Chapter 25 Zander #2
“Where is she?” I ask without explanation. I know he’ll know who I’m talking about, and if he wants to play dumb with me, well, that could be fun, too.
“Mr. Blackstone, I presume?” he asks in response with a nod in my direction that I don’t bother returning.
I don’t have time for pleasantries right now.
“Master Jacob informed me you and Mr. Sharp were waiting for the young miss and Mr. Kane and might stop in if needed,” he says as he makes his way out the doors I just entered through a moment ago.
I follow him. For his sake, I hope he’s taking me to her.
He seems nice enough, and I would hate to have to hurt him, but I will if I have to.
For Jade, there isn’t much I wouldn’t do.
“It is most unfortunate that it was needed, I’m sure, but it is still my pleasure to help Master Jacob’s friends, and of course, the young miss,” he says with a smile as he stops at the base of the grand stairs in what I assume is the main living room.
His smile crinkles the corners of his eyes, and I get the impression he smiles often, which kind of blows my mind, considering who his boss is.
I disregard the thought, nodding in agreement. We might not exactly be Jake’s friends, but I don’t have time to explain that, nor do I want to. For the moment, we're all on the same side, and it really is that simple.
He steps aside, holding his arm out toward the stairs.
“At the top of these stairs, go left.” I follow with my eyes as he points up toward the banister on the left side.
“You will take the second hallway all the way to the end that opens up to the music room. That is where the young master and the miss were last.”
I’m heading up the stairs even before he’s finished giving me directions. I call back a thank you when I reach the top of the stairs before turning down the hall and straight for the music room.
I pass door after door, and while the idea that something useful could be behind any of them is there, it’s not enough to take me off course.
I’ll break in here later if I have to. I honestly don’t see why we didn’t try that to begin with, but whatever.
Right before I make it to the music room, the door at the end of the hall opens, and Jake steps out right in my path. I almost plow him over, but manage to stop just short, throwing him a damning look.
Jake presses a finger to his lips and nods toward the room he just exited.
I move to step around him, but he sidesteps with me, shaking his head before inclining it toward the door again.
I clench my fists at my sides and fight against the urge to knock him out, or better yet, put a knife to him.
But right before I can do either, my thoughts slip to the fact that Jake is the one who called us here.
That might just count for something right now.
I shoot one more look over his shoulder toward the music room. The door is open, and while I can hear soft whispers of words being carried to me, I can't make out anything specific.
Against my better judgment, I clench my jaw and pull my eyes away from the doorway, heading into the room that Jake waved me toward.
I walk into a small sitting room. To my right, a fireplace holds the dying embers of a fire someone clearly neglected.
Two large high-back chairs sit facing the fireplace, and a dark plush rug lies on the floor in the space between them.
A small table sits between the chairs, stacked high with books and mugs.
The rest of the room is pretty bare. The table opposite the wall of the room houses a coffee maker with all the necessary fixings, a few mugs, and a mini fridge tucked underneath it. A bookshelf sits against the back wall, across from the door we just entered through.
As I look around the room, my mind goes to Jade, as it often does nowadays. Jade would love this little room. I can almost imagine her sprawled out on the rug with a book and a steaming mug of coffee.
I’ll have to set something like this up at the house for her.
The thought quickly reminds me what I’m doing here to begin with, and I turn to find Jake behind me, clicking the door closed quietly.
He remains quiet when he turns to face me, and I feel my temper flare. He'd better share with the class before I decide his usefulness has ended and go back to the music room.
“What are we doing?” I demand. My voice is loud in the otherwise quiet room, and Jake rushes over to me with a hand to his lips.
“I know this isn’t ideal, but I need you to calm down,” he tells me as he pulls his phone from his pocket and taps away at the screen.
“Kind of hard to do when you're the one who called in the SOS.” I let him hear just how upset I am about this, my tone much lower than it usually is.
“I know,” he says, looking up at me for a moment before he looks back down at his phone with a grimace. I close the small distance between us in just one step to peer over his shoulder and down at his phone.
“I didn’t know if I would actually need you guys to intervene or not, but I figured it was better safe than sorry.” He turns his phone just slightly so that I can better see it, and it takes my brain a moment to process what I’m looking at.
It’s a surveillance camera video feed. He taps the screen, and as he does, the feed flips through room after room around the manor before he stops on what I can only assume is the music room.
Jade is on the screen, and I can’t help but lean closer.
The video quality is exceptional, which isn’t surprising considering this is Randall’s house, but there’s no sound.
“Why can’t we hear anything?” I demand without taking my eyes off the screen.
Jade stands toe to toe with Randall, and while I can see the determination in her eyes even through the screen, I also know she hates this man. I loathe that she’s there alone with him while I stand just down the hall.
“My father has cameras in most rooms, but not all,” he says, and something in the way he says it lets me know we won’t be able to get anything useful from them.
Randall isn’t stupid enough to have a recording of everything he does, and I would bet a week without Jade that he doesn’t have them in places like his office or bedroom.
But that doesn’t explain why this one is here, without sound.
“He might want me to be the best of the best, but he hates to hear me play anything. When he set up the system, he ensured that there was no audio in the music room. He said it would be a waste of money and useless.” There's a bite in his tone that I’m not used to.
Jake is usually pretty level, if a little cocky, but it seems his father is a sore spot.
“So we're just supposed to stand here and watch…this?” I choke out, still unable to pull my eyes away from the screen. Randall is too close to her. I don’t like it.
“I called you guys so that if something goes wrong, you can step in and stop it. But so far, she seems to be holding her own, and I think it’s best we let her handle it for as long as she can.”
