To Love & To Protect (7 page)

Chapter 17

Later on that evening after Jasmine had got the twins settled down in bed and was walking back towards her room, when a conversation in the other room caught her attention.

Kimberly was saying, “I bet by tomorrow tonight, which is Sunday, that Ethan will be kicked off the case and Trent will be back at point.”

Carina responded with a question, “Why you say that?”

“Because he is clearly compromised,” Kimberly stated matter of factly.

Marisol responded, “He is undercover. We are Marines, going undercover is something new for him. He probably feels like it has to feel real to be believable. You say compromised, I say committed.”

“Moreover,” Carina interjected, “Trent is compromised. His booty call before deploying ended up pregnant and he is an instant father. He is trying to figure his life out. His head is not in the game. Besides, she is like family to him anyways. He was compromised from the moment we got the phone call.”

“There was an alternative to him having to go undercover as her boyfriend,” Kimberly smarted off.

“Like?” Marisol asked.

“To keep her out of harm’s way, they could have told the public she died. Put her in a safe haven until we figured out who made the attempt on her life,” Kimberly said.

“Yeah that would have worked out great for her kids and sister. I don’t even think this concern that you have is even about the case. I think you are compromised and probably always have been,” Carina said in a direct manner.

“Watch your mouth,” Kimberly said standing.

Carina threw her hands in the air and responded, “I am just keeping it real.”

“No you are just being a ….” Kimberly stopped before she completed the sentence. “I am going for a walk,” she said and grabbed her light weight jacket and went out of the front door.

Jasmine hugged the wall, so that she would not be seen. After the door shut behind Kimberly, Jasmine walked the rest of the way down the hallway.

“I am calling it a night ladies,” Jasmine said. “Thank you for all that you both are doing to keep my family safe. Do you need anything before I go to bed?” Jasmine asked.

“No thank you,” the ladies said in unison.

“Well I know how you all seem to love coffee. I will make a fresh pot before going to bed.”

She turned and went into the kitchen and prepared a pot of coffee and then went to bed.

She lay there looking up at the ceiling for the longest time. What was she doing? Not only was she risking her heart, but the hearts of her children too. This was too messy. She shook her head from side to side. She would love nothing else to get lost in a fantasy with this man. 

She had been celibate for three years, not even using toys for sexual pleasure. Ethan had lit a fire using wet wood as far she had been concerned. At the end, was any of it worth it? She had to acknowledge that she didn’t know much about him, but what she knew she liked. She had never dated outside her race, but maybe it was time to try someone new. Her heart was so heavy. She decided that tomorrow she would go to church then eat dinner at her Emerald Grove location; come back and start working on the Memorial Weekend Charity event.

Using voice commands she was able to send a text message to Trent. Her arm was still very weak and she felt like she was starting to lose muscle tone in it. She was ready to start physical therapy. She felt like she was damaged goods all over again. She really hated it. If she was having a hard time coping with this how in the world are her girls dealing with this? Jasmine tossed around on the bed, trying to get comfortable.

Deciding to do something that she should have been done, she prayed. She gave thanks, asked for healing and guidance. A little while later she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 18

When Ethan got back to the villa where the rest of the team was staying, he was greeted by an excited Michelle.

“Ethan the reason we don’t have a clear picture or picture at all on who the shooter is, is because the video has a feedback loop virus that was embedded in it. It runs for a few hours and repeats. At the time of the shooting, the monitors were not set to record but to play. I believe that the shooter works for the University or has access to the security room. I have started combing through employee records of the school. I also asked the FBI to get access to employees who work for companies that the University uses to outsource businesses too or independent contractors,” Michelle finished.

“There’s something that you are neglecting to tell me Ethan said,” because he knew her so well.

“I got tired of waiting for them to respond to me,” Michelle said. “So I hacked the University to get the records and retrieved the information myself. I was careful and no one will even know that I was in there,” Michelle finished ready for Ethan to explode.

Ethan just stared at her for a few moments. He knew that Michelle had been feeling disassociated from the rest of the team and probably needed encouragement rather than more correction.

“So what did you find out?” Ethan asked finally.

Michelle walked over to her desk. Her limp was very noticeable tonight. As she gathered the folders that she wanted to share with him, he messaged Michael and asked him to come take a look at Michelle’s leg.

She had pulled three people she thought where likely suspects, all three had previous jail time for drug related offenses. Only one had previous military training. Samuel Clark had been dishonorable discharged after he had been arrested for purchasing prescription drugs.

“Good job Michelle,” he said and meant it sincerely. “I noticed that you’re limp is more pronounced today. Are you in pain?” Ethan asked.

“Ah, you are welcome. I have learned to push through the pain, sir” Michelle responded.

“Why is it sore? Ethan asked truly puzzled. At the VA Hospital they said your leg had healed nicely. I know that you have some everyday maintenance that you have to do, but …” he trailed off waiting for Michelle to fill in the blanks for him.

“I don’t wear my prosthetic leg as much as I should because, it pinches in spots. The skin on my stump is very fragile and easily infected. We have been on the go a lot since taking on this case, so I have pushed through the pain and wore my leg.”

Ethan was kicking himself for not noticing earlier. “I already contacted Michael Blake-Moore and he is on his way over, probably with Donna to have a look at your leg. Michelle, I know sometimes it seems like you don’t fit in with us, but you are very much part of this family, as any of the rest of us are. If you are having a problem, then you have to speak up. Issues with your leg can cause you to have a major setback and we need you happy, healthy, and whole,” Ethan finished.

Michelle dropped her head. She was the last addition to the team. Her kind heart had caused her to make a horrible mistake that had affected the whole team. Losing half of a leg was a small price to pay. She had always thought it doesn’t cost anything to be kind. Yet being kind, had cost the whole team physically, some more than others. When you brought mental scarring into the picture, the price was too high. This experience had changed her right down to the core, and she never wanted to give anyone that much power over her.

