Eden High: Series 2 (Eden High #2) (3 page)

BOOK: Eden High: Series 2 (Eden High #2)
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Chapter 4

JACE

***

 

 

C
oming here serves a twofold purpose. Of course I needed to be here for Sian, but I wanted to find out what I could if anything about Mandy’s attack. I didn’t even have to be obvious; from my last experience here I knew that people talked. I was betting on things being the same today.

I left Si with her mom getting poked and prodded and made my way from one wing of the building to the next after she questioned me like the Gestapo with that knowing look in her eyes. She’s so suspicious, damn.

A few well placed questions was all I would need to get me what I wanted I was sure and I could be in and out no problem. I had to be back in time for the quack’s diagnosis and so I would know what to do to take care of her. If left on her own she’d lie her ass off just to keep me out of her hair.

She was still worried about the cops questioning me, but I wasn’t even on that shit anymore. I knew I wasn’t guilty so I pretty much didn’t care. Plus my dad had my flank so there were no worries.

Track was up to some shit, but he wasn’t talking. Intense little fuck was bound to get his self in trouble again. Now I have to worry about his ass on top of everything else. Maybe I can tell dad to have a talk with his old man. I’m tired of my boy being shipped off to who the fuck knows where every time he fucks up, and that’s a lot.

I turned the corner to the nurse’s station and tried my best to blend in with the atmosphere. This place gives me the creeps, but it was a necessary evil. If Sian knew where I was she’d skin my ass. The girl’s been ornery ever since the attack and her shit’s only been worse since the cops pulled their little stunt yesterday.

Her parents had taken her home last night but I knew from the way she clung to me this morning when I went to get her that that shit wasn’t about to happen again. I’m taking her ass home with me and there is where she’ll stay if I have anything to say about it. I just have to figure out a way to convince her dad of that shit. Later, right now I have a bitch to expose.

***

MANDY

***

 

“So, Ms. Taylor you still maintain, that you have no recollection of your attack?” Why are cops so stupid? Does he really think that asking me the same question over and over again is going to change anything?

Good help is so hard to find. I couldn’t use my usual wiles on them to get my way. Not yet anyway. I’m still testing the waters to see what moves to make. I have no doubt that I could sway one or both of them my way, but not while I’m playing the wounded virgin.

Speaking of which, it’s been a while since I had any and I’m starting to itch. I eyed the two men in front of me but their stupidity was a huge turnoff. Not to mention the fact that they were taking entirely too long to get me what I wanted.

“I’ve told you like a hundred times already, no.” I had to tame it down a little, didn’t want them to get hip to the fact that I wasn’t as sick as I was pretending to be. Besides, people tended to be nicer to me this way.

“And you still maintain that you have no idea how the drugs got into your system.” Yes I do, but if I told you, this perception you have of me, of the poor mistreated high school cheerleader would vanish like smoke.

I wonder if he’s married, he’s kinda cute; cuter than the other ones that had been here before. Maybe I’ll give his underpaid ass a one off once this mess is over. I’ll have to do it behind Jace’s back of course, because I intend to have him back by my side where he belongs long before then.

“Weren’t there two other detectives here before?” He twitched a little in his seat before answering. “They’ve been reassigned. Now back to the night in question. Do you remember anything at all about that night?” I remember everything except who the hell it was that shot and stabbed me.

“No, nothing, can I rest now? My head hurts.” He scrambled out of his seat while his partner who’d been holding up the wall moved away and towards the door. I didn’t like that one as much. He seemed to be paying way too much attention to the words that were coming out of my mouth, which means I’ll have to remember my story, keep it straight.

“Thanks for coming by detectives…”

“Strom and Kiln.” I gave them both my winning smile as they left until they cleared the door. Why the hell were they still questioning me instead of out there finding the asshole who did this?

I should really give them Carter’s name since he had to have passed the person responsible on his way off the estate, or on the road out. There wasn’t that much traffic there at night so he would’ve had to had seen something. That asshole was probably too busy trying to save his own skin. Couldn’t have the wife and that reject of a daughter knowing that daddy was wetting his pump elsewhere. He hadn’t so much as called me this whole time and I was beginning to think he didn’t care.

I reached under my pillow for the stack of envelopes I kept hidden there. Nurse Shelley, my new best friend had been kind enough to get me what I needed. I started small; only five marks to begin with, then according to how things went I’d broaden my net.

Inside were instructions on where to send my money. There was no mention of me other than the reference to the affairs that I’d had with each of them in the past, plus a little incentive for them to pay up unless they wanted their names on a list that would be handed over to the police for inspection since everyone I knew was a suspect in my attack.

