Page 19 of Dare (Fighting Fate)

I was instantly on my feet. “Are you serious?”

“I am, man,” he said quietly. “And about five minutes after he left, Wyatt came out.”

My mind was racing. What the hell did that mean? Why was Zac at Jess’s? Nausea rolled through my stomach. “I need to get to Jess’s,” I said. “Now.”

Yanking my boxers off, I hurried to pull my jeans on, almost dropping my cell in the process.

“What’s going on, Eli? Is Jess in trouble?”

Tossing the cell onto my bed, I shucked my shirt and grabbed another from my closet, throwing it on haphazardly before scooping my cell back off the bed again. Pressing it to my ear, I stepped into my shoes and headed for the front door. “She better fucking not be, or someone’s going to pay. I’ll call you later. Thanks, man.”

I didn’t wait for him to answer before I ended the call, sliding into my truck and cranking the engine as quickly as I could.

My heart pounded as I raced toward Jess’s apartments. I’d never felt so sick in my life. That sleazy motherfucker! What the fuck did he think he was playing at, going to Jess’s in the middle of the fucking night? If he and Wyatt had drugged her—if either of them had touched her in any way without her knowledge—I was going to fucking lose it.

Coming to a screeching halt in one of the parking spaces, I jumped from the truck and started jogging to her door. Pounding my fist on the green painted surface, I shifted on my feet, nervous energy running rampant through my veins.

The silence that met my ears made my chest tighten. Banging on the door again, I ran my hands through my hair. “Jess!” I was seriously going to give her thirty seconds before I kicked the door in.

“Jess! Open the door!” I yelled. I didn’t give a fuck if I woke the entire complex at this point in time.

I thumped the door again, preparing myself to just barge through it. She had ten seconds. Tensing, I drew my shoulders in and took a step back, but just before I lurched forward, I heard a murmuring on the other side. I knocked, this time a little quieter. “Jess? Is that you? Open the door.”

The mumbling got closer. Then I heard the sound of the lock twisting. Too many seconds later, the door cracked open, and Jess’s disorientated face appeared over the threshold. Scanning her from head to toe, I tried to assess what kind of a condition she was in. Other than incredibly hungover, she looked all right.

“Jess,” I said, relief flowing through my system. “Are you okay?”

She was still frowning at me, obviously trying to work out what the hell I was doing on her doorstep. Slowly, her eyes grew wider, until she blinked up at me with surprise. “Eli?”

I watched her mouth pop open a little before a blush spread to her cheeks. I had no idea what that was about, but I couldn’t think about anything except for her well-being right now. “Can I come in?” I asked, aware that people were starting to stick their heads out their doors to see what was going on.

A slight panic flashed in her eyes, but she eventually nodded and took a step to the side to let me through. Once I was in her living room, she closed the door and made her way to the kitchen, pushing buttons on her coffee machine.

“Jess,” I said, knowing we didn’t have much time if she was drugged. “Why was Zac here last night?”

Her head whipped around so she was facing me, her gaze incredulous. “What are you talking about? Zac wasn’t here last night. It was just me and Wyatt.” Her expression instantly turned confused and she glanced around the apartment. “Well, Wyatt was here,” she said, biting her lip. “I wonder where he went?” she said, obviously talking to herself.

I stepped forward and lightly touched her fingers, my gaze connecting with hers. “Zac was here last night, Jess. Brad saw him leaving around five this morning.”

She pulled her hand away from me and frowned deeper. “Brad?”

I could tell she was struggling to get her thoughts together. I had to remind myself that it would all seem very confusing to her, but it only made me more concerned that she really had been drugged. “He hooked up with someone who lives here,” I said, impatient to get some answers. “He saw Zac leave your apartment when he was leaving hers. Then he saw Wyatt leave five minutes later.”

She shook her head before walking from the kitchen, but she only went as far as the living room before she stopped, turning her body in a dazed circle as she gazed around. After a while, she looked up at me with concern. “I don’t understand.”

Rubbing my hand over my mouth, I tried to think. I had no idea if I was allowed to tell her anything. Noah hadn’t gone into it with me any more than the need to watch Zac. I wanted to call him and ask what my next move should be, but I didn’t have time.

As I stared into Jess’s worried eyes, I realized it didn’t matter. She deserved to know. Fuck the investigation. It was her body. “Jess,” I said, stepping forward. I wanted to take her hand again, but I knew I couldn’t. “Noah came to me the other day and asked me about Zac. He said he’d been seen making an exchange with a known drug dealer.” Her brow creased as she stared at me. Drawing in a deep breath, I continued. “It wasn’t known what kind of drug he may have bought, but Noah had a feeling it was GHB.”

Jess’s expression recoiled. “GHB?”

I nodded, watching her reactions carefully. “He was worried he might be intending to use it to drug a girl to take advantage of her, so he asked if I could keep my eyes open if I saw him.”

Her gaze moved to the kitchen, then the door, then the living room. Her mind was visibly scrambling for answers to the insane words I was feeding her. “Noah thinks Zac’s planning on raping someone?”

“Why don’t you remember him being here last night, Jess?” I asked quietly.

“I was—” she started, before her eyes widened. “I had too much to drink,” she finished, almost too softly for me to hear. “But I didn’t . . . ”

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