Page 40 of Desperate Temptations

J essa sat back in her chair, her eyes closed, rubbing circles on her temples, trying to ward off a headache she could feel starting.

She was frustrated. This divorce case she was on was not going well.

Both parties wanted everything, not wanting the other to get anything in the settlement, and were very vocal about it.

An officer had to be in the room with them during negotiations because it had turned physical between them a few times.

It looked like they would have to take this in front of a judge.

The case was lasting far longer than it was supposed to.

How two people who’d once loved each other enough to get married could hate each other this much saddened her.

If she didn’t know good marriages did exist, cases like this would make it impossible for her to justify getting married again. Yeah, she could see herself married to Cain. He’d become a large part of her life, the most significant part. If she wasn’t with him, she was thinking about him.

Jessa hungered for him. Images of him sent a quiver of pure pleasure shimmering over her nerves.

She longed for the security she felt with his arms around her, and the contentment she felt having his lips on her and his cock deep inside her.

She sighed and sat up. The sooner she got her work done, the sooner she’d see him.

Jessa picked up the document and started to highlight the passages she needed to change when a strange, foreboding shiver ran down her spine.

She glanced up and was shocked to see Aubrey, Gary’s ex-wife, standing in the doorway. Aubrey looked more beautiful than ever. The pantsuit she wore clearly showed the weight she’d recently lost. Jessa dropped the pen and paper on the desk, stood, and smiled.

“Hello, Aubrey. It’s been a long time. How have you been?

” Her smile fell when she noticed how unsettled Aubrey seemed to be.

Jessa felt a sick apprehension seep into her veins.

Jessa swallowed, striving to stay calm. She sank back into her chair and folded her hands on top of the desk. “What can I do for you?”

The sheen of sweat on Aubrey’s forehead and temples and the shakiness of her hands showed Jessa just how agitated Aubrey was and how precarious the situation.

“Jessa, you need to come with me,” her voice firm but shaken with nerves.

Blinding fear raced through her system. She gripped the edge of her desk, her knuckles turning white. Jessa tried to breathe, to stay calm.

“I’m sorry, Aubrey, but I’m bogged down with work right now. But we’ll have to get together for lunch soon.”

Aubrey stepped into the office, closed the door behind her, and took a menacing step toward Jessa.

“So, you can call that son of a bitch that’s investigating my husband? No, thanks.” She pulled a small gun from her jacket, pointing it at her. “Let’s go.”

As casually as she could manage, she asked, “Aubrey, please tell me what’s going on?”

“Jessa, get up now, or I’ll make it so much worse for you. Everything will be okay if you come quietly with me. We need to get going,” Aubrey said as she clenched her teeth and seethed with anger.

Jessa’s legs shook as she stood. She snatched her purse off the back of her chair and slowly walked toward her.

“What is this about? I haven’t talked to you in over a year.”

Jessa flinched, holding back a cry when Aubrey grabbed her arm in a tight, painful grip, her fingernails digging in. She cringed at the hot, wet feel of her hand on her arm.

Jessa gasped.

“You’re hurting me,” Jessa whimpered, amazed at the firm grip Aubrey had on her. The woman was only a little bigger than her, but stronger than Jessa would have ever guessed.

Aubrey loosened her grip a bit but didn’t let go. She leaned into Jessa and spoke quietly against her ear. “Listen carefully, we’re going to walk out of here calmly. If you so much as breathe hard, I’ll shoot the closest person and keep shooting until we’re out of here.”

Aubrey’s gaze darted around.

“Okay. Now let’s go.” Aubrey pushed the gun into Jessa’s ribs and used the bulk of her purse to hide it.

As they left the office, Jessa concentrated on walking without falling.

Jessa’s body tensed up as they walked to Leona’s desk. Thankfully, Aubrey spoke, because she didn’t think she’d be able to pull it off.

“Leona, I’m taking Jessa to lunch. I’ll have her back shortly.”

Jessa tried smiling, but knew it came out shaky. She was trying to hold herself together for the sake of the people in the office.