I look away from the screen and at him.
“So your father cornering Jade, alone, in a room, isn’t what you would count as something going wrong?” I ask genuinely curious how he could not see that as an issue.
“No, I don’t. She wanted information, and she could use this as an opportunity to get it. I know she searched my father's office earlier, but I don’t think she found much, if anything, judging by how on edge she was after,” he tells me, and it’s impossible to miss how bitter he sounds about that.
I don’t like it. Everything in me is telling me I need to remind him of the order we fall on this totem pole. But right now, that’s not the way we're working. No one person is answering to another. We're all working against Randall with and for Jade.
That doesn’t mean I have to like it, though, and I like the fact that he seems to understand her even less.
“Fine,” I relent.
We’re just one door down. If something goes south, I’ll be on him before he knows it.
So we can wait for now. We drop into the chairs near the fireplace.
Jake holds his phone out so that I can still see it, and we watch them.
I have no idea what they are saying, but I can practically feel the tension rolling off Jade.
Everything is fine for a few minutes.
Well, not fine. I still fucking hate this, but it’s tolerable.
Until it’s not.
Randall says something that has Jade’s eyes widening before he moves closer to her, leaning down to press his lips to hers. I watch in horror as she stands there and lets him. The only sign of discomfort is a single tear that runs down her cheek.
What the fuck could he have on her? Why in the hell is she allowing him not only this close, but to have any kind of sway over her?
Jade is usually pretty well collected, her mask set, unless she wants you to see what’s underneath. So what has he done to shatter that?
I’m on my feet and headed out the door with Jake hot on my heels before I can stop myself.
I don’t care what she’s going for. I can’t sit back and watch her put herself through this for the sake of a mission. I won’t.
I’m not sure if Jake attempts to stop me or if he even speaks, but I feel him a few paces behind me. The moment I walk through the door to the music room, he stops, hanging back by the doorway.
Fucking coward.
Randall still has his mouth on her, though now he’s kissing down her neck. It’s not any easier to watch. My stomach rolls violently, and suddenly I’m glad I didn’t eat yet or I would puke it all back up right now.
Jade's face is set in her mask once again, as if Randall's touch isn't ripping her apart. The moment her eyes find mine, I know I made the right choice to come for her now.
A bit of light shines in them, and the only way I can think to describe it is hopeful.
I don’t know that anyone has ever looked at me and felt a sense of hope.
It seems so foreign, but at the same time, I never want her to look at me any other way.
I want to be whatever she needs, and right now she needs me to step in, no matter the consequences.
I stop a few feet away from them, clearing my throat to get his attention.
Randall hardly moves, but he pulls back enough that his lips are no longer pressed to her skin. The relief that fills me is ridiculous.
“It’s time to go,” I say to Jade as I watch her without bothering to address Randall.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to say anything to him without losing my shit, and as much as I would love to carve him into a bloody mess, I know now’s not the time.
There will be a time and place for that, I’m sure. It's just not now, sadly.
Jade gives me a nod, attempting to step away from Randall, but his grip on her doesn’t relax, and she doesn’t fight him.
A growl works its way up my throat at this asshole being so possessive with her, but I swallow it down at the last second.
Randall looks at me, a wicked smile curving his lips, and I see the monster in his eyes. He might be able to hide behind his role of devoted mayor, but I know better.
He grips her chin, turning her head so that her eyes are once again on his. I dig my nails into my palms, clenching my hands so tight I start to shake as I watch the way he treats her.
Fuck, I want to carve him up so badly, but even knowing he deserves the torture, I’d settle for quick and easy right now. A knife to the heart, a bullet to the brain. I don’t give a shit if it meant getting Jade away from him.
“Remember what I said, Pet,” he tells her, pressing a harsh kiss to her lips once again.
He doesn't hold her long, and when he drops his hold on her, she quickly walks over to join me. The smirk on his face is all wicked delight. He knows what he’s doing, and he’s trying to get to me, but I can’t bring myself to care.
So what if he knows how I feel about her? The entire world can know it changes nothing. If anything, it only makes it easier for me. If he knows, maybe he’ll understand the lengths I’m willing to go to for her.
Including making him disappear if needed.
Jade walks back to me with all the grace she carried herself with earlier, but I can see in her eyes that she wants to run and not look back.
Once she’s at my side, I tuck an arm around her shoulder and pull her in close to me. I’d like to say I do it for her, and while I feel her slightly relax, it’s all for my own selfish gain.
I need to feel her here with me.
“Thank you for dinner, Mayor Ross.” Jade’s voice surprises me when it comes out cool and collected. She can play ball with the best of the best in this fucked-up rich neighborhood, but I wish she didn’t have to.
He gives her a nod, a predatory smile curving his lips. “The pleasure was mine, Jade. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again soon.”
“Yeah, no,” I say, and while I know it’s best not to cause problems, I can’t bring myself to regret it.
Randall continues to watch Jade for a moment before turning and leaving through a set of doors at the far side of the room, opposite the ones we used to enter.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” he calls back right before he turns the corner and disappears.
I pull Jade closer, damn near squishing her against me. I know a threat when I hear one, and that is exactly what that was. The only question is, was it meant for me or her?
Some of the tension drops from my body now that he’s gone. With a sigh, I loosen my hold on Jade. Though she hasn’t complained, I can’t imagine she enjoys being squished.
Plastering a smile that I don’t really feel on my face, I look down at her. I’m almost positive she doesn’t buy it, but she doesn’t call me on it.
“Let’s go home, huh?” I ask, and when her lip turns up in the barest hint of a smile, my own feels a little less forced.