Jace

 

I had to get out of the house. Katie and I hadn’t even been married for twenty-four hours yet and she was already getting on my nerves. I knew she was nervous about the Troy thing, but she was driving me up the fucking wall. I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her and tell her things would be fine, but I didn’t think that would be very effective.

 

Katie had every reason to be scared of that pissant before I came on the scene, but now that she was with me, she had absolutely nothing to worry about. Especially not with Kenny guarding her back at my place. I knew Kenny well enough to know he was a big softie, but to strangers, he cut a pretty mean figure.

 

That letter I’d found at Matthias’s was bothering me. I knew that time was running out—if I wanted to get any prints or anything from it, I’d have to act fast. And that meant only one person could help me.

 

Rosa. Rosa Graham was a girl I’d banged a couple of years back on the regular. She was a computer whiz who’d helped the club out with some business, and she had a smokin’ hot curvy body, too. Now, we were just friends, but I hadn’t seen her in some time. I wondered if there was going to be tension between us like always.

 

“You couldn’t have called?” Rosa gave me a flirtatious smile that told me she didn’t mind one bit. I climbed out of my car as she started walking down the path of her home office. “I haven’t see you in ages, Jace.”

 

“I know,” I said, flashing her a guilty grin. “I know it’s been a long time, girly.”

 

Rosa laughed. She threw her head back, exposing pearly white teeth. “Too long, I’d say,” she said with a little giggle. “How have you been?”

 

As I got out of the car, I studied her. Even though she was only wearing dark jeans and a black top, she looked incredible. Rosa had a body that wouldn’t quit. Her dark hair and tan complexion made her look like she’d just come from a day at the beach, even though I knew that, more likely than not, she’d been up all night on her computer.

 

“You look good,” I told her. We embraced briefly—a small flare of lust went through my body as I imagined Rosa flat on her back in my bed—and then pulled away. There was a smile on the sensual curve of her lips as she stared at me.

 

“You do, too, Jace. What can I do for you today?”

 

I sighed and shrugged, pulling the letter out of my pocket. When I’d gotten home the other night, I’d wrapped it up in plastic to prevent further contamination.

 

Rosa laughed. “I’m not in the CIA, boy,” she said with a little giggle. “I’m not sure what you think I can do with that.”

 

“Hold up,” I said defensively. “I didn’t ask you to do anything, not just yet.”

 

Rosa smiled. “Come on inside,” she said. “Let’s have a cup of tea.” She walked in front of me, swinging her tantalizing ass from side to side.

 

Normally, I would have been all over her like a dog in heat. But today, I just wasn’t feeling it. Rosa was still one of the most beautiful women that I’d ever seen, but I had a feeling things were over between us. We’d always flirt, sure, but I couldn’t imagine ever bedding her again.

 

Rosa led me inside her quaint little house. She gazed around before turning to me with her hands on her hips and grinning. “This isn’t what you are used to, I know,” she said. “But maybe you can relax here for a little while.”

 

For about half an hour, we sat down and talked. Rosa told me what was new in her life. She was a computer programmer who had recently started doing some work for a startup. She said it was going well, but I could tell she was feeling nervous about the whole thing. Rosa and The Silent Havoc met a few years back—one of the guys paid her to do some hacking work when we suspected the member who was keeping our books wasn’t doing a fair job. Rosa put in a camera and a keystroke counter and, within a few days, we realized we were being scammed.

 

It had been about two years after Margot had died, and I was heavily in need of some comfort. Rosa was perpetually single. I couldn’t believe it; she was gorgeous, but she said her intelligence intimidated men. After spending a couple of hours with her, I didn’t exactly think she was lying. She’d been a great lay: very attentive, very loud, perfect body. But it had never gotten serious between us, and whenever Rosa hinted at something more, I shut her down immediately. Deep down, I didn’t think she wanted a relationship, at least not with someone like me. But I knew she had to be lonely.

 

“So, that’s what you’ve been doing?” I grinned at her. “Maybe this’ll be a break for you, then,” I said, reaching forward and plucking the plastic bag with the letter from her jacket. “I need some help analyzing this.”

 

Rosa grinned at me. “And just what do you want me to do about that, Jace?” She had a great smile and dazzling brown eyes, and, for a moment, I found myself lost in their depths.

 

“Whatever you can do,” I said. “I guess.” I grinned at her. “You got any cop friends?”

 

Rosa licked her lips. “I know some people,” she said after a pause. “What are you looking for?”

 

I shrugged. “Fingerprints, if they’re there,” I said. “If there aren’t any there, then I guess whatever DNA you can get from the paper.”

 

Rosa threw her head back and laughed. “DNA? Seriously? This isn’t a cop show, honey,” she said, in her lightly accented English. “I’ll have them check for prints, though,” she added when she saw the look on my face.

