All of My Soul (28 page)

Lincoln shifted in his chair. “Detective, if
you are bringing these people in, I would prefer to be gone before
they get here.”

“Of course, but you should know Daisy has
requested to speak with you, Ms. Thompson.”

“Me?” I asked. “What does she want to speak
to me about?”

Detective Murray looked uncomfortable. “She
didn’t say, but I think she wants to apologize.”

Lincoln scoffed and was about to say
something, but I interrupted him by quickly agreeing to see her. I
wanted more answers.

We were escorted to a room similar to the one
we were just in. Daisy sat at a table in handcuffs, looking
incredibly depressed and downtrodden. She didn’t even look up at us
when we walked in.

“Daisy?” I said in my most comforting tone
and knelt next to her. Lincoln and Brody stood next to me ready to
pull me to safety should she try anything even though she was
handcuffed.

Daisy’s eyes met mine, and tears immediately
glistened in her eyes. “Jillian, I’m so sorry.” She swallowed
hard.

“Can you just tell me why? Why is she doing
this? Why are you helping us now?”

Her eyes got wide and she shook her head.
“She’s insane. I didn’t know how bad she was at first, and by the
time I realized how deranged she is, I was terrified to go against
her.”

“What does she have planned?” Lincoln
asked.

“I don’t know,” she answered, and Lincoln
grumbled in frustration. “I don’t! I wish I did! I told the
detectives everything I know. I just know she’s evil and has it out
for you. I had no idea how awful she could be. I would have said
something sooner if I had known what she was capable of.”

“Why? Why are you coming forward now?” I
asked.

“You were nice to me once for no reason. I
don’t know anyone else who would have given me money for a taxi
after I had treated you so terribly that night. You don’t deserve
this kind of treatment. I—I know it’s not an excuse, but I didn’t
know anyone could be that kind. I don’t really have any friends.
The only girls I know are bitches like me.”

I smiled and patted her leg. “You’re not a
bitch, Daisy. This proves it. I can’t tell you how grateful I am”—I
looked back at Lincoln—“how grateful we both are that you came
forward. That took a lot of courage.”

“My sister is bipolar,” she blurted out and
my eyebrows rose. So that was why she had come forward now. “I
thought what the tabloids were saying about you was true. That you
were bipolar. And I knew that wasn’t right. That was over the
line.”

“And drugging her drink wasn’t?” Lincoln said
with a trace of malice in his voice.

Daisy shook her head. “I swear I didn’t know
about that.”

I patted her leg again. “Daisy, as soon as we
can, we’ll pay your bail to get you out of here.”

She gave me a sad smile. “Don’t bother,
Jillian. I deserve to be in jail.” She sighed and looked down at
the floor. “And in all honesty, I’m probably safer there than at
home if Mackenzie finds out what I told you.”

“You really think she’d hurt you?”

Daisy lifted her head, and her eyes met mine.
“You really think she wouldn’t?”

She had a point. No longer could I pretend
that Mackenzie was simply a harmless nuisance. The evidence was
stacked against her, even if it was circumstantial. It was enough
for me.

“You should know,” Daisy added before we
left. “Mackenzie went thermonuclear when Brit Ambush posted that
picture on Instagram. Like scary jealous. I wouldn’t put it past
her to do something insanely terrible.”

An ominous feeling settled over me. The last
time Mackenzie had been pissed about something, I ended up in the
hospital. What would she try this time?

Knowing we needed to get out of there before
Mackenzie and her gang were brought in, I thanked Daisy once again
and left her to the care of Chicago’s finest.

Lincoln put his arm around me as we walked
down the hallway of the police station toward the exit. I looked up
in time to see my brother hustling down the hallway toward us with
a fierce look on his face. He wasn’t in uniform, so Brody
immediately moved to shield me from him, but I grabbed his arm.
“Brody, no. It’s my brother.”

Elliot came right up to me and held the tops
of my arms, his eyes scanning over my body. “Are you okay? I heard
you were attacked in a parking garage.”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “Oh God.
No. I wasn’t attacked. I’m fine.”

“What’s going on then?” He turned to glare at
Lincoln.

“Elliot, we think we might have a lead!” I
explained about Daisy and the information she had given Detective
Murray.

