Maggie-

Nick and I dart out the back door, through the side yard and lay flat against the outside stucco wall. We wait quietly until we hear the garage door shut completely, then jump in his Lexus and speed off.

We are gasping for breath on the ride back, both of us nervously shaking from the adrenaline coursing through our veins. I look to Nick in shock and he returns my stare with his mouth hanging half-open.  With absolutely no reason or rhyme, we both start laughing hysterically.

"That was exhilarating!" Nick shouts and leans his head back into the headrest. "Did you get what you needed?"

"I didn't get the letter that was inside, but this envelope has a return address so it should be good enough." My lips turn up in a smile and I realize I'm satisfied with the outcome of tonight.

"Do you want to talk about why we just committed a felony together?" He asks with one brow raised and I notice a smile creeping on the corner of his mouth.

"It's a long story." I brush off his question and surprisingly he seems to respect my privacy and doesn't pry. 

We pull up to the curb in front of the office instead of parking in the garage which I'm thankful for because I'm completely worn out. I pat my back pocket and ensure the envelope is secure then cringe when I realized I left my sweater.

Shit.

"Make sure to put ice on that." Nick says as he points to the hand I'm cradling into my stomach. It's already changing colors. When Nick opens the door to the office I lock eyes with a brooding man leaning on the front desk.

Shit.

Jackson glares at Nick and I walking in together then seems to notice my injured hand curled up in the other. He takes a few long strides and is inches from my face, blocking Nick and my path.

"Where the hell were you? I must have called you a dozen times." Jackson shouts, obviously not worried about us being in public.

"You were supposed to get me at five but you left me stranded and ignored my texts so I left with Nick. When I left I switched my phone to silent, I haven't even looked at it." I defend myself and Nick then cross my arms in front of my chest.

"You went to your mum's with him?" He says through grit teeth, running a hand through his chocolate-colored hair.

"Yes, you were gone." I say casually. "Thanks Nick, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Like hell you will!" Jack shouts but I brush him off and start walking to my office to collect my things.

"Jack we work together, I'll see him here. Regardless, you can't tell me who I can and can't hang out with." I say with a shrug of my shoulders and continue walking. He follows close behind me and I decide to take the stairs so it's more work for him.

"You know I had work, I wanted to go with you." Jackson says a little calmer now and I hear a twinge of pain in his words.

"I know you did, but it's best I went with Nick anyway. My mother came home the second we were leaving, if I had waited any longer I would have been caught for sure." I say and reach to open my office door with my hurt hand.

"Shit!" I yelp in pain. Jack opens the door for me and as we enter he grabs my hand gently and examines it.

"Jesus Maggie, what did you do to your hand?  Did he fucking hurt you? I'll march back down there right now and-" Jackson starts but I cut him off.

"I smashed it through a window." I sheepishly reply.

His eyes widen,"You fu- You what?" He gasps.

I start to bite the inside of my cheek as a nervous reaction and pull the envelope out of my pocket with my good hand then hand it to Jack.

"I couldn't find the spare key and I wasn't going to leave without it. I didn't find the letter, just this opened envelope thrown in the trash."  I hope showing him I succeeded in my mission will distract him from my injury.

"Interesting, I thought she said she wasn't going to open it." He smirks at me and I smile back proudly.

"Yep, exactly." I say confidently.

"Don't think you can get out of a lecture so easily.  For Christ sakes, if you had to break the window why not have Nick do it for you?" His brows furrow and he cradles my hand gently in his.

"He didn't know it was coming." My face contorts into a guilty look and Jack's eyes lower at me. "I just had this determination and anger roll through my body in waves. I didn't even have to think about it, I just reacted.  I wasn't leaving with out that letter, plus I didn't want him to say no. He's sort of like you when it comes to me doing reckless things."

"He's not like me." Jack disagrees with a sigh and I briefly remember him calling Nick posh.

"Well he cares about my safety.  He's a good guy you know, if you gave him a chance-" I yelp from the pain as he moves around my fingers and pull my hand back to my chest. "Ouch! Stop!"

"If you don't want me dragging your ass to the hospital you'll let me check if they're broken." He growls.

"I hate hospitals." I frown before I stretch my hand towards him and he smirks.

He examines my fingers, asking me to bend them, stretch them, etc.  I'm able to do all the movements he asks of me, which seems to satisfy him for the time being.

"So Dr. Porter? Is it broken?" My lip turns up in a smile and he smirks in return. 

"It's not broken. You'll be okay with a light wrap and we'll need to ice it when we get home." He answers before placing a kiss to my wrists, sending a chill down my spine.

"How do you know?" I inquire and he sets my hand down before shrugging out his answer.

"I've had my fair share of broken bones.  I wasn't always so easy to reason with." He shrugs and I raise one brow in disbelief. "Nick would have left with a broken nose if this happened a few years ago."

My eyes widen and I nod my head.  I suppose he has come a long way.

"So what's next?" He asks, changing the subject as he sits on my desks and pulls me closer between his legs.

"I'm not sure, I suspect I'll do some googling then maybe I'll pay a visit to the address." I say and stand on my tiptoes to kiss his lips.

"Alright I'll dig out the laptop. Before we go we need to compromise on something." He says and I'm disappointed I wasn't able to distract him.

I fold my arms across my chest and glare at him. "What do we need to compromise on?"

"Mags, must you always be ready to fight me? Sometimes you're such a stubborn-" I cut him off.

"You better say what you want or miss out on your chance." I tease.

"I'd be gutted if anything ever happened to you. If you're pissed that's fine, but I need you to at least let me know you're alive."

