Even through all the aches and pains, all she could now focus on was the growling pit in her stomach. The last time she had eaten had been those few small pastries, and she couldn’t even remember when that was. With all the energy she’d expelled during the fight, she really needed to eat something. She left the bathroom and padded softly into the kitchen. She went to the cupboards and quietly opened them to see if she could find a packet of chips or a chocolate bar. Anything quick to eat.
“You’re awake. You okay?” Jacques said.
She jumped painfully as she turned to see him just sitting up on the couch. His hair was mussed and his clothes wrinkled from sleep. His eyes cast over her with a slight blurriness to them, as if he wasn’t quite conscious yet. She flinched, as she suddenly realized what she was doing. She was going through his shit. There was a spike of nerves and adrenaline as she worried about having to fight for going through his cupboards. In The Fringe, touching someone else’s stuff could get you shot. She was just so damn hungry that she didn’t think. It was a lot harder to get used to the way things worked this side of the wall than she’d thought it would be.
“I’m starving,” she said quickly, defending her invasion of his cupboards. Jacques was instantly on his feet and by her side, all sleepiness gone from his expression. He seemed to already be sizing her up and making sure she was okay to be up and about.
“I’ve only got a few protein bars here. Let me order something. What do you want, pizza, Chinese, Thai?” Jacques said, already summoning up AR menus.
“Pizza, definitely,” she said. Since coming over to this side of the wall, she hadn’t exactly reached out and tried a lot of cuisine. In The Fringe, the food had been bland and basic, so it was taking her time to get used to all the intense flavor found in most Seattle foods. Pizza had been one of the things she’d quickly fallen in love with. “Did you bring any of my stuff with you?”
“Yeah, it’s all in the duffle in the bedroom,” Jacques said.
Knowing that food was on the way injected a little extra energy into her. She made her way back to the bedroom and dug stiffly through the duffle until she found some loose clothes. She was careful pulling the clothes over her skin, as the series of stitches and bruises were agitated by the coarse material.
As she headed back into the living room, she was overtaken by the scent of hot coffee. That was something she truly loved about living in Seattle. No more watery coffee. Jacques walked up to her and handed her a cup, the warmth seeping into her fingers.
“Thanks,” she said simply. “What time is it?”
“Just after two in the afternoon,” Jacques said.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake up you up,” Ava said honestly.
“You’re fine. I’m just glad to see you on your feet,” Jacques said, and he sat down on the couch with his own drink.
“I think it’s mainly the painkillers keeping me up,” she joked. She sipped from the cup and let out a small groan as the taste hit her tongue. She doubted she would ever get used to how good a simple coffee tasted.
“How are you feeling?” Jacques asked.
“I’ve felt better, a lot better. But I’ll live,” Ava said, and she lowered herself down onto the couch.
“I’m glad. I was worried,” Jacques admitted. Her heart swelled at his admission. Just the fact that someone actually cared about her was warming the ice that had formed in her all those years ago.
She looked up to him and gave him a small smile which he reciprocated. They looked at each other for a few seconds. She wanted to say something, but she also wanted to kiss him again. She knew that was a stupid idea, but that didn’t stop her wanting to. There was no way that furthering any relations between them was a good idea.
A sudden knock on the door made them both jump. Jacques got to his feet and grabbed his gun as he edged for the door. He pressed his hand on the AR wall, bringing up a camera feed from the front door. They both audibly released a breath when they saw a drone painted in the pizza store colors, carrying a pizza. Jacques opened the door and retrieved the food.
The gooey, greasy cheese on the doughy base was like heaven. Screw all of those beautifully constructed masterpieces she’d seen on late night cooking shows; this was the best food that she could imagine. Between them, it didn’t take long to polish off the large pepperoni. They settled back on the couch. With a full belly, the exhaustion was once again settling over her.
“I think I need to get some more sleep,” Ava said with a yawn. She felt a little awkward as she wasn’t sure whether to head back into his room or nap on the couch and let him reclaim his space.
“You need help getting back to bed?” Jacques asked, not waiting for her answer as he got straight to his feet and offered his hand to her.
“I can walk…just about,” she said as she took his hand and got up. “If you want the bed back, I can just take your couch; it’s better than anywhere I’ve ever slept before.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Jacques said with a chuckle. “I want you to be comfortable.”
“Well, how about you join me,” she said as she turned to take a step towards the bedroom without letting go of his hand.
She knew that she might be making a mistake, but she just couldn’t help herself. For the first time in her life, she actually felt like she was living by her rules. No one could choose her path from now but her. At this time, she felt beat up and shit, and all she wanted was the comfort of another person. She didn’t want sex; she just wanted someone close who she could rely on when things got tough. Jacques was quickly becoming that person. Not only that, but knowing that spending time with Jacques pissed off Glass made her want to do it even more.
Jacques didn’t say anything, but he followed her into the other room. She stripped back down to her underwear before slipping in between sheets. The bed dipped as he climbed in with her. They lay there in the darkness in silence for a few minutes. In the quiet, she could hear the rhythmic sound of him breathing, and a sense of calm swept over her. She hadn’t felt relaxed in a long time.
