Half to Death (11 page)

The man turned down one corner of the paper and smiled. She was pleased, then I realized this was a game between them. It was like digging through a file cabinet in her mind, I went through everything I could find. She wasn’t a lesbian, not even bisexual really. But it turned her on incredibly that he was aroused by her exploits. She’d brought many a woman to their bed while he watched unbeknownst to the new lover.

“She’s playing hard to get, but I’ll bend her to my will.” The paper didn’t move, and she continued. “You’re gonna like seeing me in her arms. Watch her sexy mouth move across my body.” The paper did move then, and I realized I knew this man from somewhere. I dug deeper into her mind until I found his name. Robert Priest was a high-powered lawyer who had recently been elected as senator in Florida. She was his toy, and he kept her tucked away in a beach house in the obscure area of Alligator Point.

No one knew Jacquelyn Marlow, but that would change, she thought. She’d played the game well for a few years and earned his trust. And soon she’d let word and pictures of their affair leak to the press, and everyone and his brother would want her story as mistress to the man who had his eye on the presidency. That it would ruin his career was of no consequence to her. He was a liar and a cheat, and it would feel good to step on his neck to elevate herself to fame. Jade was only a toy in the back of her mind.

She pushed at me roughly and broke the connection. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked angrily.

“I tripped.” I stayed on my hands and knees. “It knocked the breath out of me.”

Not one ounce of compassion showed in her eyes, rather a disgust for coming in physical contact with the likes of me.

Strong hands gripped my arms, and I felt myself rise up like a feather-light rag doll. I didn’t have to look to know it was Jade. I fought to keep a mental hold on the feel of her hands and marvel at her strength, but my newly acquired skill was no match for the strong feelings and images her touch evoked.

“My client list is booked,” Jade argued. “I’m actually carrying more than the usual.”

“She’s paying double to be trained by you,” her boss said. “Doesn’t it stroke your ego to know that someone wants to work with you that badly?”

“We both know it’s not because she wants to get in shape. She doesn’t do half of what I tell her. Whatever her reasons are it’s not because of my reputation as a trainer,” Jade said hotly.

“She’s yours, accommodate her.”

Jade released me when I was firmly on my feet. My gaze was locked with Jacquelyn’s. “Are you okay?” Jade asked, making me look at her. I glanced back at Jacquelyn, and I could see the fury on her face at being the one ignored.

“I’m fine, thanks.” I walked away without another word. I left the gym without going to the locker room to get my bag. Rage surged through me, and I was afraid of it. The hostility I felt for Jacquelyn shocked me. I’d never laid a hand on anyone in anger, but in her case, I was more than willing to make an exception.

*******

In the shower, I scrubbed my body roughly to get whatever germs had been deposited on me from being in contact with someone as despicable as Jacquelyn. I was even more pissed that I had scrubbed with equal fervor the places on my arms where Jade had touched me. I wanted that touch to remain on my skin.

I was too mad to eat and too mad to sleep. I plopped down on the couch and stared at the TV, trying to purge all that I’d seen from my mind and wondering what I’d do with the knowledge. I’d been sitting there for an hour when I heard a soft knock on my door. I knew it wasn’t Miranda; she’d just let herself in. So I peeked through the window and was surprised to see Jade looking nervous as she stood on the porch with my gym bag in her hands. I opened the door and looked at her.

“Uh…hey.” She held up the bag. “You left this. I could’ve just stored it for you until you came back…but I wanted to see if you were okay.”

“How’d you find me?” I stepped back and let her in.

“Your wallet was inside, that’s the other reason I brought it. I thought you might need it.”

“Thanks. You want some water or juice?” I said as I moved deeper into the room, drawing her in.

“Water would be great, thanks.”

She followed me into the kitchen. I watched her as I reached into the fridge for a bottle. She was looking around the room curiously. “Thanks,” she said with a nod when I handed her the water.

“You wanna sit down?”

Her gaze darted to the clock, and she frowned. “It’s kind of late. Are you sure I’m not keeping you up?”

“I’m not going to be able to sleep for a while.” She looked at me funny, and I figured it was the aggravation in my tone.

She followed me back into the living room where I sat in a chair and pulled my legs up beneath me. She took a spot on the couch and opened her water. I watched her drink half of it before she replaced the lid.