My brother pulled me into a tight hug. “God,
I was so worried. You’re okay, though?”

I smiled and nodded before frowning as Elliot
continued to glare at Lincoln.

“This is your fucking fault,” he said as he
jabbed a finger at Lincoln. “I will not let anything happen to my
sister because some former fling of yours is jealous.”

“Elliot, no!” I grabbed his hand. “This isn’t
his fault for dating her any more than it is mine for living with
her in college. This isn’t anyone’s fault but Mackenzie’s. She’s
the crazy one.”

“And I’m not going to let her anywhere near
you. I’m taking you home.”

Lincoln clutched my arm. “No offense, Elliot,
but I’m not leaving her side.”

Elliot puffed his chest out. “What the fuck
are you going to do, Monaghan? Since she’s known you her tires have
been slashed, her computer has been destroyed, and she’s been
drugged! You think you’re helping her? She’s lucky to even be
alive!”

Lincoln glared at my brother. Anger radiated
out of him. “You think she’s better off with you? What are you
going to do? Lock her in her house and never let her out again? You
think that was living? She was terrified to meet anyone new. To
trust anyone. You think you helped her by sheltering her? You
enabled her. You allowed her to stay closed off from everyone.”

“At least she wasn’t getting death threats!”
Elliot exploded. “She didn’t go through all that shit as a kid only
to suffer now. You think she deserves this harassment? You think
this is any kind of life she deserves?”

Lincoln got in Elliot’s face. “Don’t you dare
try to tell me what she deserves. You think I don’t know she
deserves more than this? I would give her the world if she would
take it. I’d pack her up and fly her so far away from anyone who
wanted to hurt her as fast as I could. Don’t you think I’d do it in
a heartbeat if that’s what she wanted? You think that would make
her happy?”

Elliot waved his arms out. “You think this is
making her happy? Look at her! She’s terrified!”

“She’s stronger than you think, and hiding
her away isn’t going to help her!”

“STOP!!” I screamed, and they both looked
down at me with surprise. “Elliot! How dare you?! Lincoln isn’t
making any bad decisions here. Everything that happens with this is
my choice.”

Elliot grabbed my shoulders and gave me a
little shake. “Jillian. Think of mom. Do you think she wants to see
you lying in a hospital bed? You want to put her through that
again?”

I pulled out of his grasp. “Elliot! Do not
try to guilt me into hiding. I will not miss my thesis
presentation. I will not miss my graduation. I’ve already missed so
much. Lincoln is right. I have to live my life. I don’t want to be
sheltered. I don’t want a life without Lincoln. It’s as simple as
that. I know he will keep me safe and happy.”

My brother closed his eyes and looked as if
he was in pain before he pulled out a chair from a nearby empty
desk and sat down with his head in his hands.

I knelt next to him and gripped his arm.
“It’s going to be okay, Elliot. They just got a big break! This
could all be over soon.”

He lifted his head and gave me a sad smile.
“Do you know when Frankie left for college he made me promise to
look out for you? I was only twelve, and even though you’re my big
sister, he said it was my job to watch out for you now that he was
leaving. He never said anything about Rebecca or Emily. Just you.
And now I feel like I’ve done a terrible job. I couldn’t stop
Mackenzie from hurting you in college, and now it’s all happening
again.”

“I’m not breakable, Elliot. Yes, I’ve had
problems, but nothing will ever get better for me if I stay hidden
away from everyone. You can’t shield me from everything.”

“For the record, Elliot,” Lincoln said as he
stepped up beside me. “You did a great job looking out for her.
Every day Jillian amazes me with how wonderful she is. She’s the
best person I know, and you were a part of that.”

Elliot sat up and held one of my hands with
both of his. “I guess that’s something, huh.”

I rose up and hugged him tight. “That’s
everything, Elliot.”

Chapter Twenty

“And so, in conclusion, the similarities
between the human dermis cells and the artificially grown dermis
cells greatly outnumber the differences. With more time and
research, I believe the creation of skin grafts made from these
self-regenerating artificial cells would be greatly beneficial to
those with fibrous tissue damage. Thank you.”

And that was it! I blew out a huge breath I
felt like I had been holding the whole presentation. I had
successfully defended my thesis. My professors stood and applauded
as they announced my thesis had been accepted. I had done it! My
eyes flicked to the back of the auditorium where Lincoln and Brody
sat. It was dark all the way in the back, but I could see them
standing and applauding.

