Chapter 15

• Crystal's POV I didn't get any sleep that night. That wasn't surprising. Between the rain pelting down on the roof and deck of the yacht, and Jackson's blackmail threat . . . my mind was anything but peaceful. I was already up when Noah woke up, stared at me for a long while as I sat in the lounge, and then finally shrugged and set up his computer. He didn't say a word and I noticed he also hadn't even bothered getting dressed for the day. He was still in the clothes he'd slept in, a worn-out Hulk t-shirt and pair of pajama bottoms with some other comic book character plastered all over them. I had stared. He'd ignored me. So, I had gone back to looking through the SD card on my own computer. Making sure that everything was still there and it all was . . . mostly. There was a string of calls, texts, and emails that I had saved that were no longer there. John Doe's handiwork no doubt. I had just finished going through the last of the files when Jackson decided to grace us with his presence. "Good Morning," He said. His voice entirely too cheery and entirely too awake for someone who hadn't even had any coffee yet. I glared at him as he walked by me. He raised his eyebrows at me. "I see you're still out for my blood." "Have you given me a reason not to be?" I snapped. Jackson just shrugged, unfazed and took the seat next to me, his arm across the back of the couch, practically resting on my shoulders. I purposely leaned forward, away from him and shot him a glare. He blew out a sigh. "You need to lighten up," He said. Noah froze. I tensed and then turned my full attention to Jackson. "I need to lighten up?" I growled. "You're blackmailing me with the threat of my life-" "I just threatened to tell your father something," Jackson interrupted. "Don't be so dramatic." Noah was trying really hard to keep his focus on his computer screen and pretend he wasn't listening. Actually, I was pretty sure he was pretending-and wishing-he wasn't in the room with us. I continued to glare menacingly at Jackson before I reached behind my back, under my jacket, and grabbed hold of the gun tucked in my waistband. I slammed it down on the coffee table in front of us with a loud bang. "How's this for dramatic?" I asked as I leaned in toward him. "Back. The. Hell. Off." There was a spark that lit up in Jackson's eyes and a reckless smile split across his face. Whatever he really wanted to say or do, he didn't. He just calmly put his hands up in mock surrender and then moved over some on the couch. He never lost the spark in his eyes, or the smile though. "Want me to hit him for you?" Noah let out a surprised shout and then fell out of his chair when the new voice spoke up. Jackson jumped to his feet and whirled around to face the owner of the voice while I didn't bother turning around to face her and sent her a wave over my shoulder. I also picked up the gun and slipped it back into my waistband, out of sight. "Not yet," I told Julie. "Too bad," She replied as she moved from the doorway into the room. "I feel like hitting someone." She tossed the duffle bag that was slung over her shoulder at Jackson. He caught it out of instinct. "Take that to my room," She said before taking a seat next to me and putting her feet up on the coffee table. I rolled my eyes. "Just make yourself at home." I said at the same time Jackson said, "Your room?" Julie ignored me in favor of responding to Jackson. "Yes, my room." She waved her hand at him dismissively. "I'm not picky, just pick one for me." Jackson raised an eyebrow at her and then promptly, dropped her bag on the floor. Julie narrowed her eyes and glared at him. Jackson just smiled at her. Her glare didn't let up in the slightest. She just watched for a while. "It's a good thing you're pretty," She told him before turning her attention to me. "How's it going?" She asked me, but I didn't have the chance to answer because Jackson interjected. "Why are you here?" He asked her. "How did you even get here?" Julie turned to look at him. "I'm here because you're an evil blackmailing son of a bitch and I'm making sure my best friend doesn't get sucked into your black hole of misery. As for how I got here, there are various, wonderful, modes of transportation a person can take to get from one place to another. All available at a tap of a finger through this thing called a phone. I guess you're not familiar with it." It was Jackson's turn to glare at her and then Julie's turn to smirk back at him. Noah just barely managed to successfully turn his laugh into a cough. "How did you know where to find us?" Jackson questioned her. She rolled her eyes in a very over dramatic way and let out a loud sigh. "Phone calls between friends, can be very informative." At that, Jackson's gaze snapped over to me. "You told her?" "I told her many things," I muttered as I continued going through the contents of the SD card. I could feel Julie's glare trying to burn a hole through my head. "Many things you should have told me to begin with," She said lowly. "I was trying to keep you out of it," I told her. "That's stupid. You and I both know I would have forced my way into it at some point." I shot her a flat look. "You're not staying," Jackson told her firmly. She smiled widely. "Then make me leave." I cleared my throat, interrupting the two of them. "If you want me to help you catch this guy," I said to Jackson. "I need a description." Jackson smiled at me. "So eager to be of help." I glared at him. "So eager to be permanently out of your presence." "Whatever helps you