I head for the driveway and she follows behind me. She doesn’t make any comment about the red Ferrari I choose to take her home in. My guess is she’s still processing what just happened.
I keep the top down and wait until she’s strapped in before I start the car and pull out. For the first time in my life, I find myself driving slowly.
“You really didn’t need to do this,” she says softly.
“I’m aware.”
I can see her glancing at me every few seconds as we move through the streets of Los Angeles. The quiet is broken when her phone starts ringing. She stares at the screen for a moment and then declines the call.
I look over her shoulder at the caller ID. “Who’s Chris?” I ask.
She stiffens. “Just a friend.”
“The friend in the picture you’ve got hanging up in your bedroom?”
She glares at me. “Of course you snooped through my bedroom.”
“You stole my phone.”
She lets that one go. “Yes, he’s the guy in the picture. Back in college.”
For a moment, I think that’s all she’s going to say, but then she continues.
“He’s my oldest friend. He knows me better than anyone else in the world. Honestly, he knows me better than I know myself sometimes,” she says with a sigh. “He warned me about Dane. Said I couldn’t trust him. Said I could do better.”
I snort. “Anyone with eyes could have told you that.”
She gives me a half-smile. “At the time, I hated him for it. I thought his job as my friend was to support me no matter what. When I told him that, he told me his job as my friend was to protect me.”
“I suppose I understand now why you stashed the phone with him.”
She glances at me in sheer terror out of the corner of her eye, but she’s already given herself away. “How did you know that?”
“I didn’t. Not until a second ago.”
Fear twists her expression. “He doesn’t know a thing about you.”
“I doubt that.”
“Anton—”
“Don’t worry,” I tell her. “I’ll leave the man alone. I can’t fault him for wanting to make sure you’re safe.”
She’s silent for a long time. “You really won’t hurt him?” I nod, but she doesn’t seem mollified. “He’s… he’s my best friend, Anton. And a good man. He keeps his word and he promised me that he would keep his mouth shut about what happened that night.”
“Like how you promised me?”
Her eyes go wide. “Anton—”
“I hope his word is stronger than yours.”
“I was scared,” she says defensively. “I was emotional and terrified and… I needed someone I could trust. Chris is the only one I could trust. You can’t hurt him.”
“I’ve already told you I have no intention of hurting him. You’re going to have to learn to trust me, too, Jessa. Or else you’re not going to sleep much tonight.”
She sighs. “Trust doesn’t exactly come easily for me anymore.”
“No, I imagine not.”