The Things We Hide: A Friends to Lovers Young Adult Romance (Pushed Aside Book 2)

by Cassandra Hallman

Jaxon waits until we see her walk inside before we start driving around aimlessly. He called Fredrick and told him what happened. Now we just need to wait to hear back from him and hopefully he will tell us that all charges are dropped, and we are cleared to go home. We will have a better chance of finding Colt and Josie if we are not wanted as well. Their plan doesn’t really work if they have nothing they can charge us with. The best-case scenario is that they just give up and let Jenna's sister go. You know Josephine’s family won’t be able to keep your connection a secret after this. How are they going to explain Colt kidnapping her?”

  Jen shrugs. “They have a lot of money. The cops could say Colt kidnapped her for quick cash.”

  “Yes, you are probably right.” I kiss her forehead. “Don’t worry Jen, everybody will be looking for her now.”

  It seems like we have been driving around forever when Frederick finally calls. Jaxon answers and everybody in the car holds their breath. He lets out a relieved sigh and his shoulders visibly relax. “So, we are completely cleared of all charges? Thank you, Frederick, I’ll talk to you later.” Jaxon hangs up the phone and everybody in the car relaxes, except Jenna. She still sits rigidly in my lap and I know she won’t rest until her sister is found.

  I have Jaxon drop me off at my house. Jenna follows me inside in silence. I try to ignore the mess the police left after searching my house. I turn on the TV and find the news channel as soon as we walk in. I get Jenna something to drink before I sit down next to her and we wait together for the news story to hit.

  It doesn’t take long for the breaking news headline to appear. Jenna was right, there is no mention of us. They don’t even mention Mindy or Colt. All they are talking about is that Josephine Warren, beloved daughter of Senator Tate Warren, is missing. I am stunned that the Senator would go through such length to ensure that Jenna’s existence is being kept a secret. I don’t understand how him adopting a child would be bad for his image. I am not telling Jenna about this, but I have a gut feeling that there is more to the story that he is hiding.

  I can’t get Jenna to go to bed with me even though she keeps dozing off on the couch. I get the comforter and cover us both up with it. I don’t care where we sleep, as long as I have her with me.

  The next day seems like it is never going to end. Jenna is a walking mess. She is worried sick about her sister and it kills me that there is nothing I can do to help or make her feel better. The news is still running the same story, that Josephine is missing, and they don’t have any more leads. I really hope that this is just a front and that in reality, Josie’s father is using his connections to search for her with all the information he has.

  Jenna is still sitting on the couch by the afternoon. I made her eat an apple and a granola bar, but she still looks drained and weak. “Jaxon thinks we should go to the club tonight. Ears on the ground kind of thing. Do you want to come?”

  “Yes, I’ll go.” Even her voice sounds tired. “I should probably take a shower and change clothes. Will you come with me?”

  “Sure.” I haven’t left her alone since the lake house and I am not planning on doing so anytime soon. She turns the water in the shower on before we ever get undressed. I help her out of her clothes before I take my own off. She turned the water so hot that the bathroom is quickly filled with steam. She steps into the shower under the hot stream of water and I follow closely behind. I put some shampoo in my hand and start rubbing it in Jenna’s hair. I have never washed someone else’s hair but, Jen seems to enjoy it. She leans her head back into my hands and moans quietly. I keep massaging her scalp for a while before I rinse out the suds.

  After, she leans her back against my chest and rests her head on my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her and we just stand like that until the water runs cold. I get out of the shower first to grab the biggest towel I can find. I wrap her up in it and use a smaller towel to wrap her hair in. She just lets me help her and take care of her. I don’t know if she even realizes that right now since she can’t seem to think of anything besides her sister. Not that I blame her for that one bit. Either way, knowing that she lets me do this for her and that she seems to fully trust me now means a lot. I want her to feel safe with me and I want to keep her safe, always.

