by Nova Drake
Ezra frowned. “It’s not close, and it would be very dangerous. There’s also more than one lab. The head scientist was always competing with someone else. He was determined to perfect the formula first and put up falsified information to get his version pushed through to trials, positive that he had the drug's reaction to specific genes and biological factors figured out. But he miscalculated. Horribly. It cost him his reputation and his life.”
“Good,” Jess grumbled, relaxing back into the bed. She was emotionally exhausted after the absolutely shit day she’d had. She hadn’t felt so empty in years.
Ezra laid back as well, placing a hand over hers, and Jess let him. She told herself that it was because he needed comfort. It had to have been hard to spill all those details about his life. Especially when he didn’t have all of the answers. It definitely wasn’t for her benefit. Justice didn’t do comfort. Even when her world had just caved in on her.
Chapter 23
Justice woke up to an empty bed. She stretched out her achy limbs and pulled herself up to give her legs another try. Still unnervingly weak and shaky, she managed to haul her ass to the bathroom without looking like she just learned to walk. At some point, Ezra had hung her clothes on the edge of the tub, but they were still damp, which put a bit of a damper on her plan to take off. Oh well. Jess got a glimpse in the mirror while she washed her hands.
"Ugh, no wonder he shot me down," she joked to herself.
She washed off the rest of the makeup, and straightened out her messy hair, wetting it back down and running her fingers through it. She let her hair fall around her shoulders to dry and slipped her hair tie onto her wrist. The moment the band hit her wrist, she was crying out in pain.
"Son of a bitch!" She yelled, ripping it back off.
"Are you okay?" Ezra's voice came from the other side of the door.
She couldn’t answer, holding her breath until the pain faded enough to move again.
"Justice?" His voice sounded worried this time. Probably due to the string of creative curse words floating through her head
She let out a slow breath and released her death grip on the sink. "I'm fine," she finally managed in a strained voice.
After one more deep breath, she made her way out of the bathroom. Ezra was watching her with obvious concern. She held up her shadowed wrist.
"Still a little sore," she informed him.
Understanding registered on his face. "It should fade completely in a couple of days."
She nodded and leaned in the doorway, noticing he was staring at her, but not sure what it meant.
"I brought your clothes and coffee," he finally said.
The worn table next to him held a small pile of clothes and a cup of coffee that could have brought a tear to her eye.
"I'm going to ignore the fact that you must have broken into my apartment and gone through my things, and just say thank you. But be aware that it's this coffee that got you off the hook."
Jess took a huge sip of lukewarm coffee. She sank into the wobbly chair and let her eyes close. "Oh, my god. I missed her coffee."
"Your friend is concerned about you."
Her eyes opened and her smile faded. "Kat's not my friend. Just someone that works at the diner."
"That's not what she thinks."
Her eyebrows drew together. "She doesn't know any better. She doesn't know the world the way we do, and I'm sure as hell not going to be the one that pulls her into it. It's better that I keep my distance. She got a look at who I really am, and it scared the shit out of her."
Ezra was giving her a strange look, but he said nothing. Jess stared back wondering why she found it so easy to spill anything on her mind to this guy. Maybe it was because he already knew so much about her. Or because he could find out whatever he wanted anyway. Maybe because he was so quiet, it gave her big mouth too much time to keep flapping. Or maybe it was some combination of all of it.
Nobody truly knew Jess. No one had in years, not till this guy. Was that it? Maybe she kind of liked finally connecting to someone? Whoa, that wasn't a good thing. No connecting. Where had that thought come from? She knew better. Jess grabbed the clothes and headed for the bathroom again.
"So, where did you learn to fight?" She asked, leaving the door open while she changed so she could hear his answer.
His voice drifted further away. "Other people's heads."
"Oh. That seems to work well. Not many people can keep up with me one on one." Jess left the bathroom fully dressed, and feeling a little more confident. Though, she'd feel better if the slots in her pants held a set of her throwing knives.
Ezra shrugged. "On some level, people decide on their attack before they act. I can pick up on it, and it gives me an extra second to counter their moves."
Jess's eyes narrowed. "That explains it."
Now that she knew, she wondered if she could take him down on a level playing field. She'd just have to monitor her thoughts while she fought. Ezra was staring again. A smile crept onto Jess's face as she realized she was busted. "Don't worry, I obviously can't even monitor my thoughts when I’m not fighting. Yet. But once I figure it out, I want a rematch."
He didn’t answer, just stood there in uncomfortable silence.
“Uh, okay, so I’m going to get going,” she said as she scanned the room for her boots.
Ezra frowned. “There are still people looking for you, and you can’t defend yourself. You shouldn’t be out there.”
