Jake bursts out in laughter. “I can say the same for you too. You look like candy on a stick, and I just want to lick you all over.”
I suddenly get excited at the prospect. “Yes please.”
He comes over to me and kisses me gently. “Don’t tempt me. Are you ready? It’s seven-twenty.” Nodding my head, we make our way downstairs.
Once we eat, we shout goodbye to Matthew, who by the time we are leaving is up and getting ready for school. When I enter the garage, the heat hits me. I have been cooped up in a lovely air-conditioned house for so long I forgot all about how hot it really is out there.
As we get in the car and he starts the engine, Jake grabs my hand, making me look his way. “Are you ready?”
I know he’s asking because of all the shit at work. I nod. “Ready.”
The garage door opens, and we immediately see a squad car outside. As we drive out, we give them a small wave. “Why are they still here?”
“I just want them here until Matthew leaves. He’s going to make sure the house is locked up tight before he heads off to school. I’ve already told him to text me the minute he gets to school, so I know he’s okay.” I nod in agreement. “I’m not taking any chances with this, Ana. Not until it’s finished.”
Once Jake’s parked in his spot, we make our way inside, greeted by everyone along the way. Jake touches my arm goodbye before making his way to the office. I know he feels uneasy about not being able to simply kiss me on the cheek. I guess it’s for the best. With my mother just gone a few weeks it looks bad, but with this killer fixated on me it’s even worse. In a sense, I feel pissed that we have to appease this killer. It’s almost as if we’re trying to calm a petulant child.
I sigh, knowing that life still has to move forward, so I carry on, walking over to where my desk is. An eagerly awaiting Jessie is sitting perched on the edge of her chair. She looks radiant with her red locks bouncing from her fair, rounded face.
“Wow, look at you. You look radiant.”
I chuckle. “Funnily enough, I was just thinking the same thing about you, my dear.”
“I know,” she beams. “I think being in love suits me, don’t you?”
I gasp. “Jessie and Jerry are getting serious?”
She nods. “Yes, who would have thought I would fall for a guy called Jerry Maguire, but he’s perfect. We can’t keep our hands off each other—” She then stops herself suddenly, cocking her eyebrow. “Hey, never mind that for now. Speaking of keeping hands off, spill goddammit! Do you know how hard it has been, waiting to hear everything that has been happening with you during the last three days? You’re driving me crazy!”
A giggle erupts from my lips. “Okay, but first come with me for a coffee. It’s quieter in the kitchen.”
We make our way over to the small room and get ourselves those well-needed coffees. Luckily, we’re on our own.
I turn to her once my coffee’s poured. “It all started on Wednesday night. Jake and I were on his sofa, and we were barely able to contain ourselves.”
Jessie’s eyes bulge. “No shit! Go on.”
“Well, I don’t know how he managed it, but he threw himself off me and started babbling about how what we were doing was wrong, blah, blah, blah. I was just sitting there—horny as hell—and he threw that at me. Naturally, I was pissed. The next day, he was angry with me for flirting with Matthew’s friends, and then, somehow, we ended up having sex. But even then, he still felt it was all wrong.” I took a much-needed breath after my long monologue before continuing. “Well, long story short, your plan worked, and the next minute we were on the table in the kitchen, in his bed, in the shower, in the bed again, in the jacuzzi … I think you get my drift.”
Jessie gapes at me, stunned. “Wow, you little slut, you! You never told me anything. I noticed you were very quiet most of the time, and I thought you were just very introverted. But now, here you are walking into the office, looking well and truly fucked, and you’re telling me how many times Mr. Boss-Man shagged you over the weekend.” We both erupt in a flurry of giggles. “Seriously though, you look even more fantastic than normal. Jake is obviously good for you. I think the men here will be all over you even more now than they were before … until they know, that is. Are you going to tell everyone?”
I’m suddenly confused by what she’s said. “What do you mean ‘all over me even more now’?”
“Well, you’ll be oozing sex from every pore. Men can sense that, you see. Notice when you’re single and nothing happens, and as soon as you find a man they’re all sniffing round you? Well, that will be you.”
I take a sip of my coffee, thinking on what Jessie said. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re wiser than your years—or that you also have a serious potty-mouth disorder?”
She smiles cheekily at me. “It’s a gift, I think, but you can kiss my ass with the potty mouth. Anyway, why are you keeping this all a secret anyway? It’s not really your dad you’re banging, is it? You do know that’s against the law, right?”
I screw up my face in disgust. “Jessie, that’s just … ugh! Shut up. That’s just sick.”
She laughs hard, squeezing my arm. “I’m only kidding.” She pauses for a moment. “So tell me what else has been happening. Why did Tom know before I did?” I sigh, telling her about what happened after the barbecue. “The Blonde Killer is obsessed with you? Who could it be? Do you suspect anyone?”
I cringe at the thought of Alan, but I can’t tell Jessie this, not if I’m hiding it from Jake. It wouldn’t be fair. I’m not sure whether she would be able to keep that sort of thing secret anyway. I have Agent Marcos on it, so if that’s a lead, I’m fairly certain I will know soon enough.
“No, I have no idea. I can’t understand why he needs to create such a fuss over me. I’m nothing special, after all.”
Jessie shakes her head at me, clearly unhappy with my remarks, but doesn’t say anything further.
As we both take an appreciative sip of our coffee, Tom walks in. “Wow, I walk into a room and see two beautiful women standing before me. It must be all my Christmases and birthdays rolled into one.”
I roll my eyes at the same time Jessie shakes her head. “Tom, you really are a slime ball, you know that?”
He looks offended. “I just paid you a compliment. Can’t a guy pay you both compliments?”
“Not when the person complimenting just wants to get with everyone who has a skirt and panties, it’s not,” Jessie snorts. “You’re a male version of a whore, Mr. Pendleton.” I start laughing, and Tom just shrugs his shoulders with a smile. He clearly thought that was a compliment.
Jessie smirks. “How is Debra by the way? Are you still sleeping with that poor girl? I don’t know what she sees in you, to be honest, but I suppose some girls have to get it somewhere. I just thought she’d have better taste.”
Debra’s a policewoman, and I knew nothing about this. “What else am I not being told around here? Tom, you’re holding out on me.”
He smiles and winks at me. “Only because the girl I really want doesn’t seem to want me.”