by Emma Vikes
I went into the bathroom to take a quick shower, careful to keep the bandages from getting wet. Afterwards, I went back into Jasmine’s room to change into more suitable clothes and put on the baseball cap. It was surprising how she had found clothes that fit me so perfectly.
I got the denim jacket she had bought me and put it on over a plain black shirt. My eyes fell once again onto the photograph on Jasmine’s vanity table again. I picked up the picture of her, Paul and the boy and removed it from the frame, wondering if I would find some writing scribbled on the back of it like I had with the picture of the baby that had Wes written on it. I flipped it over to look on the back and stared at the names written on it. Paul Ashton. Jasmine Green. Damien Green.
Jasmine had another brother?
Chapter 8
Jasmine
It was my first day back at the hospital after helping Wes escape. I wasn’t sure what I should be expecting when I got there but I could only hope that no one would suspect me.
“Hey, Jasmine!” Ben greeted me with a smile. He had a coffee in his hand and his free one gave me a slight wave. I was surprised we were shift-mates now. “Have you heard about our John Doe escaping?”
My heart raced at the mention of Wes but I didn’t want my reaction to show. For all I knew, Ben might be on to me and was trying to see how I would react to the question. “Yes,” I said, trying to sound dazed about the whole event.
“And I heard Cristina saying you paid him a visit.” Ben and I had reached the entrance of the hospital and were making our way to where we were supposed to be on time. I timed in my ID and then turned to face him as he timed himself in.
“I did. I bought him clothes and just dropped in to give them to him.”
In the elevator, Ben eyed me and I wondered if he was suspicious about my answer. “So, why’d you buy him clothes?”
At that moment I remembered that Ben had a thing for me and this was now an opportunity to use it to my advantage. “I thought it’d be a Good Samaritan kind of thing, you know. The poor guy didn’t know anyone; he didn’t even know himself. It was just some cheap clothing from a thrift shop.” I flashed him an award-winning smile, hoping that it would enthrall him. “Is that so wrong?”
We reached our floor and stepped out, walking toward our station. Ben looked flushed and then shook his head. “No. I think that’s quite nice of you. But what do you think about him now? I mean, he ended up running away and ripping everyone off.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “He was a John Doe. The government’s meant to pay for his treatment.” My reply was curt but true. I didn’t want Ben to discuss this story further.
“Did you hear about the incident in the parking lot?”
“Yes, Paul told me about it.” I shook my head in disbelief.
“Did you also hear about the two nurses knocked unconscious and put in a closet?”
That statement left me confused. It was like I imagined those two nurses coming into the hospital with that vial of lethal poison in their tray. “What?”
Ben’s eyes gleamed as if he was happy to finally found the right topic to talk about with me. “Yeah. Joey found them in the broom closet. Andre Blackthorn and James Frow. Andre was bleeding so much. They must’ve been knocked pretty bad, Andre more so than James.”
A chill of fear rushed through me. I felt so bad for them. It seemed as if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. “How are they now?”
“They’re on sick leave,” Ben answered. “Andre’s very shaken up. Your friend Paul had interviewed them but they could barely remember anything. But get this, the reason why those guys must’ve easily knocked them out was because Andre and James were making out on the third floor, in the hallway that leads to the residents’ quarters.”
That wasn’t something I was expecting. But once again, they were making out in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ben looked like he enjoyed the gossip so much it made me wonder about his own sexuality. But then again, he had been hitting on me for almost a year since Paul and I ended. “So, I’m guessing they couldn’t describe the guys that knocked them unconscious?”
His smile turned upside down and he wasn’t too happy in my lack of enthusiasm over the gossip. “No. We found their scrubs thrown in a hamper meant for the resident. They seemed to disappear along with the guy who was shooting in the parking lot so it’s safe to say that they were working together.”
That was already something Wes and I had pieced together. “Why do you think those men came here?”
Ben shrugged. “I’m not sure. I have a feeling it has something to do with John Doe’s disappearance. Maybe he was pretending that he had amnesia.”
I shook my head. That was a terrible thing to accuse Wes of. “I don’t think so. You saw him, interacted with him. He really did seem like he had no clue about the life he used to lead. He was quite upset by it all. You can’t fake that kind of ignorance, Ben.”
He nodded. “Well, I suppose you’re right. But it could go either way, Jasmine. Either he’s working with those guys and, somehow, they managed to visit him without anyone of us noticing, or they were here to try to kill him. A vial of potassium was found discarded in a trash can.”
I nodded grimly as our co-nurses arrived and began their endorsement. I couldn’t get my mind off the information that Ben just shared with me. So, everyone in the hospital knew, as well as the police, that there had been strange men who had masked themselves as nurses who worked here. The men had viciously attacked the two nurses, leaving them wounded and unconscious. They also knew about the vial of potassium which meant that they knew that whoever those men were, they came to the hospital with the intention to kill someone.
I wanted to talk to Paul about everything but was worried it would only land us in trouble.
