Chapter 18

-James-

I heard my phone ringing. This better not be Sebastian. I haven't slept properly in the past couple of nights. I need all the shut-eye I can get.

Annoyed by the interruption, I sat up and looked at the screen of my phone.

**"J"**

I looked at the time and it's 3 AM. Why is she calling me at this hour?

"Hello? J?" I answered. Not sure what to expect.

"H-Hello? Hello? Is this James?" said the woman on the other line. It's not Jianna.

"Who is this?" I'm starting to get worried

"I-It's Ashley. Jianna's co-worker. Is this James? Please tell me I got the right James." she sounded scared.

"Well, how many James does she have on her phone?" I asked.

"Oh. Ummm... " There was a brief pause. "Oh. Just one. I guess this is the right James." she paused again. I heard her talking to another person. I heard bits and pieces of conversation.

"...Hospital..." "Jianna..." "Does she have an emergency contact?"

"Hey! Hey! What the fuck is going on? Is Jianna ok?" I was trying to get dressed while talking on the phone.

Ashley's voice was shaking as she spoke. "James? Ummm... Jianna is on her way to the hospital." she said. "The last thing she said was to call you before she passed out. Are you her...ummm...brother?" she was hesitant to say more. Understandable.

"Umm...It's complicated." I didn't even try to explain. "Are you able to at least tell me which hospital they're taking her?" I was already on my bike, ready to go.

"Oh...Ummm" she paused. I heard someone say, "You don't know who this fucking person is. Don't tell him shit babe." And Ashley said, "I have to, she's my friend."

Finally, Ashley spoke up. "They're taking her to St. Mary's. That's all I know."

I thanked Ashley quickly and hung up. As I raced through the empty streets, my mind was racing even faster. I need to know what happened. I should've stayed with her. I should've fought for her.

I arrived at the hospital in record time, running inside and frantically asking about Jianna. They directed me to the emergency room, and I ran towards it, my heart pounding in my chest.

I saw Jianna lying on a bed, hooked up to various machines and IVs. The sight of her looking so fragile and helpless made my heart ache.

"What happened?" I asked the nurse, who was checking her vitals.

"I'm sorry but are you a family member?" she asked without even looking at me.

"Umm...Y-yes. I'm her...Brother." I stammered.

She looked away from the monitor and glanced at me. She paused for a moment and went back to typing, "She's stable aside from the heart rate which is a little elevated but we're not too worried about that right now. Did you want to talk to the doctor?"

"I..umm...yeah. Sure." I feel like I shouldn't be here.

She heads to the door. "No problem. I'll send him right in as soon as he's available. Is there anything you need right now?"

I was already sitting beside Jianna's bed and holding her hand. "No. Not at this time. Thank you for taking care of her." I said with a quiver in my voice. With that, she left.

"Jianna. What the fuck happened? I need to know what happened." I whispered. I felt like I had been in this situation with her before.

A few minutes later, the door opened. I assumed it was the doctor. I stood up and turned around but it wasn't the doctor. Far from it. At the doorway stood a woman and two men. One of them looked like he had just been patched up from a broken nose. But both are extremely intimidating.

The woman was tall with long brunette hair and piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a tight black dress that hugged every curve of her body. Her high heels clicked against the hospital floor as she walked towards me, a sinister smirk on her face.

"Who are you?" I asked, my grip on Jianna's hand tightening.

The woman stopped in front of me and leaned in close, her perfume filling my nostrils. The scent smothered me as she came closer.

"I'm the reason your little girlfriend is here," she whispered.

My heart started racing. "What did you do to her?" I demanded, squaring my shoulders.

"We," pointing at the three of them, "didn't do anything to her. See Fabrizio here, that's her doing." I was confounded. By the looks of the guy, it looked like he got in a bar fight and barely got out. Not the doing of a woman.

"She...She did this? How?" I was flabbergasted.

"The way you're going to find out that you're not just an ex-soldier trying to forget his past. You don't even know your past, do you? You're more than that Colonel. Much, much more." she smiled a sinister smile.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" the anxiety I'm having is palpable.

"Well, you're just going to have to come with us don't you?" she said calmly.

