Chapter Thirty

 

 

 

 

After searching through Jordan’s gun case, I found one that I knew I could handle - a three-fifty-seven revolver. I loaded it and then went back upstairs, where I stared anxiously out the window, waiting for Jordan to return. When he finally arrived, it was almost forty minutes after our phone conversation. I wanted to ask him what had taken so long, but he looked so grumpy when he walked through the doorway, I decided to leave it be.

“You’re back,” I said, forcing a smile.

“Yeah. Sorry it took so long.” He looked down at the Smith & Wesson that was still in my hand. “You doing okay?”

I lay the gun down on the counter and wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans. “I’m fine. Scared, obviously.”

Nodding, he set his bike helmet down onto the end table and ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t let Barney’s death worry you. I’ve had some time to think about it and the truth is, this might not even be related to Reaper.”

I had a feeling that he was just saying it to calm me down. Barney’s death was just too much of a coincidence.

“You don’t really believe that?” I asked him.

“Why shouldn’t I?” he countered, with a straight face.

“Come on, seriously? Who else would kill such a sweet old man?”

“Maybe he wasn’t as sweet as we thought he was.”

I supposed that was possible. He could have had some of his own dirty, little secrets. “How well did you know him?”

He sat down on the sofa and stared toward the fireplace. “Not as much as I should have, apparently. One thing I did know was that he was a good pilot and there for me whenever I needed him. I just wish I would have accepted some of his invitations for dinner, with his wife. Maybe I could have gotten to know him better. Maybe I could have even stopped whoever killed him. Whether it was related to Reaper or not.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Don’t go blaming yourself,” I said, noticing the regret in his eyes.

He sighed but didn’t say anything more.

“So, what are we going to do?” I asked, after a few minutes of silence.

Jordan stood up. “We’re leaving the cabin. Until I find out what’s going on and if it really is related to Reaper.”

“Damn. I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.” I replied, smiling sadly. “I was really beginning to like it here.”

He seemed surprised. “You were?”

I looked out the window, toward the lake. It looked so peaceful and serene. “Yes. This place is definitely a breath of fresh air. If it wasn’t for the Grizzly bears, I’d even consider moving up here myself.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about them. They don’t venture too close to the cabins, normally. Unless you leave garbage out.”

I told him about the bear I’d seen earlier.

“Really?”  He walked over and stood next to me. “I guess I’ll have to keep a better look out when I’m doing yard work.”

I laughed. “Yeah, you probably should.”

His eyes softened. “Still, it’s beautiful though, isn’t it?”

“It sure is. As I was saying before, it’s a shame we have to leave, already.”

“Hopefully, it will only be for a couple of days.”

“I hope that’s the case. Where will we go?”

“You’ll know soon enough.”

“Are we staying in Alaska?”

“You’ll find out when we get there.”

My eyes widened. Not this again. “You’re really not going to tell me?”

He was silent.

“Jesus, I thought we were past this cloak-and-dagger crap.”

“We’re not past anything,” he replied evenly. “Look, this is how I operate and if you want to stay alive, you need to listen and follow my orders, without asking so many questions.”

“Orders?” I repeated. Sometimes he was so nice and then there was this side of him, the one making my blood boil. “What are you, a Drill Sergeant?”

“No, but I’m the guy being paid to keep you alive and in order to do that… I need you to cooperate without hassling me.”

“I wasn’t hassling you,” I said, gritting my teeth. “And I don’t know what the big deal is.”

He sighed and pointed toward the guest room. “Please, just go and pack your stuff. We don’t have time to argue about this.”

“Fine,” I replied coolly, before disappearing down the hallway.

When I walked back into the guestroom, I quickly packed the few belongings that I had, mumbling to myself, and then made my way back into the living room.

“All packed?”

“Yes,” I said stiffly.

“Hey,” he put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m just trying to do my job here. Okay?”

I pulled away. “Yeah, fine.”

Frowning, he picked up the Smith & Wesson. “Here. You don’t want to forget this.”

I stared at him in surprise. “You want me to carry it?”

“If Reaper is in town, I want to make sure you’re armed. In fact, I’m going to go and get you an ankle holster. I have an extra one downstairs.”

“Okay,” I replied. “If you think I’m really going to need it…”

“Let’s just hope to hell that you won’t,” he said, disappearing down the hallway, toward the stairs.

Looking at the gun again, I suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of doom. As much as Jordan had been trying to make me think that Barney’s death might have been something else, his actions showed that he believed otherwise. 

“Here it is,” said Jordan, walking back into the room with the holster and two large duffel bags a few moments later. He set the bags down and then kneeled next to me. “Pull up your jeans.”

I lifted the right leg up and he fastened the holster around my calf and ankle. Then he strapped the gun in and tugged my jeans over it.

“It’s a little tight but you should be able to get to it fairly quickly if you need to.”

“Thanks,” I said, as he stood back up.

“No problem.”

“How did you find out about Barney, anyway?”

“The lawyer from the restaurant, told me about it.”

“Is that why you met with her?” I asked, surprised.

“To be honest, I had no idea what the meeting was going to be about until I showed up. I just knew that it was important.”

“Did she think you had something to do with his death?”

He walked over to the phone in the kitchen and picked it up. “Yes and no. She apparently figured out my true identity and wanted to confront me about it.”

“She knew that you were a mercenary?”

He nodded.

“And yet she set up that meeting to confront you. That’s was a bold move.” And stupid, I thought.