 

“Thanks,” I said sourly. “I know I’m not science whiz, but you might be able to find something. Oh, and I touched the letter. So my prints are gonna be there, but hopefully you can find some other ones.”

 

Rosa nodded. “I’ll tell my friends,” she said. She took a sip of her tea and looked at me with a smirk on her face. “You look good,” she said. “Not just nice. Good.”

 

I had to look away. I wasn’t used to taking compliments, especially not from a woman like Rosa. I didn’t like talking too personally with anyone, but there was something about her that inspired me to feel more comfortable. “I’ve been good,” I said with a smirk. I stretched my arms over my head.

 

Rosa gasped. “Oh, wow,” she said, reaching forward and grabbing my left hand. “Are congratulations in order?”

 

“Ha,” I said with a smirk. “Not hardly. It was a business deal.”

 

Rosa shook her head. “If it were just business, you wouldn’t be wearing that ring,” she said with a catty smile. “I know men like you. Men like you don’t wear rings unless they want to.”

 

I glanced down, suddenly more conscious than ever of the feel of gold encircling my finger. “Seriously,” I said. “It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just an arrangement.”

 

Rosa raised her eyebrows at me. “I’ll be right back,” she said. “Don’t you go anywhere.”

 

Rosa stood up from the table and sashayed off into the kitchen. I heard the sound of her low heels tapping around on the floor. I frowned to myself. I didn’t see what the big fucking deal was about. Rosa knew my ways, hell, she’d been one of my ways quite a few times. She knew what my deal was.

 

But she also knows about Margot, I thought. I let out a sigh. When I’d first met Rosa, the wounds from Margot’s death were still pretty raw. It had been a couple of years, but she hit me hard. Plus, I’d been so young when we were together. Margot had been my first real relationship, the only adult relationship I’d ever had. I was sure we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. I’d told Rosa about her one night after we’d fucked. We were lying in bed, and she’d asked me if I’d ever been in love.

 

“I could tell you,” I said, rolling over onto my side, “but then I’d have to kill you.” I grinned at her.

 

Rosa didn’t take the joke. “I don’t think that’s true,” she said softly. “I think you have been in love, and you just don’t want to admit it.”

 

I flopped onto my back and stared hard at the ceiling. “You don’t know that, though,” I said.

 

Rosa laughed shortly. “You men are all the same,” she said, turning to face me. “You think you’re impossible to read, like no woman could ever figure out your secrets.”

 

I shook my head. “That ain’t true,” I replied, even though she was more on the nose than I would have liked to admit. “I just went through a breakup, but I was a kid. I didn’t know shit.”

 

Rosa laughed. “It’s not that. It’s just, I can tell. You’re removed when you’re with me. I can tell you loved someone once, that you opened up and gave someone everything.”

 

Her words were a little too close to the truth. I got out of bed and yanked my pants on, looking in the dim light for my shirt. “I gotta run,” I said.

 

“Come on,” she said. She rolled on her belly. “Tell me. I don’t care about your past, Jace, and it won’t make me run away. But sometimes you need to get things off your chest.”

 

I sat back down on the edge of the bed. Not looking at her, I told her everything. How we met at a bar, how our first kiss was magical. How she tasted like sugar, and how I wanted to carry her away and never let anyone else have her.

 

“She died,” I finished. “She died, and there was nothing I could do to save her.”

 

Rosa’s warm hand on my shoulder was comforting, but suddenly I had the feeling things were about to become uncomfortable and emotional. I stood up and grabbed my jacket, tossing it over my shoulder.

 

“Thanks for talking,” Rosa said when I was almost out of the room. “I can tell it helped you.”

 

Rosa shook me out of my daydream when she sat down at the table and pushed a flute of champagne towards me.

 

“What’s this?” I squinted down. “Nothing too expensive, I hope.”

 

Rosa laughed. “I had to toast the new groom,” she said. We clinked glasses together and drank.

 

“Thanks.” The champagne was good: not too sweet, perfectly dry and crisp on the tongue. I downed my glass in two swallows, then I stood up.

 

“You gonna be okay?” Rosa eyed me. “I don’t know when I’ll have results on this,” she added, tapping the letter, “but it shouldn’t be too long. I’d say a couple of days. That all right with you?”

 

“I’ll be fine,” I said. I didn’t want to tell her I’d just remembered our talk about Margot, but I had a feeling she knew.

 

As I walked out the front door and climbed behind the wheel of my car, I realized she was likely right. It wasn’t just that I’d married Katie for protection. No, I’d wanted something from her, too. Turning the ring around on my finger, I stared off into the horizon.

 

I just don’t know what it is that I want. What a fuckin’ mystery.