Throwaway (14 page)

The ride to the posh end of town was a quiet
one. Ladue was a suburb of St. Louis with old money and sprawling
estates. The Mercedes pulled up to a wrought iron gate in front of
a mansion that bordered on castle. It was the largest home Jessie
had ever seen in her life. She couldn’t imagine what it would be
like to live in a place like that.

And a small part of her wondered how someone
who so obviously had everything they could possibly need in life
found it necessary to buy a young girl from a broken country.
Maybe, just maybe, Jessie hadn’t missed out on much by being
poor.

“Aren’t you coming?” Spence surprised her by
impatiently barking.

“I’m sorry,” she flushed, trying not to
openly gawk as they stepped inside. She knew the marble floors
under her feet were worth more than her entire life’s earnings.
Earnings that were gone, she reminded herself, so maybe there was
something to be said for not keeping all your money under a
mattress.

Still, there was a coolness to the mansion
that she didn’t like. It wasn’t that the place was physically cold,
but rather it lacked the warmth of a home. Everything was so white,
so pristine. She couldn’t fathom curling up on a couch to watch
television here. The late-night popcorn fights she used to get into
with Harmony would never happen in a place like this.

There was no joy. No laughter.

“Spence, it’s good to see you again,” a
stocky man with salt-and-pepper hair joined them in the sitting
room. His smile didn’t reach his eyes as he shook hands with
Spence. His lack of surprise over Spence’s appearance told Jessie
that word had traveled quickly.

“I think you’ll be happy with your purchase
Mr. Coleman. She’s really quite exquisite. There’s a bit of fire
lurking under those eyes,” Spence commented.

If he hadn’t been talking about a human like
she was a horse, Jessie might have felt sorry for him at the
disdainful look he got from Mr. Coleman. As it was, Jessie wanted
to grab the girl by the hand and run like hell out of this place,
consequences be damned.

Jessie told herself that more good could be
done in the long run if she bided her time and let Gabe handle
things the right way. She wondered, though, if it was rational
thought that kept her rooted to Spence’s side… or fear.

Either way, she couldn’t get that girl out of
her mind as she settled Spence in for the night. The image of those
eyes heaping accusations at her feet was seared into her brain.
Once Spence was snoring soundly, Jessie changed into jeans and a
t-shirt. She was still pulling her long blond hair into a ponytail
as she told the guard at the door where she would be if he needed
her.

O’Malley’s Irish Pub was on the approved
activity list, and for that Jessie was eternally grateful. She
needed the normalcy of hearing Danny’s lilting Irish folk. It was a
typical St. Louis building—dimly lit, with an exposed brick and
wood interior. From the flags hanging inside and out to the support
beam painted orange, white and green, the place left no doubt as to
its Irish heritage. Jessie smiled at the fiddle hanging on the wall
and the clock of three men standing in their underwear arm in arm
that was affectionately known as “Three Drunk Micks.” They made her
feel like she’d come home.

“The prodigal daughter has returned,” Danny
declared jovially as he appeared from the crowd to hug Jessie.

“Good to see you,” Jessie eagerly returned
the hug. “Play me a happy song tonight.”

“What’s a pretty girl like you so sad about?”
he smiled warmly before patting his pockets. “I almost forgot. I
have something for you.”

He pressed a key into her hands.

“What’s this?”

“I was told you’ll find it in the pages of a
book. Our friends seemed to think you’d know what that meant.”

“I think I do,” she nodded slowly. “Thank
you.”

“No worries. You’re just in time for the
first set. Come on, I’ll shove someone out of their seat.”

“Hey Danny.”

“Yes love?”

“Could you tell our friend I need to talk to
him?”

“That I can do,” he nodded solemnly.

Jessie accepted the seat Danny cleared for
her. The music began, wrapping itself around her as it always. She
stared at the key in her hand, running the possibilities through
her mind. It was the key to his Plymouth.

Jessie tried to let the music carry her away,
but the image of the blond girl vied with the key for her
attention. There wasn’t much she could do about the girl until she
spoke to Gabe. The key was most likely intended as her method of
escape if things got bad. He’d probably stashed the Plymouth at the
address in the book. She still hadn’t figured out the phony ZIP
code. Her best guess was that the numbers were a pass code of some
sort.

