On Edge

by Kim Cong

  It was barely 10:00 a.m. and she was pouring herself a glass of vodka. Pax and I both watched her in silence. She downed it then looked at us.

  “What? You come in here throwing accusations around and I can’t have a drink to settle my nerves?”

  Pax beat me to the punch. “You shouldn’t need vodka at ten in the morning to settle your nerves, Courtney.”

  She sneered at him. “Good of you to join the conversation, Pax. And where have you been for the last few years, huh? Off fighting for love and country while poor little us sat at home waiting for a miracle. You know she sold everything, right? We had nothing. Nothing! The only fucking thing she didn’t sell was her virginity because she was waiting for you!”

  “Courtney!”

  “No.” Pax held up a hand and I sank back down on the barstool. “No, let her go.” He turned to her and walked over, snatching the vodka from her hand. “Hey!”

  “Shut, the fuck, up.”

  She stared at him in surprise. “How dare you—”

  “Shut the fuck up!” He roared the words and smashed the glass down on the stone benchtop, causing liquid to splash out, hitting his hand and the bench. There was silence.

  “I will say this once and once only. You better fucking listen, Courtney, and make the right decision.” I watched as my sister slowly turned pale. “Esso is a drug dealer. He’s a pimp. He’s a murderer. He’s being investigated for a fuckload of bad shit.” He pointed a finger in her face.

  “You got on his radar. You dragged your sister into it. You owe this guy cash—lots of it. You keep going the way you’re going, you’ll end up on your back letting fat, sweaty guys with bad breath fuck you. And don’t pretend they won’t. Bastards from all over will pay mega bucks to fuck Courtney Oliver. You’re a pop princess and a bunch of bastards will pay big bucks to fulfil that fantasy. But no matter what they pay, it won’t be enough.”

  She stepped back but Pax followed, backing her into the wall. “Because while you’re on your back, letting these guys pound away, you’ll be dreaming of the next hit. You’ll be thinking about the sweet taste of it. The heady rush of nothingness. And you’ll keep letting them go at it with you while you waste away to fucking nothing. In the meantime, Esso will have taken Jet.”

  He threw a hand out toward me. “And Jet has nothing to do with your fuck-up. But Jet, because she’s your sister” - he pointed back at her chest - “will have been dragged into your shit. She’ll be down in the dirt with you. She’ll be forced to do stuff no one should do, especially not someone whose only fault is loving their sister.” He paused and looked her straight in the eye, dropping his hands.

  Courtney was pale, so freaking pale, and shaking. I wanted to go to her, but I didn’t move.

  “I can’t have that. Because here’s the thing. I would walk through fucking fire for your sister. I would kill a hundred men—believe me, I have—to be with her. The fact is, I couldn’t care less about you if you choose that path. But her? I will pull her out and make her walk away. I will leave you behind, Courtney. I will leave you to the pricks and the pimps and the junkies and let them fight over what’s left of you. You don’t want that? You tell me right now and I will fight for you. I will take care of Esso. I’ll get you the help you deserve. I will take you, right now, to a place I know. I will get you clean. But I won’t help you if you don’t ask. It’s going to be hard, Courtney. It’s going to hurt like a motherfucking bitch. It’s gonna kill you. You’re going to crave it every night of your life. It’s an ongoing battle.” He stepped back moving to stand beside my chair, and clasped a hand on my shoulder.

  “But I will help you. I will get you to the other side. I will get you to people who will get you there. But you have to say yes, or we walk out of here right now and Jetta ceases to exist for you.” He leaned over the bench and looked her dead on. “What you gonna choose?”

  Her eyes flicked from Pax to me and back. A single tear ran down her cheek.

  “I want the help.”

  I closed my eyes and breathed easy for the first time since meeting Esso. Thank God.

  Pax leaned back and nodded. “Good. Get your shit. We’re leaving in twenty.”

  Pax made a phone call while I stood in the shade of the entrance of the small cottage. We’d driven out into the middle of country New South Wales. Acres upon acres of dry grass lay around us. It was hot and I could already tell Courtney was close to needing a hit. It broke my heart. How did I not know that my gorgeous, talented, funny little sister had been suffering? She was shaking a little and looking around with an agitated expression.

