Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
JAX
Ihave never had a plan go more to shit than this one. The panicked expression that has been on Kinsley's face is killing me. I put her in this situation, and now I have to get her out of it.
"What about her?" Cooper glances towards Kinsley. I can see Kinsley start to retreat into herself, her shoulders pulling forward. She's scared, and I fucking hate it.
"You don't worry about her." I tug her behind me. "In fact, don't even look at her."
"Fucking hell, Damon, you didn't tell me Jax had lost it. This shit better not be in the blood." It is. All our parents are examples of it.
"How about you stop speaking?" I order Cooper; he's only going to freak her out more, and I'm trying to think here. "Everyone to the farm and get the system back online."
Damon had come earlier to open the gate and the warehouse, along with shutting down the camera feeds.
The plan was to lure Kinsley here with a tip for a story.
I'd debated staging something or letting her overhear Damon and me making shit up to get her curious.
Then I'd be so lucky that she'd stalk me for once.
But after how today went, I chucked that plan.
I wanted to kill it altogether, but the note had already put everything in motion, and my new plan was to tell Kinsley to be more safe and let her know it was a setup.
I was going to admit to what I'd done. That I was trying to get her attention. Then kiss the fuck out of her.
Now I'm an asshole and a dumbass because here I was wanting to teach her a lesson about sneaking off into places alone, and now I really have gone and pulled her into a fucked-up situation.
On top of that, I'm not sure I can let her go. She could run to the police or write up a story. Right now, the only safe place is back on the farm, where I can get her calmed down and my head on straight.
"Well, you all enjoy that farm," Kinsley says, tugging my hand to get free.
Yeah, not happening. It's not only about her going to the police.
What if whoever killed the girl saw us? If they did, they sure as fuck saw Kinsley in the Golden Prep uniform, and they clearly know it.
It won't be hard to trace back to her. Kinsley is unforgettable.
"I'm going to head home." She tries again.
Both Damon and Cooper's brows rise. "The farm," I order both of them and start leading Kinsley back to my Charger. I open the passenger side door.
"In," I order her.
"Jax, I—"
"In," I clip out harder than I mean to. I’m trying to be the good guy, but it’s not working. There is no room for discussion on this right now.
When she slips inside, I shut the door behind her, resting my hands on the top of my car to get my shit together. Damon and I lock eyes, and I know that he is willing to support whatever I decide to do.
That’s the fucking thing. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Right now, and who the fuck am I kidding, always, Kinsley is at the forefront of what needs to be taken care of. I need to calm her down and make sure she’s not going to run from me. Then I’ll worry about the dead girl.
When I slide into the driver's seat, Kinsley is sitting up straight, her brows furrowed together. I reach over and grab her seat belt, clicking it on for her.
“You with me?”
“I don’t really have a choice now, do I?”
“I’m sorry, Kinsley. I didn’t mean to pull you into this mess.”
“You put that note in my locker?” She is piecing things together now that her adrenaline is coming back down. I can see the hurt in her eyes. Any trust I earned today is gone. It cuts deep, but I did it to myself. Now, I have to clean this mess up and manage not to lose the girl.
That last one isn’t an option. I won’t lose her.
"I had Damon put the note in your locker," I confirm.
"Can you take me home?" I hate how disappointed and hurt she sounds. It pierces me to my core.
"No, I'm sorry."
"Stop saying you're sorry," she snaps at me. Good, get pissed, Kinsley. I want that fire back in her, the determination that is always there. "If you were sorry, then you'd take me home."
"You're right," I agree. "I'm not that sorry." She scowls at me. I throw my car into drive, taking off up the hill and through the open gate, where my cousin and Damon are waiting to close and secure it behind me.
There is only one place where the dead body went, and it's into the river. With us turning off the security, we have zero feed at this point. I'll have to see what my cousin Mac can do about pulling feed from other locations around here.
This part of the city is dead. It's full of old warehouses and buildings.
Half of them aren't used, and the other half are only occupied during the day.
Everything clears out down here when the sun starts to set.
I had Damon follow Kinsley here to ensure her safety.
I wanted to make sure she got into the building safely, where I'd be waiting.
