Inked and Dangerous

42 ~ Felix

Felix crashed on the flight home, opening her eyes only when the plane's deceleration told her they were landing in Chicago. Home sweet home. Too bad she didn't have one. Running to her parents sounded like the best and the worst idea ever. She was desperate to see their faces. To wrap her arms around them and tell them she loved them, but she couldn't risk it. Besides, she would rather sleep next to Ryan. 

In the seat beside her, Ryan leaned into the aisle as he talked with Fulton. Neither looked like they were enjoying the conversation. Resting her forehead on the plastic window, Felix watched the cityscape appear, casting animated shadows as the sun set. Would it be the last sunset she'd see before they slapped handcuffs on her for aiding and abetting criminals? Would her involvement in the arrest of Donovan's gang of thugs and thieves keep her out of prison? She thought about her Precious, wishing they were landing at the county airport so she could bust her friend loose. Donovan seemed like the type to exact revenge on innocent motorcycles.

Just like in the movies, their plane was met by a small army of agents. Felix waited until the four assholes were loaded into an SUV before she and Ryan deplaned. Unfortunately, Hector was not among them, having accompanied Donovan when he made his escape. Her ass stung from the raw marks left by Hector's whip, and all she could think about was sitting in a warm bath of Epsom salts and spending the next week in sweatpants.

Harris broke away from the hoard of navy suits and walked up to Felix and Ryan as they made their way across the tarmac. His pinched expression looked completely at home on his face. "So, we have some business to discuss. Has Felix been questioned about her homicidal tendencies?"

"What are you talking about?" Felix asked as a wave of unease hit her in the gut, which was exacerbated by Harris' darkening expression. Ryan's hand stiffened at her back.

"I'd rather..." Ryan began.

"We made a few interesting discoveries while you were ratting out the bad guys, Miss Taylor." Harris spoke over Ryan but acknowledged him with a brief nod. "Since this is his case, I'll let Ryan handle the gory details." Harris clicked his key fob, unlocking the doors to a four-door sedan, and waved them toward it.

"That guy is an ass," Felix whispered to Ryan as he opened the door for her.

"You're not the first one to make that observation. This job either breaks you or turns you into an ass."

"I hope neither of those things happen to you."

Harris got behind the wheel, and Ryan climbed into the backseat rather than sit up front with his boss. Another protective gesture, maybe? Did Ryan think she would need a hug after he delivered the gory details? A few intersections in, Ryan broke the silence.

"Felix, they found your prints on a couple of articles owned by Jenny Mason after her body was recovered," Ryan said, blurting it all out in one breath as he carefully watched her reaction.

"What? I didn't touch any of her stuff. I saw her twice that day. Once when she was under Andy and later when Andy and Shane were carrying her to the truck."

"When you say later, how much later was it? Half an hour, two hours, more?"

Although her legs had decided to bounce uncontrollably, Felix tried to remember the day she wanted to forget. When she saw Harris watching her through the rearview mirror, she stopped tugging at her lip with her teeth. Did he think she was guilty of murder? She wasn't a murderer. That was insane. "It couldn't have been more than two hours, and I'm basing that solely on the amount of shade in the foyer when I left the scene and when I returned."

"Do you remember anything else about that day? What do you remember about the walk you took through the neighborhood?"

Felix stuffed her trembling hands under her legs, and her stomach seemed determined to turn itself inside out. She had never felt nerves like this in her life. A murderer? Her? "I have spotty memories about the interim. I take walks through the neighborhood all the time, and I take the same route. I need that normalcy. I do remember Dr. Florence being at the house when I got back. They had called him to give me a sedative. I was pissed about it, but they let me know it wasn't a request."

"Did he hypnotize you?"

Felix shrugged as she looked at her lap. "I can't remember. Probably. Dr. Florence can easily talk me into hypnotherapy when I've been sedated."

Ryan and Harris exchanged glances through the rearview mirror. Was Felix digging herself a grave? Did Ryan believe she had killed Jenny? Felix knew how to protect herself in a fight, but she had never instigated one. She was a good person.

"Are there any remnants of injection sites?" Ryan asked. "Where does he usually give them?"

Felix held out her arms out so he could see her veins. "There might still be evidence of the injection he gave me that day, but my tattoos hide them. I forget they're even there."

"And Dr. Florence said he was injecting a sedative to calm you, like he tried to do at Donovan's place today?"

"Yes. It's called phenobarbital. I've done plenty of research on it and it's safe. It's widely used to treat epilepsy and drug withdrawal. I hate it like poison, but I usually can't talk my way out of it. Today was an exception. Did you hear my hypnotherapy session? I rarely remember anything. I'm interested to know what the hell I said."

"I think that's the point, Felix. You don't remember anything because they don't want you to know that they're manipulating you." Ryan said. "We heard most of what was said during the session, which we can use in your defense, but we found something in Dr. Florence's bag that contradicts you."

Ryan paused long enough for Felix's heart to stop, and in her mind, she heard the handcuffs click on her wrists. "He was not sedating you with phenobarbital," he said, his voice sounding both hard and soft at the same time. "He was using amobarbital. I looked it up on my phone and found out it's a form of truth serum. It can be used to extract information from a patient or plant a false memory."

"Truth serum? That dick. It's a damn good thing I talked him out of using it this morning."

"How long have you been undergoing these injections?"

Felix tried diligently to remember the first time Dr. Florence suggested she needed a sedative, and a shiver rushed her as a disturbing memory surfaced. It took the form of a bloody trail in the snow leading past the plastic snowman they'd installed in the backyard. "I think it started last Christmas. Something happened around then that had me stressed out. I'm pretty sure it involved a death. A man's death."

Again, Ryan and Harris glanced at each other, and Felix felt the hairs on her arms stand up. She didn't like this line of interrogation. Maybe she should shut up until she talked to an attorney. Ryan slipped his arm around her shoulder and she almost shrugged it off. Every nerve in her body buzzed, like the top layer of her skin had been peeled away, exposing tender flesh. Ryan turned her chin to face him and she closed her eyes, forcing out a tear she didn't know was there.

"Felix, I don't want you to think we're accusing you of murder. I know you would never knowingly kill someone, and I will testify to that effect. When we get back to the station, we will need a detailed statement from you. The more information you can give us the better case we can make in your defense."

Felix wanted to believe Ryan. She really did. She had strong feelings for him. They had shared his bed, but he was still an agent of the law, and she didn't know what side of the bed his loyalties laid.

"I understand," she said as she met his FBI stare. "But I'd prefer to speak to a lawyer first."

PLAYLIST SONG: Save Yourself by Stabbing Westward