“Thank you.”
Connor asked, “What name should I put it under?”
“Lacy Johnson.”
He wrote that down. “Address?”
Jess hesitated. “139 Berry Road, Dickerson.”
“Okay, it’s $120 for the night, dinner and breakfast included, if you want.”
“Sure thing. I’m starving,” said Jess. She put her purse on the table to look through it.
Sophia saw the credit cards and bank cards carelessly strewn inside, along with a can of pepper spray, so it came as a surprise when Jess said out loud that she couldn’t find her credit card. “Oh it’s right there on top,” Sophia said, gesturing.
“Those aren’t mine,” Jess admitted, her guard down for a second before she realized the huge mistake. Had Sophia been able to read the cards from her vantage point? No, from this angle she stood little chance of seeing her own name printed on them. And Jess certainly didn’t have cards with “Lacy Johnson” on them. She felt stupid. “Ah, those are Mark’s,” Jess lied, flustered. “Just holding them for him. He doesn’t like wallets. I’ll just pay with cash if that’s all right.”
“Cash is always fine,” said Connor, accepting the crumpled bills she handed him. He gave her a look she couldn’t read but which made her feel uncomfortable and then annoyed.
“Great.” Jess exhaled a big breath to steady her nerves while closing up the purse.
“It’s all my money anyway,” Mark remarked awkwardly, as if kidding, though it was actually true.
Jess shot him a look and then realized she’d just paid for both of them when a guy is supposed to do that, in theory, or be equals. She was so used to there being no romance in sight that it hadn’t occurred to her to let him make a show of paying. She didn’t give a damn what Mark thought—or felt—but it would’ve helped their ruse. A look at Connor revealed he was aware of it, too, or so she thought. And so was Mark. Somehow, Jess was the last to realize the significance of her paying when she prided herself on being sharper than those around her. As Jess stood frowning, Riley walked behind them from the dining room, on his way to the living room.
“New guests,” Riley said in greeting. Mark jumped and turned with wide eyes. “Sorry, buddy. Didn’t mean to startle you.” As Riley walked away, Mark just nodded, which was just as well. His voice would’ve been so high that even mice wouldn’t have been able to hear him speak.
While Connor retrieved a room key and finished any paperwork, Sophia noticed the pair of emerald stud earrings Jess wore. “Oh those are pretty. I have a pair just like those.”
Jess almost laughed, enjoying Sophia’s ignorance that the jewelry was actually Sophia’s. Seth hadn’t been around for a couple hours after the failed abduction, so Jess had ransacked the place and taken a few things while Mark had sat around whining about how much his nose hurt. Seth had been particularly appreciative of Jess acquiring the stolen computer and phone, and that she’d kept both from getting locked by promptly changing the passcode. Unfortunately, the phone had since died because she hadn’t taken the charger.
To Sophia, she now said, “Well, we both have good taste then.”
Connor dangled the room key and announced, “I can show you to your room, if you like. Then I can start making something for dinner.” As they followed him up, he rattled off a few meals he could do quickly, as it was already seven p.m., the Kendall family having eaten earlier than usual today. Once the guests made their selections, he left them to their room.
Once inside with the door closed, Jess listened to make sure Connor walked away, though he hardly seemed the type to eavesdrop. Still, a lifetime of being around disreputable people, including herself, had made her unusually suspicious.
“Okay, he’s gone,” Jess said, turning around.
Mark sighed as he put the suitcase down. “With Riley and Chloe here, we can’t do this.”
Jess frowned, not wanting to admit that he was right. She wasn’t fucking with Riley either, but she wasn’t going to admit it.
“Don’t be a pussy. A stun gun works on him as well as anyone.”
Mark snorted, the act making his nose hurt like hell. “You can fucking do it, then. I’m out.” He moved toward the door, but she barred the way.
“No, you don’t. You aren’t fucking leaving. That looks too weird. One way or another, we’re staying until tomorrow.”
“Fine, but this whole thing is a fucking bust.”
This time Jess sighed. “Yeah, okay. Whatever. Don’t waste my money being a sourpuss all night.”
He scowled. “
Your
fucking money? Gimme a break.”
“Well, Sophia already broke your nose so what should I break next? That was fucking hilarious when she asked what happened to you. She should know!” Jess cackled and Mark scowled.
