Page 10 of Jacking Jill

Jack chuckled, was about to say something, but then frowned and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out his vibrating phone. “Yeah, go ahead, Keller.”

Jill smiled when Jack moved the phone to his other ear so she couldn’t eavesdrop on whatever top-secret stuff he was involved in. Then her smile faded when the events of the day rushed back into her consciousness, tightening her throat as the shocking memory of seeing a dead body and having a gun held to her head combined with the gnawing knowledge that she was walking into a dangerous situation with Nina and Bobby Carmine.

And now all the practical considerations of self-preservation and safety began to break through the barrier of guilt-enforced determination she’d placed around them. Jack’s warning had been serious, and his concern for her safety had opened up some vulnerable part of her, like there was something in her cavewoman core that was responding to the protective concern of a square-jawed broad-chested warrior who could punch through moonroofs and leap over Honda hatchbacks.

Now her heart leaped when Jack hung up and rubbed his square jaw and crossed his caveman-sized forearms over his broad chest and glanced at her strangely. “The actual wedding isn’t till Sunday, you said?”

Jill nodded. “Why?”

Jack took a breath. “Is there an event at the Carmine Mansion tonight? Some kind of pre-wedding party? These mafia weddings often have a series of events leading up to the big day. It gives them a good cover to conduct business.”

“Yes, cocktails and dinner tonight at the Carmine Mansion for the arriving guests,” Jill said. “A champagne brunch on the Estate tomorrow late morning, followed by the Rehearsal Dinner Saturday night for those in the wedding, ending with more cocktails for the rest of the guests.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Why do you know all the details?”

Jill sighed. “Because Nina asked me to be her Maid of Honor when she was planning the whole thing.” She sighed again. “And I’d said yes at first. It was six months ago. Things changed after that.”

“What changed? You or her?” Jack’s question surprised her. He might have the square jaw of a caveman, but he wasn’t dumb. Jill was slightly ashamed for type-casting him as a meathead just because he carried a lot of meat on his body.

“Both, I guess.” Jill’s voice wavered as the guilt washed over her again. “She . . . she started using again. Said that Bobby was going to take care of her, that they were both going to rehab after the wedding, that they were going to be partied out by then and ready to settle down.”

Jack’s gaze softened briefly, then hardened. “Shit. Bobby Carmine got her hooked on drugs?”

“No.” Jill gulped back the bile-bitter taste of raw guilt. “I did.”

Jack stared. Then he snorted and shook his head. “I don’t believe it. What the hell are you talking about, Jill?”

Jill stared coldly at the darkening horizon. The sun was setting, the early winter darkness moving in like fingers of a giant hand closing in around their little red Honda hatchback. “Two years ago. We were out at a club in West Philly. Bobby Carmine was there with some of his friends. We didn’t know who he was—didn’t know anything, really.” She shrugged gloomily. “He kept buying us drinks. Was totally into Nina, absolutely starry-eyed. She was flattered, and I was happy for her.” Another sigh, and Jill’s shoulders slumped even lower as that bile taste flooded her mouth with its vile sickness. “Then he offered us a couple of pills. Some sort of party drug, I don’t know what. He said it would make us dance all night.” Jill’s face was ashen, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I said no, but Nina wanted to try it. She said she’d only do it if I did it with her. She was having such a good time with Bobby, and although I didn’t like him, he didn’t seem to be hitting on any other girls at the club, was totally focused on Nina.” Jill sighed, changing her grip on the steering wheel, then sighing again. “So I took the pill with her. First and last time I ever did anything like that. But I still did it. I wish I hadn’t, but I did. Oh, shit, I hate myself for doing it. I was supposed to be the responsible one, you know? I’m older than her, and Nina always looked up to me in some way, so when I took the pill with her . . .”

