“What?” she asked, obviously confused.
“Do you have a tie-dyed shirt? Just answer me.” I scanned the inside of the car for something to focus on, something to help me calm the fuck down.
“I … yeah, Cane, I do. How would you even know that?”
“FUCK!”
CANE
“Parker.”
“Nick, it’s me.” I swerved through the traffic, heading to my office but not sure that is where I should be.
Where do I go?
I slammed my hand against the steering wheel.
I’ve gotten her involved in this! This is why I don’t fucking get involved!
“I was just getting ready to call you,” he said in his typical calm voice.
“Look, I just got a call from Powers,” I rushed out.
Nick cleared his throat. “That’s interesting. That was why I was going to call you.”
I took the exit I needed and flew up the ramp. “He’s watching Jada, Nick. He made a comment to me about a certain shirt she was wearing when she was walking.”
“And you checked to make sure she has a shirt like that?”
“Of course. I’m not worried about the fucking shirt, Nick.”
He sighed. “I realize that. Calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down!”
“Cane,” he said, his voice stern. “I was going to call you because no one has seen Simon in a few days. He’s not been showing up to work, he’s not been at home. Seems like he has fallen off the grid.”
My tires squealed as I flew into my parking spot, the nose of my Denali kissing my parking sign. I cut the engine.
Now that I was there, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. There was no handbook to follow on what to do when assholes fuck with your life.
“What does that mean? I mean, what does that mean to me? What does that mean to Jada?”
“I’m not sure. He could be lying low. He could be planning something. He could be in Mexico for all we know. But Simon is a character of habit and this is out of habit for him, so I’m a little concerned.”
I rested my head on the steering wheel. It felt like there was a minefield in my mind, little surprise explosions going off left and right. “What do we do?”
“I have gotten ahold of my contacts at the police department. They have reason to believe a large shipment of drugs will be flowing through the Valley soon and they’re watching Simon, too. They want any information we have on him to add to their files, so I’ll give them a call about this. Maybe we can get a restraining order for you and Jada, although it would be pointless, I think. He’s going to do whatever he is going to do.”
“Fantastic. That does shit for Jada right now.”
Nick sighed reluctantly. “I would suggest you see if she can go out of town for a few days. We have security on her, yes. But if what you are saying is true and if he isn’t making it up, then the farther away she is while we sort this out, I say the better.”
“I’ll try. She’s stubborn.” That was typically an endearing quality, but I knew it was going to be the death of me.
Maybe literally.
I slammed my palm against the steering wheel again, making the green air freshener hanging on my rearview mirror shake and spin.
“I see how the two of you are a good fit then.”
I shook my head. “What are our other options?”
“We don’t have any. Did he block his number when he called?”
“Of course.”
“We have every eye we have trying to find him, as well as the law enforcement. A lot of what I’m getting out of them is insinuations; they can’t really come out and say anything. But it seems that they think he’s involved with this drug movement. Let’s hope they find him and can wrap him up in something and get him off the streets.”
“Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“Find him.”
I had ignored Jada’s five calls as I drove back to her house.
This day went to hell in a hurry.
She’s going to be pissed that I didn’t tell her all of this before.
A sick feeling had taken over my stomach.
I should never have pursued her, wrapped something as perfect as Jada up in my fucked up world. I knew better and I have to take responsibility for this. This epic fuckup is my fault.
I pulled up to Kari’s house, thinking that I should be pulling up to move Jada’s shit out of it and into mine. Instead, I was going in to probably make her never want to talk to me again.
Par for the fucking course.
I parked the Denali, got out, and made my way to the door, a sense of foreboding hanging over my head like a storm cloud. I rang the bell and waited.
“Who is it?” Her sweet voice sounded through the door.
“It’s me, baby.”
The door flew open. She stood there in a pair of grey shorts and a cute little pink shirt. She looked gorgeous, as always. I wanted to scoop her up and take her away somewhere far away.
“Hey,” she said, her eyebrows furrowed. “What are you doing back here?”
She stepped to the side as I walked in.