  We get dressed and leave the house an hour later. I park in the parking lot behind the club. We walk to the back door and I type in my code to open it. “Stay close.” I take Jenna’s hand as we walk in. It’s early but it’s already packed upstairs. It won’t be crowded downstairs until later tonight. The people that come to the Bunker to party upstairs are very different from the crowd that parties downstairs. Up here are mostly young kids, dancing and drinking, just having fun, unaware of what is going on beneath their feet.

  I spot Jaxon at the end of the bar. I move along the wall with Jenna in tow, trying not to bump into drunk people if I can help it. Eliza is standing between Jaxon and the bar, caged in by his arms. When we get to the bar, I do the same with Jenna. I put her in front of me, so no one can bump into her by accident and guys don’t get the stupid idea to hit on her. Eliza smiles wide when she sees us and takes Jenna’s hand when we stand next to them. I lean down to Jenna’s ear. “You want something to drink?”

  “I want a beer,” she says flatly. I don’t think alcohol is the best choice right now, but who am I to judge. I started drinking much younger than eighteen.

  “I had a beer before, you know,” she tells me. “Don’t worry I don’t get drunk easily. A beer will just calm my nerves a little.”

  A beer it is then. I motion one of the waitresses to come over and I order us two beers. While I wait for our drinks, I can’t help but wonder who she has gotten drunk with before. Maybe the same guy she had the uneventful sex with. When the waitress comes back, Jenna grabs one of the beers and almost chugs the whole thing. She doesn’t even make a face.

  We stay at the bar for a while, but I don’t see anyone up here who even knows Colt. I lean in over to Jaxon. “Want to take them downstairs?” He agrees even though he doesn’t look happy about it. We both know that it’s our best shot at finding anything out. Jaxon leads the way down the stairs. It hasn’t been that bad downstairs since Colt left and Jaxon made some changes, but it still isn’t a place I like to take Jenna. I am sure Jaxon hates this just as much as I do. The alternative would have been to leave the girls at home, which is even less appealing at the moment.

  As soon as we walk through the heavy door that opens up to the basement, a cloud of smoke hits us. The air is only getting worse the more we walk inside even though it’s still pretty empty down here. We come up to one of the poker tables and I spot some of the people Colt used to do business with. “I’m going to play a few hands.” Jaxon nods and takes Eliza to the bar down here. Jenna stays with me. I make her sit next to me, on the side where no one else is sitting. I take out a hand full of thousand-dollar chips from my pocket. I glance over to Jenna who looks uncomfortable and out of place. “You want to play?”

  The beer she had upstairs must have really calmed her nerves because to my shock she says yes. I throw ten chips in front of the dealer. “Buy us in five grand each.”

  Jenna grips my leg under the table and leans her head to my ear. “Did you just say five thousand dollars?” Her alarmed sound makes me smirk.

  “Yes, do you know how to play?”

  “I played before, but not with actual money and definitely not that much money.”

  I lean towards her even closer so no one else can hear us. “All the people at this table are regulars. Even if we both lose everything, I can guarantee you that this money is going to be back in my pocket by the end of the month.” If not by the end of the night. Jenna’s body relaxes, her grip on my leg lessens but she leaves her hand there until the dealer deals out all the cards. She takes hers and organizes them. She holds her cards with both hands in front of her face like she is about to play go fish with her friends.

  I need to remind myself that we are here for a reason. I need to lis
ten to the people talk around me, try to pick up any clues that could lead us to Colt. Jenna sitting next to me is a huge distraction. She loses the first two hands and folds the next. I can tell she is getting really uncomfortable and so can the other three guys at the table. They keep betting higher and higher, scaring her out of the game. The next hand she plays and even raises. I fold and so do the other guys. She must have had great cards if she is comfortable betting. The next rounds she keeps doing the same thing. Doubling the bet, making the other guys fold. I am too curious this time and go with the bet even though I have nothing besides a pair of fives.

  We are still waiting for the dealer to reveal the final card, but he never does. I look up to see what he is waiting for and see the dealer starring past me looking so green that I worry he is about to puke on the table. Then I hear the commotion starting behind me. I turn to look over my shoulder. The two guys next to me are already out of their seat running the other way. I know running is not in my cards because the five cops in SWAT gear are heading straight for me.

