05 Desperate Match Read online

  “Breathe,” Adam leaned over to whisper. “Loren said she’s great.”

  He had no idea whether he followed Adam’s advice about breathing. For the next thirty minutes, almost no one spoke or fidgeted as Ronna Woods interviewed Jill and Jack. He’d stood to drive down to DC the second he’d seen Jack on the set with Jill, but Adam tugged him back into his chair. Though he looked worried, too. “I hate that the ex–husband’s there,” he muttered, then bent over his phone presumably to text either Loren, Xander or Chase, the others on the scene.

  “How did The Program contact you the first time?” Ronna Woods asked Jill. “Did they know you were a match from public medical records?”

  Rowan smiled as Jill said strongly, “They didn’t contact me. I contacted them.”

  “You did?” Ronna feigned surprised emotion. She already knew the backstory from her phone meetings with Loren. “Why?”

  “I had to, Ronna,” Jill said, leaning forward speaking to the newscaster as if they were confidential friends. “I needed a safe place to go. I’d been stuck in an abusive marriage for six years, and I was scared if I didn’t get out, Jack would kill me.”

  Even professional Ronna Woods seemed stunned at that proclamation, but she gathered her composure and got out the next question even as Jack protested loudly from his seat. Rowan wanted to hug Jill and cheer as she shot Jack a shut–the–hell–up look and answered Ronna’s question calmly. “The first time he hit me was a week after our wedding. The beatings continued at least once a month every year after.”

  “Why didn’t you leave?” Ronna asked curiously, and Rowan could tell a wealthy, educated woman like her truly didn’t understand why Jill hadn’t left. He could also tell Jill knew it, too, but she answered the question capably.

  “How could I? Jack controlled everything about our life. I wasn’t allowed to find a job or use the car. Heck, I couldn’t use the phone without him questioning my calls.”

  “What about the police?” Ronna asked.

  “I called them once, and they were helpful but didn’t have the resources to do much. We lived in a small town. There was no shelter for battered women nearby. That’s a big city thing. Plus, I was a newly married woman. Well”—she gave a little chuckle—“a teen bride actually. I wanted my marriage to work. At that time, I still loved Jack.”

  Rowan knew her likeability and candor would have the audience eating out of her hand. If they weren’t ready to hang Jack by his nuts, they were heartless. Ronna seemed to be buying it, and so did the relationship doctor who’d been silent for most of the show, but suddenly remembered he was there for a reason, and started blathering on about abusive relationships and the mindset of battered women. He didn’t like the so–called expert much, but the things he said about her feeling guilty and culpable for the abuse were interesting.

  “Tell us about your decision to run to The Program,” Ronna said, regaining control of her show.

  Jill nodded and glanced directly at the camera, making him feel she was looking directly at him, then looked back at Ronna. “I first heard about The Program last summer along with the rest of the world. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I had my own problems to worry about.”

  Ronna gave a sympathetic laugh as if they’d rehearsed together.

  “But then they announced that women could apply to be a match, and I started to think what if I were a match for one of the soldiers? They’d have to accept me and give me a place to live. I didn’t think much beyond that aspect of safety. All I could think about was that if I lived on a military base, Jack could never hurt me again.”

  “You lying bitch,” Jack shouted, standing. To his credit, the celebrity doctor stood and got between Jack and Jill. To the rest of the world, Jill barely flinched at Jack’s attack, but Rowan knew her better than most. She was terrified. It was written all over her face and posture.

  “Text Xander and tell him if Jackass breathes wrong in her direction to kill him,” he said, keeping his gaze locked to the screen.

  “Already done,” Adam replied.

  Ronna quickly got control of the situation. “Please sit down, Mr. Thompson. You’ll have your turn to speak.”

  “What’s the point if she lies and turns everyone against me?” Jack said.

  “Is she lying?” Ronna asked calmly. “Have you never touched your wife in anger?”

  “Never.”