I laughed. "Come with you? Why the fuck would I do that?"

She started chuckling. "My employers are not used to people saying no. They have a way of "convincing" people."

"I'm pretty sure there's nothing that you can convince me with," I said distancing myself from Jianna's bed.

The woman looked at Jianna on the bed and then looked at me. "You sure about that love?"

"IF YOU FUCKING TOUCH ONE HAIR ON HER FUCKING HEAD, I WILL RIP EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU TO PIECES AND ONLY DEATH WILL BE YOUR SWEET, SWEET RELEASE," I said through clenched teeth. I am seething.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we hit a nerve didn't we boys?" she chuckled. "Do you even remember us, agent? We used to be best pals weren't we Carlos?" she looked at the other thug and he nodded.

Agent? What the fuck is she talking about?

"It's a shame you chose her over us. We wouldn't be talking here, now, like this if you only chose us. Chose me." she said. Her expression suddenly turned serious. "You fucked up when you chose her." She looked at me and I could see the heartbreak in her eyes.

Her expression changed back to sadistic.

"It doesn't matter now does it?" she smirked. "It's too late for us to be friends again. That's too bad, I was starting to like you again." Her expression, with one blink and one breath, switched to rage. "And too late for you to be with her."

So, you have two choices. You can either come with us quietly or Fabrizio here is going to put a bullet in your girlfriend's head." nodding to thug number 1. He then gets closer to the bed, hand on his hip which I'm assuming is his gun. I step between him and Jianna. "Oh, and he's been wanting to too since she made a mockery of his manhood for all of New York to see."

"So what'll it be lover boy?" she sits at a chair in the corner of the room and puts her feet up on the table in front of it.

I looked at Jianna sleeping peacefully. I would do anything for her the moment I laid eyes on her on that train. She needs to be safe. I need to keep her safe.

"All right. Fine. I'll go with you. Just don't hurt her." I said with resignation. I just wanted to fucking explode on them but I know I can't. I'm outnumbered.

"That's a good boy. Now, let's go shall we?" she got up and walked out the door.

I followed them, holding Jianna's hand as long as I could before I left the hospital room. I saw her shift a little bit and my step hesitated but Carlos pushed me along.

"Move it along Barnes," he said aggressively. Nudging me forward. I looked at him, wanting nothing but to jump on him and put a bullet in his head.

I looked at her one last time. "I'm doing this for you. Remember that." I thought. I wasn't sure if I would ever see her again. I just hope I have done more good for her than bad.

When we walked out, I saw the doctor on his way to Jianna's room. I stopped for a moment hoping to god that they wouldn't open fire in a hospital full of people.

"Hi, doctor. Are you on your way to Jianna Spencer's room?" I asked. I saw a mystery woman glare at me and put her hand on her hip. She looked at the other two and they flanked me. Making sure I don't make a run for it.

"Actually, yes. Are you family?" he looked at the other three and looked back at me with a curious look.

"Umm...In a manner of speaking." I said. "Is she going to be ok?"

"Oh yeah. Absolutely!" he exclaimed. "She's in shock and I want to do a couple of scans to be sure that there isn't any brain damage or anything, but besides the few scrapes from something we wouldn't know about until we ask her when she wakes up, she's a-ok." He's very peppy for a doctor. I'm uncomfortable with his pep.

"Great. I'm so glad to hear that." I was relieved. Knowing she's okay before I die isn't a bad last thought. "Can you let me know once she wakes up, please? My...ummm... cousins would very much like to know that she's ok." I looked at the other three and they were starting to get impatient.

"Will do Mr. Spencer." the doctor answered.

We passed by two women and one of them I recognized as Sebastian's secretary. I kept my head low so she wouldn't see me. She'd seen me around the office before and I could not risk her recognizing me. As we passed by I overheard her talking to someone on the phone.

"I'm sorry sir. I wasn't aware I was to inform you when it comes to Jianna." she sounded panicked.

"Yes sir,"

"At St. Mary's sir."

"OK. I'll have Rebecca wait for you outside."

I heard the last part as we rounded the corner to the lobby.

"Last looks Barnes." the mystery woman said.

I walked forward without looking back.

I'm doing this for you J.