He takes my hand in a firm handshake. “Ah yes, also known as Special Agent Jameson who answered the phone the other day, and told me he will kick my ass if anything goes wrong,” he says with a smirk, not seeming all that pissed about my threat. Too bad Emily isn’t as understanding about it.
“Yes, that would be him. Again, sorry about that.” Her face turns furiously red as she glares at me.
He chuckles. “It’s fine, I’ve had worse said to me, believe it or not. But like I said, I promise to use all caution, and after reviewing your history I feel confident everything will be just fine.”
Yeah, well, he isn’t fucking promising it either, and I don’t like that.
“Yes, I’m sure it will be too,” she adds then gestures to Nick. “This is Special Agent Nick Stone. He will be the other FBI Agent listening in.”
The doctor shakes his hand. “Well, you’re a pretty big guy too.”
“Don’t worry, Doctor, I don’t plan on doing any bodily harm. I’m just here to listen.”
“Good to know,” he grins then points to one of the rooms. “That is where you both will watch and listen in. The room has a two-way mirror and audio.”
No fucking way.
“And Emily will…”
“I don’t think so, Doctor.” I cut him off. “I go where she goes.”
He clears his throat cautiously. “I understand you want to be with her, Special Agent Jameson, but it’s best that Emily is by herself in the room with me. It doesn’t…”
“I said no!”
Emily puts her hand on my arm. “If he says this is best then he knows better than we do.”
“We’ll be in the room right next door, and you will be able to see and hear everything. I promise,” he adds, trying to reassure me, but it doesn’t. Not at all.
“I’ll be okay, Ryder.”
I look down at Emily’s soft expression, my chest constricting with panic at the thought of anything happening to her. I step closer and frame her face. “If at anytime you want to stop, or you change your mind, just say the word and we’re out of here.”
“I will.” She turns her face and kisses the palm of my hand.
“I love you. Everything will be fine, I promise,” I tell her, sounding a lot more confident than I feel.
She nods and gives me a shaky smile. “I know. I love you too.”
I reluctantly step back and let her go. The doctor shows Nick and me into our room before taking Emily to his. He gestures to the two-way mirror, showing her where we are. She smiles and blows me a kiss.
“That was for me you know,” Stone says with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood.
I grunt, as I watch Em lay down on the couch while the doctor takes the chair next to her. My heart starts pounding like a fucking drum. “I don’t like this. Not one fucking bit.”
Nick claps me on the back. “She’ll be all right, man. We’ll make sure of it.” She better fucking be… “How’s she been doing since the funeral?”
I shrug. “As good as she can be. She still fucking cries every night, but since her old man tried pulling the sympathy card, and paid for Rosa’s funeral, she’s more angry now than anything. I still feel like shit over the whole thing. She lost her life trying to help our investigation.”
Nick nods. “I know, but it was our best chance. You told her not to get the key if it wasn’t safe to do so, and who the fuck knows what actually happened. Maybe it never even had to do with the key.”
I’ve wondered that too, but the chance that she got busted trying to get that key is the most likely scenario. “Either way, I’m going to make that son of a bitch pay for it.”
He goes silent and I know what he’s going to say before he even says it. “Listen, Jameson, promise me you’re going to do this clean. It’s obvious you have a past with this guy, and I don’t blame you for wanting to cause him some serious harm. I hate him myself, but we do this the right way.”
As bad as I want to extract some serious revenge on the guy, I wouldn’t cross that line. I took an oath and I won’t break it, especially not for a piece of shit like him. “Don’t worry, I’m good. I won’t be crossing any lines.” Unless it comes down to Emily’s safety, because her life goes before anyone’s, including mine. But I keep that to myself.
He nods. “Everything is in place for the dinner tomorrow; Crowley and Higgins should be arriving tonight. Let’s fucking pray all this shit will come to an end and we bust the fucker.”
Oh we will, because there is no other option. I refuse to fail.
Our talk ceases when the doctor dims the light to start the session. “Are you comfortable, Emily?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m going to put you in a more relaxed state now. Remember there is nothing to fear, although you’ll be in a deep part of your subconscious you will hear my voice and you will be able to communicate back with me the entire time. Do you understand?” She nods. “Good. I want you to look up at the ceiling and focus on the red dot up there. Now take a really deep breath through your nose then hold it… and exhale slowly through your mouth. Great, and again, another deep breath… Now I want you to focus more intently on that light and I’m going to count back from ten. When I get to one your eyes will close and you will be in a deep part of your subconscious. Ten… Nine… Eight.” The doctor does something on his computer as she continues to stare at the ceiling. “The area around the red dot is starting to blur. Seven… Six… Your body is feeling weightless and your eyes tired.”
“Jesus, this is making me fucking tired,” Stone mumbles and looks away for a minute. I agree, the guy’s voice alone could put anyone to sleep, but I refuse to take my eyes off Emily.
“Three.” By this time Em’s eyes start to flicker heavily. “Two… One.” They close. “Can you hear me, Emily?”
“Yes,” she whispers, not really sounding all there, which just freaks me out. I took psychology courses in college knowing it would help my chances of getting in to the FBI. The mind is a fucked up thing and incredibly powerful. I remember when I first started I had attempted to research some of Emily’s condition but didn’t find much information on it. At least not anything she hadn’t already told me.
“I want you to go back to the night you lost your sight. Do you remember it?”
“Yes.”
“Good. What is the first memory you have of this night? You said your parents are hosting a charity function at your house. Are you in attendance?”
“No. I’m with my nanny, Isa, she just put me to bed and walked out.”
“Do you fall asleep?”
“No, I can’t because I can hear my parent’s party downstairs and it’s too loud.”
“Okay, so what do you do?”
“I sneak out of my bedroom window to go to the wishing well.”
“Wishing well?”
I watch a small smile grace her face. “Yes. It’s in the woods by my house. I love going there and I go a lot when I can’t sleep.”
“Why do you have a hard time sleeping?”
Her brow furrows in concentration. “I don’t know.”
“Okay, that’s all right. Are you walking to the well now?”
“Yes.”
“How is the weather? Is it cold or…”
“No, it’s warm. I’m only in my white nightgown and slippers, but I’m not cold.”
“What do you see on the way to the well?”
“Flowers from our beautiful garden that Manuel takes care of. I even pick one to bring with me.”
“That’s nice. What color is it?”
“White. I don’t know the kind, but it’s…” She trails off with a gasp, her entire body tensing.
“Emily, is everything okay?”
“No. Someone is screaming,” she replies shakily, fear evident in her voice.
I sense Nick glance at me but I don’t take my eyes off Em.
“Do you know who it is?” She shakes her head. “Is it a man or a woman?”
“A woman,” she whispers, her body now trembling.
“Can you hear any other voices?”
“A few men, but I don’t know who. One sounds like my father.”