Page 110 of Atlas
“Jolene won’t need the bloody wallet, just the content,” I said, unsure how these things worked.
“Understood.” The middle-aged man nodded and reached inside his pocket. “Here’s my number. We have your information, and we’ll be in touch tomorrow morning with an update.”
I took his card. “And what about the system that let out Niklavs when he should be in jail?”
He shifted his balance. “I assure you that we do all we can to put the criminals behind bars. The system isn’t perfect, and budget cuts, unfortunately, weaken our system — nothing any of us here tonight can do about it. You need to address it with the politicians.”
“Oh, I intend to,” I said and shook his hand before Jolene and I got into my car and drove away from the parking lot.
“Let’s get you home.”
She sat with an empty gaze in her eyes, staring into the night. “Home. Where is that?”
“For now, it’s my apartment.”
She was quiet for a long moment, and then she muttered, “You should have never hired me. I brought you nothing but trouble. We have to cancel all tests tomorrow.” She turned her head to look at me with a sad expression on her face. “Do you think the insurance will cover a new carpet and furniture in the waiting room?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“You’ll need to hire a painter too. The walls were…” She trailed off.
“Yes, I saw the walls, but that’s the least of my worries. We’ll get a new office space. I’m concerned about you. How are you feeling?”
She placed an elbow on the edge of the car door and rested her head in her hand. “I’m angry at myself.”
“Why? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I misread the situation. I asked Benjamin about all the bruises on his body, and he said his father beat him. When I asked if his mother ever hit him, he shook his head. I should have dug deeper instead of assuming Niklavs was the only aggressor in the house. Velna was the psychopath all along.” Jolene’s tone was flat. “All day, I interview people about their experience with narcissists, sociopaths, and psychopaths, and yet I still fell for her act as the poor wife who was afraid of her husband.”
“It just shows how hard it is to spot them.”
Jolene looked at me with deep lines on her forehead. “But I’m a psychologist, Atlas. I should know better. I feel so stupid.”
I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t! Be grateful that Velna and Niklavs are no longer a threat to you or anyone else.”
“I can go home now,” she pondered out loud in a soft tone.
“Yes. We’ll be there in a minute.”
“No. I meant California. All my friends and family are there.”
I stiffened and let go of her hand, my mouth suddenly dry, and my throat tightening.
We drove the rest of the way in silence, and when we got back to the apartment, I made Jolene a warm bath and brought her a grilled cheese sandwich that she ate while I sat on the bathroom floor with my back against the tiled wall.
“Thank you. What about you? Aren’t you hungry?” she asked.
“No.” I pulled my knees up and rested my arms on them. There was so much I wanted to say to her, but she had been through enough tonight. Pouring out my fear of losing her wouldn’t be fair. I couldn’t stop her if she longed for her friends and family.”
Mine.The wolf growled inside me. I could relate to his despair and let my head fall forward.I know, wolf. I feel the same way, but we can’t lock her up and throw away the key. It doesn’t work that way.
“Atlas, what’s wrong?” The concern in Jolene’s voice made me lift my head and meet her eyes. What I loved most about our relationship was the honesty between us. Yet, somehow, telling her to stay because she was the only woman I could be myself around felt too selfish. I was developing a dependency on her. An addiction that made me take all the attention from her that I could get. Maybe it was time for me to rise up to that third level of love that she had talked about and put her first. If going back to California would make her happy, I should be the bigger man and support her decision.
“Why do you look so sad?” she asked me.
I wanted to say, “Because I can’t stand the thought of you moving away,” but for her sake, I lied.
CHAPTER 26