“Let’s get this dinner over with.”
Still laughing, she said, “Wait. I don’t want to spend too much time around them. Too easy to blow our cover saying something stupid, like you calling me Jess. We’ll wait until they tell us it’s ready.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
“You’re so cute when you sulk.”
“Shut up.”
“Hey, c’mon, that’s the closest to a compliment I’ll ever give you.”
“No, you cuming when I’m fucking you is. You can pretend you’re not all you want. Your pussy doesn’t lie.”
She flushed, having underestimated his ability to tell the truth about that. For once, she was at a loss for a response.
For the next half hour, they mostly ignored each other while staring into their respective smart phones. They’d never been comfortable together, as Seth was the glue between them. Were it not for him, they’d have seldom spoken, but since they both hung out with the same crowd, they’d have been associates if not friends. Not that they were even that. Both were aware of the limits of their ties, Jess irritated that knowing Seth had caused her to know Mark, like some sort of baggage that came with Seth. And Mark resented the reality that his jerk of a best friend was the only reason he got to spend time with Jess. This date was a sham in the worst of ways.
Mark sighed. On the plus side, they didn’t have to do anything stupid tonight. He began to relax and stayed that way even when he and Jess went downstairs to the dining area, Chloe and Riley visible through the foyer on the living room couch where they sat talking. His only worry now was being found out as one of the attempted kidnappers, and that fear went into high gear when the front door opened just as he put a piece of bread in his mouth, and Sheriff Ryan stepped into the foyer.
Chapter 13 – A Change of Hearts
A gun, pepper spray, handcuffs, Taser, and baton hung from the black belt around Sheriff Ryan’s waist. Mark had much the same equipment upstairs, but in no other way were the two men similar. Jess kicked him under the table to make Mark stop staring, but Ryan’s steel blue eyes held Mark’s gaze until Jess grabbed Mark by the chin, turned his face to hers—and more importantly, away from Ryan—and planted a long kiss on him. She discreetly peeked at the cop, who’d looked away. She didn’t know if Ryan knew who they were, but hiding their faces like this couldn’t hurt. If he came too close, he might smell the joint they’d smoked earlier, too. She kept kissing Mark until Connor welcomed his cousin and they moved toward the kitchen, out of sight. Sophia, Chloe, and Riley followed.
“I wanted to give you an update,” Ryan announced.
“You didn’t find Seth?” Connor put an arm around Sophia.
Ryan shook his head. “We don’t know where he is. His car was spotted a few times before disappearing. He hasn’t been home and no one’s seen him. We’ve asked many of his associates, except for two that he’s supposed to be close to, but we can’t find them.”
“The other two attackers?”
“Maybe. Can’t be sure. One’s a guy. One’s a girl that some say is his girlfriend, but you said it was three guys.”
Sophia pursed her lips. “Hmm. One of them was pretty small and I thought the voice sounded like a boy. It could’ve been a girl, now that you mention it.”
“Okay. I’ll update everyone on that. We don’t have a great photo of her or the guy. Facebook pics of both weren’t helpful, and no one we talked to was willing to share one. Distrust of police, I guess. Friends and family demanded a warrant we don’t have.”
None of them noticed it had gone deathly quiet in the dining room.
Connor asked, “You have a warrant for Seth, though, right?”
“Yeah.”
Riley asked, “Where does that leave us?”
Ryan said, “We’re watching all of their houses, but that’s all we can do. The lab is working on the DNA evidence from the blood at the scene, so we’ll be able to positively identify one of the others at some point, assuming we have probable cause to get a DNA sample.”
In the other room, Mark’s face registered horror. Jess shushed him, putting a comforting hand on his arm, when the idea of doing that for him would’ve made her spit just minutes ago. But this was different.
Ryan continued, “Seth’s face was just all over the six o’clock news, if you didn’t see it.”
Sophia said, “Wow. No we didn’t.”
“The state police want to talk to you, just to do their own questioning. Tomorrow morning, if you can. Listen, if I can get a ride home from Chloe here, I’ll leave the squad car out front. That’ll make Seth think twice about doing anything, if he even knows you’re here. He’ll think I’m here, too.”
