Page 3 of Demon
“Carjacking.The fucking idiot was arrested for carjacking?”He shook his head and wondered how two people who shared so much blood, and looked so similar could be so different.
“What idiot?”She frowned.“You said you’re James Jennings.”She looked confused.
“I am.But I’m JamesJosephJennings.Family calls me Joe.”He shook his head.How stupid was Jim Bob?Demon would like to be able to say he was surprised that there was a warrant out for his cousin, but it wasn’t the first and it likely wouldn’t be the last.
He took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out slowly.It was that or start screaming and as much as he didn’t want this woman cuffing him, he also didn’t want to scare her more than he had to.
She was just doing her job.It wasn’t her fault that Dad and his brother had the brilliant idea of giving their sons names that were so close to each other.Add into that there was only a month between their birthdays and their Social Security numbers were so close, it had only compounded the issue.
“Jim Bob is my cousin.He’s been a pain in my ass since we were about three.”He reached back and pulled his wallet from his pocket, flipped it open and pulled out his driver’s license.Offering it to her, he continued talking.“I haven’t seen him in a couple of years.It’s just best for all of us if I keep my distance.”He didn’t bother to say this wasn’t the first time he’d been confused for Jim Bob, but he did admit to himself that it could have been worse.This Ronnie could be some overweight, hairy guy with a sweating issue and a want to-be alpha problem.
She took his license and looked at it for a moment, checking the photo and looking back up at him.
“Well shit.”She offered Demon his license back.“I’m sorry about this.Any idea where I might find him?”
Demon shrugged.
“Like I said, I haven’t seen him in a couple of years.Last I heard he tends to hide out at his mom’s when he thinks someone’s looking for him, but I’m not sure where she’s living these days.”His aunt Chastity hadn’t spoken to him since long before she and his uncle Jimmy divorced.She had believed Jim Bob was an angel, and since Demon wouldn’t put up with his shit or cover for him, she had little use for him.In fact, Demon called his cousin out for his stupid shit every chance he got.Demon believed he’d never learn better if everyone ignored it or covered up his stupid shit, so he'd refused.
Demon took his license and put it away, at the last minute he pulled a card from his wallet, it was mostly blank, but had a phone number in black in the center of the card.
“Here, this is me.Keep looking.You hit a dead end, give me a call and I’ll see what I can find.”
She took the card, stared at it for a moment then looked back up at him, meeting his gaze.
“You sure?Helping me will likely put you on the outs with your family.”
“I’m already on the outs with most of my family anyway.Might as well do it for the right reasons.Sooner or later my idiot cousin is going to get someone other than himself hurt.I’d hate knowing the only reason he was able to get someone else hurt was because I didn’t do the right thing to begin with.”
She looked at the card in her hand, then back up at him.Her eyes skimmed down his torso then back to his face.As if she was taking in what he was wearing for the first time.
Ronnie opened her mouth, and he wondered what she was going to say, but she closed it again, frowning.Tilting her head, she stared at him for a moment.
2
Ronniestoodintheconvenience store parking lot and stared at the man she'd mistaken for her skip.
Damn, he was fine.And he reminded her of the actor who played her fictional man crush.He didn’t look just like him, but there was enough there to make the connection, at least in her mind.Where else mattered anyway?She wished for a moment that she hadn’t met him on the job.There was no way he’d agree to go out with her after she accused him of skipping out on a bail that wasn’t even his.
She'd been doing this for a few years now and never, not once, had someone who actually knew her skip offered to help her find them.
She understood it.Most of them had the mindset that they weren’t going to be the rat.They didn’t see it from the perspective of protecting society at large, only that they couldn’t betray the person they knew, even if they knew that person was guilty.
Before getting into this job, she thought that the people with the most to lose, the parents or spouses who had put the house up to guarantee that their loved one would show up for court, would be more helpful.After all, they had the most to lose if they didn’t show up for court.
Then again, until today, she hadn't been given someone with a name quite so close as the man in front of her and her skip.They even looked alike.
“You said you’re related to this guy and you’re still willing to help me?"She looked back up at him and noted how he resembled the photo she'd been given, but now that she looked more closely, she saw more differences than similarities.Their eyes were both blue, but the picture in her file showed cloudy, pale blue eyes while the ones staring back at her were bright.Bluer than the sky behind him.Something in her wanted to find a name for the color.Even as she thought it, she knew it was stupid.Most likely he was trying to find out where she was looking for this Jim Bob, then he’d let her skip know so he wouldn’t be wherever she was looking.
He nodded.“Yeah, I’ll help.”The man in front of her shook his head.“I don’t know what Jim Bob has gotten into, but it’s not good.I’d hate for his stupidity to get someone killed, or at least someone other than him.”
Ronnie frowned.That was a little callous, but she didn’t know what had happened between the two of them to make this James to feel that way.This James?How awkward was that?
“If he goes by Jim Robert, what do you go by?Are you James?Jimmy?”
One corner of his mouth quirked upwards in a wry half-smile.“James was my grandfather, and Jimmy is my uncle.I go by Demon.”
Ronnie’s eyes went wide, and she gave him a slow blink as she tried to decide if he was serious or trying to pull something over on her.Who in their right mind would go by the name Demon?
