Love, Lies & The D.A. (30 page)

“I
know. But the FBI is doing its job. They’ll keep you safe. Try not to worry.”

He
heads into the shower, and I make him a sandwich and a cup of coffee that he can
take with him. I’m concerned about his mom. I hope everything is all right.
Then again, it couldn’t possibly be or she wouldn’t be asking for an immediate
family meeting.

I
return to the room and help him pack his bags while he gets dressed.

“By
the way, Phillip told me about that necklace. Promise me that you’ll wear it.”

“Jonathan.”

“Jada,
please. It will put my mind at ease. When I’m with you, you can do what you
want. But I trust Phillip. He’s never let me down as a friend. He and the rest
of the team are my eyes when I’m not here. They’re doing this to protect you.”

“But—”

He
pulls me into his arms and gazes into my eyes. “Please don’t fight me on this.
It’s for your safety.”

“Okay…
fine…” I reply reluctantly then I follow him to the garage. I hand him his
coffee and sandwich.

“Thanks,
Babe. I’ll call you as soon as I’m settled. Go back to bed. You haven’t gotten
much rest.”

He
kisses me lightly on my lips and backs out of the garage.

“And
activate the alarm,” he says.

I nod,
watch him leave, close the door, and take his advice and return to bed after
ensuring the alarm is on.

After
all the drama, it’s only then my mind drifts back to what those hunters
interrupted last night. I smile and return to sleep, hoping that when I wake,
whatever is going on with Jonathan’s mom is a minor issue.

I wake
three
hours later. After going through my daily routine, I look
through the photos I took yesterday. Jonathan is so gorgeous. I impress myself
with some of the awesome shots I managed to get of him. I’ve never been good at
portraits or people, but I suppose I had a very intriguing and handsome
subject. I still haven’t given him a birthday present. While I look through the
photos, I suddenly get an idea. It will at least occupy my mind for the next
few hours.

I
endeavor to make him a hard covered picture book of our day together. It will
also come with a DVD. I check the specks from a site I found online, and I get
to work. I have no shortage of photography. The hard part is thinking of a
quote or phrase to accompany each picture. Eventually, I settle on putting my
own personal thoughts about what I was thinking about when I captured each
scene.

It’s a
great task but one I enjoy, also one I find highly therapeutic. It is while I
go through this process of writing my feelings down, I come to the realization
that my feelings for Jonathan run so much deeper than what a rebound
relationship would look like. I start to realize that what I feel is real and
not some fantasy.

While
I admit that I still have feelings of guilt, they have nothing to do with how I
feel about Jonathan, but everything to do with my feelings or lack thereof for
Richard. I’m still not certain that I would have felt this way had I not walked
in on him and Koto, or all that I’ve discovered since his death, but at this
point, I’m not so sure that it even makes a difference.

I am
finally done. I complete an almost hundred-page book, I place my order, and
when I look at my watch, it’s almost 7PM.

My
regular cell rings. The call is from a private number.

“Hello,”
I answer.

There’s
no response. After a second and a third hello with no response, I’m about to
hang up, when I can suddenly hear heavy breathing at the other end of the line.
Goose bumps cover my body.

“Watch
your back. You might end up six feet under,” the muffled voice says then the
call ends.

I
immediately call Phillip.

“Yes,
Jada. We heard that; we’re trying to trace where that call came from now.”

“Am I
safe here?”

“Yes.
No heat signatures are showing up on the radars around the house. Cameras are
normal…”

I’m a
little edgy after that call, but as I glance at my watch, I cannot believe the
day has gone by. Furthermore, it’s extremely bizarre that I haven’t heard from
Jonathan. I fix myself some tea, cuddle up on the couch in front of the
fireplace, and call him.

“Hey,”
he answers.

“Hi.
What’s going on? Everything okay?”

He
hesitates, and this tells me something is wrong.

“My mom
has heart disease… She has two damaged arteries and it will require surgery.”

I
close my eyes and take a deep breath as the words sink in.

“I’m
so sorry. Where is she?”

“She’s
been admitted to the hospital. They are preparing her for surgery on Tuesday.”

“How
is she emotionally and mentally?”

“She’s
putting up a brave front, but I know she’s scared.”

“What
about you?”

“I can’t
believe it. I have to get over that quickly though… Tuesday will be here in no
time.”

“May I
call her?”

“I’m
sure she’d love to hear from you. She’s not trying to keep it a secret. She
wanted to tell us first. She started having all these symptoms, and she thought
they were because of Dad’s death, but when she had worsening chest pain, she
went to the doctor. He wanted to admit her immediately, but she wanted to tell
us first.”

“I’m
so sorry about this. How are Megan and the rest of your family?”

“The
boys are fine. Megan is afraid that she just lost Dad and she’ll lose Mom too.”

“This
is done with success all the time, though. This is not a lost cause. It won’t
be easy, but she can fight this.”

“I
know… but there are always risks associated with this type of surgery. After
Dad’s sudden departure, we’re all a little antsy about this.”

“Are
there other options?”

“If it
were detected earlier… but at this point… no.”

“I’m
sorry.”

“I’m
sorry too.”

“Are
you staying the night at the hospital?”

“Maybe…
We’re going to try to manage our time so at least one of us is always with
her.”

“Is
there anything I can do?”

“You’re
doing it already… Thank you for being here.” He puts me on hold then returns
shortly after. “I’m sorry, Babe, I have to go. Are you okay?”

