“You don’t think you can trust me?”
“I just met you. And you’re living with the enemy.”
“Braden’s the enemy?”
Jackson doesn’t answer.
“What’s the deal with you two? Why do you hate him so much?”
“Let’s do this.” He gets out, and I meet him in front of the SUV. He hands me the keys. “Be careful with her.”
“You don’t trust me but you’re letting me drive this?” I say, pointing to the Range Rover.
“The car I can get fixed. Doesn’t work that way with other stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Like you going behind my back and telling Braden shit I don’t want him knowing.”
“I wouldn’t do that. I just made a deal with you to take Braden down.”
“It’s bigger than that. It’s about the school. You need to remember that, or you’ll end up telling Braden shit you shouldn’t.”
“I’m not going to tell him anything. He doesn’t even know we’re friends.”
“And it has to stay that way. If you’re going to get into his inner circle, you can’t tell him we’re hanging out. This,” he points between him and me, “has to stay hidden. You need to be careful no one sees you when you come to my house.”
“Then I’ll need to sneak in the back, which I can’t do if I can’t step foot on your private beach.”
“You can come in through the back. Just let me know when you’re coming over.”
I cock my head, eyeing him. “Why do you get so angry when people go behind your house?”
He rubs his hand over his jaw. “I had a break-in. They came in through the back.”
“Did they take stuff?”
He walks to the passenger side door. “Let’s get started. We’re running out of time.”
That’s strange. Why won’t he tell me about the break-in? I thought I was in a safe neighborhood, but now I’m not so sure. My bedroom is at the back of the house and on the first level. Someone could easily break in. What if they did it when I was there?
“Has that happened to any of your neighbors?” I ask as I put my seatbelt on. “Has anyone else had their house broken into?”
“I don’t know. Make sure the seat is in a good place before you start. Use the buttons on the left to adjust it.”
After adjusting the seat, I grip the wheel. “Okay, now what?”
“Put your foot on the brake.”
“Which one is the brake?”
“Seriously?” he asks, sounding panicked.
“Relax, I was kidding.”
He sighs. “This isn’t the time to kid around. Keep your foot on the brake, then put the car in drive.”
I carefully put it in drive. “Okay.”