Leona frowned and started to say something. Jessa gave a tiny shake of her head but kept the smile on her face. She wouldn’t have been able to live with Leona dying because of her. She cleared her throat and tried to sound calm.

“If I get any calls, tell them I’ll call them back this afternoon, okay?”

Aubrey immediately pulled her away and walked briskly down the long hallway toward the front door. She attempted to smile at the people who addressed her, but she never tried to stop, wanting to get Aubrey out of the building as quickly as possible before she hurt someone.

Outside, Aubrey pulled her around her car. She opened the driver’s-side door and pushed her into it.

“Stay there, or I’ll start shooting.” She didn’t wait for her reply, just slammed the door and walked around the front of the car, keeping her eyes on her. After getting in, she trained the gun on Jessa while her gaze darted around for any sign that someone would try to stop them.

“Start the car, I’ll tell you where to go.”

She turned the key, shaking so hard she banged her knuckles against the steering wheel, scraping her fingers. She put the car in gear as tears welled in her eyes and her breath caught in her throat.

“Why are you doing this, Aubrey?”

Aubrey looked around while keeping the gun pointed at her. She didn’t answer right away, and her silence unnerved Jessa as much as her hostility did.

Finally, in a voice filled with hate, “I need you out of our lives. Once and for all. You have destroyed my life,” Aubrey growled as an angry flush covered her cheeks.

She paused, then laughed cheerfully. “Besides getting rid of you, I’m going to repay my husband’s debts.

I’m going to use you as payment. For some reason, you’re what the man wants,” Aubrey scoffed.

The cluster of emotions Aubrey had run through in just that short amount of time terrified Jessa and reminded her of some drug-related cases she’d taken.

Jessa took a quick look at Aubrey’s eyes.

God, she almost looked like she was doing drugs.

The emotions, the dark red tint to her skin, her paranoia, and physical twitches and movements leaned toward drug abuse.

She inhaled, hoping a deep breath would help calm her enough to allow her to think. Jessa bit her lip, looking around for anyone who could help her.

She’d always heard to keep them talking. Perhaps if Aubrey truly took a look at Jessa, she’d see a person and not just a means to an end.

“Who are you talking about?”

“Mr. Martinez, of course.” Aubrey laughed bitterly.

She felt bile climb her throat. She swallowed, hoping to keep it down.

“Aubrey, what do you have to do with that man? You know he’s the one who killed Drew, right?”

Aubrey tried to chuckle.

“He’s the other part of the problem Gary has, but that will be taken care of as soon as I get you there.” Her voice hardened against the uncertainty of her situation. “I’ll give you to him, which will pay off Gary’s debt to the bastard and get rid of you in the process. It’s ingenious, I think.”

Jessa tried to stay calm, even when a scream was tearing through her chest and vomiting was burning in the back of her throat.

“Aubrey, please don’t do this. Just tell me what I did to you and I’ll fix it.”

Aubrey looked nervously out the rearview mirror.

“Take a left up here.”

Jessa swallowed the sob that clawed at her throat.

“Please, Aubrey, you know he’ll kill me. Don’t do this. Please.”

She laughed humorously, and a look of disgust twisted her mouth into a sneer. “Not going to happen, bitch. You have caused me enough heartache.”

“What have I ever done to hurt you?”

She turned in her seat, allowing her to look directly at her.

“Gary fell in love with you soon after we all became friends. Did you know that?”

Jessa swallowed. She’d been gone a year and had never seen the way Gary felt.

“I had no idea. My heart belonged to Drew. I never saw another man, and I was never attracted to anyone else.”

Aubrey shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is Gary owes Martinez a lot of money. This is the only way to repay the debt he owes him. He said he’d give me enough money to get Gary and me out of town so we could start over. Take another left up here.”

“What went wrong? What has happened that was bad enough for this?” Jessa wanted to keep her talking as long as she could, hoping something would sink into this crazy woman’s head.

“I’d had enough of sitting back and letting things happen. I wanted to be proactive and help my husband. I wanted to show him I’m here for him and I’d do anything to help him.”

“Have you ever thought he might be angry that you gave me to Martinez, if he cared about me as much as you say he did?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Aubrey shrieked. “Just fucking drive.”