Page 53 of Just My Luck

Chapter 18

Jax

“The hell you are!” I practically yelled at the room.

My mother jerked her gaze toward me and whispered a warning.

“No, I’m not going to relax,” I said for like the tenth time. “Nova is not going out on a date with the man we think framed me for sex trafficking a minor.” I waved my hands around as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Nova stood up and walked over to me. “There’s no other choice.”

“Why?” I turned and took her arms gently in my hands. “Why is there no other choice? You could get on a plane right now, head home, and be out of his reach.”

“And leave you here? You know there’s a possibility that he’s just going to play with you and hurt you further until I come crawling back.” She cupped my face. “I won’t abandon you.”

I closed my eyes. “I won’t let you walk into the fire for me, either.”

“She won’t have to,” her mother said, standing up. We both turned to her. “I have an idea.” She smiled to the room, then frowned. “It’s slightly illegal and most likely won’t turn out the way I think it will in my head. But I have some strings I can pull if we get in too bad of a jam.”

“I don’t like the sound of this,” Brian groaned.

“For the love of god, take your daughter home,” I begged the man.

He shook his head. “I’m not in charge here.” He motioned to Beth and Nova.

An hour before sunset, Rick and I stepped out of the work truck together. I tucked my gloves in my back pocket—a very construction-crew move—and adjusted my hardhat to cover my eyes a little more. Then we followed the night crew inside the massive building.

“You should have stayed at the hotel,” Rick hissed.

“Too late now.”

Halfway down the hall on the first floor, we slipped from the pack and stood in the darkness, holding our breath.

Hell, in for a pound, am I right? What more could I be charged with? An actual crime that I was committing?

If all went well, we’d be long gone before anyone noticed us. Our working theory was that Kit was going to wine and dine Nova somewhere on this property. He did have a pattern, after all.

“I’ll take the bottom two floors,” Rick said softly. “You take the third and the next one up.” He motioned toward the stairs. “Text if you find anything.”

I nodded and we both slipped back into the hallway, walking as if we had purpose and had every right to be there.

Half an hour later, I found the fancy dinner setup and shot Rick a message and my location on the burner phones we’d purchased.

This was too easy.

The circular table was still being set up by staff members and one of Kit’s top men. I’d seen the guy hanging around him a few times. Dan. Or was it Don?

I watched from the shadows as the crew finished placing a small bouquet of flowers in the center of the table. Rick slipped quietly next to me, and we waited in the dark.

Finally, the man got a phone call and snapped his fingers, sending the setup crew scattering through the doorway.

“Now’s our chance,” Rick said. “Stay put.” He moved quickly and was across the room in a few strides. He picked up the vase of flowers that sat in the center of the table and planted a listening device in the petals. Then he added two more around the space, one in another vase and the last on a piece of furniture, before making his way back to me.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said.

We had just stepped outside the building when Kit’s limo turned the corner and parked at the main entrance. Both of us pulled our dust masks over our faces and picked up bags of some sort of mix that were sitting by the front and threw them over our shoulders. Then we walked within six feet of Kit Sterling without the man even batting an eye at us.

When we were a block away, Sofia honked the horn and we climbed in the rental car.