For the rest of the morning, I continued on with my work, pretending like my mind wasn’t completely preoccupied with this whole ordeal. From time to time, I checked my phone to see if Wes had sent me a text. We hadn’t discussed this but I hoped he would realize that it would be nice of him to keep me updated with what he was doing. I was already hesitant about letting him out of the house although I knew that spending twelve hours in there without me would only bore him senseless.
“Hey, Jasmine!”
I looked up and was surprised to see Paul. We hadn’t talked since the last time he called me. “Hi, Paul. What are you doing here?”
“I had something to discuss with security.”
“No luck with the footage?” My heart beat raced with anxiety.
He shook his head, dismayed. “No. Whoever hacked into the system is pretty damn good. Even the best personnel in the field can’t recover them.”
I exhaled a breath of relief as I watched Paul lean against the counter. He wasn't dressed in uniform but I still fondly remember him donning one. He had been my best friend since the fifth grade and since then, he has always been there for me. We even dated briefly last year but it got to the point where we realized that we were better off as friends than anything more. It was heart-breaking to break up with someone, even more so when that person happened to be your best friend.
“Listen, Jasmine, there’s a new case that’s sprung up. A missing teenage boy in New Greenwich.”
I blinked and stared at him. I had been too preoccupied with Wes’ case that I almost didn’t understand what he was trying to tell me. “What are you…?”
Paul furrowed his eyebrows as if he didn’t expect my reaction. “The local police there are all over that case. They’re far better than my team here. I think they might crack this case open, Jasmine.”
“They might lead us to Damien.”
Damien.
Oh, dear god, my brother. I had almost forgotten about my brother because I was too preoccupied with Wes’ case. So much had happened in the past few days, and it had been such a roller coaster ride, full of real panic and fear, as well as the sensual feelings Wes brought out in me.
I had hardly sp
ent any time worrying over my brother and his disappearance.
“Oh, god,” I murmured as Paul wrapped his hands in mine. “Do you really think we can have him back, Paul?”
Paul squeezed my hand and tried to look reassuring. “I don’t want to get our hopes up, Jasmine, but I know someone in New Greenwich. He’s going to keep us updated. They have pretty good resources there, Jasmine. They might get this case solved.”
I ran my hand through my ponytail as I stared at the white wall of the hospital. “He’s not the only one disappearing, Paul. Damien disappeared nine months ago and this is a fresh new case. I thought that it was over.”
He nodded his head grimly. “Me too. But at least we have a new lead on Damien. I can’t say the same thing about John Doe. We still can’t find him anywhere and then there’s that thing about the security footage here in the hospital.”
I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Paul. You’re going to be fine. You’re great with these things.”
He smiled at me. “I’d take you out for lunch but I’m needed back in the station.”
Good, because I couldn’t have lunch with him and I didn’t know how I could decline had he offered. “Oh, it’s okay.”
Paul kissed me on the cheek, his lips almost lingering. There used to be times I wondered why he and I didn’t work out and then I realized that the both of us were simply better off as friends and nothing more than that. He waved goodbye and then disappeared in the hallway. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to be vulnerable for a moment, letting out the memories I kept locked up.
Damien disappeared nine months ago. Paul and I had been desperate to look for him, me more than him, but we couldn’t find him. We’ve tried to look for him in the nearest towns, reported it to higher authorities but Damien was nowhere to be found. Not even a glimpse of his ashy blonde head anywhere. It was like he suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth.
Six months into the search, Paul had told me that I needed to pull myself together. I couldn’t keep hitting the pause button. I needed to move forward with life. He promised me that he would keep on looking for me, keep on questioning things that might even be remotely linked to Damien’s case.
I had buried myself with work. I often worked six days a week, twelve hours a day. Anything to take my mind off of the ache of longing for, and worrying about, my brother.
And now Wes had come into my life.
Oh, shit. Wes.
I told some of my co-workers that I was going to eat lunch out and rushed out of the hospital and to the diner. I wanted to tell Wes about Damien because my heart was almost about to explode from the news that Paul had told me and with the news that Ben had shared. I found Wes sitting in an almost hidden booth, waving at me. He looked good with the dark hair and nothing like the John Doe that I first met.
“Hey, how was work?” He asked as soon as I took a seat.
“You won’t believe the news that I just found out.” I launched into telling him everything that Ben had told me and he nodded his head grimly, not thrilled about what happened to Andre and James. For a moment, I contemplated on telling him about what Paul told me but that meant telling him about Damien.
I didn’t want to tell him about Damien just yet. I liked how we were. I didn’t want to tell him that I was the reason why my brother disappeared. If only I had allowed him to go to that stupid party then he wouldn’t have snuck out. But I was a condescending older sister and had strict rules and now my brother had been missing for nine months and I was offering help to, and fucking, a stranger who could potentially be dangerous.
“How about you? How has your day been?” I wanted to change the topic, wanted him to tell me if he made any progress.
But Wes shook his head and sighed, playing with the beans on his plate. “Nothing. I went to the media and asked if there had been any missing person’s report but they didn’t show me anything enlightening. But I kind of want to see if there are more things I could find out in the next town, Jasmine.”