  I pulled her close for a hug, suppressing my tears.

  “It’s okay. Pax knows the owner of this place, Dylan. He’s a veteran. He and his wife run this place. It’s for recovering addicts. They’ll look after you, Ney-ney. They’ll get you better.”

  She shuddered in my arms. “I’m scared, Jet. I’m so freaking scared.”

  I shushed her and we gently rocked. Her tears wet my shirt as I held her sobbing body. “It’s okay, baby girl. It’s okay.”

  Pax strolled back over and the doors reopened. He’d already been through Courtney’s bag and made her show him the insides of all her pockets. We knew she wasn’t hiding anything. He looked at me and nodded. It was time.

  I stepped back and swiped my fingers over my little sister’s cheeks, brushing her tears away. God, this was so hard.

  “You’ll be okay.” I smiled. “You’ll come back and we’ll work it out then, alright?” She was nodding and sobbing. Pax wrapped an arm around me as the door opened behind us. Dylan and his wife, Jeanette, came out. Jeanette pulled Courtney into her arms.

  “Hush, Courtney, it’s all going to be fine. We’ll get you through this.” She ushered her inside and shut the door. It felt final and I struggled to hold back the tears. Pax pulled me closer and held out a hand to Dylan.

  “Thanks, mate, I really appreciate this.”

  Dylan clasped his hand. “No worries. Anything for you, you know that, man.” He nodded to me. “We’ll look after her. We’ll call you with updates. It’s going to be a while before she’s allowed outside contact. But we’ll keep you updated.”

  I drew in a shuddering breath. “Thank you. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

  Dylan, with his blond hair and twinkling blue eyes, smiled gently at me. “It’s not about you, sweetheart. It’s about getting her life back.” At that, I started crying and he patted me gently on the arm before going back inside. Pax pulled me to him and we stood under that patio, the heat from the day wafting from the ground, as I cried years of pain into his chest.

  We started the drive back as dusk fell. We stopped in at a roadside McDonalds to eat. It was while we were both munching down that I noticed one of Courtney’s songs come on the TV. It spiked a thought.

  “Oh, my God, Paul.” I was horrified I hadn’t thought of it before. And also excited. Pax raised an eyebrow while sucking back some Coke.

  “I know how I can pay you back! How I can get the money to pay Esso!” I scrambled for my bag and ripped out my phone. “Royalties! Courtney has been rolling in money for years! And Mum and Dad’s royalties, the ones we’ve made since the debts were paid off, are in a trust account for us. I can’t access it until I’m thirty, but Paul can! He can help!”

  I plugged the digits in and waited, beaming at Pax. He had a serious look on his face but didn’t say anything.

  “Jet Plane! Long time no talk!”

  I laughed. “Paul! It’s so good to hear your voice.”

  “What can I do for you, my lovely girl?”

  A lump built in my throat, but I swallowed it down. “Paul, I have a problem. You’re not going to like it.” I explained about Courtney and her drug addiction and then about Esso. Paul was silent throughout. At the end, he let out a long, low whistle.

  “This is deep, Jet. Real deep shit. How you holding up, babe?” I glanced over at Pax, who had finished his meal and
was kicked back, hands linked at the back of his head, watching me through half-closed eyes.

  “Yeah, I’m alright. Pax is looking after me.” Pax dropped his hands and leaned forward, one hand coming up to slide behind my head and pull me across the table. Our foreheads met and our eyes locked while Paul kept talking.

  “Good. Look, Jet, I can’t access your royalty trust until you and Courtney are at least thirty, you know that. Unfortunately, it’s stipulated in the will. It’s airtight.” I grunted and Pax rose to kiss my forehead, then released me.

  Paul’s voice was soft as he reminded me gently of information I already knew. “It’s why I was never able use that to help you with the debt when Jimmy and Marcella passed.”

  I didn’t say anything, just closed my eyes, disappointed. Drawing in a deep breath, I opened them and tried my second option.

