Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Life "It's too late," he remarked with a gloomy expression. "He's got her in the crosshairs ok now."

"I'll get the process of relocating started. Do you want to talk to her, or would you rather I do it?

Jerome responded, "Neither, damn it," to the question. "Get Randy."

After pausing for a moment, Phil said, "I know you don't believe me—"

"At this point, I don't trust anyone," she said. It has nothing to do with you, guy. This is the point where my journey comes to an end. After this, I'm out of here. I intend to get it out of here alive."

"Are you really certain that is what you want? We need you.”

He was certain of it. Damn sure. When the moment came, he was prepared to turn his back on the Bureau and walk away without looking back at any point. Why did he have the misconception that separating himself from Anna would be more difficult than it actually was?

After a long day in court, Anna entered the hotel suite in Austin while being acutely aware of Jerome's presence behind her, beside her, and around her—he was there, but not there. Watchful, but not too close.

She was on edge as she headed directly to her room, ready to turn around and demand that they make the atmosphere more comfortable. However, there were others around them. They never spent time by themselves. In addition to that, he had already articulated his opinion. Their romance had reached its end. They were elements of both fire and ice. He wanted fire, yet it seems as though he mistook her for wanting ice.

She located the entrance to her room and hurriedly locked it behind her, allowing her briefcase to fall to the ground as she did so. She rested her head on the wooden surface while closing her eyes as she leaned back against the door that was closed.

Jerome had been correct in his assessment of her well orchestrated life. She'd constructed a mansion out of glass. So flawless that there was nothing genuine on the inside. There was laughter, but there was no joy. Just her own need to demonstrate that she was not defined by what had happened in the past.

However, when she returned to Houston with Jerome, she realized that something was missing. She had experienced what it was like to share her life with another person, and after doing so once, she longed for more of the same. In addition, many referred to Jerome.

She took a deep breath and realized that her feelings were, at best, erratic, and that this was not entirely due to the fact that she was dating Jerome. The fact that her father was there in the courtroom that day caused her to experience mental confusion. He'd been sitting there with an accusatory expression on his face the whole time. But no matter how flawed he would want to find her performance, he wouldn't be able to, and the only reason he wanted to find it problematic was because she was performing work that he didn't approve of. She was at the pinnacle of her abilities and giving her absolute best performance. She wanted Pedro to be locked up, and she was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. Her one and only regret was that she couldn't genuinely share the improvement with Jerome, because for the sake of appearances, they were required to pretend as though they were strangers. However, they had already accomplished too much to let an affair ruin their credibility. They couldn't take the chance of that information getting out to the press and, possibly, the jury by accident.

On the other hand, she had no intention of being a wallflower and staying shut up in her room. She would go out there, assert her ownership of the desk, and then begin working. Let Jerome hide in his room. She was finished with her concealment. From herself. The events of her life. Coming from him. Now is the time for her to forgive herself. It's time to quit wallowing in shame and move on. I will pick and choose my battles. That notion had been doing a number on her head for some time. Perhaps she would found her own legal practice. She wasn't certain of anything just yet, but she could feel a shift coming for her. In the trial, she displayed tremendous bravery. Now that it had happened, she wanted to remain courageous despite it.

NoNo longer trying to hide.

Jerome sat in the room, with the door to the room left open so he could listen to Anna talking to one of the agents in the main area of the suite. Her voice taunted him with what he desired but couldn't have: her. It slid along his nerve endings and taunted him with her.

Keeping his distance from her was slowly killing him. On numerous occasions, he had given serious thought to the idea of saying to heck with putting some distance between them. Even though he did not belong in her prim and proper lifestyle, he was persuaded that she did not belong in that lifestyle either. In point of fact, he had persuaded himself that it would be in her best interest for him to toss her over his shoulder and transport her away from all of this chaos. He was also aware that Anna needed to examine the situation for herself and determine what she believed to be appropriate. Except that at this point, she had no other options. Not after the news he had received earlier that day. He gave his chin a quick scrub, dreading the topic that they were forced to have.

He pushed himself from the bed and made his way to the doorway, where he leaned on the edge of the door frame as he walked. She was pouring herself a Diet Sprite over ice as she stood behind the bar, and her gaze would occasionally raise to his as though she were aware of his presence.

"There's a need for communication," he stated. He made a pointing motion with his head, suggesting that we should go to his room. "In privacy."

Her expression suddenly changed to one of shock. They had not been by themselves even once since they had returned. Her room was located on the opposite side of the suite, and their relationship appeared to be purely professional to everyone else in the hotel. Oh, but he could picture himself lying in bed with her, the blankets pulled off, and his body being the only thing that covered her.

