Page 24 of Jett in Jeopardy

My insides clenched at the thought.

“We should call the police,” I said, easing back from him.

“No!” The vehemence in his tone made me frown, but before I could ask about his clear aversion to calling the police, he quickly added, “I don’t have anything to tell them. I barely got a good look at the car before it sped away, and I didn’t see the license plate.”

“There might be cameras around. We’re not far from the intersection, and some businesses here might have security cameras.”

“I just want to go home.”

He looked tired. Without all that cocky swagger he usually wore, he also looked lost. Something in my chest squeezed, and I knew in my gut I should just hail a ride for him, then make a point of avoiding him from now on—just like I knew in my gut that I wouldn’t. I was in too deep already.

“Why don’t you wait in my truck, out of the cold,” I told him. “I’ll call someone to come tow your Jeep to a mechanic.”

“You don’t have to. I don’t… I can’t… I didn’t think I’d be getting fired, so I don’t have the money to pay you back, but I can get it.”

“It’s fine,” I told him. “You can owe me. It’s not like I don’t know where to find you.”

Jett nodded and headed to my pickup, then stopped and turned back to me. “Be careful out here.”

“I will,” I promised.

Once Jett had climbed into the passenger seat, I called a mechanic friend of Ryan’s. I felt like a dick calling him since I was fairly sure the last time I’d spoken to him was at Ryan’s funeral, but it was late, and I wanted to get Jett out of here. I knew Andy wouldn’t keep us waiting too long.

If Andy was pissed I hadn’t reached out over the past six years, he didn’t show it. He actually seemed genuinely happy to hear from me. And I was right about not having to wait long. Less than forty minutes later, Andy had Jett’s car hoisted up and was on his way back to his shop.

I climbed behind the wheel of my truck. The engine was already on with the warm air blasting from the vents. A welcome relief from the cold outside.

As I pulled on my seatbelt, I could feel Jett’s eyes boring into me.

“What?” I asked, pulling away from the curb, heading back to The Square.

“Why are you here? Alistair said he was sending Finn, or he’d come get me himself.”

“I was at the hotel when he asked Daniel to leave early as his boyfriend couldn’t make it out of the parent-teacher conference. So, I offered to come, instead. Besides, I wanted to talk to you, anyway.”

His gaze narrowed warily. “About what?”

“I owed you an apology after that night,” I told him and risked a glance his way. He was staring at me, waiting for me to elaborate, suspicion etched into his features. My gaze turned back to the road. “I should have explained what I meant better.”

“I’m pretty sure I got what youmeantjust fine.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“You said, me just being there to fuck is what you liked best about me. Believe me, I get it.” He didn’t look at me when he spoke, but I’d have had to be deaf to miss the tinge of bitterness in his flat tone.

Absently, I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. I didn’t like hearing Jett sound so defeated. It was so incongruent with his normal flirty, fun-loving persona. And even more, I hated knowing I was the one to make him sound like that.

“That’s not what I like best about you.”

He finally looked over at me, tilting his head, and his gaze was still wary. “What is?”

I sighed, loudly. Even when Ryan and I had been together, I hadn’t been all that verbally expressive. And I sure as hell hadn’t improved in the years Ryan had been gone. Still, Jett’s night had been shitty enough. He didn’t need me to make it worse.

“You’re smart, funny and sexy as hell, but I’m pretty sure you already knew that.”

A small smile tugged at his mouth, and he turned to look out the window again. Some of the pressure tightening around my chest eased. Silence settled between us except for the steady hiss of warm air spilling from the vents in the dash.

“I think someone is trying to kill me,” Jett continued looking out the passenger window.

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