  “Courtney gave me power of attorney for her. Surely her royalties are worth something? Her new single, ‘Shower,’ just went eight weeks at number one and is being used in just about every major movie and TV show across the world at the moment. Surely there’s something we can do there?”

  “You know how the music business is going these days, Jet. It’s not a great time to be in it; there’s not a lot of money to be made.”

  The last part of me cracked and my shoulders dropped, head bowing to the table.

  “Yeah. I know.”

  “Look, leave it with me. I’ll go talk to some people I know. See what I can arrange. See if we can’t organise something from my end.”

  “Okay. But you’ll start sending me Courtney’s cheques for her royalties?”

  “Sure, honey. Talk soon, okay?”

  “Yeah. Bye, Paul.”

  “Bye, Jet Plane.”

  I clicked off and glanced up at Pax.

  “No good?”

  I shook my head. “Paul says there’s not a lot of cash in music these days. He’s going to send me the stuff, but I’m afraid it’s probably not enough to get across the line.” Tears filled my eyes.

  “Jetta, look at me.” I met his gaze. “Babe, you know I worked my arse off during my years with Defence. I made a shitload of money doing shit no one else could do. I got enough money to pay for this and not feel it. Besides that, I got parents who are loaded, and a full half share in the agency. I am not hurting. I got this. Let me do this for you. Let me look after you.”

  I didn’t know what to say. “I’m so embarrassed. I can’t let you do this, Pax. I don’t know when I’ll be able to pay you back.”

  “We’ll work something out later, okay? Jet, let me do this for you. Let me make this right.” I was guilty, but I in no position to decline.

  “I will pay you back.”

  A sexy grin stole across his face and his slightly raised eyebrow , that look so familiar from our brief time together, sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. “Oh, I know.”

  Jetta

  I slept all the way home. I was utterly destroyed. The kidnapping, reuniting with Pax, the emotional confrontation with Courtney, the strain of trying to be strong. It was too much. I didn’t even wake when Pax carried me from the car to bed. I finally woke about midmorning the next day. My shoes and pants and bra were off, but my shirt was still there. Which, to be honest, was a surprise. I wondered, briefly, if Pax had tried to cop a feel.

  I pulled on a baggy pair of his tracksuit pants and staggered into the kitchen. Light shone brightly and blindingly through his curtainless windows as I slumped at the breakfast bar, cringing and squinting at him.

  “Caffeine. Now.”

  He laughed, damn him! “Steady, girlie. Here.” He handed me a cup of steaming coffee and I sipped it like my life depended upon sipping the precious, precious elixir. After a few minutes, I blinked the sleep from my eyes and pushed a chunk of dishevelled hair from my face.

  “You’re dressed.” I didn’t mention that he looked like he was about to walk into a photo shoot, but… yum!

  “Yeah, some of us have to work.”

  I blinked. “But it’s Saturday.”

  “Yep.” He turned to the sink and started washing up his mug and bowl.

  “But… it’s Saturday.”

  “Yeah. And I took yesterday off to deal with Courtney so today I have to deal with work.”

  “Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I never…. Shit, Pax, you should have said something.”

  He flicked me a grin over his shoulder.

  “Don’t sweat it, Jetta. I’ll pull a half day and get home with enough time to take you to your place so you can get dressed up for tonight.”

  I was lost.

  “Tonight?”

  He finished with the sink and moved to the fridge. “Uh-huh. You’re meeting up with Addie, remember?” He was rummaging around in there for goodness only knew what, which was a good thing, considering the look of complete abject horror I knew was upon my face.

  “Where—” I coughed to clear my throat. “Where exactly am I meeting her?” He emerged with a bunch of fruit and a tub of Greek yoghurt and placed them in front of me.

  “Food. Eat.” He handed over a knife and then cocked a hip against the bar. “Some place in Kingston, Sixty-something.”

  “Eighty-Six?”

  “Yeah, that’s it.”

  Crap. I’d have to dress nice. Like skirt and heels nice. Crap. I kept hacking at the fruit as Pax stood and stretched. For a moment, all my focus was on his stomach. His shirt rode up and his jeans rode down. A thick stretch of smooth skin was revealed. A light dusting of hair dotted the muscles. Every part of me sat up to pay attention.

