter are very good now.” She smiles.
“Now, your ribs will take about 4 to 6
weeks to heal so you will need to be really careful. I’m giving you
some pain meds to take with you that should help control the pain
level as well as a prescription you can fill when you need
to.”
“Thank you, Dr. Moore. I really
appreciate all your help,” I say as she begins to leave the room.
She turns around and says, “I will go and have them get the
discharge papers ready so you can go. It was nice to meet you both.
I hope everything works out for you.”
As soon as the Doctor leaves the room,
Jesse picks up his phone, hits a button and puts it to his ear.
“They are getting the discharge papers ready now. We will see you
in about 20 to 30 minutes.” And he hangs up.
Once we leave the hospital Jesse gets
us a cab. As we get closer to the airport, I am getting a little
nervous. I’m trying to trust him, and I am so thankful to him, but
I really don’t know him. I am also going to a place I have never
been before.
Walking through the airport we go to a
private gate, walk down a hallway and through a door that leads
outside. Standing outside the door I look over and see a small
private plane sitting there. Wow!
There’s a gentleman standing at the
foot of the stairs that leads up to the plane. He’s really tall and
has on a black t-shirt under a black jacket and black jeans. He is
wearing Polaroid’s that hide his eyes and has jet black hair that
is cut really short. He looks really muscular.
When we walk to him Jesse shakes his
hand and they give each other a ‘man hug’. Jesse looks at me and
says, “This is Tyler. He’s our family bodyguard as well as a
friend. Tyler, this is Cassie.”
Tyler bows and gives a slight smile. I
smile back. “Nice to meet you Tyler.” Weird, what family needs a
bodyguard? This is getting stranger by the minute.
We board the plane and Jesse gets me a
pillow and blanket. “It’s about a two hour flight so I want you to
be comfortable. After we take off I can get you something to eat
and drink, ok?” Jesse says.
I nod and smile. “Thank you that would
be great.” I fasten my seat belt and get comfortable. Jesse sits
across from me in the really nice and comfortable leather seats and
buckles himself in.
Shortly, Tyler appears and says, “We
are ready for take-off. I will let you know when you can move
around the plane.” Jesse nods at him. “Thanks, Tyler.”
I have never flown on a plane before.
I have barely even been in a car. I am excited and nervous at the
same time.
“So, where exactly is this Safe House
and why do you have one?” I ask Jesse.
He clears his throat. “Well, um, you
see my dad is actually a famous surgeon and there have been times
over the years that the public has gotten a little carried away
seeking his attention. He basically takes care of the medical needs
of quite a few famous people,” he shrugs. “A couple of years ago,
the men who kidnapped you? They killed my mother.”
I gasp, covering my mouth with my
hand. “Oh, Jesse. I’m so sorry. That’s horrible. Is that why you
have been after them?”
He nods. “Yes, it’s been hard to pin
them down. They’ve kept moving around so much. I’ve been trying to
get something on them to put them away since I had no evidence to
get them for my Mom’s murder. They need to pay for what they’ve
done. That’s why I need your help. Since I can’t get them for my
mother’s death, I can put them away for what they’ve done to
you.”
“I will do whatever I can, Jesse.” I
give him a slight smile.
At that time Tyler’s voice came over
the speaker telling us that it was ok to move around the plane now.
Jesse asks me, “Would you like ham or turkey on your sandwich?”
Smiling bigger I say, “Ham please and do you have a diet coke? I
would love that too if you do.”
“Coming right up,” Jesse says as he
makes his way to the back of the plane.
Chapter six
While I wait for my food, I am
thinking of how horrible it must be losing your Mom to those men
and how they killed her. How awful. Then I think about my Mom and
dad and how I miss them so much. They were taken away from me at
such an early age by a drunk driver. I guess that is murder too but
in a different way.
Jesse returns and places my food and
drink down on a side tray in front of me and sits in his seat with
his food.
I am starving! “Great sandwich,” I say
between bites. Jesse laughs, “Wait until I cook for you at the
house. You haven’t tasted anything yet.” He winks at me. Swoon! “A
man who cooks too. Wow!” I say.
After we eat I am so tired that I lay
my head against the pillow with the blanket over me and fall
asleep. The next thing I know Jess is shaking me slightly telling
me we are there. I sit up and stretch which really hurts my ribs.
