Just Another Job

Long Overdue

"Are you all right?" Jo asked as soon as Harting's footsteps faded away. 

"I'll live," I answered grimly. The charred flesh was slowly healing, forming together over the whitening bone. The pain was making me nauseous and clouding up my mind. Raelyn's dead body slumped to the side didn't help to clear my thoughts at all, nor did Jasper's absence. With my brother in the clutches of that maniac, I was frantic and panicked. 

"I'm so sorry," Jo cried, tears slowly dripping down her face. 

"There's nothing that you could have done," I told her. It was true. Harting's plans never seemed to fail. I looked up at her and met her worried eyes. 

"Cobalt, this is just the beginning of a cycle," she whispered. "Every day, he'll be back, and every day, he'll torture you." 

I closed my eyes, determined not to think about her words. It was true though. An idea occured to me. I may not be able to escape this place physically, but I could escape another way. 

"Jo, we have to figure out a way to kill me," I said, sitting up straighter. 

Her mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding me?" she hissed. 

"It's the only way. Harting is going to kill Jasper. We both know it. He's already killed Ian." I swallowed around the sudden lump in my throat. "Cassie will be next. I don't want to sit around and be Harting's method of getting you to do what he wants. If I'm out of the picture, then he has no leverage over you. You can fight back without me here, Jo." 

"Don't say things like that," she pleaded. "Don't even think them." 

"Jo, please. Be reasonable." I didn't want to die, but a life as a prisoner of a madman was worse than death, especially when I would be used on a daily basis to hurt Jo. 

"No you be reasonable!" she shouted. "If you think that watching you suffer is bad enough, it will be ten times worse watching you kill yourself for me. Why can't you stop being the martyr and just accept this as a situation that we will pull through together?" 

"But there is no pulling through, Jo. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. This is it. Once we're done being useful to Harting, he will kill us." 

"Fine. Why don't we both die then?" she snapped. 

"Stop it," I scowled at her. 

"Why not, Cobalt? If death is the perfect solution, why can't I escape too?" 

Her tone was making me angry, as were her words. "You can't kill yourself. Don't be ridiculous." 

"Oh?" Her voice was taunting me now. "Yes, I can, and I will, as soon as the first opportunity presents itself. It's the only way out." 

"Stop!" I interrupted, my voice echoing around the room. "You can't kill yourself, you stupid bitch, because I love you, and I won't let you!" 

Her eyes widened in fury. "What did you call me, you son of a-" Realization dawned on her. "You love me?" 

"Yes, Joanna Preston, I love you if you could stop being irrational long enough for me to tell you!" My anger was quickly cooling. The words had jumped out of my mouth unexpectedly, but I didn't regret them. They felt right. I knew then that I had loved Jo since our first night together. 

"Why didn't you tell me before?" she whispered.

"It seemed like the appropriate thing to say before a suicide pact," I muttered. "I was waiting for the right moment, I guess." 

"Dick." She was silent for a long moment. "I love you too." 

I raised my head at her words. "You don't need to feel obligated-"