Page 21 of Cold Foot Curse

“Yep. Hurt but alive.”

“He won’t come for me, I don’t think. Contract talk was really new. I think he was just settling for me. There aren’t a lot of females left in the Crew who are unpaired and my age. A lot of them left over the last few years.”

“I don’t blame them. They’re chess pieces. Who all left and who all is still there?”

“Mmmm, no. That seems like spying.”

“Curiosity about an old Crew I thought I would be tethered to forever. Fair enough though, what do you want to talk about?”

“How I’m going to pay you back for the two months’ rent. How much is it?”

“Seven hundred a month. Garret gave me a family discount.”

Okay, so she owed him fourteen hundred dollars if she chose to stay. She had some of that, but not all. “Is Garret part of your Crew?”

Kade nodded and then talked about the Cold Foot Crew for a while. He told her about each of them, and about the day they escaped the prison together. The way he spoke about it all was a breath of fresh air. He cared about these people. Oh sure, he was open with the fact that they all got on his nerves in different ways at various times, especially Cash, but overall, he cared.

He shared about his life some, and she got lulled into this safe feeling that she could tell him about his old Crew too. Who was in charge now, who had moved up ranks and lost those ranks. Who was left, and who had been added since he’d gone to prison. How they had all coped after Tanner’s death.

Oh, she would get to the bottom of his claims that her brother had murdered Tanner, but for now, while they were stuck in this truck together for the next ten hours, she wanted to keep the conversation light and interesting.

When she got to wherever it was that they were going, she was going to take some time and go over all their conversations, and his reactions, and she was going to figure out exactly how she felt about all of this, and most importantly, how she felt about the new Kade.

He wanted something from her. No man did anything out of the kindness of their heart.

Jess might not know what his angle was yet, but she was confident she was going to figure it out.

Chapter Five

“We’re here.”

Jess inhaled deeply and eased her eyes open, confused. Where was she?

“Come on, sleepyhead. You can go back to sleep inside.”

Kade looked tired, and as she checked the time, she figured out why. He’d driven straight through the night. It was six in the morning, and outside, the early morning light cast a grey hue over a sleepy neighborhood.

They were parked in a driveway, and she recognized the house from the picture he’d showed her. The yard was mowed, and there were flowers blooming in the landscaping. She sat up straighter and blinked a few times, trying to wake up. “How long was I asleep?” she asked. Jess didn’t even remember falling asleep.

“Nine hours.”

“What?” she whispered.

“Hey,” he said softly. “You can sleep as long as you want. You can do whatever you want.”

He was being too nice. The house was probably a halfway house or riddled with mold or something.

Kade got out, and she watched him saunter up to the front of the house and lift a rock in the landscaping to retrieve a key. He opened the front door and left it open.

She could still run. She could get out of this truck and start hiking down the road. She could catch rides to wherever she wanted. But…then what?

That was the question.

Now what?

Jess pushed open the door and got out, then shut the door gently behind her. The neighborhood was silent at this time of morning. The house to her right had a for-rent sign in the yard.

She made her way carefully up the sidewalk and then hesitated on the welcome mat. The house number was all crooked. One of the numbers sat at an angle, but when she tried to right it, she realized the number had been nailed like that. She frowned at the 1010.

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