Page 10

Jason

“...We’re fucked.”

She was right. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, she was right.

I’ve been with a fair share of women in my life, but never have I felt what I felt tonight with Eve. Not just because the sex was great, but on another, instinctual level. Something inside us clicked, despite my best attempts at keeping myself hidden from her.

She saw it, though. For a brief moment, I felt my resolve crack, felt emotions I haven’t felt in years bubble to the surface. Emotions that I can’t afford to feel, and a sense of attachment that I shouldn’t dare to explore. In my line of work, it’s too dangerous to get close to someone, despite how much you may trust them or care for them. I’ve seen it myself, plenty of times, with the souls strapped to my table: family men who seemed perfect on the outside until the day they raped and killed innocent women. Mothers who were members of the PTA and leader of their Girl Scout troop, until they drowned their children and blamed it on every excuse in the book, rather than admit that they were demented, twisted and psychotic from the start.

Eve doesn’t deserve that. She doesn’t deserve to be with someone who is hiding such a dark secret, who would treat her with compassion during the day, only to turn and treat the next human with murderous malice at night.

I feel her head lift from my neck as she slowly slides off of my lap and navigates her way back to her seat, pulling her dress down and fishing for her jacket. She is silent, the look on her face contemplative, and as she slides on her coat I see her lips twitching. The muscles in her jaw dance under her skin as if she’s talking to herself.

“Eve…are you alright?”

She looks over at me, shaking her head slightly as she smiles halfheartedly at me.

“Yeah I’m fine, Jason, I promise.”

I don’t ask her why her words sound hollow, or why she seems withdrawn right now. Instead I study her face as I tuck myself back into my pants, zipping them and brushing my lap. My pants are soaked with evidence of her orgasm, and I can’t help but to smile inwardly at the thought of her shattering to pieces on top of me.

“Eve, I meant to ask: inside the club earlier, Jack mentioned you by name. The kid at the door recognizing you, I understand. But have you spoken to Jack often?”

Eve finds her keys, sliding them into the ignition and letting them sit there.

“Those few times I came to Clover, Jack would come up to check in with Derek at the bar now and then, have a chat and such. Jack is a funny motherfucker,” she adds, “But I’ve seen that guy grab a man built like a football linebacker by the shoulders, pick him up clear off the ground and toss him out of the club…I wouldn’t want to mess with him.”

I smile to myself, nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, not a lot of people survive that,”

Eve starts the car, and as we roll the windows down to vent out the heat and defog the windows, I see the silhouette of a man standing down near the back entrance of Clover. Furrowing my brows, I squint to try and make out who it is, the dim overhead lights near the loading dock doing very little to illuminate his face. Eve doesn’t seem to notice him, and as she puts the car in drive and begins to take us back to the front of the club. For a second I catch a flash of gold from the man’s wrists, and I grit my teeth as the man disappears from view.

I really need to have a talk with Ace later.

Eve pulls up in front of Clover, parking next to my car and hopping out. I follow suit, straightening my jacket and walking over to my driver’s side door. She walks up close to me, and despite her hair being a mess and her makeup smeared around her eyes, her skin is flushed and glowing.

She really can’t look bad, even if she tried.

As I put my keys in the door and unlock it, I hear laughing echoing from behind us. I turn to face Eve, scanning the parking lot as I do and noticing a truck parked a little ways back, a group of men standing outside it. Their eyes are fixated on Eve as they talk and smoke, one of them pointing and nodding and the others smiling and laughing together.

I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end as I glare their way. I’ve always been able to tell who the real dregs to society are, whose souls are the blackest, and I get an incredibly bad vibe from these guys.

“Eve,” I say as I keep my eyes on them. I wrap my arms around her, giving her a hug as I continue to stare at the men behind her. “Make sure you get home safe. Be aware of what’s around you, ok?”

She looks up at me and sees me staring over her head. Turning in my arms, it only takes her a moment to see the men nearby, and she chuckles.

“Oh I’m not worried about them. I bet they’re probably just some drunk college kids that recognize me from the memorial or something.”

“Right,” I say, not wanting to worry her. “Well either way, just be careful.”

She turns back to look at me with a smile.

“Worried about me already, Jason?”

I don’t tell her yes. I don’t tell her that I feel bonded to her, that I feel oddly protective of her. I don’t tell her that despite only knowing her for a couple weeks, I’d already do anything for her.

Instead I grunt, kissing her forehead and loosening my embrace.

“Well call me this week, ok? I don’t want you to forget about me,” she says with a wink as she turns and walks back to her car.

My eyes follow her until I hear the sound of doors slamming behind me: I wait until she’s safely in her car and starting the engine before I turn and notice the men putting out their cigarettes and getting in their truck.

