D wondered if the doctor happened to walk in if he'd have a chance to make a run for it. Probably not. Between hospital security and the cop that he saw at the main doors, he wouldn't have a chance. He had no clue what Jessica was talking about, but he wasn't going to interrupt her trying to talk whoever this guy was out of arresting him.
"Fuck, Kev. I said put it down. I mean it. I'm not fucking around. I know what I'm doing. This isn't your chance to play hero. If you want to arrest someone, arrest me. I was the one who cut the cock off that guy the other night. Put the gun down now!"
She gripped his arms so hard that D was afraid she might cause him to accidentally shoot. He wasn't happy at all about her little announcement. How was he supposed to keep the team safe if she did shit like that?
"Kevin, you saw what those fuckers did to me. You were the one who found me. Don't you dare take away my chance at making them pay for what they did. Do you remember? Think about all that blood, all those nightmares. I still have the nightmares, Kev. You have to stop this now. He's not the enemy. Put the gun down and let's talk about this. I swear, Kev, if you do this, I'll never speak to you again. I'll never forgive you."
"Jess…" Kevin's gaze darted to her, but then went right back on D.
"Remember it all, Kevin. Do you want to see the scars again? Do you remember I can't have kids because of it? Do not take this from me. Put the fucking gun down or you might as well arrest me too, because if you take him, I'm going to pick up where he left off and I can't promise I'll be as humane as he's been with these pedofucks!" Jessica stood, her legs shaking as she put herself directly in front of the gun. "We can talk about this, but not here. Not now."
Kevin obviously had no choice but to lower the gun with Jessica standing directly in front of it. "Fuck, Jess, don't ask me to do this."
"You're my brother. You know what I've been through."
"Fuck!" Kevin put his gun back in the holster on his hip. "This is my job, Jess."
"And I'm your sister. I should be more important than some fucking badge. What happened to me should matter more than that badge. He saves girls like me. Not all little girls have big brothers to save them."
"I didn't save you, Jess. I was too late." The pain in Kevin's voice was palpable.
"I would have died if you hadn't come along, Kev. You know that." Jess turned to look at D. "Go now. Go home. I promise you're safe. Kevin isn't going to follow up on this. I'll get in touch with you once he and I talk, but I swear to you, he won't cause us any problems." She looked back at her brother. "Will you?"
Kevin sighed as he glanced at his sister, then at D. "Go. I didn't see you here tonight, but I see you again, I can't make any promises."
D didn't wait to hear more. He opened the door and walked out, trying not to run. He had to trust Jessica. She could handle her brother, but that was just for tonight. What about tomorrow?
Fuck!
He made it out to his car without anyone chasing after him. He watched for someone following him as he pulled onto the road, but didn't see anything. He couldn't go back to the STK house. He wouldn't lead people there if they were tracking him somehow. Heading to his house, he prayed that Jessica could handle her brother and that he wasn't going to end up with cops at his door. He thought about getting a hotel room, but what was the point? If Kevin managed to get information out of Jessica, there would be no hiding.
His gut said she'd take care of everything. He'd heard the desperation in her voice when she'd talked about whatever had happened to her. Whatever it was, there was no record of it in her background check, and she obviously hadn't mentioned it. He wanted to be mad that it sounded as if she was using the team for her own vengeance, but then he'd thought about doing the same thing so many times. He couldn't fault her for wanting to take down people who hurt her.
He pulled into his garage and rushed to the house, locking the doors, and keeping the lights off. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Jeremy.
"Hey, how is she?" Jeremy asked.
"She'll be fine, but we have a bigger issue." D sat down on the couch. "Her brother showed up and recognized me. He's a fucking cop. He pulled his gun on me, but Jessica talked him down. He let me go with a warning that if he ever saw me again, he couldn't make any promises he wouldn't arrest me. Fuck! Jessica told him she did the last sting. I know she was trying to protect me, but where does this put us?" D was trying not to panic, but this could end everything they'd worked so hard for.
Jeremy blew out a long breath. "You need to stay calm. I don't know why, but I say trust Jessica. We have to trust her brother when he said this was your one and only chance. Where are you now? Are you safe?"
"I'm home." D stared out the front window, almost expecting to see flashing blue lights pulling up.
"Stay there. I'm on my way. I'm not going to let anyone here know what is going on. Unless Jessica tells them where the team house is, we're safe, and she doesn't know where you live. I don't think she'll tell," Jeremy said.
"I don't either. She said some things. But she's not giving the team up. She'll fight her brother on this, and he will come out the loser if he pushes her. She's…" He closed his eyes. "Just get here, okay? I need you." He couldn't go through this alone. He couldn't face going to jail again.
"I'm on my way. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Thanks, Jer."
"Always." Jeremy ended the call.
D stayed on the couch, trying to figure out where he'd gone wrong. He'd gotten too comfortable too soon. He should have kept his hair dyed, should have changed his look. He should have fucking stayed inside instead of daring to venture out in public so soon. He was a fool, and now everything could come crashing down all because he wanted his normal life back again.
He waited for Jeremy, hoping this wasn't the end.