  Rowan had never wanted to kill another human as much as he wanted Jack Thompson to die. To her credit, Ronna Woods ignored the man and turned back to Jill. “Tell us more about life with Jack and about how you felt the first time you went to The Program base.”

  “Life with Jack was tough. He only let me use the car once a week, and only to go to Walmart to get the groceries. One day I snuck out of the house and walked for miles in the cold to the local bus. I wanted to get to the library so I could use the computer. Jack has a computer but he had it password locked so I couldn’t use it. Anyway, I went to the library and found the online application for The Program and sent it in. A few weeks later I went back to the library and got an email that I was a possible match for one of their soldiers.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “I planned my escape. For the first time I had hope and someplace safe to go. At least I hoped it was safe. I figured they needed me healthy if they wanted me to breed for them.”

  “And was it safe? Did they match you with a soldier right away?” Ronna asked.

  Jill smiled and looked at the camera again. Rowan felt the look deep in his gut. “One Saturday I took the car, same as I always did. I shoved a change of clothes and a toothbrush in my purse and drove, but instead of going to Walmart, I kept driving all the way from Virginia to Maryland. To The Program base.”

  “You didn’t pack a bag? Leave a note or tell anyone where you were going?” Ronna asked.

  “Who would I tell?” Jill shrugged. “Obviously I couldn’t tell Jack, and I didn’t pack most of my belongings. What if something went wrong and I had to go home? I think deep down I didn’t expect to succeed. I’d lived with Jack so long, I didn’t think life could be different. I didn’t think things could get better.”

  “And is it better now?”

  Jill lifted a radiant face to Ronna. “Oh yes.”

  “Tell us about it. Or rather, tell us about him, because the smile on your face tells me there’s a him in the picture.”

  Rowan grinned as catcalls filled the room, and wadded–up paper hit him in the back. He lifted his middle finger to the general room population. “Shut up. I want to hear Jill.”

  On screen, Jill flushed as pink as her professional makeup job allowed. “Well…” She giggled.

  “Was it love at first sight when you got to The Program? There’s a lot of curiosity about the matching procedures. Can you shed a little light on what happens?”

  “Um,” Jill said, hesitating a second.

  Rowan hoped she wouldn’t share every detail about what had gone down in the testing room between them. It was private.

  “I think the geneticists at The Program analyze the DNA code from both the man and the woman. I don’t know much about that part; I’m no scientist. Anyway, when they decide two people are a match, they meet and see if they’re compatible.”

  “Compatible how? Sexually?” Ronna asked sharply. “So it’s true that sex is part of the process?”

  “No!” Jill was quick to say. “I mean, I think it’s different for everyone. I haven’t had intercourse with the man I’m matched to. In my eyes, it would be adultery. I am still married to him.” She pointed to Jack and made a face. “Even if I wish I weren’t.”

  “Then how do you know for sure you’re a match with the genetically enhanced soldier?” Ronna asked.

  “Because I love him,” she said simply.

  Rowan froze. Did she mean it or was it part of the message Loren had instructed her to deliver? But then Jill looked straight at the camera and repeated her words. Only this time instead of sa
ying him, she changed the pronoun to you. She was talking straight to him, and he mouthed the love words back at the TV screen not caring that he looked like a pussy in front the rest of the soldiers.

  Ronna Woods ruined the moment with all the sentimentality and subtlety of a puppy wanting attention. “Then will you sleep with him or will you wait for your divorce to be finalized?”

  “We’re not getting divorced,” Jack said from his seat. “You heard her. She hasn’t slept with another man, because in her heart she knows she’s married to me. She’s faithful to me. She only thinks she’s in love because they brainwashed her. It’s part of their matching process.”

  The man was an idiot. He was blind to the fact that his original claim was dead. It was obvious to anyone that Jill wasn’t brainwashed and was completely in control of her mental faculties.

