I got out of the truck. “Okay.”
He opened the back door to the sedan, and I started to get in, but he stopped me. “I have to blindfold you first.”
“What?”
He pulled out a black handkerchief from his coat pocket. “It’s for our protection as well as yours. If you confess what you’ve been doing to the Assistant DA, you won’t be able to show him where you’ve been.”
I stared at the cloth in his hand. It made perfect sense, but it made me nervous nonetheless.
He leaned closer. “Rose, I swear to you that I’ll keep you safe.”
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “Why would you do that?”
“Because you saved Skeeter’s life.”
“So you’re doing it out of loyalty to Skeeter?”
“He took a chance on me when no one else would. He’s like a brother to me. You didn’t have to help him, but you did.”
“It wasn’t altruistic, Jed. I did it to get my money back.” As soon as the words tumbled out, I wondered if I should have admitted that.
He chuckled. “I don’t believe that for one minute. You could have let him get killed, no skin off your nose. But you didn’t.” He gave me a grin. “I’ll look out for you.”
I took a deep breath and glanced down at the handkerchief one more time before looking up into his face. “Okay.”
“Turn around.”
I faced the car as he put the folded fabric over my eyes and gently knotted it in the back, trying not to catch my hair. He took my arm and helped me into the backseat.
When I heard his car door shut, I asked, “Will it take long to get there?”
“Skeeter said to tell you not to worry. That you’ll get back in time for your dinner.”
I couldn’t hold back my snort. “Of course he did.”
“I’m gonna turn up the music pretty loud. Skeeter doesn’t want you to know where you are from the sounds.”
“This feels an awful lot like a kidnapping. How do you know I won’t just rip off this blindfold?”
He laughed. “Because I’m pretty sure you don’t want to know where you are.”
He had a point.
Loud country music filled the car, and four songs played before Jed turned the music down.
“Can I take my blindfold off now?”
“No, I’m gonna lead you in.”
Jed got out, and then I heard the back door open. He guided me out of the car and took my elbow, coaching me on where to walk and telling me when we came to a step. My heels echoed off wood slats under my feet as we moved along, but after a few moments, Jed pulled me to a halt.
“Lady,” Skeeter said. “Thanks for coming.”
I raised my hand to the side of my head. “Can I take this off yet?”
“I’d prefer for you to keep it on until we go inside.”
I lowered my hand.
“I’d like you to talk as little as possible once we’re in there. I’d prefer for him to not even know you’re there.”
“You know I’m gonna blurt something out about the vision I have. I can’t stop that.”
“I know, but we’ll keep the talking in his room to a minimum, and even if he hears you, he won’t be able to see you.”
“You were serious about the hood.”
“Yes.”
“I really don’t want to see anything kinky, Skeeter.”
He laughed. “You won’t. He’s drugged, so he won’t remember much. He’ll wake up next to a blonde with big tits and think he partied too much. He’ll get pissed because he won’t remember screwing her.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay.”
He led me through a door, and I entered a room that smelled like mildew and pine.
“You can take your blindfold off now,” he whispered next to my ear.
I tugged it off and blinked as I took in the living room covered in paneling and green shag carpet. It looked like a house straight out of the 1970s.
Skeeter motioned to the dark hall, and I followed him to the last door. He opened it and stepped inside, giving me enough room to walk past him.
A guy lay on the bed, dressed in a white T-shirt and green plaid boxer shorts. His legs and torso were pale, but he had a fading tan on his arms that ended at his biceps. He wasn’t obese, but he had a bit of flab on him. He was on his back with his arms all akilter over his head. A pillowcase with a kitten pattern on it covered his head, making it hard for me to guess his age. I knew he wasn’t a teenager, but he didn’t look too old either.
I leaned close to Skeeter, suddenly realizing he smelled really good. Maybe it was because the rest of the place smelled like dirty socks original to the 1970s decor. “Can he breathe with that thing on his head?” I whispered.
“Yes. We’ll take it off after you’re done. It’s for your protection.”
And yours, but I kept that to myself. At the moment, it didn’t matter why he wanted to hide me—it just mattered that he did.