DEATH (The Justice Cycle Book 1) J Kiefer (ebook reader .txt) 📖

“Oh. Dana’s going too. Really?”

“It’s not like that. She’s my partner and we’re going on business.”

“I see, business. Well, whatever you kids call it these days. In all honesty, bro, she loves you, man, and she is great. If I were you, I would let go of that waste-of-space Jasmine and grab ahold of her with both hands and not let go.”

Jared just shook his head and opened the door to his bedroom. “Good night, Steve,” he said, closing the door behind him.

“You can ignore me all you want,” Steve hollered. “But you know I’m right.”

Jared stood with his back against the closed door, thinking about what Steve had just said. After his conversation with Dana at the coffee shop earlier, he could not deny that he was beginning to see her in a new light. God, her eyes were beautiful.

He shook his head and stumbled toward his bed, too tired to take his clothes off. He flopped down on the sheets and buried his head in his pillow.

Dana was his partner and his best friend; he didn’t want to mess that up. Then again, maybe Steve was right. If he was truly honest with himself, he had to admit that he really did love her. Jasmine knew it, Steve knew it, and his parents knew it, so maybe it was time for him to admit the truth.

Well, he thought as he turned over and closed his eyes, I am too tired to think about this right now, anyway.

Smiling, Steve fell back on the couch and stuck both his arms behind his head like a pillow. He found immense gratification in being right about how his brother truly felt about Dana. He knew he was right about their parents, too. Even though he had allowed Jared to have the last word, Steve knew that it was the true victor of that argument. The truth was, he would go to whatever lengths were required to prove he was right, no matter how extreme the measures.

A small knock on the door dragged Steve away from his thoughts. He sighed and hoped that if he ignored it, whoever it was would simply lose interest and go away. The knocking persisted and grew louder. Steve groaned and reluctantly rolled off the couch and walked over to the door.

“What the hell do you want at this time of...” Steve stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the person who had disturbed his evening. A gorgeous blonde woman in her early twenties, wearing nothing but tiny night shorts and a tight pajama shirt, stood in the doorway staring up at him doe-eyed. She started when she saw him, surprised to see someone other than the usual tenant open the door.

“I am so sorry to bother you so late, but I work afternoons and just got home,” she said.

Steve waved off her apology and put his arm up on the doorframe and leaned in closer to the young woman. “No problem at all, miss. What can I do for you?”

The woman blushed. “Nothing really.” She brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. “I was just making some eggs for dinner and realized I had forgotten to stop and get bread on my way home. I was just wondering if you had a few pieces you could spare so I could make some toast.”

Steve’s blue eyes twinkled. “Of course, my lady, mi casa es su casa. But I have a better idea.”

“And what would that be?”

“Well, I make the very best omelets in the world, at least on the east coast, and I would love to make you one. So, why don’t I grab my entire loaf of bread over here and I will match it with your eggs, and then I will make you the best omelet you have ever had. How does that sound?”

The young woman bit her lower lip as she considered Steve’s proposal. Somewhere deep in her subconscious, her brain was raising its concerns about the man in front of her. The other half of her brain, however, was very attracted to the stranger and was intrigued by his proposal. She knew that her neighbor Jared was a police officer, so she reasoned that he would most likely never allow someone to stay in his house that was dangerous.

“Okay,” she said. “But on one condition.”

“And what would that be?”

“You only stay until we are done eating, okay? I have to work a double tomorrow and I need to get to bed sometime tonight or I will be dead tomorrow.”

“Deal,” Steve said, a twinkle in his eyes.

He left her standing in the doorway and grabbed bread from the kitchen. When he returned, he put his arm around the young woman and led her outside, closing the door behind them.

The two made their way to the door across the hall from Jared’s. “I’m Steve, by the way.”

“Tammy.”

“Nice to meet you, Tammy.”

“Nice to meet you too, Steve,” she said as they reached her apartment door and went in. “How do you know Jared?”

“Oh, I’m his younger brother.”

Tammy smiled at the revelation, glad that he wasn’t some kind of murderer or rapist. She turned and walked into the kitchen. “Wow, I didn’t even know Jared had a brother. Of course, we really don’t talk much. Just the usual ‘Hi, how are you doing’ in passing, is all.”

Steve’s smile darkened as he closed the door to the small apartment, locking it as he did.

Twenty-One

Jared awoke to an empty apartment. That was not surprising since his brother never seemed to stay in one place for very long. He had thought that Steve would’ve slept in due to how late it was when they had finally turned in for the night.

Where does he get all that energy? I am not that much older than he is, and I can barely stay up past eleven, Jared thought.

Not having any time to waste dwelling on his brother’s absence, he pushed his questions to the back