I let out a slight smile from the thought of him worrying about me. "Alright."

"I mean it, don't fucking ignore me." He says in a serious tone.

"I said okay!" I respond with my hands up in mock surrender.

"Good. Let's go home and get that hand looked at." He says and attempts to touch my hand but I jerk back and let out another yelp.

"Jesus Maggie, I've never met anyone more prone to injury." He rolls his eyes and opens the office door for me.

WHEN WE ARRIVE back home, Jack orders from our favorite Chinese restaurant and we spend the night lying on his wood floor watching Friends. He purchased every season in an attempt to learn why I love the show so much.  I think he's coming around.

He disinfects and wraps my hand in a bandage then places a bag of ice in my hand before bringing out his laptop. I google the address from the letter but come up empty as far as finding any names linking to it.

I map it on Google, pull up images on Zillow, anything I can think of to get more information. The house looks more like a cabin, a large beautiful two-story cabin with giant windows looking into the living room. Is this where my father lives?

I think I'm still partially in shock because my emotions aren't off the charts. I'm slightly excited, a little nervous, but most of all I'm attempting to keep myself from disappointment if I find this has all been in my head.

Jack begins to rub my shoulders and ease the tension I've been carrying around for days. "Do you think I'm crazy?" I whisper to him and lean back into his touch.

"Yes, a proper nutter, but only the best kind." He replies and kisses my temple.

A comfortable silence passes until Jack breaks it with his worries. "Maggie, my schedule is getting really packed with events and with all of this going on," He waves at the laptop and the envelope sitting on it. "I'm wondering if I should be leaving you alone for long."

Since Jack is nominated for the National Book Awards his schedule has been packed with different meetings, book tours, signings, and press conferences. He showed me his agenda and it looks like I'll be driving to work on my own a lot this week. But to put it all on hold for me? Absolutely not.

My eyes widen and I peek at his face assessing whether he's serious or not. "What are you saying? You better not be telling me you're thinking of canceling everything for me."

His diamond eyes sink to the floor and I grab his face in my hands bringing it level with mine. "You've worked really hard to get where you are, don't you dare think about giving up on the awards to play detective with me."

"Mags you found out your father is still alive, you just recklessly broke into your moms house and stole that envelope, this is some serious life changing shit happening to you. I'm supposed to go out of town for a few days but I think I should stay.  I don't want you dealing with this alone."

"Jack, I'll be fine. I promise nothing reckless unless you're here to protect me." I say through a smile and lean into his shoulder.

He nods but looks unconvinced, so I spend the rest of the evening distracting him.

Usually my dreams consist of being on the playground and watching my father walk away from me, but tonight I dream of Prescott.

I WAKE UP from the sunlight creeping through the curtains shining directly in my eyes. I lazily stretch in bed, attempting to prepare my muscles for the day but I flinch from the pain as I try to spread my fingers.

I bring my hand to my chest and cradle it close as I remember the events from last night. I check the clock, ten am, then lay back down to stare at Jacsons vaulted ceilings.

Wait..

I sit up straight in bed and glance at the clock once more, realizing I was planning on being at work at 10:30 and there's no way I'll make it in time.

"Shit!" I shout waking Jackson from his peaceful slumber. He immediately jumps up, grabbing a baseball bat from behind his bed, then stands ready for an intruder.

"What's going on?" He examines the room, then finding no threat places the bat back in it's hiding spot.

"I'm late!" I breathe as I attempt to slide on last nights jeans on.

"Oh." He says simply and lies back in bed, tucking his arms behind his head to watch me get ready.

"What do you mean oh?" I grumble as I attempt to brush my knotted up hair. I can't believe he's not more concerned.

"Christian won't give two shits if you're late." He shrugs.

"I care! I don't want to screw this up!" I speak with my toothbrush hanging out of my mouth.

After spitting out my toothpaste, adding a pump of mascara, I carefully attempt to throw a shirt on without hurting my injured hand further. I'm halfway out the door before I give Jack a quick kiss on the cheek and head to work, arriving by the skin of my teeth.

I rush in through the front door and take the stairs two at a time to make it into my office, hoping no one notices I'm late. When I swing the door open I find my mother sitting in my office chair.

She sits upright with her legs crossed and her hands folded neatly on the desk in front of her. Then I see it, the sweater I used to break into her kitchen. It's wrapped in a plastic bag but even so, I can see it's still covered in glass. I cringe and hide my hurt hand behind my back but it's too late.

I'm the worst criminal ever.

"Well Margaret? What do you have to say for yourself?"  She asks in an even tone.

"That's not mine." I try to play off.

"Yes it is, I got you this sweater for Christmas last year. It's from Nordstrom and it cost me a pretty penny." My mother counters and my shoulders slump.

Shit.

"Alright, you win." I sigh and move my hand from behind my back.

"Goodness me, why on earth would you break into my kitchen like a- a- criminal? You know you gave me quite the scare, until I found your sweater." She tuts and crosses her arms in front of her, disappointed.

"I know my fathers alive and before you go denying it, yes I do think you're capable of lying about something so hurtful." I blurt and her eyes fall to my desk.

I let the silence hang in the air for a few moments and wait for her response but she takes too long for my comfort.

"I'm going to drive out there myself and find him." I say angrily through my teeth.

"No, don't do that." She sighs. "Alright, you win. You always were a stubborn child. I'll tell you everything."

I'm stunned in silence as she finally succumbs to defeat. It takes me a few seconds, more specifically until I'm prompted by one of her brows raising, before I move. I sit in the seat directly in front of my desk to collect her statement.

"Your suspicions were correct, your father is alive." She states matter of fact.