  19

  Jenna

  Everything happens so fast. People around us are running to the door we came in from. Hunter is out of his seat but is not making a move to run. There is really nowhere for him to go anyway. The cops are already surrounding him. Hunter holds his empty hands in front of him showing the police that he is unarmed. I get up myself and take a step away from the table.

  Two of the cops step towards us and one of them yells, “Hunter Evans, you are under arrest for the murder of Sarah Newman.” He continues with the ‘everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law’ speech while putting Hunter in handcuffs.

  “It wasn’t him! I was there it wasn’t him! He didn’t kill Sarah!” I yell at the cops, begging them to listen to me, but they are ignoring me completely.

  “It’s okay, don’t worry about me,” Hunter calls before they take him away, the same way they came. Leaving me standing at the table alone and utterly shocked. Someone grabs my arm and I twist around ready to punch someone. I freeze when I see it’s Eliza next to me.

  She looks scared but not as stunned as I feel. I look around, Jaxon is nowhere to be found. “Did they take Jaxon too?” She nods and takes my hand to lead me upstairs. The people up here are still partying like they were earlier, oblivious to what just happened downstairs. We go out the same way I came in with Hunter. In the parking lot, Eliza unlocks Jaxon’s car. I just now realize that she is wearing his jacket. She gets into the driver’s seat and I run around to the passenger side.

  “You know how to drive?” I ask her when I am inside the car.

  “Yes.” Eliza buckles up and pulls out of the parking lot. We see at least ten cop cars next to the building and another five in front. The whole road is lit up by blue flashing lights. I am guessing there is another entrance to the basement on the side where all the cops are parked. Eliza drives down the road and takes the second turn, making all the blue light disappear from the rearview mirrors. Why is she not freaking out and where the heck is she going?

  Eliza takes out Jaxon’s phone from his jacket and dials some number. Some male voice answers. “Hello?”

  “Frederick, it’s Eliza. They just arrested Jaxon.” Her voice is shaky but there is a determination about it.

  “I am on it. Don’t worry Eliza. I’ll call you as soon as I find anything out.”

  “Thank you.” She hangs up.

  “Did Jaxon prepare you for something like this?” That’s the only explanation I can think of that will make sense of everything that has happened in the last ten minutes.

  “Yes.” Of course, he did. I should have been prepared myself. I should have known that they weren’t going to give up so easily. Colt probably planned this all along.

  I remember what Hunter said to Colt in the library. I know what kind of guy Coleman is, he is not going to be satisfied with us being behind bars. He wants me and Jaxon gone so he can get to Eliza. I shiver just thinking about this. That sicko can’t get his hands on Eliza. An even scarier thought crosses my mind. What if Colt took Josie to Coleman. No, I can’t think about this. They wanted Jaxon and Hunter. Colt said that was the deal and that he is good for his word. He must let Josie go now. He just has to.

  I look down at my bracelet, holding the small pendant between my fingers. My other half, my better half. She has to be okay.

  We pull into a parking garage a few minutes later. Eliza takes a bag out of the trunk and leads me to an elevator. Inside she used a key card and types in a code before the elevator starts moving. We ride up for a few seconds and when the door opens, we are walking straight into an apartment. It’s a spacious open floor plan with modern but simple furniture that reminds me of Jaxon’s place. I follow Eliza into the kitchen and watch her get two bottles of beer from the fridge. She opens both and hands me one, taking a sip from her own.

  “So, what is this place and what did Jaxon tell you to do?”

  “We just bought this last week. Jaxon told me if he gets arrested, I need to call Frederick, come here and wait.” She takes another swig of the beer.

  “Wait for what?”

  “For Frederick or Jaxon to call me back.” Eliza walks over to the couch and sits down. I follow suit. “Don’t worry. You know it’s not true. Frederick will get them released and we are safe here in the meantime.”

