Burned

by Gabrielle Gibson

  “Excuse me,” she whispered.

  She turned and darted away, clumsily tripping down the hallway and pressing the button for the elevator.

  Jack came around the corner almost right behind her, pulling a shirt over his head.

  “Jessie wait,” he called to her, catching up just as the elevator door was getting ready to close.

  He held it open.

  “Don’t, Jack! Please!” Jessie cried, turning away from him, not wanting him to see her tears. “Stay away from me!”

  “Jessie, please…”

  She looked at the floor and swallowed a sob.

  “Is she why last night was a mistake? I can’t believe I trusted you! God, I’m so stupid! I thought we were friends!”

  “We are. I just… I can’t… I told you…” Jack began.

  Jessie cut him off.

  “What was last night really about, Jack? Did you plan to totally fuck me over all along or did you just need to satisfy your curiosity and find out what it would be like to fuck “good-girl” pussy? Well, now you know. Obviously it’s not nearly hot enough for a guy who’s used to nailing them two at a time. Go back to your room. I’m sure your friend back there gives it to you the way you really like it.”

  “Jessie, no, it’s not like that… that’s not…”

  She cut him off again.

  “Don’t say anything else! Not another word! I don’t want to hear it!”

  Anger and humiliation burning through her as tears slipped down her cheeks. She wiped them away, pissed at herself for letting him see her cry.

  She turned and looked up into his impossible-to-read, serious blue eyes, his face as expressionless as always.

  “Let me go, Jack. Hope last night’s mistake was at least worth our friendship… because that’s what it cost you!”

  He hesitated and then let go of the door.

  Jessie ran back to her room.

  She lay down on the bed and sobbed.

  She couldn’t believe that Jack would betray her trust this way. They were supposed to be best friends.

  Last night he had said all the right words, everything he knew a girl like her would want to hear. Why had he said all those things? Just to get laid? That didn’t make any sense. Jack could have any girl he wanted.

  She laid there for an hour, her heart shredded, her stomach in knots, crying. She was so humiliated and hurt. She had laid all her cards on the table last night with Jack. She had opened herself up to him completely, done things with him that she’d never done with anyone. She had let him see her in the most compromising positions she could have imagined and given him full access to her body, not to mention her heart.

  She was such a fool to have believed in Jack. To believe there was good in him. To believe that he actually cared about her.

  What in the world had made her think that Jack would treat her differently than he did other women? Actually he had treated her worse. At least he didn’t mislead those other women into thinking he cared about them. He hadn’t even given her the same courtesy of the honesty that he gave the random girls he usually hooked up with.

  She got up and went to the bathroom. She looked terrible, her eyes swollen and red-rimmed. It was obvious she had been crying, but she had to pull herself together.

  No matter what was happening between her and Jack, they still had a job to do. There was a missing girl somewhere out there that might be in danger.

  She sent Jack a text.

  Jessie: We should get back to work. I have a lead on Isaac Moss. Let me know what you want to do.

  Fifteen minutes later there was a knock at her door.

  “Jessie, it’s me.”

  The sound of Jack’s voice cut through her like a knife.

  She opened the door, her eyes on the floor.

  He came in the room and closed the door behind him.

  Their eyes met briefly. Jessie felt herself blushing and looked away. She hated for him to see her this way. She wished she could erase the last twenty-four hours so they could go back to the way things had been before.

  There was no going back now. It was too late. They had crossed the line and there was no taking it back.

  The girl in his hotel room had sealed the deal.

  This was over. Everything was ruined. There was no way to fix this, no way to get back to the way things had been between them last night, when he’d made love to her and looked at her like she had rocked his world and changed his life.

  He sighed heavily and sat down in the chair in the room. It was obvious she had been crying. Because of him. The look on her face gutted him.

  He stared at the bed, the scene of the crime, now neatly made, all evidence of what had happened there last night gone.

  “Jessie…” he began.

