Chapter 20 #2
Jade’s head pops up so quickly that it would probably be funny if it were anyone else.
She’s damn near impossible to sneak up on.
Trust me, Zander’s been trying all week and failing miserably.
He’s the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a ninja when he’s sneaking around, and not even he can get her.
Whatever book she was reading was enough of a distraction that she didn’t notice either of us.
She pulls herself off the ground to sit cross-legged in the same spot she’d just been lying. She looks from me to Rick, and I see the frustration clear on her face as she realizes she didn’t notice us.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it.
Zander closes his book, laying it on his chest, but doesn’t move to sit up. His eyes dart to Jade before looking back at Rick as if checking up on her. He doesn’t even acknowledge that I’m in the room.
Rick pushes off the door jamb and walks farther into the room.
I look down at my still-empty cup and let my shoulders sag in defeat as I follow him toward Jade and Zander.
I’m sure whatever he has to say is important, and I’m sure I’ll want to hear it, but damn it, I need some coffee before my brain decides to check out.
Rick stops just in front of Jade’s haphazard circle of books, and I sink into one of the oversized chairs just a few feet from them, not in their direct line of sight.
I need to hear whatever information Rick has, but I also don’t want to be an active part of this conversation unless necessary.
So for now, I’m more than happy to listen and blend in.
“Kratos said that Corey was found dead in his cell Tuesday morning,” Rick says, cutting right to the chase in his usual no-nonsense way.
Against my will, my eyes dart to Jade. I’m not sure what I expect to find there, but she gives zero reaction. I’m only able to see her profile from the seat I picked. Now, I wish I was somewhere I could see better.
“Why are we just now finding out if this happened days ago?” Zan asks as he finally pushes himself up before swinging his body around to sit in the chair the way it was intended.
His book falls to the floor in the process, but he makes no move to pick it up, as though he’s already completely forgotten about it.
That’s much more Zander’s typical mindset, and the action slightly eases something inside me that’s been off with his new behaviors and how strange they are compared to the guy I grew up with.
Rick shakes his head, and I see his jaw clench and unclench a few times before he responds, but I know from his reaction what his answer will be.
“I don’t know.” Nothing makes Rick quite as mad as not having an answer to something in our line of work.
Rick and Zander’s attention turns to Jade, whether for her reaction to the news or looking at her to see if she knows anything; I’m not sure.
She glances from one of us to the next as she realizes all eyes are on her before she gives a slight shrug of her shoulders.
“Good,” she says, her face completely void of emotion. I’m sure her past has given her one hell of a poker face.
“I mean, yeah, good, he’s dead, but aren’t you upset that you didn’t get to handle him?
” Zan asks, pulling himself out of his chair and walking over to her.
He folds himself onto the floor beside her before reaching out his hand to thread their fingers together.
She doesn’t pull away. Instead, she looks down at their joined hands and looks almost confused for a moment before a slight smile pulls at the corner of her mouth.
“Why would I be upset?” she asks, looking back up at him and then at Rick as if she genuinely doesn’t understand.
“He needed to die for what he did, and now he has,” she says it as if it’s painfully obvious, and I mean, when she says it like that, it kind of feels like it is.
“Yeah, of course, but he also should have suffered for what he did. He shouldn’t have been able to take the easy way out of this like a coward,” Zander tells her, his fingers squeezing hers, and I’m not sure if it’s to comfort her or himself. He almost seems more upset about this than she is.
“He didn’t,” Rick says and, in doing so, pulls everyone's attention back to him. We all just look at him for a moment, waiting for an explanation.
“He didn’t kill himself to get out of it. Kratos said his cell was a bloody mess, and while minimal, there were still some signs of struggle.” Zander nods at the information as if it’s good news, a smile pulling at his lips.
I don’t care how he died, really, but I know it will be one less thing for us to potentially have to deal with later.
We could have had a new ring to worry about if he had gotten out.
