She almost snorted but refrained.
“I know this isn’t ideal, but I’ll take you around tomorrow after I’ve spoken to everyone. I can show you the town once everyone gets used to having you here, but that might take a little more time,” Jackson continued.
She remained silent. Jackson shook his head and turned to walk out.
“I want to speak to my sister,” she said.
“Then call her. I haven’t stopped you from doing that.”
“She doesn’t have her phone. She must have lost it when we were...”
Jackson turned and studied her for a moment before he pulled his phone from his pocket.
“I’ll tell them to get her a new phone,” he said as he dialled a number.
The conversation was quick, and when he finished, she was still holding the vase in front of her.
“You don’t need any weapons here, Layla. You’re safe.”
Right.
“Does anyone else have a key to this room?”
Jackson nodded. “I left a key in the kitchen so they could bring your food. But no one comes up to this floor; it’s just you and me up here now.”
“Can you get the key back?” she asked.
Jackson frowned but nodded before he turned to walk to the door again. He was at the door when he stopped and looked towards the bathroom.
“What happened?” he asked.
He didn’t wait for her to answer before he walked across to the ensuite, and when he came out, he was holding the ruined clothes she had thrown in the trash. His fist was balled up as he brought the t-shirt to his nose and sniffed it before he met her gaze across the room.
The fury in his eyes made her take a step back.
The girl she stabbed claimed she would be Jackson’s girlfriend once she turned eighteen. What if that was true? What if she had stabbed his girlfriend and put herself in more danger?
A voice in her head told her she was being silly. It was more believable to imagine Jackson was gay because he wouldn’t have made this stupid deal with her if he had a girlfriend. But the girl had to have had that idea from somewhere.
“Were you hurt?”
His voice sounded different. His mood had changed so quickly that she felt like she was speaking to two different people, so she had no idea how to respond to him.
“Not... not really,” she whispered.
Jackson threw the clothes down and stormed to the door.
“Come,” he said.
She had no idea what was happening. Was she in trouble? Jackson left the door wide open, but she stood there staring at it, trying to figure it out. Was he taking her to the girls so they could finish her off? She couldn’t put anything past him anymore.
Jackson returned to the room, and she swore she saw a flash of red in his eyes again.
“Come with me, Layla,” he said.
She took a calming breath and started to follow. She didn’t dare put the vase down even though she knew how ridiculous she looked.
No one was downstairs when she followed Jackson through the lobby, but she kept her eyes open in case of another ambush.