Page 17 of Nine

Trig shakes his head.

“Oh. That’s right. I don’t get to ask questions. You’re totally off limits.” I huff.

“You’re not making this easy.”

“I don’t fucking know anything. How many more times do I have to keep repeating it? Why don’t you search his house, and rummage through all of his shit?”

“I did,” he quickly replies.

“I take it you didn’t find much.”

“No. I found something alright.” I stare at him with curiosity. “I found surveillance pictures of you.”

“Well, that’s creepy.”

He drops the fork and holds up the entire cupcake. I lean in and take an angry bite. I feel the frosting mash against my skin. I lift my tied hands up to wipe if off.

“Stop. You’re just making it worse,” he says.

He reaches over and wipes a smudge of chocolate from the corner of my mouth with his thumb. He then takes that same thumb and places it up to his lips, and slowly sucks it off. I just stare like a deer in headlights. Fuck. He’s hot. He seriously makes heat rise from places where it shouldn’t at the time being. I’m all kinds of twisted right now. I shouldn’t feel this way about somebody who’s holding me hostage. My hands are tied up for God’s sake. He did save my life though, but he’s a hitman of some sort. At least I assume he is, which means he kills people for a living. What the hell is wrong with me? I’m suffering from hero syndrome, right? Trig rushed in and saved me, which is probably part of the reason I can’t think straight. I can’t differentiate if he’s a good or a bad guy. Most girls would probably be feeling the same way or maybe I’m just that disturbed.

“Nine!” he says. I snap out of my thoughts. “I’m talking to you.”

“What?”

“I asked you who Jenny is.”

I look at him for a minute. He recites off a cell phone number that belongs to her.

I stare at him confused.

“Jenny – who is she?”

“She’s my roommate and my assistant. Why?”

“How does one assist a prostitute?”

“Escort,” I correct him with angry eyes, as if the word prostitute is beneath me.

Trig looks at me and nods.

“Tell me more. How do you know her? What did she do for you?”

I look at his gun and then back up to him. I decide to give him a short version of our back-story, which includes where we met, and how we started in the business. I explain to him that Jenny is a number cruncher, and that she does all of my accounting and sets up my appointments.

“Why are you asking about Jenny?”

“Phone records. She’s made and received several calls to and from Victor.”

“What?” I say, surprised as I push back my chair. “That’s not what she told me.”

I think back to when she said that he had called a month ago and then once yesterday morning.

“Well, she lied to you.”

I feel pissed, but I’m not sure whom at. Trig or Jenny.

“What are you saying? You think Jenny was involved with Victor.” I scoff. “Where do you get off even suggesting that?” I squint my eyes in disbelief. “You don’t know her.” I bang my fist down on the table.

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