That, and he really did deserve to die. No matter how much I don’t care for Jade, I can’t deny that he was the worst kind of monster, the kind that preys on children and women.
Yeah, his murder sounds better and better by the second.
“So are we on clean-up if there were signs of a struggle?” I ask. We aren’t usually part of the clean-up crew on this kind of shit anymore, but I can see Froggie and Kratos sending us in, considering the girl is now in our care.
Rick shakes his head, “No, the signs of struggle were minimal enough that my dad still ruled it as suicide. Trent called Kratos because he knew we were handling this ring for Froggie,” he says, and while it would make sense to call us, I know there's more to it than that. Trent hates to call us for anything.
“Oh, I see. Trent wants to get in good with us, hoping to have a chance,” I say when it finally clicks. I don’t bother to elaborate, and I can see on Rick’s face that he had the same thought.
“Possibly,” he replies easily enough.
I catch the look on Jade’s face out of the corner of my eye, but it’s enough to see the clear confusion. Zander must see it, too, because he leans closer to her to explain.
“Trent hates us, even though he’s technically under us.
Here in the city, he does everything he can to handle everything without us.
Like the night we found you, Trent was there because he’s a cop, but Froggie had us there for backup anyway,” he explains, and I see his eyes unfocus as if he’s once again back there.
“Obviously, that was a good call because the dumbasses would have left you behind.” His voice comes out harsh, and I can’t even blame him.
I know he has feelings for Jade, even if it’s just going to be a passing crush.
I can understand his anger with the situation.
Shit, I’m still upset about it, and judging by Rick’s stiff posture, he hasn’t forgotten either.
I don’t have to want Jade here to understand that her being left in that hell would have been fucked up on so many levels, all of which would have been Trent’s fault.
“Anyways, he never just helps because it would be easier. He only helps when it’s required.
So it would appear as though he’s helping now because of the interest he showed in you at the party.
” Anger bleeds out of his voice, and I feel my brows arch up in surprise.
Zan isn’t one to let his anger go, so hearing him get upset about Trent and then snap back to normal is a bit strange.
I look over to Rick, who also seems confused, but when he catches my eye, he simply gives me a one-shoulder shrug and turns his attention back to Jade.
“Why would he have an interest in me?” she asks Zander, and again it’s so strange to see someone as capable and damn dangerous as she is, not understand something so basic.
It feels fake, but after spending the week around her, even with most of it spent actively avoiding her, I know that might be the most real thing about her.
Well, that and the fact that she’s dangerous, there’s no arguing that either.
Zander throws his head back and laughs before leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek, murmuring something to her that’s too low for me to hear. The confusion doesn’t leave her face, but her cheeks take on a slight pink as she blushes, and I have to force my eyes away from her.
There is no denying Jade’s beautiful. I’m not sure she would have made it to the number one spot in each ring she’s been in if she wasn’t. Between that, her determination, and her overall badassery, she could be most guy's wet dream.
If only she could be trusted.
After a moment, I tune back in and realize that Rick asked me something while I was completely zoned out.
“What?”
He looks at me a bit more intensely for a moment as he takes in my appearance from head to toe.
“When was the last time you slept?” he asks, but I wave him off because I don’t even know the answer, not if he means more than just a catnap here and there.
“Doesn’t matter. What did you say?” I ask, trying to turn the topic back to what it was before he decided to put me in the spotlight.
“I wanted to know if you could pull up the cameras in the holding cells and around the station so we can see if there’s anything useful there. Kratos said that the main camera outside his cell was wiped clean, but you might be able to get into that if it wasn’t done well.”
I nod because, of course, I can do that. It won’t even be challenging, and he knows it. “Yeah, and what do you want me to do if I find anything? Will we handle this, or does Froggie want the info?”
“Get rid of it.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Zander barks before I can, but it doesn’t matter who said it because he stole the words out of my mouth.
“Kratos said all evidence is to be wiped.” Rick shrugs as if it’s no big deal, and it isn’t, but it’s not normal, either.