Chapter Thirty Eight

Chapter 38

“Home,” Jemima wistfully whispered as she stared out of the window. She drugged her mouth with the chocolate pudding that was handed to her by Vanessa and watched as the clouds floated by.

Thoughts of Jon in the hospital filled her mind and unknown to her, a single tear slipped from her eye. How could she have been so self-absorbed to not realize he was ill? Was she just being over dramatic?

“Hey! Are you okay?” Jay’s voice pierced through her thought causing her to sit up and glance at him wearily.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Jemima replied hastily, stuffing her mouth with extra pudding as she tried to ignore him.

“You have tears in your eyes,” Jay pointed out, sitting down beside her as he helped her with her seatbelt. He did the same for himself before leaning over to wipe the tear away from her cheeks softly with his thumb.

“I’m fine,” Jemima insisted, looking away from him and not wanting to talk to him. She still hated his guts very much and didn’t want to interact with him so much. Jemima put her dessert down and dreaded the descent of the plane because It always made her queasy.

As the plane descended, Jemima subconsciously shut her eyes and grabbed Jay’s hand. Jay noticed she was uncomfortable and he questioned why he enjoyed the warmth of Jemima’s touch against his.

A few minutes later after the plane had landed, Jemima called her driver to come get them. As they waited, Vanessa asked, “So what’s the plan with this Vance guy?”
Vanessa’s gaze shifted from Jay to Dimitri as she anticipated an answer.

Jemima just kept mute, wallowing in her thoughts as she watched them intently.

“We track his last location. That way we can predict his next location,” Jay uttered, his tone deepening as his brows furrowed in exasperation.

“I did not bring along any of my equipment,” Dimitri announced, causing Jay to snap his head towards him incredulously.

“How could you forget it? We are tracking a high-profile target and you forget your equipment?” Jay asked, dismay engulfing him as he buried his face in his palm.

“Don’t worry guys, I’m sure we can get another one,” Vanessa suggested, trying to quench the rising temper. Jemima tucked her hands in her pocket, squinting her brows as she watched the drama that was about to unfold.

“I can’t just buy another one Vanessa, it’d take a lot of time to encrypt a new system and put firewalls in place to prevent any form of tracking or hacking,” Dimitri explained, wiping the beads of perspiration that had formed on the edges of his brows. The sun was sweltering and the heat was making everyone uncomfortable.

“Time that we do not have!” Jay lamented, kicking a pebble off the side of the road.

In a matter of minutes, the car arrived, causing Jemima to sigh in relief.

“Alan’s system is encrypted and has a strong firewall. You can use that,” Jemima stated as the car came to a halt. They all stared at her and wondered why she was so quiet.

“What took you so long?” Jemima arrogantly asked her driver as she got into the passenger’s seat. The others followed suit, causing her to slam the door and put on her seatbelt.

“Traffic no good ma’am,” The chauffeur replied meekly, turning the ignition key as the engine coughed to life. He was of average height with Russian descent whose English was still rusty.

“Get going!” Jemima ordered in a low tone, her gaze briefly locking with Jay’s through the rearview mirror.
Jemima’s gaze shifted to the window and she watched as the trees and the cars zoomed by, blending into one blur.

Jemima’s thought drifted to Jon again and it rattled her. Her anger at Alan resurfaced, causing her fingers to tremble with rage.

“Wow! New York is bustling!” Vanessa mused, gazing out of the window as she gasped at the sightings she was seeing. Vanessa’s exclamation drew Jemima out of her reverie.

“Have you never been to New York?” Jemima asked, her brows etched in disbelief as she stared at Vanessa through the rearview mirror.

“No, I haven’t traveled that much!” Vanessa answered, shaking her head in the negative which caused Jemima to give a wry smirk.

“Well, you should explore New York. It’s a beautiful place, just try to avoid dark alleyways,” Jemima chuckled, giving a subtle warning to Vanessa who chuckled as well.

Jay and Dimitri shared a confused glance, causing Jay to shrug.
They were both surprised that the ladies were getting along very well.

“We’ve arrived!” The chauffeur announced as soon as he entered the driveway of the house. Without waiting for the car to fully come to a halt, Jemima jumped out.

“Be careful Jem!” Jay called after her as he also stepped out of the car.
Angry, Jemima ignored him and stomped into the house looking for Alan.

“Alan!” Jemima screamed as she entered the house, her anger becoming palpable. Her voice reverberated through the walls.

