Throwaway (2 page)

“You like this stuff?” Harmony frowned a
little, surveying the exposed brick and hardwood floors.

“Love it,” Jessie tugged Harmony after her.
“Let’s find a spot.”

“I think the bartender likes you,” Harmony
leaned into Jessie so she could be heard. “He’s still watching
you.”

“Chad? Yeah. I guess there’ll be no living
with him after this.”

“I don’t think he’s the only one watching
you.”

“Maybe they’re watching you.”

“No, I’m pretty sure this guy is watching
you. Not that I can blame him. Blues suit you.”

“Not sure what to say to that….”

“Wow. He’s really cute, Jessie.”

Jessie allowed her eyes to follow Harmony’s
towards the door. He actually was good looking; she grudgingly had
to admit that much. It was more than the messy brown hair, angular
jaw line, or muscles peaking through his shirt—but she couldn’t say
just what it was.

He seemed irritated by her presence, though.
Not quite as enamored as Harmony would like to believe. She
dismissed him with her gaze. “You’re imaging things, Harmony.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Because he’s headed this way.”

“The bathroom’s behind us.”

“Oh,” Harmony didn’t seem convinced.

“Hey,” the man in question nodded casually to
them, coming to a stop beside Jessie.

“Hey,” Harmony suppressed a giggle. Jessie
nodded in response, swallowing hard. She had no idea what was wrong
with her. Something about this person standing so near left her
feeling very…unsettled. But it wasn’t the same kind of unsettled
Spence made her feel. No, for some reason—she liked the odd
electric current running through her.

They were looking at her, like they expected
a response.

“I’m sorry…” she frowned and tried to clear
her mind. “Were you speaking to me?”

“I said, she’s good…the musician.”

He was smiling at her. Jessie could see the
hint of a dimple hiding under his stubble. She closed her eyes
briefly before answering.

“Kim Massey—she’s great. I’d love to have her
talent.”

“Can I get you a beer?” he leaned in closer
and she couldn’t help thinking that he smelled nice. He didn’t reek
with cologne like Spence often did and he didn’t have the sweaty,
nervous smell most of her clients carried with them. He smelled…
clean… masculine.

She held her beer up as if to say “I’m good,”
because her voice box seemed to be failing her at the moment.

He disappeared and she felt herself able to
breathe for the first time in a while. She took the opportunity to
gulp in some air, leaning against Harmony for support.

“What is wrong with me?”

“Haven’t you ever been attracted to a man
before?” Harmony laughed then froze. “You haven’t, have you?”

“Is that what this is? It feels more like a
minor stroke.”

“You have a crush,” a smile twitched at the
corner of Harmony’s mouth.

“What should I do?”

“Flirt.”

“I don’t think Spence would like it.”

“Spence’ll never know. I didn’t say marry the
guy. Just flirt a little.”

“Really?” Jessie bit the corner of her lip in
thought. The idea had merit.

“What are you ladies talking about?” That
dimple was back again.

“You,” she blurted. Maybe the red lighting
was playing tricks with her eyes, but it looked like a spark of
amusement flickered across his face.

“All good, I hope.”

“Very,” Harmony supplied with a smile before
becoming interested in a group of young men across the bar.

“Minx,” Jessie muttered as her roommate
sashayed across the room. The man laughed and the sound washed over
Jessie like a warm bath.

“Do you have a name?”

“Jessie. How about you?”

“Gabe,” he answered after a brief pause.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” There was that laugh again.
Jessie wanted to bask in it; she found herself smiling back at
him.

“So… do you come here often?”

“Did you really just ask me that?” Jessie
couldn’t resist calling him on it.

“Wow, I guess I did. I’m a little rusty at
this.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I think
Harmony has given me up as hopeless.”

“Then we make quite a pair.”

“It appears we do,” a smile toyed with her
mouth. If he only knew.

“So… what kind of work do you do?”

Jessie nearly spit her beer out. She was
pretty proud of herself when she swallowed it instead and finally
managed, “Customer service. How about you?”

“Teacher.”

“Really?” Wow, she was a horrible person. She
shifted her gaze from him, hoping he wouldn’t see the pathetic
sorrow in her eyes.

