Without care (14 page)

I restore
myself and enter the party that is in full swing. People are
dancing, laughing and drinking too much. I look round the room and
there is no sign of Jen. She has probably gone off to bed. I need
to catch up with a few friends anyway. Space right now is good.

Half an hour
later I am standing with a few friends when I hear yelling. It
instantly captures my attention to the other side of the room.
There is a roar of cheer and people start clapping. I make my way
through the crowd and spot Jen.

She is standing
on top of a table, arms in the air and swaying her hips. She looks
flushed and intoxicated as her legs look unstable. Someone has
given her alcohol. I am going to kill that person. It’s when she
reaches to undo her shirt buttons that my protective side takes
action.

“Jennifer!” I
yell over the music, she looks at me, laughs and carries on. “Get
down off there now!”

“No” She yells
back and carries on dancing. Everyone is still watching and
cheering her on.

“Get off that
damn table or I swear I will…”

She stops
dancing, looks at me and places her hands on her hips. “You’ll do
what?” She raises an eyebrow. She is trying to provoke me. She
reaches inside her pocket and pulls out her phone. “Here you go.
Ring my Mom and tell her what I’m doing.” She throws the phone in
my direction. “Knock yourself out!” Her words are slurred and she
begins to dance again.

The phone lands
at my feet, now she has really pissed me off. I push the person in
front of me, grab hold of her legs and fling her over my shoulder.
She starts punch my back with her fists and I lead her towards her
room. Everyone groans in disappointment, like I care. They
shouldn’t take pleasure in her drunken state. If they want to see
that, go to a strip club or something.

I kick the bed
room door open and then slam it shut with my foot. I finally place
her on her feet, her legs almost buckle and I catch her by the
elbow. I am really angry at her. I can’t believe she would
disrespect herself like this.

“Go to bed,
Jen” it’s all I can say, as I know once I start I won’t stop.

“You are not my
father!” she spits, her little face is all screwed up and her hands
are still in fists. “I was having fun, something I never get to do
and you have to come along and spoil it.”

“FUN?” I yell.
“Stripping on a table, is that your idea of fun? I see it as cheap
and sluttish. You are not one of those girls. Now get into bed and
sleep it off.”

I don’t want to
get into this argument. I turn on my heel and leave the room. The
party has now finished and it’s only Tucker alone on the sofa. He
looks up at me and head gestures for me to join him. Its then I
notice a bottle of whiskey and two glasses on the coffee table. I
slump down in my seat and let out a little groan.

“Who gave her
the alcohol?” are the first words to leave my lips.

“No one” Tucker
replies, as he fills two glasses. “There was a tray of shots and
she downed three, one after the other.”

He hands me a
drink and I down it without thinking. The cool liquid burns my
throat as it goes down, making me remember that I hate alcohol. It
is a deadly drug, which one can get addicted to without thinking. I
slam my glass down, lean forward and bury my head in my hands. What
have I gotten myself into?

I must have
been the reason she behaved that way tonight. She has been through
so much the last couple of days and I have made everything
worse.

I just can’t
help myself when I am in her presence. I tried really hard to make
her hate me. Each time she just kept coming back and that night
when I saw her drenched in the rain. I let out a deep breath. No
other woman has made me feel this way before.

“I know this is
none of my business” Tucker’s voice stops my thoughts in their
tracks. “I just have this weird feeling there is something more
going on.”

I lift my head
and smile in his direction. Guess he isn’t as stupid as I thought
he was. I know I can

Confide in him
as we’re in the same profession. I sit back on the sofa and wait a
moment before I can confess all.

“She’s a
client” I begin. “We have come to Seattle to search out her
father.”

“She isn’t your
girlfriend?” I shake my head. “But you two are very close and she
is obviously smitten with you.”

“I know” I cry
out, running my fingers through my hair. “And I have been
encouraging her. I have acted very unprofessionally and crossed the
line.”

“Then again” I
watch as a smile hits his lips. “You’re just as smitten with her as
well.” He gives a little laugh and downs the rest of his drink.
“I’ve never seen you react that way before. You just swooped in
there like a knight in shining armour.” I laugh at his remark.
“Anyway” he pats my shoulder and stands up. “I need to sleep. I
have a long shift at work tomorrow.” He begins to walk away, then
turns and looks at me. “Don’t be too hard on her.” He heads to his
bedroom, leaving me alone.

I pull my shirt
over head and throw it down to the floor. I grab the cushions,
resting them against the arm of the sofa. I lay down, grabbing the
throw over and placing it over me. I close my eyes and wait for
sleep to invade my body. What’s the point? My mind is still
resisting any attempt of drifting off.

I no longer
know what to do? Should I give up and hand the case over to someone
else?

No that I can’t
do. I am committed to this job and I never give up on anything. I
hear foot steps coming down the hall. No doubt it’s Tucker, wanting
another heart to heart. I haven’t got the energy left in me.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day, finding her father is going to
take a lot of work.

“Ayden,”
whispers a voice. I feel her approach the sofa, I tilt my head up
and she is stood beside me, wearing nothing but a t-shirt of mine.
“I’m sorry” she mumbles.

What ever self
discipline I thought I had goes out the window. I grab her hand and
pull her down, so the length of her body is lying on top of mine.
My arm wraps around her and I bury my head in the crook of her
neck. I feel her tears against my chest and I hug her tighter.

“I shouldn’t
have done what I did” she sobs. “I just wanted to forget for a
little bit. I’m worried about seeing my dad and I am worried about
you.”

“Me?” I say
softly into her hair. “Don’t worry about me.”

“You were
really angry at me. I know what I did was stupid and childish. I
just enjoyed being free for the first time. I didn’t have to think
about mum, Lacey or my father.” She lets out a dragging breath and
swallows back her tears. “Do you hate me?”

