"Jake," I whispered, tugging his hoodie,"Jake! Come on, we need to hurry." The FBI was everywhere, raising their weapons at us. But being threatened by guns wasn't what worried me the most at that moment. No, I was afraid the FBI would arrest Jake, I was afraid to lose him. I looked down at him but he seemed so calm. Why was he so damn calm? "Jake, come on, please, you need to hide!"

Jake stood up as two FBI agents rushed on Jasper, slamming him on the floor and putting handcuffs around his wrist. Jake took me gently by the arm and led me to a calm corner of the room. I couldn't look away from the scene which was happening in front of my eyes. Jasper was yelling insults at us, threatening Jake to death. He was a mad man, he couldn't control his anger anymore. Three men had to restrain him, so he wouldn't come toward us.

After that first shock I was surprised by the fact the FBI didn't seem to be interested in Jake. I averted my eyes from Jasper and focused my gaze on Jake. He was still so calm, looking in my eyes deeply. "What is happening…?" I asked flabbergasted, "why doesn't the FBI arrest you?"

"It's okay MC," his calm deep voice seemed pretty confident, "they are on our side."

"On our side? I don't underst…" a tall blond girl walked to us. She had a pinched look but seemed to be satisfied.

She stopped right in front of Jake, totally ignoring me, "Well Jake, it seems like this operation is a success. Now we can go to my office to finish all the administrative stuff."

What was she talking about? Jake looked pretty annoyed by this blond girl interruption. He shook his head, "Not now, MC needs to go to the hospital first. I want to make sure she is fine." He turned to face me, "Are you feeling alright, did he hurt you?"

 "Hmm I think I'm fine, maybe some bruises because Pete kicked me in the…" I started but was, one more time, cut off by that woman.

"We don't have much time." she said with a sigh of annoyance.

"It can wait until tomorrow, I'm not letting MC alone, she needs to be examined by a medic." Jake answered firmly.

"There is an ambulance outside, MC could go to the hospital while we…"

"Stop talking as if I wasn't here!" I glared at both Jake and that woman, "Who the hell are you and what's going on here?" I blurted out.

"MC," Jake patted my arm calmly, "I promise I'm going to tell you everything, but first I want to make sure you haven't got hurt." He let go of me to talk to the blond-hair woman, "I'll come to your office tomorrow morning, okay?" 

She rolled her eyes, but finally agreed to Jake's words, "Okay then. Tomorrow, 8am, don't be late." 

Jake only nodded before he took my hand and led me to the ambulance. We walked in silence zigzagging between agents who combed through the entire building, looking for evidence. Everyone was ignoring us, too focused on their tasks, and I still didn't understand why. 
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I was lying on a stretcher on the back of the ambulance, staring at the ceiling while medics were busying around me, checking my vital, asking me a bunch of questions. I answered them begrudgingly, fighting against sleep. Jake was sitting next to me holding my hand. I tried to focus on this touch, his thumb traced light caresses on my skin giving me a pleasant chill. We haven't talked yet about what happened that night. He only told me we were both safe now. I agreed to wait until I got back home before asking him more.

"Are you feeling alright, sir?" I heard a medic ask, "Your face is bruised."

 I turned my face and looked at Jake. A black eye started to form on Jake's face. I raised my hand placing it on his cheek and he instantly leaned in my touch. I lost myself in his pale blue eyes, feeling my face blushed a little. He looked so tired, so worried, exhausted. I wanted nothing more but stand up and hug him, kissing him all over his pretty face. But the medics wouldn't let me and obviously, we weren't alone. I bit my lips and blinked several times to chase these thoughts out of my mind. I passed my hand through his messy black hair, playing with his locks. Jake took my hand and kissed my knuckles, "I am perfectly fine," he whispered. I didn't know if he was talking to me or answering the medic's question, and I didn't care. We were just staring at each other, enjoying the luck we had to finally be together.
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We didn't spend much time at the hospital. I only had some bruises on my belly due to Pete's kick, but nothing to worry about. Before we left, a police officer came by to ask me questions and take my complaint against Jasper. I gave Jake a confusing look, not knowing if I could talk without endangering him. He reassured me by telling me it was fine, I could tell the policeman everything I knew about Jasper, Pete and what happened. Jake softly kissed me on the forehead before he left the room and waited outside. Nervously I started to tell the events of last night. But at some point I couldn't speak anymore, the memories of Pete's blood on my hand and his deadly eyes staring at me made me nauseous. I closed my eyes and gripped my hair desperately. The policeman put a hand on my shoulder. "It's ok, you can stop by the police station in a few days to finish telling your testimony. You had a tough night, you should go home and rest now."

I just nodded, bringing my knees to my chest and hugging myself. The policeman left, replaced by a worried Jake who hurried next to me. He hugged me for a while, patiently waiting for me to calm down. Then we head back to my apparemment. It was a ten minute walk, Jake insisted for us to call a cab, but I didn't want to. I wanted to enjoy the last hours of the night and taking some fresh air helped me feel better. 

When we arrived I noticed my apartment was all cleaned up. "Prescott, ask for your place to be cleaned" Jake told me. 

"Prescott?" I raised an eyebrow at him. 

"The woman we saw earlier at the building." 

"Huh," I shrugged and heard Jake shuckled, "do you wanna drink something? Tea? Coffee?" 

"Coffee would be great," he smiled. Once we were comfortably sitting on my couch with our mugs on the coffee table he talked against. "So… I guess you have a lot of questions" he was nervous. 

I just nodded looking at Jake, waiting for an answer. Jake told me everything, how the FBI found him, how he made a deal with this Prescott woman and how they worked together to find me. I held his hands tighter and tighter while he spoke. When he finished, I let out a sigh, "So… This means that you're free now?" I shyly asked. 

Jake looked at me surprised, "You're not angry?" 

"It depends… Are you free now?" I repeated. 

"Not yet… I have to go to Prescott's office, you heard her, and sign some papers and then…" he stopped shaking his head, closing his eyes, "then I'll be free." 

I just smiled, cupping his face with my hands. I brushed my nose against his and kissed him. We stayed in each other's arms in silence, I rested my head on his shoulder and he put his chin on the top of my head. The sun started to rise and illuminated my small living room. 

"I need to go…" Jake whispered, "You should go to sleep MC." 

"I don't want you to go, I don't want to stay alone here." I sighed. I knew I was being selfish but I wasn't comfortable staying alone in my apartment.

"Listen, what do you think about taking you out this evening?" Jake suggested.

I blushed, "You mean… Like a date?" 

I felt Jake's body stiff a little and he cleared his throat, "Well.. If you want, or I can ask someone else to stay with you, Jessy maybe?"

"A date sounds perfect," I giggled.

Jake held me tighter and kissed my hair. "Right, a date is perfect."

I walked him to the door but before he left I wanted to do something more, something to make him understand he would always be welcomed, "Wait a second Jake," I went to my desk and opened the drawer, rummaging through the pile of objects. Then, I picked up a set of keys and handed it to him. "Take it, these are my spare keys, so you can come here anytime you want."

He stared at the keys for a few seconds with wide eyes. I bit my lips and was about to withdraw my hand, thinking I was acting too fast, but Jake took the keys and smiled, "Thank you" he muttered. And with a last kiss on my forehead he left. 

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Thank you for reading and for the support. ❤️