Attempted Assassination(25)

They stood like that for a long while, and she relaxed even further, wondering if she closed her eyes, would she fall asleep on her feet?

Suddenly, he twisted her around and faced Brody and Lucas, his arm wrapped around her neck. Fear flooded through her as his grip tightened, rendering her completely immobile.

As his muscles flexed, he spoke. "Okay, Brody and Lucas. It's time to let me out of here."

They had both drawn their guns, but didn't point them at him.

Brody shook his head. "Not going to happen, Jordan. Let her go."

"Don't make me shoot you," Lucas chimed in.

Jordan shook his head. "No, it's time for me to go."

She tried to recall the movements he'd taught her if she were to ever find herself in a position such as this, but she couldn't remember what to do. Did she stomp his foot, try to bite him, or try to elbow him in the stomach? Shit.

Feeling completely helpless, she just froze and stared at Brody and Lucas. Something was off. Jordan possessed the strength to snap her neck in a second, but she realized he had no intention of doing so. He held her close, but not with the power she knew he had.

The standoff continued for a moment, then Jordan burst out laughing and let her go.

Brody pulled her over to him as she tried to catch her breath, and they all stared at him as he bent over and placed his hands on his knees while loud guffaws emanated from his gut, him obviously thinking he had been pretty damn hysterical.

"That wasn't funny," she murmured.

Jordan stood up, his face red with a huge grin, his eyes twinkling. "It was. The look on everyone's face was priceless. You two actually believed that I would hurt her. I love her. I would never intentionally cause her pain."

Lucas smiled and stepped up to him. Placing his hand on his shoulder, he said, "You're really on my last nerve, Jordan."

She sensed what was coming next, and she cringed. Lucas' beefy fist caught the underside of Jordan's chin, sending him to the floor. He lay completely unconscious.

Even though Lucas had just hit her husband, a swell of relief went through her. Frankly, he had gotten on her nerves, as well.

Brody broke the silence. "Let's get him up on the bed and put the restraints on him, just in case."

The doctor stood, his eyes wide with irritation. "You knocked out my test subject! I haven't even worked with him on getting his memories back!"

They tossed Jordan on the bed, then Lucas turned to him. "No, I knocked out my friend and her husband, who was acting like an idiot. He's going to sleep off the rest of this damn LSD, and hopefully return to normal in the morning."

As Brody put the restraints on Jordan, she stared at his prone body. Suppose everything did return to normal tomorrow. What did that mean? What if Jordan hadn't meant what he'd said about them starting over? What if he went back to falling into agonizing pain every time she came close to him?

The doctor threw down his clipboard and stomped out of the room and up the stairs. Certainly, he'd have a lot to say to Joe about what went on down here, but she didn't care. Exhaustion rolled through her and mingled with her uncertainties, causing a flurry of emotions. Hope still grew within her that Jordan had meant what he'd said, but it was quickly followed by disappointment with the fact that he would probably never remember what they had, and uncertainty if she could move forward with him. Their past had died, and that saddened her. They'd been good together, but she tried to remain positive. If things did work out between them, then maybe they'd be even better.



       
         
       
        

There were too many moving pieces for her to even think about the future. It would all hinge on how Jordan acted tomorrow.

"I need a beer," Brody murmured as they left the room.

"I need food," Lucas countered. "I wonder what for dinner."

They climbed the stairs together, and she answered him. "Tacos."

As Brody and Lucas discussed the awesomeness of tacos and beer, she remembered that Zach had said that in his vision in the mirror, everyone had seemed fairly happy at the end of the day.

If his vision had been correct, then why did she just want to go to bed?





31





Jordan woke with a bit of a headache, his mind grasping for memories.

Opening his eyes, he assumed it was morning, but really, he had no idea. As he recalled the previous afternoon, it all seemed like a surreal dream.

He remembered everything, every word he'd said, every move he'd made. Lucas had knocked him a good one, and that's probably where the headache had come from. Upon reflection, the joke he'd pulled with Ava really hadn't been very funny, and he'd probably deserved to be hit.

