Chapter 46

Abigail took the first flight she could get to LA and was walking into her house a couple of hours later.

She had just dropped her bags in her room when the doorbell rang. She walked back over to the door and opened. She saw Jason and immediately tried to shut it again, but he put a firm hand on the door stopping her.

“Abby, we need to talk.” He told her firmly.

“I’ve got nothing to say to you, Jason!” she replied, pushing against his hand. But her efforts proved futile and she opened it again. “Leave me alone, Jason.”

“I’ll be glad to. Just as soon as we’ve gotten this straightened out.”

Abigail sighed and her eyes brimmed with tears. Jason gently pushed her inside and closed the door.

“How could you, Jason?” her voice broke as she faced him.

“Abby, why don’t you sit down and let me explain.” He told her gently motioning to the sofa.

“I don’t want to sit down!” she shouted at him, “I just want you to explain to me how you could abuse your authority like you did.”

Jason sighed.

“You’ve got it all wrong.” He told her. “What exactly were you told?”

Abigail went on to explain everything that Christian had told her that morning.

“Who told you all this?” Jason asked dumbfounded.

“Christian. Christian Burnside. The guy from BBKAY.”

“What? And exactly how does he know all this?”

“He said Rick told the other guys that at the hospital the night I got shot.” Abigail said and saw Jason’s eyes widen and his jaw drop.

“What the hell….? You were shot?!” His voice hoarse as he looked her over.

“It was a flesh wound.” Abigail told him, “My shoulder.”

“My God. Someone shot at you?” He was angry now, more so than her.

“Not at me. At Rick.” She corrected him.

“You mean you threw yourself in front of a bullet for him?” when she nodded, he charged on, “Damnit Abby, you could have been killed! You’re a detective, not a damn bodyguard! Where the hell were his bodyguards anyway?!”

“They were there but they didn’t—“

“Why wasn’t I informed?” he cut in, “Why did no one try to contact me?”

“Rick tried but you were out of the country.” Abigail stated.

Jason paused for a moment.

“Shit! That’s right.”

“Anyway, let’s try to stick to the topic shall we?” she said trying to bring the conversation back on track, “Christian told you about the prank so you knew about it all along.”

“Yes.”

“Why did you make me give up my vacation then if you knew Rick wasn’t in any real danger?” she asked.

“That’s just it!” he said, “I wasn’t sure! Christian told me about all the things he and the other guys did to Rick and then Rick called me and told me about all the stuff that happened to him and they just didn’t fit. Some things kept happening to Rick that the guys of BBKAY weren’t responsible for.”

“So you didn’t send me on tour with Rick just because he asked you to?” she asked after digesting that information.

“Not entirely.” He replied and when he saw her expression change, he continued, “Rick did beg me to send you on tour with him, Abby. And even though we’re pretty good friends, it would take much more than that to let me send you out on the road with him. But I knew that something strange was going on on that tour and I knew whatever it was, you would find it.”

“And if I didn’t, at least you made your buddy happy by sending me out on the road with him.” She finished.

“Something like that.” He said, “But it turns out that I was right.”

“Yes. Someone really is after him.”

“You got any leads so far?” Jason asked her.

“Not exactly. Whoever’s behind this is pretty sneaky.”

“That’s okay. I know I’m leaving it in capable hands.” He said, “Now before I get back to work, are you sure you’re okay?”

She nodded.

“I still feel a little bit betrayed that you didn’t tell me the truth at the beginning.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t.” he said, “I thought if I told you about the prank then you wouldn’t take this case seriously and I wasn’t sure if someone was really after Rick or not.”

She nodded again. He was probably right. Jason headed for the door but she stopped him.

“So Rick really begged you to send me on tour?” she asked. He nodded.

“He was attracted to you, Abby. It’s pretty easy to see why.” He told her.

“He just wanted to get me in his bed.” Abigail stated, her voice hard, “Another trophy for his mantle. Why not seduce the pretty detective?” she laughed bitterly, “You could have warned me Jason?”

“He said you were different.”

“Of course he did.” She replied sarcastically.

“Look Abby, that’s something you’re going to have to take up with Rick.” Jason told her, “He’s the only one that knows his reasons for doing what he did. But right now, I’ve got to get back to work.” With that, he left.

“I think you two were in this together.” She said into the empty room.