She paused for a moment before putting down her beverage container and making her way across the room to get closer to him. He watched her stroll by, fascinated by the way the velour sweats she'd purchased in Houston caused her hips to sway. Oh, how he want to get completely consumed by her! His zipper area increased in a painful manner, and his body became stiff as a result of the desires of the day that had been neglected.

He moved out of the way to make room for her to enter, and then he locked the door behind her. After arriving at the bed, she sat down on it. The mattress. The location where he desired to find her. He positioned himself such that he was leaning against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. "Today, we were able to capture one of Randy's men."

She looked at him with suspicion as she spoke. "You're not acting like that's a positive thing, but I'm going to assume it is," I said.

"He was in possession of some knowledge. A message for me." He hated this so much that he had a moment of hesitation. "About you."

Her chin was cocked to the side. “And

"No one is aware that we exist."

You have always been and will continue to be under my care. That's enough satisfaction for him, "

She cleared her throat, blinked, and then turned away. "What about my loved ones?"

"Pedro desires for this trial to come to an end; therefore, anything done against anyone that has the potential to result in a mistrial is still a risk. There is no question that if anything terrible happened to your family, you would have a difficult time moving on. When all of this is over, Randy will turn his attention to me. That indicates that he will come after you.

After that, she stared at him. "However, you can't know for sure that he won't go after my family," the speaker said.

"Not absolutely," was the response. He wished he could change her mind and tell her the truth. "Until Randy is apprehended, you will have no choice but to participate in a relocation program," I told them.

Her eyes became wide. "Oh, no," she exclaimed with a tone of implacable opposition in her voice. "There is no chance." She struggled to get herself to her feet. "If there is one thing I have learnt from all of this, it's that I'm weary of running," she said. "I'm tired of running." I wanted to get away from who I had been in the past, so I ran to where I am now. And I cannot in good conscience request that my family give up their lives. Not that I expect them to. They are at risk of passing away while I am away in hiding.

He uncrossed his arms and pushed off the wall, moving closer to her until he was standing in front of her. He was barely able to resist the impulse to grab her. "This is about making sure you don't die, Anna. I'm aware of how difficult it is, but—"

Would you be willing to run?

What kind of response could he give to that? "It is my responsibility to track down crooks and bring them to justice."

Then get it done right away. Capture him. You said you'd make this go away."

He had given his word. "I'm unable to leave since I'm trapped in here. I will." His hands moved to rest on her upper arms. "Anna, sweetie —"

She pushed his arms away with a stern expression on her face as she did so. "Don't treat me like a "Anna baby," now. It's been days since the last time you touched me. Please don't use our fling as a means of exerting any kind of control on me.

"That's not the case at all. That's not something I'd ever do.

"Not like that. Then, how does it stand? We have barely spoken to one other at all since we got back, and now that you want me to do something your way, you bring out the 'baby' stuff?

"I've put my life on the line for you more times than I can count."

"He'll kill anyone I get close to," she said. To begin with, She uttered something that sounded like disbelief. "I don't feel like I'm being protected by this. It feels like…" Her voice became softer, her lashes became more closed, and a few seconds passed quickly by. Once more, she lifted her lashes, and this time she looked directly into his eyes. The most important takeaway from this is this. I'm not running anymore. Not from my previous experiences, and not from Randy. Catch him. Use me as bait. Do whatever you want. But I'm not going into hiding."

I won't use you as bait, that's for sure.

"I want to put an end to this, Jerome. Even if I give my consent to conceal, no one else in my family will. Because of the'man of steel' mentality that runs in my family, I can't let my relatives go about their lives with a target on their backs because of me. Someone else in the Bureau will put an end to this if you won't use me to do it." She focused her attention on him intently before issuing the challenge. "So you decide. Will you utilize me or let someone else?" She made an attempt to walk around him, but he managed to get in front of her.

"No," he responded. "That is not going to happen. You are not being used by anyone as a bait. I was the one who got you into this mess, and I'll be the one to get you out of it.

They were staring at one another, her lips were apart, and it seemed as though the world was somehow pulling them apart, despite the fact that just a few days earlier it had brought them together.

In the end, she admitted, "I got myself into this by taking on this case." "I'll find a way to get out of this."

She avoided him, and this time he turned around to watch her depart after she had already left the room. "Anna," he called out to her as she moved toward the entrance to the room. When she looked back over her shoulder, her gaze traveled to his with a questioning expression on her face.

Jerome declared, "This is not going to end here."

The atmosphere became tense as the seconds ticked by until she turned and walked out of the room, the door closing behind her.

Jerome made himself comfortable on the mattress and began to pound on it. Repeatedly, the people who were important to him wound up in a bad position. It was imperative that he resolve this issue. It was necessary to safeguard Anna. The very thought of something happening to her broke him completely. Damn it, he had no intention of caring about her at all. However, he did it. And despite the fact that he worked very hard to avoid facing the reality, he was unable to do so. Anna was the object of his affections.