Jess found her boots and started pulling them on, choosing to ignore his comment about her self defense skills. “I appreciate the concern, but I can take care of myself.”
He said nothing else while she gathered up her damp clothes and her coffee. Jess pulled the door open and hesitated, noting that Ezra lived on the outskirts of the warehouse district. She should have expected that considering how many times she’d seen him in the area. She turned back to see his worried eyes watching her.
“I appreciate what you did. I owe you one. Whatever you need, let me know. I’ll see you around.”
Jess took off before she could change her mind and stay somewhere she felt strangely safe. But having a false sense of security was just as dangerous as whatever she was going to face on the street. And relying on others was a good way to get yourself killed. She wouldn’t allow herself to make those mistakes again.
Chapter 24
Justice found her way to her closest safe house and let herself in. She felt a little better after a long shower and a fresh set of clothes filled with hidden weapons. Pulling her long sleeves down, she hooked them over her thumbs to conceal her injured wrist. Then she flicked up one of her knives and whipped it across the apartment. It hit the wall about a foot from where she’d been aiming and stuck there for a moment before dropping.
With a frown she held up her hand, still shaking like a leaf. Her aim was off, and her strength had yet to return. With a deep breath, she tried one more time. This time the knife stuck in the wall and was a couple of inches closer to the target. She hoped two more days was enough time to recover. Ready or not, she wasn’t going to miss the meeting with Cash.
***
The hairs were standing up on the back of her neck, but she couldn’t pick up on anyone following her. The few people she’d passed had all gone about their business, yet the feeling of being watched persisted.
Even weirder, she’d almost made it to the diner and no one tried to rob, rape, or otherwise assault her. Normally her size made her a target every time. Not to mention, her friends from the warehouse would still be after her. Something was going on, and while at face value it seemed like a good thing, Jess didn’t like it when she didn’t know what to expect.
Her steps slowed before she turned the corner, and she glanced back the way she came to a strangely empty alley. Brow furrowed, she turned to continue and nearly plowed into her stalker.
“Fucking hell!” she fumed, barely managing to pull back the instinct to swing. “What are you doing?”
<
br /> Ezra made eye contact, and Jess worked hard to suppress the involuntary shudder. Not sure if she succeeded, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
“Are you following me again? Did you scare people away from me all the way here?”
He merely shrugged, and she mildly regretted the effort she put into holding back that punch.
“Damn it, Ezra! I can take care of myself.”
His eyes flicked down to her wrist, and back up to her face. Her ears barely picked up his low murmur. “You shouldn’t be out yet.”
“I’m healed enough. I have shit to do, and I don’t need you babysitting me.” Okay, so she was an asshole. That wasn’t news to anyone.
Ezra stood, staring for a few more moments. Long enough to make her suspicious. She narrowed her eyes at him again in warning, and he finally turned and stalked off without another word.
It was not guilt she was feeling over that. Heartburn or something, maybe. But definitely not guilt.
***
Jess paced across the street from the diner. Indecision was weighing heavy on her, and it was an all-new sensation. Jess wasn’t indecisive. She took what she wanted without a second thought. She didn’t typically take other people into consideration. But there she was, marching back and forth from one corner of the block to the next, plowing people over as she eyeballed the tiny tattered restaurant.
She spun on her heel, heading back to the other corner. What was with all these new feelings? Why was she suddenly plagued with hesitation?
“What the fuck?” she muttered to herself.
A woman with a young-ish teen threw a nasty look her way, and Jess stilled and straightened enough to glare a warning right back at her. What the hell was her problem? Someone was getting pummeled for their cash around the corner, and this lady was going to start shit over a word?
Kids didn’t belong out on the street anyway as far as Jess was concerned. Anything could happen. Luckily the woman recognized the challenge in Jess’s glare and quickly made her way across the street.
With a huff of frustration, Jess continued trudging to the corner. She spun again with a shake of her head and nearly plowed over the tiny figure blocking her way. Jess steadied herself, grabbing the shoulders of the person in her path. She was about to shove them aside and continue her stomping when she realized who she was holding. The long, dark blonde hair was the first thing to catch her attention, followed quickly by the big blue doe-eyes staring up at her. Jess froze. Oh shit.
“You made me spill your coffee,” Kat said, raising a half-full cup in front of Jess.
Jess didn’t answer. Her eyes flicked to the coffee cup for just a moment, before returning to the tiny pissed off person in front of her. If she’d known what to say to her, she wouldn’t have been pacing across the street for the past ten minutes, trying to decide if she should go in.
“Where the hell have you been Jess? I’ve been worried sick.”
Jess looked away. It was exactly what she wanted to avoid – complicated. Kat was mad at her. The one person on the planet that Jess didn’t want to hurt. Possibly one of two, the jury was still out on that. And Jess had clearly hurt her.
