“I think,” Vaughn chose his words carefully, as he always did, “I need you too much to let you go.”
Damn. I better be careful, because I was starting to feel like a baller.
Move aside, bitches. I’m here, and I ain’t going nowhere.
Chapter Nine – Jacob
Mr. Anonymous contacted me today. I still hadn’t broken things off with him, but I knew I had to man up and do it soon. I hadn’t sent any new information on Jaz to him, and the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if Mr. Anonymous was actually the one who’d killed Brittany. Maybe someone had had it out for Jaz from the beginning.
Which was almost ridiculous, since she came to town with no ties to anyone or anything, but it made about as much sense as anything else.
I sat in my car, waiting for Jaz to get out of school. My phone was in my lap, and I stared at the most recent email from Mr. Anonymous. He was demanding to get an update on her, saying he would withhold any future payments to me until I reported back to him.
Spying on Jaz for someone who was hiding behind an email, someone who refused to use their name when dealing with me, wasn’t right. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.
With a sigh, I put my phone away, watching as Midpark High students began to exit the school, heading either to their parked cars or the cars idling in a line waiting to pick them up. Even though it wasn’t smart, I thought back to that kid.
Archer Vega.
He’d seemed awfully interested in how close Jaz and I were, like he had a say. Like he was jealous. He’d lost whatever right he had to feel jealous when he fucked her over again and again, and I hoped Jaz didn’t forgive him.
I’d tried to talk to her about it this morning, but she’d been too tired, too out of it, to be much of a conversation partner. She wasn’t a morning person.
I shouldn’t care what that girl did or who she did it with, but we’d long since crossed the line. I couldn’t help it.
My eyes spotted Jaz walking out, and she headed straight to my vehicle, hopping in and giving me a smile. A smile on those full, red lips was enough to make any man’s mind wander. “I was thinking,” she said, her voice low and smooth, honey on my ears, “maybe we could swing by your place before you took me home?”
Giving her a look, I was about to tell her hell no—playing her bodyguard while pretending there was nothing going on between us in front of Oliver and her mother was already hard enough—but one glance in her direction, I was a goner. When I said she made me weak, I meant it in every way.
Plus, it had been a while since I’d felt that soft skin on mine. It was fucking ridiculous, but I felt like I was going through withdrawals.
“I’ll text my mom and tell her I’m staying behind to work on school stuff, that I missed a quiz or something on Monday,” Jaz spoke, already ahead of me as she whipped out her phone and did just that. “I’ll say you’re with me, so she won’t freak out.”
My grip on the steering wheel tightened, and I growled out, “Jaz…”
Her fingers worked to type furiously on her phone screen, and when she sent the message, she turned her head, gave me a grin, and said, “Drive, Mr. Grumps.”
Oh, I hated that nickname. I hated it, but I loved hearing her say it. This girl got me so fucking confused it was insane, and yet I couldn’t do anything to change it. I was helpless, a man who’d tried to keep her at arm’s length and failed miserably.
Since I could do nothing else than what she suggested, I drove. I drove us to my apartment, even though I knew I shouldn’t.
As we walked up, Jaz checked her phone. She’d left her bag in my car, standing less than half a foot away from me as she read her mother’s response. “Mom’s pissed, but I swear, I can’t live in that house forever. I need to have a life.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, “unless someone tries to hurt you like they did Brittany Pots.”
We were in the elevator, alone, and Jaz moved to stand before me, pressing her chest against