The colors he'd seen had been so real, and he gazed down at his hands to see if they still remained red. Nope. Just regular old skin and bones, but even though it had been washed away, he knew they would always be crimson.

Looking back, it was almost as if he watched himself star in the most detailed 3D movie he'd ever seen.

Ava. Sweet Jesus, he'd kill to be able to remember his past with her, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. However, what did sit firmly within him were the feelings that he had for her. He loved the woman, and that had become an absolute certainty.

He wanted a life with her in the worst way. But would it be possible for them to start over? Would she want to?

Just as he'd said yesterday, it wasn't fair of him to ask her to do that, and he certainly didn't deserve it. However, he hoped she'd throw this dog a bone and say yes.

The past few days had left him raw. It was as if all the layers of him had been stripped away and he lay here completely naked without any defenses. His little trip yesterday had only intensified that feeling. He had no purpose in his life right now, and thinking that the past year had been a lie ate at him. He had no intention of hurting Joe or any of the others, but there was one person in particular he wanted to get his hands on.

Turning his head when he heard the elevator door open, he looked on as Joe rolled into the room, followed by Brody and Ruben.

Joe smiled at him. "Good morning, Jordan. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good. I've got a bit of a headache, but I think I have Lucas to thank for that." 

"Yes. I heard about that. I hope you can understand that he really didn't find any humor in your joke."

Looking back on it, it hadn't been the least bit funny. In fact, considering the position he'd been in, it had been stupid, and he felt lucky they hadn't shot him.

"I get it. Thanks for not putting a bullet in me, man."

Lucas stared him down and nodded slightly, almost looking like he wished he had.

Joe gazed at him a beat. "I'm sorry I couldn't be down here yesterday, but I had some other pressing business to take care of. I heard that there weren't any huge breakthroughs-no memories recovered."

His gut clenched. "No, there weren't."

"Yes, well, it's understandable since Sidney didn't even get to do any psychotherapy or hypnosis on you. I wish Lucas would have restrained himself and let the doctor finish his job."

"Are we going to try again?"

"No. Sidney's gone. He left in a huff, mumbling about not being respected."

They sat in silence for a brief moment, then Jordan spoke. "I can't remember anything about my past, but I do remember feelings, especially about Ava. I was experiencing them before the trip, but they intensified during it."

Joe nodded. "It's a step in the right direction, but what do you want out of this, Jordan? What's the next step?"

He sighed. "Well, first, I give you my word that I'm not going to kill you or anyone in this house. I see the trouble you've gone through to help me, and Ava. I appreciate it."

"And I why should believe you?"

He tried to think of a way to convince Joe that he spoke the truth, but he didn't know what to say. What was the most important thing to him? What could he give Joe to make him understand he meant every word he said? After a moment, he spoke. "I swear on Ava's life that I'm telling the truth. I have no intentions of hurting anyone."

They locked stares for a long while, then Joe nodded. "Brody, please unshackle him."

As Brody approached, Jordan wished he could recall his friendship with the guy. He seemed nice enough when he wasn't locking him up.

He sat up on the bed and rubbed his wrists, suddenly feeling chilly and wishing he had his T-shirt on.

"I was thinking that you'd like to take a shower, Jordan," Joe murmured.

Would he ever. He hadn't had one in two days, and he smelled a bit like rotting garbage.

"That would be great. Thank you."

He stood, his legs feeling a little rickety.

"I appreciate your reasoning on why I should trust you, Jordan, but it's not enough for me. After your shower, you and I will sit down, and I want to know everything about Group Nine, down to the last detail of what type of toilet paper is in their facility. If I feel you are being honest and forthcoming, then I'll consider what should be done with you."

He nodded. "Fair enough."

As he followed Brody into the other part of the basement, he tried to rally his thoughts into coherent sentences. How things had changed in the past forty-eight hours. In the beginning, he'd been willing to kill anyone for Group Nine, and now, he simply wanted to blow the damn place up and murder everyone who'd had a part in taking away the last year of his life.