Lucia shook her head in frustration. “It’s true that I can do some pretty amazing things, but you need to understand that I don’t want to hurt anyone by using my abilities.”
Hurt anyone? Was she seriously afraid of hurting Sara? The thought of shooting Sara was rather appealing to me, if I was being honest. That was how furious I was with her. “She attacked Gabriella and burned my house down! I don’t understand your use of caution at this juncture.”
At my words, Lucia finally had to spell it out for me. “The FBI found her at a friend’s house, but she saw the flashing lights and ran out the back door before they could get to her. Just around the block was a mall, and Sara ran inside. When the FBI finally caught up with her, she’d grabbed a girl and taken her as a hostage.”
“She WHAT?” The question flew out of my mouth in an angry roar, propelling me to my feet. “She took a hostage?” I knew the bitch was crazy, but she’d left Crazyville a long time ago and hopped on the bus to Schizophrenic Town. A hostage? Oh yeah, she was definitely psychotic. Someone get that girl a shot of Valium and a padded cell—STAT! I started frantically searching for my clothes, but of course I had none besides the burned remains of what I wore the day before.
Lucia smiled, though she wasn’t amused. “I brought clothes,” she said and pointed toward the bathroom where there were two baskets of folded clothes. “And some toiletries.”
With no time to waste, I stripped in front of Lucia and Jenna and changed into clean clothes. As I was doing that, Lucia made a portal. Jenna stared between the two of us, shocked, but she snapped out of it. She held out my phone. I snatched it up, kissed her, and turned toward the portal.
“Be safe,” Jenna called.
“I will,” I promised.
In seconds, Lucia and I were in D.C., and I made sure to mentally tally the frequent flyer miles for yet another trip through the dimensions. We were outside a mall, though far enough away that no one saw us walk out of the portal. We made our way between parked cars as Lucia filled me in on the situation. “She’s demanding to talk to you and refuses to negotiate with anybody else.”
“Great,” I grumbled. Hadn’t this woman stolen enough of my life? Couldn’t she at least be arrested without causing trouble? This was just fantastic.
We were greeted with dozens of flashing police lights, two ambulances, and a fire truck. There was a mob outside the mall, pressing themselves against the police barricades. Media vans had already pulled in and were filming outside. I made sure to stay far away from them, keeping my head down and my attention elsewhere. When we got to the barrier, an officer stopped us. I was about to pull out my identification, but I’d lost that, along with my gun, in the fire. I felt stripped and naked without them, and I stupidly stuttered out nonsense when I realized this.
“Stay behind the barricade,” the officer demanded, glaring at me.
“I’m Special Agent Joseph Carter of the FBI, now let me pass,” I shouted, furious I was being held back from going inside because Sara had burned my house down.
The officer didn’t give me a second glance as he chuckled, placing a hand on his round belly. “That’s funny,” he said. “You’re the fourth person to try that on me tonight.”
I turned to Lucia with raised eyebrows. It was her turn to work her magic. She gestured for me to step aside, so I did. She flung magic at the blockade, and it exploded into tiny splinters of wood. The officer jumped at the sound, whirling around with his gun out. I covered my face as the debris rained down on the shocked crowd. The officer had aimed his gun at me, I realized when I lowered my arms.
“Go on, Joseph. He can’t hurt you,” Lucia said, voice low and threatening.
The fact I stepped forward showed how much faith I had in the angel. The officer shouted at me to stop, show him my hands, and that I was under arrest. When he realized I wasn’t going to stop, he shot at me. I flinched away from the magical barrier Lucia had put up. It caught the bullet and spit it out in a way that came off as comedic. The tiny bullet bounced back and forth on the ground before settling. I held in my laughter, though there wasn’t anything funny about it. The officer lowered his gun, staring at me with wide, brown eyes. He mumbled something incoherent, but he didn’t try to stop us again.
As soon as I reached the Director, he handed me a gun and new identification. “Had this made up for you this morning,” he said gruffly. “Figured you’d lost yours in the fire.”
“How’d you get it so fast?” I asked.
