by Amy Star
She knew on the fifth try, it would lock her out, so she needed to think about it carefully. She sat back in the seat and stared at the tank of predatory fish.
Would he use Parana plus his own birthday? She quickly dismissed the idea. Her father was morbid and egotistical, so that would make just as much sense as anything. And yet, something in the back of her mind was telling her that wasn’t the answer.
I’m an oracle. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It’s supposed to be within my power to see the unseen.
She looked at the leather couch that was looking well-worn from all the nights he’d spent in here before he and Mrs. Lox finally decided to have separate bedrooms. She remembered her mother yelling something about “that fake redheaded whore.”
What was her name?
She placed her fingers on the keys.
DanikaDelRio
That was definitely her name. But something was missing. She added the missing characters and looked at the screen.
DanikaDelRioXOXO$$$
She swallowed hard and gave the return key a decisive and deliberate tap. She held her breath as it processed before illuminating a welcome message and opening his e-mail.
“Holy shit.” Her eyes lit up as she smiled in the light cast off by the screen. “I’m in.”
She went through his inbox and trash folders, forwarding everything she could use against her father. She beckoned Conner over and unzipped the front pouch of the backpack. Using the thumb drive, she backed up all the files on his hard drive before putting it safely back in its little zipper pouch.
The doorknob to the office turned, slowly the first couple times. Then there was a thump as someone shoved their body weight against the door. Jillian and Conner looked at each other, their eyes as big as saucers.
“It’s not locked.” Her father’s voice was clear as day. “Somethings up against it… Jillian?”
She didn’t answer but stood up and tried to lift his massive desktop tower. It was big and bulky. Her father could have afforded a much nicer one, but he clung to this dinosaur for some unknown reason. Conner took it from her.
“What do you want me to do with it?” He mouthed.
She pointed to the fish tank, yanking the power cord out. He wrinkled his chin, shrugged, and dropped the computer into the fish tank.
“I need to get in here.” She pointed to the filing cabinet. “Can you pick the lock or something?”
“Sure.” He grabbed the handle and yanked hard, pulling the handle off. “Oops…”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” She groaned as the thumping grew louder and louder.
“Who’s in there with you, Jillian?” Her father yelled. “You know that what you’re doing is breaking and entering right now, don’t you?”
Conner and Jillian looked at each other, and he quickly stripped down. This time Jillian didn’t bother looking away as he hunched over, growling as his body stretched and distorted, spouting thick, golden fur that, just as before, started at shoulders and spread outward. The hardwood floor groaned, bowing under his weight, and he bellowed, shoving his claws into the top outline of the drawer.
The metal screeched as he bent the top of the drawer outward.
“Good enough.” Jillian patted him on the shoulder, and he lumbered over to the other side of the room. She thumbed through the files, finding the ones she knew could do the most damage and shoved them into the backpack.
“Okay, let's go.” She spun around to find Conner’s bear, elbow deep in her father’s fish tank, chasing around the three remaining fish.
“Conner!” flexed her jaw. “Please tell me you didn’t eat his fucking fish.”
The grizzly let out a yawp before falling onto all fours again. Jillian looked out the window to find three of the seven guards gathered down below.
“The police are on their way, Jillian.” Her father said in a sing-song voice. “There’s nowhere for you to go.”
“Uh-huh…You have us cornered, Dad. We give up.” She narrowed her eyes, picking up Conner’s clothes and nodding to the wall with the fish-tank. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Conner flung his head up and down in agreement before backing up and charging the fish-tank. The glass shattered, and the wall on the other side dented outward. The second go at it, splintered the beams like toothpicks while the fish flopped around on the antique Persian rug. He backed up and ran at it again, this time making a hole in the wall in a cloud of sheetrock dust and crumbled bits of drywall. Looking out of hole facing the front of the house, Jillian could see the security guards scatter at the sight of the massive beast inside. As soon as Conner transformed back into himself, Jillian handed him his pants, and they dropped down to the grass below.
“Get on!” Conner crouched, and Jillian leaped onto his back. He hiked her up a tad higher, hooking one arm under her thigh before sprinting toward the thirty-foot brick wall. The bottoms of his shoes clamored, scraping up the side as he reached with his free arm, barely gripping the top edge.
“Don’t let go.” Jillian looked back at the guards that were now all running toward them.
“Wasn’t planning on it.” He groaned, pulling them the rest of the way up and hopping down on the other side. Jillian’s eyes closed as they dropped to through the ground on the other side. Conner was used to jumping around and rock-climbing. Normally he would have hit the ground and rolled, but with Jillian on his back, he landed on his feet, forcing his ankles to take the brunt of the impact.
Jillian jumped off his back at the sound of the nasty snap as Conner fell forward to his knees.
“I’m fine.” Conner got up, limping forward. Jillian put her arm around him, and he leaned on her as they headed to the street, taking refuge behind a parked car.
“Look, you need to get out of here.” Conner grimaced, sliding down and extending his leg. “I’m just going to slow you down. There’s no sense in both of us getting caught.
The ankle was already black and blue and swelling to twice the size of the other one.
