I didn't get it. "And why is that funny?"
"Because," he said, "it's your friend doing it."
Chapter 27
When we pulled into the driveway, I could hear the yelling as soon as I opened the car door.
I had to give Jax some credit. The drivetothe restaurant had taken us twenty minutes. But the drive back? Thanks to some creative maneuvering on his part, it had taken only ten.
Ten terrifying minutes.
But I couldn’t complain. It was, after all, at my urging.
I slammed the car door and practically sprinted up the front steps. I had no key, but that didn't even matter. The front door was wide open, which explained why they'd been so easy to hear.
Somewhere in the house, Allie was yelling, "Where the fuck is she?"
Jaden replied, "I already told you. Out."
"Liar!" she yelled. "What have you done with her?"
"Me?" Jaden said. "Shit, I haven't done anything. But my brother? Eh, I can't promise you anything there."
Standing just inside the front door, I glanced wildly around. I could hear them, but I couldn't see them. Wherewerethey?Upstairs?In a house so big, it was hard to tell.
Allie was saying, "I'm not afraid of you, you know."
"Yeah? I wish I could say the same."
As they bickered back and forth, I heard the sounds of doors slamming one after another. I listened more closely.Yup, they were definitely upstairs.I made for the stairway and took the stairs two at a time.
Somewhere down the hall, Jaden was saying, "If you think she can fit in that dresser, you're nuts." He paused. "Well, unless we chopped her up or something."
"I swear to God," Allie said, "if you didanythingto her, I will kill you. Slowly."
"Hell, you're killing me now."
I found them in the second bedroom on the right. Allie was in the closet, shoving aside bunches of clothes that were hanging inside.
From the open doorway, I stopped to stare. What on Earth was she doing? Looking for a secret passageway or something?
Searching for some clue, I looked to Jaden. He was wearing jeans, but no shirt, and his torso was covered in tattoos. I hadn't seen a hint of them last night, but then again, hehadbeen wearing a tux.
Now, he was leaning against the nearest wall, eyeing Allie with open contempt. "Hey Velma," he told her, "you wanna check the bookcases, too?"
Velma?
Allie didn't even pause. "You don'thaveany bookcases, dumb-ass. I checked for those first."
At this, Jaden looked nearly insulted. "That's not true," he told her. "We've got a whole library downstairs." He gave her a smug smile. "So who's the dumb-ass now?"
The smile was a total waste. Allie didn't even look. She was still focused on the clothes. She shoved aside a row of hangers and muttered something about shoving a Scooby Snack up his ass.
A Scooby Snack?
Oh. Of course.
Obviously, they'd been referencing that classic cartoon. Probably, I should've figured that out at "Velma." I heard myself mutter, "Ruh-roh."