sleep at night." "I'm about ten seconds from tying you to the anchor and throwing you overboard." Jackson shrugged, the smile never leaving his face. "Between the two of us," He started. "when it comes to tying each other up, I do believe I have more experience in that area." Noah started choking on the water he'd just taken a drink of. Julie turned her full attention to me, staring me down. And I could feel the heat of a blush creeping up my neck. Though part of that was my desire to drown him. "Now do you want me to hit him?" Julie asked me. I ignored her. "I'm about to walk out that door and take my chances with you telling my father." Jackson winked at me and then shrugged. "Fine." He waved his hand dismissively. "We can venture down memory lane some other time." I continued to glare at him. "Description," I ordered. Jackson turned away from me and stared out the window in front of him. I noticed his hand briefly clench into a fist before going to his pocket. "Middle age, dark hair, Caucasian, average height-" I interrupted him before he could go any further. "You do realize that you're literally describing over half the people my father works with? Not to mention millions of people across the globe." Jackson glared at me. I rolled my eyes. "Since you don't know his name, does he have any features that would make him recognizable?" "He has a glass eye," Noah muttered. His eyes never leaving his computer screen. I stared at him, waiting for an explanation. He felt my stare and looked up at me. "What?" "Why does he have a glass eye?" "Because El-" "Old injury," Jackson cut Noah off with a harsh glare. Noah muttered something under his breath, bowed his head and stared at his hands. I narrowed my eyes at Jackson, knowing full well there was something he was hiding about all of this. And Noah obviously knew. "Care to clarify?" Jackson shrugged. "He's got some nasty scars on the left side of his face, around his eye." He suddenly smiled. "Or rather, lack of an eye." I started scrolling through the contents of the SD card. "There's only one person who matches that description," I told him. "But I wasn't aware he had a glass eye." Jackson scoffed at me. "It's fairly obvious." I rolled my eyes. "Well forgive me, but my self-preservation instinct tells me to stay far away from the people my father deals with." "No wonder you don't have any fun." I opted to ignore him and as I pulled up the information on the mercenary he was looking for. "His name is Kurt Branson," I said as I turned the computer toward Jackson. "And that's everything I've got on him." Jackson nodded as he scrolled through the pages. "How exactly did you come to acquire all this information?" "I listened, watched, and searched," I replied. "And when necessary I played the part of the spoiled, ditzy supermodel." Jackson seemed to only be half-listening to me as he stared at the computer screen without blinking. "Dishonorable discharge from the military," He muttered. "Special forces. That explains a lot." He suddenly frowned. "What's this last page?" He questioned as he turned the computer back to me. I looked briefly at the list on the last page. "List of known accomplices. People he's done business with, people he's worked for, and so forth." Jackson raised his eyebrows in surprise and almost looked impressed as he looked at me. "And how did you manage to get this?" I shrugged, leaning back into the couch. "I wanted to make sure my father and the people allied with him wouldn't be able to do any harm. I was highly motivated." Jackson looked back at the computer screen, his eyes scanning over the list. Suddenly, he laughed. "Well, I don't think your list is entirely accurate," He said. I frowned. "What do you mean?" He tapped at a name on the list but didn't show me which one. "There's no way she'd ever work with this guy." "Well everyone on that list is someone who he's met up with several times," I said. "So, I'm pretty sure they weren't discussing the weather." He said nothing else and continued looking through the list. Finally, he spoke again. "I know her," He said. "More importantly, I have someone who can find her. So, we'll start by paying her a visit." He turned to Noah and pointed to the name on the screen. "Find her," He told him. Noah took one look at the name and let out a long groan. "Not her again," He said. Jackson gave him a stern look. Like a parent telling their child to do their chores. Noah let out a sigh. "Fine, whatever," He muttered. Jackson turned back to me. "We'll start by figuring out who on the list knows where to find Kurt Branson." The way Jackson said his name implied that he thought he was the scum of the earth. "And then what?" I questioned. "Why is it so important that you find this guy?" Jackson put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "That really isn't your concern." "Considering your forcing me to help you find him, I think that it is." "Good thing I didn't ask for your thoughts on the matter." I glared at him and this time, instead of smiling back at me, he glared back at me. A clear sign that he wanted me to drop the subject. Too bad I didn't give a damn what he wanted. The growing tension in the room was cut by Noah. "I found her," He stated, catching our attention. Jackson turned and looked over at the location on Noah's screen. "Fantastic," He said. He turned to me. "Pack your bags," He told me. "This should be good," Julie muttered sarcastically. "Where exactly are we going?" I asked Jackson. He smiled recklessly. "We're going to pay Tessa Dixon a visit."