Crushed (Partners in Crime Book 3)

Chapter 7

Jack stared down at the address he had typed into on his phone. 8245 Creek Road. No, it couldn't be. "Um, guys?"

"Not right now, Jack." Payton brushed him off.

"No, this is important." He persisted.

"Jack, not right now." Payton tapped her foot impatiently.

"No! Listen to me!" He must have raised his voice a teeny bit cause Olivia's eyes widened and she stepped back a fraction. Great, now she thought he couldn't hold his temper in. He let out a slow breath and lowered his voice, "The address is to another VA Hospital. In Denver."

"The time must be the time the bomb is scheduled to go off." Olivia whispered, her voice frantic. "We have to go and stop them."

Dominic groaned, "Why do people hate other humans so much?"

Payton stood stock still, "They are gonna bomb another hospital?"

Jack watched Olivia wrap an arm around her friend, "It's okay Payton. We'll stop them."

Did he dare ask? "Who's 'we'?"

"You and me." Olivia looked him straight in the eye, "We need to leave now."

He barely registered her voice. Her and him. Them. We. Together. It was almost too much to ask after his mess up during the previous week.

"I'll inform the locals in Denver. You guys go and explain the case. They are gonna want the lead detectives and agents to fill them in. That way they will know we are being serious. Olivia, ride with Jack. I'll get your car back home. Go." Dominic ushered them out.

Olivia was already rushing out of the house and to his car, "Jack, come on!" She called from the living room.

"Dude, go!" Dominic pushed Jack out the door. "Go! Think of Sophie!"

That hit the target. Sophie. She would want others to be safe. She was still clinging to life in the hospital, but he held strong hopes. Sophie needed him to do this. "Right, I'm going."

He met Olivia outside waiting by his car. "Jack, hurry. You're all out of sorts. People's lives are in danger. What's wrong?"

He didn't even know. Maybe the combination that she wanted to go to Denver with him, or that Sophie's injuries were still critical, or maybe the fact that Olivia had forgiven him so quickly. Whatever the case was, he needed to straighten up and focus. They had a job to do. "Sorry. Now, come on. Let's go."

He unlocked the car and she opened the door and threw her crime scene kit in the back. Olivia slipped into the passenger seat with a semblance of grace. Her gorgeous frame was just one of the many reasons he had fallen hard for her.

"Jack! Get in the car!"

He groaned. Lost in thought again. Running around the car, he hopped in the driver's seat and started it up. Backing out of the driveway, they were on their way in no time.

The car was silent for the first ten minutes of the ride. Then Olivia spoke up, "Have you heard anything more about Sophia?"

"No. I visited her two nights ago. Nothing much has changed. She's still in critical condition and is clinging to life. I'm worried Olivia, I'm worried."

The compassion in her eyes pierced his heart. "Jack, I'm sorry. But I believe that God will get her through this. I know it."

"But what if she doesn't?"

~~~~~

Olivia didn't know what to say. "She won't die."

His jaw flexed, "Maverick did."

"Maverick?"

"My brother."

Oh. Oh. Oh no. "Jack, I'm sorry I didn't know-"

"It's okay. You have a right to know anyways." He didn't shift his gaze from the road.

"But I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." That was the last thing she wanted to do.

"No. I want you to know."

What did she say to that? She wanted to know, to be there for him. Whoa, stop right there Olivia. You are not getting romantically involved with Jack. God, you know what's going on in my mind, don't you? Cause I sure don't. "Okay."

Jack moved his head a little to face her, but still kept his eyes on the road. "Maverick was the youngest of us three. I'm the oldest. The age difference was a bit large, but we still loved each other. When I was seventeen, he was eleven. Sophia was fourteen. One Saturday Maverick and I were playing basketball outside. Just a regular scrimmage."

Olivia watched Jack's eyes cloud with pain. She rested her hand on his. The immediate warmth that seeped through her arm alarmed her, but she chose to ignore it.

Jack squeezed her hand and continued, "Anyways, the ball rolled across the street after a shot. I told him to go and get it. He didn't want to, but I said that since he was younger he had to get it. We argued about it for a little, and finally he gave in. He grabbed the ball and did a fancy move with it across the street. There was a girl that lived in that house. He liked her a lot and showed off for her often. Even though he was eleven. So he was doing that. He dribbled it between his legs back across the street. But a car was coming really fast and Maverick-" Jack's voice choked, "Maverick...didn't move in time."

Olivia's eyes brimmed with tears, "Oh Jack...I'm so sorry."

"It was my fault. If only I hadn't made him cross the street."

She locked eyes with him for a second, her heart breaking at the raw emotion there. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't stop the car from coming."

"But it could have been me."

"Jack, you had no way of knowing. And God had chosen that time for Maverick to come home. It wasn't your time yet."

"I know."

"Your parents don't blame you do they?"

He shrugged, "I think they partially do. My relationship with them hasn't been all that great since."

God, please be with Jack. I can tell he's hurting. Prove to him that you kept him alive for a reason. I know you can work miracles. I've seen it before. "Losing a child is hard. But Jack, through that incident, they lost two children."

Jack sighed, "They lost me too."

She squeezed his hand, bringing more emotions to the surface. Why was it always Jack that caused it to happen? "I'm sorry Jack. I really am. And I'm glad you told me this." Maybe she was okay with him being around more often. It wasn't like they were strangers, they had known each other for just under a decade. But that was why it was so weird. They were like brother and sister. That's the type of relationship she thought they had.

Maybe she was wrong.