Gone - Anna Brooks Page 0,73
go to war.
If we’re going to be approaching someone who tried to kill Izzy, we need to be prepared for anything. And knowing Rickman is already involved with some shady shit, I’m not taking any chances even though I don’t believe he’s stupid enough to fuck with Izzy like that.
Carter is driving, and as we’re headed to the affluent subdivision Rickman lives in, the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stand up. It couldn’t have been him. She was in his office, quitting. There’s a piece I’m missing. “Something’s not right.”
Gio swings his gaze over to me, and I command. “Call Brody.”
He doesn’t question and dials him immediately. “All good?” he asks as soon as he answers. Gio gives a thumbs-up. “Okay, cool. Right. We’re headed to Rickman. If he’s a dead end, we’ll go back to Royal and do some more recon. Later.”
“Fuck.” I sigh, not realizing how tightly I was holding my breath.
“All good. She’s got a friend there right now. She brought the rest of Izzy’s stuff she forgot at work.”
“Who?”
“Jesse.”
My guts twist, and I grab the headrest on the passenger seat in front of me. “Turn around,” I snap. “My house. Now.”
Carter nods and flips a bitch in the middle of the road, earning us several honking horns and flying birds.
“What the fuck?” Gio asks.
I have my phone out, dialing Brody this time, and as it rings, I tell them, “She already got everything she needed from work. She didn’t leave anything behind because she never wanted to step foot in that place again.”
Chapter 19
Izzy
Brody peeks through the curtain at the sound of a vehicle coming up the driveway. After I ate a bowl of cereal, I walked to the living room and flipped on the TV. Brody wasn’t up for small talk, so I’ve just been zoning out for the past couple of hours waiting for Jesse. She called to see if she could stop by after her shift.
“It’s just Jesse. She’s bringing a couple of things I forgot.”
“I’m not taking any chances.”
I bite the inside of my cheek and sit up farther on the couch when he opens the door for my friend. “Spread.” Jesse’s frightened eyes find mine. “Come on, Brody, is that really necessary?”
As he’s professionally patting her down, he doesn’t respond. He digs through the box of stuff she has, then nods in the direction of the living room. “You’re good.”
He resumes his position at the mouth of the hallway that gives him sight to both the front and back door.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to her as she takes a seat next to me.
Her cheeks are red, and she sets the box on the floor. “Normally, I wouldn’t mind a hot guy like that with his hands all over me, but that was a little embarrassing.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” She crosses her legs and reaches for Judy, who is on the floor by my feet, to scratch her head, but the dog raises her lip. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“Judy, it’s just Jesse,” I add when she doesn’t stop snarling.
Jesse pulls her hand back. “It’s okay. She’s protecting you.” She turns to me. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better. I can put most of my weight on my foot. There’s no pain in my arm, but the cast is annoying.”
“I bet. I broke my elbow one summer when I was a kid when I thought it’d be fun to try to do a flip off a swing.” She shudders at the memory, and I giggle. “My arm was so itchy, gah! It’s a horrible feeling. So, aside from getting in a car accident, are you still happy about quitting? I know it just happened, but I’m just wondering.”
“Yes, I am. I can’t tell you how good it feels to be free of that place.”
She bobs her head up and down. “I bet. Do you know what you’re going to do now?”
Shrugging, I purse my lips. “I’m not sure. All of this has happened so fast I haven’t even thought about it yet. Oh—” I sit up and start to lift my butt off the couch, realizing I’m a terrible host. “Do you want something to drink?”
She grasps my shoulder and tugs me back down, and Judy sits up and barks. “It’s okay,” I reassure the dog.
Jesse ignores her. “Sit, you dork. Your water is empty anyway. I’ll bring you a new one and get something for myself.”
“I can get it.”
Before I can get back up, she’s walking down the hallway.