Page 39 of Teach Me
A flashback of her apartment blazed through her mind. Definitely not funny.
They didn’t speak until Conlan steered the car into the parking area near her apartment building, now devoid of flashing lights and police cruisers. The white tech van taking up the two spaces nearest the door was all that remained. Conlan shifted into park and turned off the engine, then reached for her hand. “Look, Jess, I know we’re not exactly on solid footing right now, but it’s the middle of the night. Let’s get some rest, get our heads on straight, and then…”
He seemed at a loss for what came afterthen. She didn’t help him out.
Finally he sighed. “Just let me take care of…things for tonight.”
“Why?”
She didn’t miss the hesitation. It hurt, but hell, she needed whatever he was willing to give.
“Because I’m a friend.”
“A friend?”
“Yeah.” The smile he gave her was a tired facsimile of the wicked grin that made her melt.
The ring of her cell phone blared through the moment.
Without thinking, Jess tugged the slim cell out of her pocket, her eyes still on the man beside her. “Hello.”
“Jess. How was your evening?”
The breath froze in her lungs at the sound of Brit’s voice in her ear.
“What’s the matter, mouse? Cat got your tongue?” His chuckle sent a shiver of fear down her spine.
“What is it?” Conlan asked.
“Is he still with you?” Brit kept talking in her ear, but her gaze stayed glued to Conlan, to the concern on his face, the rising anger. “Maybe my message wasn’t quite clear enough.”
“Who is it, Jess?”
“Why are you calling me? Why are you doing this?” Jess asked Brit.
“Because I can, little mouse. You belong to me.”
“No!” Jess twisted toward the door, one hand rising to ward off Conlan’s efforts to take the phone. “I don’t belong to you; I don’t belong to anyone. You stay away from me!”
Conlan’s white face got right in hers. “Give me that damn phone now.”
Brit’s voice hissed in her ear. “Oh, Jess, you’re mine. You always will be. You might’ve escaped for a little while, but it was only a matter of time before I reeled you back in. It’s time you came home.”
The phone cut off just as Conlan ripped the handset from her. Punching his finger at the screen in desperation, he growled when nothing came up. It was as if she’d never even received a call.Maybe I imagined it,she thought a bit hysterically.
Jess barely blinked before Conlan was out of the car and around to her side, pulling her out, but it was just long enough. Bile rose, sending her sprinting for the bushes nearby. Racking sobs mixed with the spasms fisting her belly as she emptied her stomach, continuing to heave clear fluid even then.
Minutes, maybe hours, later, gentle hands pulled the hair away from her face and stroked her back, easing her tears enough that she could lean against the brick building at her side, waiting for the trembling to still. A white tissue, stark in the darkness, appeared under her face, and Jess realized she was still doubled over facing the ground. She took the square and cleaned herself, using a second ghostly offering to clear her mouth before standing upright. Conlan’s angry face swam in front of her.
“Okay?”
She nodded.
“Good. Upstairs,” he said.
Chapter Fifteen
“Jess!”