The professors of the biology department took
their turns shaking my hand and congratulating me. It was a shock
that I was actually done with school. I didn’t know what I was
going to do now. I still didn’t have a job, but I kind of wanted to
just relax for a while. And now because of Lincoln, I could do
that. I had been so against this idea previously, but it was very
tempting to not work while Lincoln was in the off-season. I could
take care of him while he healed. Maybe we would take a vacation
away from Mackenzie and all our problems.

“Jillian?” My advisor interrupted my musing
as I packed up my laptop. “Could I speak to you for a second?”

I bit my lip with worry. “Of course.” What
could I have done wrong?

We stepped to the side of the auditorium.
“Jillian, I was disappointed to see you hadn’t applied for the
McClintock fellowship.”

Relief washed through me. I had thought I was
in trouble. “Oh, I’m not really interested in getting my Ph.D.
right now. I want to get some lab experience.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Did you
apply at BioTech Labs?”

I nodded. “Yes, but I haven’t heard
anything.”

“VonDan Research?”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to leave
Chicago.”

He sucked a breath in through his teeth.
“You’re really limiting your choices then, Jillian.”

“I know. But it’s what I want.”

“All right. I can respect that. Well, I know
the human resources manager at BioTech. Let me make some calls. I
think your research would really be welcome there.”

I grinned widely. “Oh, thank you. That would
mean a lot to me.”

“Don’t overlook getting your Ph.D. though,
Jillian. You could be an asset here.”

I blushed at his praise and nodded. “I’ll
keep it in mind.”

“All right.” He offered his hand to me. “I’ll
be in touch.”

Shaking his hand, I smiled. “Thank you,
again.”

I grabbed my laptop and sprinted to the back
of the auditorium, reminding myself that Lincoln was injured and
not to jump into his arms. I slowed as I approached him and gently
looped my arms up to hug him. He held me as tight as possible with
one arm before pulling back to kiss me.

“I’m so proud of you, baby,” he told me with
a gleaming smile.

“Thank you, Lincoln. That means so much to
me. Thank you for coming.”

“Are you ready to party?”

“Hell yeah!” I exclaimed and pumped my fist
in the air with excitement.

~~~~~~~~

Lincoln held a bottle of beer in his casted
hand high above his head as I leaned into his good side. “To
Jillian!” he shouted as he wrapped his other arm around my waist
and held me close to him. He swayed slightly on his feet but
grinned down at me with a big goofy smile.

Everyone around us cheered and held up their
drinks in return. This was the most people I had ever seen in
Lincoln’s house. The kitchen and living room were comfortably full,
while a few groups of people mingled on the deck. Lincoln had
invited our siblings, of course, and Kennedy and Brian had invited
Brian’s sister and her husband, the owner of Patrick’s. Several of
Lincoln’s teammates were here, including Deacon and Matt. Matt
brought his new girlfriend, but Deacon was by himself and paying a
hell of a lot of attention to my sister. I still hadn’t figured out
what was going on between the two of them.

“Hey!” Lincoln hollered to get everyone’s
attention. “To Jillian! The sexiest, smartest, funniest, sexiest,
kindest, sexiest scientist ever!” He took a big swallow of his beer
as our friends laughed at his terrible toast. Blushing, I turned
into his chest to hide my embarrassment and covered my face with my
hand. The next thing I knew, Lincoln’s good hand smacked me hard on
my ass.

“Ow!” I cried and stumbled against him. We
both were on the fast track to being drunk, but we were celebrating
and trying to forget all the shit in our lives at that moment.

Lincoln’s big hand covered my one butt cheek,
and he massaged it through my jeans. “Did I mention sexiest?”

“Yes. You did, you crazy man.” The alcohol in
my system made it really difficult to remember that I shouldn’t be
rubbing myself against him.

Technically, his rib and lung were still
healing, and he was supposed to be taking it easy for at least
another month, but when he put his hands on me, especially when I
had this much to drink, it was easy to forget. At least until I
moved my hand to his bad side and tried to pull him closer to me.
As soon as I touched the bruises by his ribs, he knocked my hand
away and abruptly stepped back to put a little distance between
us.