AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What am I looking at?”
“Nothing yet,” he explains, rotating back around and pushing the door open. “We’ll set up a camera in the driveway before we break in. Once I power it on, you’ll be able to see the road and the driveway. If a car shows up at all, call my cell ASAP, okay?” He waits for me to nod then climbs out of the car and flips the seat forward so Jax can get out.
Jax doesn’t get out right away. Hesitancy consumes his face as his eyes slide from me to Hunter. “Maybe I should stay with her, so she won’t have to be alone.”
Hunter’s expression crams with sympathy. “You know we need your help setting up the cameras. Raven will be fine. If I thought she wouldn’t be, I wouldn’t leave her out here by herself.”
When Jax continues to remain hesitant, I try to reassure him. “I’ll be fine. I know how to throw a punch if I need to.” Of course, I don’t know why I’d need to punch anyone in this situation, but Jax seems worried.
His gaze meets mine, and I want to retract my initial statement.
Jax doesn’tseemworried. Jaxisextremely worried.
“I just … I don’t like the idea of you being in the car alone when we’re doing this sort of stuff,” he offers an explanation. “And the car’s parked in the woods.”
“I’ll be fine,” I continue to try to alleviate his worry, but I’m a bit perplexed over what specifically he’s worried about. “I promise.” I smile, hoping that’ll help, but it only causes him to start bouncing his knee up and down like crazy.
Hunter sighs. “If you want, you can keep her on the phone with you,” he tells Jax. “That way, you’ll know exactly what’s going on.”
Jax wavers for a heartbeat before nodding. “Okay, yeah, let’s do that.” He turns to me. “I’m gonna call you, okay? And then keep you on the line with me. That way, if anything goes wrong at all, I’ll know ASAP.”
To lighten the mood, I give him a salute, but I have to wonder what he’s so worried about, what he thinks might happen. The guys said this town was sketchy, that their fathers are, too, and the idea of me even meeting Jax’s father is what I think caused him to take off out of the living room. But I doubt that could be a risk of happening while I’m hanging out in the woods, playing spy … right?
Hunter smiles at my salute, and even a trace of one touches Jax’s lips. But it swiftly fades as he slowly gets out of the car.
Hunter lowers his head and looks at me. “Are you good?” he double-checks.
I nod. “Yep, let’s do this.”
He smiles again, but this time it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He’s worried, too, but is hiding it better than Jax. Again, why? Why are they so worried?
He stares at me for a beat before closing the door. A second later, my phone rings, and Jax’s name flashes across the screen. I answer, “So, what’re we supposed to talk about? Or do we need to just be quiet and listen to each other’s heavy breathing?”
A soft chuckle drifts through the phone. “Talking should be fine since no one’s around.”
“Cool.” I recline in the seat. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
“Hmm … How about why on earth there’s a collection of creepy-ass gnomes lined up in the backyard?” he replies with hilarity in his tone.
I snort a laugh. “That’s my aunt’s collection. And she’s super weird about them. Like, she once caught me moving one of them out of my way so I could water some of her flowers, which FYI, she asked me to do. But anyway, when she saw me move it, she freaked out. Said some crazy crap about how they all had their proper positions in the yard and I had messed it up.”
“Seriously?” Jax says. He sounds as if he’s feeling a bit better, and I’m glad. “What a weirdo.”
“She really is,” I agree, my thoughts drifting to something I’ve often pondered.
Does she know what my uncle does to me? Sometimes, I think she does and doesn’t care. If she does, then she’s just as bad as him, in my opinion.
“Maybe she thinks they’re alive,” Hunter calls out.
“I’ve wondered that, too,” I reply then ask, “Am I on speakerphone?”
“Yeah,” Jax says. “Wait. Hold on.”
I hear a muffled conversation, and then Jax gets back on the line and asks, “Can you see the video feed on the iPad now?”
I glance at the iPad and, sure enough … “Yep.”
“Awesome,” he tells me then says to either Hunter or Zay, “She’s good.”
