Page 4 of Reckless
Although, didn’t he use me before? Didn’t he sleep with me while knowing he was lying? He thought I’d gone out and told on his father for his sick crimes, so maybe he wanted to kill two birds with one stone and frame me for his girlfriend’s murder. After all, he hadn’t gone to the dance, didn’t even try to make it up to Brittany for skipping it.
Maybe Archer Vega was a killer.
“I’d tell you to stay away from him while all of this is undergoing, but I know you won’t,” Ollie went on, folding his hands across his desk as he stared squarely at me. “Same with Vaughn Scott. You can’t trust any of the Scotts, Jaz.”
My heart beat wildly in my chest, worry and paranoia sinking into my bones. “I know.” Of course I knew that, but did that mean I’d steer clear of either of them? Fuck no. I wasn’t like that. As I figured it, I was already knee-deep in shit. Why not dive head-first into it? At least I’d see it coming.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a call I have to make. You can go, have a chat with your mother.”
I got up, mechanically turning to leave, but not before I witnessed him pulling out his cell phone. I wondered who Ollie was calling, who he needed to contact right this very second.
My mom was waiting for me in my room, sitting on the edge of my bed with a frown on her face. She got to her feet the moment I entered, pointing to where she’d been. “You better explain what’s going on, Jaz, or so help me God, I’ll…” She trailed off, but her threat was clear. She wasn’t the type of person to make needless threats, or to swear, or to do anything that was inscrutable. To have a daughter that was arrested for murder was the last thing she probably thought she’d have.
Gingerly, I sat down, and when I opened my mouth to tell her what she wanted to hear, I picked and chose what I kept to myself. Unlike me with Ollie, I didn’t tell her everything. There were just some things my mom didn’t need to know—such as the fact I almost got gang-raped at a party and at school.
I’d rather die before I told my mom that.
Hmm. Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to think, considering.
Chapter Two – Jacob
I hadn’t heard from Jaz in about a day. I wasn’t worried, but the word on the street was something happened. I’d lost all my contacts in the force when those fucking twins blackmailed me, so it wasn’t like I could waltz into the station and demand to know what was going on, but whatever it was, I knew it was bad.
And that’s saying something, since Midpark was usually full of bad things already.
Because I knew Jaz, because I knew that girl was constantly in trouble and getting into shit she shouldn’t, I knew she was involved with it. I just didn’t know how much, not until my phone rang and I picked up.
“Hello?” It was an unrecognized number, but something about the voice was familiar. Deep, definitely a man’s voice. “Is this Jacob Hall?”
“This is,” I said. I was in my kitchen, trying to scrounge for something for dinner, but to be honest, I wasn’t that hungry.
“Are you available for hire? I know you’re no longer on the force, but I’ve heard good things about your PI work.” Whoever it was on the line was very formal, and yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew who he was, deep down.
Technically I was always for hire, though it was up to me to judge my current load. I couldn’t take anything that would interfere with another job I’d already accepted, but as it stood now, the only job I had with a client was for Mr. Anonymous, and all that involved was keeping an eye on Jaz.
Although…I had been wondering about that for a little while, now. It didn’t feel right. Like I was spying on her. Why? Who was behind the emails and the money? Whoever it was, I couldn’t figure them out, and that annoyed me to no end.
Kind of like Jaz did.
She was…oh, I shouldn’t let my mind wander to her, not now, not while I was on the phone with another potential client. At the mere thought of her name, my mind went to her body, and my own body reacted accordingly.
“That depends on the job,” I said, gritting my teeth.
“It’s complicated. Can you meet tonight? Time is of the utmost concern.”
The least I could do was hear him out. Money was money, right? I could squeeze it in somewhere, probably. I agreed to meet him, and he gave me an address, which I jotted down quickly.
“Can you come now?” the man on the other line asked.
I glanced down at my clothes. I wore my workout stuff, so I’d have to change, probably shower, too, as my hair was a bit slick with sweat. “Yes. I’ll be right there.” And then it occurred to me that I should know who I was meeting: “You never told me your name.”
“You’ll know when you pull up.” And then the man hung up, leaving me to stare in confusion at my phone screen.
Hmm. Didn’t bode well for the job, but at this point, if I ended up turning down Mr. Anonymous for any more future spying on Jaz, I’d need more money. My plan was to get out of this town, save up for a house somewhere nice, but now…now I couldn’t leave. Leaving would mean I’d have to leave Jaz, and that wasn’t something I was willing to do.
No. Not after that girl wormed her way into my heart, my mind, my very fucking soul. Saying goodbye to her wasn’t something I wanted to do.
I thought about calling the man back, but I settled for hurrying to shower and get changed. Once I was ready to go, I grabbed the note with the address on it and headed down to my car. With the address put into my phone, I realized I was heading into the wealthier neighborhood of Midpark—though that really wasn’t saying much, since everywhere was pretty much the wealthy part.
