Bewitching Jolene (Book 3) Jacobs Broken Mercenaries

chapter 21

ELLIOT

Six days they’ve been chasing that fucking ring, only to lose it shortly after finding it three times over. Last night was the closest we ever got. Austin was in possession of it for five hours and on a flight back from Tahiti; when they had to reroute empty handed. Today, Tally found some information that finally gave me hope. To stop the ring from moving, you must wear it. She stumbled upon a partial text, and now I can only hope.

Amanda has made the witch agree to see Joleen after her poker tournament, which has extended three days longer than expected. As it turns out witches don’t buy into prophecies, they see the situation as a minimal concern, at best, and poker trumps the issue. This alone strengthens my negative feelings toward the lot.

Jolene is… existing. She’s in a depressed state and it's affecting me to the very marrow of my bones. Her appetite is nonexistent. She sleeps most of the day and stays in my room constantly. Every day I check on her, ok fine. The multiple times a day I check on her, she's either sleeping or staring off into space. I, on the other hand, have gotten very little sleep and spend most of my time with Tally doing research. Tally's advice is giving Jolene time. I feel bad for the kid; she got a pretty shitty deal to, and she's taken it really well, aside from her first episode; understandably, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she has a trick up her sleeve.

I'm ready to haul her off somewhere and play house until the world comes crashing down around us. I guess that’s the darker side of me. The side that’s selfish and wants that little slice of heaven. I know what's right, but the way things are going, I'm having a hard time sticking to the plan. It's not patience I'm battling, it’s the urges. Like fighting instinct; not an easy task. Every time I've attempted to talk to her, she's been distant and cold. What happened to the passion we shared just days ago? The woman I watched, who took every meticulous detail of her life into her own hands. I'd take her desperation to feel over her slow death any day. It's like she's completely given up.

Today I'm done waiting! I don’t care what I have to do to get her to fight. I'm going to figure it the fuck out.

I get up from the couch and exit the library, taking the stairs two at a time and stopping just outside my door. Judging by the silence, I can picture her looking out the window in her emotionless state. Part of me wonders if it’s sloth inside her that is making her lay down and wait and that just makes me all the more determined. Lifting my hand to knock, I think better of it and open the door. I've tried nice, it doesn’t work. She’s exactly how I expected her and it pisses me off how predictive she's become. This is not the woman I knew. I want her to fight for life... for us. Jolene slowly turns her head to look at me, then directs the vacant stare back out the window.

“Why don’t you just check out now? You might as well since you’ve completely given up already.” I spit the words out and they cause me physical pain.

“I thought about it but I'm afraid that may bring the evil inside me to the surface.” she responds with crystal clear honesty and a part of me dies from the sad truth of it.

“So that’s it? You're not even going to fight? Just lay down your body and soul for the taking.”

Her head snaps back around, her eyes focus on mine and narrow. My first glimpse of hope sparks a new strength inside me, and I continue to goad her.

“I never pegged you as weak... I guess I was wrong.” my tone is snide. I see the moment it gets under her skin, and I almost jump for joy.

Jolene stands up, coming toward me, and I have to bite my lip to stop the smile that tries to surface. The key to her strength is anger and I'll exploit it to the extreme if it’s the only way to save her. I don’t even care if she hates me for it.