No. No, you’d better not be doing what I fucking think you’re doing…

As Eve pulls out of her parking spot and makes her way out of the lot, the truck engine rumbles to a start and pulls forward, passing me slowly as the driver stares at me. He can’t be more than 40, dirty hair and thick brows: something in his eyes is familiar to me, it’s a look that I’ve seen dozens of times before in the faces of the men on my table. The look of someone who’s gotten away with something irreprehensible, who keeps getting away with it and who is confident in his ability to continue on unhindered.

The truck passes me, and I pull my phone from my pocket as I take note of the plate. I pull up my text messages and click on Ace’s name, pulling up the thread and sending him the plate info.

Staring at the truck as it leaves the parking lot, I feel my phone vibrate with a reply as I look down at the texts.

GOT IT.

That’s one thing about Ace: he knows I don’t text him frivolously, he knows I don’t just send him cryptic messages without a reason. And after years of working together, he trusts my intuition when it comes to sensing the evil in people.

My phone buzzes alive in my hand and my heart stops as I think the worst. I answer without looking at the caller I.D.

“Jason? Hey man, what’s good?” Ace’s voice cuts through the background noise of the club as I hear shuffling over the phone.

“Hey boss, what’s up? Did that plate bring back any hits?” I don’t even notice I’m pacing on the sidewalk as I keep looking down the street where the truck disappeared.

“Check your messages, brother, I’m sending you a photo.”

My phone vibrates as a text message comes through, and I pull up a photo of a driver’s license. It’s a young black man, not at all the person I saw driving the truck moments ago.

“J, was this the guy driving the truck?”

“Nah,” I say, the image of the driver burned into my mind. “The guy driving was some middle aged white dude who looked like he had some skeletons in his closet for sure.”

I hear typing in the background as he falls silent for a moment.

“Aight, well it hasn’t been reported stolen yet: did you see anyone else in the truck, anyone who fits the description of the guy on the driver’s license?”

I shake my head to myself.

“No, they all looked redneck as fuck.”

Silence.

“Ok man,” Ace says, the phone picking up the background noise of the club. It sounds like he’s walking through it right now, his voice sounding muffled by the music. “Wait for me outside for a minute.”

“Ok I’m gonna make a call really quick, I’ll see you in a sec.”

I hang up the phone and immediately call Eve.

RING RING

No answer. I feel my heart beat a little harder as I wait for her to pick up.

RING RING

Eve, girl, pick up the damn phone.

RING RI–

“Jason? Miss me already?”

The smile in her voice would be cute, if I wasn’t so worried about her.

“Eve, where are you?”

“I’m almost home…why, what’s up? Did you forget something in my car?”

I sigh in momentary relief, but I know better than to think she’s totally in the clear.

“No,” I reply, putting her on speaker so I can thumb back to my texts and review the driver’s license Ace sent me. “Did you notice a lifted truck leaving the parking lot after you? Did you see if it followed you at all?”

A moment of silence.

“Jason, I’m sure a lot of people were coming and going from the club, I didn’t really stop to make note of a specific car. Why? What’s going on?”

I huff to myself. Of course she wouldn’t think to be aware of things like that. Eve’s too confident to be paranoid, there’s no way she would care about a truck driving in the same direction.

“Just…Just keep an eye out, ok? It’s a silver 4-door crew cab.”

Silence again.

“You mean, the truck that belonged to those guys that were staring at us?” Her voice wavers slightly as she clears her throat.

I cock my head reactively, taken slightly by surprise. So she WAS paying attention.

Good girl.

“Yes, that truck. I didn’t like the way they were staring and pointing at you, and they got in and left right after you did. Went the same direction and everything.”

“Ok,” she says, her voice changing slightly: it’s not fear I hear, but more so concern. A heightened sense of urgency. “I’m approaching my exit on the highway right now, and I do see a silver truck a ways back…stay on the phone with me, I’ll keep you posted.”

My chest warms slightly, burning away a bit of the cold sense of worry that was thickening my airway. The fact that she is willing to stay on the line and keep me updated is reassuring. A show of trust that I don’t take for granted.

“Jason? Jason, they followed me off of the exit.”

As soon as that warm feeling came, a chill swept in to take its place, my heart suddenly still in my ribs as I sit up in my seat.

“Eve, STAY ON THE PHONE WITH ME and listen to what I’m about to tell you. We need to see if it’s just a coincidence, or if they’re actually following you. Go to the nearest gas station, park and see what they do. Keep me on the line.”

I go quiet as I hear hushed noises in the background, the sound of wind seeping through her window and the sound of her putting her car in park a few moments later.

Something in my peripheral catches my attention, and as I look up I see Ace standing in front of my car, phone in hand and eyes on me. I hold up my finger to him, asking him to wait.

“Are you at the gas station?”

“Yes, right in front of the building. They pulled in, drove past the pumps behind my car, slowed, then waited at the driveway for a moment before pulling out and turning down the nearby street.”

Her voice is steady, but the concern that was in her voice has heightened, her pitch higher than before.

