Read Stand for Free Online Page B

arrived at Johnson, Lewes, and Ferguson at a quarter to eight, according to the time stamp on his parking garage ticket. At twelve-thirty he went to lunch and was never seen again. The questions I had regarded what happened at work. His home life seemed pretty straight forward.
    The last e-mail Erin sent contained the contact information for Jimmy’s assistant, Cindy Carter. I had sent her two e-mails and left her a voice-mail. No reply yet. I would try one more time, and then call the main line for the Johnson, Lewes, and Ferguson firm, and see what I could get from there. It might involve some lying.
    For most of the day I managed to keep my mind off of Georgia. Every so often my thoughts would turn to her words about Pheares and the veiled threat behind it, the dream, and to Jack. If I allowed myself to dwell on what she might be capable of doing to us, the worry grew. I kept it bottled inside until I sat down to eat dinner. The tension cracked. I had to talk to Jack.
    The phone rang several times before Jack answered. “Hello?”
    “Hi Jack, its Charlotte.”
    “Hey what’s up?”
    Now that I was talking to him I was at a loss for words. Mostly I just wanted to hear his voice to know that he was safe.
    “Charlotte?” His voice was quizzical and a little concerned. But then I had called him and not actually said anything. “Is everything all right?”
    “Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
    “I’m fine. Are you?”
    “I think so. Today was a long day. I just,” I hesitated, but this was Jack. “Do you really think Georgia is out there, that she’s really after me?”
    His reply was deliberate. “I think that e-mail was something we should take seriously.”
    “What about you, though? I mean, if she’s after me, isn’t she also after you? You have to be careful.” I could hear the fear in my voice. Jack was a rock to me, I couldn’t think of him being in danger again.
    “I’ll be okay; we just have to be careful. When was the last time you were at the gun range?”
    Ugh. I hate the gun range. But it was a while since I had been there. I had to confess the same to Jack.
    “What are you doing tomorrow?”
    I didn’t like where this was going. “I have training in the morning.”
    “What time do you finish?”
    I really didn’t like where this was going. “Around eleven.”
    My disgruntlement must have shown in my voice because I could hear the soft laughter in Jack’s reply when he told me he would see me then. We said our goodbyes and hung up.
    Darn it, I was going to have to go to the range.
    It’s not that I dislike shooting. I am actually not a bad shot. The first time I ever fired a gun I hit the man shaped target right in the eye. Don’t be too impressed, I was aiming for the chest. Generally I like target practice and I hit what I aim for. What I dislike about going to the range is the isolation and angry looks. Unlike the gym, there is no Moshe at the gun range. Generally the tough guys at the range don’t like it when a slim blonde woman shows up. It’s a man’s world. The fact that I am not a bad shot only compounds the problem.
    When I get to the range I always have to force myself to go in. The first time I went with Jack was okay. But when I went by myself the other shooters all stopped and stared at me. It was torture. I felt like they were just waiting for me to mess up. As a result, I avoid the gun range. Clearly, Jack wasn’t going to let me avoid it much longer.
    ______
    Before I went to bed I checked my e-mail again. Nothing from Georgia and nothing from Jimmy’s assistant. It looked like I needed to make some phone calls tomorrow afternoon.
    ______
    At Joe’s Gym the next day I ran through my normal routine as Moshe watched my progress. Jack walked in early when I was sparring with Skeet. Apparently we still had a date at the shooting range. My glare didn’t deter him. He stood next to the mat watching us practice knife defense.