Chapter 14 - Roderick
Walking into the kitchen the next day, I find the coffee already brewed, and I know it was Jade. If it were Spencer, he’d still be in here waiting, and there's no way in hell Zander is up already.
I help myself to a cup as I think about the day.
I haven’t seen much of Jade lately. We’re under orders to keep an eye on her, so the last few days, Spencer and I have been doing most of the work and anything Froggie requires.
Zander was more than happy to stay with her.
I’m not sure that’s a good thing, but it definitely made it easier to have him volunteer to stay with her instead of dragging her around with us.
Not to mention, it keeps her out of our business, which I’m sure Froggie will appreciate, given our line of work.
Jade and my mother spent the day out yesterday. When she came back, she went to her room, and I didn’t see her again. Zander went to her later that night when we warmed up our Thai and had a movie night. But he said she was already asleep, and he didn’t want to wake her.
Tonight is one of the frat parties we must, unfortunately, show our faces at, and she’ll be coming with us.
I spoke with Kratos last time I was at the club, and he told me that Jade was free to attend classes if she chose to.
It seems he’s more concerned with her being picked back up by sex traffickers than the trouble she could get into on a college campus.
I can’t say I agree with that. For someone so independent and able to handle themselves, she seems to lack boundaries and is a bit na?ve from lack of experience with the world.
I don’t think he realizes the appeal she will have to ninety percent of the school, and I fear she won’t either. Hell, I don’t even think she realizes how far gone Zander is for her. But we can handle those kinds of threats easily, so if Kratos okays it, we'll roll with it for now.
That doesn’t make me worry less, though.
Jade coming into our life threw everything that we knew off balance from the moment we saw her down in that hole and then again when she showed up for dinner.
Zander’s bat shit for her. I’m sure he wouldn’t even deny it at this point. He’s always been all about the ladies, but I’ve never seen him stick to one this long or be in this deep.
Spencer can’t stand her, it seems. He’s never been very trusting of women who are close to us, always concerned that they are using us, and while that’s probably true, most times, it’s easy to settle him when none of us gets attached.
Jade blew that out of the water, though, when she moved in and again when she wrapped Zander around her finger.
He might deny it, but even Spencer wants to keep her safe.
We all hate what she’s been through, but that doesn’t make him trust her.
Spencer generally doesn’t want to be around you if he can't trust you, which means he doesn’t like to be around most people.
I grab my coffee and head to the fridge for the cream. By the time I have my coffee to my liking, I hear someone coming down the hall. Spencer comes through the door a moment later, looking like he just rolled out of bed; his hair looks like a literal bird's nest on his head.
He doesn’t even acknowledge me, making a beeline to the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup. He takes a gulp, and I wonder, not for the first time, if he can even taste the coffee after he burns off all his taste buds.
After the second large gulp, he returns to the pot and refills his cup before taking that one to sit at the breakfast bar. He scoops up a piece of bacon, shoving it in his mouth, and I notice for the first time that there is a plate on the counter.
As he chews his bacon and sips his second cup of coffee, I take a moment to really look at him.
Spencer has never cared what people think of him.
Hell, none of us do, but I tend to keep certain appearances, whereas he does not.
Today, he seems more disheveled than usual.
The dark circles under his eyes only make that look more intense.
I wonder how much sleep he’s been getting since Jade came to live here, not a lot, based on his appearance.
His gaze finally lands on me, giving me a slight nod of acknowledgment before grabbing a second piece of bacon.
I walk to the counter and grab my own piece before examining it.
Not burnt.
Actually, it looks like it was cooked pretty damn well.
“What?” Spencer asks as he watches me inspect the bacon in my hand.
“Nothing, I was just admiring Jade’s handy work,” I tell him before stuffing my piece in my mouth. Yeah, I think it’s safe to say she’s mastered bacon.
Spencer’s lips pull down in a frown as he looks at the plate of bacon as if it’s wronged him somehow, and I have to fight to keep the smirk off my face.
He hates her, or at least he really wants to. He can act like he does all he wants, but he's not fooling anyone, not even a little bit.