“Thanks for helping me up after my accident.”

Jade shrugged. “You weren’t moving. I was afraid that you’d really gotten hurt.”

“She’s a real bitch.” The words popped out of my mouth quickly, and I found that I felt no guilt.

Jade’s expression was unrecognizable. I wasn’t sure if she was angry or sad. “I’m used to her kind. She fits into one of two categories. One are those who come for the fitness, the other comes to pick up a body. She, of course, is in the latter.” Jade shrugged again. “If you want to have a fling with a fit body, the health club is the perfect pickup point.” She grinned at me. “But you know all about that.”

I hated that at one time Jade had lumped me into the same category as Jacquelyn, and I didn’t return her smile. I knew the answer to my next question, but I wanted to hear what Jade had to say anyway. “Why’d you accept her as a client?”

“I had no choice.” Her tone was bitter. “She paid extra to have me as a trainer because I was booked and my boss agreed to it.” She squeezed the bottle in her hand. “I worked hard to schedule my clients during the week so I could have my weekends off.” Jade gestured wildly as she spoke. “I work twelve-hour days as it is, and unless I can talk one of my clients into another trainer, I’ll have to come in half a day on Saturdays.”

Again, I knew what Jade’s answer would be, but I wanted to see the expression on her face. “Then why does she have to have you as a trainer if she just wants to screw off?”

Jade looked embarrassed. “She asks me out every time she comes to the gym. I don’t think she’s rejected often, and I think she sees it as a challenge.”

“Can’t you tell her that what she’s doing is harassment?”

Jade took a swallow from her bottle. “Not if I want to keep my job. Money talks in this world, Sloan. I’m sure you know that.”

“Okay, what if you resigned and took your clients with you?”

“Where would we work out? I can’t afford to buy a gym of my own.” She looked as if the idea had crossed her mind many times.

“Ever think about doing something else?”

My heart sank as her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know anything else.”

“You could go back to school, learn a new trade.”

Jade shot me that fake smile. “Did you miss the part where I said I work twelve-hour days? I can’t afford to lose the income. I have bills to pay.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek. “Want to hear a funny story? Maybe take your mind off things?”

She nodded, and a tiny real smile graced her face.

“Miranda and I have a friend who we believe may have an eating disorder. We confronted her about it, and she threw us out of her house.”

“That’s…not really funny,” Jade said with a grimace.

“No, I guess not. It’s all I got, though.”

“You have a nice place.” She looked around the room, and her gaze settled on the picture of Miranda and me on vacation. I’d framed it and set it on the shelf above my TV.

“That was taken right before I went through the ice.”

Jade looked back at me. “You really do sound casual when you talk about it.”

“I guess since I don’t remember the horror of going through the ice that it doesn’t affect me. It’s the after-effects I have to deal with now.” I bit my lip knowing I shouldn’t have admitted that last bit.

“Will you tell me about it one day?”

I couldn’t meet her gaze. “Maybe, then again if you knew, you might wish you didn’t.”

“What could be so bad about it?” I could hear the honest curiosity in her voice.

“Have you ever read about near-death experiences, or NDEs, as they’re known? There’s a lot of stuff about them on the Internet.”

She shook her head. “I don’t have a computer at home, and surfing at work is discouraged.”

I supposed that I asked the question to gauge her reaction. I figured that maybe after the first time I’d admitted it that maybe she had done some research on her own. I wanted to know if she accepted some of the claims of others like being more sensitive to light and sound and a heightened awareness, though nobody seemed to be like me. “I feel weird, and on some days, like a circus act.”

She smiled then. “I have those days, too.”

“I’m sure you do,” I said with a nod.

“I have to go.” Jade stood abruptly. “Guy will be hungry.”

I wanted to touch her so bad. Just a little pat to let her know I cared. I focused on her arm, what it would feel like under my hand. She was walking ahead of me to the door. I reached out and touched her shoulder. I felt the warmth beneath my palm, the fabric of her shirt and pulled away quickly when my mind began to soar. She turned and looked at me surprised. “Tell Guy I said hello.”

“I will,” she said with a smile.

I watched her go down the walk as the tiny thread of feeling I got from her settled deep in the pit of my stomach. She liked me—a lot.