“I’m
fine,” I lie. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks,
Baby. Bye.”

I end
the call, feeling empty. I wish there was more I could do, and on the
spur-of-the-moment, I call Phillip and tell him I’m going back to San Francisco
tonight.

I pack
my things and get the dogs ready. I head home, escorted by the FBI. It’s eleven
o’clock when I arrive. I get the dogs settled into their new surroundings at my
penthouse. Then I send Jonathan a text telling him I’m back in San Francisco. He’ll
be coming by.

When
he walks
into my condo, he folds me in his arms for what feels like
an eternity. I know this is rough on him, but I hope my presence here can make
some sort of a difference.

“Thank
you so much for coming here.”

“No
worries. I wanted you to know that I’m here if you need me for anything at
all.”

He
cups my head in his hands, and he kisses me softly on my lips.

“Who’s
with her now?”

“Between
midnight and 8AM, she’ll be alone. We’ll stay with her in four-hour shifts. She
insists that we do not disrupt our lives because of her, but we want to make
sure someone is always with her to show her some love and support.”

“What’s
the most difficult shift?”

“The
first of the day. We all have jobs or businesses that we need to open and get
things in place—”

“Well,
I’ll take on that one. Between the rest of you, you can figure out how the rest
will work.”

“Jada,
you don’t have to do this.”

“I
know. But I want to. I have the time. I think it’s the least I can do.”

“You
amaze me,” he says, hugging me again.

“Have
you eaten today?”

“Not
since this morning.”

“Come,
I’ll make you something,” I say, leading the way to the kitchen.

Maggie
and Micky come running out from the patio when they hear his voice.

He
collapses on the sofa and the dogs surround his feet. He’s very quiet, which
for Jonathan can mean anything. I find it so hard to read him sometimes. He
swallows the sandwich and fruit that I hand him but doesn’t say much.

“Did
you want to stay the night? I could run you a hot bath.”

“I don’t
know… I came here because I wanted to see you.”

“I
think you’re a bit overwhelmed right now. You’ll feel better after you get some
rest. Feel free to stay over, or if you prefer, I can drive you home tonight.”

“No. I’ll
stay. I’ll leave early in the morning and take the dogs with me. After helping
me with my mom, you don’t need to worry about taking care of them too.”

“Whatever
makes you happy.”

“Do
you know how long you’ll be here?”

“As
long as you need me.” I kiss him tenderly.

“You’ve
been wonderful to my family and me.”

“And
you and your family have been wonderful to me. Come on… let’s go to bed,” I say,
pulling him to his feet.

I
throw his clothing into the washer and dryer and climb into bed while he
showers. Fifteen minutes later, while I read a book, he waltzes out of the
bathroom in my blue silk bathrobe.

I
giggle. “Nice outfit.”

“You
like?” he asks, twirling around.

“It
makes your eyes pop,” I laugh.

“You
know, if you and I are going to make a habit of this, I suggest the least we
can do is always have some personal belongings handy.”

“Counselor,
do me a favor when you speak to me and leave out all the suggestive dialogue.
Just come out and say or ask me what you want to ask.”

“Okay,
fine. I need a drawer.”

“Sure,”
I reply, getting out of bed and walking into my closet.

I
empty one of the drawers, putting its contents on the bench in the room.

“Here…
that’s yours.”

“Thanks,”
he replies.

I
smirk at him.

“See
how easy that was? And you can have the ones on your side of the bed too.”

He
grins at me and follows me into the bedroom. A while later, he pulls his
clothing out of the dryer, he slips into his trunks, and gets into bed.

“How
was your day?” he asks.

“It
was fine. Quiet.” I neglect to tell him about the call, because right now, with
all that he’s dealing with and his mother’s health, I don’t want him worrying
about me too.

For
now, I have the FBI looking out for me. I’ll tell him about the call when this
is all over.

Before
I head
to the hospital the following morning, I pick up some
breakfast and flowers to surprise Caroline. I’m now acutely aware of the black
FBI SUV that’s on my tail. The tag is the same as the one that escorted me home
last night. I guess because of that phone call, the FBI now has me under
constant surveillance.

I
knock gently on the door. I hear her faint, “Come in,” and I enter the room.

“Good
morning. How are you?” I ask, kissing Caroline on her cheek.

“Jada.
I’m fine. I thought you were out of town.”

“I was.
Jonathan told me the news, and I wanted to be here. I brought you some
breakfast.”

“Thank
you. For the flowers too. How are you?”

“I’m
fine. Here… eat.” I place the food on the tray before her.

“Are
you really fine, Darling?”

“I am…
I think,” I answer hesitantly. “In the face of all my adversity, I’ve found
some… what I think I can call healthy distractions.”

“Charles
really believed in you.”

“Yes,
he did. Your husband was more than a lawyer to me in some of my darkest hours.”

“What
about Jonathan?” she asks while she eats.

“Until
recently, Jonathan was… how do I say without sounding cliché… complicated.
Since he recused himself from my case, we have a much more honest and open
relationship.”

“Is
that all?” she asks with a wry smile.

“No.
That’s not all, but I’m treading very carefully when it comes to your son. I’m
not going to hurt him if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“That’s
not what I’m suggesting at all.” She smiles. “You’ve been there for my son
greatly in the last few weeks. Despite the fact that you’re dealing with some
very heavy issues of your own…”