Page 90 of Speechless
There was a brief pause. “The petition in Denver stated they wanted custody of her rights due to the circumstances surrounding Jenna’s disappearance, her incarceration, and her current behavioral issues.”
“Mentally-ill,” Connor hissed. “They want to have her locked up as mentally-ill so they can just up and take her away? Do they have any idea what happens to people like Jenna in that section of the health system?”
“I’m sure they don’t. I’ve managed to persuade them to delay applying for another petition with the county court for a couple days. A health check would be required by a county medical official before a petition would be granted anyway, but it would be best if Jenna decided to meet her parents before this goes too far, Connor.”
He was seething. Livid. To his mind, it had already gonetoo fucking far. “Can I oppose it? Is there any way for me to stand up in court and knock the fucking petition out of the equation? They’ll kill her with this, Hadley. This will break her.”
“You’re so sure Jenna will refuse to see her family? That would be the easiest way to resolve it.”
How many times did he need to repeat himself before someone actually opened their fucking ears andlistenedto him? He might not be a goddamn shrink, but he knew enough about thought processes to understand Jenna’s reactions to things, and he certainly knew her better than anyone from her past life did at the moment.
He gave serious thought to packing a bag for them both and disappearing into the frozen night, losing them in the snowstorm until somewhere better than this hellhole of idiots came into view.
Hadley would just love slapping kidnapping charges and handcuffs on Connor in spring, he was sure. “She’ll agree to see them when she’s ready, without any input from me. It’s her decision, Hadley, and I will back whatever she chooses. She’s an adult, she’s not mentally incapacitated in any respect that demands hospital interference. She just needs time.”
“Okay, okay,” Hadley soothed. “If it comes to the worst and the petition is filed, I’ll let you know. A professional statement from you would probably go a long way, so be prepared to get one written quickly. I doubt a judge will hang around debating the case for long.”
“Pick it up in the morning,” Connor answered tersely. “I’ll get it written and in your hands, Hadley. Whatever a court needs to reach a decision that falls on Jenna’s side of the scales, I’ll get it.”
“That’s good. That’ll help. Look, I’ve got to go. I’m working on a lead possibly related to all this, but I wanted you to have a heads-up in case things went south. I’ll swing by before lunch to pick up your statement and update you again if I can.”
“I appreciate it,” Connor murmured as his blood simmered in his veins. He wasn’t lying—he really did appreciate Hadley’s never-ending help, but his temper was fueled and ready to rampage.
“Don’t worry too much,” Hadley added smoothly. “The family is worried, and they believe they’re acting in their daughter’s best interests. I don’t think this is malicious in intent, Connor.”
“Yeah, well, Jenna might not see it that way. But,” he continued, trying to tamp his anger down, “that’s a conversation for tomorrow. I guess we’ll see you then, Hadley.”
“Connor…yeah, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” The line went dead.
Motherfucking asshole bastardwankers. The litany of curses rolled in his head like a thunderstorm as Connor calmly, quietly set the phone down.
How fuckingdarethey? These people he didn’t know, who didn’t know him. People who were so focused on getting their daughter back, they couldn’t see how lost she was. They obviously weren’t listening to anything either he or the FBI said to them, and they were setting themselves up for huge disappointment.
He couldn’t begin to imagine the meltdown Jenna would have if hospital staff turned up on the doorstep with a court order in hand. She’d be bound and sedated before she could defend herself if she made the slightest move to run or fight.
Jenna wasn’t capable of doing anything but one of those.
Connor angled the covers over her face like a hood, shielding her from the worst of the lamp’s glare when he flicked it on. He rummaged through his bedside drawer for a writing pad and pen, something he kept in there in case he had a medical epiphany about a patient or was trying to work out a complex condition and needed to make notes.
He’d write the statement by hand, then type it up and print it onto paper with his official header. He would sign his name to it, was willing to sign his goddamn life away on it, to spare her from being yanked away from everything familiar and vital to her recovery.
On a whim, he grabbed the phone again and zipped off a quick text to Sarah. It wasn’t so late she’d be sleeping, but after the afternoon’s line of discussion, he wouldn’t put it past her and Zeke to be christening another freaking wall.
The phone chirruped in his hand a second later, signaling an incoming call. Well, well. Either the wall had been sufficiently baptized, or Sarah hadn’t yet jumped her husband. Connor grimaced and squeezed the bridge of his nose—this was why he avoided partaking in any conversations revolving around sex. He ended up thinking things hereallyhad no urge to see in his mind’s eye. “Sarah.”
“What the fuck is the shit you just sent me, boss?” She arrowed into the topic without a greeting, his fury’s twin eating through her words. “Are they on the same planet as the rest of us, these people?”
This was what he’d needed. Someone else to share in his outrage. Sarah was as invested with Jenna’s wellbeing as he was, and having her fire added to his own actually brought his temper down a notch. The pen stopped shaking in his hand as his blood cooled. “Judging by tonight’s revelations, no. I’m astounded, I really am.” Yet didn’t some part of him sympathize with Jenna’s family?
No. No, he did not. This wasn’t a teenaged girl head over heels in love with an older man, refusing to go home or being talked into staying. Jenna had physical and emotional trauma to recover from, and this was her choice—anadultmaking her own choices aboutherlife.
To slap a label on her, especially one like mental illness, was callous and cruel. Those bastard labels didn’t come off easily—they stuck to a person like superglue, tagging along with them wherever they went, whatever they did. An unfair and unmovable gremlin perched on slim shoulders.
“Okay, so first thing tomorrow, you get in touch with a lawyer on Jenna’s behalf. A good one, Connor. One who knows his shit and knows mental health laws inside fucking out. They want to play hardball, we’ll give them hardball.” Voice like steel, Sarah sounded as though she snarled beneath her breath. “I’ll have my written statement done by morning, and Zeke can do one too—he’s had up close experience with Jenna. Zeke? Zeke!”
Connor winced and held the phone away from his ear as his nurse bellowed her poor husband’s name. He hoped the twins were sound sleepers, otherwise there would be war in the house. Waiting patiently, almost amused by the situation now, he eavesdropped as Sarah ordered her spouse to document the one time he’d met Jenna in fine detail, down to the last second.
She was taking no prisoners on this mission.