anyway!
T: Funny. Need to find a decent reason
J: Tell her there’s a second target. She won’t know that’s her :)
T: You know how she is with questions
J: Fuck her. That’ll be the last question she’ll ever ask. Bitch should do what’s she’s told. Wouldn’t be dead soon otherwise
T: You gone stupid? This is not encrypted, dumbshit
J: Yeah ok. Talk tomorrow
T: Don’t fuck up
J: :)
Jordan sighed. “Wow. Well I guess there’s no doubt now.”
“Yeah,” Riley agreed, “and now we know why he wanted you to wait a day.”
They continued scrolling for the next messages.
Jacques: Here.
Thomas: Where exactly is here?
J: Comus. Drove past target property.
T: Told Jordan to hold off earlier. She was about to take shot.
J: K. I’m on mountain behind. In car. Gonna go down and take a look. Taking gear just in case
T: Be careful. No idea where she went in meantime
J: Ask her
T: Will ask tomorrow what her plan is for timing. Don’t be seen
J: No shit. Thx for advice
T: And I better get my pics
J: Don’t worry. I want a pic of her with my bullet in her forehead. Will put on wall. Cherish forever
“Fucking asshole!” Jordan suddenly yelled, startling Riley. She jumped to her feet, throwing the phone on the bed. There’d been no shortage of hostility between her and Jake during and after the breakup, though he’d been carefully neutral after her return. But part of her still hadn’t believed he’d meant to kill her today. That was ridiculous, of course, with the multiple shots he’d taken, but a seed of doubt had lived in the back of her mind anyway.
Until now. She wanted to know the reason for it. That she’d scarred his face couldn’t really be enough, could it? Only Thomas could tell her that now, and she swore he’d do exactly that. Just before she killed the son of a bitch.
But what really got to her just now was the idea of her with Jake’s bullet wound in her forehead and a cherished picture of it for him to admire. She’d been objectified before, of course. It practically came with being a woman. But this was a more obscene version of it that had ignited all of her bad emotions about Jake, her first and only boyfriend, the guy who’d taken her virginity at sixteen and taught her everything she knew about love.
Or what she’d believed was love. She’d doubted that after a few years, even before learning he’d been cheating on her. The sting of her foolishness still remained. Now she was glad he’d died here instead of her. If Riley hadn’t saved her life today, she’d never have known Jake had been the one to fire the shot. She turned to look at the Marine, who sat watching her with that softness she’d seen in his eyes right before shooting at him. Jake had never looked at her like that.
Was Riley different? Was any man? How was she supposed to trust one after this? All the years she’d spent alone didn’t seem so bad suddenly. At least she’d had no one to let her down. She’d never let her guard down again without knowing why Jake had wanted to kill her, whether a guy with Riley’s eyes was looking at her like that or not. She almost wished he’d stop it, even though she’d been dying to be looked at that way for as long as she could remember.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked, breaking her thoughts.
She turned away and lied, “Yeah.” Jordan heard him get off the bed and approach, his footfall surprisingly light for a man with his powerful frame.
“It’s not every day we have someone try to kill us. And when it’s so personal.”
She sighed and turned back to him, wanting to pretend he was as kind he seemed to be. “Let’s not talk about it anymore. Is there any more to the texts?”
“No.”
“Okay. We know Thomas isn’t expecting anymore until tomorrow, so let’s look over the phone more then. I think I’ve had enough for today.”
“Then let’s get out of here.”
As they headed for the stairs, she asked, “Is there
T: Funny. Need to find a decent reason
J: Tell her there’s a second target. She won’t know that’s her :)
T: You know how she is with questions
J: Fuck her. That’ll be the last question she’ll ever ask. Bitch should do what’s she’s told. Wouldn’t be dead soon otherwise
T: You gone stupid? This is not encrypted, dumbshit
J: Yeah ok. Talk tomorrow
T: Don’t fuck up
J: :)
Jordan sighed. “Wow. Well I guess there’s no doubt now.”
“Yeah,” Riley agreed, “and now we know why he wanted you to wait a day.”
They continued scrolling for the next messages.
Jacques: Here.
Thomas: Where exactly is here?
J: Comus. Drove past target property.
T: Told Jordan to hold off earlier. She was about to take shot.
J: K. I’m on mountain behind. In car. Gonna go down and take a look. Taking gear just in case
T: Be careful. No idea where she went in meantime
J: Ask her
T: Will ask tomorrow what her plan is for timing. Don’t be seen
J: No shit. Thx for advice
T: And I better get my pics
J: Don’t worry. I want a pic of her with my bullet in her forehead. Will put on wall. Cherish forever
“Fucking asshole!” Jordan suddenly yelled, startling Riley. She jumped to her feet, throwing the phone on the bed. There’d been no shortage of hostility between her and Jake during and after the breakup, though he’d been carefully neutral after her return. But part of her still hadn’t believed he’d meant to kill her today. That was ridiculous, of course, with the multiple shots he’d taken, but a seed of doubt had lived in the back of her mind anyway.
Until now. She wanted to know the reason for it. That she’d scarred his face couldn’t really be enough, could it? Only Thomas could tell her that now, and she swore he’d do exactly that. Just before she killed the son of a bitch.
But what really got to her just now was the idea of her with Jake’s bullet wound in her forehead and a cherished picture of it for him to admire. She’d been objectified before, of course. It practically came with being a woman. But this was a more obscene version of it that had ignited all of her bad emotions about Jake, her first and only boyfriend, the guy who’d taken her virginity at sixteen and taught her everything she knew about love.
Or what she’d believed was love. She’d doubted that after a few years, even before learning he’d been cheating on her. The sting of her foolishness still remained. Now she was glad he’d died here instead of her. If Riley hadn’t saved her life today, she’d never have known Jake had been the one to fire the shot. She turned to look at the Marine, who sat watching her with that softness she’d seen in his eyes right before shooting at him. Jake had never looked at her like that.
Was Riley different? Was any man? How was she supposed to trust one after this? All the years she’d spent alone didn’t seem so bad suddenly. At least she’d had no one to let her down. She’d never let her guard down again without knowing why Jake had wanted to kill her, whether a guy with Riley’s eyes was looking at her like that or not. She almost wished he’d stop it, even though she’d been dying to be looked at that way for as long as she could remember.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked, breaking her thoughts.
She turned away and lied, “Yeah.” Jordan heard him get off the bed and approach, his footfall surprisingly light for a man with his powerful frame.
“It’s not every day we have someone try to kill us. And when it’s so personal.”
She sighed and turned back to him, wanting to pretend he was as kind he seemed to be. “Let’s not talk about it anymore. Is there any more to the texts?”
“No.”
“Okay. We know Thomas isn’t expecting anymore until tomorrow, so let’s look over the phone more then. I think I’ve had enough for today.”
“Then let’s get out of here.”
As they headed for the stairs, she asked, “Is there
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