Chapter 322
[ 486 words ]
Chapter 322:
He reached out, his large, calloused hand gently cupping her jaw, his thumb brushing softly over her cheekbone.
“My place is exactly where you are,” he said firmly. “Nowhere else on earth.”
The quiet, profound confirmation settled between them, solidifying their bond into something unbreakable.
Suddenly, reality intruded. Caroline’s eyes widened as a sharp bolt of panic pierced through the tender moment.
She grabbed Jarrod’s wrist, frantically telling him about her sudden, unexplained disappearance from the hospital. Julian and Brenna, she realized, must be out of their minds with worry, searching desperately for her.
Jarrod frowned, a brief flash of irritation crossing his face at the mere mention of Julian Croft’s name.
𝘕𝖾𝘄 𝘤h𝖺𝗽𝘁𝘦𝗿ѕ 𝗲𝘃er𝘆 𝘸𝘦e𝗸 оո g𝗮𝘭ո𝘰𝘃е𝗹s.𝘤𝗈𝗆
Still, he recognized the strategic necessity of managing the civilian fallout to protect Caroline’s cover.
He reached for his tactical radio clipped to the desk and pressed the transmission button with his thumb.
He ordered K. C. Bell to immediately establish a secure, untraceable comms line to Brenna O’Malley or Dr. Julian Croft. K. C.’s voice crackled over the radio, confirming the order and stating that he would trace their current locations.
Jarrod’s voice was cold steel. “You will contact them from my official office. Inform them that due to a matter of national security connected to the death of Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Romero has been placed in mandatory military protective custody. They are forbidden from discussing her disappearance with any outside party. Make it clear that any attempt to contact law enforcement will be treated as obstruction of a federal investigation, and that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Caroline listened to the cold, efficient military commands. The sheer authority in his voice was terrifying, yet it wrapped around her like a shield. The thought of speaking to anyone, of having to explain the unexplainable, felt like an unbearable weight. She just wanted to drown in the numb safety of his absolute control. So she didn’t object.
Jarrod released the radio button and turned back to Caroline, his expression uncompromising and hard.
“You’re not leaving this base,” he told her, “until you’re fully recovered and the external threats are neutralized.”
Caroline nodded slowly, accepting the golden cage he had built for her, feeling a strange sense of relief in the surrender.
The heavy medication from earlier began to pull at her consciousness again. Her eyelids drooped heavily.
Jarrod noticed her exhaustion and gently pushed her shoulders down, guiding her to lie back against the pillows.
He pulled the duvet up to her chin, his large hand resting comfortingly on her stomach.
“Sleep,” he told her. “I’ll handle the outside world while you rest.”
Caroline closed her eyes. The last of her anxiety melted away under his absolute authority.
Jarrod watched her breathing even out, his mind already shifting to the tactical problems he needed to solve to keep her safe.
The digital clock on the nightstand read 4:00 PM. Caroline woke up slowly, her mind clearer than it had been in days.
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