"Oh, shut up."
"Alright, forget last night." I gave her a hopeful look. "Did you at least call him this morning?"
"Are you kidding?" she said. "He'd just tell me to bring it back."
"Well, obviously."
"And besides, my phone died in Alabama. I couldn’t call him even if I wanted to."
And she hadn't wanted to. That much was obvious. But if nothing else, this explained why she'd never answered my second call.
Allie sighed. "But what did you expect? You sounded scared. And I know how your mom is. You think I'd just give up because I couldn’t drive my own car?"
I felt my eyes grow misty at the thought of everything she'd done. "I knew you'd come if you could, but God, Allie, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't've asked you in the first place."
Now, I was literally wringing my hands. "It was incredibly stupid, and now, I'm worried you're gonna get in trouble."
She gave me a weak smile. "Did you just call me stupid?"
"No. I called me stupid. For leaving that message, the first one, I mean."
"That wasn't stupid," she said. "Now, moving down here? That was stupid."
I blew out a long, unsteady breath. Well there was that.
Her voice grew quiet. "But calling me to take you home? That was smart, like the smartest thing you've done all month."
I tried to smile. Home.
It was a funny word. Growing up, my mom was always moving from city to city, following this guy or that. Wherever she went, she took me with her – New York, L.A., Houston, and lastly, Nashville, where I'd met Allie.
Probably, I was lucky that my mom hadn't ditched me somewhere else along the way. After all, it's not like I had any other family to speak of.
No, the closest thing I had to family was the amazing person sitting across from me. I'd known Allie for four years now – ever since that fateful day I'd walked out of my mom's Nashville apartment, never to return.
Since then, I'd barely seen my mom at all, not until just recently, after she'd begged for a second chance in a whole new city – this city, in fact.
I sighed at my own stupidity. I'd made a huge mess of everything.
But I didn't want to dwell it, not now, when there was at least something I could do for Allie. Regardless of what she'd told Jax earlier, she'd surely love a shower and a change of clothes.
But we'd need to hurry – and not only because of the truck. I glanced at my cell phone. It was two in the afternoon, and the drive would take at least ten hours. Plus, I'd need to swing by my mom's place to pick my stuff, assuming, of course, that she'd give it up.
I added up the hours. Even if we left by three, we wouldn’t reach Nashville until very early tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow was a Monday. I looked to Allie and asked, "When do you need to be back to work?"
She hesitated. "I, uh, don't."
"What?"
She sighed. "I was fired actually."
My stomach sank. "What, why?"
She waved away the question. "Long story. It's not important."
"It is, too," I insisted. "You were so excited to get that job. And you've only had it for what? A month?"
Allie was a huge country music fan, and had recently been hired as the personal assistant to some bigtime music producer. At the time, she'd been so excited that she could hardly contain herself.
And now, she was acting like it didn't matter?
I studied her face. I knew Allie. This mattered a lot more than she was letting on.
In a very soft voice, I asked, "What happened?"
She gave a loose shrug. "Nothing. The job sucked anyway."
Yes. It had.
But Allie hadn't thought so, or at the very least, she'd been determined to stick it out, in spite of the fact that her boss was, in Allie's own words, a total monster.
But Allie handled monstrous people just fine. And she'd been planning to keep the job for at least a year, if only for her resume. This was in spite of the fact that the guy had her working nearly every day – and every evening, too, including weekends.
Hell, especially weekends.
I felt the color drain from face. "Don't tell me…." I tried not to cringe. "You were supposed to work today?"
"You know how that guy was." She gave a weak laugh. "I was supposed to work every day."
Now, I wanted to cry. "Oh, Allie. I'm so sorry."
"Do you realize that's like the tenth time you've said that?"
"So what?" I said. "If I said it a hundred times, it still wouldn't make it right." As I spoke, I tallied up everything that this little adventure had cost her.
It was way too much, and that was assuming she wouldn’t be arrested for grand theft auto.
Somehow, I had to make this right. And wringing my hands wouldn’t solve anything.
Right now, the most important thing was getting Allie a shower and fresh clothes, so we could leave right away. I'd do the driving so she could sleep. And then, back in Nashville, I'd get her job back somehow.
My mind was already whirling. Maybe I could talk to the producer and explain? If that didn't work, I could always beg.
Allie would never beg. And normally, I wouldn’t be so fond of the idea myself. But it was the least I could do, considering that it was me who'd gotten her fired.