“Tell me about it,” he said, smirking.

I frowned. “Does she know who I am?”

“Unfortunately, yes. The security cameras got a picture of us at the airport, with Barney. She recognized you at the restaurant. It’s how she put two-and-two together.”

“I don’t get it. How is she involved in this case?”

He put the phone back down on the receiver. “Barney is her husband’s uncle.”

I stared at him in horror. “Oh my God. Is she going to go to the cops?”

“No. She’s trying to blackmail me.”

“So, she knows your true identity, believes that you’re involved in Barney’s death, and is trying to blackmail you?”

“Yes.”

I sucked in my breath. “Oh my God, did you kill her?”

Jordan rolled his eyes. “No, I didn’t kill her. Believe it or not, I just don’t go around murdering people, Jessica.”

“Sorry. I’m just frazzled with everything going on. This thing just seems to be really getting out of hand.”

“I would have to agree.”

“So, what happened then? Did you agree to give her what she wanted?”

“Kind of.”

“What does that mean?”

“She made her demands and I didn’t really give her a straight answer.”

“Well, are you going to give her what she wants?”

He looked amused. “No. It’s too dangerous.”

I wondered what he meant by that. Did she have a job for him? “What’s going to happen when she figures out that you’re not going to give in to her demands?”

“Nothing you’re going to need to worry about.”

I frowned. “What exactly did she want from you? Can I ask?”

“It’s something I’d rather not discuss.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “What? Why not? I mean, think I should know, since we’re in this mess together.”

He sighed. “Fine, if you really need to know. She wanted me.”

I stared at him in surprise. “What do you mean? She wanted you to kill someone?”

“No. She wanted me to fuck her.”

My jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious? She has so much on you and she just wants that?”

He looked annoyed at my reaction.

“Oh, I um… I didn’t mean that the way it came out,” I said quickly. “I mean, you’re… very good looking and…sexy.” I laughed nervously. “What woman wouldn’t want that?”

His lip twitched.

I felt my face turn three shades of red as I realized that came out all wrong, as well. It sounded like I was also hot for him. “I mean, most women would want to. Women that weren’t afraid to have sex,” I stammered.

His eyes burned into mine. “Does the thought of having sex frighten you that much?”

“That’s not any of your business,” I said, shocked that he was asking.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” he replied, looking embarrassed.

Feeling foolish for snapping at him, I relaxed. “It’s okay. I’m sorry for biting your head off. I just don’t like to talk about it.”

Especially with you.

“Understandable.” He nodded toward the doorway. “I suppose we should leave. Grab your stuff.”

“Okay,” I replied, hating the tension that had returned between us.

Jordan picked up the two duffel bags and headed toward the door.

“Are we taking your motorcycle again?” I asked, wondering how we were going to fit that amount of luggage onto the bike.

“No,” he said as we stepped onto the porch.

“Where is your Harley, anyway?” I asked as he locked the front door. The motorcycle was nowhere to be seen.

“I locked it in the shed,” he replied, heading toward the dock. “Come one.”

“Are we taking your boat?” I asked, surprised.

He looked back at me and smiled. “You got a problem with that?”

“No. Not at all,” I said, following him toward the lake. “I just wasn’t expecting that.”

Once we reached the boathouse, he unlocked the side door and I followed him in. It was dark and musty, but relatively free of cobwebs.

Jordan set the duffel bags down and began readying the boat, which appeared to be a nineteen foot, blue and white Bayliner.

“Have you ever taken it out?” I asked, helping him unsnap the cover.  

“A few times.”

“It’s really nice. It looks new,” I remarked. It was clear that Jordan was meticulous when it came to caring for his belongings.

“It’s only two years old. Wait until you hear the stereo on this thing.”

“It must be a lot of fun. I love boating. Always have.”

He smiled. “Yeah, me, too.”

Moments later, we were flying across the lake, listening to some song by Tool, and I couldn’t help but smile, even with everything going on.

“Is it as fun as you thought it would be?” he called, smiling at me with his sunglasses on.

He’d removed his shirt, giving me a nice view of his chest and arms.

“Even better!” Between the wind in our hair, the loud music, and the hot man driving the boat, I was definitely in La La Land.

His grin widened as he turned up the music

 

***

 

After cruising around the lake, for about forty minutes, I began to wonder if he knew where we were going. When I asked him about it, he didn’t respond. This time, instead of getting angry, I focused on enjoying the boat ride. Ten minutes later, however, I found that we were back by his side of the lake.

“Are we going back?” I asked in shock, as we began to slow.

“Not quite.”

I was very confused when we pulled up to a dock that was only a few hundred yards from Jordan’s.

“What are we doing here?” I asked, bewildered.

“You’ll see,” he said as he maneuvered the boat up to the dock. I watched as he cut the engine, and then jumped out of the boat, to tie it down. When he was finished, he grabbed the duffel bags and then held out his hand to me.

I frowned.

“Come on,” he said. “Grab my hand.”

I did what he asked and soon both of us were standing on the dock. I turned back to look over at Jordan’s cabin, wondering what the hell he was up to.

“Let’s go,” he said, walking toward shore.

I followed him across the dock and up the hill, to the cabin, which was similar to Jordan’s but not nearly as nice. We climbed the steps, to the porch, and Jordan pulled out a set of keys from his pocket. He unlocked the door.

“Why do you have a set of keys for this place?” I asked, confused. “Are you friends with the owner?”

He turned around and smiled. “I am the owner.”