J Saint - Collateral Damage

Jack exhaled, really not sure if he could count on Beck anymore. Two weeks ago, Jack would have put his life and soul in the man's hands. Now he couldn't even get a return phone call. "It can't hurt," Jack finally said. "That's if he picks up his message. Expect to hear from us at 1800 hours."

"1800 it is. Be careful, DT. I'm not liking any of this and you're still on the mend."

"Roger that." Jack hung up then toggled the phone to Gardner's number and pressed the call button. He gave Lauren the phone. "Tell him you're alone and have him meet you here."

She nodded, sliding the phone up to her ear. After multiple rings it went to voice mail and she left Conrad a message to meet her at the Pig Out's BBQ then disconnected. She immediately called again. Still no answer. A sick feeling gripped her stomach. She'd foolishly thought that by giving Conrad warning about Thomas and Edward he would then be safe. "What do we do now? Call the police?"

"Not yet. Not until we have something concrete to report. It could be a cell reception problem. He could be on the other line and will call us back." Jack gripped the steering wheel. "Why don't we go inside, order food, wait ten minutes and call again."

"I don't think I can eat. I'm sick that something may have happened to him too."

"Give it a few minutes. We made good time getting here, so he may not have expected us so soon. And you need to eat a Power Bar or something to stay sharp. Adrenaline and stress will bottom out your blood sugar. If we don't hear from him soon, I'll leave you here and go check out the situation."

Lauren shook her head. "Sorry. That's not going to happen."

Jack almost laughed. He had the experience and he was getting lip over a perfectly reasonable suggestion. He folded his arms and leaned back, lifting a challenging brow. "It's not?'

She cleared her throat, and set her full lips into a determined line. The woman had grit. He had to give her credit for that.

"I just can't see you leaving me here without any means of quick transportation and you going alone into a potentially dangerous situation, miles away. Whether you like it or not, I am your back up in this, which makes your suggestion unworkable." She sat back and folded her arms, mirroring the invisible line he'd drawn in the sand.

Damn. He didn't want to admit it but she did have a slight point. Still, he just couldn't see taking her with him to Gardner's house. "You have to believe me. My going in alone will be a lot safer for both of us."

"I get that. But why do I have to be stranded miles away?"

"What do you suggest?"

"Why don't I drop you off close to Gardner's house and then wait some place nearby that we both feel is safe. That way I can either get to you or you can make it back to me faster if there is a problem."

Well double damn. She made sense. She also pointed out a fatal flaw in their situation that he needed to amend immediately. He started the engine.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the Walmart we passed to buy disposable phones. If you're going to be my back up then we have to do it right."

"That's it?" she asked, eyes wide with surprise. "You're the expert here. I'm completely out of my element and you're going with my suggestion without any 'you don't know jack' comments?"

"I'm Jack and you know me." He grinned. "But seriously. Your plan has merit, and it's not like you're asking to play Rambo. Waiting at a closer place with transportation makes sense. My hardly-ever-wrong self can take advice sometimes." He grinned again and she rolled her eyes. "Why so stunned?"

She shrugged and then averted her gaze, but not before he saw the shadows in her baby blues. "Not used to…never mind. It's not important."

Jack knew men who counted everything around them as being worthless. Collins obviously hadn't valued her. Jack reached for her hand and squeezed. "Collins was a fool."

"Yeah."

"Then it would be a dumb idea to let his opinion of anything matter to you anymore, if it ever should have to begin with."

She laughed and squeezed back. "You're right. By the way, you don't suck at relating."

The grim disgust Jack had for Collins's character was replaced by his own self hatred. He shook his head, wondering what she would say when she found out Collins's blood was on his hands. He went to pull his hand away but she held on. "Just because I am capable of basic respect for another individual doesn't mean-"

"Yeah, it does." She looked him dead in the eye and gave him no room to argue.

It was all he could do to back out of the parking spot and drive. The urge to pull her into his arms and to kiss the shadows from her eyes was overwhelming. As it was, he couldn't stop himself from leaving his hand in hers. Somehow, he needed the contact as much as he sensed she did at the moment.

Jack wasn't sure what happened but something between them had changed, shifted, moved in such a way that part of himself molded to her. And that change made his need to kiss her and bury himself inside of her just that much stronger.

He'd started out this mission in a bad position. That had now worsened and he had no idea what in the hell he was going to do about it. For now, he had to focus on keeping everyone alive and figuring out what sort of hell Bill Collins had brought down on his family. After that the hard part would come. Then he'd have to deal with the collateral damage telling her the truth would bring.

Part of Lauren felt like a total idiot. Her emotions were stretched taut and on a razor's edge, making her a bit more sensitive than she should be, a vulnerability that kept revealing to Jack things about herself that she hated. Low confidence being one. Her relationship with Bill being another. It was one thing to screw up choosing a partner in life and having your best friend know demeaning details. It was another thing to have a guy figure them out.

Her lack of judgment in character was a major flaw in herself. She'd like to think that Bill had been the consummate actor who didn't reveal himself until the twins were born. She didn't want to think she'd been so desperate to be loved that she'd blinded herself to his real character. However things had started, she eventually found out that relationships and life could get complicated really fast and leave a person with no good choices to make, only bad ones or worse ones. With Matt and Mitch on board, her sons' wellbeing had taken precedence over her personal happiness until Bill's behavior began to affect them adversely. At that point she'd filed for divorce.

She and Jack didn't waste time. Within twenty minutes they had the cell phones up and running and had downed a couple of Power Bars and a drink, which did ease the burning in her stomach a little if not her worry. Their third and fourth attempt at reaching Conrad Gardner had failed and Lauren dropped Jack off a block from Gardner's address. He would call her as soon as he reached Gardner's house and report on his findings. She drove the half mile to the recreation center of Lake Hartwell State Park.

The summer day only had a hint of breeze to it, but the heat didn't stop avid boaters from enjoying the sparkling blue-green lake nested along the Appalachian foothills. Soon fall would paint the lush vegetation a multitude of colors, leaving patches of gold and orange amid the evergreen pines. For now, everything was thick and green and steamy.

A soon as she entered the park, she knew something was up. Everyone at the beach-marina complex was lined up on the shore staring out at the lake rather than going about their recreational activities. Police were there, several DNR trucks, an ambulance and the fire department too. She was afraid that what was happening here was tied to everything else.

The smell of smoke hit Lauren the moment she opened her car.