A sleek black Mercedes S600 glided past the
window. She didn’t need to see the plates to know who it was.

“Sorry, I have to go now,” she caught
Harmony’s eyes and motioned for her.

“Did I say something?” he frowned.

“No, no. I enjoyed meeting you. I just really
need to go now,” she could see Vance striding across the street as
she spoke.

“Can I see you again?” he grabbed Jessie’s
hand when she would have slipped away.

“I don’t know…” Jessie glanced from Vance to
Gabe. There was a look in his eyes that made her breath deepen. A
power other than her brain took over and she impulsively wrapped
her fingers through the hair at his nape and pulled him to her for
a quick but thorough kiss. “Broadway Oyster Bar, night after
tomorrow... eight o’clock.”

He nodded, a little shaken. Jessie smiled at
that and brushed a light kiss on the corner of his mouth before
grabbing a now-waiting Harmony by the hand and rushing to meet
Vance at the door.

“You’re playing a dangerous game,
Jessie-girl,” Vance warned in a low voice, grabbing her by the arm
more gently than it appeared.

“It wasn’t exactly planned,” Jessie frowned,
hoping neither Gabe nor Chad had witnessed her departure.

“Just tell Spence it was only you girls in
there.”

It wasn’t like Vance to advise her to lie to
Spence. What exactly was going on that she didn’t know?

“Did you ladies have a nice evening?”
Spence’s voice was smooth as silk, but Jessie recognized it for
what it was—bridled fury.

“It was fine. A little boring, but fine. Is
there something in particular we’re supposed to be looking
for?”

“You’d know it if you saw it.”

He seemed to be trying to read beyond her
words. He peered so closely at her, she wondered for the briefest
of moments if he could read minds.

“Do you want us to work Washington tomorrow?
Soulard? Or do you want us back on the East side?” Harmony jumped
in, turning his attention from Jessie.

“Washington? That’s not a bad idea. Start at
the casinos and work your way down Washington. We’ll make a
decision after that.”

“Sure, Spence,” Jessie agreed more eagerly
than she felt. After that, the tension in the car ebbed. Spence
seemed satisfied that the girls were just being thorough and he
listened as they described their evening—minus one detail.

That night, after Harmony had gone to bed,
Jessie still sat chin-deep in a warm bubble bath. The smell of
mandarin curled around her senses; the bath oils clung to her skin.
His face hovered in her mind’s eye.

A knock at the door startled her. As she
wrapped a fluffy orange towel around herself, she glanced at the
clock. It was 3 a.m.

“Vance, what are you doing here?”

“I only have a minute,” he looked around
nervously.

Jessie nodded. She knew Spence watched her
comings and goings. He meant it when he said she belonged to him.
Someone was usually watching her building and it was just one way
he made sure she didn’t make any attachments other than those
allowed to her.

“That guy in the bar,” Vance continued. “The
one you were with when I got there. He’s one of the reasons Spence
sent you down there. That guy’s been tailing Spence for a month
now.”

“The teacher?” Jessie furrowed her brow.

“Honey, that’s no teacher. He’s a cop.”

Jessie wasn’t sure how long she sat in her
towel with her back to the door after Vance disappeared. He wasn’t
about to risk being caught leaving Jessie’s building in the middle
of the night, so he’d left right after dropping the bomb on
her.

She furiously wiped away the tears on her
cheeks. If this was what having a crush on someone got you, it was
just as well she’d never had one before.

After the hurt feelings came anger. It
simmered as she dressed for bed—then as she lay in the dark,
reliving the evening through the lens of new information. It
continued to bubble all throughout her fitful sleep.

By the time her eyes opened to the
late-morning sun streaming through her window, rage was boiling
over. She wasn’t mad at Spence for using her as bait. That was
pretty typical Spence.

But Gabe had flat-out lied to her. He’d
seemed so sincere. Jessie wasn’t about to dissect why this lying
man bothered her when so many had lied to her before. If she took
too close a look, she might uncover something really unsettling…
like the fact that this one bothered her because she’d wanted him
to be telling the truth.

