Chapter 4

Like lightning, Jake dodged to the side. He blocked Julian's fist with a raised forearm. Faster than I might've thought possible, Jake dropped the suitcase and hit Julian with a wicked right hook that sent Julian sprawling backward.

Catching his balance, Julian lowered his head and charged again. Jake turned sideways and gave Julian an elbow to the neck, followed by kick to the stomach.

Julian flew backward and crashed into the opposite wall. His ass hit the floor, and he gave a low groan.

Maddie glared at him. "Julian, you pussy!" she screeched. "Get your ass up!"

"Fuck you," he groaned. "No amount of pussy's worth this."

Jake turned toward me. "Luna," he said. "If you're not in the car in exactly one minute, I'm carrying you." His voice hardened. "And leaving your crap."

"It's not crap," I lied.

"Move it," he said.

Grumbling, I grabbed my overnight case and started walking toward the stairway. Behind me, Maddie was still chewing out Julian, who could barely get a word in edgewise. And the words he did get in? Well, those were mostly of the four-letter variety.

Carrying the case down the steps, I heard Jake following behind me. He was still bringing my other suitcase, right?

I turned to look over my shoulder. When I did, the overnight case slipped from my grip. I whirled in time to see it tumble down the grubby stairway, bouncing end over end. Just before it reached the bottom, it flew open, leaving a scattered trail of socks, bras, panties and – as if it couldn't get any worse – my pink packet of birth control pills.

With a muttered curse, I plunged toward the mess, taking the stairs two at a time until I reached the path of destruction. Desperately, I started scooping up undergarments, wincing as I considered the grimy floor and what sort of unmentionable stuff might be sticking to my unmentionables.

I wanted to scream, but somewhere up the hall, Maddie and Julian were doing more than enough for everyone. When I glanced up to see if they were killing each other yet, all I saw was Jake, along with my giant suitcase, towering over me.

In his free hand, he held my packet of birth control pills, along with a black leather bra that dangled loose from his index finger. His gaze drifted to a pair of lacy red panties lying a few feet away.

I reached up and snatched the pills from his outstretched hand. I shoved them into my purse. "Now turn around," I said.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you looking at my underpants. That's why."

He held out the bra by that same outstretched finger. "I have seen them before," he said.

Ignoring the bra, I dove for the red panties. "Not mine, you haven't. And, just so you know, that bra's not mine."

The bra hit the stairs a split-second later. I ignored it. I hadn't been kidding.

Frantically, I snatched up the red panties and reached out for the rest. With frantic scooping motions, I gathered up what remained, along with – as disgusting as it was – bits of random floor trash.

When my hands were overflowing, I looked down at the silky mess. Oh God. How many times would I have to wash this stuff before I'd ever considering wearing it again?

If only I had more money, I'd probably leave it all right here and be done with it. But I was dead-broke and now, apparently homeless. With a sigh, I dumped everything into my overnight case, slammed it shut, and stumbled to my feet.

Glancing up the staircase, I saw Maddie emerge from the hallway. With clenched fists, she started heading down the stairs toward us. Jake flicked his head toward the exit. "You first," he told me.

Hoisting my case upward, I bolted for the double-doors that led to the parking lot. With Jake behind me, I plunged outside and headed toward the place the sports car had been parked last night.

It was gone.

I whirled on Jake. "Where's your car?" I demanded.

"It'll be here," he said.

"It will be here?" I said. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I already told you," he said. "I don't joke."

Suddenly, I heard the squeal of tires and the roar of an engine. An exotic-looking sports car – the same one I'd seen earlier – roared into the turnaround and skidded to a stop.

"See?" Jake said.

In front of us, twenty-something guy with sandy-colored hair jumped out of the driver's seat. He used the keyless remote to pop the trunk. Jake strode toward the trunk and tossed the giant suitcase into it. I followed suit, tossing in my smaller case and stepping out of the way. Jake slammed the trunk shut and strode around to the driver's side.

As I watched, the other guy dove past Jake and crawled into the tiny backseat, leaving Jake to claim the driver's spot. Not knowing what else to do, I dashed to the passenger's side door, flung it open, and dove inside. I slammed the door just in time to see Maddie bolt out of the building, still mostly naked, with Julian on her heels.

Frantically, I looked to Jake. He held out his hand toward the guy in the back seat. "Keys," Jake said.

No keys appeared. My heart racing, I turned toward the back. The guy was digging around in his front pants pocket. I glanced out my car window, only to get a full-frontal of Maddie as she launched her nearly naked body against the passenger side window.

