by N. Alleman
“You have my word…”
“Your word isn’t enough!” I say, tears finally rolling down my cheeks.
I slump back into the chair, not wanting to give up, but not knowing what else to do.
“Okay, I understand.” The owner sighs and walks over to me. “I can give you the last address she lived at with Lucas, but it comes with a very severe warning. Do not get involved.”
My spirits soar. An address!
It might not be where she is now, but it’s something, and at least I’m not leaving here empty-handed.
“I know you probably won’t listen, but I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t at least try to keep you out of it all.”
The owner shoves a small square piece of paper into my hand and quickly ushers me out the door.
My emotions are all over the place, and I’m not really sure what just happened. Honestly, it all feels a bit like a bad dream.
But … I have a connection now. It might not be everything, but at least it’s something.
It’s something…
13
Jake
What the fuck is Daisy doing in there? She’s been in the office for ages!
I’ve been pacing the club, growing more and more pissed. People are giving me odd looks, and the waitress even tried to give me another drink to calm me down, but I’m far too riled up.
It’s like a red mist has descended, and it won't lift until I see Daisy again.
What the fuck is she doing with the sleazy owner of this place? I don’t exactly know how the girls secure their jobs in a joint like this, but my imagination is inventing all sorts of horrific possibilities.
Just as I’m about to blow my top, she glides through the doorway like an angel.
Her expression suggests something happened, and rather than taking a minute to think of a rational explanation, my brain instantly produces a sick image of her pink lips gliding up and down his cock.
I can just picture his smug, satisfied smirk as Daisy gazes up at him with her beautiful blue eyes, trying not to gag as he forces himself further and further down her throat.
“Come on,” she says, reaching out to me with one hand.
I barely grunt a reply as I allow her to guide me from the building.
I hope the fresh morning air will cool my mood, make me think more clearly, but it does nothing for my temper.
“I got an address—” she says, but it’s too late. I’ve lost it.
“What the fuck was all that?” I say much louder than I intend to.
“What?” She’s stunned, and her skin pales as she automatically takes a step away from me.
“I said what the fuck was all that about? You just go in there, strip your clothes off, and then fuck off with some other guy?” I’m practically spitting now.
“What do you mean?” She looks at me in shock. “I told you the plan. I thought you understood…”
“That you’d be wrapping yourself around some seedy asshole’s dick? No, funny thing, I missed that part.”
I’m aware that I’m being stupid and irrational, but it’s gone too far. I can’t stop myself.
“You think I fucked someone?” She begins to laugh. “I went there to find out about my sister. You know that. Why are you so jealous, Jake?”
Her words cause the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.
“Jealous … well, what the hell do you expect?” I’m certain that I’m attracting the attention of passersby, but I can’t make myself think about that, even if I know I should. “You just … you don’t even…”
“She speaks to me in a calm, controlled manner as if I’m some sort of out-of-control teenager. “I needed to speak to the owner. No one else could tell me anything. The only way I could do that was to act like I wanted a job. I had to do all of that. What did you expect? Did you want me to ask if you could come to the meeting with me?”
I purse my lips, not wanting to answer her. Actually, yes. That’s exactly what I expected. Goddamnit, how pathetic am I?
“Nothing happened with the owner. I can’t believe you have such a low opinion of me,” she says, and a stab of guilt rips me apart.
Fuck. She’s right. What the hell was I thinking?
Daisy screws her nose up at me as she waits for my reply, stirring all of the weird, burning energy that’s swirling around inside of me even further. I don’t know what to say, don’t know how to apologize.
We remain there, locked in our bizarre standoff for what feels like an eternity before Daisy eventually caves with a deep sigh.
She opens her mouth to speak, but we hear a high-pitched voice completely sidetracks her.
“Yeah, it is. It’s definitely him! That’s Jake Malone!”
I look around to see where the voice is coming from. With everything else going on, it takes me a second to remember I’m a wanted fugitive.
As soon as it registers, a heavy tiredness settles in my bones.
This is it. My life has finally caught up with me.
“Shit,” Daisy mutters under her breath.
Shit is right.
I have a few seconds to mentally go over all of my options.
Deny who I am?
No, my face is plastered everywhere. Everyone knows I'm a wanted fugitive.
Can I convince this stranger I’m innocent?
No, I have the look of a hardened criminal.
Plus, who is she likely to believe? The stiffs in suits on her television screen, or the grimy-looking guy who is obviously going to say anything to keep himself out of trouble?
The woman reaches into her pocket, and my heart stops. Time seems to stop with it. Goddamnit, why did I have to scream at Daisy about something so stupid?
What a jealous idiot I am.
Why couldn’t I speak to her calmly, like a normal human being?
Why did I have to fly off the handle? I knew that everyone was staring at us, and I didn’t do anything about it, and now this woman’s noticed me.
I’m caught.