“Seems you’re an asset the department’s willing to bend over backwards for,” he informed. He handed me a flak jacket. “She’s like a freak of nature, not moving an inch for our snipers to take her out. It’s like she knows exactly how to stand and hold a hostage to keep herself alive and safe.”
I snorted. “It wouldn’t surprise me if this wasn’t the first time she’s taken someone hostage,” I remarked.
“Listen, Joseph,” Tom said, taking me off guard by how sincere he sounded. “This woman is obviously off her rocker, so please be careful when you go out there. The negotiator wants you to wear this—” he held up an earpiece “—so he can help direct the conversation.”
I shook my head, weary. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. She’ll know if I’m not being sincere, and the last thing I need is for someone screaming in my ear.”
He nodded and shoved it in my hands. “Take it anyway. If things get tough, you can always put it in your ear.”
“Okay,” I agreed and curled my fist around the device. He patted my shoulder, and I made my way into the open space between the uniformed and the insane.
“I’ll make sure you’re shielded,” Lucia said softly as I passed her.
“Can’t you shield the hostage?” I asked in disbelief.
Lucia gave me that look again—the one that said I was clearly a moron. “Not in this situation,” she explained. “Sara’s holding the hostage against her body; there’s no way I could fully protect the hostage.”
“Oh. Okay, thanks,” I murmured, finally stepping free of the trigger-happy agents and police officers. I could see it in their eyes; they were eager to shoot, which told me they’d all heard about my house fire and were looking for revenge.
Sara’s hair was a tangled mess, and her bangs stuck to her sweat-covered forehead. She had one arm wrapped snuggly around a teenager’s neck, the other tucked behind the girl, pointing the gun at the base of her skull. How had Sara gotten the gun? Had she stolen it? Surely she’d been to a padded cell lately and wasn’t allowed to purchase handguns.
“I’ll shoot,” Sara warned. “Stay back! Stay back!” It sounded as if she’d been repeating this so much that she didn’t take the time to notice me.
“Sara?” I said carefully.
Her head snapped in my direction, and the furious expression melted away. She smiled at me, and my stomach roiled. I wanted to punch her. Yes, many would say hitting a woman was not something a man should ever do, but how many of them had met Sara? She wasn’t a woman—she was a monster.
“Joey,” Sara breathed, relieved. She had no right to use that nickname. It had bothered me before, but now I wanted to rip her tongue out so she could never say it again.
“What are you doing, Sara? This is madness.” I let my hands fall limply to my sides to show I was no threat.
“They-they’re here to arrest me, Joey, for burning down your house. You have to tell them I didn’t do it. I’d never do anything that like,” she whined.
Trying to stay calm, I took in a much-needed breath, exhaling it slowly. “Sara, I don’t know if that’s true. There’s an eyewitness.”
“I didn’t burn your house down,” she swore. When I didn’t respond, she became angry and tightened her grip on the poor teenage girl. The hostage was blonde and skinny, and her makeup ran in wet trails down her cheeks. “I didn’t burn your house down!” Sara repeated, a growl entering her voice. Was she possessed or something? Would her head start spinning around while she vomit
ed green stuff? Nothing would surprise me at this point.
I decided to give her an inch to see if she’d cool down a bit. “Okay, you didn’t burn my house down,” I agreed. Even I was impressed that I could say that with a straight face. “But look around you. You’ve got this girl held hostage for no reason.”
Sara stared at me in disbelief, as if she couldn’t comprehend why I didn’t understand her motives. “They were going to take me in. I couldn’t have that,” she confessed. “You’d think badly of me, Joey.”
My fury simmered just below the surface, and I was barely able to contain it. “And did you think I would look highly on your for taking an innocent girl hostage?” I wanted to shake her until all the nuts and bolts that’d come loose tumbled out of her.
Sara’s mouth hung open as she grasped my logic. “I-I don’t know,” she admitted.
“Please, let the girl go. She’s never done anything to you. You can come with me, and I’ll go with you down to the FBI building so we can work this all out. I’m sure you’ll be back home in no time,” I coaxed. “You know I love you—I’d never lie about something this important.” I wanted to tear my vocal chords out for telling Sara I loved her. “Come on.”
