Page 46 of Property of Woods

“ThatwasLow.She’sat the hospital with Jessika.Gabbie doesn’t leave until I hear it from Jessika’s mouth that she took off and Gabbie was covering for her.I’ll keep you posted,” I tell Gray and Bugs.

When I get to the clinic, Low tells me that Fletcher was there questioning Jessika, but she doesn’t think she was telling the truth because he wants to speak to Gabbie.

“She said that she was on a hike with Gabbie, but they had an argument, and she told Gabbie to leave.”

“That sounds like some bullshit.Where is she?”

“In observation room four.Do you want me to hang around?”

“Yeah.Go grab you guys some drinks or some shit in case Fletcher comes back.We need to be on the same page.We don’t need Jessika’s name showing up on any data bases right now.”

“Want me to ask Kasey to lose her paperwork before it’s filed for billing?”

“Yeah.Tell her I’ll triple her usual rate if she scrubs the visit entirely.”

“Good deal.”

“Is Fletcher still hanging around?”

“No.He left about ten minutes ago.”

“Go get them drinks.”

Fletcher has a job to do, but so do I.My brother might turn a blind eye to petty shit, but he takes his oath and his badge seriously.Something that has us on opposite sides more often than not.

“Tell me what happened.”

“I’m not sure you’ll like what I have to say.”

“Don’t play games with me, butterfly.Tell me who the fuck hurt you.”

“Faye.”

I clench my fists.“Faye did this shit to you?”

“She got Gabbie to lead me to this ramshackle cabin out in the woods.Said she was meeting her weed dealer.When we got there, she shoved me through the door and Faye put a black hood over my head.The two of them beat me and left me tied up in the woods.Though Faye was kind enough to leave a knife for me to free myself.This sweet old couple who was camping found me and brought me here.”

“I’ll handle Gabbie and Faye.”

“What are you planning on doing?”

“Let me worry about that, yeah?”

She nods and doesn’t give me an attitude about it.

“There’s something else.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know how else to tell you other than to come out and say it.I’m pregnant with Thad’s baby.”

My heart squeezes tight.A knot twists in my gut and I want to punch something or someone.“How long have you known?”

“I just found out.I know this changes things.”

“Changes every fuckin’ thing.”

I stare at my boots then meet Jessika’s tear stricken baby blues.Eyes so fuckin’ deep and blue, I could drown in the depths of the grief filling them.She’s having another man’s baby, but I’m claiming her.Both of them.Jessika’s mine.That makes this baby mine too.

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