She rolled over, wrapped her arm over Jacques’ chest, and laid her head in the crook of his arm. Before she had a chance to worry about how he’d react, Jacques wrapped his arm very delicately around her. Just having him so close made her feel like everything was right with the world—a strange but entirely welcome experience for her. She closed her eyes with a small smile and let herself fall asleep.
Chapter Fourteen
When Jacques woke up, the bedroom was in pitch darkness. With no sun breaking through the gap in the curtains, he knew that night had fallen. His augmented eyes allowed him to see in low light situations, so he could see the room reasonably well with just the hint of neon coming through the curtains. He looked down to see Ava laid out on his chest. Her gentle, calm breaths played over his skin. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a girl in his bed and hadn’t had sex. If anything, it made his time with her so much more special. He could have happily lay here all week.
He looked up to the AR wall and summoned up his messages. There was one from Hamish. It was a simple inquiry about how Ava was settling in, and asking him to come down to the bar when he had time because he wanted to speak to him about something.
With Ava sleeping peacefully, Jacques decided now was the best time to head out and talk to Hamish. Since he’d been this close to her, his thoughts were very much x-rated. Her skin against his was so soft and was fueling a fire within him that hadn’t been quenched in a while. He didn’t think the beaten and bruised ex-prostitute would appreciate him coming onto her right now.
With that thought in mind, he moved slowly and carefully to extricate himself from her warmth, slipped from beneath the sheets, and grabbed his clothes. He wrote a quick AR message on the wall and put some more pills on the dresser for Ava before getting dressed and heading out. He made sure his apartment was locked, and he had a live AR feed to watch the door, before grabbing a cab and heading down to the Oaken
Casket. He was starting to feel like he had moved back in. It had been a while since he was here every day.
It was rather busy in the bar today. A hum of conversation settled over the room like a blanket. Jacques ignored the queue at the bar and headed straight out the back. No one stopped him; it was the beauty of spending so much time around here in his youth. He headed to Hamish’s office, knocked, and as soon as he heard a reply, he headed inside.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. I thought you would be spending the day with Ava,” Hamish said with a cocky grin on his face.
“She’s sleeping, so I thought I’d see what you wanted,” Jacques said as he slipped into the seat opposite him. He decided not to tell Hamish about the thoughts that he’d been having. He wanted her so badly, but with everything going on with Glass, he didn’t want to risk fucking her life up any more than he’d already done. She was hardly in any condition to engage in anything even if she had wanted to.
“I’ve done something I never thought I would have to do, but I’m having issues,” Hamish said as he pinched the top of his nose. The strain on his face actually concerned Jacques.
“What’s going on, Hamish?” Jacques asked.
“I put out a capture bounty on Glass. Thought that if I could get her back here, maybe I could knock some sense into her, y’know get my daughter back,” Hamish explained. The pain in his voice was so obvious. “The problem is none of the mercs I trust with this will touch the job, not with her being my daughter. It also seems she’s abandoned the house she was living in, so I can’t go and see to her myself. Now I have no idea where to turn.”
“You want me to go and find her?” Jacques asked.
“Not exactly. I know you have contacts outside this bar, and I want you to use them to find out where she is,” Hamish said. “I’m willing to pay.”
Jacques hated that Hamish didn’t know who he worked for now. The Seraphim Network could help him out for a price, but Jacques was loath to give the man the organization’s name. He liked keeping the two areas of his life separate. He could always put the job to the Network himself, or even better, he could ask the friends that he’d made since working there.
“I think I have a couple people that I can ask. I’ll get on that today,” Jacques said as he got to his feet. There wasn’t any time to spare. The sooner he dealt with this Glass issue, the sooner Ava would be safe. “Message me how much you are offering.”
Jacques was out of the office and the bar so quickly he was sure he left a vapor trail. All he was focused on was what resources he had that he could use. The first person he was going to talk to was Venom; they would need a good hacker to find out where Glass was hiding out. Next would be Lucy. If he could get her and her boyfriend on their side, that would be a good start. It was strange to him. For years, he’d found himself wanting Glass back, but now all he wanted was to never see her again. It was crazy how one person could change your view on life.
He’d dropped a call to Venom, asking if she was free, and she agreed to meet him for a quick breakfast near the office; as usual she’d been called in early to work and couldn’t spare a whole lot of time. He hadn’t really seen much of her since he’d moved out. It had been too hard. In retrospect, he was quickly realizing that his crush on her was just one of loneliness and opportunity. She was a lovely girl, a good friend, and a great one night stand, but they would never have worked. She was a workaholic and rarely ever home, and long term, that wouldn’t have worked for him. He grabbed a cab and shot across town. In the last two days, he’d used more of his cash on transport than he would usually use in two months. Luckily, his rent was cheap, and his Network salary pretty good.