Connor perked up. “Great idea. Thank you. You could always stay, you know.”
“Got stuff to do, especially for the case. I think you’ll be fine. Oh, one other thing. We tried to locate Sophia’s phone by calling and pinging it but had no luck.”
“Maybe the battery’s dead,” Sophia suggested.
“That would explain it,” Ryan replied.
“You know, Connor,” Chloe began, “Riley and I were thinking that with the other couple staying here, Seth would be a fool to do anything. We can still stay if you want, but between other guests and Ryan’s car out front, the alarm…”
Connor looked at Sophia for approval and she nodded. “Yeah, sure. I think that would be fine if you guys want to go.”
In the other room, Jess bit her lip to keep from laughing. The ruse about the cop car was already blown, Riley and Chloe were leaving, and the supposed guests were two of the kidnappers. And before long, they’d have the alarm code to let Seth in. This would be like stealing candy from a baby.
The only thing she really had to worry about was some sort of story to cover for her and Mark later, so they didn’t get caught, although Mark was screwed if they found any reason to get his DNA. And if Mark and Jess attacked Sophia and Connor from behind, their victims would never realize the connection between their attackers and their guests. They’d just say they’d been in their room asleep or otherwise occupied. As for Seth, well, he was already screwed. With the cops looking for him and his face on the news, he was done.
Minutes later, Jess and Mark went upstairs, saying they might come down later to watch the moon over the mountain from the patio. Jess only said this to make sure Connor didn’t go to bed without telling them the alarm code. Now she and Mark had a couple of hours to kill, though she spent a good five minutes convincing him the cops would never have a reason to seek his DNA if he did what she told him. Her plan now included staying at the inn after the abduction and even being the ones to call the cops on Seth, after he left with Sophia. This would make them seem like they’d been in their room when the whole thing went down and were innocent; after all, they’d stayed behind, right? They hadn’t heard a thing. She’d make Seth take the gear they brought, in case the cops searched for it.
Jess flopped on the bed with her phone as a text message from Seth appeared onscreen.
Seth: Get code?
Jess: Later
S: K
J: Cop car here no cop
S: ??!!
J: Ryan just here left car to scare u off
S: He gone?
J: Y Ryan knows it was u not us
S: Fuck him
J: Can’t he left
S: Slut
J: U close?
S: Behind garage
J: Cool
S: Whatcha doin?
J: Fucking M ;)
S: Whore
J: :P
S: That an offer?
J: No
S: Bitch
J: Fuck u
S: That an offer?
“Asshole,” Jess muttered, putting the phone down.
“What?” Mark asked from the dresser, where he was laying out their gear.
“Nothing.”
Seeing the phone now face down, he suspected what had been going on. “You know, you deserve better.”
“Shut up.”
He shrugged. “Just sayin’.”
“Well, don’t.”
He sighed. He’d never seen her in a bed before. He’d never been with her except in the back of a car or on the floor. Or on a rock earlier today. She’d sucked his cock so hard this morning that he’d been dying to look in that telescope to find out just what she’d seen. But he could guess. She’d mounted him afterwards, her eyes tightly closed, imagining he was someone else, he knew. He’d thrust up into her from below all the same, used to ignoring her attentions being elsewhere and taking his revenge by making her cum as hard as he could. The thought made him horny.
Mark said, “We have time to kill. While we’re pretending to be a couple, why don’t we fuck like one?”
Jess rolled her eyes and got off the bed to make sure the door was locked. “Dream on.”
“C’mon. You can still pretend that you’re someone else, Lacy.”
“What I want is to pretend that
you’re
someone else.”
Knowing that was one thing. Having it said to his face was another. Mark sulkily said, “Yeah, I know. You don’t have to remind me.”
She turned back to him. “Oh, self-pity is soooo attractive.”
Suddenly angry, he snapped, “What the fuck are you so high and mighty about? You’re in love with a guy who loves someone else, and who treats you like shit. Jesus, you’re even helping him kidnap and rape her.”
“Fuck you!”
“That’s exactly what I had in mind. Let’s fuck.” He pulled his big dick out. Only half hard but growing, it was already bigger than Seth’s and beautiful, too. “Neither of us can have the heart of the one we love, just their body, so let’s get on with it.”