“You just let him take her? You just let her be kidnapped!” Jordan cried as she stood up and yelled at me.
Bull became defensive and started to bark at her, but as I reached for him to pull him back, he ran towards Jordan. He was just trying to protect me and I knew that, but I also didn’t feel threatened by her at all. I knew she was just angry her friend was missing.
“Bull, heel!” I yelled.
I watched as Jackson stepped right in front of Jordan and just stood still. He didn’t yell at the dog. He didn’t make any fast movements. He just stared right into Bull’s eyes and calmly talked.
“Sit.”
“He’s not going to listen to you…” I started to say, but then realized that Bull had, in fact, sat down.
“I guess he listened,” Chase said as he looked between Jackson and me.
Chase looked like he was only a split second behind Jackson and would have also stepped in front of his wife to protect her. But Jackson just had faster reflexes and a bigger ego, so he did it first.
Jackson seemed to be one of those cocky guys who could do anything he wanted and never had to struggle. He had a level of confidence about him that left no room for anything else. I suspected he had once been in the military. Those were the men who would come to my club and act like that. But then again, he could have just been a rich spoiled man – they acted the same way.
“Okay, so you don’t know where she is?” Jackson picked up the questions again.
“I’m not sure. I assume he has her at one of his home or business locations, but he’s got a few throughout town. I’m not even sure she’s still in town. She could have already been sold.”
“But you said the guy was coming at the end of the month,” Jordan said as she stood behind Chase.
Bull had returned to sit near me and I honestly didn’t think he would attack Jordan. Her yelling had just made him nervous. He was a good dog and could tell good people from the bad ones. Even though Jackson annoyed the shit out of me, I thought he and the other two were genuinely just trying to find their friend.
“Do you think you could show Jackson the locations and help him find her?” Chase asked me.
“Here’s the deal. I liked Ana, she was really nice, but I’m not about to get killed over the girl. I think you just need to accept that she’s gone.”
“No, I can’t,” Jordan said as she started to cry in her husband's arms.
This girl certainly had more emotions than I think I had ever shown in all my life. She must have had a sheltered life if she was so willing to let her feelings out like that. I had never felt safe enough around any man or woman to break out in tears.
“Jackson, go talk to her, please. Convince her to help,” Chase said quietly, although I still clearly heard him.
Jackson grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway toward my bedroom. He was a handsome guy, and I would have loved to take him for a ride in the bedroom. But I didn’t think that was why he had dragged me down the hall.
“Help us out here. We are just trying to find a scared girl before things get too out of hand.”
“I can tell you’re the kind of guy who always gets what he wants, but I’m not going to get myself killed for some girl I only knew a couple weeks. Besides, I’ve risked enough by having you all at my house today.”
“Listen here, if it were your friend, you would want someone to help. Just give us the addresses and I’ll go check them out myself.”
“I don’t know the addresses. Do I look like Google?”
“Fine, just tell us the names of the businesses.”
Just then my phone rang. It was Stephano. I froze solid as I looked at Jackson and then went to look out the window. Stephano’s car was right out front. My heart sank, and I instantly felt like I was going to pass out. If he found the three of them in my house, he would demand an explanation. Since he knew I didn’t really have friends, it would be really hard to explain why I had the trio in my apartment.
“It’s Stephano. He’s here!”
“Tell him you have a John up here,” Jackson told me just before I answered the phone.
I wanted to be offended by his thought that I would sleep with any of my customers for money. But I knew way too many girls that would easily take a guy home for a thousand dollars. Being offended would have to come later.
“Hello,” I said to Stephano.
“Who’s there?”