Resist

“Char?”

“Jess!” I cry. Rushing over to the door, I unlock it and fall into her arms. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

“We have to get out of here now,” she says, her eyes wide. “I’ll explain later,” she adds, sensing my impending questions. “Just get your things. Hurry.”

“When he booked two rooms, I thought that was it,” I admit, the relief overwhelming. “How did you find me? There must be a few hundred rooms in this hotel.”

“Three hundred and twenty, to be exact.” She hesitates, her face growing serious. “You shouldn’t have gone with him when I didn’t know where you were. Do you have any idea how stupid that was?” She shakes her head in disapproval. “You’re just lucky I had the idea to call him and pretend to be his answering service. I told him his appointment was early and wasn’t happy about having to wait.”

“How did you know who he was meeting?” I ask, bewildered. “Or what service he uses?”

Jess squirms in her seat. “Brynne told me,” she whispers.

“Brynne?” I repeat, aghast. Before I can ask more questions, the door creaks open and Brynne walks in. She looks the same as she did in the pictures in the newspaper, except her once-long blond hair is now shorter and almost black.

“Why are you here?” I’m in shock, and I can’t think straight. “Everyone thinks you’re dead. Everyone thinks Jaxon killed you.”

“It’s a long story,” she says, shooting a glance back toward the door. “I can’t talk here. Come with me and I’ll explain everything.”

Go with her? Why would I trust her? But I’m so curious to know the truth that I’d do almost anything to find out.

“Fine,” I mutter. Jess gives me a look and I shrug. “I need to know what the hell is going on. And you’re coming with us,” I add, linking my arm in hers. I’m less likely to disappear if I have a witness.

—

“So, tell me why I shouldn’t call Jaxon right now and tell him about this,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

We’re sitting in the back of a sketchy-looking bar a few blocks away from the hotel. I’m

still in shock that I’m sitting across from the woman whom so many people think Jaxon killed. I know I haven’t heard her side of the story, but I’m so angry for him.

“Because if you want to get Ryan, I can help you.”

“What do you know about Ryan?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. And me, for that matter. “How did you know we’d be there? Are you following me?”

“No,” she replies, her voice grave. “I’ve been following him. Ever since he fucked up my life.”

“He fucked up your life?” I laugh. “What about Jaxon? Surely you know what went down with his parents. How could you just disappear like that?”

“Because I didn’t have a choice!” she cries. She takes a deep breath, her blue gray eyes focusing on mine. “Ryan played me. He found out…” Her voice trails off, and then she sighs again. “He had something on me. He told me that if I didn’t help him, he’d go to the cops. Once Jaxon found out the truth, it would’ve been over, anyway, so I agreed.”

“What did he have on you?” I push.

“That doesn’t matter. Do you want me to help you take Ryan down or not?” she asks.

“What’s changed?” I ask. “Why do you suddenly not care what he has on you?”

“Because I took care of it. And I’m sick of hiding myself away. You have no idea how hard it was watching the media hound Jaxon over me. I felt so bad about not coming forward.”

“You didn’t just disappear, Brynne. You set him up so it would look like he did something to you.”

“That was Ryan,” she says, her expression pleading with me. “All I did was leave when he told me. He arranged everything else.”

“Why, though?” I mutter, more to myself than to her. If Ryan went to those lengths to try to make Jaxon look guilty of something, why not go one step further and make sure the blame actually fell on him?

“Ryan is crazy. You can’t trust him, and you can’t go after him alone. There’s no telling what he’ll do to you if he figures out the truth.”

“So, what do I do, then?” I ask. I hate admitting that she’s right, but the fact is I know I’m in over my head. She knows Ryan better than I do. Maybe with her help I can actually do this.