“I’ll be okay,” I assure him, and he finally takes the money, not without a few grumbles under his breath, though.

The cold air hits me as soon as I exit the vehicle. It was a warm day today, but the temperature always drops at night, and it’s even worse out here so close to the sea. I sneak around the corner of a building and watch as Jay parks his car and gets out. I quietly follow him as he walks across to another building, down the side, and around to a secluded corner. I hover by the other end of the building, and that’s when I see the men. There are about four of them, but only one steps forward to greet Jay. The others hang back, their postures belying some sort of security or bodyguard work.

The main guy is wearing a suit, but I don’t let that fool me. He’s got the look of a bad egg, a shoddy neck tattoo peeking out of his collar.

This isn’t what I’d been expecting at all. I’d been expecting something bad, but I think this might be worse. There’s no mistaking the dangerous, criminal air about the men Jay’s meeting with, and the mysterious, anonymous nature of THE TEXT makes it that much more worrisome.

Words are exchanged, but I’m too far away to hear. Everything seems to be going well, despite the shady location and nature of the meeting. But then it looks like the conversation is turning heated, Jay’s stance growing defensive as the man he’s talking with starts gesturing with his hands.

The bodyguards move closer to the two, surrounding the man who I’m imagining is their boss. Jay puts a hand up in a gesture that I’m thinking says calm down, then reaches inside his pocket. I catch my breath, because when he does, all three of the bodyguards whip out their guns. Guns!

My pulse is going ninety.

Jay doesn’t bat an eyelid, and when his hand emerges from his pocket, he hands something to the main guy that looks like a credit card or a key card of some sort. The man takes it and says a few words, and then he and Jay shake on it.

It seems the meeting is over when the men turn to leave in the opposite direction that Jay came from. When Jay turns around to return to his car, my heart jumps, and I scurry to find a hiding spot. Without thinking, I rush inside the abandoned building and hide behind a stack of wooden crates. I put my hand to my chest, willing myself to calm down.

I stay like that for about five minutes, waiting to make sure Jay’s definitely gone. It’s so dark in here that I can hardly see a thing. Getting up from my crouched position, I pull my phone from my pocket, hoping the light from the screen will illuminate my way out. When the light comes on and I hold the phone up in front of me, I let out a startled yelp to see Jay standing there, watching me with a furious expression.

I’ve been caught.

Note to self: Never try to out-trick a trickster.

The look in his eyes is murderous, and for some reason I don’t feel safe. I guess that’s because he’s associating with men who carry guns, which means he’s not the person I thought he was at all. Does he carry a gun?

“WHAT.THE.FUCK? What are you doing here, Matilda?” His voice is deep, raspy, and thoroughly pissed. He takes several long strides toward me, backing me up into a wall before slamming his hands down on either side of my head.

“I, uh…I came to ask if you, eh, if you saw my calculator anywhere. I seem to have lost it.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he swears, and I wince at my ridiculously obvious lie. “Did you follow me? How did you know to come here?”

I close my eyes and answer shakily, “I’m sorry. I read your text. I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me.”

He exhales a long breath, and I open my eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. I would never hurt you.”

“That’s…that’s good.”

“But coming here was a seriously stupid thing to do, and I can’t pretend I’m not angry.”

“Who were those men?” I ask, swallowing.

Jay cocks an eyebrow. “Oh, no way. You’re the one in the wrong here. You don’t get to ask questions.”

“They looked shifty, like criminals. I don’t understand why you would be meeting up with people like that.”

“Necessary evils are everywhere in this world, Watson. And I’m not explaining this to you. Not now. You shouldn’t even be here.”

I move to walk away, but he blocks me, his hand clasping my shoulder. “Oh, no, you don’t.”

“I’m going home.”

“Yeah, but I’m taking you.” His hand slides from my shoulder to my neck, gripping me tight and guiding me away from the wall. My anxiety levels skyrocket as he silently guides me out of the abandoned building and toward the spot where he parked his car.

“There are all sorts of low-lifes around here, Matilda. Junkies, homeless people. The kind who wouldn’t think twice about hurting an innocent woman when she walks brainlessly into their territory. Shit, anything could have happened to you.”

We’re at his car now. He reaches around me to open the back door before guiding me in, his hand still on my neck. He slams the door shut and then walks around to the front, sliding into the driver’s seat.

“I saw the text you got earlier, and I thought it sounded like…like a booty call or something. That’s why I followed you. I had no idea it was going to be something like this.” I pause, my voice growing hushed, frightened. “Those men pulled guns on you, Jay.”

His eyes grow soft for a moment when he looks at me through the mirror. “A booty call? You thought that?”

I shrug, embarrassed now. “I jumped to conclusions. I do that sometimes.”

“I’m not that kind of person.”

“I know that now.” The question is, Jason, are you another sort of person? The sort who doesn’t bat an eyelid when a firearm is pointed at them. And that brings about a whole other barrel of connotations.

The problem is, not one of those connotations changes the strength of my feelings for him, and that’s the scary part.

He stares at me for a long moment before continuing, “And about the other thing, it was just a little misunderstanding. They weren’t going to shoot me. And I’ll say it again just in case you’ve forgotten. You weren’t supposed to be here.” He slams his hands down on the steering wheel, growing angry again. “Fuck, I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you.” His eyes meet mine, and something inside me melts.

“You’re so important to me, Matilda. More than you know.”

I sniff and look away, unable to deal with the emotions his words evoke in me. All I can manage is another, “I’m sorry,” and, “I’ve learned my lesson. It won’t happen again.”

The next thing I know, he’s climbing through the gap between the two front seats and crowding me into the back. I shimmy away, unsure of his intent, until my head hits the window on the other side. He cages me with his body, lifting my thighs so he can fit himself between them.

His hot breath hits my ear when he murmurs, “Nah, I don’t think you’ve learned it yet, but you will.” And then, quick as a flash, he flips me over so that I’m lying face down. He grinds his obvious erection into my rear, and I gasp in surprise.

“Jay,” I exclaim, half indignant, half turned on.

“What?”

“We’re in your car. In public.”

“It’s hardly public here, but yeah, we are in my car. In fact, I really like being in my car with you.”

His fingers slip under the waist of my black jeans as his other hand pulls off my hat, my hair falling out. “Look at this fuckin’ outfit. Could you be any cuter?”

“Whatever you’re doing, stop. This isn’t happening. Not here,” I protest, my voice far too breathy for my liking. I should be focusing on the fact that he still hasn’t told me what he’s been up to. I can’t focus, though, not when he’s got his hands on me.

He pinches my hip and continues yanking down my jeans. When he reaches around me to harshly stroke between my legs, my brain shuts off, and I moan.