Page 24 of Jacked and Jaded

Jackson’s dad was grinning as he followed the officer inside. Officer McMillen took statements from everyone in the room and then had Calliope sign the restraining order. The officer’s expression grew serious for a moment. “Calliope? When you get released, it would be best if you left Boulder for a while. Clint Maxwell has too many connections in this town. I’d be worried for your safety and I’d hate to see anything else happen to you.”

“I’m going home to Redemption when I leave here. Will the restraining order work while I’m in Redemption?”

“Yes. You take a copy by your local police station and sheriff’s department so they’ll be aware of what’s going on.”

“Thank you, Officer McMillen. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

“It’s all part of the job.” She started to walk away, then turned and added, “Maybe I should be thanking you. I’ve gotten to arrest Clint Maxwell twice in the same day.” She raised her brows and fought to keep her smile in check. With a wave to everyone, she was out the door, ready to take Clint to jail again.

A few minutes later, Dr. Fineman came in. “I hear you’ve had some excitement.”

“Yes.” Calliope’s head dropped back on her pillow and frowned.

“I also heard that your friend here,” he hooked a thumb Jackson’s direction, “took care of him until the police could arrive.” He turned and offered his hand. “Thank you. That the son of a bitch that did all this to my patient?”

“Yes,” Jackson growled.

“Just between you and me,” he leaned in and spoke quietly, “if you ever run into that asshole, give him a few hits from me. Absolutely hate men who beat on women.”

Jackson was surprised at the doctor’s request. He also respected the man for what he said. “You got it.” He shared a look with his dad, only to see him smiling wide.

The doctor checked her out, asked how she was feeling and announced that she could go home tomorrow. That was good news to everyone.

Since it was getting close to dinner time and he was still full from eating earlier, he talked Maureen and Tom into going to his hotel room and ordering something from room service. Of course, Maureen didn’t want him paying for their dinner, but he assured her that it was fine. He also told them they could stay the night in the room since he and his dad would be staying with Calliope, making sure she didn’t get any more surprise visitors. Once he got them to agree, he walked them out into the hall.

He wasn’t sure how Maureen was going to take him stepping in and making decisions regarding Calliope now that she was home, so he just threw it out there. “Tomorrow, when Calliope is released, she’s going to ride home with me. I have a full backseat that she can lay out on if she needs to. We’ll follow behind you and help you get her in the house.”

Maureen looked like she might object, then surprised him by agreeing. It made sense for Calliope to go with him where she could be more comfortable. With that sorted out, they left saying they’d be here bright and early in the morning.

Jackson went back inside the room and found his dad entertaining Calliope. Whatever he was saying had her smiling and laughing. He was grateful for that. His dad spotted him getting closer and asked if he’d like him to go get them something to drink.

“Yeah. Water, soda, I don’t care. Will you run by the store and pick up a pillow and a blanket for the ride home tomorrow?” He reached in his pocket and fished out his keys. He handed them to his dad and thanked him. Once his dad was gone, Jackson went to Calliope and looked her over.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Checking to see if you’re all right after that son of bitch was in here.” He gently stroked her hair and watched her closely.

“I’m okay now that you got rid of him.” She looked down at her hands, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m not going to lie. I was a little scared there for a minute. I thought he might hurt my mom or Tom to get to me.” She paused a moment. “I don’t understand why he was here. Why would he think it was okay to come here and pretend like nothing ever happened? That he hadn’t hurt me? I don’t get it. Didn’t he see what he’d done to me?”

Jackson sat next to her on the bed and leaned down, drawing her attention back to him. “Baby, I don’t get it either. I think the man is either insane or he thinks his big bad guy buddies can keep him out of jail. Either way it doesn’t matter. I’m going to take care of him. The Sons of Redemption are going to take care of him so that he will never be able to hurt you or any other woman again.”

Tears pooled in her eyes and it damn near broke his heart. For as long as Jackson had known Calliope, the girl, he had to stop thinking of her as a girl, the woman always had a smile on her face and was happy. This version of Calliope was unacceptable. He was going to get her back to feeling safe and happy one way or another.

“Thank you.” Her gaze dropped. “Thank you for being here when I woke up. I hate that you have to see me like this, but it means a lot that you’re here.”

“Baby, I will always be here for you.”

Jackson wasn’tcrazy about the idea of taking her to her mom’s house. He would prefer to take her to his house so that he could protect her better. He knew it was only a matter of time before Clint Maxwell was going to come to Redemption to try and get Calliope back. He didn’t know if the man was bat shit crazy because he refused to acknowledge what he’d done to Calliope or if he honestly didn’t believe what he’d done to her was bad.

Before they checked Calliope out of the hospital this morning, he’d made sure they gave her a dose of pain medicine for the long ride home. It was a three-hour drive and there was no way she was going to be able to sit in the backseat comfortably for that long. After she signed all of the paperwork and they’d brought in a wheelchair to take her downstairs, he’d went to get his truck to pull up to the front exit.

He made sure the pillow and blanket he’d had his dad buy last night was situated, then picked her up and placed her in the backseat. “Go ahead and lie down. You can let the pain medicine work and you can sleep all the way there. I’ll wake you up when we get to Redemption.”

Calliope didn’t argue with him as the medicine kicked in. Whatever they were giving her for pain seemed to knock her out. He’d made sure Maureen had the prescription so she could get it picked up so they’d have it ready when it was time for another dose. Once he was satisfied that she was comfortable, he and his dad jumped up front.

“What are your plans for Calliope? You taking her to her mom’s or bringing her to your place?” His dad watched him as he drove.

“I guess I’m going to take her to her mom’s. She’s a nurse and Calliope’s her daughter.” The idea didn’t sit well with him.

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