Before I could say another word, Sara jerked her hostage back a few steps and steadied the gun. I’d only ever seen someone highly trained hold a gun the way she did—unwavering and so steady she might as well have propped it up on an invisible barrier.
“No!” Sara shouted. “You’re just trying to trick me. You’re just . . . you’re just . . . you’re just trying to trick me. I just know it.” She repeated this over and over and over, as if chanting it would calm her nerves. It frayed mine.
I knew trying to talk her down this way wasn’t going to work, so I had to try an approach that would make me sick to my stomach. But if it worked, Sara would be locked up, and this poor girl could go home to her family and friends. “Listen, Sara, sweetie”—I wanted to pull out my tongue—“all of these officers are going to let you go,” I said calmly.
The pet name threw her off, and she wavered for just a second before her resolve returned. “No they aren’t! Do you think I’m an idiot?”
Well, now that you mention it, I’ve had my suspicions, I thought dryly. Instead, I said, “Of course you’re not an idiot, sweetie,”—gag—“but remember that I have an in with these people. If I ask them to, you know, look the other way, we could get out of here real quick.”
She hesitated again, right on the edge of deciding if I was full of it or not. “Really?” she asked. “Where would we go?”
Was she buying it? I made my voice confident and sure. “I don’t know. We could go anywhere you want.”
She seemed eager now, even taking a step forward. “Can we go to the Bahamas? I’d love to sit on the beach and drink piña coladas.” She sounded like an eager five-year-old.
I snatched onto the brief respite, praying her anger had finally been tucked away into whatever strange place in her mind it had come from. “Yes!” I exclaimed. “Let’s go to the Bahamas.” I cringed internally at my words, but I almost had her.
“How do I know they’ll listen to you?” Sara nodded her head toward the sea of uniforms behind me.
I pivoted sideways, keeping Sara in my view. Addressing the crowd, I said, “You’ll let her go, right? If she comes to me, you’ll let her go.” The last wasn’t a question; it was a demand that they please go along with my ruse. The officers exchanged looks that clearly said I was crazy. Yeah, that was helpful. “If she gives me the gun, you’ll let her go,” I demanded. Again, they glanced at each other. I swear, these people were as dense as mercury.
Sara’s grip on the gun grew so tight her knuckles turned white. “I don’t know about that, Joey.”
“It’s okay, Sara. You can trust me. I love you.” Yup, that did it. She didn’t believe me for a second, especially because I let my voice dip in disgust.
“That’s the second time you’ve said that, Joey. You’ve never said that to me—” She cut herself off, realizing what she was about to admit. This was the loony woman who thought I was going to marry her and give her children, after all. “I mean, it’s been a while since you’ve said that to me, Joey. How do I know you aren’t just saying that now to get me to give you my gun?”
I inhaled a steadying breath, knowing what I had to do next might possibly make me physically ill. A few more deep breaths, and I pulled the FBI agent mask out, wearing it like it was a shield. “Because, Sara, I need you,” I said, voice raspy. “I’ve needed you this whole time. I made a mistake.”
Sara’s eyes narrowed. “Are you . . . Are you saying that you left that other woman?”
“Yes. She was a huge mistake. There’s only you,” I lied through my teeth. On top of this being the most horrific thing I’d ever have to live through, my pride was taking a beating. She still wasn’t buying it, so I knew I had to go all out. “Actually, there’s something I need to ask you.”
“No! I’m not giving up the gun,” Sara shouted, spittle flying from her mouth. The hostage whimpered, and I was sorry she had to witness what I was about to do.
“Calm down,” I said as soothingly as possible. “That wasn’t what I was going to ask. Just calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down,” she screamed, yanking at the hostage, pulling farther away from me. I didn’t dare move.
“Okay, Sara, but I need you to listen to me. Your answer will mean the world to me,” I said softly. The words felt so wrong and dirty leaving my mouth, and I knew what I had to say to convince Sara to let this hostage go was going to make me want to vomit all over my shoes.
