Chapter Fourteen
Jill sat nervously in the apartment, watching the clock on the wall as the time ticked by slowly. Second by second. Minute by minute. Her stomach was cramped from the tension.
“What am I doing?” she whispered. “I shouldn’t be staying here.”
She’d never been one to sit on the sidelines, but there was really nothing she could do. She had been fired. She didn’t have her network resources anymore. The important thing for the moment was successfully retrieving some of the documents Rollo had seen earlier.
He was right about getting those papers. If she had those in her hands, it might just be enough for them to take down Woods, or, at the very least, enough to wound him and slow the passage of his hybrid control bill.
Everyone in Washington D.C. loved a good corruption investigation: journalists, politicians, and pundits. The opposition party would have a field day if could they force Woods to have to deny connections to the Russian Mafia and the Horatius Group.
Jill let out a quiet sigh. As exciting as all that was, it didn’t change the fact that her heart ached with worry over Rollo. Even though she knew she’d probably be in the way if she’d gone with him, that didn’t stop her from feeling helpless. She’d finally found the man of her dreams, and he might end up locked up in a federal prison or shot.
She glanced at the gun lying on the coffee table. She still wasn’t certain if she could pull the trigger if a bad guy or two came knocking at her door.
Jill wouldn't exactly call herself a pacifist, but shooting first and asking questions later wasn't exactly her nature. She was a journalist for crying out loud. Asking questions was what she did.
The TV played silently in the background. She glared at the screen as Kurt came on. They’d slid him into her timeslot like she never even existed. The smug prick had certainly made the most of his moment of glory.
“Little bitch,” she muttered. A part of her hoped he choked on national television.
Jill frowned as the face of Senator Woods came up on the screen, along with a chyron on the bottom of the screen describing him as the “Author of the Hybrid Control Bill.” The bastard smiled proudly. Something about the way he looked made her feel even worse.
She reached for the remote and turned the volume up. If Woods was on TV, that couldn’t be good.
It was a recording of a press conference, apparently not all that long before.
"I'm proud to say that through hard work, negotiation, and determination, we’ve finally come up with enough votes to pass the bill. I’ve had to twist a lot of arms, but people on both sides of the aisle appreciate the dangers that accompany letting the hybrids not live under supervision. This bill will protect them and protect normal humans caught up in the dangers that follow these poor, unfortunate souls around.”
Normal humans? She wanted to punch the bastard in the face. Hybrids were more human than a weasel politician like him.
Several members of the audience clapped. Her stomach rolled. Jill had known that they were close to getting the votes they needed but had no idea it was this close.
"With the passage of this bill, we’ll be able to ensure the safety of the American people and entrust the security of the hybrids to more qualified individuals."
Jill snorted loudly. "More qualified than the United States military, you lying piece of garbage?”
The gall this man had to go on national television and essentially insult the military was beyond her. He only hoped it cost him votes come election time.
Of course, he probably had the same agenda all along. It wasn’t just hybrids who’d died in the bombing. Soldiers had died, too. With the bombing of Luna Lodge, no one seemed to believe the military capable of containing the threat, leaving the only option offshore.
The man might have contributed to the death of US soldiers for his own purposes. That sounded a lot like treason to Jill. She placed the TV back on mute, unable to stand another word from the vile piece of shit on the television.
She might be a bottom-feeding journalist, but she’d always have the pride to know that at least she wasn’t a politician.
All Jill could do at that point was hope that Rollo got the information they needed. Anything. Just a small piece to at least hand over to some investigators.
The phone next to her buzzed loudly, and she quickly reached down expecting to see Rollo's name.
Jill frowned. She recognized the number but didn’t have a name on it for safety purposes. It was Mia’s.
"Hel—" Jill answered.
"They've got him," Mia said quickly. "I just overheard some of Dmitry's men talking about it. They’re holding him right now, and they just sent a car over to pick up Dmitry when he's finished. One of the night guards is his cousin or something."
Jill’s stomach twisted, and her heart thundered. Bile rose in her throat. For a moment, she was unable to even process what had been said to her. No, no, no. He couldn’t have gotten caught.
"You there?" Mia asked.
Jill nodded and cleared her throat. "Where do they have him?"
"In the basement of the federal building," Mia said.
Jill’s mind raced. Even if she contacted someone at the Lodge, they were hours away, and if she tried to contact them, it might only tip off the government and result in an immediate raid.
“They're going to kill him,” Mia said quietly.
Jill snatched the gun off the table. "Like hell they are. I’ll need to let you go. I have a call to make.”
* * *
Rollo grunted loudly as a large thug slammed his fist into his side once again. He could already feel his face swelling from the blows the other men had landed on him, not to mention the hits that Nick had delivered when knocking him out.
"You ready to tell us what you know?" the thug asked after stepping back.
He’d been beating on Rollo for twenty minutes, and they’d not gotten shit out of him. He would have thought they would have given up already. There was no way in hell he was giving the bastards anything, especially in front of that smug prick Nick.
They thought they were tough? He’d been raised by the Horatius Group. These thugs didn’t know what vicious was.
Rollo spit out some blood. "I'm good. Kind of thirsty, though. A bit hungry, too."
Nick snorted. The thug glared.
From the corner of the room, Rollo could hear slow clapping. He turned his head in time to see Woods and Dmitry make their way into the dingy basement, flanked by even more thugs.
"This brave front will do you no good," Woods said, a sneer on his face. "The bill is already poised to pass, and your people will be nothing more soon than a distant memory to the American public. I’m going to make sure you hybrids are locked up like the animals you are.”
Rollo let out a loud laugh. "That's assuming that I haven't sent off all the information I have to the press.”
For a moment Rollo thought he had Woods convinced until the older man turned to Dmitry and laughed. The senator walked over until he was right in front of the tied-up Rollo, staring him in the eyes.
"As if the public would take the word of an animal over a trusted member of the community," the senator spat out.
Rollo smirked. "But what if they do? I imagine more than a few of those senators you've coerced into signing the bill would think twice at news you were working with the Russian Mafia. You think I don’t know about your little smuggling set up?”
The senator’s face contorted in rage. “Shut your mouth, you filthy animal.” He shook his head. “It was too bad that they found your facility before you’d all starved to death. The country and the world would be better off with fewer of your kind around.” He nodded to the thug.
The man kicked Rollo hard in the ribs. A crack sounded, and pain shot through his chest. He could only manage short breaths now without intense pain. His lungs burned.
"You made the wrong choice coming here," Woods said quietly. "After tonight, you'll wish you'd never been born. I know I do.”
Rollo hung his head. The pain was nearly too much for him.
A soft floral breeze drifted through the room, and a smile played on his lips. Even now, as his mind was filled with pain, he could smell her there with him. His beautiful flower.
"I think you might be the one to wish you were never born."
Rollo’s head jerked up at the soft feminine voice.
Jill stood in the doorway of the room as if it were the most natural thing in the world.