“What’s going on Jem?” Jay questioned as confusion laced his expression. Vanessa and Dimitri came into the house, staring at Jay and Jemima, wondering what the problem was.

“Is everything alright?” Dimitri inquired, placing his hand across Vanessa’s shoulders.

“Alan!” Jemima yelled, running up the stairs and barging into all the rooms in search of Alan. Her voice echoed across the house, signifying the emptiness of it.

“There’s no one here besides us Jem,” Jay stated the obvious, causing her to scoff. The house was indeed empty and it seemed as though no one had occupied it for days.

“I need to find Alan!” Jemima exclaimed, swiping an invisible cobweb from her path as she returned downstairs to rejoin Vanessa and Dimitri.

“Hello, ma’am!” A small voice called out, causing all their heads to turn towards the bearer of the voice.

“Matilda! Where have you been?” Jemima queried, placing her hands on both sides of her hips as she questioned the housekeeper.
The housekeeper quivered with fear as she bent down her head, her fear of Jemima’s wrath evident in her expression and stance.

“Answer me!” Jemima bellowed, causing the innocent housekeeper to startle in shock.

“Take it easy Jem,” Jay muttered, stopping her from shoving the housekeeper.

“Master Alan told me to not bother cleaning up the house till he gets back,” Matilda, the housekeeper answered, fear gripping her as her voice quivered.

“Gets back from where?” Jemima demanded to know, her voice unusually calm.

“He’s at the hospital with Señor Jon,” her voice thick with her Spanish accent as she unconsciously disclosed the whereabouts of Alan and Jon.

Jemima nodded her head, momentarily closing her eyes as she let out a soft breath.

“I’m going to the hospital, y’all stay here and Matilda will take you to your rooms,” Jemima addressed the rest of them, turning to face Matilda.

“Matilda, these are my guests. Prepare the rooms for them and make sure they are comfortable,” Jemima instructed Matilda, exiting the building without another word.

“Jem, wait!” Jay called out, running after her. They were outside now and Jay grabbed her hand, causing her to halt in her tracks.

“What is it, Jay?” Jemima queried, anger simmering through her veins as she glared at him.

“You are angry. Maybe you should take a while to calm down before confronting Alan and causing a scene at the hospital,” Jay advised, causing Jemima to scoff in disbelief.

“Get out of my way!” Jemima demanded through gritted teeth.

“At least let me come with you,” Jay offered, following her to where she had her motorcycle parked.

“You want to ride that?” Jay asked with a raised eyebrow, his face scrunched up in dismay.

“Yes,” Jemima replied, causing Jay to shake his head disapprovingly.

“No Jem! It’s too risky, take the car instead,” Jay suggested, causing Jemima to sigh exasperatedly as she closed her eyes momentarily before finally obliging.

Jemima sped across the road, zooming straight to the hospital as she became blinded by rage. Jay kept mute, watching her carefully.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the hospital and Jemima rushed into the building, nearly knocking down a patient who was being carried away in a stroller.

She rushed to the reception desk with Jay hot on her tail.

“I’m here to see Jon Ross!” Jemima requested calmly amidst the raging storm that brewed within her.

“I’m sorry ma’am but visiting hours are over so only family members can see him,” the nurse at the reception answered her curtly. Jay folded his hand across his chest, sighing in defeat.

“Let’s just go wait aside,” Jay suggested, trying to drag her away from the desk but she shrugged off his hands from her shoulders and focused her attention on the nurse.

“That man is my father and I demand to see him!” Jemima’s tone became clipped as she glared at the nurse, causing her to shiver in fear.

“I’m afraid there is nothing…”

“Just fucking get me to him!” Jemima screamed as she became unable to still the tempest of emotions that churned within her, slamming her hand against the table.

“Jem!” Jay called out to her sharply, attempting to drag her out of the hospital but Jemima struggled to free herself from his grasp.

“Let me fucking go, Jay! I need to see Jon! I need to see him!” Jemima reiterated the words in a continuous whisper.

“Jem?” Alan’s voice pierced through the tense atmosphere, halting Jay in his tracks. Jay and Alan locked gazes, allowing him to release Jemima from his grasp.

Jemima walked up to Alan slowly, the heels of her shoes clacking against the marbled floor of the hospital as she deliberately approached him.

And in one swift motion, she raised her hand, connecting it to his cheeks as she slapped him.