Epilogue
Jenny hung up the phone and turned a confused look on Bishop where he sat at the dining table, one hand closed around a cup of steaming coffee.
“What?” he asked.
“He…he doesn’t want to meet with me.” Jenny shook her head causing dark locks to brush along her cobalt colored sweater. “Why doesn’t Monroe want to meet with me? He knows what I did. He has to.” Jerking a thumb over her shoulder toward the phone, she continued. “Lilly says he wants me back at the infirmary as soon as I can manage it. He’s…he’s putting me back to work.”
She’d been fearing banishment but expecting it. At the very least she assumed Monroe would remove her from her duties, and issue some sort of reprimand. He wasn’t doing any of that. He wanted her back to work, and it was baffling. Yes, she was aware that he hadn’t told anyone else on the estate how she’d been meddling with each of their blood samples, but now trepidation tore through her at the why of it.
“Son of a bitch!” Bishop’s curse drew her attention. “He doesn’t want to meet with you, Jen, because he doesn’t want to know what you did.”
“But he must know. He has to have figured it out by now.”
“You don’t get it.” Bishop shoved his coffee away and stood to pace the length of the table. “He’s removing himself from any liability by sticking his head in the sand. If you don’t come clean to him than he can deny any knowledge of what you’ve been doing.”
“But why?”
Bishop stopped pacing and gave her a hard look, lips thinning into a grim line.
RedKnife’s words when he’d healed Bishop slammed into her. Eyes rounding, Jenny breathed, “He wants me to keep going.”
“And you’d be the only one at risk.”
“I can’t do that,” she shook her head. “Look what happened to us. It could’ve been disastrous. Hell, it was disastrous!”
Bishop stopped and planted his hands on his hips. The look he gave her was severe. “But it helped too.”
Her tone was incredulous when she asked, “What?”
“It was,” he argued. “You learned how long a Walker could survive the affliction. You learned exactly how feral we could allow ourselves to become.”
“It wasn’t an absolute, Bishop. Every Walker could be different. They probably are!”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “But now you have a starting point, right? A standard.”
She stared at him wide-eyed. “Are you hearing yourself right now? It sounds like you’re actually encouraging me to do Monroe’s silent bidding and keep this up.”
He shrugged. “Jen… maybe I am.”
She wanted to discuss this more. She’d already resigned herself to ending all her tests and sample manipulations because it’s what she expected Bishop to ask of her. She didn’t get to discuss it though because a mental nudge had been plaguing her for the past five minutes, so she permitted the contact with a resigned, “Yes!”
Law’s smooth tone sailed to her through the mist. “’Ello love!”
“Law?”
“Yeah, just wanted to shout a quick farewell. Me and a Crows are flying a coup. ‘Eaded back to de island. So I just wantin ta say goodbye and sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry, Law. Never to me. Besides, you didn’t know about Bishop and me, so you touching me wasn’t your fault. I know you’d never intentionally hurt me.”
“Actually…” A pause hung between them.
“Law?”
“I knew what touching you would do. I knew what was ‘appening between you two a second I saw ya togeva.”
“So you….”
“Yeah. I did in on pu’pose. I called his bluff. I ain’t gonna just sit around and watch any man torture you, love. Ain’t 'appening, not on my watch!”
“Law,” she sighed gratefully and asked, “Don’t you ever get tired of saving me?”
“Neva! Take care yourself and tell ‘at ornery bastard to treat you right. I don’t wanna ‘avta come back and end him, but I will.”
Jenny laughed. “Thank you, Law. Thank you for everything.”
The connection severed, and Jenny turned to find Bishop watching her curiously. “Who was that?”
“Lawder,” she answered with a smile stepping up and wrapping her arms around his neck. “He said you better take care of me or he’ll come back.”
Bishop’s expression hardened. “That motherfucker.”
Lifting his hands, he had every intention of peeling Jenny off of him and going to find Lawder, but Jenny held tight, leaning forward to bite his neck and suck the skin there into her mouth before pulling back.
“Instead of fighting, how about you do as he says and take care of me instead.”
All the fight left Bishop. “I’ll always put you first, Jen.”
She waggled her brows. “Prove it.” She jumped up and wrapped her legs around Bishop’s waist.
Smiling, he used an arm to shelf her ass as he turned them toward the bedroom.
“Oh I’m gonna prove it,” he grinned and kissed her lips before pulling back. “And prove it.”
Kiss.
“And prove it.”
Kiss.
“And prove it!”
Jenny smiled into his kiss, her heart thumping wildly against her chest with mingled excitement, contentment, and love.