Fake Boyfriend - Miley Maine Page 0,57
a storage room on the other side of the big shed.
“Is this someone’s property? What happens when they see all these dead people?” I asked.
“Let me worry about it.”
“Should I call my dad? He might be able to get ahead of this.”
“No. Do not contact them.” He faced me. “You don’t have your phone, right?”
I patted my pockets. I hadn’t thought of my phone. I shook my head. “I don’t even remember anything,” I said.
Jackson brushed a wild strand of hair away from my face. “It’s going to be okay,” he said.
“I’m sorry.” The words poured out of my mouth. I knew this wasn’t the best time or place, but I wasn’t willing to wait any longer, in case another crazed kidnapper burst out of the closet. “I shouldn’t have dismissed your suspicions. Obviously something was going on at that wedding, and you knew it. But I didn’t listen,” I said.
He tipped his forehead to rest against mine. “Thank you. But it’s fine. I probably wasn’t as diplomatic as I could have been either.”
I sagged like all the bones had gone out of my body. At least he wasn’t going to hate me forever. Now that I had that thought out of my system, I could move forward.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jackson
Loren wasn’t acting like herself, and I was afraid she was headed for a meltdown. It would be understandable. She’d just seen me shoot and kill five men. That was something many soldiers didn’t see up close, even in combat.
She was going to have to deal with that, but it couldn’t happen now.
Hell, I was going to have to deal with it too. I’d never killed anyone outside of sanctioned missions, given to me by the United States Military.
I wasn’t sure how the Rangers would handle this. I was confident I wouldn’t end up charged with a crime, but my only witness was Loren, who was my twenty-two year old pretend girlfriend. I didn’t think my supervisor would be too impressed with my actions.
But I didn’t have time to freak out right now, and neither did she. We had to keep going.
I pulled on her arm, and we finally reached the other end of the shed. Out in the open there was a desk and a storage cabinet. I yanked the desk drawer open. “Wasn’t even locked,” I muttered. Inside were our cell phones. I stuck both in my pockets. Was that controlling? Yes it was. But I did not care. I was not going to tempt Loren by handing her a cell phone right now when I knew she wanted to call her family and tell them she was okay.
My gun was in here too, so I grabbed that, along with keeping the one I’d taken from the first guy.
Now we just had to find a way out of here. I could hotwire most cars if I had to, but I would prefer to just get going. “Ah, car keys.” I picked those up too, and grabbed Loren’s hand again, careful not to touch her wrist where the skin was missing.
I hated that she’d cut herself up so much, but patching that up would have to wait. The keys went with a Jeep not unlike the one I’d rented. I helped Loren in her seat and made sure she was buckled in. If she wasn’t in shock yet, she would be soon. In fact, she was already shaking.
I turned the heat on in the Jeep and blasted it right toward her face. “Just hold on,” I said. “We’re going to my grandfather’s cabin.”
“This isn’t how your vacation was supposed to go,” she said.
“No. It’s not. But it wasn’t how your first wedding gig was supposed to go either.”
Once we were on the road, I pulled my phone out, grateful that it still had some battery left. Just like that goon had implied, I had four missed calls, all from the same number.
Shit. That was my buddy calling me back. I hit the button that would dial his number.
“Jackson. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.”
I glanced over at Loren, who was now asleep. Good. She needed the rest. “Yeah. Thanks. Give me the intel.”
“The guy you called about is neck-deep in debt. Debt from gambling at horse races, debt from mortgage that he never should have qualified for, and debt from a business deal that went south.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. So he grew up filthy rich, and now he’s not. He’s wasted all his money. His parents have cut him off.”
That must