Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
The system is rigged, and if it weren’t for a brave few constantly fighting to keep it honest, we would have lost the battle a long time ago.
I won’t lie. Traveling to Ravenshoe for the first time was terrifying. Hopeton, the town ruled by the Petrettis for over two decades, borders Ravenshoe. I had thrust myself headfirst into danger like it was a part of my job description, but by doing that, I gave abuse victims a voice, helped women escape horrendous circumstances, and ensured people like Cecil didn’t have their deaths recorded as a suicide when the evidence stated otherwise.
Cecil didn’t kill himself as Cedric claimed. Someone murdered him, and if my intuition is anything to go by, JR knows who that was.
Not above begging, I mutter, “Please, Alex. He requires urgent medical attention.”
I get the response I’m hoping for, but it isn’t from Isaac or Alex. It comes from Regan. “Go.” After spinning around to face Alex, her first objector, she states, “She is a medical professional, and I am a lawyer. If anyone has an objection to a citizen of our country receiving medical treatment from a highly decorated doctor or having his rights upheld by his lawyer, then they can speak with me.” Alex is pissed as hell she’s declared herself as JR’s lawyer, but with his jurisdiction not as high as Regan’s morals, he keeps his mouth shut. “Grab your medical bag. I’ll escort you in.”
“Regan—”
“No, Alex. The fact he hasn’t already been seen is wrong.” Her expression changes when she mutters, “If that was you…” She can’t finish her sentence, and the knowledge puffs Alex’s chest with pride instead of annoyance.
Alex locks his eyes with Isaac’s, then nudges his head to the corridor. “Keep watch. They don’t have any surveillance in this part of the office.”
“For a reason,” Isaac pushes out with a snarl before doing as instructed. He doesn’t like being bossed around, especially by Alex, but the sooner this situation is sorted out, the quicker he will be back with his family.
That’s enough incentive for him to commit murder.
“If anything happens to them, Alex—”
“I’ll hold the gun to my head myself,” Alex interrupts, conscious as to where Isaac’s threat stems.
I slant my head to hide my smirk when Isaac replies, “I don’t need a gun to take you down.”
The same could be said for JR. He held his own against over a dozen agents with batons and shields. He was only taken down because he was so desperate to get me away from Cedric, he put all his focus on who he determined was the greatest threat.
The reminder has me shifting my eyes back to Isaac, “Once I’ve ensured he’s okay, we need to talk about Cedric.” The groove between his dark brows deepens when I mutter, “He is as bad as you warned… if not worse.”
My heart batters my ribs when I skirt through the door Alex recently unlocked. JR is far too large for the cot in the back of the room, and his skin looks clammy even with it being drained of color.
“Do you have any idea what they gave him?” I ask Alex after checking the dilation of JR’s eyes and the speed of his pulse.
Alex shakes his head. “I’m not here on assignment. I was returning a favor.” He purses his lips before starting again, “Most agencies use analgesics to knock perps out long enough to detain them, but this operative doesn’t follow the rules like the rest. The bigger the target, the wider and more durable the net.”
“JR isn’t a threat.”
Alex glares at me as if I am bonkers. “He confessed to murder on tape, Jae. That overrides your beliefs.”
Hating that he’s right but determined to prove him wrong, I nudge my head to the medical bag. I believe JR’s claims that the man he killed was in retaliation for Cecil’s death, but I’ll never get the answers I’m seeking if he dies due to insolent fools mistaking his size as meaning he is a brute.
I did that once.
I won’t let it happen again.
“What is that?” Alex asks when I load up a syringe with flumazenil.
“It’s proven effective for the reversal of antagonize sedatives. Although it would be more effective if administrated through an IV, it will still work via an injection.” After blowing my long bangs out of my face, I roll up the sleeve of the shirt they dressed JR in before loading him into the back of an unmarked van. “I don’t have any naloxone, so fingers crossed this works.”
I grimace before jabbing JR with the needle. Within a minute or two, he exhibits signs the drug administrated is working. Then, a minute after that, he responds as any man would when treated like an animal.
He lashes out.
“No,” I huskily warn when Alex responds to JR’s grab of my throat by moving for his gun. “He won’t hurt me. He just isn’t alert enough to realize it’s me.”