“I didn’t know if those guys had friends waiting out back, or if the police found you…” Kat shook her head. “You could have at least let me know you were okay. I didn’t even get the chance to thank you for saving my life.”
Jess looked back at Kat in time to see her throw her arms around her. She heard more of her coffee sloshing to the ground as she stood there awkwardly. The smell of her spilling coffee was making her mouth water, and she wondered how much longer this hug was going to last. Exercising every ounce of her patience and then some, Jess managed not to pull Kat off of her and rip the cup from her hand.
She eventually backed up on her own and instantly noticed Jess eyeballing her coffee like she was about to pry it from her fingers. Kat grinned, drawing Jess’s attention back to her, before dangling the cup in front of her face.
“Come back to the diner with me, and I’ll fill it up for you.”
Jess couldn’t help but give her a little smirk in return. “That’s dangerous Kat. Don’t tease me with coffee.”
Kat handed over the cup. “I wouldn’t dare. But I have a fresh cup brewing as we speak. Extra strong, just the way you like it.”
Well, who the hell could say no to that?
Kat read the hungry look on Jess’s face and looped her arm around her waist. “Come on,” she insisted as she pulled her across the street.
Jess settled at a table as Kat refilled her coffee. She leaned in a little closer. “Just so you know, I did what you said, I didn’t tell the cops anything. I don’t trust them. They didn’t do anything when my parents died. They had witnesses, and descriptions of their killers and they just kept blowing me off and telling me they had no leads. I think it was bullshit.”
Jess gave her a sympathetic nod. “I’m sure they were paid to look the other way.”
Kat frowned. “That’s what I figured too.”
Jess stared at her coffee, trying desperately to ignore the tiny turning of guilt that told her there might be something she could do to help. What the hell was she doing? She couldn’t be getting involved with people, that was a liability she couldn’t afford.
Kat deserved better than to get caught up in all that anyway. Jess wasn’t running a charity. She couldn’t just start solving everyone else’s problems when she had her own to deal with. Looking back up at Kat, Jess caught the sadness lurking in her innocent blue eyes for just a moment, before she pushed it all away and gave Jess a grin.
“Anyway, I’m just happy to see you’re okay.”
Jess frowned and rubbed her temples. She was going soft. Clearly, she needed to up her kill rate to fix that. “What were your parents’ names?”
Kat gave her a confused look. “What?”
Jess sighed. “I might be able to find something out on their case. What were their names?”
Kat still looked a little dumbfounded. “Hazel and Zeke Bridges. I couldn’t even get information from the police report. They only gave me the things I already knew, and blacked everything else out, telling me it’s confidential. How would you be able to find information?”
Jess shrugged. “Sometimes I can trade services for information.”
Kat’s eyes grew huge. “Services?”
Jess straightened in her seat. “Nothing like that. Like, unofficial jobs.”
Little relief fell over Kat’s face. “What do you mean?”
Jess didn’t want to be the one to explain how things worked to Kat. She didn’t especially want her to know who she really was either. Kat seemed to be lost in thought, staring at the counter behind her. When she turned around again, her eyes were wide.
She leaned in closer. “Are you an assassin?” she whispered.
There was no holding it in. Jess cracked up.
Kat leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, you don’t have to be an ass about it. It was a reasonable assumption.” She obviously wanted to be angry, but the sight of Jess laughing like that had a smile trying to take over her face as well. It was a rare thing to see.
“I’m sorry, it was the way you said it.” Jess’s smile fell as she dropped a hint and gave Kat her fair chance to get out now. “But you’re not too far off there.”
Kat’s face was serious again as she took in Jess. “I can’t afford help. Even the police basically told me that their assistance is more than I could afford. You know, without really saying it.”
Jess’s eyebrows drew together. “I didn’t ask for anything.” Was Kat really likening Jess to the police?
Kat frowned. “No, but the cost would be even higher with you. I don’t want you putting yourself at risk over this. My parents are gone and finding the person that killed them isn’t worth losing you too. Nothing can bring them back now anyway.”
Jess realized that her jaw was hanging open. Kat cared more about Jess than sh
e did finding her parent’s killer. Why? What did that mean? For some reason, her answer had Jess wanting to help her even more. Her soft spot for Kat was nothing short of dangerous.
“Nothing can bring them back, but you can get justice for their murder.”
Kat shook her head adamantly. “No, don’t put yourself in danger for this, Jess.” She placed a hand on Jess’s and stared her down. “It’s not worth it to me.”
Jess was dumbfounded. What the hell was she supposed to do with this? A huge grin spread across Kat’s face before she could completely process the situation.
“I met your friend.”
Now Jess was really confused. “What?”