PHOENIX

22| WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?

As he drove towards the centre of the docks, Jackson's thoughts spiralled faster than the wheels beneath him. His mind refused to settle, replaying every conversation he had ever had with Sue over the past few weeks, every warning he had given her, every argument they had nearly torn each other's throats out over. None of it had mattered. She had still gone. She had still walked willingly into one of the most dangerous places in the city without telling anyone where she was going. His grip tightened around the steering wheel until his fingers ached, his jaw locked so tightly it felt as though his teeth would crack. He couldn't understand what information could possibly be important enough for her to risk her life like this. The Roy family wasn't some neighbourhood gang that could be outsmarted with a clever lie or a lucky escape. They destroyed people. They erased them. They had already stolen enough from him, and he refused, absolutely refused, to let them take Sue too. Every second that passed without seeing her face made the knot in his stomach tighten until breathing itself became difficult. He pressed harder on the accelerator, weaving through the late-night traffic with a level of recklessness he would normally never allow himself, driven by one thought and one thought alone: find Sue before someone else did.

By the time he reached the central docks, the city had fallen eerily silent. The distant sounds of traffic had faded behind him, replaced by the rhythmic crashing of dark waves against the concrete piers and the mournful creaking of old shipping cranes swaying gently in the night breeze. The entire area looked abandoned, swallowed by darkness that seemed almost alive. Rusting cargo containers stood like towering steel monuments, casting long shadows across cracked asphalt, while rows of deserted warehouses stretched endlessly into the distance, their broken windows resembling hollow eyes watching anyone foolish enough to wander through. Jackson parked several buildings away, switching off the engine before stepping out of the car. The cold night air immediately wrapped around him, carrying the scent of saltwater, oil, and rust. He quietly closed the door and slipped one hand beneath his jacket out of pure instinct, his eyes constantly sweeping across the surrounding darkness. Every noise- the scraping of loose metal, the flutter of a bird taking flight, even the whisper of the wind- made every muscle in his body tense. He moved cautiously between the warehouses, deliberately placing each footstep to avoid loose gravel or broken glass. The docks were the kind of place where making too much noise could attract exactly the wrong kind of attention.

He had almost begun to wonder whether he was searching the wrong section when a flicker of movement caught the corner of his eye. Jackson froze instantly, pressing himself against the weathered wall of a warehouse as he narrowed his gaze. About fifty metres ahead, illuminated only by a dim security light that flickered more than it actually worked, stood two figures. One was unmistakably Sue. Even from a distance he would have recognised her anywhere. Her posture, the way she rested her weight on one leg when she was deep in conversation, the stubborn tilt of her head, it was all undeniably her. Standing opposite her was a tall man dressed in dark clothing, broad-shouldered enough to make Sue appear tiny by comparison. They were talking quietly, completely unaware that anyone else was nearby. Jackson released a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. Relief hit him so powerfully that his knees almost weakened. She was alive. She wasn't bleeding. She wasn't being held at gunpoint. For one glorious second, that was all that mattered.

That relief, however, lasted only a heartbeat before it was consumed by white-hot fury. She wasn't supposed to be here. She wasn't supposed to be anywhere near these docks, talking to mysterious men in the middle of the night as though this were perfectly normal behaviour. Jackson began walking towards them, his pace measured but purposeful, unwilling to run and risk startling either of them into doing something stupid. The closer he got, the clearer their voices became, though he still couldn't make out the words. Finally, when he was only a few metres away, he spoke.

"Sue."

He kept his voice low, but it carried through the silence like a gunshot.

Sue spun around so quickly that she nearly stumbled. Her eyes widened the instant she recognised him, surprise flashing across her face before something dangerously close to guilt replaced it. "Jackson?" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Jackson let out a humourless laugh, his eyes never leaving her face. "Funny," he replied, his voice calm enough to be unsettling. "I was just about to ask you the exact same thing." He looked her over from head to toe, checking for injuries without making it obvious, and only after convincing himself she was unharmed did he allow himself to breathe properly again. "I've been looking all over the damn city for you. Your phone's off. Sarah doesn't know where you are. Ethan's worried sick. I had to track down your car before I ended up here. Care to explain what exactly is going through that stubborn head of yours?"

Before Sue could answer, the tall man shifted slightly, drawing Jackson's attention. The dim light finally revealed enough of his face for recognition to strike. Tom's bartender. Of course it was.

Jackson closed his eyes for the briefest moment before slowly looking back at the man, already feeling another headache forming. I'm going to kill Tom, he thought bitterly. I swear to God, I'm actually going to kill that old bastard.

"We're just talking," the bartender said, lifting both hands slightly in a gesture that suggested he wanted no trouble. His voice was deep, rough from years of cigarettes and whiskey. "Sue had a few questions about the Roy family. That's all."