A knock sounded at the door, just as his phone chimed to notify him that he had a message. He went to open the door and allowed Michael and Donna inside. He thanked them both for coming and led them to the sitting area.

He gave them some privacy with Michelle. He checked his messages and there was a forwarded schedule of events from State Representative Jasmine Anderson for tomorrow. He responded to Trent by informing him of the situation with Michelle and advised that they needed a face to face meeting to discuss the progress of the case.

He turned his attention back to Michelle. Michael was putting on a pair of gloves. Donna had taken the prosthetic leg and had begun to clean and sanitize it. As Michael examined the leg, he was talking to Michelle about what he was seeing.

“Michelle, how long have you been feeling discomfort?” Michael asked.

“Ever since I started back wearing my leg on a regular basis, which has been since we started working this case,” Michelle answered.

“You have some sores from your prosthetic leg and apparently your leg is irritated and pinching the skin around the stump. You have some necrotic or dead skin on your stump, and there are also signs of ischemic tissue or tissue with a low oxygen supply. I am going to need to clean your stump really well with some warm water and a mild soap then I will apply an antalgic cream which will numb the area and act as a pain reliever. The cream will also prevent bacteria from being introduced to healthy skin. I will wait roughly ninety minutes before I start debridement. After I get the dead and dying skin from around the stump, I will wrap the wound with a dry dressing for a full day to control the bleeding. After that I will wrap it with a moist dressing to promote healing. I may have to do a second debridement, or even a third. When you have healed enough I would like to have you go back through physical therapy, and I want to make sure that your prosthetic fits correctly to prevent situations like this from reoccurring. If the infection had spread into your bloodstream this could have been fatal,” Michael warned.

Michelle nodded her head because she had heard all of this before. Like when she had left the VA Hospital.

Donna walked over with a cleaned and sterilized prosthetic. She looked at Michelle who was clearly an intelligent woman. She was trying to figure out why she would let her leg escalate to this point.

As if she could read the question in Donna’s expression, Michelle asked, “Have you ever tried to put yourself back together with pieces missing? Lethally and figuratively. I felt like if I came back to my unit, with people who had experienced what I had experienced it would be easier to cope. But, it is not. I still have dreams about what happened. A part of me that is not even here anymore,” Michelle said gesturing towards her leg, “Still hurts. I thought that I was being brave by pushing through and trying to go on with my life, now I think that it’s probably braver just to face it and get some help. I think that I, like many people in my unit might I add, am suffering from PTSD.”

Donna smiled warmly at Michelle. “Michelle you can’t focus on the others in the unit right now. You have to focus on getting you back healthy, physically, mentally, and emotionally. What happened to you all over there will always be a part of you but doesn’t have to control you. You may have stopped counseling and treatment too soon. Michael could probably check with your doctor and get you started on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, to help with feelings of depression and get you back into counseling. You have survived the worst of it, you can and you will survive the rest of it.” Donna was holding Michelle’s hand and crying with her at this point.

Michelle just nodded her head.

“We are all in this with you,” Ethan said.

“Thank you,” Michelle responded.

Michael worked for over two hours with Donna on Michelle’s leg. They really made a great team and worked as one. The procedure took two hours as expected. Afterwards, Michelle got into her wheelchair with little assistance, and went and took a wash up with, Donna’s assistance. She got into the bed, took her pain medication and settled down to sleep. Donna tucked her in and then left the room.

Donna walked over and told Michael that Michelle was resting comfortably.

Michael told her that he had caught Trent and the rest of the team up to speed on Michelle. Donna nodded her head and began to clean up the area that they had used and the equipment that they had used to treat Michelle. When that was done, Michael escorted her back to the villa where they had been staying.

“Kimberly is going to stay on with you and Trevor so that I can stay at the safe house and keep an eye on Michelle,” Michael said.

“Thank you,” Donna said. Seriously for everything,” she said.

“No, it should be me thanking you,” Michael replied sheepishly. “You have changed your life and your son’s life around a lot to help me. Everyday something new pops up,” Michael said.

“It’s the life of a medical professional. I like working alongside you. I have learned a lot,” Donna said. “Dennis is having a blast. Honestly it has been like a mini vacation for us. You all are so blessed to be able to wake up each morning and watch the tide roll in, the darkness give way to light, as the clouds roll away into a new day and the smell of honeysuckle in the air. Without that you still have an incredible family unit. Everyone doesn’t have that. Some people can’t even enjoy what they have because they are working so hard to keep it. Working so hard just to make ends meet,” Donna said.

Michael took everything in that she had said then he said, “We are blessed, that is for sure. Sometimes you get used to it, and you just don’t notice the honeysuckle fragrance in the air anymore. I am glad to have my brother home. It’s hurtful that it took a tragic situation to get him to come home. I don’t know what they went through over there and what they saw, because he won’t talk about it. He is here physically, but he is still gone in every other way. I don’t know how to be there for him. I am worried that when this has passed, everything will go back the way it was. And he will be gone again,” Michael said honestly.

“Well he seems serious about getting to know his son. And the way he looks at Alena, it doesn’t seem like he would mind re-kindling that flame. I will pray about it,” Donna said.

“Thank you,” Michael said.

“Well, I am going to go on inside. You get back to the safe house,” Donna said since they had arrived at the front door.

“Alright, sleep tight,” Michael said as she opened the door. Michael waited for her to walk inside and shut the door before he jogged back around to the other side of the estate. He hoped to either have a good night sleep or a really good talk with his brother, but he doubted that either one of them were going to happen.