Hurling a stream of obscenities, Maddie reached up to smack the window with both palms.

Desperately, I whirled again toward the back seat. The stranger was staring, dumbstruck, at Maddie's naked breasts, squashed up against the glass.

"Keys!" I yelled.

The guy jerked back and gave a quick shake of his head. Finally, he yanked the keys from his pants pocket and tossed them to Jake, who caught them with one hand and turned to start the engine. With a soft chuckle, Jake shifted the car into gear and squealed out of the lot.

Looking out the back window, I saw Maddie and Julian, standing in the pitted parking lot, each flipping us the double-bird. Other tenants were streaming from the front doors – some looking at our car, and more looking at Maddie, who still hadn't tied the sash of her robe.

Modesty aside, wasn't she freezing? An unwelcome image snapped into my brain. Yes. She had been freezing, if her nipples had been any kind of indicator. Groaning, I turned around and sank back in my seat.

The guy in the back spoke. "Oh man, that was just gross."

What a liar. I'd seen the look on his face. He hadn't been grossed out. He'd been mesmerized. "Yup," I said. "Utterly disgusting."

"You got that right," he said. "Total loogie."

"What?" I glanced at the passenger's side window. Sure enough, something wet and slimy was dripping down the glass.

Somehow, that was the final straw. I whirled toward Jake, who was still shirtless in the driver's seat. He was navigating city traffic with one eye on the road, and the other eye on the rearview mirror.

"What the hell!" I yelled.

"Hey, she was your roommate."

"Oh come on," I said. "That wasn't Maddie's fault. It was yours."

His eyebrows rose. "So, you're saying there's a problem?"

"You could say that." There were so many problems, I didn't know where to begin. I had no job. I had no place to live. I had no money. I gave Jake a withering look. And once I killed him, I had no place to bury the body.

"Some day," Jake said, "you'll thank me."

"Yeah, right." More likely, I'd be digging a Jake-sized hole in someone's cellar. I glanced out the car window and counted to ten. And then, I counted again. Finally, taking a long, deep breath, I made myself ask, "So where are we going, exactly?"

"My place."

Sports car or not, visions of a slumlord's dream skittered across my brain. I turned to the stranger in the back. "Do you know where he lives?"

"Sure," the guy said. "Everyone knows where Jake lives."

"Well, I don't."

"No shit?" the guy said. "You been living under a rock or something?"

I turned to Jake. "Why am I supposed to know where you live?"

Still driving, Jake shrugged. Again, I turned toward the guy in the back. "And who are you?" I asked.

The guy grinned. "I'm Trey. His assistant."

I turned to Jake. "You have an assistant?"

"Apparently," Jake said.

Apparently? What did that mean? I turned to Trey. "What do you do, exactly?"

The guy slid a wary look in Jake's direction. "Whatever he wants."

"Well that's a pretty broad job description," I said.

Trey's grin widened. "Don't you know it."

Jake, with his left hand still draped over the steering wheel, reached toward the back with his right. He opened his hand, palm up. "Shirt," he said.

Trey reached down into a thick black satchel. He pulled out a cream-colored dress shirt with the tags still attached. Pulling a small pair of scissors from his pocket, Trey snipped off the tags and draped the shirt over Jake's open palm.

I glanced down at the fallen tags and caught my breath. If that shirt was the real deal, it cost nearly as much as my rent. I gave Jake a sideways glance and instantly regretted it.

Still shirtless, he leaned back in his seat. He looked like sin and sex and something a girl like me would be smart to avoid. I hadn't always been smart. I straightened in the seat. Well I was smart now. I felt myself nod. Yup. Utterly reformed.

Next to me, Jake was shrugging into his shirt. His ab muscles contracted, making the washboard shadows twist and shift in the morning light. My tongue brushed my upper lip. I sucked it back in and clamped my lips shut.

Annoyed – half with him and half with myself – I opened my mouth to ask, "Aren't you gonna pull over to do that?"

"Nah," he said. "I do this all the time. No big deal."

I glanced back at Trey, who gave me a solemn nod. "It's true," he said.

I leaned back and closed my eyes.

"If you're planning to sleep," Jake said, "forget it."

I didn't bother to open my eyes. "Why's that?" I said.

"Because," he said, "you've got some explaining to do."

My eyes flew open, and I whirled to face him. "Me?" I said. "I have some explaining to do? Well, that's rich."

"You can start any time," he said.