As I approach the house, I slow my pace to scope it out. Red solo cups litter the front lawn, but other than that, it’s quiet. Honestly, it looks much different in the daylight. More…normal. If I hadn’t already been here before, it would probably just blend in with all the other homes on the street.
I decide to waste no more time, considering the clock is ticking on when the hangover gym session will be finished. Considering my interaction with Jared last night, I’d rather avoid coming face-to-face with him again.
I bolt up the steps, careful to glance over my shoulder and confirm I’m alone. I walk in like I own the place, considering it’s much easier to blend in when you act confident. My heart pounds wildly in my chest with each foot I put in front of the other.
The house is dead ass quiet. It’s also a mess, although I’m not at all surprised. It’s the home of a bunch of careless college party boys. The empty bottles of booze and discarded pizza boxes are clearly a staple of their décor.
I go down the hallway where June had greeted me and Johnny and turn to head up the stairs. Not a single person appears and stops me, leading me to think I might actually pull this off.
Quietly, I stroll along the row of bedrooms and go toward the one I came here for. I pause before it, listening carefully for any sign of life. The door is cracked open, those shoes still in the same spot they were. I place my fingers gently on the white wood and push it further.
The comforter hangs off the side of the unkempt bed and clothes are strewn haphazardly around the room. I take the space in for just a moment, confirming no one is occupying it. I cautiously step in, letting the heaviness of the room settle over me. My gut tells me I’m in the right place; I only hope I find what I’m looking for in time.
I try to calm myself down and come up with where I would hide something if I was stupid enough to do what this guy did. Johnny might be in the same business, but he’s never admitted to brutally beating someone up and stealing from them. And given Johnny’s backstory, he at least has a reasonable explanation for why he’s even involved with this kind of work. Anyone who signs up for this shit for the money is out of their mind.
I rush to the bed, dropping to my knees and shoving my arm between the mattress and the bed frame. I slide it around, coming up empty-handed. Letting out a sigh, I catch sight of the tall dresser. Immediately, I pull the top drawer back, cringing when I find this guy's underwear. I hold my breath and dig my fingers through the assortment. Something cold and hard startles me.
Without laying my eyes on it, I know exactly what I’ve stumbled upon.
I grip the deadly thing and pull it out anyway.
A gun. A small one. Compact.
I let the weight of it settle in my hand and do something completely insane—I tuck it into the back of my waistband. I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with it, but I can’t stand the idea of leaving it behind in this room. If this person was willing to beat Johnny up, what else would they do? I won’t allow the possibility of something worse to float around in the universe.
I shut the drawer and continue my search, the gun pressed against my skin, a reminder of the vicious and dark world I keep dipping my toes into.
Johnny warned me. He tried to keep his distance to protect me, but who’s going to be the one to save him? Why should he have to go through all this on his own? Maybe we’re more alike than we think—willing to dive headfirst into the fire to save someone we care about.
I rummage through the rest of the clothes, shutting the bottom drawer and sighing at my lack of finding anything else.
A person clears their throat behind me, and I freeze, praying like hell that I could make myself invisible. I guess I’m going to finally meet the person this room belongs to.
Only, when I slowly turn to see their face, it’s Jared leaning in the doorway.
That same evil grin from last night.
“And what do we have here?” His large body easily blocks the entire exit.
There was one person I needed to avoid when I came here. If I would have run into anyone else I could have easily said I left something behind; but that story won’t work on him. Jared knows too much, and if he’s part of Franklin’s organization, he’s probably aware Johnny is not around to defend me.
Jared steps forward, his hand casually closing the door as he enters the room. “A little privacy, if you know what I mean.”
I had hoped that last night Jared had too much to drink, and that's why he came at me the way he did. Aggressively, possessively, and in such a disgusting manner. But now, he's stone-cold sober and still approaching me with his greedy eyes, like I am his for the taking.
With the shutting of the door, the space of the room seems to shrink, confining me in and sealing my fate along with it.
“Aw, don’t act so scared.” Jared comes toward me, and my mind flashes back to the events that transpired during our first meeting. “I promise, you might even like it. I mean, you kind of owe me after what you did.”
Kicking him in the balls for forcing himself on me? How does that even make sense?
But, despite every fiber in my being screaming at me to run, I allow him to advance, because that’s the only thing Icando. He’s shut off the only viable exit, considering the owner of the room put their dresser in front of the window, blocking it from being accessible.
What a fire hazard.
Jared glides over and trails his finger along my covered arm. “You should really take that off.” He pinches my sweatshirt and licks at his bottom lip.
My stomach flips from his words and the implications behind them.