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and
he was feeling the effects of the alcohol settling in on him.
    Margot began wrapping the bandage
around his arm. She could feel how strong he was as she lifted his arm, how
thick his muscles were. She wrapped his arm firmly and hooked two small silver
clasps into the bandage to keep it together. As he lowered his arm down she
noticed a long scar just above his wrist.
    “What’s that from,” she asked?
    “Oh that.” His eyes warmed as he
looked at the old scar.
    “When I was a kid, maybe eight or
nine, I was riding my bike through the neighborhood with my sister, Chelsea. We
reached the top of the biggest hill around. I wanted to show off so I told
Chelsea to watch me and I started flying down it. But the hill ended in a
cul-de-sac and I was going so fast I couldn’t stop in time. The next thing I
know I’m flying over the handlebars into a big bush that was in someone’s front
yard. I cut my arm. It was gushing blood everywhere. I was terrified. Chelsea
took me home on her bike and wrapped it up for me.”
    “Sounds like you have a good
sister,” Margot said, smiling.
    “Yeah, she was,” Jack said. His
face darkened. “I lost her years ago, though. She was murdered.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know,”
Margot said.
    “It’s why I’m a detective in
Gravity. It’s why I want to get Pop. She was killed in the crossfire of a
shooting he ordered. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. One day
she’s riding bikes with me, eating ice cream and being a kid, and the next day
she’s just...gone.
    “My father was on the force then,
and he knew Pop was behind the shooting, but they couldn’t prove it in court so
Pop walked away. My father died a few years later from a heart attack. The
stress of it was too much for him. He never got to see justice for Chelsea.”
    Margot thought about her own
father. She knew what it was like to have someone you cared about suddenly and
unexpectedly ripped from your life. She knew how the emptiness they left behind
could be filled with an immense and omnipresent sadness. She could see it
killing someone. She suddenly felt overwhelmed by grief and fear.
    “Jack, I’m so afraid.”
    She wanted to bury her head in his
chest and sob. She wanted to let him comfort her. She was afraid that she would
burden him unduly with her sadness. She wanted to offer him something better
than that.
    “I know Margot, it makes sense.
But it’s going to be okay. Frankie’s a really good guy and the Feds have a lot
of fire-power behind them. Pop is strong in Gravity, but he’s not as strong as
the Feds. Once they get to us they’re going to protect you. And in the
meantime,” he paused, becoming quieter, “in the meantime, I’m going to protect
you.”
    Margot looked at Jack. His eyes
were searching hers for her reaction to his affirmation.
    “Do you trust me,” he asked her?
    “Yes,” Margot said meaningfully.
It would have seemed impossible to her to imagine feeling such an allegiance
and gratitude to someone on Gravity’s police force not even 48 hours ago. But
now it seemed impossible to feel anything less to him. He’d already saved her
life and forsaken everything to keep her safe. His willingness to sacrifice so
much for someone he didn’t even know was deeply endearing to her.
    They looked at each other silently
for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Margot suddenly became very
aware of sitting on the bed together. She thought she noticed Jack lean towards
her slightly.
    Just then they heard a hard knock
at the door.
     
    Chapter 6 -
     
    The pizza had arrived in the
middle of what felt like a very intimate moment to Margot. A part of her was
disappointed, but another part felt relieved. Fantasizing about Jack in the
shower was one thing, but taking it from fantasy to reality right now seemed
like it might be a bad idea. So much was happening, and she couldn’t let
herself forget that they were still in danger. With Jack it was difficult not
to feel