He reached the cafe in record time. Venom was sitting in the window, cradling a mug of what was probably coffee and flicking through something on her AR. There was no doubt it was her; he’d recognize that lime green hair and pale, heart-shaped face anywhere. He stepped into the cafe and took the seat opposite. She instantly closed her AR and gave him a friendly smile.
“Hey, stranger, where the hell have you been?” Venom asked. Now that she said that, he couldn’t actually recall the last time he had seen her. Had he actually seen her since he’d moved out? Possibly not.
“Here and there. Working, mainly,” Jacques said, a heavy layer of guilt settling on him when he realized he’d only come to see his friend because he wanted something.
“So what can I help you with?” Venom asked, getting straight to the point.
“I need help finding someone,” Jacques said. There was no point beating around the bush. Venom was happy to get straight to the point, and he felt pressured to get this done as soon as possible. He wanted Ava safe. “I can pay you for your time.”
“Don’t worry about cash; you’re my friend. We work in favors,” she joked. A small smirk played at the corner of her mouth. “When I move, you have to come and shift furniture.”
“Alright, I can get behind that deal,” he said, returning the smile. The guilt was settling heavier as he promised himself he would make more of an effort with his friend in the future. He’d gotten so wrapped up in his own head he’d forgotten everyone else existed.
“So who am I looking for?” Venom asked as she opened an AR screen.
“Her name is Crystal Reid, known to most people as Glass. She’s Scottish but has lived in Seattle most of her life. Her chip ID is WA:536-11-0482,” Jacques explained. He spent a moment recalling anything that might help Venom track her. It was crazy that after so many years he remembered that small detail.
“It shouldn’t take me long. Dare I ask why you are looking for her?” Venom asked.
“Uh…she’s my ex, and she’s been threatening my…my friend,” he said. For some reason, he’d almost called Ava his girlfriend. They were far from that level of intimacy, although his heart did almost skip a beat at the thought. He was turning into such a lovesick sap.
“I’m guessing calling security is out of the question?” Venom said, draining her coffee cup.
“Yeah, this is a private matter. I need to deal with it myself,” Jacques explained.
“Alright, I’ll help, but I’d rather not have to hide a body with you,” Venom said with a chuckle.
“It won’t go that far. I just need to get her to leave Ava alone, and get her back to her father so he can straighten her out,” Jacques said.
“Alright. Well, I have to go back to work. Be safe and remember the Network is always here for its employees,” Venom said as she got to her feet.
“I know. Just would rather keep these parts of my life separate,” Jacques said as he got to his feet and embraced her. It felt like years since he had. “So when you moving in with Micah?”
“Not sure yet,” she said with a shrug. “We only just started talking about it.”
With a quick goodbye, she left the cafe. He couldn’t believe that she and Micah were already considering moving in. Last time he’d seen her, they had just been starting out. They had barely stayed at each other’s places let alone considered getting one of their own. He shook his head. This wasn’t the time to consider how much he was failing as a friend. He needed to focus on the job ahead and then fix things with Venom.
Now that he had met with Venom, his next job was to talk with Lucinda. He messaged her, telling her that he needed to talk to her before grabbing a cab and heading for Zane’s place. It wasn’t often that he asked for help, but it was time that he started relying on other people. Usually, he’d barrel in and try and do this on his own, but since working with the Network, he had learned that being part of a team was infinitely more helpful.
*****
After their falling out, Lucinda had gone back to the house. Zane hadn’t brought up what happened, so neither had she. There was a part of her that really wanted to talk to him and explain how she was feeling, but at the same time, she didn’t want to make things worse. When Jacques called actually wanting help, she welcomed the distraction.
There ha
d been little talk between them as they waited for Jacques to arrive. Zane was in the kitchen preparing dinner for the evening while she had settled on the couch with her sketchpad. Right now, the page in front of her was empty as she just couldn’t summon her creative muse. All she could focus on was what to do about Zane. Caspian and Dare had come back a little after her and hadn’t said anything to Zane. She hated that she had asked them to keep a secret, but she really didn’t want to make things worse between them.
When there was a knock on the door, Lucinda pretty much jumped to her feet and rushed to answer it. Anything to break the awkward silence that had fallen upon the house. When she saw Jacques on the doorstep, there was a look on his face that she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen. It was sorrowful but mixed with determination. Jacques was such a confident and cocky person, and she wasn’t used to seeing anything but that from him.
“You alright, Jacques?” Lucinda asked as she indicated into the house.
“I want to say yes, but that would be a lie,” Jacques said, dragging his hand through his hair.
“Well, how can we help?” Lucinda asked, bringing him into the kitchen where Zane was cooking.
“I should probably start at the beginning just so you understand the whole story,” Jacques said.
Lucinda and Zane sat and listened as Jacques explained about his ex and everything that had happened between her and Ava. Lucinda was surprised. They’d been friends for a while, but he had never really disclosed anything about his past. It was like she was finally getting to know the guy properly. Lucinda was also trying to figure out what was going on between him and Ava. He talked about her a lot more animatedly than anything she had seen from in the past and seemed particularly concerned about her welfare.
Recycled Lives Page 11
