Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
KINSLEY
Ifidget with the note I found slipped into my locker. I have no clue what to make of it. It said they had a story for me. That sounds wonderful and all, but it also said the story was about Jax Marino.
That had my full attention. It also had my spidey senses tingling. I would have preferred to meet with this mystery note person at school, but they told me the story was happening now, and I needed to come to said location, which is a warehouse down on the docks.
It’s the start of my very own horror movie.
I’ve gone around and around about telling Jax about it but pulled that thought back.
He’s only been chatty with me for one day, and I’m under his spell.
Nope, I’m not going to be that girl. I won’t allow a guy to get in the way of a story.
I have to follow the leads that I get, no matter what.
“What’s up with you and Jax?” Blair, Golden Prep’s resident emo girl, asks. I was surprised to see she had taken media as one of her classes, and now here she is hanging out after school. I jotted down both things in my notebook, being as that isn’t her norm.
“Nothing.” I shrug it off.
“Ah, you only take others' information in and don’t give any of your own out, I see.” Blair rolls her bright blue eyes at me. The eyes of an angel cloaked in darkness. She may think she’s hiding her natural beauty under all of the heavy makeup and combat boots, but it still shines through.
Blair isn’t wrong, and she has always shared information with me. It might not hurt to talk to her about Jax. I’m sure the halls are buzzing with this news already. I don’t want to be the news; I want to report it.
“I don’t know what it is. He’s the one talking to me.” If I didn’t know better, I’d call him my stalker. He pops up everywhere; even before today, I would always see him around. Often not during school either.
“Be careful.” Blair stands, grabbing her bag off the ground where she’d dropped it.
“Because he’ll hurt me?”
“There is more than physical pain.” That’s not cryptic or anything.
“Also—” Blair leans down close to my ear, her jet-black hair falling to cover her face.
“He gives me the creeps.” She points her thumb at her chest so only I can see it, and it’s in the direction of the new media teacher, Mr. McIntyre, who is behind her.
“Well, that’s not good,” I whisper back. “You’re the one that's supposed to be creeping people out.” Blair snorts a laugh before she takes off.
She has to be going off vibes because we haven’t gotten much from the new media teacher yet, but this course is fairly independent, and I run most of it because I’m the editor-in-chief.
I pack up my things, too. I’m lying to myself if I think I’m not going to check out this warehouse.
But what if I see or find anything that could be really bad for Jax?
Then what? I don’t think I can report on the Marino family unless I want to end up sleeping with the fishes, which is fitting because the warehouse is down on the dock, kind of isolated.
That was the first thing I did when I got the note: searched out the warehouse, and it indeed belonged to the Marino family. It’s not shocking. They control many of the docks and warehouses throughout the whole city.
I give Mr. McIntyre a small wave before I head out.
It’s an easy walk from home, but the docks not so much.
I have to order a car to pick me up and take me.
I find a spot down the way from the warehouse, not wanting the driver to know what I'm up to.
Although he probably doesn't care, it's always possible that he might.
“Shit,” I mutter to myself. I told Mary I wouldn’t go into any dark places, and the sun is setting fast. When I see the fence up ahead with a chain on it that leads down to the old warehouse, I think I might be screwed.
I’m still in my stupid school uniform and climbing a metal fence with a skirt on would be rough.
When I make my way down the small hill, I see that the padlock on the chain is open.
It gives me pause. I glance around but don’t see anyone.
It’s dead; the only sound is from the river and the loose gravel under my shoes.
“This is where you turn around,” I tell myself, but I’m already pushing the gate open enough that I can slip through without having to remove the chain.
I spot the surveillance camera, but it’s been turned in an odd direction. I know some can be fake, but the Marino family has the money for legit security. This warehouse isn’t in use, and I couldn’t find anything on the last time it had been.
That said, it could be a warehouse they keep for their personal use, but it appears too run-down for that.
If that were the case, I think this place would be loaded with direct security.
Then again, when you make things appear unassuming, people tend to leave them alone. It only sucks me in further.
I keep a tight hold on my phone as I make my way down the hill. It’s hard to tell from the loose gravel if anyone has been here recently. I debate whether I should circle the building, but I should get out of sight as quickly as I can. The first door I come to opens, all too easily.