  He dropped his arms and caught my look.

  “What?” I blinked at him, still locked in a hubba-hubba daze. A slow, knowing smile stole over his lips and I was seriously about to lose my ever-loving mind. He leaned over the bench and slowly moved closer. Our breath mingled as our eyes stayed locked. His lips were nearly on mine when he paused.

  “Look at me like that later tonight.”

  Then our lips met.

  Holy….

  It was perfect. So amazingly perfect. His lips were delicious and aligned perfectly with mine. I dropped the knife with a clatter on the bench and wrapped my arms around his neck. He leaned closer and kissed me deeper. It was hot. Hot and hard and every part of me wanted more. More of him, more of this, more of everything.

  He broke off the kiss with a curse. I chased after him, pulling him back. Our lips met again and we were lost. I tried to move closer but the freaking bench was in the way!

  We broke off when I knocked the yoghurt over. We both turned and looked at the splattered liquid. Our breathing was ragged. My arms were still around his neck and his hands framed my ribs. We turned back toward each other and he leaned his head against mine.

  “You have to go.” I panted a little, completely wanting him.

  “I know.” We were both still.

  “Now. You have to go now. To work. You have to work.”

  “Yep.” Again, we don’t move. A smile stole over my face and he laughed, eyes twinkling, and finally pulled back. I let him go and resettled on the stool. I was gratified to note that he had to adjust his pants.

  “Tonight,” Pax stated. I sucked in a breath and then nodded.

  Aww… crap.

  I was looking good. Truth? I was looking hot as hell. Pax hadn’t made it back so I’d spent the day lounging around his pool reading and fooling around on my guitar.

  A guy had arrived early that morning, introducing himself as Jack, and parked himself on a deck chair in the corner of the pool area. He’d gotten up occasionally to patrol and he’d made me a sandwich for lunch. He was hot and that along with the sandwich made it a perfect day.

  In the late afternoon another guy had rocked up, taking over from Jack, and informed me that Pax had been held up. Pax had texted a few minutes earlier so I knew this, but I was so tongue-tied by the man in front of me that I couldn’t do much more than nod.

  The god before me informed me his name was L
uc and he was going to escort me out. I didn’t mean to be disloyal to Pax, but this guy, Luc?

  Oh. My. Gawd.

  Pax was gorgeous, but this Luc guy… he looked like a darker, hotter version of Chris Hemsworth. No, scratch that. If Thor, Captain America, and Ryan Gosling in The Notebook (the scene with the stubble) all had a baby, he could not have looked more perfect.

  Hell, throw some Robert Downey Jr. smart-arse genes in there, with Seth MacFarlane’s sense of humour and a voice that was deep and sexy and smooth as chocolate. The guy looked like he’d been photoshopped and sounded like sex.

  He had slightly overlong shaggy black-brown hair and blue eyes that twinkled in a way that made my panties melt.

  But in the end, it was the beard.

  Goddamn, that beard was freaking hot. Just the perfect amount of scruff and shag. Not overdone, either. Not hipster-styled, but definitely taken care of.

  If I wasn’t already deeply in lust and potentially falling back in love with Pax, I would have been dropping my panties and yelling “take me.”

  But I was an adult and had my own hot guy.

  A hot guy who apparently had something planned for tonight.

  I shivered thinking about what that could possibly mean.

  “Yo! Bitch!”

  I spotted Addie waving frantically from the other side of the bar and wove my way through tables crammed with people toward her.

  That girl was sex on stick-thin heels and I wasn’t the only one to notice. There were guys swirling to look at her. She wore a figure-hugging black dress with killer crimson heels. Her lips were a matching crimson and her make-up was set to dramatic. She looked like a Victoria’s Secret model, only shorter.

  She sat at a table with two other women and a guy. Sitting next to her on her right was a cute blonde in a baggy t-shirt. The blonde stood up and held out a hand with an open and very beautiful smile.

  “Hi, I’m Evie.” She was adorable, and had a gorgeous velvet voice. She was wearing black jeans, a cute purple top two sizes too big for her, black flats and a ponytail. No make-up to be seen.