Page 57 of Jackson's Redemption
I grunted. Then the next thing I knew was sitting in the back of a police vehicle. The last time that had happened, Kate’s father had been behind the wheel.
* * *
Jackson
Sitting in the drunk tank of the Nome Police Department, I realized I was no longer drunk. I was hung over like shit, though. My jaw hurt from where I had been punched. My head hurt from whiskey withdrawal. But most of all, my gut hurt.
Kate was in Nome. Kate had been in Nome long enough to join the small police force that served this community.
And she hadn’t told me.
Sober, I apologized to the guy whose nose I had broken. He told me to go fuck myself. They’d let him leave an hour ago when his wife had come to pick him up. She hadn’t been thrilled with his behavior. I’d wanted to tell her it wasn’t his fault this time but didn’t have the chance.
Besides, I knew his type. This wasn’t his first bar fight and neither of us would be pressing assault charges. Not that I was worried. I had a bar filled with people who saw him throw the first punch. He’d probably been looking to blow off steam as much as I had been. Hell, it’s what a body did in Alaska. Get drunk and pick a fight to stave off the boredom.
The door that led to the outside office opened. Kate walked in wearing her neat, brown uniform and it was like being sucker punched all over again. She rattled a bottle of aspirin and handed it to me along with a bottle of water.
I didn’t say anything. Just took the water and the aspirin and downed four of them with one swallow. I was done asking questions. It was her turn to talk.
“We’re not going to press any charges. I talked to Chuck and he’s cool with it. Says it happens all the time. You can go, but I don’t think you should drive yet. Not sure if any of the guys came with you. If not, I could give you lift somewhere.”
I lifted my head and looked at her.
“I know you’re surprised. I was going to tell you, but I…I don’t know. I wasn’t ready, I guess. You knew I couldn’t stay in Arizona. I was in Florida with my mother, but all I could think about was how amazing it had been up here. I reached out to a few local police departments. All the chiefs I spoke with wanted to hire locally. There’s an academy in Sitka. Apparently, most people who come up from the Lower 48 don’t stay, so we’re not reliable hires. But Chief Kaga recently lost two of his officers and the academy doesn’t graduate for another few months so he was willing to take a chance on me.”
She took a break from her rambling. I said nothing. I had no idea what she expected me to say.
“Say something.”
I grunted in disgust.
“I’m going to need actual words this time, Jackson.”
“You want to fuck?”
She flinched but I didn’t care. I didn’t know why she was here. I didn’t want to ask her what she was feeling. I didn’t need her to tell me how she wasn’t ready for a relationship. Or that she didn’t know why she had chosen to start over again in fucking Nome, Alaska, and not tell me.
But one thing I did know was that she could take the pain away and I had been in pain for months.
She fidgeted. “I finish my shift in an hour—”
“I’ll wait.”
She bit her bottom lip. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“You remember what it felt like?” I asked her.
She nodded.
“It’s the fucking best idea.” I stretched out on the bench seat, my hands folded under my head.
* * *
Kate
This was crazy. I was in my SUV, driving a now-sober Jackson to my place. He was staying at a B&B in town but thought the privacy of my home would be better for what he wanted to do to me.
Could I really rule out killing me in my sleep given how I had treated him? Yes. Because with Jackson it wouldn’t be in my sleep. He would want me fully awake to know what was happening.
