I Should Have Stayed

Chapter 17

"No! I don't care! Where the hell is he?!"

The man on the other end started rambling on and I had no clue what he was talking about.

"Shut the fuck up! Listen to me! Tell me where he is, God damn it!" My throat was cracking with the loudness of my voice. The man got quiet and then I had had enough. I ended the call and then threw my phone onto the couch in anger. I was almost sure it had cracked the screen, but I didn't care anymore. I was looking for someone. Someone who could easily slip through my fingers.

Blank.

Ava came into the living room and gave me a "shut up" kind of look. "Sorry." I said before sighing and falling back onto the couch. She came and sat beside me for a moment and then I knew I had to break the ice. "I'm sorry for almost choking you out yesterday."

"I understand," She sighed. "You're angry at everything. Who wouldn't be in your situation?"

I let out a breathy chuckle and then got up and went to the guest bedroom that I was staying in. My feet led me to my backpack and I pulled out the brown envelope from weeks ago. I still had a job to do. I pulled out the next assignment to see what it was. It read:

Shut down the manufacturer.

Simple. I liked it. It didn't give me a specific date so I knew that I could do it whenever, but today felt like the perfect day to move around some. I picked up my phone and dialed the number on the paper and a strange sounding man picked up. We talked for a second before deciding to meet just outside of town. Apparently he was already close by. Convenient.

I grabbed my phone and my hoodie along with the pack of cigarettes and headed downstairs. "Where are you going?" Ava asked.

"Places. I have to meet someone."

"Is it about Lindsey?"

"No... it's about Blank." I said a little concerned about getting her involved.

"Blank? Why are you going after him?"

I sighed at her confused face. "He was in charge of the gang while I was gone and I'm pretty sure he was the one that was trying to kill me but ended up killing... Lindsey instead." I had a rough time saying her name. It hurt like a needle being stabbed into my chest whenever I heard a mention of her.

"I'm going with you."

"Oh, no. You are staying here. I'm dealing with this by myself." I ran to the door but she was already putting on her jacket and grabbed her car keys.

"I'll drive you. It'll be faster."

My face twisted in worry as we stepped out of the house. I didn't want her to get hurt too. Especially now when she really wasn't a part of this to begin with. We drove to the edge of town where I directed her to go and we stopped just outside of a warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

"Are you sure this is the spot?" Ava asked. I watched as a guard ducked away from the edge of the roof. He had been watching us.

"Yes. Come on. We'll walk from here."

Ava turned off the car and we both got out and proceeded to the front of the warehouse. It was rusted up and looked as if it had been empty for years. It was a good cover to say the least. The doors creaked open revealing a woman in a bright red dress.

"Ah, you must be Jessica Greenwick. Come inside." She gave us both a look up and down before turning around and leaving us standing there.

I exchanged a glance with Ava and then we followed her. "So who is the manufacturer here?"

She looked amused as she inspected my face. "I am, silly. I just had my right hand man take care of the talking over the phone."

I nodded to myself. She was smart.

"Sorry I'm not dressed properly for such a meeting." She spoke as we came to a black door at the end of the hallway. She opened it to reveal a conference room. I saw Ava secretly roll her eyes at the woman and I had to stifle a laugh.

We chose seats next to each other and then got settled down before speaking. "I know why you're here." She said.

"And why's that?" I asked with a hint of distaste.

"You want me to stop working for Tanner Lane. Is that it?"

Ava gave me a weird look because that's not what I had told her we were doing earlier.

"Precisely."

She looked at the wall in thought before speaking, "Sorry. I have a contract with him. Unless you have a better offer." She leaned nearer to me and I gave her a smirk.

"Hell yeah. I'll pay you double what he does."

She raised her eyebrows. I couldn't figure out her emotions based on her expressions and I hated it. Usually people were easy to read, but not her. I looked over at Ava realizing that she knew exactly what game this girl was playing. Our eyes met and I felt something deep down in my dead heart, but I quickly pushed it away and focused on the moment.

The woman finally spoke, "Do you know how much money you would have to pay me for double?"

I gave Ava a look that said 'Should I go for it?' She nodded at me understanding the words we never spoke. I smirked at the woman and leaned even closer to her than she already was. "Yes. Do we have a deal?"

She thought for a moment. "You're dangerous Jessica Greenwick. I like that in people... Yeah. We have a deal. I'll work for you."

And just like that I had another manufacturer after killing mine off. "Good. You're mine now."

"Fair enough."

Shut down the manufacturer.

Done. For the most part. I did it in a way that would benefit me and not Miller. I laughed internally at the thought. I just played Miller's game to my advantage while still doing the job.

We left moments later after a quick handshake and then got into Ava's car and pulled out of there faster than I thought possible. "You," I said pointing at Ava, "You're on the same page as I am. I like that. You know all the things I don't. I feel that you could be a valuable asset to me."

"Oh, so now you're going to let me in to your little club." She quickly glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.

I laughed at her remark as she kept driving. "Yeah. You're in my little club. And you're second-in-command."