This is some weird trap, but why? Who the hell would want to trap me? The second I pass the threshold, the door falls closed behind me, and every cell in my body goes on high alert. I don't know what’s wrong, but I can sense it.
Fuck this. I'm about to turn and run back out when a hand grabs my wrist. I open my mouth to scream bloody murder like the stupid, na?ve virgin in every horror film, praying that I'll make it out alive because of said virginity and be the final girl, but a hand covers my mouth, halting me.
"Bunny." Jax whispers my name, his eyes locking with mine. This should freak me out more, but a rush of relief fills me. "I fucked up." Okay, maybe I should knee him in the balls and run. "It's not what you think. Shit, I'm sorry. Don't freak out. I'm not going to hurt you."
I try to respond, but his hand is still over my mouth, so only mumbles come out. Jax drops his hand.
"You scared the shit out of me," I whisper-yell at him.
"I told you not to go to strange places."
"With men." I get defensive.
"Who were you meeting then?" He pushes right back. Jax is riding a line of pissed and apologetic; it's one only he could pull off.
“I don’t know.” I step back, running into the door behind me. Jax matches the step, closing in on me.
“Fucking exactly.” Okay, he’s more pissed than apologetic. I want to mouth off, but he kinda has a point.
He surprises me when his hand comes up to cup the back of my neck. His hold is firm but gentle. It feels very intimate.
“It’s my fault, but I’m still pissed about it.”
I nod because it’s definitely his fault, not sure why he’s mad, but it takes a second for everything to catch up to me, and it doesn’t help when he’s so dang close.
“Bunny.” Jax drops his forehead to mine.
Even with how tall I am, he towers over me, making me feel delicate and small.
I can see right into his eyes, even in the dimness of the warehouse.
The way they start to soften has the energy around us changing.
Did he lure me here for this? Not sure I can be mad about that. It’s a unique way to get my attention.
“Are you going to kiss me?” I whisper.
Jax suddenly pulls back, his hand leaving the back of my neck. Okay, he was about to kiss me. Instead, that hand covers my mouth again. I go to grab his forearm to pull it away because, rude! I stop when he brings his finger to his mouth in a quiet motion.
It’s as though I’m snapped back to the reality of where I am. I’m in a creepy-ass building, and based on the grave expression that has taken over Jax’s face, I know something is wrong. He cocks his head to the side to listen before a scream pierces the air, followed by two gunshots.
It takes me a second to register what is happening. I go to turn to flee out of the building, but Jax stops me, his hand still covering my mouth. He jerks me into his big body. “You’re too open out there.”
That is true. If I took off running outside, they’d be able to easily see me.
At least one of us is thinking clearly. Jax motions for me to stay quiet again before dropping his hand from my mouth but only to grab my wrist. “Stay close,” he orders.
His tone tells me this is not open for discussion.
It’s as though a switch has been flipped, transforming him into another person.
If this were any other time, I would argue with him, but since he’s the one who comes from a real crime family, I’m just gonna zip my mouth up tight and follow his lead, but I feel the air in my lungs fighting for a breath, panic quickly bubbling to the surface. A person is in here with a gun.
Jax doesn’t wait for my response. He starts leading me through the warehouse, clearly knowing the layout. I gasp, trying to suck in air. He stops at an open door, pokes a glance inside, then tugs me into the room.
The next thing I know, Jax has an inhaler pressed to my lips. I part them, and he pumps it, and I suck in a deep breath. Holy shit.
It’s been a long time since I had an asthma attack.
“Jax,” I whisper his name. I don’t even think I have an inhaler on me.
"You stay here." He presses the inhaler into my hand and something else into my other. It's a freaking switchblade!
"Don't leave me." My heart is pounding so hard it might come out of my chest. I take another puff from the inhaler.
If I die tonight in the warehouse, Mary will be so pissed at me. Jax's intense eyes stare into mine; he's still for a long moment. I'm sure it's only a second, but right now, every second feels like minutes.
"I won't leave you," he confirms, pulling out his phone. I think he's going to call 911, but he doesn't. Instead, I see him texting his brother! Where the hell is my phone?
What are you doing? I mouth to him. He presses his mouth to my ear.