“Impossible. I
could never hate you. Let’s get some sleep. We have a lot of
searching to start tomorrow.”

“Okay” she
whispers. “Are we okay?”

I brush my lips
against her forehead. “Yes, we are more than okay. Close your
eyes.” And that’s how I slept all night. Jen in my arms and funnily
enough it was the best sleep I think I’ve had in a long while.

CHAPTER
TEN

We don’t speak
about last nights stripping on the table top. In fact I think she
is very embarrassed about the whole incident. Over breakfast I
noticed Tucker was staring at me with raised eyebrows. I need to
have a word with him. I can tell he is concerned that I am getting
too involved. This can be damaging to a case. I need to reassure
him that everything is in perfect control and I am compliable to do
this job.

We have decided
to check out her old home. It’s a pretty obvious place to look,
which means he won’t be there. He is untraceable. We have spent
months trying to track him down. This is a long shot. There’s even
been talk that he has flied the country. I am hoping in Jen’s case
that is not the case and he has just gone underground.

We pull up
outside a pretty house in the suburbs. It’s exactly how I pictured
it to be. Houses with white picket fences and colourful gardens.
Outside each house is an expensive car. The whole place screams of
money; Men with well paid jobs and the poor women playing the
desperate housewife. I cut the engine and sit back in my seat. Jen
is staring at the house in front of her.

“Its weird, I
feel like this was a life time ago.” She points to a swing in the
middle of a perfect luscious green lawn. “I would spend hours
pushing Lacey on that. She would scream for me to push her
higher.”

“I wished I had
a younger brother or sister” I smile as her blue eyes turn to
me.

“What are your
parents like?

“My mother
walked out when I was ten” I begin. “My father turned to drink and
forgot I even existed.” She places a hand on my knee and I can see
the pity in her eyes. “I left home as soon as I could and I’ve
never looked back.”

“So you really
are alone” she says slowly. I turn to look at her in wonder. “Its
just I felt sorry for you in Summerton. You lived all alone and
there was no sign of a family. I couldn’t imagine not having my
mother or Lacey.”

I shrug my
shoulders casually. “You learn to deal with what is dealt to you.
Besides, I have Tucker and you.”

The second I
say that I want to hit myself in the forehead. I won’t have her in
my life much longer. What a stupid thing to say? I look at her
beautiful face, she is smiling and her blue eyes sparkle with
happiness.

I know I’m
giving her false hope, for the moment I won’t burst her bubble.
When this is over, we will both go back to our normal lives and
move on. I’ll just play along for the moment.

My thoughts
stop when I see Jen quickly turn her head towards the front door. A
woman with long blonde hair is stood watching us. Her eyes are
narrowed and her arms are folded across her chest. She doesn’t look
happy. I notice Jen doesn’t seem be bothered about this woman, in
fact she is smiling.

She opens the
door, jumps out and runs towards her. I watch as she flings her
arms around the woman’s neck and the woman hugs her back.

As I get out
the car the woman is now smiling and holding Jen at arms length
studying her? “Oh my god, Jennifer” her voice is almost high pitch.
“What are you doing here? Does your mother know you’re here?”

“I’m here to
see my father and yes she does know.” Jen looks over at me. “This
is my friend, Ayden and he’s helping me. Ayden, this is my aunty
Melanie Anderson. She’s my mom’s sister.”

‘Great to meet
you Mrs Anderson” I give her most charming smile and hold out my
hand.

“Great to meet
you too, Ayden. It’s actually Miss” she shakes my hand. “I’ve never
gotten round to the whole marriage thing yet.” She stands back and
hand gestures. “Why don’t you both come in? I bet you have a
thousand questions you want to ask.” She raises an eyebrow in Jen’s
direction. “I take it your mother has explained what happened?”

“Yes” Jen
replies, the smile drops off her face and she begins to look
confused. “Why are you here, Aunt Mel?”

“I’ll explain
everything inside, sweetie.” We both follow her inside and through
into a very stylist expensive kitchen. Jen settles down at the
breakfast bar while Melanie prepares the drinks. I take my place
next to Jen, but never take my eyes of Melanie. I don’t know there
is something about her that has put me on guard.

Melanie places
a three glasses of lemonade down and sits opposite me and Jen.
“I’ve been staying here for the last year” she begins. “Your father
wasn’t dealing very well with your mother leaving. In fact, you
could stay he suffered a break down.”

“That wasn’t my
mothers fault” Jen snaps, picking up her drink and taking a sip.
“She had to leave him. He lied to her.”

“She stole all
his money. He even had to sell his business just to keep the
house.”

“Yes, but you
do know why she left him, don’t you Melanie” I say, my voice a
little icy. I don’t like this Melanie. There is something behind
her reason for being here. After all this was her sister’s home.
She looks like Jen’s mom, but an older version. This makes me think
maybe Jen’s dad has her here as some sort of substitute.

“Of course I
do” she smiles sweetly in Jen’s direction. I know behind that smile
is some sinister motive. “What ever your mother has said about your
father is beyond the truth. Everything he did was for her, Lacey
and you. Things did get out of control and he messed up.”

“Where is he?”
Jen abruptly asks.

“He’s away for
a while.”

“How long?”

“I am not sure”
she shrugs. She places her glass down and looks down at her watch.
“Is that the time? I really should be heading off out.” She stands
up from the breakfast bar and begins to clean away the glasses.
“You should both come over for dinner tonight.”

“Can’t you tell
me where my father is?” Jen says sadly.

“I would if I
knew where he was, sweetie.” She walks over to Jen and places an
arm round her shoulder. “Come over tonight and we can catch up.”
She looks over at me. “You too, Ayden.”