I was too late. Jenna was gone when I got back. Blackstone beat me to her.
“Think, dammit,” I shouted into space.
Blackstone was unstable and Jenna was with him. I tried her cell phone only to hear it ringing from inside her condo. Her door was locked when I tried it. Why did she chose now, of all times, to start locking her door? I dismissed the thought of picking the lock. That would take away precious time I knew I didn’t have.
I kicked it in.
The condo was dark. Her kitten glared at me with terrified eyes, obviously trying to be invisible by remaining motionless. That was something I hadn’t planned for. Jenna would be furious if I let her cats out. I picked up the door and put it back up as best I could.
“What the hell am I doing?” I had to figure out where he would take her. He had to know nowhere was safe for him.
I paced back and forth from my door to hers until I heard the sounds of her downstairs neighbor opening their door. Retreating to my condo, I picked up where I left off and paced from room to room for several minutes. The situation was becoming desperate and all I could do was think that Jenna was with a madman who I couldn’t stop. My God, he murdered Collin, Maureen, the people in that office building. He would have killed a plane full of people if we hadn’t stopped it. Jenna was going to be his next victim if I didn’t hurry, but I couldn’t think through the wave of sheer panic washing over me.
God only knew what he would do to her. He was obsessed with her – with the woman I loved. Images, violent images, filled my brain and clouded my vision. It didn’t take a genius to guess what he wanted from her and he wouldn’t be able to accept her rejection of him. He’d try to take what he wanted anyway, then he’d take revenge on her…like Collin. A wave of nausea washed over me at the very thought of Jenna broken and bleeding at his hands. I couldn’t let this monster hurt her. If he touched one hair on her head I would rip him from limb to limb with my bare hands.
I wasn’t an agent right now. I was a desperate man in love. A man on the edge.
No, I was a man wasting time.
I racked my brain for any next step that would seem rational to him, but I knew Blackstone was insane. I forced myself to stop thinking like a man terrified for the woman he loved and to start thinking like an agent. My training would have to take over or all was lost. Although Blackstone’s actions appeared to have not rhyme or reason, I realized what I already knew.
Every single act of violence he committed was because of Jenna or his grandmother, because of his twisted love for them. I knew he would take Jenna to his grandmother’s house. He was crazy enough to think that could work.
I ripped into my files and found her address, ignoring the sea of paperwork left on the floor in my wake.. The Mapsco was a frustrating waste of time, but I didn’t know my way around the area without it. Collin usually drove.
The quickest way to get there would be to take the Tollway to 190 and head west until I got to I-35…Damn these people had too many highways. I hate Texas. Jenna was going to have to move to D.C. where the people who designed roadways weren’t on meth.
I was too frustrated to remember all that, so I grabbed my map and raced out to my blazer.
“Hold on, Jenna. I’m coming for you.” I prayed I’d make it in time. “I want my fucking picket fence.”
© 2010, Sydney Katt. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use of content will result in dragon attacks.
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love love love “I kicked it in.” another great use of a stand-alone statement to really add some punch to the scene!!
“No, I was a man wasting time.” yep – another good significant stand alone!
*** Ramble some more here, like a man in love, not an agent, but in agent language, if that makes sense*** Every single act of violence he committed was because of Jenna or his grandmother, because of his twisted love for them. *** lightbulb comes on!***
His grandmother’s house. He was crazy enough to think that could work.
I completely felt his panic and loss of control through your writing in this chapter. I felt the pacing, the searching for the next step. Outstanding writing here. I don’t know how you nailed it, but you did! Totally sucked up into desperation with Jackson!
Wait…are you saying you’re rambling, or Jackson’s rambling or you want me to make him ramble more?
Want to know how I did it? (besides pacing around in my house, trying to pretend I was in the situation then writing how screwed up my thoughts were?) I came back and rewrote this scene after I wrote the scene where someone (who’ll remain nameless) just had to absorb that I killed off their love interest (again, who’ll remain nameless). I think I was actually alternately weeping and calling myself a bitch for ruining this person’s life…so I was in a good frame of mind for writing sheer panic…I think.
whoa – major skip, hop and jump here! I feel like I missed out on a huge scene with Jackson finding Collin’s body at the club and then the realization it was a trick and Chad was going after Jenna and then Jackson’s emotional panic knowing he was that far behind chad, who was probably going to Jenna’s apartment.
. I was completely caught up in the different point of view story threads. I actually moved back and forth between the two chapters making sure I hadn’t missed one in the middle.
Yes I was rambling deliberately
I think there needs to be something, a single chapter, about Jackson getting to Blaine’s Rain, finding Collin, putting pieces together and hauling ass back to his apt.
Isn’t Collin’s death critical to Jackson’s character here and in subsequent novels? Maybe it shouldn’t be so briefly covered here. Jackson has to be on the scene, in the emotions. I would like that, as a reader (with the knowledge that this plays into Alliance too).
(if you can’t tell by the posts, it’s a very quiet day at work today! :p haha)
You did…prologue.
No internet? *gasps* A fate worse than Jenna’s…
J. Nicole Whitten´s last blog ..Get Rid of that Not-So Special Someone on Valentine’s Day
Sorry for the late review – no internet (I KNOW – *gasp*!!) Anyhoo……thankfully Jackson has figured out where Chad is headed – hopefully!!!
I’m with Star…I hope he can get there in time!!
Waiting with anticipation for tomorrow – wait!! haha no, it is today…..Yay!!!
Guess we’re probably about to find out…
J. Nicole Whitten´s last blog ..Get Rid of that Not-So Special Someone on Valentine’s Day
I hope Jackson can get to Jenna in time!