Chapter 10

I watched Miranda walk into the store. Instead of doughnuts and chocolate milk, she put two containers of yogurt and juice on the counter. It came out in a rush. I had to admit what I’d done. “I went to the health club last night, I saw Jade, I touched that new client of hers, she’s unbelievably evil, I left my bag, Jade came to the house with it, we talked.”

Miranda stood, blinking under the assault. Once it had fermented in her brain, she slapped her forehead. “My God, you are completely out of control!”

“I know, I know,” I cried as I danced around in a circle, hoping she would laugh and forget to be pissed. She didn’t. I stopped dancing and tried to look contrite.

Miranda came around the counter, popped the top on her yogurt, and pointed her spoon at me. “Tell me everything you did from the minute you left this store. Share the details of your touchings if you think you should.”

In glorious graphic detail, I told her everything. At times, she would cough when she got choked on her yogurt or juice. When I finished, she sat rubbing the bridge of her nose. “I can’t believe you’re sitting right on top of a scandal.”

I hadn’t given much thought to Senator Priest and Jacquelyn Marlow. They were rotten in my opinion, and whatever they did to each other…well, that was their problem. I just didn’t want Jade to become a part of it. Miranda was blown away by the revelation and appeared to be focused on that, so I felt I was in the clear with Jade. Not so.

“I told you that she was going to like you.” Miranda waved her spoon again. “Now what’re you going to do with that?”

“I was thinking that maybe…I could tell her the truth.”

Miranda stared at me. The plastic yogurt spoon she had been tapping her leg with clattered to the floor. She began rubbing the bridge of her nose furiously. “You trust her that much?”

“I want to.”

Miranda’s voice was low and calm. “But do you know in your heart that Jade won’t tell everyone what you’re able to do?”

In my heart, I knew she would keep my secret. I nodded slowly.

Miranda sighed. “Now here’s the hard part. How do you think she’ll react to the knowledge that you’ve been in her mind and have been privy to her innermost thoughts and memories?”

I put myself in Jade’s shoes, and I would’ve been livid. I probably wouldn’t have trusted her no matter how much she explained. “Shit.”

“Shit is right.” Miranda looked so sorry for me. “It’s your choice who you want to tell. I just want you to be prepared for what you’re probably going to face.”

I put my hands on my hips. “I’m screwed either way. If I don’t tell her, I won’t be able to get close to her. If I do tell her, I probably won’t be able to get close to her.”

“There’s something else for you to consider.” Miranda looked miserable as she said, “You could walk away and meet someone else that maybe you could be honest with at the very beginning.”

“I don’t want to walk away. Of all people, I think she’d understand the most once she…forgave me.”

“Could she? Do you know that about her?”

I couldn’t readily answer that question. To make matters worse, my cell phone rang, and when I answered, it was Jade.

“Hey, Sloan, I have a huge favor to ask, and if you can’t do it, don’t worry. I’ll come up with something else.”

I looked at Miranda, who was staring at me. “What’s up?”

“I took Guy in to be neutered today, and they want him picked up by six. I’m not going to be able to get out of here like I’d hoped.” She hesitated for a minute. “Could you possibly pick him up for me?”

The answer was going to be yes regardless of what Miranda and I discussed. “Of course.”

“I’ve already paid for everything. All you have to do is pick him up.”

“He’s probably not going to be comfortable at the gym. Do you want me to pick up the keys to your apartment and take him there?”

The line went silent for a few seconds. “Um…no. Would it be a problem if I picked him up at your place?”

I didn’t ask why. For some reason, I knew I shouldn’t. “Okay, I’ll bring him home and you can come by whenever you’re ready.”

The relief in her voice was palpable. “Thanks. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. I’ll see you tonight.”

I snapped the phone shut and looked sheepishly at Miranda. Her shoulders slumped as she sighed.

*******

I opened the kennel when I got home and gave Guy the option of coming out if he wanted to. He didn’t seem interested. I put down a bowl of water and a bowl of the sample kitty food they gave me at the vet’s office. The receptionist was even kind enough to give me a cardboard box with some litter in it in case Guy had to potty before Jade arrived. Apparently, she didn’t realize I was also the bringer of Sparky, or she probably wouldn’t have been as helpful.