But first things first. As Allie watched from the armchair, I dug through the stack of clothes that I'd borrowed from Jax. I pulled out a pair of shorts, a little yellow T-shirt, and more undergarments with the tags still attached.
I handed the items to Allie and hustled her toward the bathroom. And then, I left to give her some privacy.
Plus, I had something I had to do. While she showered, I hustled to that other bedroom – the one that Allie had ransacked earlier. I'd simply clean up the mess so we could be on our way.
Easy enough, right?
Not hardly.
Because when I walked in through the bedroom door, a certain someone was sitting in an armchair by the bed, waiting like he'd been expecting me all along.
It was Jax.
And from the look on his face, I had some serious explaining to do.
Chapter 29
I stopped to stare. He definitely didn't look happy.
I glanced around, taking in the scattered clothes and open dresser drawers. Hell, I'd be unhappy, too, if a total stranger had trashed my place, well, if I had a place, that is.
I tensed at a sudden realization. This might not be the only room she'd ransacked. Oh, God. What if there were a dozen rooms just like this, all torn apart by a pint-sized blond tornado?
I looked to Jax and said, "I'm really sorry—"
"Stop."
I felt myself swallow. "Stop what?"
"Stop apologizing."
"Oh come on," I said, making a useless gesture toward the destruction. "How could I not be sorry? I mean, jeez, look at this place." As I spoke, I crouched down to pick up some of the scattered clothing.
"Stop," Jax repeated. "Please."
With the clothes in-hand, I stood and gave him a perplexed look. "Stop what?"
He stood and pointed toward the stuff in my hands. "That."
"You mean stop cleaning? But why?"
"I told you, I have a service."
"Yeah, but they're already gone."
"So they'll come back."
"But won't that cost extra?"
"So I'll pay it. Not a big deal."
Okay, I was fully aware that he could afford it just fine. But I hated the thought of costing him any more money or trouble. Already, I owed him a small fortune for the undergarments alone.
Plus, unlike my mom, I was the kind of person who cleaned up my own messes. But why would Jax care, anyway? And then it hit me. "Oh, sorry. Is it because you don't want me pawing through your stuff?"
"No."
I tried to think. "Are you worried the butler will get mad?" Yes, it seemed far-fetched, but I was running out of theories.
He gave me a look. "I d
on't have a butler."
"But last night—"
"He was a temp. And it wasn't my idea."
"Oh." If nothing else, this explained why I hadn't seen the guy after the party. "So then why can't I clean this up?"
"Because I want to talk to you. And I want your full attention."
Well, that wasn't ominous or anything.
I looked around, wondering where I should set the clothes that I'd gathered already. Finally, I walked to the nearest dresser and placed them on top in a jumbled pile.
I'd wanted to fold them, but I didn't dare, not with Jax glowering from the sidelines.
He looked to the doorway and said, "We'll talk in my office."
Once again, this sounded more like a summons than an invitation. But this time, I had to decline. "I can't leave, not with Allie here."
Plus, I simply didn't have the time.
"I meant my home office," he clarified. "It's just downstairs."
"Oh." Still, I wasn't terribly enthused. The way it looked, he wanted to chew me out, not that I could blame him.
I sighed. Oh well, I might as well get it over with.
But as it turned out, I was only half-correct. Oh sure, he wanted to have a serious discussion, but it wasn't because of the mess.
It was because while I'd been huddled in the bedroom with Allie, he'd received a visitor of the gun and badge variety.
And why?
Because of the truck.
Of course.
Chapter 30
We were secluded in his office, with him sitting behind his desk and me sitting directly across from him in a visitor's chair. The chair was brown leather and quite comfy. Still, I was anything but relaxed.
So far, Jax had told me just enough to scare the crap out of me.
Apparently, around a half-hour earlier, the police had knocked on the front door in search of Allie. It wasn't even because someone had spotted the truck – although the fact that it was parked out front certainly hadn't helped.
Rather, the police had shown up because Allie's ex-boyfriend had known exactly where to look.
Apparently, she'd written the address to Jax's place on a little message pad she kept next to the apartment's phone. And although she'd ripped out the sheet containing her actual handwriting, the impression of the address had remained in the notebook itself.
Knowing Allie, this made a ton of sense. When she got agitated, she wrote very hard. I knew this, because I'd seen firsthand the broken pencils along with a shocking number of slightly mangled pens.