I can’t believe it. All that time spent hiding, moving in the shadows, skulking around unseen—wasted. All because of a foolish moment of recklessness.
The woman pulls a black shiny object out, pressing buttons on it, all the while keeping her eyes locked on me. The object moves up to her ear, and even though I know exactly what’s happening, I can’t do anything to stop it.
It’s hopeless.
Then she says the words I wanted to hear least of all in the whole world.
“Police, please.”
14
Daisy
I hear the sirens right away. I don’t know if this is literally a split-second later, or if I’ve zoned out for a few minutes in a panic. All I know for sure is that we need to get the hell out of here.
I turn to see Jake already pouncing on his bike—miles ahead of me.
He doesn’t indicate that I should follow him, but I’m going to, whether I’m wanted or not. There’s no way I’ll be able to get away with racing around the city with a potential murderer.
How could I act like I had no idea who he was, when apparently his face has been everywhere? They’ll haul me in for questioning, and I’m not quite sure if I’m mentally strong enough to withstand all of that. I wouldn’t want to crack, but I’m afraid that I would.
“Wait!” I yell, then hop on behind him.
The bike sputters to life, and I wrap my arms around him and hold on tight.
We ride down the road at top speed. Jake swings the bike around a corner at top speed with me clinging to him. We’ve moved so quickly that neither of us has had the opportunity to put on our helmets, which has me worried.
But that may be the least of our problems right now…
Oh God, I never thought I’d find myself in a situation where potential death wasn’t the worst-case scenario.
I lean against Jake’s muscular back and dig my fingers into his taut torso, as my heart hammers in my chest.
This is
insane. I knew when I started this journey that it wasn’t going to be straightforward, but I certainly hadn’t planned for anything this extreme. But then again, I had thought I’d be spending all of this time alone, so really, none of it has gone according to plan.
“Where should we go?” Jake asks, and I’m surprised he wants my opinion. He seems like the type of person who is always in control. He certainly comes across as someone who has more experience with escaping the authorities than I do, so why does he want me to dictate where we go?
Fortunately, despite my reservations, I actually have an answer.
“Drury Lane,” I reply.
I have the address that the strip club owner gave me fixed firmly in my mind. I mean, of course, I do … it’s my one small link to Karen. I can’t see any point in us going anywhere else, anyway—we’ll only be running around in circles with no aim. Plus, if no one can be certain that she still lives there, then time really is of the essence, and I can’t afford any more mistakes.
Jake doesn’t question my instructions, he simply follows them. I guess now that he’s had a moment to cool off from his tantrum earlier, he realizes that I was telling him the truth.
What the hell was all of that, anyway? The way he just went off on me was nuts. He didn’t even try to hear my side of things.
He was clearly jealous, but why? He’s already told me he can have any girl that he wants, and that he uses that to his advantage, so why would he give a shit about me? Why would he care if I slept with that guy?
Not that I would. I couldn’t have done it even in exchange for answers regarding my sister, especially not after being with Jake the night before.
I know that Jake is helping me, but surely that’s more of a ‘thank you’ for deciding not to turn him in than anything else.
I am a bit worried that I’m developing feelings for him—however unwise that might be—but I can’t imagine him as the falling in love type. He’s too much of a lone wolf, always throwing caution to the wind and figuring his way out of danger, whatever that ends up being.
If the feelings are only one-sided, then I’ll deal with it. My heart might break, but I can recover. I know deep down that my naivety got me into that situation.
However, if there’s even the slightest chance that he has any sort of feelings for me too… I stop myself. The last thing I need to be doing right now is fantasizing about a future with a fugitive. I need to stay focused on Karen.
By the time we reach Karen’s last-known address on Drury Lane, the sirens are out of earshot, and I think we’ve gotten away again.
The pit in my stomach warns me that our luck is going to run out soon.
“Which apartment is it?” Jake asks as he cuts the engine. I think I hear a twinge of remorse in his voice, but I brush it aside in order to focus on my sister.
“237.”
Adrenaline courses through me. In a few seconds, I might get to see my sister again. I might be able to find out the truth of what happened to her, what her life is like right now.
“Come on,” I mutter, mostly to myself.
I can do this. I have to do this.
We get off the bike, head up the rickety stairs of the building, and slowly walk past the blocks of second-floor apartments, counting out the numbers as we go.
For a place that seems to be so densely populated, it’s eerily quiet, and that sends my anxiety level through the roof.
It’s like I’m the silly victim in a horror movie, and this is that horrible anticipation-filled moment with the deathly-sounding music playing just before the serial killer jumps out and slashes me to pieces.
I shudder.
I really need to stop letting my imagination run away with me.
This is real life, not some stupid movie. Plus, it’s not like I’m alone. Jake is with me, and I’m pretty sure someone built as powerfully as him could take out any bastard who tried to kill me.
“Here,” Jake finally says, yanking me out of my crazy thoughts.