Spencer's eyes dart around the kitchen looking for her as if he simply missed her in his half-asleep state.
“She’s not here. I don’t know where she is. The bacon was here when I came in, and the coffee was already made, but she wasn’t here,” I tell him, taking the last sip of my coffee before setting the mug in the sink.
“She’s probably snooping around somewhere,” he hisses, low and angry, and it takes more effort than it should to avoid rolling my eyes at him and his constant paranoia.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t exactly trust her either, but I also don’t think she’s a direct threat to us.
If she were, she would have tried something by now, and as much as I hate to admit it, she probably would have succeeded.
Every one of us underestimated her, and the only reason we know that is because she told us so and then proceeded to demonstrate.
“Well, let’s go find out,” I tell him, jerking my head towards the hall. Maybe if I can show him he’s wrong, he’ll let this go. It’s only a matter of time before this starts to impact the mission.
He stands, puts his cup in the sink, and gestures for me to lead the way. I head out, but don’t miss that he grabbed another piece of bacon as soon as I turned away.
Yeah, he hates her so much.
We checked the whole main floor and upstairs before heading out the back door to the garage and out to the grounds when we still hadn’t found her.
We checked in Zander’s room just to be sure, but he was passed out, alone in his bed.
I’m not sure why, but I was relieved to see that, though I don’t voice it out loud.
When we reach the door to the garage, I stop before I open it as I’m hit by an idea of where she might be. I turn and head to the basement door. Spencer doesn’t question me, instead silently following me down the stairs.
I hear someone beating on one of the bags even before we reach the door, and I have no doubt it's her. Nobody else would be down here right now.
We make it to the door, and my eyes land on her where she stands in the middle of the mats, throwing punch after punch at the BOB she’s positioned there with her.
As soon as I see her, I stop dead. Spencer’s so close behind me that he almost plows into me but manages to stop just in time.
There’s no doubt in my mind it’s Jade. Nobody else has access to the house, let alone another female. If that wasn't a dead giveaway, the way she moves is. She's every bit the weapon we saw the other night.
But if I didn’t know better, I would think it was someone else.
Her long blonde hair isn’t blonde anymore. Instead, it’s a deep brown, near-black color that fades into a rich green. She’s got it pulled up into a high ponytail, the new color hard to miss as it sways with her movements.
That’s not the only thing that’s different.
The last time she was down here, she wore simple clothes that were loose but practical.
This time, she stands in the center of the mats in nothing but a sports bra and tight workout shorts.
Or at least I think they’re workout shorts; they’re so short they might actually be underwear.
Her hands are wrapped up to avoid injury, and her moves are as precise and quick as a whip.
Try as I might, I can't make myself look away. The lack of movement behind me lets me know Spencer is just as stuck as I am. I’m not sure how long we stand there before she stops and grabs her water, but the second she looks our way, I feel like a creep.
Of all the people that don’t need someone ogling her, Jade is probably number one on the list. And while I was watching primarily because of her skills, the only way someone wouldn’t notice how good she looks is if they were dead.
If she thinks it's weird we're watching her, she doesn’t say so. Instead, she downs some of her water before wiping her face and heading towards us, where we still stand in the doorway. I move over to let her through but still can’t pull my eyes away from her, even though I'm very aware I should.
When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she stops and looks back at us.
“Next time, you could join me instead of watching. I could always use some actual practice,” she says before heading up the stairs without waiting for a response. Which is probably for the best because I don’t have one.
Spencer scoffs behind me, and I take it he won't be offering, which isn't surprising.
“Or don’t. If watching is more your style, that's cool too,” she yells back before we hear the echo of the door clicking closed again.
She must have heard Spencer, and I can’t stop the slight rise of my lips as I look over at him and see his face.
He looks dumbfounded. I guess he wasn’t ready for her to push back.
“Fuck off,” Spencer growls at me before shoving me and heading back up the stairs now that Jade is gone. His reaction only makes this whole thing even funnier, and I can’t help the snicker that passes my lips as his face turns red with embarrassment.