Jack had been preparing to go out and scour the city again, when his phone beeped with a new text message. Sighing, the painter stepped back inside – it was probably a client, and even now, he couldn’t afford to ignore calls.
The number was unfamiliar, just as he’d been expecting.
But he hadn’t expected what he read next.
… I knew it.
I KNEW it! I knew something must have happened to her! That bastard – why can’t he just leave her alone?! Jack wanted to scream with rage and sob with relief all at once. Katelynn had been drugged, manipulated, and who knows what else – but at least someone had found her. She was safe in custody, and that meant he’d finally have a chance to help her the way she needed.
He didn’t waste time texting the man back. He hailed a taxi as soon as he was out on the street, and minutes later, a wide-eyed and frantic Jack Maple was charging into the lobby of the Museum. “Bernard?! Katelynn?!”
“Jack! Over here!” Bernard waved at him, and waited for the blue man. Grace knew this man, she had told him Katelynn’s future hubby was truly a great person. Too bad they had they had to meet under these circunstances.
He pointed to the blue ice cube inside the cage. “Katelynn is here. I had to dehydrate her, or she would have killed me. We…” he sighed, knowing it would be better to admit the truth. “We fought, she was about to stab me with a knife. At the first sign of weakness, when we were struggling, the knife hit her face… So she might be bleeding when we recover her.” he voice was soft, full of guilt. “I’m really sorry, Jack. I did my best to save her… she’s my best friend, after all. Forgive me, please. I didn’t want to harm her.”
Bernard poured the water over the ice cube. “And forgive me you too, Katelynn…”
The blue cube expanded in a glow of blue light as Katelynn lay there, hair curtaining her head. Now that she was unfrozen – and what a sensation it was to be turned into a small blue cube – blood began to leak out from her wound without restraint as she groaned on the floor. She felt weak, hearing distant voices talking with tinges of worry lacing them.
Jack…?
Her first instinct was to curl up in a fetal position, the leather of her suit crinkling. Shame washed over her as she bit on her bottom lip, feeling like death warmed over and beginning to shake. She didn’t deserve to be around him after everything that happened.
She didn’t deserve him.
Tears leaked out of her eyes and she tried so hard to hold them back but her emotions wouldn’t let her as a tiny sob escaped. What would he think of her now?
Jack swallowed uncomfortably, chewing his lip as he listened to Bernard’s account of what had happened. He knew Katelynn had turned hostile, but he hadn’t realized just how violent she’d become. To go after someone with a knife … what else might she have been doing, during the days she was loose in the city?
“I-i-it’s all right,” he stammered at last. “You d-did what you had to do to defend yourself. If she’s hurt … we’ll take care of her. She needs help anyway.” That was the hope he’d been holding onto all this time – that they would find her and be able to bring her back to normal. Now that they’d found her, though, what would it take?
He watched as Bernard re-hydrated the cube. Oh, he wanted so badly to rush to Katelynn’s side, to hold her close and comfort her and make everything okay again – it took all his willpower to hold back until he was sure she wasn’t going to attack them.
“K-Katelynn?” Cautiously, Jack knelt down beside her. “Katelynn, it’s okay. I’m here.” He dug into his pocket for his handkerchief (an old-fashioned habit, but he’d found it came in handy), and pressed it to the cut on her cheek.
Jack Maple 