Jackson stared at him for several long seconds, saying nothing. The silence stretched so uncomfortably that even Sue shifted on her feet. His expression remained unreadable, but inside, every ounce of patience he had been desperately clinging to finally snapped. Tom hadn't merely pointed Sue in the right direction. He had gone one step further and handed her directly to one of his own people. Whether the bartender had volunteered or Tom had instructed him to meet her here didn't matter anymore. The result was exactly the same.

Without saying another word to the bartender, Jackson marched straight toward Sue, closed the remaining distance between them, and firmly grabbed her by the wrist. His grip wasn't painful, but it left absolutely no room for negotiation.

"We're leaving."

Sue blinked, caught completely off guard by his sudden decisiveness. "Jackson, wait—"

"No."

He didn't even look at her. He simply turned and started walking towards the parking lot, pulling her along with him.

"Jackson!" she protested, digging her heels into the ground in an attempt to resist. "Let go! What are you doing?"

Jackson didn't say another word until they reached his car. The entire walk across the parking lot was suffocatingly silent, broken only by Sue's occasional attempts to pull her hand free and the distant sound of waves crashing against the docks. He ignored every protest she made, every irritated sigh she let out, refusing to look at her even once. He knew that if he opened his mouth now, he would say something he would regret. His anger was still far too raw, his fear still clawing viciously at his chest. Only when they finally reached the vehicle did he release her wrist. Without a word, he walked to the back door, unlocked it, and slowly pulled it open. The soft interior light illuminated the tiny figure curled up in the child seat. Ethan slept peacefully, completely oblivious to the chaos that had unfolded around him, one small hand still wrapped around the stuffed dinosaur he insisted on taking everywhere with him. His chest rose and fell in slow, even breaths, his face peaceful in a way that only children could manage. Jackson stepped aside, his eyes fixed firmly on Sue instead of the little boy.

"Do you see this?" he asked quietly, but the calmness in his voice was infinitely more terrifying than shouting. "Do you see your little brother sleeping back there? Really look at him, Sue. Do you realise you've left him with Sarah for over five hours? At night. Without telling anyone where you were. Without answering your phone. Without thinking that maybe, just maybe, the little boy who lost his parents deserves to know his sister isn't going to disappear on him too."

Sue's eyes immediately filled with horror as she looked into the back seat. The colour drained from her face so quickly it was almost painful to watch. "Jackson..." she whispered, her voice breaking as guilt washed over her. "I... I didn't..."

"You what?" Jackson cut in sharply before she could finish. The restraint he'd been clinging to cracked, allowing some of his frustration to finally spill over. "Go on. Finish that sentence because I'd really love to hear it. You didn't realise how late it was? You didn't realise Ethan was waiting for you? You didn't realise your phone had been off the entire time? Or maybe you didn't realise that people who care about you might actually panic when you vanish without a trace?" He shook his head in disbelief before continuing, his voice growing harsher with every word. "You were so obsessed with chasing answers that you completely forgot about the little boy who depends on you for absolutely everything. What if something had happened to him while you were out here playing detective? What if Sarah had needed you? What if he'd woken up crying for his sister? Tell me, Sue... would you have forgiven yourself if something had happened to him while you were wandering around abandoned warehouses asking questions about people who would kill you without blinking?"

By then, tears had already begun rolling down Sue's cheeks. She didn't even try to wipe them away. She simply stood there staring at Ethan, her shoulders trembling beneath the crushing weight of everything Jackson was saying. Seeing her cry would normally have softened him immediately. Since the day they'd met in foster care, watching Sue cry had always made him feel helpless. Tonight, however, the fear he'd experienced was still too fresh. It still sat in his chest like a block of ice. "Do you have any idea what was going through my head tonight?" he continued, his voice quieter now, but no less emotional. "I came back because I wanted to see you two. That's all. I figured I'd spend some time with Ethan before heading back to the hotel. Then Sarah tells me you've been gone for hours, your phone's off, and nobody knows where you are. I called you over and over again. Straight to voicemail every single time. I searched the places you usually go. I drove around like a madman hoping I'd spot your car somewhere. I thought..." His voice caught for the briefest moment before he forced himself to continue. "I thought I'd already lost you. Do you understand that? I genuinely believed I was going to find your body somewhere before the night was over."

Sue lowered her head completely, unable to meet his eyes any longer. "I'm sorry," she whispered through trembling lips. "I really am. I didn't think it'd take this long. I thought I'd ask a few questions, get whatever information I could, and come straight back. I honestly believed I could handle it."

