Page 41 of Dark Reasons

My phone buzzes loudly all over again. He steers the car on the road at a violent speed, tossing me in my seat; I scream in surprise. Jamison exits the Freeway like he's on a mission, tires screeching from the angled turns. The brakes punch, the engine cutting, and before I can gather myself, he's reaching in my purse. "Hey!" I argue, trying to stop him.

Jamison ignores my swipes, clasping my phone, reading the screen. Panic swells up, making me fight harder—he doesn't care, not even when my nails scrape his cheek. "I knew it," he growls. "You were playing me all along."

"I wasn't! You don't understand!"

He thrusts my own phone at me, showing me the name flashing. "Los Angeles PD? You're trying to get me arrested."

"You're wrong! I swear!"

His laugh is awful... more beast than human, more crude than mirth. He throws my phone to the floor at my feet, reaching for my throat. I manage to block him, so he catches my arm instead. Jamison isn't bothered, he slaps my limb against the window, holding me there. I can see out the glass—we're under an overpass. Nobody will know what he does to me. "Didn't even wait until Caruso was dead. Was that all a distraction? Did you just want me to take the fall for Sanford? Tell me!"

"That's all wrong!" I shout desperately. "I never—"

"Then why call them? I'm not an idiot, Selena!Why call them?"

My voice breaks from my scream. "They calledme!"

Jamison rips away like I'm too hot to touch. There isn't anywhere to go in the car, but this movement helps me breathe easier. "What?" he asks.

"They started calling me last night," I say, shuddering. I rub where he gripped me, cradling my arm to my chest. "When you left to get food. They have video of me at the hotel, like you said they would. I don't know how they knew my name, or if they suspect me in the murder or just as a witness, but they asked me to come in and talk. I told them I'd reach out to set up a time. I guess they got antsy."

"I checked your phone last night," he admits. "I thought something was wrong when I looked at the call history. You were talking to someone when I walked in, but there was no call at that time frame."

"I deleted it," I say, shaking my head. "I was too afraid to tell you. I thought you'd freak out and... well."

Jamison strokes his fingers through his hair, leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed. "Selena, I'm sorry."

"You're paranoid. I understand. I am, too." I dart my eyes to my phone at my feet. "There are a lot of things I'm too afraid to talk to you about."

He shifts loudly in the driver's seat. "Like what?"

Like your sister.

I bite my tongue.

"It's okay," he says gently. "I understand. I haven't given you a reason to trust me, not really, and especially not after—well." He gestures broadly. "Ask me when you're ready. I won't pressure you."

I don't know if there's ever going to be an easy way to ask what I want to."What do we do about the police?"

"I'll think of something."

"More planning, then," I chuckle weakly.

Jamison's eyes warm over, but his smile has no heart in it. "You wouldn't believe how much planning goes into getting away with murder."

"I guess I'm about to learn."

He muses over that, then starts the car. "I'll tell you this. If I knew about the police this morning, I wouldn't have offered you a chance at backing out."

"Then, that was real? You weren't just trying to scare me by letting me know you could have me killed at any time?"

Casting a look so offended I shrivel, Jamison drives us onto the Freeway with the rows of other cars. We fit into the flow naturally. Nobody looking in would guess who Jamison really is. They'd have no idea what I'm praying to do with my time here on Earth.

I study Jamison as we move along... wondering what I'm supposed to think about this man known as the Silencer. Both of us have lied to each other. Neither of us likes it. Even so, we'll keep doing it. We don't have a choice.

He was ready to kill me.

The look in his eyes as he threw my phone, calling me a liar, will haunt me.

And I wonder... even as I wish I didn't...

If that's the last thing I'll see when our contract ends.

End of Part 1