  She cut him off. “Seriously, Jack, don’t. I can’t… please.”

  He nodded and sighed. It was probably just as well. He couldn’t find the words he needed anyway. He didn’t know how to explain it to her. Didn’t know how to make things right.

  It was fucked up. He was fucked up. She knew that already. They both did.

  “Okay. Tell me about Moss.”

  She stood in front of the mirror fixing her hair and reapplying her makeup, refusing to look at him. She gave him a quick recap of her afternoon.

  “We should go now,” he said.

  Jessie nodded. “I need five minutes.”

  If she was going to spend the evening working with Jack, she needed a few minutes to get her head together.

  He nodded.

  “I’ll meet you at the car.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  THE DRIVE TO MT. CHARLESTON WAS quiet. Jessie stared out the window and Jack drove. Neither of them spoke.

  The radio played at a low volume in the background. Jack’s alternative rock station. With all of the time they had spent together, Jessie had actually started to like a lot of the music he listened to.

  Jessie had wondered why they couldn’t just call the police, but the police wouldn’t go check out Isaac Moss’s house on Jessie’s hunch alone. If they could find something more solid they could hand it over to the authorities.

  Her phone vibrated and it was Sarah, calling on Facetime.

  Actually, it was probably Kennedy. Jessie answered it and sure enough, Kennedy’s adorable face filled her screen.

  “Jessie!” Kennedy giggled. “I miss you. Are you coming back soon?”

  Jessie held back her tears. She hadn’t even considered yet how this thing with her and Jack might affect Kennedy.

  “Hi, baby girl!” Jessie smiled, swallowing a sob. “Yes, I’ll be back very soon. I miss you so much! Are you being a good girl for Aunt Sarah?”

  Jack felt his stomach knot. His little girl adored Jessie. She would be so hurt if she stopped spending time with her.

  What the fuck had he done?

  “Yes, I’m being so good. We went to the aquarium and I saw two big sharks!”

  “That sounds so fun. I wish I had been there with you,” Jessie’s voice shook a little.

  “Is Daddy with you?” Kennedy asked.

  “Yes, he’s right here but he’s driving, baby, so he can’t Facetime with you right now. But you can talk to him… he can hear you,” Jessie said.

  “Hi, Daddy!” Kennedy called out excitedly.

  “Hey, kid.” Jack glanced at the screen to see his daughter’s pretty face.

  “Do you miss me?” Kennedy asked, smiling shyly.

  “I do,” Jack said, realizing for the first time since he’d been away just how much he did.

  “I miss you too, Daddy.”

  They ended the call.

  Jack looked at Jessie. He felt regret twist through him as he saw the tears spilling down her face.

  JACK TURNED OFF THE HEADLIGHTS of the SUV as they got closer to Isaac Moss’s house. It was dark, but it was a clear night, and the moonlight allowed him to navigate close to the house. He parked the car to the side of road and turned off the i
gnition.

  He reached over and unlocked the glove box, retrieving a handgun. He checked it to make sure it was loaded and then looked at Jessie. He handed her a small spring loaded center punch. The kind used to break car windows by emergency personnel.

  “Can you fit through the window you found?”

  Jessie nodded.

  “I’ll go to the door and distract him. You get inside and see if she’s here. If she is, get her out. Get back to the car and go. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I’m not going to just leave you here, Jack,” Jessie argued.

  “I’ll be fine. I mean it, Jessie. Don’t take any chances.”

  Jack got out of the car and disappeared down the dark road.

  Jessie cut through the thick trees, the way she had gone earlier in the day.

  When she reached the basement window she waited for sound from the front of the house.

  She heard knocking. Jack must be at the front door.

  She waited until she heard the low murmur of voices. Then she took off her white cardigan and bunched it up, pressing it to the window before striking it with the little punch that Jack had given her. The fabric muffled the sound somewhat but it still made enough noise that Jessie felt a sense of urgency. She used her cardigan to brush away as much of the glass as she could. Then she peered into the dark hole.

