It had been months now. Months of endless tracing and tracking. Jason was going insane but he needed to find her. His fingers curled and crunched the plastic water bottle in his hand, the vodka inside spilling lightly over the rim. How dare she leave him? Jason still couldn’t wrap his mind around it. All he had ever done was loved her and provide for her. And yet – that ungrateful bitch had run. Didn’t she see how much he loved her? For a while, Jason had lost track of her. He almost had her in New York but somehow, she had caught wind of him. Smart girl.
 It had been nothing after that. It seemed Danielle had learned how to cover her tracks but that didn’t stop Jason. He spent months trying to search her bank accounts for any movement, tracing her car, looking at traffic camera. He even went as far as putting out a ABP for her. He didn’t care if his chief found out – that’s how much Jason loved her. Why didn’t his stupid wife see that? Finally, his hard work paid off. His darling wife hadn’t been so careful.
When he finally got that trace of her, Jason didn’t waste any time.
 Soon, he was standing outside of where his beloved was staying and he kept watch for days. Beyond their vantage point but he watched. Anger and heartbreak festering and growing each day. However, it was this particular early morning that truly set him off. Dani was standing outside with the farmer - Luke King. Jason looked into him but he hadn’t been able to figure out what Danielle was doing on this farm with him. He sat back in shadows, watching, calculating but all of his logic went down the drain when he saw that man wrap his arms around his wife and fucking kiss her.
 But the worst part? Danielle kissed him back. That bitch! After everything he’s done for her? How dare she!
 Jason went into a blind rage then, punching the tree next to him until his knuckles bled.
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Dani couldn’t help but giggle happily as Luke wrapped her in his arms, kissing her as if they were parting for days when in reality, he was just going to clean out the stables. Her hand cupped his jaw, her touch tender and full of love. When they pulled away, the younger one couldn’t help but smile brightly at him. “Have fun out there,” she chuckled, leaning up to give him another quick peck on the lips. “I will work on that paperwork and get lunch ready for us.” It had become routine between them. Dani would help around the house, with some of the paperwork from the farm, and happily provide warm, home cooked meals for Luke while he busied himself around the farm. It was normal and it was home for Danielle now. There was nothing like it, especially since she had come clean about her abusive marriage. It liberated her to know that Luke was aware of her past and still chose to love her.
The day had gone relatively well for her. She had sent out the invoices that were pending, cleaned around the house and did some laundry. Lunch was already, considering it was a little past noon, when the doorbell suddenly rang. It struck her as odd considering that no one ever really wandered by this area – no one but herself, apparently. And the folk that were around here, usually knew Luke well enough that they didn’t ring the doorbell. Still, Dani put down what she was doing and approached the front door, opening it with a smile. However, the smile quickly faded as soon as her eyes landed at who was at the door.
Dani stood frozen – staring into the blazing eyes of her enraged husband. Jason’s normally icy blues were ignited a deep cobalt as her glared at her. There was a craziness around him that Danielle had never seen before, even in his wildest moments, and it scared her so deeply.
Fear penetrated her, making her unable to move, stagger or even breathe. While the room spun around her, she finally took inventory and realized her husband had his gun in his hand by his side.
Taking a deep breath, Dani stepped forward. “Jason…what are you doing here?” Her voice trembled, watching as he took a couple of steps back. Now, closer to him, Dani could smell the nauseating stench of vodka radiating from him. Â
“You let me…after everything you left.”
“Jason - you hurt me. You kept hurting me.” Her voice wavered with emotion and Jason’s face contorted with deep anguish like it always did before he hurt her. “Of course, I left.” Dani tried to stay calm, knowing the slightest twinge could set off her insane husband. Â
“I know, I know.” He lamented, wringing his hands through his messy and sweaty hair, clutching at it as if he was trying to fight off the demons that tormented. Dani prayed that Luke wouldn’t hear the commotion; she didn’t want him to get hurt too. “Let’s just go home – I’ll change.” He begged but Dani just crossed her arms, appearing strong when that was the last thing she felt. Â
“I am home.” She proclaimed, sure and steady because for the first time in forever, she knew what home felt like. The answer seemed to tip the scale on whatever internal war was raging in her husband. Â
“With that cowboy loser?” Jason spat in her direction, waving his gun aground. “I saw you with him! You think you can just cheat on me and get away with it?”
It was then the gun was lifted and pointed to her. The world stood frozen as reality set in that this could very well be the way she died. Deep down, she always knew that she would die at the hands of her husband, one way or another. Â
It was Luke’s voice that broke through her shock but the events that unfolded next seemed to happen in a blur. Â
Horror struck her as she watched Jason fire his gun into Luke, watching the man she loved fall to the ground, surrounded by a pile of his own blood. Â
“No!” Dani choked out, lunging herself towards Luke, but Jason caught her in his arms. “Luke! No! No! No!”  She started thrashing against her husband’s grip, wanting nothing more than to get to Luke and help him!
“Shut up!” Jason screamed at her. “This is your fault! He’s dead because of you!”
But Dani didn’t stop thrashing and sobbing. She didn’t see it coming when Jason hit her with the butt of his gun.
The last thing she saw was Luke’s limp body as Jason carried her away towards his truck. Â
Luke laid there on his stomach, blood seeping from the wounds. He was out cold, vulnerable to infection, Jason coming back, and the very real threat of death. He was out for a long time until the sound of tires pulling up brought him out of the darkness. He groaned as he tried to move, wondering who’s blood he was laying in. He didn’t have a memory of what happened, something he would later learn was his brain trying to protect him from the trauma of him getting shot multiple times. “Dani...” He called out lowly, not having the energy to get much else out.Â
Adrenaline hit as footsteps got closer to him and he was able to push himself into a semi-sitting position but he still was weak and out of it. When it was Viggo, he racked his mind on why the other was there and how long Luke had been out. He refused Viggo’s help, only allowing him to wrap up the bleeding wounds, mind slowly letting himself remember what had happened and he needed to find Dani. He let the other help him up and he limped towards his truck, determined to find Dani.Â