There was no way to trace these back to me. I was in the hospital suffering from amnesia after all. “Guess who’s here?” Nurse Shelley came fluttering into the room all excited. I had to morph back into little orphan Annie so as not to give myself away.

“Who?” My hand went to my head as if in pain as she fussed over me, fixing my pillows and pouring me water that I wasn’t about to drink because it wasn’t Evian.

“That boy you were asking for when you first came in.” Jace, he had finally come. “I knew he’d come, where is he?” I looked towards the door, my heart racing. “How do I look, get me a mirror.” I forgot to be subtle but so what, Jace was here.

“You look fine, but um, I don’t think he’s coming this way. It looks like he was here with his fiancée.” My head went hot and my heart raced for a different reason.

“Get out.” She barely ducked the large cup of ice that every hospital room seemed to keep on hand for invalids, followed by the tray of inedible crap. Who the fuck eats green Jell-O?

My vision was blurred and there was a buzzing in my ear. I wanted to rip the IV from my arm and run down the hallway screaming, but caught myself in time.

No, there was a better way, had to be. I thought hard as I bit my nails down to the quick. An old habit that I had kicked, that had just recently returned.

I came up with something; I knew I would. I pressed the button for my new lapdog and she came running. Was this bitch hovering around outside my room door? If she turned out to be one of those ‘Single White Female’ types, this shit would be too funny. It was a given I’d drop her on her fucking head if that were so, but for now I needed the twit.

“I’m so sorry nurse Shelly, I didn’t mean to lose my temper. It’s just…” I turned on the waterworks and watched her fall for them like the sap that she is.

“Oh you poor dear. Can I get you something, anything?” I smiled against her side as she patted my back. Oh yes you most certainly can.

Chapter 5

JACE

***

 

O
h hi you must be the young man that sent my patient the flowers, how thoughtful of you.” What the fuck? This nurse person came up to me, and Sian, just as she found me on the wrong damn floor of the hospital.

“Which patient would that be?” Sian got the question out before I could tell the nut to go jump. I checked to make sure I was on the right floor and not the psych ward, then again that demented bitch needed to be there. Preferably strapped to a gurney with needles stuck in her ass feeding her the meds she so desperately needed.

“Why Ms. Taylor of course.”

“Si…” She gut punched me before I could get her name past my lips. “Babe seriously, use your head, why the fuck would I buy her flowers?” I was pretty sure she’d already drawn her own conclusions as to my guilt from the fire coming out of her eyes. I’ll take her ass to task later for even entertaining that thought.

“I don’t know asshole you tell me.” I grabbed her arm before the nut could get away and turned to the nurse. “Who the fuck are you and why the fuck are you lying?”

“What? I don’t understand. Ms. Mandy just happened to mention that you were the one to send her the lilies because you knew they were her favorite. And when I heard you tell the nurses your name I knew it had to be you, such an unusual name.”

“Where did they come from?”

“What? I don’t understand.” This bitch was lying and she wasn’t even that good at it. I wondered how much Mandy paid her to fuck with my life and if she knew it wasn’t enough since if this shit hurt Sian I was going to drop kick her ass out the nearest window, right before I break Mandy’s neck.

“These flowers how did they get here?” I kept my voice calm but inside I was seething. I could see the look of hurt and confusion on my girl’s face and yes some of my anger was directed at myself. I should’ve waited and come here another time, fuck.

“Um, you brought them?”

“Really? Babe, did I have flowers when I came here with you?” She was starting to calm her ass down and my gut was still stinging, fucking female.

“I just left your sneaky ass downstairs when did I have time to buy shit?” Her ass must’ve been right on my damn heels, nosy fuck.

“Look at me Sian, and don’t make me do this shit again. I will never cheat on you, not now not twenty years from now. If I even think of that shit my dick might fall off. He knows who he belongs to.”

She gave me one of her smiles and I squeezed her ass as a prelude of things to come. I’d almost forgot the idiot that was standing there gaping at us. “You can go tell your mistress that the shit didn’t work.”

I put my arm around Sian and walked away. I hadn’t learned much from my little snooping expedition but that little show had cleared up one thing, that bitch was up to something and she was for sure faking it.

“Jace what were you doing up here?” Shit! “Trying to get information, why are you up here what did the doctor say?” Good waylay her any way you can because she’d nitpick this shit to death if you let her.

“Never mind what the doctor said, why don’t you ever listen? Weren’t you told to stay away, to let the cops do their job?”

“Babe seriously, the fucking cops are assholes, they came after me, how much longer do you think it will take them to go sniffing in the right direction?”

“I don’t care, you need to stop or I’m going back home until this all blows over before you get yourself thrown in jail.”