  She held her breath as she eased through the small window and then carefully lowered herself, holding onto the ledge. She felt shards of glass poking through the cardigan and slicing into her skin.

  Fuck, that hurt. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.

  She dropped to the floor and immediately turned. She didn’t see anything at first. It was so dark. It smelled musty and damp. She pulled a small flashlight from her pocket and turned it on, shining it around the room.

  She took a few steps and tripped over something. She heard a slight whimper. She dropped to her knees as her eyes adjusted to the dark.

  “Sasha?” Jessie whispered.

  She brought the light to the girl’s face.

  “Help me,” a strangled whisper as a small hand clutched her arm.

  “Oh my God! Sasha! I have to get you out of here!” Jessie crouched down next to the terrified girl.

  She trailed the flashlight over Sasha and saw that she was chained to a water pipe of some kind.

  Jessie picked up the chain and examined it to see if it would break. It was indestructible. The pipe, on the other hand, looked like it was old and rusting through. Water leaked from it. A good hit might bust it in half.

  “Dammit,” she swore.

  She looked around frantically. What was she going to do?

  Suddenly she heard something upstairs. Raised voices. A struggle. Running footsteps.

  Without thinking, she kicked the pipe with all of her strength and it gave way. She quickly freed Sasha and pulled her to her feet as freezing cold water gushed all around them.

  Sasha was naked and cold and weak. She could barely stand.

  Jessie wrapped Sasha’s arm around her neck and dragged her to the window. There was no way she could lift her.

  “Sasha, sweetie. I know you’ve been through hell. But I need you to push through just one last time. You’ve got to walk. I can’t carry you. I’m not strong enough. We have to find a way to get the hell out of here!”

  “There’s a door that way,” Sasha’s voice was a hoarse whisper.

  Jessie grabbed Sasha around the waist and helped her walk. They headed toward the far back corner of the room where she found the door. She fumbled with the locks and yanked it open, pulling Sasha outside into the backyard.

  Suddenly, she heard a gunshot, quickly followed by another. Terror flooded her body. She was overcome by a ferocious instinct to get to Jack. She remembered his words. Her first responsibility was to help this poor girl who couldn’t help herself.

  She looked at Sasha, naked and shivering, dirty and used and beaten. The light from the flashlight revealed that her body was riddled with bruises and cuts.

  “Let’s go!” Jessie whispered wildly, dragging Sasha with her.

  She pulled out her cell phone as they traipsed through the woods, intending to call 911.

  Dammit. No signal.

  After what felt like an eternity, she got Sasha to the car and pushed her into the back seat.

  She slid into the driver’s seat and stuck the key in the ignition.

  She stopped.

  She just couldn’t leave Jack here. He might be hurt.

  No matter what he had said, there was no way she could just drive away and leave him.

  “Lay down,” Jessie instructed, grabbing Jack’s black leather jacket and draping it over Sasha’s shivering, naked body. “Don’t make any noise. If I’m not back soon, go for help.”

  Sasha nodded weakly.

  Jessie ran as fast as she could back to the house.

  The front door was wide open, light spilling out onto the porch. She quietly climbed the steps and peeked cautiously inside.

  Jack sat on an old, battered couch.

  Isaac Moss was on the floor. Blood pooled next to his lifeless body.

  “Jack!” Jessie ran inside and threw her arms around him, her fear and relief at finding him safe temporarily replacing her anger. “Are you okay? I heard the shots! I was so scared.”

  He gently pushed her away, wincing a little.

  She saw the blood on his shoulder.

  “Oh my God, Jack! You’re hurt!”

  “Relax… it just grazed me. I’m fine. Where’s the girl?”

  “She’s in the car. I just… I couldn’t leave you Jack.”

  He shook his head, angry.

  “I told you to go. You don’t fucking listen. What if it was me lying on the floor and Isaac Moss sitting here instead?”

