Sophie Oak - One to Keep

“You better not change your mind, old man,” she said as she walked into his arms.

“Never,” he said, pulling her close. He buried his face in her hair, his arms closing around her, knitting them together.

“That was so beautiful,” Rachel said, turning to Jen. Her face was bright red, and tears poured from her eyes.

Jen felt her own tears as she put an arm around her friend and let her cry.

It had been beautiful.

“I can’t do it,” Jen whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

Rachel smiled through her tears. “Of course, you can’t.” Jen looked down, startled. “How do you know what I’m talking about?”

“I’ve been where you are, Jen. I know what you’re thinking. You can’t stand by and let him go. You have to fight. This isn’t something you just let slide. He’s your man. You fight for him. If you have even the smallest doubt in your head that this isn’t over, then you go after him with everything you have. I never thought you were going to give up.”

“Even when I ran away?” Jen asked, a light feeling stealing over her. She could still fight. If Sebastian could come to his senses, then Stef could, too. Jen just didn’t plan on letting nearly thirty years go by. His skull was going to soften up more quickly than his father’s.

“Yes,” Rachel said. “I knew you would come back. Tell me you hadn’t thought about it.”

She’d dreamed about it every night. If things hadn’t gone horribly wrong, Jen knew she’d have been home by summer. The day before she’d been arrested, she’d sat down and written a long e-mail to Callie. She hadn’t sent it, but she’d saved it. Eventually she would have sent it, and Callie would have replied, and she would have allowed herself to be “talked into” coming back. “I would have come back. I love him. I love him so much.”

“I know. It’ll work out, Jen. You’ll see.” Rachel wiped her eyes with her napkin. She turned in her seat to face the newly happy couple. “Hey, Stella, why don’t you call someone in so you can take the afternoon off?”

Stella’s face was vibrant as she faced Rachel. Sebastian’s arms were around her, and she threaded her fingers with his as though she couldn’t stand the thought of losing contact. “I have Holly. She can handle this little crowd. I’ll head out when she gets back.” Jen felt her whole body flush. “Holly’s back?” Stella nodded. “Yeah, she came in this morning. She wasn’t scheduled, but you know her, she’s always looking to take an extra shift. She has to pay that greedy ex of hers, or she never gets to see her kid.”

Rachel was already moving. “Where is she? Does she know Nate’s been looking for her?”

“No,” Stella replied. “But I sent her to the Sheriff’s Office. Maybe that’s why she’s taking so long.”

Jen scooted out of the bench, following Rachel. It would be such a huge relief to get that damn painting back. Then she could concentrate on convincing Stef. “Thanks, Stella. I’ll send her back as soon as I’m done talking to her.”

“I’m coming with you,” Rachel said, grabbing her purse. “Don’t you leave me behind. You’ll be surprised how fast I can waddle.” Jen took her hand. “No, I wouldn’t. Come on then. Let’s find that stupid painting, and then I can find Stef.” It was a short trip from the diner to the Sheriff’s Office just three buildings in between and a hop over the street. The Sheriff’s Office was housed in a small building just off Main Street. Rachel walked behind Jen, only slowing her down a bit. The air was brisk, and the snow was falling only lightly. Jen could see that the crowds had thinned out. They would be on the mountain where the day’s competition was getting started. It made the streets of Bliss nice and quiet. Only the park would be bustling at this point. The rest of Bliss was a bit of a ghost town. Jen made it to the front of the office first and pulled on the outer door. It was locked. She banged on it.

“Logan, wake up!” Jen yelled as she pounded on the door. Logan was not known for being the most dedicated deputy. He could often be found napping or reading comic books with his earbuds in.

“Logan!”

“Stop that,” Rachel said, frowning. Beside her, Q sat down and stared up at the women. “You’re going to wake the poor boy up. I know where Callie hid a key. Nate throws Max in jail often enough that she let me in on her secret.”

Rachel reached under the sign that proudly proclaimed this place to be the Bliss County Sheriff’s Office and pulled out a small magnetic box.

“Only in Bliss would someone hide the key to the Sheriff’s Office,” Jen said, shaking her head.

Rachel slipped the key into the lock and turned it. She started to open the heavy outer door that led to the swinging doors inside. She stopped suddenly. “Why was the door locked? Didn’t Stella say she sent Holly with breakfast? Logan wouldn’t lock the door after Holly.” Jen paused as she stepped inside, Rachel behind her. “I don’t know. Do you think something’s wrong?” As she got the words out of her mouth the answer became very, very apparent.

“You must to come in now, Miss Jennifer.” Alexei stood in the doorway, his bulky body blocking the entrance, a gun fisted at his side.

Jen watched in horror as he leveled the gun, aiming it straight for her head. Yep, something was very, very wrong.

“It’s a woman.” Alexei’s dark voice was tossed over his shoulder, but his eyes never left her. They were hard as steel. “What should I do with her?”

Utter confusion was making her head spin. Alexei was out of his cage, and he had a gun in his hand. Jen could hear a conversation going on in the office, but she couldn’t see past Alexei. She heard someone speaking, his voice rough, almost guttural. It was a language she didn’t understand. It had to be Russian. Oh, god, Alexei’s mob friends were here. He’d tricked everyone into believing he was on their side, and now he’d taken over the station house.

“It’s just one woman, Nikolai. I think I can handle her.” Rachel took a quick step back.

He was letting Rachel go. He had to know she would go for help.

He looked past Jen at Rachel, and he gave her a barely perceptible nod before reaching out and grabbing Jen’s arm. She turned her head as fast as she could and saw Rachel disappear as the outer door closed.

“You are not Jennifer,” Alexei announced into her ear as he pulled her roughly into the room.

“Jen?” Holly’s voice trembled.

Jen heard Alexei curse under his breath, but it looked like whatever game he was playing, this piece was blown. Jen looked around the room as her pulse threatened to explode. She saw Holly standing by Logan’s desk, her face white as a sheet, but she appeared unharmed.

The shortest of the men stepped forward. He was dressed in a suit and tie, his graying hair slicked back. He was older, but by no means soft. He said something in Russian as he looked her over. Alexei replied, his manner slightly deferential, as though he was speaking to his boss. He finished and nodded slightly.

“Hello,” the boss said. “My name is Dimitri Pushkin. You are Jennifer? Renard’s Jennifer?”

Jen was somewhat startled at the sound of Renard’s name. She knew she shouldn’t have been, chided herself for it. He was the asshole who had gotten her into this situation in the first place. “I worked for him.”

Jen watched Alexei as he moved to Holly’s side. His arm slid around her shoulder, hauling her close. All the while, he held the weapon casually at his side, yet his eyes never left the other two men in the room. It seemed to Jen that Alexei was watching two snakes, waiting to see which would strike first.