I should have made sure the place was clear when I got there, but I was short on time, and I sure as fuck didn't think anyone would slip in there in that short window of time.
It was just a handful of hours. It makes me wonder if this person has been there before.
We need to go back through any old footage. That's going to take time.
“Tell me something,” Kinsley finally speaks.
“I’m going to tell you everything.”
“Really?” I glance over at her, taking my eyes off the road for only a brief second. She eyes me curiously.
“I know right now you have no reason to trust me. I get that. I want to try and fix it.”
“Then, you could start by taking me home.” The nervous hitch has left her tone. It will be a whole lot easier to get her onto the farm if she wants to be there. So I make another play.
“There is about to be a missing persons story that is going to flood the halls of Golden Prep.” Kinsley sits quietly, and I know she’s thinking this over.
“I’m not a cop, though I report the news, and they need to be informed that she is dead.” She appeared dead to me, but I didn’t have the chance to check. You never know.
“They’ll know.” Which means I’m going to have to speak with my father and uncles. They’re going to be pissed. I’m not sure there is a way around it.
“Okay then,” Kinsley speaks again, slightly turning her body toward me. I’m sure to try and read my body language. “The first place I’d start is the building. It’s owned by the Marino family; I’m guessing they’re not going to like me asking questions.”
“Ask away,” I offer. "I want to know what happened, too, Kinsley." It happened in one of our warehouses. People know better.
"Why? Because it could blow back on you?"
"Is that what you think?" Is that how she sees us?
That we don't give a shit who dies and lives as long as it doesn't come down on us?
I suppose to a degree that is correct. Who would want that shit to come down on them?
You protect you and your own first, then you see what else can be done or if anything should be. We own the streets in this city.
"I don't know what to think, honestly, Jax. Today has been strange, and it doesn't help that my strange day started with you, and then you led me to that warehouse," she points out.
"You think I'm trying to frame you?" When I mentally cataloged all the things that Kinsley might be thinking, I realized that had been present but not at the top of my list. I see now that's because of my own bias. I didn't want to believe she'd think that.
“You tell me.” Kinsley leans closer, a small tell that she’s not as scared of me as she might be trying to portray or that a deeper part of her knows I won’t hurt her. Ever.
“I knew I fucked up before you made it to the warehouse, but I was going to be honest with you.”
“That’s why you were saying sorry but were still mad at me?” She throws her hands up, and her cheeks start to flush.
“I've had a thing for you since you got to Golden Prep three years ago,” I tell her as I roll to a stop at the red light.
Might as well get it out there because I’m over hiding this. Waiting for my time to have her because I knew once I let myself get close to her, there would be no going back. Even now, I’m struggling with the idea of her laying her head down somewhere tonight that I’m not next to.
“No, you haven’t.” Kinsley shakes her head adamantly.
“I have, and if you really consider it, you’ll see it too.”
I wasn’t always the most subtle. I might not have been talking to her all the time, but I was always there. Never far from Kinsley. My locker is next to hers, and we share almost all the same classes. I could list off other things I have done to be closer to her that she doesn’t know I’m behind.
“You stare, but you have that intense stare all the time.” Yeah, it wasn’t easy not to stare, so I stopped trying. If I couldn’t touch, I sure as fuck was going to watch.
“Have you ever thought it wasn’t that I had it all the time? That it was you I was staring so hard at?”
“Really?” She tilts her head, making one of her braids fall off her shoulder. “Then why have you been waiting all these years?” I have been asking myself that question all fucking day.
“People are scared of us.” I was grappling with it too. It had hit me hard the first time I’d seen her. I didn’t know how to handle it. I still don’t, obviously. Since it’s only been one day, and I’ve fucked it up.
“You know, I never thought about that. No matter what, you have a scarlet letter to a degree. People label you before you open your mouth.”
“You’re not wrong.” Everywhere I go, my family's perceived reputation precedes me. Sometimes for good and others not so much. I don’t want her to ever be scared of me.
“Obviously,” she cuts in, fighting a smile.
“The thing is, I never cared.” I glance toward her again. I never considered how hard it would be to drive with her in the car when all I want to do is stare at her. “Until you.”