Jeremiah by Kris Michaels
Chapter 15
Jeremiah rolled over and grabbed Eden, pulling her against him. He settled into the pillow and her warmth. He’d just faded into sleep when he heard his phone vibrating from wherever he’d dropped his pants. They’d barely made it up the stairs before their clothes were off. He opened one eye and glared at the clock. Really? One o’clock in the morning?
He woke with a jolt. Crap, it could be Tori or Tank’s boy. He slid out of the bed, grabbed his boxers, and hopped into them on the way to find his pants. He grabbed his jeans by the leg and shook them. Keys, change, his wallet, and cell phone dropped to the floor. He leaned over and picked up his cell. Fifteen missed calls, and five of them were from Jamison.
“What the actual…” He opened the phone, disregarded the messages, and called his mentor.
“Where the fuck are you?” Jamison snapped.
“I was sleeping until someone woke my ass up. What the hell is the problem?” He ran his hand through his hair and noticed Eden, half-awake, wearing one of his t-shirts, standing at the door. He opened his arm and she shuffled over to him, dropping her head onto his chest in a zombie-like stupor. Damn, he hated that he’d woke her.
“Cyrus Macmillan escaped from custody.”
The words tightened his gut and cut out his ability to move air in and out of his body. He belted his grip on Eden, almost crushing her against him. “When?” His heart was hammering in his ears.
Jamison bit out the answer, “This afternoon.”
Cognitive reasoning tapped back in and he nodded to himself. “Okay. He doesn’t know where I am, no big deal. The authorities will find him.”
“He eluded capture for seven years before the FBI caught him last time, but that’s not the important issue here.”
“What is the issue, then?” He and Eden were somehow sitting on the couch. He took the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker.
Jamison continued quickly, “He stole a laptop belonging to the warden. It updates from his desktop every day at noon.”
“The prison has passwords and protections.” He fisted his hands together. “Damn it, how did this happen? He should have been in restraints.”
“I know, believe me, I know.” Jamison cleared his throat. “Remi, he slaughtered fifteen people to get from the hospital ward to the administrative branch.”
“How did he get out?”
“Guardian hasn’t been asked to investigate.”
“But?” he prompted.
“But they placed the prison on lockdown. Every guard moved to their assigned posts. He slaughtered those in his way. We believe a guard shot him once, but with the amount of blood covering him on the video we obtained, it was hard to determine.”
“I still don’t understand. How did he get out?”
“Every guard went to their assigned positions. There weren’t enough to maintain coverage in the admin area. According to what we are getting out of the mess, the warden directed everyone to help with the lockdown. There weren’t any guards in the admin area and there isn’t camera coverage there, either. He killed the new warden, the one who came in to clean up the mess. They found his prison uniform in the office. The warden’s body didn’t have clothes, the computer was gone, and we have camera footage showing Cyrus walking out the main doors to the secure parking lot. He punched the warden’s key fob and found his car. He drove out using the warden’s keycard to unlock the barrier gates.”
“Do we know what information is on that laptop?”
“Officially, no. Unofficially, the email you sent your supervisor was forwarded to the warden at ten-fifteen a.m. The laptop would have synced at noon.”
Eden grabbed his hand. “What email? What does that mean.”
He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I’ll tell you in a minute.”
“Jamison—” He left the word hanging. Not only was he fucked, but so was this tiny town. Cyrus would kill everyone to get to him.
“You don’t have to say a word. Our main computer tech says the encryption would keep a normal person out and finding someone to open a computer would be his second priority, his wound would be his first. That being said, I’ve called in one of my many favors with the big guy. Guardian is going to track this and encourage the Governor of California to put us in charge of the investigation. Again.”
“Do you know what was in that email?” He looked at Eden’s bewildered expression and pulled her into him.
“I do. If we get wind Cyrus is heading your way, we’ll send a security team out there. They’ll be bunking close by and will deploy if we get any indication shit’s heading your way.”
“Jamison, even if I leave—”
“That’s just it. My bosses don’t want you to leave. There are a lot of variables in play in this situation. If he doesn’t die of his wound, if he isn’t captured, if he can crack that password and get into the computer, and if he looks through the warden’s email, we will at least have a safety net for you at your current location. Right now, my boss is planning for a worst-case scenario and hoping none of the plans he is putting in place have to be used.”
“So, I just sit here and wait?”
“Yes, there is nothing else to do at this point. Go about your life. I’ll keep you updated. As soon as we know something, you’ll know it.”
“And if he is coming this way?”