"Trust me." There isn't much of a choice right now.
Jax fires off another text before putting his phone back into his pocket.
"Stay behind me." I nod, putting my inhaler in my small pocket before grabbing his hand.
He slides his fingers through mine as he leads us back out of the small, empty office.
Jax sticks to the sides, his eyes tracing everything as we move. I don't know how he appears so calm. It's one thing to hear about the Marinos, and it's another to see one in action. The warehouse is old, with dust coating everything and vines creeping in along the wall.
We turn a corner into another section of the warehouse, and that's when I see it: a person lying on the ground, dead, with blood all around them. My mouth drops open, but I don't scream, fuck, and I don't move, too shocked by what I’m seeing. But Jax does.
His arm comes out, pushing me back around the corner. My stomach turns as my mind fully processes what I saw. The girl on the ground, her blond hair matted in blood, but what stood out more than anything was the fact that she was wearing the same uniform as I am.
“Fuck,” Jax grits out, and we start moving again, retracing our steps. This time, we’re quicker; he doesn’t care that we’re making noise now.
Jax jerks open a door I’d missed before into another small space; it’s empty too, but there is another door.
Jax proceeds to open that one, and we step outside to the other side of the building, where I see his Charger and another car approaching us.
I start to backpedal, but Jax doesn’t release his hold on me.
“It’s my brother.”
"Oh my God," I hiss when the SUV rolls to a stop, and out comes Damon and their cousin Cooper. That's not the shocking part. The Marinos always stick close to each other; it's the guns in each of their hands that are freaking me the fuck out. Damon’s expression and whole demeanor have shifted. Both he and Jax are people I’ve never seen before. They’re not the boys I go to high school with.
"What the hell is happening?" I whisper-yell.
"Clear it; there is a body in there," Jax tells them both, and they nod.
"Dead?" Damon asks.
"Not sure." I close my eyes at Jax's response. He gives my hand a squeeze. Damon and Cooper enter the warehouse.
"Why aren't we calling the police? What if the killer is still in there?" I ask when we're alone. The two of them just went in there, and we saw a dead body, and there’s probably a gun person running around somewhere.
"They fled."
"How do you know that?"
"We must have spooked them, and there were tracks in the dust on the floor." How could he notice that with so many other things going on?
"You're freaking me out." I put my hand to my mouth, fighting not to throw up when I recall the girl on the ground with all the blood. Who the hell was that?
"Take a deep breath, Bunny." His tone is calm, but his eyes don't match.
"We need to call someone," I tell him. I fight back tears that sting in my eyes.
"I did."
"They don't count." I motion toward the closed door.
"We aren't calling the police." There it is, that finality he can lace into his words that has every cell in your body obeying.
I mean, what choice do I have in this situation?
"Let me take that." His hand grabs my other, lifting it. I’m gripping the knife he gave me tightly.
I'd forgotten that I had it at all. I instantly release my hold on it.
The door swings open suddenly, making me jump back. Jax spins back around, ready to pounce, but stops when he sees it's Damon and Cooper.
"There’s nobody in there," Damon says. "And I'm not just saying that because—" He gives a slight nod toward me.
"I saw it." What the hell are these two talking about? They must think I’m an idiot if they think they’re actually going to convince me that I didn’t see a dead girl lying in a pool of blood a few minutes ago in that warehouse. Their warehouse!
"We saw the blood." Cooper casts me a few curious glances. Oh, what, I'm the odd thing here? Not the dead girl in our school uniform?
"Did you drop this?" Damon holds out my phone for me.
"I guess I did." I take it from him. I hadn’t noticed I dropped it.
"What's the plan?" Damon springs his attention back to Jax. "I cleared this place this afternoon. There wasn't anything."
"Wait, you were here earlier?" I ask. "I got a note!"
"We're not going to have any feed." Damon ignores me altogether.
"I know." Jax shakes his head.
"You want to go inspect it?"
"I'm not leaving her. I trust that you cleared it." His words make me feel marginally better. He’s sticking to his word.
“So we’re not calling the police.” I hold both Jax’s hand and my phone like a lifeline.
“No,” they all say in unison.
I have three Marinos standing in front of me, and I’m not sure if I’m really out of danger.