Page 31 of Jett in Jeopardy

“As much as I hate to tell you, I told you so… I told so,” Jett said, walking around to the passenger side of the truck parked in the lot outside the Saltwater Cove police station. His smug smirk, however, belied his claim, and it was obvious he was enjoying telling me he’d told me so immensely.

I shook my head, making my way to the driver’s side. The mid-morning winter sun glared from a cloudless blue sky but did little to ease the frigid air and climbing inside the truck was a relief from the cold.

Once behind the wheel, I shot Jett a pointed look.

“What?” he asked. “I warned you they wouldn’t believe us. Don’t blame me.” He reached back and grabbed the seatbelt, pulling it over his shoulder and waist before clicking it into place.

“They didn’tnotbelieve you,” I said. They’d just been… unimpressed. The officer we spoke to acknowledged that something was clearly going on, but without a possible person of interest, there was little they could do.

And that was the problem. While it was obvious someone was targeting Jett, he didn’t know who it could be.

After breakfast, we’d made a timeline of everything that had happened since the first break-in at their old house. Seeing the events listed, I had the sick feeling that I was right. Not only were the incidents happening more often, but it was clear they were impacting Jett specifically and becoming even more dangerous. Unfortunately, when we tried to come up with someone he thought might have a grudge against him, an unhealthy interest, or even a romantic interest, he couldn’t think of anyone.

He was affable and easygoing by nature and not a fighter. In the three years he’d been living in The Square and going to the university, he’d never had an altercation with anyone. I suggested maybe somebody he’d slept with or someone he’d rejected. Again, no one came to mind. He’d been seeing someone over the summer, but the guy had been vacationing in The Square, and once he’d gone home, they’d stopped. He hooked up with that kid, Sam, who I’d seen at The Dunes, but Jett had assured me it wasn’t serious for either of them. According to Jett, there had been no dramatic breakups and no hookups that ended with bad feelings on either side.

He’d wracked his brain for someone who might have been responsible for what was happening but couldn’t think of anyone. While on one level, I wasn’t entirely surprised—I’d been watching Jett in my bar for almost four years, and if he or his roommates looked like they might get into it with someone, Jett usually said something quippy and managed to disarm the situation—on another level,wassomeone stalking him? If we could figure out why, maybe we could figure out who.

“Can you drop me off at the university?” Jett asked, dragging me out of my thoughts. “I still have time to make it to my last two classes.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? After last night, maybe you should lay low.”

“I can’t just stop going to school. It’s almost winter break, and I have a ton of stuff due before the holiday.”

I knew he was right. As much as the idea of something happening to him filled me with a dull sort of panic, I couldn’t keep him in my line of sight permanently.

“Give me your phone,” I told him.

Frowning, he dug his phone from his jeans pocket. “Why? What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to install one of those tracker apps.” I swiped my thumb on his screen while I pulled up the app store.

“You know, this makesyoulook kind of like a stalker.”

I shot him a look I hoped conveyed exactly what I thought of that. He grinned, clearly amused.

“It’s a precaution,” I said, turning my attention back to the screen. “If something happens, I’ll be able to find you.”

“Or my phone, at least,” he added wryly.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s something, at least.” I tossed his phone back to him.

He caught it, looked down at the screen, and his grin melted away. When he looked up, those light hazel eyes were bright, his expression unusually serious.

“Thank you,” he told me.

“It’sjustan app.”

“Not just for this,” he said, lifting his phone up before slipping it back into his pocket. “For everything. For coming with me today. For trying to help figure all this out. For believing me. Not everyone would.”

He leaned over, across the center console, and kissed me—not a gentle peck and not a tear-off-each-other’s-clothes-and-fuck-on-the-floor-kiss, either. It was something in between, soft and almost sweet, with just a trace of need. My chest started swelling, but I clamped down on the sensation and broke free of the kiss.

“We should go so you don’t miss your next class.” My voice sounded rough, even to my own ears.

Fuck, I needed to be careful. He was already starting to matter to me more than he should.But how the hell do I keep him at arm’s length now that I had him under my roof?I wassoin over my head.

Chapter Thirteen

Jett

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