“Let me think.” Jillian pressed her hands against her temples, glancing around the side of the car. If only she had more time to think… If she had a way to contact the Finn and Vincent, or hell, if she had her phone so she could call Elaina.
If only… She shook her head, letting out a defeated sigh.
“You’re wasting time…” Conner curled his lip back, clenching his fists. “You need to go.”
“If you think I’d ever leave you, you don’t know me at all.” A soft smile reached her eyes as she shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m doing, so just bear with me.”
All right, spirits. I’m playing your game. Jillian rubbed her hands together, working up friction before holding them up to Conner’s ankle like she was warming them on a fire. White light pulsed from between her fingers. She winced as her hands heated up.
She screamed as the sensation of boiling water scalded her palms and fingers.
“What’s happening?” Conner’s eyes widened, yelping as a crunch sound made him reach for his ankle. The swollen flesh shrank down as Jillian’s magic reversed the break. “Holy shit.”
“Did it work?” She turned her palms upward, trembling as she examined the blood-blisters covering her hands as the glow faded. She gaped as Conner as he flexed his foot, rotating his ankle.
“I wonder if Vincent’s grandma could do that.” Conner got to his feet. “Is my shirt in the backpack?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, letting the backpack fall off of her shoulders.
“Your hands.” He frowned as she put them behind her back.
“I’ll be fine. Get a shirt and shoes on so we can get out of here.” She looked back in the direction of her family home. Conner got his shirt and shoes on. “My father knows better than to call the cops. For the moment, he still has something I want. That means there’s still a chance I won’t go public with all the things that I know.”
“Are you seriously considering letting him
off the hook after what he was going to do to you?”
“What’s that old saying that I prefer to live with the devil I know than the one I don’t?” She walked toward the closest house.
“What are you doing?” Panic flashed in Conner’s eyes. “Do you know these people?”
“Nope.” She knocked, and a woman in her forties answered the door. She was pretty with dark hair and wore a blue housekeeper’s outfit.
“Hello, my friend and I are stranded, do you have a phone I could use?”
“You’re the girl from the news.” The woman blinked. “I just watched the report online.”
Shit.
“She has one of those faces.” Conner smiled.
“No, you were lost in Hemlock for five days.” The woman smiled, opening the door a little wider. “And you gave up your hospital room to that little kid.”
“Oh.” Jillian chuckled nervously. “That was no big deal. Miles is a sweetheart.”
“Come in.” The woman stood aside.
“Thank you.” She and Conner followed the woman inside as she shut the door behind them. “We’ll be out of your way shortly. I need to contact a friend to come to pick us up.”
“Where are you going?” The housekeeper picked up her purse. “I was getting ready to go into the city to pick up some groceries from the house. I’d be happy to give you a lift.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” Jillian extended her hand and resisted the urge to howl in pain when the woman shook it. “I’m Jillian, by the way.”
“Elsa.” The housekeeper looked at Conner. “And you are?”
“Dave.” Conner cleared his throat and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
The three of them piled into Elsa’s minivan. Freedom was so close they could taste it when the shadow of McDonald's bald head caught Jillian’s eye as he drove slowly up the street. Jillian slid into the front floorboard, and Conner laid down in the back seat; Elsa froze. As soon as the hum of McDonald's car faded into the distance, Elsa turned off the ignition.
“Explain yourself.” The woman squinted at them with an indignant pout on her face while Jillian gaped up from the floorboard, her eyes pleading. “Tell me the truth; are you doing something illegal?”
“Ma’am,” Conner interjected.
“Zip it, Dave!” The woman snapped. “If that’s even your real name… I’ve been around the block with pretty boys like you.”
“I didn’t mean to drag you into this.” Jillian put her hands on the sides of her head. “But we need your help.”
“No friggin’ way.” The woman crossed her arms. “If you think I’m going to drive the getaway car so you two can disappear with a backpack full of cash, you have another thing coming.”
“There’s no cash in there.” Jillian held up her hands, and the woman saw the blisters.
“Jesus!” Elsa’s eyes bulged. “What happened to you?”
“The less you know, the better.” Jillian huffed.
“Look.” Conner persisted. “Her father is after her, and her ex is after her. And if you don’t help her, you’ll be helping rich douchebags repress the people who are trying to make the world a better place! Is that what you want?”
“Is all of that true?” Elsa’s brow softened as she looked back at Jillian.
“As insane as it sounds.” Jillian frowned. “It’s the truth.”
“Where do you need to go?” Elsa turned the key in the ignition and buckled her seatbelt. Jillian gave her directions to Elaina’s place, but a quick drive by revealed three identical black SUVs, the same make and model as the one McDonald was driving.
“Keep going.” Jillian shrank back into the floorboard. “I should have known Elaina’s would be the first place they would look.”
“As much as I want to help you out.” Elsa glanced into her rear-view mirror. “I have to buy groceries and get back to the house, or I’m going to end up losing my job.”
“Of course.” Jillian nodded. “Can you drop us off at the next café we pass? I need a place where I can plug in my computer.”
