Page 86 of Ruled Out

“Red fucking fingernails.”

Frantically, I check the screen, panicking that I’ve switched it to video mode.

“Don’t go all quiet on me now, Jessie’s girl.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I push out, my voice shaking.

His laugh is low and evil-sounding. “Since you’re with him right now, I have a favor to ask. Tell him we need a hundred thousand by tomorrow morning. I’ve got a few people I need to keep happy, and they know where to find Jessie if he doesn’t give them what they want.”

My throat runs dry as I look up and see Jessie standing in the en suite doorway, his mouth open and a white towel hanging low on his hips.

“I assume you can do that for me,Sweetheart.That’s what theSin his phone stands for, isn’t it? He used to have a sweetheart a few years back.”

Bile rises up my throat, his insidious voice leaving me cold. “I’ll let him know.”

“You do that.”

The call cuts, and I drop the phone into my lap.

“Who was that?” Jessie asks, slowly walking toward me.

“He wants a hundred thousand, Jessie,” I whisper. “He got himself mixed up with loan sharks or something, and he needs you to pay them off.” My voice cracks as trembles set in.

Scratching his nails down the side of his face, he looks down at his phone in my lap. “You answered the call?” He looks concerned, but his voice is sharp.

“I-I wasn’t thinking.”

“Did you tell him who you were? Anything about you?” Reaching forward, he grabs the phone, clicks a few buttons, and tosses it back on the bed. “Mia.”

I straighten at his tone. “No. I just said I was a friend. He said something about red fingernails and called me Sweetheart. He said you used to have a sweetheart a few years back.” I cover my face with my palms. “If you don’t pay by the morning, he’s going to give these men your address.”

“Fuck!” he shouts, his towel dropping from the floor as he scrambles for his wallet.

“You can’t pay him, Jessie. No matter how much he demands, he’ll always want more. It’ll never be enough.”

His breathing is erratic, and when I reach out and grab his hand, his skin is ice cold.

“I can help you work all this out. I promise. Does Will have something to do with this?”

He snatches his hand away as his eyes fill with tears. “How do you know about Will?”

I sit back in bed and bring the duvet up to my neck. “When I answered the call, it was your mom. She called you Will. Your dad grabbed the phone from her and started screaming.”

“I need to get home,” Jessie rushes out, not looking up as he starts shoving clothes into his overnight bag.

“Jessie, you can’t just leave. Everyone will start asking questions.”

He stops packing and looks up at me, the shattered look in his eyes returning. My heart cracks clean down the center.

Please don’t. Not again.

“I need to make some calls. Go to sleep, Mia.”

“Jessie,” I plead, “don’t shut me out.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose and holds up a hand, the eagle over his rib cage more visible since the bruising has completely faded. “Just … leave it, okay?”

“Jessie—”