Problem Child (Jane Doe #2) - Victoria Helen Stone Page 0,86

Fancy rice. You’ll like it.”

She takes a tiny bite and nods. “It’s okay.”

I dig into my own risotto before it gets cold. It’s delicious, so I take a few minutes to shut up and enjoy my food.

I haven’t told Luke my plan yet, but—worst-case scenario—I buy my own house in the suburbs and keep dating him. Or I could get a slightly bigger place downtown. That would work out too.

But downtown means more trouble for Kayla to get into and more directions for me to watch. It would be doable, because I wouldn’t trust her at all, but it would take more work. Cameras all over the house. And I could set a private investigator on her once a month to make sure I’m in the loop on all of her neighborhood shenanigans.

I imagine the little spy game she and I will play and I feel a surge of affection for this troublesome person.

“Are you interested in my offer or not?” I finally ask.

“Maybe.”

“It would get you the hell out of this damned place. I’m not asking you to live a moral life or be kind or generous. I don’t care. Just keep your nose clean and apply yourself.”

“I see.”

“And do not fuck up my life. That’s all. Understand?”

“Whatever.”

Good Lord, teenagers and their one-word answers. “You’re annoying the hell out of me. Do you want in or not? And a ‘Thank you for saving my stupid life, Aunt Jane’ wouldn’t hurt anything.”

“You didn’t save my life.”

“Shit, girl. A few months ago you moved in with my mother because that was your best option. I’m very clear that you haven’t started living any kind of life, even if you’re not.”

“Fuck off,” she mutters, but she keeps on eating. For a tiny thing, she can pack it away, and I really admire that. You’ve got to get while the getting is good.

Her shoulders hitch up in a shrug, though I haven’t said anything. “So what’s the plan? Smuggle me out of state?”

“No. I need to do this legally so we can get the documentation to enroll you in school. Joylene would testify that I’d be a good influence, I think. But I don’t know what your mom would do.”

“I can take care of her,” Kayla says.

“Oh?”

“I know about several buildings she burned down to help people file insurance claims, and one drug dealer she ratted out to the cops. I’ll just threaten to tell everyone if she doesn’t sign me away.”

“Nice,” I say with genuine appreciation.

“Thanks.”

“Obviously, everyone in our family can be bought off if necessary. But it won’t be necessary. I’m not worried about them. My biggest concern is that the lieutenant governor has your name and could make trouble.”

“I can take care of that,” Kayla says, finally sitting back to press a hand to her belly as if she can’t eat another bite.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I mean I have the tape and I’ve decided it’s time to use it. In fact, I edited it this afternoon. It’s ready to upload. Once Roy Morris is exposed, they’ll be too busy scrambling to worry about me.”

I have to admit, I’m surprised. The sound I heard from the bathroom today wasn’t her watching porn. It was her preparing blackmail material.

Listen, I’m a big fan. I’ve pulled off similar schemes myself for fun and profit. But this is dangerous.

“That’s child pornography. It’s illegal to make it, view it, or share it. Even if you’re in it. You can’t just send it out.”

“I’ll use a fake email address and a throwaway ISP. It’s fine.”

“And what if your face gets out in the future and you’re trying to land a big job?”

She shrugs. “Whatever. It’s illegal to view, right? I’m not worried.”

“But you didn’t send it out yet?”

“Not yet. I wanted to figure out my next step first.”

“Yeah? What is your next step?”

“Moving in with you,” she says, just like that.

I guess we have a plan.

Still, I shake my head. “Look, I like throwing out filth for public consumption as much as the next girl does, but that’s not going to work this time.”

“I plan to send it to newspapers.”

“Newspapers would be extremely careful about this, and at best they might write an article hinting at what they’ve seen. But if they can’t prove you’re underage, they’ll consider it sordid gossip that isn’t their business. If they do suspect you’re underage, they will send the video to the police and run away like their hands are on fire, because they’re not legally allowed to