I like jealous men. I love jealousy. I do.
- Adriana Lima
"Wha... What did you –"
Jared rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm, pulling her up from where she'd fallen. The movement was unnecessarily forceful and Leah found herself flung against him, crashing into his chest as he wrapped an arm around her and started moving them to the opposite side of the roof.
Her thoughts were speeding, all messages lost to white noise as they smashed to pieces in the crowded space between her ears.
Jared had nearly pulled her to the other side of the roof when she raised a hand to her face and saw it come away spotted with blood. Matt's blood. The sight made everything fall into place and she wrenched away from Jared, staring at him in shock.
"What did you just do?"
Jared's shoulders tensed as he turned to face her. The town was outlined in twinkling lights behind him, but even their glow couldn't dull the dangerous glint in his eyes.
"What did I do?" he hissed. "What were you thinking coming up here with him?"
"Why does that matter?" Leah exclaimed. "You didn't need to shoot him!"
Jared took a threatening step forward. "I heard what he was saying. If you think that he, or this friend of his, had innocent intentions, then you're an idiot. You know what'll happen if the wrong people get their hands on you."
"He wouldn't have been able to force me to go with him! You know I'm stronger than anyone else down here."
"He didn't need to force you," Jared snapped. "Not with you looking up at him with those bloody puppy dog eyes."
Leah's sight blurred with anger. "I wasn't looking at him with puppy dog eyes. I was just happy to be around someone that wasn't you!"
Jared stalked forward, only stopping when his face was inches away. Angry breaths fell into her mouth as he spoke. "If this was some pathetic attempt to get me back for spending the night with Ash —"
Leah slammed her hands into his chest, hoping to gain some ground, but Jared only seemed to come closer. His proximity was disorienting, igniting anger and confusion simultaneously.
"This has nothing to do with Ash! It has to do with you going around killing people for no reason."
"For the last time," Jared said, eyes flashing. "Everyone here is already dead. I didn't kill him."
"YOU MAY AS WELL HAVE!" Leah screamed.
Jared rocked back, his chest rising and falling quickly. "I don't know why you care. You couldn't have actually been into the lanky prick."
His voice was coated with an emotion that made Leah hesitate. The anger was still there, but there was something else hovering in the corners.
"That doesn't matter," Leah said. "You can't just –"
"He was just going to sell you to the highest bidder. You realise that, don't you?"
Leah glared at him. "Not everyone here has hidden agendas and dark secrets like you do."
"No, they don't," Jared admitted, taking another step and consequently forcing Leah back until she was pressed against a chimney. "But those people aren't the ones out looking for you."
Leah tried not to appear intimidated as Jared loomed over her, but it was difficult, and their position was bringing back distracting memories; ones that sent heat of an entirely different origin raging through her.
She glanced away, trying to block the thoughts before they could take root.
"You still didn't have to shoot him. I was fine."
Jared's eyes flashed, watching her with lazy contempt. "Well, I did. So, get over it."
Leah was affronted by his words, but all protests caught as he leaned forward, his hands coming to rest on either side of her head. He was smoldering with some emotion that lay far deeper than Leah could hope to reach. The anger was still obvious in his muscles, the disdain high in his eyes. But there was something else, captivating in its intensity, that drew her gaze involuntarily to his lips.
"You need to realise," he said harshly, breath ghosting across her face, "that I'm not going to take any chances. I'm going to hurt anyone who even suggests taking you away from me."
Leah's eyes went wide, her heart beginning to pump pulses that could singe veins as her anger morphed into something dangerous, something twisted and raw, something that made her want to rip into him.
She didn't even consider protesting as he pressed closer, didn't think to pull back when her upper lip fell between his and his hands slid into her hair.
And then someone screamed.
Jared froze, his lips hovering over hers. There was another scream and he swore, wrenching himself away and stalking to the edge where Matt's body had fallen.
Leah stayed where she was, heart pounding like a sledgehammer. At some point in the last few seconds her brain had disconnected, and she couldn't figure out how to put herself back together again.
Jared returned before she'd reassembled herself and grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the opposite ledge.
"We need to get off the roof," he said stiffly. "Someone's already found him."
The world snapped back into focus as a harsh gust of wind blew across Leah's face and she blinked. She could hear the chaos now: doors slamming open below, exclamations of surprise and disgust.
Jared halted as they reached the edge, glancing down the three-story drop to the roof of the neighbouring building. The two buildings were so close that they almost touched.
"Follow me," Jared said, lowering himself over the edge and climbing down to the lower roof.
Leah followed, landing next to him with a thud. Unlike the roof of Churchies, this one was made of tin and creaked loudly in response to any movement. Leah cringed as she stepped on a strip with little support and it buckled under her weight.
When she righted herself, she looked up to find Jared making his way towards a window that led back into the second floor of Churchies.
"Stay here," he whispered. "Make sure nobody sees you. I'm going to grab our things."
Leah didn't have time to protest before he kicked in one of the windows. The glass shattered into, what Leah hoped, was a vacant room.
"Someone would've heard that, you idiot!" she hissed, wondering at her ability to alternate between wanting and hating Jared at minute intervals.
Jared disappeared inside and Leah was left by herself, crouched down. The noise below had risen to a chaotic level. It seemed to surround her, coming from every direction. When a voice fell down from above, Leah froze and glanced up. There were silhouettes moving on the roof.
Leah swore and pressed back against the wall. She wanted to kill Jared for his overreaction. Why couldn't he have thought for a second before shooting?
Leah glanced up again and her breath caught. There was someone standing directly above her, and though she couldn't see their face, it was clear they'd spotted her. It was a girl, blonde hair almost silver in the moonlight. Ash.
Leah was about to run for it when Ash turned away and her voice reached Leah's ears.
"I can't see anyone. Whoever shot him is probably gone already."
Protests followed, but no one else peered over the edge, and Leah let out a sigh of relief. Seconds later, Jared appeared at the window. He shoved a hiking pack into her hands and Leah slung it over her back as he crawled outside.
"Ready to go?" he whispered.
Leah nodded and followed Jared to the far edge of the roof. He glanced down the side, trying to find the quickest way down, but Leah brushed past him and jumped. It was only two stories. She'd jumped further when she was a kid. She landed with a light puff of dirt and glanced back up in time to see Jared's surprise before he covered it up and leaped, landing next to her.
They looked back once more to check no one had spotted their descent and then slunk away, making their way back into the bush.