Chapter Forty-two

 

 

 

 

When Jordan admitted his love for me, I thought that he might have just said it in the heat of passion. But later, when he brought me back to my mother’s house, he surprised me and said it again.

“I love you, too,” I whispered back as he held me in his arms. We were standing in the driveway next to his bike, in the dark. It was just after nine and the house appeared quiet. We stayed like that for a while and then he pulled away.

“Um, so now what?” I asked shyly.

“Now what?”

I nodded. “Yeah. What’s going to happen with us?”

“To be honest, I don’t know,” he answered quietly.

“But we love each other. I mean, you’re not going to just disappear again, are you?”

He was quiet for a few seconds and then he said, “I have to sort a lot of shit out in my life before we can go any further.”

“What does that mean?”

“You know who I am. What I’ve done,” he said. “It isn’t easy to just walk away from that.”

“But, you’re going to, right?”

He didn’t say anything.

“Oh my God, Jordan… you’re not going to walk away from me again, are you?” I asked, getting angry.

“I have to, but just for a little while,” he said, pulling me back to him. “I promise.”

Sighing in relief I asked him where he was going and how long he’d be.

“I don’t know, a month, maybe?”

I groaned. “A month? I’m not going to see you for an entire month?”

“If we’re going to be together, I’m going to need a new identity,” he said in a low voice.  “A lot of people want me dead.”

“So, you’ve said. Does this mean that you’re not going to kill anyone anymore?”

“Not unless they deserve it.”

I scowled at him.

“No. I’m not going to kill anyone else,” he said, smirking. “It’s another reason why The Judge needs to disappear.”

“For good?”

“Yes. It’s the only way.” He rubbed his chin. “To do this, I need to get my finances in order, sell some of my property, and work on becoming a regular old Joe Schmo,” he said dryly. “So, I’m not a danger to live with.”

“Live with?” I asked, getting excited. “Do you want to live together?”

“Eventually, but… I think we should take things slowly, Jessica.”

I ignored him. “You could move to Shoreview with me. We’ll get a place together. Maybe we can even rent a house. Oh my God, do you love dogs? I’ve always wanted to get a dog. Or a cat,” I said, giddy at the idea of us waking up together every morning.

He suddenly looked pale. “What about your mother?”

“I’m going to talk her into moving in with Cheryl.” I explained who she was and why I’d originally planned on moving there. “I’m beginning the internship in a couple of weeks.”

“Shoreview, huh? Minnesota?”

“Yeah,” I said, worried about his expression. “So, what do you think?”

He let out a ragged breath. “I think we have a lot to talk about when I get back.”

“Yeah,” I said, still giddy. “I guess we do.”

He tipped my chin up and looked me in the eye. “Know this, though, I will be back. I promise.”

“You’d better.”

Tank took that moment to open the front door and step outside. We waved at him and he waved back.

“How is he doing?”

“Not very well.”

“His Old Man died. I wouldn’t expect anything else. Call me, though, if things get ugly around here,” he whispered as Tank took out a cigarette and began smoking it. “Rumor has it that he’s out for blood. A lot of it. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Tank’s definitely changed,” I whispered. “I’m really worried about him.”

“He needs time to sort things out. Hopefully, he’ll figure out a way to get back at Slammer’s killer without adding innocent casualties,” said Jordan, getting onto his bike.

“Let’s hope.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow. We’ll get together again, before I leave for Alaska.”

“You’re going back there, too?” I asked, surprised.

“I have to close down both cabins. At least for now.”

“Be careful. That Sheriff might be watching both of them closely. I’m surprised that he hasn’t tried to find me.” I’d left the man a note, telling him that there’d been a family emergency. That’s why I had to leave.

“You won’t be hearing from him. In fact, the case is closed already.”

My eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“From what I hear, they’ve figured out what happened at the murder scene,” he said smirking. “Apparently, Brett Stryker set up a one-man sting operation that went sour. It was in the papers.”

I laughed. “Is that right?”

“Yep. I even spoke to Sheriff Parker, who confirmed it.”

My eyes widened. “As Jordan Steele?”

“No. As Samuel Larson. ”

I snorted. “Did you get fake ID’s for that name, as well?”

“Of course.” He winked. “It pays to know the right people.”

“So you’ve said.”

He sighed. “I should go. You need to get some sleep.”

I nodded.

He kissed me. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I said.

Putting his helmet back on, he started the bike back up and disappeared down the road.

Missing Jordan already, I walked up to the porch, to where Tank was sitting in the dark.

I smiled at him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he replied.

“Are you okay?” I asked him.

He nodded, but I could see from the look in his eyes, that he was just saying it for my benefit.

“If you want to talk…”

“I’m okay,” he repeated, and looked away. “I just need some time to myself.”

“I understand.” I squeezed his shoulder. “Goodnight, Tank.”

“Goodnight.”

I went inside to check on my mother and found that she was sleeping. Sighing in relief, I walked upstairs to my bedroom and got ready for bed. Sliding under the covers, I lay there for a while, thinking of Jordan and what kind of life we could have together.

I closed my eyes.

There were so many possibilities.

Hell, maybe we could even get married and have children someday.

Then I realized that neither of us had used protection, earlier.

Crap, I thought, opening my eyes. I reached for my cell phone, prepared to call him, when I pictured Jordan’s eyes, whenever he spoke of Sammy. He loved that little boy and didn’t even really know him. I could only imagine the love he’d have for his own son.

Laying my head back on the pillow, I closed my eyes and for the first time, in a very long time, fell asleep with a smile on my face…

 

 

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The End