Page 64 of Dare (Fighting Fate)

Sitting forward, I leaned my elbows on the armrests of the chair and clasped my hands together. “Mr. Schofield, if you employ me, I will bring four big names in the industry with me. Guaranteed.”

Skepticism narrowed his eyes. “Go on,” he said, waiting with a doubtful smirk.

Edging forward a little more, I reached into my satchel and pulled out the papers I hoped would push me over the line. As I passed them over the desk and dropped them on top of my credentials, I met his gaze with determination. “On the proviso that I will work alongside whoever you assign to them, I can guarantee you’ll get the business of Joshua Emerson, Lucas Cantrell, The Dark Hybrid, and Fighting Fate.”

Mr. Schofield’s expression didn’t change, but the surprise and interest in his eyes gave him away. Slowly, he reached for the papers, his gaze sweeping the page before shuffling to the next.

A few moments later, the corners of his mouth started curling upward. “Welcome to the firm, Mr. Murphy.”

Victory rushed through my veins. Inside I was a maniac, jumping around and screaming with my fist pumping the air, but to Mr. Schofield, I simply smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Schofield. You won’t be disappointed.”

He smirked. “I’m sure I won’t.” Leaning over his desk, he pushed a button on his phone. “Miss Turner, cancel the rest of the interviews. We’ve found our candidate.”

The voice came back, soft and tinny. “Yes, sir.”

Standing, he offered his hand over the desk. As I rose to my feet and gripped his hand, I watched his gaze darken. “Get that bar exam passed, Son. You’re going places.”

There was nothing I wanted to hear more. It was the final push I needed to make sure my head was still screwed on tight. Giving his hand another pump, I nodded. “Yes, sir. That’s the plan. Thank you.”

Picking up my satchel, I walked from the office feeling on top of the fucking world. After the night I’d had with Jess, and now this, I thought I could probably try to walk on water right now and fucking nail it.

Stepping out into the sunshine, I pulled out my cell and powered it up, searching for Jess’s number as I walked toward my truck. She was totally going to flip her shit when she heard that I’d just nailed my interview. She had already told me she thought I was going to kill it, but knowing for sure was a different ball game altogether.

Hitting call, I held the phone to my ear with my shoulder and waited for her to answer, fumbling with the fob on my keys as I went. As the call connected, I opened the door and smiled, tossing my satchel across to the passenger seat, ready to tell her the good news. But when I only heard rustling on the other end of the line, instead of the sweet hello I was expecting, I paused. “Hello?” I said, climbing in behind the wheel and closing the door behind me.

A second later, her voice finally came through the line, but instead of a cute, teasing little greeting, I heard the last thing I ever wanted to hear her say. “Zac—”

Everything around me went still, and the blood inside my veins ran cold. “Jess?” I called, waiting for her to answer me. But there was nothing. “Jess! Are you all right?” And then the line went dead.

My chest contracted. I literally felt as though I could not breathe. Scrambling with my cell, I called her again.

As each second passed with the line ringing sickeningly in my ear, my heart picked up a little faster. “Come on, Jess. Pick up,” I mumbled, growing more and more nervous. But as it clicked over to her voicemail, I felt the all too familiar sense of dread I’d felt with Noah when he’d been undercover.

Trying it again, I turned over the engine. I had no idea where I needed to head—I didn’t even know where she was right now—but I was going anyway. I’d start at her apartment and tear apart the whole fucking city if I had to.

As the call went to voicemail, I thumped the steering wheel. “Goddamn it!” Pushing a button on my cell, I ordered it to call Noah, my hands clenching the wheel tight as I drove. Relief swelled when he picked up on the second ring. “Noah!”

“What’s up, man?” he said, concern laced in his voice.

Panic was quickly trying to beat me down. “I think Jess is in trouble. I just called her and she answered, but all I heard her say was Zac before she hung up. Now I can’t get a hold of her. I’m freaking out, man.”

“Where is she?”

“I don’t fucking know!” I yelled, more frustrated by the situation than angry at him. “I’m heading to her apartment now. I’m just not sure what to do after that.”

I heard movement on the other end of the line. “I’m getting in the car now. I’ll meet you there. And Eli?” he said, his voice dark with warning. “If Zac is there, don’t do anything stupid.”

He didn’t give me a chance to answer before he ended the call, but I wasn’t sure he would’ve liked my answer anyway, because I couldn’t promise anything of the sort. If Zac was there, and he was hurting Jess in any way, he was mine.

Chapter 47

Jess

Zac stood before me, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders tight, his whole body radiating anger and hatred. Noah and Eli had both warned me that he could be unstable, and judging by the sharp edge to his gaze, they were right.

Swallowing, I slowly tried moving away from him. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what he was capable of. Who knew what he had in his pocket. I certainly didn’t. All I knew, was that I needed to keep my distance from him.

He shifted on his feet a little, chewing on his lip as he moved. But all the while, he watched me. “I knew you’d be trouble when Wyatt first started dating you. I warned him, but he wouldn’t listen to me,” he said, his gaze narrowing with contempt. “I had nothing against you back then. You were an inconvenience at most, but then Wyatt had to go and grow feelings for you, didn’t he? He needed to make sure you were looked after so you would be the perfect little wife he thought he needed.”

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