“Right,” I reply, just as stiffly.
I stand frozen for a few seconds before Jake takes the lead and knocks hard on the door. He doesn’t give me a moment to collect myself, which is probably a good thing. No time to talk myself out of it.
Stop it, I scold myself.
I need to pull myself together and just get through this.
Whatever I discover in this apartment is better than not knowing anything at all. The last four torturous months have shown me that much.
I might be afraid now, but I’m tired of living on a knife’s edge.
When no one answers, I press my ear to the door.
“Hello?” I call out.
If she’s hiding because she thinks we’re that monster, I want to put her mind at ease right away. “Karen? It’s me, it’s Daisy.”
No response.
My heart flutters all the way down to my shoes as hopelessness consumes me. I tried to tell myself this place might not hold all of the answers, but deep down, I desperately hoped it would. Now I don’t know what I’ll do.
“They might not be home. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Jake says.
I nod, smiling weakly at his attempt to make me feel better.
I want to see my sister so badly. I won’t be able to fully accept that she’s alive until I see her in person.
Seeing my heartbroken expression, Jake speaks again. “Okay, so how are we going to break in?”
“Break in?” I hiss. “Are you insane? We can’t break in! Aren’t you in enough trouble at the moment?”
“We aren’t going in to steal anything. We’re just going in to find out more about a missing person—one who’s likely in danger,” Jake replies.
He’s trying to press all of my buttons to get me to agree with him.
I don’t want it to show, but it’s working. “And I already told you, I didn’t actually kill the guy.”
“Oh, god,” I blurt. Trust Jake to have to take this moment to defend himself. For some reason it breaks the bubble of tension that’s been surrounding me.
After a few seconds, I assent. “Do you know how to do it without being obvious? I really don’t want to cause too much damage if we can help it.”
The incredulous look Jake gives silences me.
Of course, he knows how to discreetly break into someone’s home.
Why did I need to ask?
I avert my eyes as he fusses with the rickety old lock, which looks like it might fall apart any minute anyway. The less I know about all of this, the better.
“Okay, we’re in,” he announces, a smug expression plastered on his handsome face.
“Already?”
I don’t intend to sound impressed, but I do anyway.
Jake goes through the door first, presumably to see if there’s any immediate danger, and I tiptoe in behind him.
It feels wrong, what we’re doing.
I shouldn’t be here, but I know that there’s nowhere else in the world I could be right now.
“They still live here,” Jake says, almost right away. He sounds so certain that I almost weep with relief.
“How can you tell?”
“Mail,” he replies. “There isn’t a stack of it piled up at the door, and there’s an opened letter addressed to your sister from two days ago, sitting on the table.”
“How…?” I start to ask before quickly changing my mind. I don’t want to know how he knows so much about how to tell these things. “Okay, so now what do we do?”
“Well, we’ve established that Karen still lives here. That guy in the picture,” he says, pointing to a photograph on the mantelpiece. “Must be Lucas. He doesn’t look so bad.”
I follow where his finger is aiming and quickly see who he’s talking about. The guy looks okay, but looks can be deceiving.
But the apartment is nicely furnished and tidy, so it obviously isn’t some sort of horrendous drug den—a fear I didn’t realize I had until this very moment.
“Un
less there’s anything specific that you want to look for, I guess we should wait until they get home,” Jake continues.
I nod mutely before following his lead and sitting on the nearest chair. All we need to do now is wait, so why does this feel like the hardest thing in the entire world?
I could almost burst with the tension of it all.
After a while, a weird energy starts to fill the room, and it occurs to me that this is the first time we’ve been alone since our erotic encounter the previous night.
“I…”
“Do you…”
We start to speak at the same time before falling into an awkward silence again. What the hell happened to us?
We’ve been through far too much to suddenly feel uncomfortable around each another. It’s bizarre.
“Would you like for me to see if there’s anything to eat or drink?” I finally ask, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Jake shakes his head. A dark expression crosses his face. It registers in my brain—he’s hungry—just not for something to eat.
I don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve never been scrutinized by someone who so clearly wanted to devour me before.
It makes me feel both powerful and powerless at the same time.
I open my mouth to speak, but before I have a chance, his mouth is on mine, and he’s kissing me like it’s the first and last time he’ll ever kiss anyone.
Unable to help myself, I submit to him.
The fact that my sister and her boyfriend could walk in at any moment completely escapes me. I don’t think I could stop right now, even if they did.
His hands trail down my body, under my clothes, and finally onto my breasts. Something about the groan that escapes his lips as his fingers find my nipples makes me feel even more powerful.
In my mind, I become a sexy seductress, and I want to show him this side of me—one that is newly discovered.
I pull his shirt over his head, admiring the way his muscles ripple as I do, and then I tug off my own before he unhooks my bra. Exposing myself in this way is new. Usually, I would only do something like that under the covers or in the dark.