Jackson let out a long, exhausted sigh, the fight slowly draining out of him. He leaned one hand against the roof of the car, rubbing his face with the other as fatigue finally began replacing the adrenaline that had carried him all evening. "That's exactly the problem," he said after a long silence. "You think you can handle it. You keep convincing yourself that you're prepared, that you've thought everything through, that nothing bad is going to happen because you're careful. But this isn't normal, Sue. This isn't some mystery novel where the heroine always makes it home in one piece after asking the right questions. These people don't play fair. They don't give second chances. If they decide you're a problem, you disappear. That's it." He looked at her again, his expression softening despite himself. "I know you want answers. Believe me, I understand better than anyone why you want them. I want those answers too. I want the people responsible for everything they've done to suffer just as much as you do. But I already told you I'm handling this. I need you to trust me because if something happens to you..." He glanced toward the sleeping child in the back seat before looking back at her. "...then Ethan loses the only family he's ever really known."

Sue finally lifted her head, tears still streaming freely down her face. There wasn't an ounce of defiance left in her expression now, only guilt and regret. "I messed up," she admitted quietly. "I really messed up this time. I'm sorry, Jackson. I wasn't thinking about Ethan. I wasn't thinking about you either. I was only thinking about getting answers, and... I let that become more important than everything else. I'm sorry."

Jackson closed his eyes briefly before taking one long, steadying breath. His anger hadn't disappeared completely, but it had lost its edge. Right now, yelling at her any longer wouldn't accomplish anything. She already knew she'd crossed a line. "We'll talk about this properly later," he said at last, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "Right now, let's get Ethan home. He deserves to wake up in his own bed instead of the back seat of my car, and honestly..." He looked at his sister with a tired shake of his head. "...I think we've both had enough for one night."

Sue nodded silently, unable to find any more words. She quietly climbed into the passenger seat while Jackson gently closed Ethan's door, taking one last glance to make sure the little boy was still sleeping comfortably before walking around to the driver's side. The engine came to life with a low rumble, and they pulled away from the docks in complete silence. Neither of them felt the need to speak anymore. The only sounds inside the car were the steady hum of the engine, the occasional swish of tyres against the empty road, and Ethan's soft, peaceful breathing drifting from the back seat, a quiet reminder of exactly what Jackson had been fighting so desperately to protect.

Jackson parked outside the apartment building before switching off the engine, allowing the silence inside the car to settle around them. Neither he nor Sue spoke. There simply wasn't anything left to say after everything that had happened. Carefully unfastening Ethan's seatbelt, Jackson slipped one arm beneath the sleeping boy's knees and the other around his back before lifting him out of the car with the ease of someone who had done it countless times before. Ethan barely stirred, only mumbling something unintelligible as he instinctively rested his head against Jackson's shoulder. A small smile tugged at Jackson's lips despite everything. Even asleep, the little boy trusted him completely. Sue quietly followed behind them, her footsteps unusually subdued. The fiery determination that had driven her to the docks had disappeared, replaced by a heavy silence that suggested she was finally beginning to understand just how much fear she had caused everyone who cared about her. Once inside the apartment, Jackson carried Ethan straight to his bedroom, gently laying him on the mattress before pulling the blanket over him. The little boy shifted slightly, hugging his stuffed dinosaur closer before settling back into a peaceful sleep. Jackson stood there for a few extra seconds, watching him breathe, silently promising himself that no matter what happened, Ethan would never have to face the kind of loss they already had. Only after convincing himself the child was comfortable did he quietly leave the room, carefully closing the door behind him.

Sue had already started walking toward her own bedroom when Jackson's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"One more thing, Sue."

She froze instantly before slowly turning around to face him. Her eyes met his across the dimly lit living room, and for a long moment neither of them spoke. Jackson folded his arms across his chest, studying her expression carefully. The guilt was still there, written plainly across her face, but he also recognised the familiar spark of stubbornness hiding underneath it. She wasn't the type to give up easily, and unfortunately, that was exactly what worried him.

"Stay away from Tom..." he said slowly before correcting himself with an irritated shake of his head. "...and stay the f**k away from his bar." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried enough authority to make it clear this wasn't a request. "That man is nearly twice your age, Sue. He's old enough to be your father, for God's sake. And while we're at it, stop paying him with kisses every time you want information." His jaw tightened as the image replayed itself in his mind. "I don't care if it's just a peck on the cheek or some stupid little deal between the two of you. I don't like it. It's dangerous, it's reckless, and you deserve a hell of a lot better than having to throw yourself at men for scraps of information."

Sue's cheeks immediately flushed crimson, and she looked away for a moment, clearly embarrassed by the topic. When she finally looked back at him, there was a mixture of irritation and defensiveness in her expression. "I wasn't throwing myself at him," she muttered. "It was just a kiss, Jackson. That's all. I was trying to get the information we needed. He wasn't asking me to sleep with him."