She clutched the key in her hand, its
presence making her feel more connected with Gabe. Instead of
soothing her, being at O’Malley’s only seemed to make her more
restless. She missed Gabe. She didn’t want to go back to her gilded
cage. It all sucked and that was making her cranky.

She stood suddenly and marched over to the
bar to order a shot of Tequila. That got the attention of a college
kid next to her who ordered them another round.

“That is, if you think you can handle two
shots,” he smiled charmingly.

She gave him a crooked grin and licked her
salted wrist before tossing the liquid fire down her throat. She
arched her eyebrow as she sucked on the lime. He responded in kind
even as the bartender poured another round.

Jessie wasn’t sure how she got home. She
vaguely recalled Vance showing up and pulling her away from a
protesting crowd. The ride was a little fuzzy.

“I’m perfectly fiiiine,” she protested when
he slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Uh-huh,” he deftly unlocked the door.

“I’m so lucky to have you.”

“I know,” he dropped her unceremoniously on
the bed.

“You’re a good man… don’t worry, I won’t tell
anybody,” she put a finger over her lips to indicate it was their
little secret.

“Get some sleep, Jessie.”

“Can’t sleep,” She argued. “I’ll see her
eyes. She hated me. Harmony hates me, too. I bet Gabe hates me. Do
you hate me? You don’t, do you?”

“No one hates you, honey. Try to get some
rest. It’ll be better tomorrow.”

“Why is my bed spinning?” she frowned after a
moment of silence.

Vance’s only response was his chuckle. It was
the last memory Jessie had of the evening and it drifted in and out
of her hazy brain as she tossed and turned.

Her alarm the next morning seemed
particularly cruel. Still, she did its bidding and stumbled from
her bed to rake a brush through her hair and splash some water on
her face before dressing for yoga. She’d nearly made it to the door
when she remembered deodorant and backtracked.

She tossed some toast at Spence on her way
out the door, too hung over to care if it made him angry.

“You know I’ll be out of this cast
eventually, right?” he called after her. She waved without turning
around in response. She’d deal with him later.

Jessie was grateful to Vance for setting her
alarm, but would have appreciated a little more time to get there.
As it was, she skidded into class halfway through the first sun
salutation. She tossed her sunglasses beside her mat with the
tennis shoes she kicked off, rushing through the first two poses to
catch up with the group.

She barely noticed the disapproving arch to
Harmony’s eyebrow. She was too preoccupied with the rich laughter
coming from the far corner of the room. Her heart hammered in her
chest; she recognized that laugh. It had been nearly a week since
she’d seen Gabe. Man he looked good.

“Mr. Adams, when I said you could observe, I
assumed it meant you wouldn’t disturb the participants,” the
seventy-year-old woman who led class admonished. Jessie ducked her
head to hide her smile. She knew the petite little hippy just might
be the one human on this earth that could bring Gabe to his
knees.

“Maybe Mr. Adams would like to participate.
There’s a mat open next to me,” Jessie offered helpfully.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice your tardiness,”
she admonished.

“Sorry.”

Gabe made a face at Jessie and she made one
back.

“Alright then. Mr. Adams, Jessie will show
you what to do as we go along.”

Jessie nearly clapped with glee. Watching
Gabe attempt yoga was one of the few activities that could coax her
out of her hangover-induced crankiness.

“You sure you’re up to this?” he murmured
with a grin as he kicked his shoes into a pile with hers. “Looks
like you had a rough night.”

“I can handle it… can you?”

“It’ll be a breeze,” he rolled his head,
stretching his neck.

“Uh-huh,” she moved to stand behind him,
aligning his body for the first pose as the class began their
second salute to the sun. For one entire round, she moved in
concert with his body, hers over his as she taught him each pose.
The deep breathing she was doing had little to do with yoga and a
whole lot to do with his proximity.

For a few delicious moments, they were the
only two people in the room—at least, as far as Jessie was
concerned anyway.

