I awoke in a jail cell. My head was pounding and I was still handcuffed. I was laying on my side on a mattress that had a faint odour of urine.
Sitting up slowly, I looked around to see if anyone else was in the cell with me or if anyone was outside my cell waiting for me.
Nobody. I was completely alone from what I could tell.
Suddenly I remembered the note from Mark in my pocket. I tried to reach around with the cuffs still on and managed to snag two fingers into my front pocket. I strained and arched my back in order to wiggle my fingers in deep enough to retrieve the note.
I couldn't feel anything. I tried desperately to reach further, almost falling over in the process, but I had to find that note! Would the police have checked my pockets and taken it? Did I lose it when I was fighting with the officers?
After a very painful attempt at checking my pocket to the bottom, I decided the note wasn't there anymore.
I wanted to cry. At least the note would have given me some connection to Mark, I would have at least known if he went to the police on his own or if he'd been out getting us something and been caught. But now I was still no better off than before.
My stomach growled again, fiercely this time.
"Hello? Anybody there? I'm starving!" I called out hesitantly, hoping somebody would be there. I couldn't sit here alone forever, I was going to go crazy.
No reply came so I tried a bit louder.
"Excuse me? Officer? Anyone? A little help please?!"
After a moment I heard footsteps coming down what sounded like a long corridor. They were taking their sweet time getting to me and was in the right mood to be frustrated very easily.
I tried to wait patiently and after another minute or so, the footsteps finally sounded like they were just a few feet away from me.
"Miss Booth? Are you awake?" One of the officers who had come in to handcuff me appeared at the door to my cell.
"Yeah, I'm awake. Can you tell me what's going on? Why am I in here? Where's Logan? Where's Mark? Can I talk to Derek?" I figured he probably wasn't here to chat much so I should just get it all out at once.
"He-he," He chuckled. "Well you are here because you assaulted a police officer. Det. Vichey has quite the set of teeth marks on his arm from you." He raised an eyebrow at me as a sly smile crept across my face.
Thank God, my plan had worked – so far.
"Oh." I replied, feigning shock.
"As for the whereabouts of the others - that I cannot tell you. You may speak to your lawyer now if you'd like. I can have him contacted immediately."
"My lawyer? As in my family's lawyer? Or Derek's lawyer? I'd like to see Derek's lawyer if that's what you mean. I do not want to speak to Logan's lawyers at all. They do not represent me or my wishes."
"Ok, I'll go put in a call to him right now." He turned to leave.
"Um, officer?"
He turned back to face me and waited for me to finish.
"Can I get some food? I haven't eaten all day, I'm starving. Please?"
"I'll see what I can do." He nodded and headed off down the hall.
It felt like an hour before anyone returned to see me.
Derek's lawyer showed up with a brown bag that smelled like a hamburger and fries, and some paperwork.
"Hi Jaimie, are you okay?" He greeted me with a warm smile and handed the bag through the bars to me.
I stood up and turned to show him my handcuffs.
"That might be a bit hard to eat. I'm still cuffed." I sighed.
"Oh, well, um..."
"Mr. Henry?" Another voice called from down the hall. It was the voice I'd been longing to hear all day. My heart started to beat faster.
I stood against the bars and pressed my face as close as possible to see who was coming.
"Ah, Mr. White. Glad you're here, you might be able to help us out." Mr. Henry, the lawyer, replied.
"MARKY!" I cried out as I finally caught sight of him just a few cells away from me.
He ran over and grabbed hold of me through the cell. His arms wrapped around me tightly and he planted kisses all over my face.
"OH God Jaimes, are you okay?" He whispered into my skin.
"Yeah baby, I'm ok. Are you? Did they hurt you?" Tears were streaming down my cheeks as the anxiousness finally caught up with me.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was so fucking worried about you. Are you sure you're ok? Did they hurt you?" He pulled back enough to look at me. Our eyes met and the tears that were flooding my eyes made my vision blurry. I was so thankful to finally see him again, but at the same time, still scared as to what was about to happen to us. To me.
"I'm ok, I'm handcuffed still, but I kinda put up a fight with the police when they tried to take me away and send me to my Aunt Leila's. I was told Logan doesn't have control over me anymore, now Leila does." I sighed.
"That Aunt of yours lives way the hell up in New York! That's quite the drive..." He winked at me, trying to make light of the situation. He had no idea what that aunt of mine was capable of. If she felt I was in danger, she'd hide me and I'd never see Mark again.
"Marky, don't tease. She's a freak. She'll be worse for me than Logan was. She might not punch me like he did but she'll never let me see you again. I cannot go to her. You have to help me!"
Mark turned to face Mr. Henry.
"What can we do about this? How can I keep Jaimie here with me?" He kept his hands on me through the bars. I rested my head against the cell and tried to breathe in Mark's scent. If I was stuck here for awhile, I was sure he wouldn't be allowed to stay and I needed to feel as close to him as I could.
"Well Derek mentioned something to me but I don't know how quick I can get it put into action." Mr. Henry replied thoughtfully.
"What is it? What do you need to get it done? I will do anything for this girl, sir, anything that needs to be done, let's do it. I will not lose her." Mark vowed.
Mr. Henry looked from Mark to me and back again. I could see he was very torn about letting us in on the idea in case it didn't work. He didn't want to get our hopes up and then demolish them right away.
"Mr. Henry, I love Mark with everything I have. I know he loves me back just as much. Please, we will do whatever it takes to stay together. Can you help us?" I pleaded.
"Let me see what I can do. Mark, are you planning on staying here?" Mr. Henry glanced down the hall as he asked the question.
"Yes sir, I don't plan on going anywhere till I know Jaimie is safe in my arms." Mark replied with such determination in his voice I knew it would kill him if Leila got me.
"Ok," Mr. Henry nodded. "Excuse me, officer?"
"Yes sir?" An officer came into my view from just down the hall.