“Eve, I want you to wait for a moment before leaving. How far away from your home are you right now?”

Ace remains silent, thumbing through his phone before putting it in his pocket and pulling out another device, opening an icon that pulls up a map of the city. His fingers swipe frantically as he navigates a few windows simultaneously, pinching and pulling at his screen until he finds what he’s looking for, and shows me the screen.

It’s a zoomed in map of a part of town, and in the middle is a little blue circle that is pulsing rhythmically. Above the circle is a three letter word.

EVE.

I nearly break my neck looking up at Ace, my eyes wide as he smiles at me and shrugs.

“Jason, did you hear me?”

I keep my eyes on Ace. “I’m sorry Eve, what did you say?”

She clears her throat, and I don’t know if it’s to stem her nerves, or to silently voice her irritation at my lack of attention.

“I said I’m a few blocks from home. I’m going to head over there and get inside.”

I’m not comfortable with that idea. Not at all.

“Eve,” I say sternly. “I’d rather you stayed on the phone with me: those guys may not know where you live, but I don’t want to take that chance and I’d rather be here if they are.”

She chuckles, and I hear the white noise of wind again as she drives home.

“Jason, I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl, I know how to take care of myself.”

I sigh. This woman really doesn’t know how much I care about her.

Maybe I don’t even know myself.

“Princess,” my tone softens. “Please. Put me in your pocket if you need, but please stay on the phone with me until you’re inside with the doors locked.”

“Well, when you ask so nicely…” she says, and I don’t need to see her to know she’s grinning. She really does like it when I beg, and if ever there was a time to get her to do what I ask, now is the time. For her safety, I’ll beg on all fours.

While I wait for Eve to give me the OK, I mute my phone and look over at Ace.

“Dude…Ace…am I drunk or are you TRACKING Eve right now?”

Ace smiles at me again, glancing down at the device to keep an eye on Eve’s location, and then back to me.

“Jason, monitoring you and the rest of the Suits has nothing to do with my lack of trust in you. It’s to keep you safe, to make sure I know where y’all are in case of retaliation, of the off chance that someone recognizes you from your shows and tries to find you. I know you know this.”

I nod curtly. The tracking, the bugging of our phones, the cameras in our workplaces and homes: it all comes with the territory.

“Believe it or not,” he continues. “I’m not the only one who knows cybersecurity...or how to circumvent it. And I refuse to take chances with my crew.”

I look at the device in his hand and motion to it.

“But why EVE, man?” I’m grateful, but curious. “She’s not a Suit, she’s not one of us.”

“I know, J, I know. But I know you mean something to this girl, and she means something to you.”

He leans over and elbows me, almost playfully.

“I mean, if you didn’t mean something to each other before your session in the car, I’m sure you do now!”

My head shakes so hard my neck cracks as I bring my hand to my forehead, rubbing it firmly.

“I fucking KNEW it was you out back. What, do you have some sort of fetish for watching people fuck?”

No sooner did the words escape my lips than I instantly regret them. I know what Ace has been through when he worked for the government, and the horrible things he’d have to watch and analyze. Murder and torture, horrific trafficking, rape and snuff porn videos, the worst of humanity. The LAST thing Ace would have is a voyeur fetish.

Ace gets quiet, noticing the regret in my face as eyes dart to the ground in shame. Clearing his throat, he looks down at the device and points.

“J, she’s stopped.”

I follow his eyes to his device and unmute my phone.

“Eve, can you hear me? Are you home yet?”

Key jingle and I hear the sound of doors opening and closing…then a slight shuffling of static.

“Jason? Jason you there? I’m home.”

My shoulders drop as I breathe a huge sigh of relief.

“Ok, good, that’s good. Thank you for staying on the phone, Princess. I appreciate you doing that for me.”

She responds playfully as I hear the sound of a shower turning on and rustling of fabric.

“And I appreciate you doing what you did for me earlier. Call us even!”

I chuckle nervously, looking up at Ace, not telling Eve that she was on speaker and that my boss could hear everything.

Ace rolls his lips in between his teeth, biting down and stifling a laugh.

I cough to clear my throat, running my hand through my hair and remembering how Eve had done the same just a little while ago.

“Well take care, and just be extra observant the next few days, ok? I don’t want to have to kill somebody for fucking with you.”

Eve will take that as a joke, but I know better. I know I actually meant it.

I know I would quite literally kill for that woman.

She scoffs slightly,

“Jason, the only person fucking with me right now, is you. Now let me go take a shower, I smell like you and it’s maddening.”

The line clicks as she hangs up, and Ace bursts out in a laugh.

“MAAAAAAAN, what in the high school fuckery is this?!”

I stare at Ace blankly as he claps me on the back and puts his device in his pocket, turning to head back to Clover.

“Oh, and J?” Ace hollers back over his shoulder.

“Stay sharp with that one, bro. She’s more like you than you think…”