“Owwww.”
“Are you ok, do you need a pain
med?”
I smile and I rub my side gently. “No,
it’s ok. I just really need to remember not to stretch like that
for a while.”
When we get off the plane I look over
and there is a black SUV with dark tinted windows. Jesse is talking
to Tyler quietly behind me, so I can’t hear what they are
saying.
I turn to see them shake hands and do
that ‘man hug’ and then Jesse walks towards me. “Ready?” He
asks.
“Ready as I will ever be.” I smile at
him. He gives me his beautiful smile, looking at me with those
light blue gleaming eyes. I think I just melted.
As Jesse is driving he tells me it
will take about an hour to get there.
“So, tell me about your family. Why
didn’t you let me call them on the way to the hospital or while we
were there?”
“Well, my parents were killed in a car
accident when I was 7. A drunk driver hit them. I was told they
died instantly.”
He turns his head and frowns, “Cassie,
I am so sorry. What happened then, did you go live with an Aunt,
Uncle, other family?”
“Ah, that’s another long story that I
really don’t want to talk about yet, ok?” I ask. Jesse looks at me
and nods. “We will have plenty of time together so I hope you can
eventually feel more comfortable with me. Maybe you will feel like
you can tell me later.”
He puts his hand over mine that is
lying on the seat and gives me a serious look. “Cassie. I know it’s
hard to trust me so soon, but I really want you to feel that you
can.” I smile at him hoping maybe one day I will feel that way
too.
I fall asleep on the way. When I wake
up the car isn’t moving anymore and Jesse isn’t in the car. I look
through the front window at the most beautiful house. It’s a two
story house in the shape of an ‘L’. I am unable to move as I look
around and take in the beautiful scenery. The house looks so homey,
something I don’t remember ever having.
A knock on my window makes me jump. I
turn and see Jesse standing with my car door open and smiling at
me. “Wow, Jesse! This is amazing!” He chuckles and says, “Wait
until you see the inside. Come on let me help you.” So
sweet!
Taking my hand, he helps me out of the
car and leads me into the garage. We walk in through the door that
leads into the house, and I stop still.
The entryway from the garage is a
laundry room on the right and a closet on the left. Looking in
front of me, I can see it open into the most fabulous kitchen! Dark
cabinets and Stainless Steel appliances. There is an island that is
shaped in a smooth curved L and all the counters are a shade of
gray. Everything looks brand new. To the left, in the same room, is
an eating area with a beautiful Mahogany table and chairs sitting
in front of a huge bay window.
“Jesse this is fabulous. Seriously,
it’s so beautiful!” He gives me his award winning smile and walks
me into the kitchen. “This is where I will be making all the
awesome meals for us,” he chuckles.
He then takes me through
the kitchen into a small hallway and in front of us are stairs that
lead to the 2
nd
story. Turning my head to the right is a guest
bathroom. He takes me to the left down a hall and we turn
right.
A huge living room is there with the
most beautiful furniture. A wall mounted flat screen T.V. hangs
over a fireplace with a light colored tan leather couch facing it.
An oversized tan leather chair sits next to it on the left. A
beautiful square coffee table is in front of them.
On the walls I see what looks like
family pictures. There are built in bookshelves on either side of
the fireplace filled with books. I could get lost in those books,
curled up on the chair with a fire blazing in the fireplace. WOW! I
think I just drooled a bit from my mouth that’s hanging
open.
“Come on, let me show you the rest,”
Jesse says as he leads me past the living room. “This is an office
that I use when I am here. I don’t always use this as a Safe House.
Sometimes I just come here when I want to be alone and while I am
here I can get some work done too.”
I look at him with a smile. “Work? How
can you be undercover and work here?”
“Ha, well that’s a long story that I
will tell you at another time,” he says and flicks my nose with his
finger. Too cute!
We head back the way we
came and head up the stairs to the 2
nd
floor. We turn left at the
top and begin to walk down the hall. “This first room is a bedroom.
Next is a bathroom that connects to that bedroom and the bedroom on
the other side. Now, this one at the end is the master bedroom. You
can stay in there while you’re here and I will take the room next
to it.”