My spine grew twitchy at the memory of how Jax and I had met. I gave a self-deprecating eye-roll. "I think you know the answer to that."
"Yeah. I do." His tone grew a shade darker. "And you're not going back. You know that, right?"
"What do you mean? Back with my mom? " I stiffened. "I wasn't planning on it."
"Good to know," he said. "And if anyone gives you grief, let me know. I'll handle it."
"Grief from who? My mom?" I forced a laugh. "Thanks, but I can handle her just fine."
He gave me another look. He didn't need to say what he was thinking, because it was written all over his face. He didn't believe me one bit.
I gave him a look right back. "I can," I insisted. "And besides, why would you want to get involved?"
He smiled. "Why not?"
In spite of his smile, I felt just a little bit uneasy. It's not that his smile was evil exactly, but there was something there, a ruthlessness that he wasn't bothering to hide.
Or maybe that was just my imagination.
I cleared my throat. "Back to Allie…youwouldtell me if they were in the house, right?"
"The police?" He gave a low laugh. "Trust me, they're not coming in the house."
It was the second time he'd told me to trust him. Iwantedto trust him. But we were talking about Allie's safety, not my own, and I didn't want to take any chances.
Already, this trip had cost her far too much.
I lifted my gaze to the ceiling. Somewhere above, Allie was blissfully ignorant of her impending doom.
Even if the police didn't comein, she'd have to goouteventually, right?
Jax's voice interrupted my thoughts. "If you want, I'll have Jaden guard the door."
I was still looking upward. "What door? The bedroom door?"
A hint of humor crept into his voice. "If that's what you want."
I pulled my gaze from the ceiling and gave Jax a long, perplexed look.Was he kidding?I couldn’t tell. His eyes were serious, but his mouth had a slight upturn at the corners, as if he might laugh at any moment.
I was pretty sure I knew why. EvenIwanted to laugh at the idea of Jaden guarding the bedroom door – as if Allie would let him.
"No thanks," I said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure they'd kill each other."
"Nah. Allie might dohimin, but…" With a shrug, he let the sentence trail off before glancing at his visitor's chair. "So, are you gonna be sitting any time soon?"
I didn't feel like sitting. I felt like dashing upstairs to warn Allie. And yet, I wouldn't be doing her any favors by delivering bad news in the middle of her shower.
For all I knew, this might be her only moment of peace before the you-know-what hit the fan.
Reluctantly, I sank back into the chair. "Well, I suppose I should hear the rest."
"Yeah," he said. "You should. But it's not about Allie. It's about you."
Chapter 31
I stared at him from the other side of the desk.I didn't want to talk about me.Iwasn't the one in trouble, at least not at the moment. I said, "But what about Allie?"
He looked annoyingly unconcerned. "It's handled, just like I said."
