The Border Part Six by Amy Cross Read Free Book Online

pocket, she pulled it out and saw that Jack was trying to get in touch. She debated not answering, before accepting the call and holding the phone against her ear.
    “Hey,” she said, “I can’t -”
    “What’s going on in the town square?” he asked. “I heard sirens. Are you there?”
    “I’m not,” she replied, “I… I was, but now I’m…”
    For a moment, she considered telling him everything, but finally she realized she didn’t have the energy. He’d only twist things and try to find a way to implicate Ben further, and she felt she had to keep a clear head and focus on the task at hand. Besides, she was worried she might start crying. Looking over at Katie, she saw that the girl was already messaging someone on her phone.
    “I’ll be home later,” Jane said finally. “I’m just heading to hospital to make sure a girl is okay.”
    Katie glanced at her, clearly not impressed by the lie.
    “And then everything’s going to be okay, right?” he asked. “I mean, you’re not still mad at me, are you? It’s all blown over?”
    “No,” she replied. “Nothing’s blown over.” Cutting the call, she tossed her phone aside and then leaned back, wincing slightly as the ambulance raced over a bump in the road.
    “You’re married, right?” Katie said after a moment.
    Jane turned to her and nodded.
    “Does he know you worked at the Border?”
    “He doesn’t even know the Border exists.”
    “Huh.” She paused. “Then I guess I can see why you’re upset, but… I’m sorry you made mistakes, but you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She looked back down at her phone. “Thanks for saving my life, though. I owe you.”
    ***
    “What?”
    Sitting up suddenly, Ben looked around the bare office. He could have sworn someone had been speaking to him a moment ago, but now he realized he must have been dreaming. Feeling a little dizzy, he got to his feet and made his way around the desk, heading to the door. His plan had been to cause a scene and to provoke the people from the Border into doing what they were going to do anyway. He knew they’d come for him eventually, he’d known from the moment he returned to Bowley that they’d want revenge, but they sure seemed to be taking their sweet time.
    He gave a drunken salute to the nearest security camera before stumbling out into the corridor.

V
     
    “No,” Alex muttered, exhausted as he downed another coffee, “I don’t think I’ll be home any time soon, honey. I’m gonna have to stick around here until morning. With Jane out of action, it’s just me manning the place. I’ll let you know when I’ve got some news. Don’t worry, though, everything’s fine now. It’s over.”
    Setting the phone down, he paused for a moment, feeling as if he was on the verge of dropping in his tracks and just sleeping on the floor. Finally, however, he staggered over to the sink in the corner and poured some water into a plastic cup, before heading out to the main office and then over to the door that led to the cells. He wasn’t much inclined to make Joe comfortable, but he figured he needed to at least keep him alive. As he reached the farthest cell, he didn’t even bother to look inside as he opened a small hatch in the door and placed the cup on the ledge inside.
    “You should drink,” he drawled, glancing through the bars. “At least -”
    Stopping suddenly, he saw that although Joe was still sitting on the opposite side of the cell, on the edge of the bed, he had Caitlin sitting right next to him. She had an arm around his shoulder and was gently stroking his hair, as if to comfort him, although her eyes were fixed firmly on Alex. From her expression alone, it was clear she was warning him not to come closer, so he held back, shocked by the scene before finally turning and heading back to the office without saying another word.
    “It’s okay,” Caitlin whispered, kissing the side of Joe’s head. “I’m going to make all the