Anyway, her ex-boyfriend, who was normally as dumb as a bag of hammers, had somehow been smart enough to notice the impression in the notebook. This had happened just today, when he'd barged into the apartment looking for Allie and his beloved truck.
Now, as Jax relayed what he knew, I mentally filled in the details that I could guess on my own.
I knew Stuart. He was a notoriously late sleeper. Probably, he hadn't even realized that his truck was missing until well after noon, which no doubt explained why the police hadn't shown up earlier.
Still, the whole thing was a giant mess, and I'd be willing to bet my last ten dollars that it was far from over. With my heart racing, I turned in my seat to look in the general direction of the front door. From here, I couldn’t see it, but I could imagine plenty.
Were the police outside right now, waiting for Allie to make an appearance? Or – oh, God – what if they were inside the house? What if Jax had pulled me into this secluded room so they could drag away my friend with minimal drama?
Screw that. I jumped to my feet and gave Jax a desperate look. "Where are they?"
He leaned back in his chair. "Who? The police?" He gave a loose shrug that told me exactly nothing.
Well, that was helpful.
I said, "I've gotta warn her."
"No. You don't."
"But—"
"Trust me, she's fine." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "For now."
I made a sound of frustration. "What does that mean?"
He motioned to my chair. "If you sit, I'll tell you."
But I didn't sit. I couldn’t. I was too busy listening, not that it did any good. There was nothing to hear. No yelling. No dragging. No commotion at all.
That was a good sign, right?
Jax said, "Cassidy."
Absently, I mumbled, "What?"
"No one's hauling your friend away, if that's what you're worried about."
I was worried and with good reason. I turned my attention back to Jax. "But you don't know Stuart – I mean the guy who owns the truck. He's such a jackass."
"I know."
I froze. "Wait, how would you know?"
Again, he motioned to the chair. "Because I know more than you think. Now come on. It's handled. So don't worry about it."
Handled? How?
I studied his face. He didn't look like he was lying, but how could I be sure? I'd known the guy for less than twenty-four hours.
And yet, during that timeframe, he'd been rescuing me non-stop. Already, he'd done a lot more to look out for me than my mom ever had.
If I didn't trust him, who could I trust?
Not my mom – and not Stuart, that's for sure.
I heard myself say, "You know what's funny? I never trusted him, just like Allie never trusted my mom. It's strange to think…" Remembering myself, I let my words fade to silence.
After all, Jax surely had better things to do than listen to me analyze my own glorious mistakes.
But already, he was saying, "It's strange to think what?"
I waved away the question. "Never mind."
"No." His gaze locked on mine. "Tell me."
His eyes were dark and probing, with the barest hint of danger. And yet, I wasn't afraid. I was stupidly hypnotized by the sight of him, the sound of him, and even the feel of him.
It was true that we weren't touching now, but I'd known what it was like to be held in his arms, to have him pull me close, to feel his breath in my ear and have his hand on my back.
In spite of everything, I couldn't help but wonder, what would it be like to be even closer? Not dancing, but…
With a start, I shook off the distraction. Damn it. Focus, Cassidy.
He'd asked me a question. It's strange to think what?
I replied, "It's just funny that both of us were right."
"Meaning you and Allie."
"Yeah. I mean, I never liked Stuart, and she never liked my mom."
I tried to smile. "You should've seen her when I announced that I was moving. I swear, I thought she was gonna clobber me." I gave a nervous laugh. "Or maybe tie me to a chair or something, anything to keep me from going."
Was I rambling? I felt like I was rambling. I clamped my lips shut and tried to ignore the warmth creeping up my cheeks.
It wasn't only because I was sharing far more than I normally would with a stranger. It was because on that day, Allie and I had caused such a ruckus that the neighbors had come in to gawk.
It was our first and only big argument, but it had been a doozie.
Jax said, "But you came anyway."
"Well, yeah," I said. "My mom was so nice – I mean on the phone – and I hadn't seen her in forever. Plus, Allie's cousin needed a place to stay, so I figured I'd just, you know, get out of the way and let them have some time to catch up."
I couldn’t help but sigh. "And, well, I figured I could catch up with my mom."
Jax gave me a long, penetrating look. "Yeah? And how'd that work out?"
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…you would tell 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. I wanted to 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 come in, she'd have to go out eventually, 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. Even I wanted 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 do him in, 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."
One Good Crash Page 12