Hunted

HUNTED Chapter 12

His years of experience as an agent had weathered him, yet his strength from youth remained and he was very much full of life.

Somewhere over Arizona

The adrenaline drained from her body. She sat on the private jet and stared out at the scenery. Guilt rippled through her. This was not her. She didn't succumb to her rage and deliberately hurt another person--no matter how evil they were.

"Kill or be killed." Gibbs' words echoed in her mind.

Perhaps he was right.

"Nell?"

She turned and faced her boss. Hetty leaned over and placed her hand over her forearm.

"How are you doing?"

Nell nibbled on her lower lip, her hazel eyes wide and unsure.

"I could never be an monster," she blurted out.

"No, you couldn't. I would never wish you to be either. You have goodness inside of you, that's too precious to ever be one."

"I let my anger get the better of me. I wanted to take his hand off." She sucked in a heavy breath and blinked away the tears that threatened to spill.

"It's gets to the best of us, my dear. Don't let it make you think that you would have. I doubt very much that you would have gone through with it." She gave her a reassuring smile.

Nell fisted her hands on the armrests.

"But I wanted to. And you knew I was thinking it, because you called Gibbs to get me out of there."

"Wanting and doing are two very different things."

Hetty rubbed her hand gently over Nell's young soft skin. Her own hands had aged and were tough like leather.

"Janvier was trying to taunt you--he made that rage burst through. He's good at that. But you being there, threw him off balance. You showed him that you meant business. Even if he could contact any of his associates, he's lost his will to continue to hurt Mr Callen or yourself again. You've taken that power from him. After you left, he had that look of defeat in his eyes."

She let her words sink in, before she continued.

"We heard him say something."

Nell's knitted her brows, "what did he say?"

"You've won, G. Callen. You have what I never had. People around me who cared enough to protect me."

"We did it?"

"No, Mrs Callen. You did it."

"But I didn't do much at all." She gave her a quizzical expression.

"Yes you did. You faced your demon--your husband's demon."

Her hands shook and she crossed them over her chest to keep them steady.

"We're safe?"

Hetty gave her a warm smile. "Yes, my dear, you're safe."

It was like Hetty had unlocked her emotions. The flood gates opened and the tears fell. All her fears that Janvier would send someone else after her, vanished. She choked on a sob.

"We need to tell G. He'll be happy to know..."

"He can never know what you did."

"But he needs to know."

She shook her head. "No. If he ever found out..."

The realisation hit her hard. "I can't keep this a secret from him. He's my husband."