  “The only brainwashing that ever happened to me was from you when we were teenagers,” Jill retorted. “You made me financially and emotionally dependent on you. You made it so I could never get free. Well, guess what? I’m free now. And I lied before. I haven’t slept with Ro—my match because of you! Six years of being beaten and raped by you made me nervous about sex. If I’m not jumping into bed with another man it’s because you turned me off sex. I’m not loyal to you. You lost my loyalty with every punch and slap, Jack.”

  The room around Rowan erupted with whoops and hollers. “Your girl’s got grit,” Adam said. It was his first acknowledgment that Jill was Rowan’s match and was part of the family.

  At this point on the show, the celebrity doctor jumped in. Jill’s comments on rape and abuse and marriage were too fertile for him to let slide. He’d managed to hold his tongue to let Jill get most of her story out, but the damn had burst and the next seven minutes of the show turned into analysis of the situation with the doctor. Jack was irrelevant. Rowan had no doubt that nearly every viewer in America was now firmly Team Jill. At least all the women would be, and smart men who wanted to sleep with their wives would get on board.

  The show finally went to commercial break, and excited chatter swirled around the conference room. Shep came over with a broad grin on his face. “Your girl’s a genius,” he said. Then he turned to Adam. “Yours, too. And she hasn’t even gotten to the good parts about us yet. She’s only nailed her husband’s balls to the wall.”

  “How long have you known about this?” Rowan asked Shep.

  “All week. I wrote some of her script.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because you’re not rational when it comes to Jill. None of us are when it comes to our matches. Jill said she’d told you her idea weeks ago, but you refused to consider it.”

  Shit. Had he? He thought back to when Jill had first arrived on campus. He might have been a tad protective, allowing her to hole up in their room reading the romance novels he bought for her. And when had he started thinking about it as their room, not his? A while back, come to think of it. He couldn’t imagine living solo anymore and didn’t want to think about it. He liked living and sleeping with Jill too much to contemplate a night without her lying warm against his body.

  “Shh. It’s back on,” someone from the back of the room said. There were more shushes and then things got quiet as the camera refocused on Jill and Ronna Woods.

  “Welcome back,” Ronna said. “You’ll notice that Jack Thompson is no longer on set. During the commercial break, he chose to walk off. But thank you to Jill who is still here and ready to answer more questions.”

  “You’re welcome,” Jill murmured. She sat forward in her chair, looking ready to chat with Ronna all night long.

  “During the break, our producers monitored the buzz on social media. You have a lot of new fans, Jill.”

  “Thank you. I’m not trying to win a popularity contest. It was important to me that the truth be told. The Program is a good place to live and the people who live there are good people. I’ve heard some people refer to the enhanced soldiers as cyborgs or robots, but it’s not true. They’re simply people with the same hopes and dreams as all of us hold dear.”

  “She’s going off script,” Shep muttered from his position off to the right.

  Ronna nodded thoughtfully, then slammed Jill with a question. “Then you don’t believe the government was playing God when they created these enhanced soldiers?”

  Rowan held his breath, and next to him, Adam did the same, as Jill attempted to answer the single hardest question The Program had been fighting ever since their media exposure.

  Jill took a long breath on television. “That’s a tough question, and since I’m just an average American citizen, I’ll answer the best I can. Maybe the original people who came up with the science behind the enhanced soldiers were dipping their hands into new territory. I’m no expert, but wasn’t The Program created in the sixties the same time that medical science was doing all sorts of revolutionary stuff with vaccinations and other genetic innovations?”

  Rowan breathed freely again as he watched Jill pull off the perfect combination of average American while delivering the message Loren had likely crafted word–for–word.

  Ronna Woods nodded.

  “The soldiers I’ve met aren’t super–human. They can’t shoot lasers from their eyes and steel claws don’t erupt from their knuckles…” That got a laugh from Ronna. “But they can run a little faster and lift heavier weights, and personally I feel better sleeping at night knowing our country has these amazing men to keep us safe.”