Jack nodded beside her, reached out and placed his big palm over her white-knuckled hand gripping the steering wheel. “Nina saw it as an approval, like a child who looks to a parent for guidance on the right thing to do.” He smiled with a warmth that sent ripples through Jill, squeezing her hand gently, his touch warm and reassuring in a strangely familiar way. “She got sucked into that world of drugs and partying, and you blamed yourself because of that first time.” He sighed, shook his head, gazed at her warmly. “But Jill, you must know that it’s not your fault, right? Bobby Carmine pulled Nina into that world. You didn’t push her into it. Besides, she made her own choices, one of which is to marry the guy who dragged her into this dark pit of addiction. What you’re planning to do isn’t going to accomplish anything except get you in trouble, get you hurt.” He paused, that warmly reassuring look hardening to a firm decisiveness that once again felt oddly familiar, strangely personal, deeply intimate, like he was already playing the role of protector, maybe without even knowing it. “It could even get you killed. No way, Jill. You aren’t going to that wedding alone.”

Jill frowned, was about to inform him haughtily that he wasn’t the boss of her, wasn’t a damn thing to her, but then stopped when she went over Jack’s words.

“Wait, I’m confused.” Jill’s frown cut deeper, making her left eyebrow twitch as she glanced at Jack, who was doing something on his phone again. “Earlier you said I shouldn’t go to that wedding at all. Now you just said I shouldn’t go there alone. Does that mean . . .”

She trailed off as Jack finished tapping and swiping. He slipped his phone back into his jacket pocket, then looked up at her with a matter-of-fact nod. “Yup. I’m going with you to the wedding. To all the events, in fact.” He shrugged and settled into his seat like he was making himself at home in not just her car but her life too. “Look, I can’t tell you all the details right now, but this guy we’re tracking—Diego—looks like he contacted somebody in the Philadelphia area, a burner phone which just popped back online.” He took a breath, gazed at her with a hint of knowing more than he was letting on. “We tracked it to the Carmine Estate, Jill. To the mansion where this evening’s cocktail party must be just getting started.”

Jill blinked about forty times, her eyelids going into hyper-flutter mode like a panicking butterfly. “I . . . I don’t follow. What does that mean?”

Jack smiled tightly. “It means Diego called somebody who is attending the very same wedding you are about to crash with your blue dress and guilty conscience. It could be someone in the Carmine Family, could be a guest, could be a damn caterer, for all we know. Either way, I’ve got a way into the wedding now, so I’ll be able to scope out the crowd, narrow it down, figure out who it is so we can track them without raising the alarm, hopefully get to Diego that way.”

Jill was still blinking as her head spun faster than her car’s wheels. “You . . . you have a way into the wedding now? What . . . what’s that way?”

“You’re that way,” Jack said merrily. “You’re my way into the wedding, Jill.” He pulled out his phone again, began to swipe and tap. “I’ll need some formal clothes, probably. And a hotel room for the weekend.” He glanced up. “Hey, you must have a hotel room, right?”

Jill almost collapsed over the steering wheel. She couldn’t even figure out how to breathe right now, let alone respond to whatever the hell that question implied.

“Relax,” said Jack with a half-grin. “I meant which hotel are you staying at. I’ll get a room at the same place. It’ll make it easier to coordinate.”

“Coordinate what, exactly?” Jill’s mind was a spinning whirlpool of hot emotion right now, her body buzzing with something that was alarmingly exciting. “Jack, I am not your way into Nina’s wedding! I told you, I’m not even invited!”

“Well, you’re sure as hell more invited than I am.” Jack turned to her. “Look, you brought a dress with you, which means you know you’ll be able to talk your way into the wedding events. You’re going to pretend that you had a change of heart and want to be at your best friend’s wedding after all. If Nina has always looked up to you, she’ll be thrilled that you want to make up with her, that you’ve showed up to give her your blessings.”

“Except I’m not here to give her my blessings, Jack!”

Jack shrugged. “Sure, but you need to get close to her to have that conversation. And you’re not going to get close to her without faking your way in with a friendly smile and a sisterly hug.” He grinned. “And I’m not getting in at all without being your date. So it works out great for both of us. Mutually beneficial. Win-win situation. You scratch mine, I tickle yours.”

Jill tried to stop herself from imagining exactly what of Jack’s she’d be scratching and what of hers he wanted to tickle with those thick fingers. She exhaled heavily, shook her head in disbelief. “And how exactly do I benefit from you being there, pray tell?”

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