Page 3 of Reckless

“I said give me a bag. I paid for these things, and I need something to carry them.”

“I don’t have to give you shit.”

Setting the items on the counter, Jazz leaned forward and growled, “Either give me a bag, or I’m coming across this counter. You don’t want that. Trust me.”

Her glaring eyes locked with his. In spite of the fact that he was twice as big as she was and could clearly have knocked her into next year, he backed away. Grabbing a plastic bag, he threw her items into it and shoved it toward her. “There. Happy?”

Taking it from him, she replied quietly, “No.”

She walked out the door, her dignity restored. However, the instant she was outside, the anxiety returned. So much for not wanting to call attention to herself. What if he called the police on her? What if there were cameras in the store and someone somewhere recognized her? Brody had told her that Arthur was likely looking for them.

Cursing her temper, she zoomed down the sidewalk toward the apartment. It was almost four in the morning. People would soon be on the streets. If she was caught, there was no telling where she would end up. Brody would never be able to find her.

As if all the devils in hell were after her, Jazz raced home. She tried her best to keep to the shadows, but her biggest priority was getting back to the apartment as quickly as possible. Since most of her money had been used for this one small trip, she needn’t worry about leaving the apartment again. Hopefully, Brody would be back soon, and everything could get back to normal.

The thought that he might have come back while she was gone made her run even faster. Suddenly convinced that Brody had returned home, she became more excited the closer she got. He must be so worried about her.

Heart racing, Jazz reached the strip joint and flew up the steps to the apartment. Her hand shaking with excitement, it took three tries before she could get the key into the lock. When she finally turned the doorknob, she had a huge smile on her face, somehow sure that Brody had indeed come home.

The instant she stepped inside, she knew all the excitement had been for nothing. The room was empty. The note she’d put on the counter was untouched. Silence permeated the small area, and Jazz had never felt more alone in her entire life.

Ten days later, she was back at the store with her measly two dollars and ninety-eight cents clutched tightly in her hand. She had deliberately gone on a different night than before in hopes that the same clerk wouldn’t be working. No such luck.

This time, though, he seemed much more interested in her than before. She was hyperalert already, and every one of her senses was telling her to leave. Problem was, she had no food left. She told herself if she hurried, it wouldn’t be an issue. Besides, with the small amount of cash she had, she couldn’t buy much anyway.

“Anything I can help you find?”

In the midst of reaching for a pint of milk, Jazz froze. Why was the clerk suddenly so helpful?

Without looking at him, she said, “No, thanks.”

Hurriedly grabbing the milk, she figured she had just enough money for a small bag of rice. Probably not the most nutritional thing to eat, but if she limited herself to a small bowl a day with a few ounces of milk, she figured she could go at least another week before things became dire.

She put her two items on the counter and waited for the clerk to ring them up. He picked up each item and examined them as if he’d never seen them before.

“Is something wrong?”

“No.” He grinned, showing off stained, yellow teeth. “Just making sure there aren’t any defects. You never know.”

“Can you hurry up?”

“Sure. Sure.” He rang up the milk and then slowly slipped it into a bag. “You need another bag for the rice?”

“No. One bag will do.”

“Okay. Let’s see. That’ll be two dollars and twenty-seven cents.”

Jazz quickly placed the money on the counter and then went to take grab the bag. The clerk held it away from her and said, “Let me get you your ticket.”

“Not necessary.” She grabbed the bag from him and ran out of the store. His helpful attitude had been way too weird. She hadn’t wanted to wait around to see how much weirder he could get.

She took off at a run and immediately slammed into a giant, hard chest. Bouncing backward, she looked up into the face of the scariest-looking man she’d ever seen.

“Hey there, little girl. Where you going?”

She took in his appearance all at once—beady brown eyes, pockmarked face, thick lips, his body the size of a gorilla.

If he got hold of her, she wouldn’t be getting away from him. She did the only thing she knew to do—what Brody had instructed her to do if any man ever grabbed her. Thankful for her thick running shoes and her ability to move quickly, Jazz backed up and gave his crotch the hardest kick she could manage.