“Home, home where, your parents?”

“No, I have friends and family in my old town…” I pushed her up against the nearest wall.

“What the fuck did that doctor shoot you up with?”

“What? nothing it was just a check-up.” I checked her eyes just to be sure because she was talking crazy.

“You sure, because you’re spewing so much shit I thought you might be on something.” She rolled her eyes at me and tried to get away but I held her in place and stole a kiss.

“How long has it been?” I pressed my hard-on into her so that she would know exactly what I was talking about. “
Jace
…”

“How long?” That little singsong voice of hers told me she was missing her man too. Maybe that’s why she was talking crazy. Last night had been torture, and not just because I hadn’t been inside her, but because she wasn’t there. “Two days.”

“Too long.”

I lowered my mouth to hers being careful as I drew her into my arms. “Ummm, I missed you, I’m taking you home with me. You seem to lose your damn mind when you don’t get your fix.”

“Arrrggggghhhhhhh…”

“What the fuck?” I pushed Sian behind me and turned to face the danger. There was Mandy standing in a doorway down the hall looking like shit with death in her eyes.

 

This bitch is crazy. I started to go strangle the fuck outta her, but the nosy one held me back. “Oh no you don’t Jace Sanders, you leave that twit alone.” She had a damn death grip on my arm.

Sometimes, like now, a man has to show his woman that just because he’s in love he didn’t give up his balls. I stopped short of dragging her behind me because she was still hurt, but I sure did move across that hospital floor.

It was the first opportunity I had to face off with this bitch and I wasn’t about to waste it. “I know you had something to do with what happened to her, I’m just waiting for the chance.”

“How dare you? I’m the one who’s hurt. I’m the one who nearly died. Not this, this…” She flung her arm out towards Sian and had the good sense to keep her thoughts behind her teeth before I knocked them the fuck out her head watchdog or no watchdog.

“Your ass is still breathing so I guess they missed, too fucking bad.” Did I really use to fuck this? Shame on me! I actually hated her, never knew until this moment just how much.

She had no idea that I knew what she was. If I let that cat out of the bag it might scratch a few innocent people and I didn’t want that. But if I could hang this bitch with what I know I would’ve a long time ago.

Sian was busy tugging on my shirttail and trying to drag me off somewhere. “Let’s go Jace before I’m visiting you from behind plate glass for the next ten to twenty.” Since I couldn’t strangle the twit with the nosy one there I had no choice but to leave, but not before one last parting shot.

“Did you really think I sent that flowers?” I pointed at Mandy as I gave my girl my little boy hurt look and she giggled. “It was a momentary blip, won’t happen again.” We walked away leaving Mandy fuming no doubt, but since I wasn’t afraid of her scabby ass I didn’t care.

My girl was smiling again as she babbled on to me as we left the hospital. Her doc had given her a clean bill of health. She still had some twinges and shit that would leave in a few weeks at most, but all in all nothing major.

I didn’t let on, but my mind was on Mandy. She looked like shit, and it got me to thinking about that night, and who the fuck had tried to kill her and why?

Nothing was adding up. Stanley had been gone before I heard that shot, of that I was sure, so who? I was starting to have my own suspicions, but that would mean that someone else knew her dirty little secret, but who, which one?

That was something I’d have to take out and examine when I didn’t have my chatterbox next to me in the car. “Geez Jace, Mandy looks like shit.” She didn’t seem too broken up about it. Females, vicious beings that they are.

“Yeah and?”

“I kinda feel sorry for her having been there or close myself.”

“Babe, don’t be one of those.” I gave her a look out the side of my eye.

“One of what?” She pouted at me. Yeah keep playing. I’m about to undo all of the doc’s work. She has the cutest little pout, makes me think of doing very bad things to her. But I needed to concentrate on this shit because she was about to go female on my ass.

“One of those idiot women who fall for the bullshit. A snake might shed its skin but not its intentions, the shits are venomous no matter what.”

“I know, I’m just saying.”

“Don’t just say shit, that’s how people get into trouble. Stay the fuck away from that snake because if you get bitten it’s gonna be your ass.”

“I wasn’t planning to become her new best friend or anything geez.” She rolled her damn eyes at me and huffed. Her little ass is full of fire today. I guess she really is feeling better.

“Keep it that way, forget what she looks like now and remember her trying to drop you on your fucking head a few weeks ago.” Why are women so annoying with this shit? That’s why their ass end up dead in the first screenshot; too damn gullible.

I’m gonna have to keep an eye on this one, make sure her soft heart don’t get her caught in the viper’s nest. Mandy is one of those animals that would eat their young.

BOOK: Eden High: Series 2 (Eden High #2)
12.56Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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