"I know exactly what you were trying to do," Jackson replied, his tone softening slightly now that the initial anger had passed. "And I know you weren't doing it because you liked the guy. Believe me, that thought never crossed my mind." He sighed heavily before running a tired hand through his hair. "But that's not the point. The point is that you're putting yourself in situations where you shouldn't have to bargain with men like Tom in the first place. Information isn't worth your dignity, Sue. It isn't worth your safety either. Today it's a kiss. Tomorrow someone else might ask for something more, and you'll convince yourself it's a necessary sacrifice because you're so obsessed with finding answers." He shook his head firmly. "No. That ends here. There are other ways to get information. Safer ways. Smarter ways. More importantly..." His eyes locked onto hers with unwavering seriousness. "...there's a reason I came back. I told you already that I'd deal with the Roy family myself. That hasn't changed. The safest thing you can do, the smartest thing you can do, is stay here, take care of Ethan, and let me handle the dangerous part."

Sue remained quiet for several long seconds, staring at the floor while she processed everything he'd said. Jackson could practically see the internal battle taking place inside her. Every instinct she possessed wanted to argue, to insist she could help, to remind him that she wasn't helpless. Yet tonight had humbled her. Tonight she had seen the panic in his eyes, heard the desperation in his voice, and realised her actions affected far more people than just herself. Eventually, she nodded, though it was obvious the decision hadn't come easily.

"Okay," she whispered. "I'll stay away from Tom."

Jackson raised an eyebrow.

"And his bar," she added with a defeated sigh.

He waited.

"I promise."

Only then did Jackson give a small nod of approval. "Good."

Despite hearing the words come out of her mouth, he couldn't bring himself to feel completely reassured. He knew Sue far too well. Promises made in moments of guilt had a habit of disappearing the moment determination took over again. If she believed she'd found another lead tomorrow, there was every chance she'd convince herself she wasn't technically breaking her promise. She had always possessed an incredible ability to justify the most reckless decisions when she believed the cause was worth it. It was one of the many things he admired about her... and one of the things that terrified him most.

Eventually, after making sure every door and window in the apartment was locked, Jackson headed back to the hotel. The drive itself was uneventful, but his mind refused to slow down. Every traffic light, every empty street, every passing minute gave his thoughts another opportunity to spiral. By the time he finally reached his room and collapsed onto the bed, exhaustion had settled into his bones, yet sleep stubbornly refused to come. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Sue standing alone at the docks. Then the image changed, becoming something much darker. He imagined arriving a few minutes too late. He imagined abandoned warehouses stained with blood. He imagined Ethan asking where his sister was and never being able to give him an answer. Each horrifying possibility dragged him awake again before sleep could fully claim him.

He rolled onto one side, then the other. He checked the clock so many times that the glowing numbers began to blur together. Midnight became one o'clock. One became two. Then three. Before he even realised how much time had passed, the digital clock beside the bed read 4:30 a.m. With an exhausted groan, Jackson threw the blanket aside and climbed to his feet. There was no point pretending to sleep anymore. He began pacing the room instead, moving from one end to the other while countless plans chased one another through his mind. Perhaps he should have someone discreetly keep an eye on Sue. He knew several people who owed him favours, people skilled enough to watch over her without being seen. She would be furious if she ever found out, probably refuse to speak to him for weeks, but compared to burying her, that seemed like a very reasonable price to pay. He would rather endure every insult she could throw at him than stand over another grave wondering what he could have done differently.

Sometime after five, both his body and mind finally surrendered. He dropped heavily into the chair beside the window, intending to rest his eyes for only a minute while he continued thinking. Instead, exhaustion ambushed him completely. Sleep came hard and fast, though it offered no peace. His dreams were filled with endless alleyways, abandoned warehouses, and shadows that always stayed just out of reach. Every time he spotted Sue in the distance and ran toward her, she disappeared around another corner before he could catch up. No matter how fast he moved, no matter how loudly he called her name, she remained just beyond his grasp, swallowed by darkness over and over again until panic itself dragged him awake.

When Jackson opened his eyes again, soft rays of morning sunlight were spilling through the curtains, painting pale golden streaks across the room. His neck protested as he straightened from the awkward position he'd fallen asleep in, and every muscle in his body felt stiff from the miserable night. He rubbed both hands over his face before glancing at the bedside clock. Barely six o'clock. He let out a tired sigh that seemed to come from the depths of his soul. He had slept for less than an hour, and it certainly hadn't been enough to erase the fatigue weighing him down. His body felt heavy, his eyelids even heavier. There was no immediate reason to force himself awake just yet. He had planned to begin looking into Matt later that morning, and another hour of rest wasn't going to change anything. For once, he decided to listen to his exhausted body instead of his restless mind. Pulling himself back onto the bed, Jackson adjusted the pillow beneath his head, closed his eyes once more, and allowed himself the small luxury of stealing another hour of sleep, hoping that this time his dreams would be kinder than the ones that had haunted him all night.