I was barely listening to him because I spotted two guys coming in. They were dressed casually but they had this air of confidence around them that made me feel uncomfortable. They didn’t look like they were from around here either. But they could be people who were passing by. After all, Norwynne was infamous for being the stopover town since there really wasn’t anything significant about this place.
“Jasmine?”
I looked up and met Wes’ concerned blue-green eyes. “If you want to visit the next town over, it’s New Greenwich. You can take a bus there but you better leave the bike back in the garage and you have to be home by dinner.”
Wes seemed surprised that I was giving him permission. “You’re letting me go there?”
I nodded, my eyes still fixed on those two guys. Something gold flashed inside one of the guys’ jacket and I’d been with Paul long enough to know that it was a badge. But they weren’t local police. “I know how important this is to you, Wes. But you have to keep yourself safe, okay?”
He smiled and nodded his head and then excused himself to go to the bathroom. I got up and headed to the counter to pay for our lunch, making sure I was close enough to the men. There was something suspicious about them. “We’re looking for someone who might be a suspect for a crime. Have you seen this man, sir?”
One of them was talking to Owen, the owner of the diner, and they were showing him a printed colored paper. I was near enough to spare a glance and my eyes widened when I saw who was in the picture.
Pale blonde hair, blue-green eyes, and a smile that could melt a girl’s heart even when he was banged up and painted with bruises.
They were looking for Wes.
Chapter 9
Jasmine
My heart was racing; the fear I felt so crippling that I almost fell. But I didn’t want them to take notice of me. I didn’t want them to see that I was affected. They hadn’t seen me. Even Owen hadn’t spotted me because he was busy conversing with them. I needed to get out of here.
I needed to get Wes out of here.
I waved over another girl working at the counter. Elaine came to me straight away. “Hey, Jasmine. You look a little pale. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
My lips pursed. I kept glancing at where I knew Wes was. He still hadn’t come back from the restroom. I handed Elaine $40. “I’m fine. Just tired, is all. Keep the change, Laine.”
To say that I was in a rush to get out of the place was an understatement. I almost ran to where the bathroom was but I knew I had to keep calm. Just as I neared the restroom, Wes was coming out. I grabbed him by the arm. “Lower your head,” I ordered him.
He looked at me in question but I tugged at his arm harshly, making our way to the back exit of the diner. The bright light was a stark contrast to the dim lighting from inside. I let go of Wes’ arm, taking in gulps of air to calm my nerves.
“What’s going on, Jasmine?”
My head was spinning at that moment. “Wes, I need you to go straight home. Lock the doors. Pull down the blinds on the windows. I want you to make sure that the house looks unoccupied. I don’t care if you have to lock yourself in my bedroom. I’ll go straight home after work.”
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he backed away, staring at me, as if unable to comprehend what I was telling him. “But you just told me that I could go to New Greenwich this afternoon.”
“I know what I said, Wes!” I snapped. I kept glancing at the back door we just exited from. I kept looking around, in case the men walked out and spotted us. I didn’t want to risk them seeing us. “But listen to me. I need you to go straight home. We can go to New Greenwich tonight. We’ll go there together. I don’t care about that right now. I just want you home!”
Wes narrowed his eyes, the bright blue-green turning into a darker shade, with confusion and anger. “What the hell is going on, Jasmine?”
My hands went to his face, cradling him in desperation. “I can’t explain eve
rything right now. But please, Wes, just please, listen to me! I need you home because I know you’ll be safe there. When you get there, call me from my home phone so I’ll know that you went straight home after this.”
I kissed him, infusing my panic in the kiss. When I pulled away, the confusion remained in his eyes. “This doesn’t mean I’m happily agreeing to what you want me to do.”
I rested my forehead against his, my palms flattening against his chest. “Baby, please, trust me on this, okay?”
Against his wishes, Wes pulled away from me and I watched as he made his way to the bike. Thank goodness it was parked nearby. I watched as he got on it and rode away. I closed my eyes and almost sank to my knees when he was out of my sight.
“Are you okay, miss?”
My heart stopped at the sound of the unfamiliar voice and slowly, I looked up at the faces of the two men talking to Owen earlier. Slowly, I stood up and nodded, patting my palms against my scrubs as if I was wiping away dirt from my hands. “Yes, I’m fine. Just a tiring shift, that’s all.”
They both nodded their heads, buying my excuse. They glanced at each other for a moment before the other one pulled a picture out of the pocket of his jacket. “Miss, by any chance, has this man been at the hospital?”
I swallowed, staring at the picture of Wes in front of me. The familiar set of blue-green eyes sending a shiver down my spine. “I don’t think so. Why?”
He licked his lips before answering me. “He’s a suspect for the death of one of our agents. We reckon that he’s been in hiding. We’re informing the station here in Norwynne about his case. If you ever see him, head to the station right away and they will inform us.”
My jaw was clenched tight at the information they just gave me. “What…are you the FBI?”
They shook their head and the other one pulled out his badge. “CIA. We’re not supposed to drag civilians into this mess but we did need information from hospital staff. Figured you could’ve done it for us. Remember, if you ever come across this man, consider him dangerous and inform the police immediately.”