“There’s a tea shop on the left.” Conner pointed. “If you just drop us on the corner, we’ll find our way from there.”
Elsa pulled up on the curb, where Jillian and Conner got out.
“Thanks for everything,” Jillian said before closing the door.
Elsa rolled the window down and smiled.
“Don’t you give up on whatever it is you’re standing up for. You hear?”
“Promise.” Jillian nodded as the kind Samaritan pulled back out into the street.
“We’ve got a problem.” Conner nodded to a sign on the door.
Free Wi-Fi is for
paying customers
ONLY
“That’s fine.” Jillian pulled the wallet out of her backpack.
“Whoa.” Conner pushed it back inside. “Unless you have cash, using your card is only going to alert them as to where you are.”
“Fuck.” Jillian glanced around. “Well, what do we do then?”
“I have an idea.” His cheeks reddened. “But you’re not going to like it.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
They walked for two hours, finally reaching a seedy neighborhood that Jillian didn’t recognize. Garbage filled the streets, and homeless camps ran up and down every alleyway… except for this one.
“What is this place?” Jillian tucked in her elbows as Conner took her hand, leading her around dumpsters as she tried to ignore the sticky smells and puddles of unidentifiable fluids.
A large man stood next to a black door with his arms folded, wearing an intimidating expression. The muffled bass of club music vibrated the walls, and Jillian clutched Conner’s hand a little tighter as they approached.
“Where the fuck have you been?” The man narrowed his eyes at Jillian. “Hold on. No backpacks.”
“She’s got money,” Conner explained. “We’re only here so she can use the Wi-Fi and her laptop’s in the bag.”
“Show me.”
Jillian nodded, unzipping the backpack as the man reached inside, rifling around. “No taking pictures and no selling drugs. These are good girls, and I want to keep them that way, are we clear?”
What the hell kind of place is this? Jillian clenched her teeth, her cheeks burning as she tried not to glare at Conner. I can’t believe I almost fell for the kind of guy that frequents some shady sex-club.
“Come on, Randy.” Conner scoffed. “You know me better than that.”
“Yeah, well, I haven’t seen you in a long time, and frankly, you’re looking pretty rough.” Randy shrugged. “This city changes people.”
“No drugs.” Conner held his hands up. “We were out all night and honestly just want to use the internet connection, but we’ll spend some money on the girls while we’re here.”
The man’s stern expression didn’t waver, but he nodded toward the club, allowing them inside.
Calm down, Jillian. She took a breath. The guy did say Conner hadn’t been here in a long time. Maybe this is a hobby he put behind him.
“The password today is buttercup,” Randy called over his shoulder as they moved down a long hallway toward a small ten by twelve room where a woman in a tight, purple corset stood behind a counter. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all painted red. Strobe lights flashed around the edge of a red curtain that hung across an archway leading into the club.
“You here to audition?” The woman looked Jillian up and down, and Jillian’s eyes widened.
“No.” Conner chuckled. “We need you to work that magic thing you do when husbands don’t want their wives to know what they’re up to.”
A wicked smile spread across her ruby red lips as she arched a pointed eyebrow.
“It’ll cost you.” She looked at Jillian.
“This isn’t her scene, Cherry.” Conner tilted his head. “We just need to use the Wi-Fi without anyone tracing her credit cards.”
“Fine.” Cherry rolled her eyes and held out her
open hand. “Card and ID, please.”
Jillian pulled out her wallet and produced the card. Cherry took it and turned to her computer screen, entering all the information.
“How much do you want?”
“We need a private room where she can plug in her laptop, preferably a quiet one where she can make a phone call should the need arise.” Conner leaned on the counter. “Also, we’re going to need to borrow a phone. So, if one of the girls wants to make some easy money and is willing to share her phone, that would be swell.”
“Champagne room is going to be fifteen-hundred.”
“Is that okay?” Conner looked at Jillian, who nodded, seeing as she was still twenty grand away from her spending limit for the month. The girl’s fingers clacked over her keyboard so fast they almost blurred.
“Private dancer for…” Cherry looked up from her screen. “how long would you say you guys will be?”
“Only a few minutes.” Conner peeked at her screen.
“The shortest dance for the champagne room is fifteen minutes.” Cherry cracked her knuckles.
“That’s fine.” Jillian’s mouth ran dry.
Her father might have shut her cards off, but she thought it more likely that he would be waiting to see if she would use it somewhere. Cherry clacked away at her keyboard and then handed the card back.
“Your total came to two-thousand fifty-two dollars and seventy-two cents. It will be posted to your card under Randy’s Candies, which is our owner’s bulk candy factory in New Jersey.”
“You’re the best.” Conner held out his fist, and Cherry bumped it with hers. Turning to Jillian, he smiled. “You ready?”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready.” Jillian pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let’s just get this over with.”
As they walked in, there was a colossal surfboard-shaped stage in the center of the room. Small circular tables and chairs were scattered around, and only a few of them were occupied. The mocha-skinned beauty on stage wore a bikini top and a floor-length mesh skirt with thong underwear underneath. Around her shoulders hung a massive albino python that seemed content to be an accessory to whatever was going on.