It was over before Jessie was ready, but she
grudgingly moved back to her mat to perform the next sequence
beside Gabe. She was torn between enjoying his struggles and losing
herself to her own routine. Nothing cleared her mind quite like
yoga.

When the instructor pulled him back into a
proper downward dog, Jessie decided wholeheartedly to just enjoy
the show.

“Oh yeah, I can feel the difference there,”
he was saying in a strained voice.

At one point the woman shook her head in
disgust and instructed Jessie to help him again. “Don’t be so easy
on him this time.”

“I will be merciless,” Jessie solemnly
promised, breaking her own warrior pose to help Gabe align his.

“I miss you,” he breathed in her ear as she
leaned in to him. She paused, her eyes brushing his. How could she
possibly tell him how much she missed him too? He nodded, the small
smile that tugged at his mouth telling her he understood.

“I need to talk to you.”

“That’s why I’m here.”

“I didn’t expect Danny to see you so
soon.”

“He was worried about you,” his lip twitched.
Jessie rolled her eyes and repositioned his hips for him.

“I’m pretty sure I won that contest,” Jessie
informed him in a whisper.

“I’d hate to see the other guy.”

“I hate you.”

“I love you, too.”

“You guys are going to get in trouble,”
Harmony admonished.

“Sorry,” Jessie shrugged.

“Can we get out of here?” he implored.

“Come on,” she scooped up their shoes.

“Don’t forget these,” he grabbed her
glasses.

Jessie wanted to touch him. It was crazy how
much. Instead, she slid her tennis shoes back on and plucked her
sunglasses from his hand.

“Did you get the key?” He asked as they
ducked into a private corner of the gym.

“Yeah. Thanks. What do you know about some
guy named Coleman? Lives in Ladue.”

“Is he a customer or a player?”

“Customer.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell. I’ll look into him. Do
you have any more than that on him?”

Jessie gave him the address and a description
after glancing around nervously. “Gabe, we delivered a girl there
yesterday. Promise me you’ll get her back.”

“I can’t promise.”

“Yes, you can. I know you can get her
back.”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“No, it’s not. Either you go get her or I
will. I need to know she’ll be okay.”

“Why?”

“She looked at me like I was the one that did
that to her… because I stood by and let them.”

“I still can’t promise anyone will do
anything about this one girl. Not if it’ll risk the rest of the
operation.”

“But she matters. Right?”

“To you and to me, sure.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” Jessie frowned.
Something in his answer triggered warning bells in her mind.

“I’d rather talk to you alone… somewhere
where we can really talk. Do you think you could meet me on the
roof of Spence’s building tomorrow night at 9?”

“You’re scaring me.”

“It’ll be okay. That I will promise,” he
kissed her forehead.

Jessie wanted to chastise him for making
promises he couldn’t keep, but she wanted to believe this one too
badly to do that.

“Is there anything else?” He brought the
conversation back.

“I can’t believe I didn’t tell you this
first,” Jessie was irritated with herself. “They’re keeping the
girls in a warehouse off Vandeventer.”

“You’re sure?”

Jessie nodded, reciting the address she’d
committed to memory. “It’s where we picked up the girl anyway.”

“I’ll send someone to check it out.
Thanks.”

“I have no idea what I’m doing here.”

“You’re doing a great job.”

“I don’t think you’d tell me if I
wasn’t.”

Gabe smiled guiltily and shrugged. “Are you
okay?”

Jessie nodded.

“Not sure I believe you, darlin’.”

“It’s stupid.”

“What?” Concern etched his brow.

“I mean, I’m enjoying not having to work the
streets anymore—don’t get me wrong… but I’m lonely. I want to go
home.”

“You can walk away from this,” he reminded
her.

“No, I can’t. Not now. I have to do what I
can to protect these girls.”

“Be careful.”

“Are you guys just about done?” Harmony
appeared at the door. “You’re drawing attention, you know.”

“Thanks,” Gabe scowled, but acknowledged that
furtive glances were being cast their way.

“Tomorrow at 9?” Jessie couldn’t help
reaching up to brush his cheek with her fingertips.