“Did anyone else know about this?”
“Look, man, I didn’t keep quiet about it. She was lying to everyone. They had a right to know who they were really friends with.”
“Did you tell her boss?”
“No, but I didn’t need to. She quit anyway. She had everyone believing she was some sweetheart but really she was just a whore. Everyone was glad she left.”
Nausea crests in my gut and I release my death grip on the chair. “You didn’t hear from her again?”
“Nope, sorry.”
“Didn’t it ever occur to you that you may have contributed to her disappearance?”
“Look, Mr. O’Reilly, I wanted nothing more to do with her. She was a grown woman. She made her choices. If she wanted people to respect her, she should have thought more carefully before being paid to have sex.” He glances at his watch. “I’ve got to get back to work. If there’s nothing else…” He stands.
I shake my head numbly and stand too.
“I’m sorry I can’t be of more help but, really, Jessica got everything she deserved.”
Homeless, jobless, friendless. The thought of her performing for the cameras sickens me but did she deserve that?
Peter motions to the door. “I’ll show you out. If you ask me, she probably went back to performing or even became a stripper or something. That’s what everyone reckoned. Once a whore, always a whore.” He shrugs.
Red hot rage boils inside me and before I know what I’ve done, my fist is throbbing and Peter has fallen over one of the chairs and is sprawled on the floor clutching his nose.
“What the fuck, man?”
I don’t say anything else. Don’t trust myself to. Before he can get to his feet, I’m out the door and gone. Maybe he’ll press charges, but I doubt it. He’d have to explain what we were talking about. I get on my bike, gun the engine and drive like a madman until I’m close to home.
I don’t know if I can face her.
My hands are shaking as I pull into a lay-by, turn off the engine and yank out my phone. I keep trying to picture Jess as a porn star but I can’t. Either I don’t want to or Peter is wrong. But if she really was a porn star, it explains her change in appearance and her secrecy.
Heart in my throat, I pull up the browser on my phone, grateful for a decent signal. It takes me several tries to type Trinity Sparks into the search engine. I gulp as hits come up, my insides bunching. Most of the sites want payments but a few show clips. I close my eyes and press play. Opening them, bile rises in my throat as a cute blonde stands in front of the camera, already in skimpy underwear. There’s no tattoo on her arm but there’s no doubting she’s a grown up version of the kid in the photo I have and it’s a blonde version of Jess.
She starts peeling off her bra and I jab stop. “Shit. Motherfucker.”
Chapter Six
Jess
When Hunter doesn’t turn up to meet me after work, my stomach bunches. Has something happened? Is he hurt? Today was uneventful. No messages, not even any strange phone calls. I’m beginning to believe this crazy person has lost interest. Maybe Hunter has too but that doesn’t sit right. Mitch couldn’t be here today so Hunter left me with the usual warnings. Be careful, don’t go anywhere alone. So why am I alone now?
I tug my phone out of my bag and skim down to Hunter’s number. My thumb shakes as I press call. I’d spent all day looking forward to seeing him and wondering if he felt the same. It feels so natural to be around him, even with everything I’m hiding, because although I’m keeping my past from him, I’m aware he sees through me. He might not understand what I’ve been through but I have this feeling he knows me. If anyone gets my determination to create a better life for myself it’s Hunter. His mother did the same for him.
The phone rings and goes to answer phone. I scan the street and search for his bike or car but there’s no sign. I try calling him again but it goes to voicemail once more. Worry threads tightly through me, makes my skin hot. Something has to have happened to him. Hunter is never late. From what I’ve learned of him, I don’t think he knows how to be. He’s so meticulous and in control.
I try again. If I don’t get through to him this time, I’ll get the tube to his place and leave him a voicemail. A click. I hold my breath.
A gruff voice. “Yeah?”
“Hunter?” His sharp tone throws me off.
“What?”
“Are you picking me up from work today?” How needy do I sound? I cringe.
I hear him sigh. “Look… you’re going to have to find your own way home.”
“Okay… where are you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he snaps. “Perhaps you should just go back to your place, Jess.”
My heart constricts. “Hunter, what’s going on?”
“Nothing. Just… just go home.”
“I thought you said I was in danger. I’ve been looking over my shoulder every two minutes because of you. What’s changed?”