She had cared.

“Jessie,” Harmony was knocking at her door.
“Are we going to yoga?”

“Sure. Give me five minutes,” she called out
lifelessly.

As much as she’d love to crawl back under her
covers and hide from the world, she knew yoga would clear her mind
better than pouting. And she needed a clear mind so she could
decide just how best to annihilate Gabe.

The yoga routine did help calm her rattled
nerves. The rest of the day seemed to crawl by. Evening finally
came and Spence once again showed up to drop Jessie and Harmony off
on the west side of the river.

They didn’t have to go farther than the
casinos to find clients. Jessie was glad she didn’t run into Gabe.
She’s never been ashamed of who she was but found herself holding
on to some sliver of hope that he didn’t know. Maybe Vance had been
wrong.

Yoga might be nice, but Jessie was happy for
her weight routine the next morning. She had a little steam to burn
off and a long day looming in front of her. Buying groceries would
only take up so much of it.

Harmony had a full day of classes, leaving
Jessie to her own devices. She killed some time by wandering in and
out of the antique shops and thrift stores. She treated herself to
La Vallesana for lunch, snagging a seat under a bright blue
umbrella to savor her tacos al pastor. Vance strolled across the
street from Vallesana 2, apparently engrossed in his lime ice
cream.

A smile tugged at the corner of Jessie’s
mouth. He seemed much less intimidating when licking the back of a
plastic spoon. He settled into a seat beside Jessie without a
hello; the two sat in silence, enjoying their treats.

“What’s he gotten himself into?” Jessie
finally asked in a low voice.

“He tried to play with the big dogs,” Vance
shook his sandy-blonde head. “So far all he’s managed to do is get
himself in debt and catch the cops’ attention.”

“So you think Harmony and I are bait to draw
out the police?”

“He knows you won’t turn him in.”

“And I won’t be any good to him for much
longer.”

“I don’t know about that… he’s been waiting a
long time to have you all to himself,” Vance seemed to be trying to
reassure her. She shuddered a little at the thought. She liked
having limited exposure to her boss.

“Does he know Gabe is a cop?” Jessie wasn’t
sure why she asked.

“That guy’s not very good at undercover if
he’s giving out his real name,” Vance snorted.

“So that is his real name?”

“Gabe Adams. St. Louis PD. He started tailing
you the minute you got out of the car last night. I think he’s
after some of Spence’s new associates.”

“If you know all of that, why is he still
alive?”

“At least we know who he is. If he gets
removed from the equation, they’ll just send a new one.”

“Why do you need me?”

“Spence is trying to figure out what they’re
after… how much they know. He’s hoping that by being on the
streets, you’ll hear something. Worst case scenario, you get picked
up by the cops and maybe you’ll learn something that way.”

“And you’re telling me this because….” Jessie
wondered against her better judgment.

“You’re in a bad spot, Jessie-girl. Don’t
make it worse. Spence won’t let you go—you’re his.”

“Unless he gets me arrested,” Jessie growled.
“Then I belong to the state of Missouri.”

She’d belonged to the state of Missouri once
before and through no fault of her own. She had no intention of
being their ward in a new capacity now.

“He doesn’t think you’d go away for
long.”

“That’s comforting.”

“I’d better go. Last thing I need is for
someone to see us together—Spence’ll get the wrong idea.”

“Thanks for stopping by,” Jessie gave him a
small smile. “I’ll be careful.”

She wondered if meeting Gabe Adams for drinks
fell under the description of being careful. Probably not, but that
didn’t stop her from wishing the minutes on the clock would move
along a little faster. Even if she did plan to annihilate him, she
was looking forward to seeing him. Maybe she could hear him laugh
one more time.

Jessie planned her wardrobe with extra care
that evening. Her favorite pair of jeans, boots that would make
Nancy Sinatra proud, and a bra that promised age-defying lift were
part of her arsenal. She completed the ensemble with a simple
cotton shirt—she didn’t want him to think she was trying too
hard.

“You look nice,” Harmony raised an eyebrow
knowingly.

“Don’t you have some studying to do?”

“What should I say if Spence calls looking
for you?”