The Silent Ones [✔️] (#2 in the Chilvati Series)

FIFTEEN

Jessica waved her hand in the air. "I know. It's fine." She pivoted and took a long look around the gym as if to stamp it into memory. "Cortez agreed with you," she said, peeking back over her shoulder to get Virginia's reaction.

Her face must have reflected her shock, going by Jessica's girlish giggle.

After running her eyes over everything one last time, Jessica turned back to her. "He encouraged me to fess up to my parents, go back to school, embrace the opportunities he never had. He's pretty smart actually."

"Wow."

Jessica nodded. "He likes you. I think it's because you are the only one who will stand up to him."

"Well . . . I'll have to use that to my advantage."

Another giggle. Then dark eyes lowered as she muttered, "He's a lot nicer than he pretends to be . . . when it's just the two of us alone together."

It's because of Cortez, Virginia realized. He's the reason she doesn't want to move.

Jessica sighed and tilted her head back, her eyes searching the ceiling. "It's a lot of pressure . . . pleasing my parents. They have such high expectations-first college, then med school. I guess I needed to spend some time in a dead end before I could appreciate the long, difficult road ahead of me." She paused and leveled her stare. "I got scared when that boy, Simon, died. Life can be so short sometimes."

Virginia felt herself wince at Simon's name.

Jessica brought a hand up to her mouth. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned him. I know you two were close."

"Did you know Simon?" Virginia managed to say, pushing through the grief and the guilt and the memory of Mark's voice tearing her apart with, You don't have the right to speak his name.

"No"—she shrugged—"not really. Nothing beyond a little flirting." But her face gave her away. There was something more there—regret, perhaps.

Virginia reached out to touch her shoulder. "You would have made a cute couple."

Jessica folded her arms, holding on tight to her sides.

Wanting to focus her on the future, Virginia forced a smile, saying, "You'll do great things. Don't be afraid to meet challenges head on. Look at me for heaven's sake." She swung her hand wide to take in the industrial square footage surrounding them. "If I can do it, you can too."

The shy smile that lit up the young face revealed what a great beauty she was on the brink of becoming.

"Soon you'll have your own gang"—Virginia brought her hand up to cup Jessica's chin—"of admirers."

Jessica blushed.

"You'll keep in touch?"

A self-conscious nod was her only answer.

Virginia put an arm around the girl's shoulders as they walked in silence to the door. When Jessica reached for the handle, she hesitated, uncertainty lining her brow and tugging down the edges of her mouth. "I overheard Cortez talking one day," she said in a hushed tone.

Virginia dropped her arm and turned them face-to-face, her whole body prickling with curiosity. "About?"

Jessica bit her lip, clearly uncomfortable with repeating Cortez's words.

"It's okay. I won't tell him, I promise."

With a nod, she continued, "He said, 'Some of the friends the lieutenant chooses are not to be trusted.' "