“Go on, ask it,” Sara demanded.
I had to force myself to take a step forward, to lower myself on one knee, to look up at Sara as if I had true feelings for her. “Sara, will you marry me?” I asked. I couldn’t believe those words had just come out of my mouth.
Sara’s hand dropped to her side, the gun loose. She let the girl go and ran to me. Tension was thick in the air as she darted toward me, flung her arms around my neck, and repeatedly screeched out the word “Yes!”
My stomach felt like it was souring at those words. I thought there was only one woman I would ever ask to marry me, and that was Jenna. Even though it wasn’t real with Sara, it felt so incredibly wrong to have ever uttered those words aloud to anyone besides my sweet fiancée.
Officers rushed forward, tackled Sara to the ground, and wrestled the gun from her. I backed away as quickly as I could, needing to get away from this woman. The sound of handcuffs clicking home made it all worth it.
“Will you still marry me?” Sara cried. Her lip trembled, and tears streamed down her face.
“No, Sara. I don’t love you. I won’t marry you. You burned my house down and almost killed the people I love the most. On what planet is this okay? What strange universe are you living in where doing that is reason for someone to love you and want to marry you?” I spat, infuriated. The words spilled out of me like a tidal wave of hate.
Normally I would have walked away from this situation, but she had ticked me off beyond belief. All I really wanted to do was kick her while she was down. Didn’t she know she was crazy? Well, I guessed not. Crazy people don’t realize they’re crazy! Sara was clearly not playing with a full deck.
I backed away, relieved it was over. This woman would be put away for a laundry list of crimes that would keep her behind bars for a long, long time. I’d had enough of being walked on, enough of letting everyone use me like I was an entryway carpet. Those days were long gone.
“Ready to go home?” Lucia asked, coming up beside me.
“Yeah,” I said. Lucia understood what that meant, and she took me straight to Jenna.
CHAPTER 11: TIE THE KNOT
I followed Jenna into a tuxedo shop in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. Inside were my groomsmen: Andrew, Connor, and Jake. Connor was my happily married brother who had two young kids and lived in Colorado. I’d met Jake duri
ng orientation at the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building on our first day, and we’d been friends ever since then. Jenna had met both of them during our months of dating, and not surprisingly, my friends and family instantly loved her. They weren’t at all shocked when we decided to get married so quickly; in fact, they asked what had taken us so long.
Tension was thick in the air as we approached them. Jake and Connor stared at Andrew as if waiting for him to do something crazy, like turn water into wine or deliver prophetic messages from the Gods. So far, Andrew had yet to do anything biblical around me, unless you counted glowing or flying or using magic. Andrew, on the other hand, eyed my brother and best friend with trepidation, though he stood so still it was as if a steel rod had formed in his spine. I couldn’t help but laugh at them for being so ridiculous.
I introduced Andrew to Jake and Connor; both of them remained apprehensive, making sure to stand several feet away from the angel.
“Don’t worry,” I said to them, patting Andrew’s stiff shoulder. “He doesn’t bite.”
“Gabby might argue that,” Jenna mumbled under her breath.
“Gah! Don’t say stuff like that.” I rubbed at my eyes, trying to erase the mental image.
Andrew’s rigid stance relaxed, and his lips tilted up into a smile. He had no problems picturing biting Gabby. I will not picture them having sex. I will not picture them having sex. Crap, I was picturing them doing the fun dance. Andrew smirked at me.
“Don’t say a single word,” I warned, pointing at him sternly. He laughed.
Jenna rolled her eyes, shook her head, and led us to the back desk where a woman greeted us. Her nametag read Sheila. Jenna turned to us, a sly smile letting me know she was up to no good. This prompted an exchange of questioning glances between us men, who were obviously not in the loop.
After signing in for our appointment, Jenna seized me by the arm and dragged me toward Sheila. “This is the groom, Joseph,” Jenna introduced. “Make sure his tux looks super special.” Jenna winked at her, which had to be some kind of girl code I couldn’t understand.
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