going to try to lose them.”
She grabbed the sides of her seat and said a prayer asking for protection. Zach accelerated again, and she turned to look back. The Escalade was gaining on them and getting much too close.
She watched nervously as the SUV closed the gap between the two vehicles. “Can you go any faster?” she asked.
“I’m doing the best I can.” Zach jerked the wheel to one side, causing her body to slam against the door.
But his evasive maneuver only gave them a moment of respite. With the vehicle not far behind them, she knew there was no way out of this. The only thing she could do was keep praying. Because she realized that the person driving that Escalade wasn’t just playing games. No, he was out for blood.
When the first impact occurred, she continued to brace herself. But the second time, the Escalade pounded into the back of the car just as a truck approaching them from the side came barreling toward them.
Jessica heard herself scream as she readied for a direct hit. Screeching tires and the sound of crashing metal filled her ears, and her body shook in pain. And then there was nothing.
Jessica woke with a major headache and slowly realized that she was not at home in her own bed but in a hospital. An IV was hooked into her left hand. It all came rushing back to her. The car accident—which was probably no accident at all, but another attempt by the Hernandez family to intimidate her. Unless...they were through with threats and the car crash had been meant to get rid of her.
She was alone in the hospital room, and her heart immediately sank as she started to worry about Zach. Was he okay? There was no one around for her to ask. Her heartbeat started to race, and with it the beeping monitor she was attached to.
A petite gray-haired nurse walked quickly into the room. By her side was a uniformed police officer. “You’re awake,” the nurse stated with enthusiasm.
“Yes, I just woke up. Where is Zach?” Jessica couldn’t bring herself to ask the dreaded question as to whether he was alive. What if he had died trying to protect her?
“He just went down to the cafeteria to get some coffee. He’ll be back any minute.” The nurse motioned toward the officer. “And this is your security detail that has been assigned to you during your stay. But don’t worry. You’ll be very safe here.”
Jessica let out a huge breath. She wasn’t that worried about herself right now. She was just thankful that Zach was alive. “So Zach’s fine?”
“A few bumps and bruises, but you got the worst of it. How are you feeling this morning?”
Morning. She must’ve been out all night. “My head hurts.”
The nurse walked over to her. “I saw a picture of the SUV you were in. Honey, the fact that you weren’t more seriously injured is absolutely amazing. The doctors couldn’t believe it.”
Jessica took a moment and closed her eyes and thanked God for watching over the both of them last night. From the nurse’s words and the serious look on her face, Jessica understood that it could’ve been so much worse. “My head?”
“A concussion. Plus lots of bruising all over your body, and I’m sure you’re sore. But CT scan and an MRI confirmed no internal bleeding and nothing is broken. We’re giving you fluids to keep you hydrated and antibiotics to ward off infections from some of the cuts you suffered from the car metal.”
Jessica nodded slightly, realizing it hurt to move to her head.
Zach walked into the room holding coffee, sporting a bandage over his left eyebrow. His eyes widened when he saw her. He approached the side of the hospital bed. “I am so glad you’re awake.”
“Me, too.”
“Okay, you can talk for a few minutes, Agent Taylor,” the nurse said. “Then she’ll need to rest a bit.” The nurse walked out of the room with the officer, leaving her and Zach alone.
He pulled the chair up right beside her and took a seat. Her breath caught and she winced slightly as he reached out and grabbed her hand. She wasn’t expecting the contact.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he let go.
“No, it’s not you. I appreciate you being here.” What was she supposed to say? That she didn’t like anyone touching her because she was skittish from her violent past? Growing up in the foster care system, she’d lived through physical abuse. The foster parents that were supposed to protect her had ended up causing her the most harm—both physically and emotionally. And now she was understandably on edge.
“I thought you weren’t going to make it, Jessica. I prayed that God would intervene. It was a direct one-two punch between the Escalade behind us and the other truck that slammed into your side of the car.” His eyes showed his deep concern, and he leaned closer toward her. “I didn’t want to fail you.”
“And you didn’t. You did what you could.”
“The FBI is working on a safe house. It’s too dangerous to stay at your place. Not after this. I was wrong, and I underestimated the threat against you. A true rookie mistake. But I won’t let it happen again. I can promise you that.”
“Please, don’t beat yourself up over this.” She took a breath. “But I do need some help. My cat, Tiger, will need to be fed. When do you think they’ll let me out of here? And I want to take him with me if we go to a safe house. I don’t want to leave him there alone.”
Zach nodded. “We’ll have to figure out those logistics. But there’s actually a Miami PD officer at your apartment standing guard just in case the Hernandez family sent someone else. And as far as moving forward with the safe house, wouldn’t the cat be happier in his own surroundings?”
Her head pounded, and it all became just too much. “I’ll think about it later. In the meantime, can you just please have the officer feed him and put out fresh water?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Thank you.” She could no longer keep her eyes open and fell back asleep.
* * *
That afternoon, after being issued a brand-new vehicle, Zach drove Jessica back to her apartment. Once she’d been alert enough, they’d picked up right where their conversation had ended. She’d been insistent about getting Tiger and packing up some things before going to the safe house.
He was still in awe of the fact that Jessica walked away with only a concussion, scrapes and bruises. The Lord had really been looking out for her.
Zach’s mom had never gone to church, so he hadn’t, either. It wasn’t until he went away to college and had started attending the chapel on campus that he found out what faith in God really meant. It had changed his life forever—and for the better.
When Jessica had spoken about her faith, it seemed so natural to her. For Zach, it hadn’t been a natural process but something he had grown into. It had taken him all four years of college to really find out what it meant to be a man of God. It was refreshing to see someone who had been through