  “I’ll go get the car,” Jessie said, ignoring his rant.

  She grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch on her way out.

  She made her way quickly to the car and drove it back to house, reassuring Sasha that Isaac Moss was dead and she was safe.

  Jessie wrapped Sasha in the blanket and said, “Wait here.”

  She went back into the house.

  “She’s outside. She’s pretty roughed up, but I think she’ll be okay.”

  “I called the police. They’re on their way.” He grabbed her arms. “Jessie you have to listen to me when I tell you…”

  He looked down, noticing the cuts on her hands. “Fuck, you’re bleeding.” Concern flooded his face as he inspected her wounds. “We need to clean these.”

  He dragged her into the kitchen and ran water, shoving her hands underneath the tap.

  “I’m fine, Jack.” Jessie snatched her hands away from him. “I can take care of myself. I don’t need your help.”

  The relief of finding him safe was fading and the hurt and anger she felt was coming back into focus.

  He sighed and looked down at the dirty, broken tiles on the kitchen floor.

  They heard a voice in the other room. An officer calling out.

  Jack went to talk to him, leaving Jessie to clean out her cuts.

  Fifteen minutes later, Jack came out of the house with one of the officers. He glanced at Jessie, who was now sitting in the back of an ambulance with Sasha, hugging her.

  He watched her, wishing he knew what to say to make things okay between them. He had seriously fucked up, and he wasn’t sure there was any way he could make it right.

  Maybe it would blow over. It wasn’t as if they were a couple and he had cheated on her. They had slept together. He hadn’t made her any promises, right?

  She didn’t want a friends with benefits kind of relationship. She wanted to be his girlfriend. He got that. But they both knew he would make one hell of an awful boyfriend. She would see that in time.

  He’d slipped up. Got to thinking maybe he had it in him. One fucking night of weakness. She couldn’t hold it against him forever, could she? This was Jessie. She was a total sweeth
eart and almost never got pissed off about anything. They were close friends. She would let this go. He just needed to give her a little space and some time.

  He knew she was embarrassed that he had seen her that way. She was shy about sex. And she had shown him every part of herself last night.

  He flashed back briefly, remembering her smooth, silky body in his hands. Hearing her pant and whimper as he licked that sweet, perfect pussy. Her coming all over his face.

  Fuck, she was something else. He had never connected physically and emotionally like that with anyone.

  He had known she would be special. Somehow he had known it all along.

  Chapter Eighteen

  THEY BOARDED THE PLANE TOGETHER, still not talking.

  They were booked in first class, and Jessie took the seat by the window, settling in and taking a Xanax.

  It was a four and a half hour flight home. Jessie planned to sleep, if possible.

  She was exhausted. The last week had wiped her out. With everything that had happened with Jack, on top of the dangerous case they had wrapped up yesterday, she was seriously dragging.

  She felt Jack settle in next to her and tears stung her eyes. She hadn’t had a chance to deal with the situation between them yet. She was trying not to think about it.

  The plane sped down the runway and she tensed. The Xanax hadn’t had time to kick in yet. Jack reached for her hand and she let him hold it only briefly before snatching it away. He knew her extreme fear of flying, but at the moment her desire to have nothing to do with him took precedence over even that.

  As the plane leveled out, she felt the pill finally start to relax her. She fell asleep and didn’t move again until Jack woke her.

  “Jessie,” he said, his voice soft and low, his fingers brushing gently against her hair. “We’re home.”

  She opened her eyes. She was still so tired. She couldn’t wait to get home and sleep.

  She had called Zoey earlier that morning and filled her in on the basics, sobbing as Zoey listened and said all the right things to try to make her feel better. None of which had worked, of course.

  When they got to the baggage claim, Jessie grabbed her suitcase from Jack, who had pulled it off the carousel.

  “Zoey’s picking me up,” she told him without meeting his eyes. “So I don’t need a ride home.”