  More cheers from the popcorn gallery. Next to him, Adam was clapping and Shep was nodding vigorously and had a shit–eating grin that probably matched the one on his own face. In one sentence she’d questioned the patriotism of The Program haters. She was doing great. He was still pissed as hell at her for lying to him, but it was tempered now with pride at how much she’d helped The Program.

  “Me, too,” Ronna Woods agreed. “What can you tell us about your specific soldier, the one you love?”

  “He’s amazing,” Jill gushed. “He’s kind and handsome and smart. I feel safe with him. I know he’d never ever hurt me.”

  Ronna looked disappointed at the almost puerile answer. “Anything more specific?”

  “He has dark hair and brown eyes that look green when the light hits them just right.”

  In the room where Rowan sat, a romantic ballad broke out, and everyone joined in on the chorus. His cheeks had to be as pink as Jill’s lips. “I hate you all,” he announced.

  On screen, Ronna gave a light laugh. “Do you miss him when he goes on missions overseas?”

  Rowan had to give the woman credit for subtly asking about the scope of Program jobs, but Jill got more credit for evading the answer. “I wouldn’t know,” she said. “He’s been on campus since I’ve known him. Even though I’m matched to one of the soldiers, his job and their missions are classified. I would never risk their security or well–being by asking too many questions.”

  Rowan chuckled. Point to Jill. By the end of the interview everyone in the room with him was breathing a lot easier. Jill had solved a lot of their problems along with tackling her own. No rational citizen would suggest she’d been brainwashed, or that she should go back to an abusive husband. He’d especially loved the part at the very end where she looked in the camera and begged viewers to help victims of abuse. She mentioned the name of an organization and by the commercial break, the producers had the website and other information on how to donate to help domestic violence victims.

  Finally, they switched the game over to hockey after the interview was finished. Though the Caps were tied in the second, he didn’t stay to watch. He was counting the minutes until Jill arrived back on campus and he could touch her, kiss her and tell her he loved her, too. Then he’d yell for a while about lying to him. Again. But kissing would be involved.

  Chapter Eleven

  As Chase drove back on campus, Jill focused on breathing and tried to keep calm. It was tricky, because on one hand, she was pumped
and riding the wave of adrenaline from her interview, and on the other, she was terrified of Rowan’s reaction. She’d confessed her love for him on television. What if he didn’t share her feelings?

  She didn’t have long to ponder her fears. The minute they drove into the underground garage, they spotted Adam, Emma, and Rowan waiting inside. Next to her, Xander grew more alert and practically jumped out of the vehicle before Chase had fully pulled into the spot. He was in Emma’s arms and they were gone from the garage before Jill could say hi to her.

  “Thanks for driving, Chase,” she called to his back as he hastily exited the garage, presumably to go to Samara who was in their house with their son.

  Loren and Adam showed more decorum and stuck around for a minute to rehash the interview. “Jill was amazing. Wasn’t she, Adam?”

  He nodded. “Shep was all but cheering.”

  Jill smiled at that, but pleasing the head commander hadn’t been her number one goal. Helping Rowan had been her first priority. He stood next to his brother, silent and tall. The second Loren and Adam were out of the garage, she looked Rowan in the eye.

  “Hi,” she said.

  He smiled. “You were amazing. Mark my words, you’re going to get flower deliveries and fan mail tomorrow.”

  She blinked. “You think?” She shook off the surprise and got back to the more important issue. Taking Rowan by the hand, she led him out of the garage and back toward their tiny apartment. “I want to apologize again for not telling you about this at first. I should’ve trusted you not to stop me. I doubted you, and it was wrong.”

  He squeezed her hand. “At first I was pissed, and really hurt, but then I saw you on TV…Loren’s right. You were amazing. Better than amazing.”

  Her cheek brushed against his arm as she leaned in to him. “Thank you. Yours is the opinion I care about most. But I’m so sorry.”

  “As I said, I was mad, but it was probably better I wasn’t there. Seeing Jack there?” He stopped walking and shook his head. “Would have been ugly.”