“Then he will have made a critical error. Guardian isn’t the government, they’re private, agile, and damn good at what they do.”
“All right.” He glanced at Eden. “I need to explain this to Eden.”
“I’ll call every morning with updates. You have my word on that. By the way, I checked. South Dakota is an open carry and open concealed carry state. You don’t need a permit.”
Jamison’s promise reassured him that his agency was engaged, but he’d seen what the man was capable of firsthand. There was no way he’d let him contaminate this town, his sister, or his lover.
“Understood. Thank you, Jamison. I appreciate you reaching out to me and letting me know.”
“I believe the prison tried to contact you also. Your supervisor is an okay lady.”
“She is. Until morning, then.” He waited for Jamison to hang up before he locked his home screen on his phone.
“Tell me what’s going on because not knowing the backstory here is freaking me out.” Eden turned to face him on the couch, and he took her hand in his.
“Remember what I told you about my tattoo?” She reached up with her free hand and cupped his neck where the snake was visible and nodded.
“The man who did that is also the man who drove me away from my prison practice.” He cleared his throat and gave her the bare minimum to convey what he’d witnessed and what Cyrus had done.
She stared down at their linked hands for several minutes, and he gave her time to process what he’d revealed. She finally lifted her eyes to him. The expression wasn’t one of fear; rather, what he saw in those beautiful blue eyes made his heart expand. “You’ve been living with this since it happened? Why haven’t you told me? Does Gen know?”
“She knows.”
“And you didn’t tell me because…?” Eden cocked her head and held his gaze.
“Because it was over. I talk to Jamison once a week, a professional courtesy to me, and I’ve put it behind me. Or I thought I had until tonight. It isn’t the type of conversation you just bring up. I would have told you eventually.” He shrugged. “He had no place in this relationship and I didn’t want to taint you with his deranged acts.”
“Do you think he will come for you?”
“If he finds that email, he’ll try. There is no doubt in my mind,” he answered honestly. “The thing is if he comes and I’m not here, he’ll still kill anyone he thinks is important to me. Any way he can hurt me, he will.”
Eden nodded and moved across the space between them, hugging him. “I don’t know what Guardian is and it’s good that they are going to be around, but you’ve never seen this town close ranks.” She sighed and then sat up. “We need to tell Ken so he can let the sheriff’s department know. Then we need to get the word out. Every man and woman in this town owns weapons. If they know there is a risk, they’ll arm themselves and watch out for strangers.”
God, he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to disrupt the town in any way. “How about we tell the deputy but wait on informing the town until we get any sign he’s making his way this direction? I’d hate to put the town up in arms only to cry false alarm when they capture him.”
Eden blinked and then nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. I guess I’m overreacting.
It is just such a shock.”
Jeremiah shoved his hand through his hair. “Yeah, tell me about it.”
Eden stood up. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” Jeremiah took her hand and stood up.
“We are going to go into the kitchen and make an early breakfast. Neither of us are going to go back to sleep, so we eat, we talk, and because those feelings we keep talking about are getting the better of me, we’re going to work out a plan of what we’re going to do if that batshit crazy person shows up here. I never want to lose you.” She hit the kitchen light and turned into his arms. “I’m sorry if it is too soon to say that, but I can’t…” Her eyes misted up. “I lost Riley and it tore my heart out. Losing you isn’t something I think I’d survive.”
He pulled her into him and held her tight as she cried. He kissed the top of her head and rocked back and forth while letting her vent her emotions. When she finally stopped, he reassured her, “I’m not going anywhere. If he is coming this way, I’ll hire Guardian and get more protection for the town, for all of us.” He had the money, and if he needed more, he’d contact his father. Taking care of this town—and of Eden—was his purpose now. He’d never let them become the victim that Cyrus had made him.
She nodded, and with her head still tucked against his shoulder, she asked, “Until then?”
Liquid steel in the form of resolve poured over him. “Until then we live. I won’t let that bastard take anything else from me.” She nodded against his shoulder but didn’t release him from the embrace. He dropped his chin onto her hair and closed his eyes. He’d turned the corner from being Cyrus’ victim. This wasn’t a topic he’d discuss with Jamison, but he knew if he had the chance, he’d probably kill Cyrus. There wasn’t a court in the land that would convict him. What he needed was a gun, a truckload of bullets, and a target. There was no way he’d be unarmed or unprotected. He’d talk to the deputy about what type of handgun to purchase. If it was time to make a stand against a psychotic killer, he’d be ready.
