Page 26 of His to Burn
I rolled my eyes, something he didn’t miss, and that, from what I could tell, annoyed him even more.
I smiled despite myself. “You’re not an idiot, Jackson.”
His nostrils flared with his huffed-out breath. He didn’t appreciate my use of that name, but I knew he wouldn’t say anything. Because he was stubborn, too.
Maybe even as stubborn as me.
I shifted so that my body faced his, eyes locking on his, ready to find out.
“Look, the garage is creepy at noon and downright terrifying at night, but I’d go if it was smart. It’s not. It’s pitch-dark in there, and we’d have no way of knowing what was coming at us.”
I cocked my head toward the bank of screens, sure that Jack didn’t miss the couple dozen figures gathered near the garage.
“It’s not ideal, but there are exits. Which means it’s better than getting trapped in here,” he said.
“We’re not trapped in here. Not really. That garage is a different story. Sure there are exits, but there’s also thick walls, blind dead ends, and no lights. We’d be sitting ducks at night,” I countered.
From the way he thinned his lips, I had a hunch that Jackson saw my point, but wasn’t ready to fold yet. “Should have taken the chance on the main exit,” he mused.
“No,” I responded, “we shouldn’t have. We would have died there. Hell, we might still die here, but at least we have a shot.”
And that was what mattered, I realized.
I’d told myself I wouldn’t die here.
I was even more determined now.
In fact, I was more determined than ever to get out of here.
Until reality hit me.
He killed Jorge.
Oh God. He killed Jorge.
That thought took my breath away.
I stumbled away from the video monitors, the garage now forgotten, and leaned against the table.
“You killed Jorge,” I said, my emotions flipping on a dime.
“Got him before he could get me,” was Jack’s only response.
Like that was an answer.
Like that made it okay.
Anger, sharp and pulsing, had me on my feet.
“He was my friend and you killed him!” I was almost shrieking but forced my voice down.
Jack walked close, and glared down at me. “Don’t be stupid. He was dangerous. I put him down.”
I glared back at him, almost irrational now.
Jackson didn’t back down. In fact, he got closer. “You wanna punch me?”
Just hours ago, I’d thought of doing just that. Wanted to now and felt the sting of embarrassment that tempered my anger.
