His To Save

48) Annie's mine

              ****3rd POV***
A crouched old female cleaner walks past the two anxious men waiting outside a white door, one similar to nine others on this floor. The trolley she pushes is full of disinfectant bottles and other cleaning products, gloves, and a white bucket squeezed to fit in it.
The clean air is corrupted by the strong smell of disinfectant, pushing aside the soothing peppermint scent that had been hanging around.

   Paul grimaces and turns to face the other side but Paul remains indifferent while leaning against the cream-white wall, his eyes shut and his hands crossed on his chest. A thousand worries are troubling him to be bothered by a smell.
       How had he been so careless again?
He should have made sure a medic was available in the house all the time. This chip was new technology, none of the doctors or acquaintances he had contacted had any idea how it worked.

Paul throws Jack a glower. He blames him for everything Annie has and is going through. Life before the two reunited had been easier to deal with. He had always protected her. But Jack, how could he let Annie be hurt right under his nose?
    He wants to punch some sense and responsibility in Jack's guts so bad, but they'll disrupt the medical facility. It doesn't matter whether Annie owns this whole place or not, order must be maintained.

     Jack's eyes split open and instantly collides with Paul's glare. None looks the other way, they just hold each other's eyes without a single blink.
"I want to play her boyfriend. She'll be more reassured than-"

   "Never!" He moves his hands and pockets them in his usual style. "Even if she weren't mine, I wouldn't let you take on that role."

   "Yours?"
Paul scoffs sarcastically.
"Since when did Annie belong to anyone? She's not a thing to be owned."

   Jack's gaze grows intense. He doesn't like the challenging tone in Paul's voice. So what if she isn't a thing? She has always been his to spoil and love. And now in the center of all the chaos in the underworld, she is his to save. Only his.
    "She'll always be mine."

"That remains to be seen."

"Don't worry, I'll hand over your girlfriend after she delivers." Jack lays an open taunt, meant to infuriate Paul the same way he angers him.

   Paul's brows knit firmly and his expression turns sour. "Pattie's not my girl-"
 
"Oh we both know you cannot escape the marriage. I know a lot of things Paul."

Reacting to Jack's words, Paul's muscles grow tense. Could he possibly- be talking about the... No, how could he know?
  The younger man averts his gaze to the door on the other side. Anywhere else to avoid Jack's piercing eyes that hold some depth than usual.
There's always a way out, Paul's mantra whenever the contract slips into his head. He will, find a way out. A loophole.

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        The cleaner makes her way into the basement of the hospital. A section is set aside for the regular workers which is divided into smaller rooms and stalls on each side.
She slowly pushes her work materials inside one of the rooms there as the door shuts behind her. When it opens again, a seemingly younger woman in her mid-twenties walks out straightening the neat uniform she wears and adjusting the tag that reads, 'Amelia Frey, receptionist'.

   She hurries out of the basement before the security patrolling catches her on this side. She is supposed to be in the bathroom after taking a break from the front desk.
     But a mission popped in unexpectedly, asking her to check on Annie. Her card couldn't access the upper floors, especially where Annie was. This had resulted in bribing the older woman she had indirectly employed. There was always a wig and makeup available for her use.

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    The air in Annie's room feels warm enough. Jack sighs internally after checking on the conditions in this grand hospital room meant for VIPs. She deserves the best, Jack knows it, and will make sure she does. He'll make sure nothing happens to her again.
It breaks his heart to look at her with the tubes running through her nose, her closed eyes, the ECG and EEG machines busy monitoring her heart and brain activity.

      All the doctor said was that the chip might have reacted to a certain intense wave and caused Annie to collapse. But no major damage had been done, everything was under control.

  "This is all your fault."

Jack doesn't react to Paul's bitter accusation. He knows he speaks the truth, even though he says it with disgust. But the blame is all on Jack.
  But what can he do? The past cannot be reversed. If he had such an ability, he would have kicked sense in his past self and refrained from falling in love with her. Maybe she would be happily living her life on a tropical island with her friends and boyfriend.

     "I know," Jack answers calmly, his hand rubbing Annie's gently.

  Paul jerks forward from the window and stops beside the bed, his furious glare cast on Jack. "How do you resolve this? The more you love her, the more she will get hurt."

    "And what's your brilliant idea, Einstein?" Jack's eyes lift to meet Paul's.
  "Should I toss her out and into their predatory mouths, huh?"

Paul hesitates. He has no solution, but he expects Jack to have everything figured out. That is his job. "You knew damn well how powerful your enemies are but you still had to invite her back into your life."

   "Do you think she didn't want to be with me? Do you think I forced her to move in with me?"

A short weird silence descends in the room as Paul hits his brakes. He is well aware of Annie's love for Jack. But damn, the memories of their lovemaking never died.

    "Whatever happened between you two, I don't care. But she's back in my life. Only I can protect her."

Paul huffs amused, his eyes bouncing to an unconscious Annie. "Such big words. Then why is she lying here? Why does she have amnesia which cannot be cured by regular methods,?" He screams angrily.

     "You are in no position to question me. She's my problem. I think you have enough issues to fix yourself." With this, Jack's diverts his attention back on Annie. His hands wrap around her right, offering his warmth. "She'll be fine." His tone sounds like a lover's whisper, one meant to appease himself and Annie, not Paul.

    "Fuck!" Paul groans whirling around as his right hand runs through his short hair. The frustration and rage burning within him are enough to burn the souls in hell. He wants to punch Jack's face to at least get rid of some of it. "I'm moving into the mansion as well. I don't trust that slut around Annie."

    "Suit yourself."

Of course, he had already planned to have him stay there. A measure that could possibly impact the four of them greatly, but he would rather deal with emotional conflicts rather than external death threats.

****Updated up to chapter 60. So have fun***