  “What about my sister? She is not safe.” I can feel the pressure build behind my eyes from keeping my tears at bay. I can’t let one fall because I know that I won’t be able to stop.

  “There are a lot of people looking for her too. I am sure they will find her soon.”

  It’s weird to hear Eliza talk so much without Jaxon around. She has definitely come a long way overcoming her anxiety. I don’t think she could have done that if it wasn’t for Jaxon. I take a big swig of my own beer and hope that she is right. I hate sitting here and doing nothing, but I don’t really think I’ll be useful to anyone out there.

  Time has never moved so slowly. I always thought about time being this constant thing. A measurement of how the days pass. Today, I feel like time has decided to slow down. This endless waiting is driving me insane. I can’t seem to do anything to distract myself. All I can think of is that three people I care about are in trouble and there is nothing I can do.

  Eliza is not doing much better. She is pacing back and forth in the living room and chewing on her nails. Her phone is laying on the coffee table and we are both constantly checking it. I turned on the local news station on the TV hoping to hear that Josie has been found unharmed. I can’t think of the alternative. I don’t know how much time goes by until the phone finally rings. When it does, we both jump up. Eliza grabs the phone so frantically she almost drops it before answering. She puts it on speaker and holds it between us.

  “Hey, I just got back to the office.” Frederick sounds apprehensive and my heart sinks. “It’s not looking too good right now, but I had a chance to see both of them and they wanted me to tell you not to worry.”

  “Oh, we are not supposed to worry? Well, that’s a good idea. We’ll just stop worrying right now.” I say sarcastically.

  “I know this is a tough situation for everybody, but we’ll figure this out. I just need some time.”

  “What exactly are they saying?” Eliza asks.

  “I don’t know how they did this. But somehow someone, I assuming Coleman, turned the whole story around. They managed to get your former foster parents, Brad and Christine to retract their previous statements. They now claim that it was Jaxon who held them hostage in their home and shot Sarah, with Hunter as his accomplice. They made a deal with the district attorney that they would not be charged with making a false statement before. Also, they say the evidence had been tampered with and can’t be used now.”

  “What about us? We were there, and we saw it too. What about our statements?” I ask almost yelling in the phone. It’s not directed towards Frederick, which I am sure he knows. My self-contro
l is withering away. There is a moment of silence before Frederick answers and I am not sure if it’s because of my outburst or because he is about to tell us more bad news.

  “They want you two to come in for questioning. The guys don’t want you to come in and I don’t think you should either, at the moment. They will probably arrest you.” I think I am about to pass out. What the hell is happening?

  “For what?” I manage to get past the huge lump in my throat.

  “For lying under oath and obstruction of an active police investigation.” Of course, I am surprised they didn’t try to pin another murder on us. “The district attorney is offering you a deal as well,” Frederick continues.

  “Let me guess, we have to make a statement blaming Jaxon and Hunter.”

  Frederick sighs at the end of the line. “Yes, either you change your statement, or they will prosecute you as well. I don’t know what to tell you. Coleman has some powerful friends. He must have called in a dozen favors for all of this to work.” Eliza and I don’t have to discuss this. One look at each other and we know that we are both thinking the same thing. Changing our statement is out of the question.

  “Can I talk to Jaxon?” Eliza’s voice breaks at the end.

  “I’m sorry you can’t, but I can give him a message.”

  “Tell him I did everything he told me to do and that me and Jenna are here together and that we are okay.” She can barely get the words out. I put my arm around Eliza to comfort her just as much as I need to be comforted myself.

  “I will. And Eliza, Jaxon also said that if the police find you, he wants you to do whatever they say even if they want you to lie. Jenna, the same goes for you. Hunter wants you to stay safe and not to worry about him. I will call you guys back as soon as I have any news. In the meantime, stay where you are and don’t talk to anyone.” We tell Frederick goodbye and hang up. That’s when Eliza loses it. I hold her and together we sit down on the floor just holding on to each other.