“The shooter was mentally unstable. Probably high on drugs too.”
“Stop lying! You told me he had a rap sheet, that he’d killed before, that you called in the anonymous tip.”
“When?” he said, his anger matching my own.
“Earlier, before you fell asleep.”
Jake stared at me slack jawed then asked, “Did you drug me?”
“No. You got drunk.”
“I thought we both did, but you seem fine. What’d you do? Spill out all your drinks when I wasn’t looking?”
I shook my head. “Virgin margaritas.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Well, aren’t you clever.”
I didn’t respond.
“Wait here,” Jake said pointing his finger at me. Then stomped off into his bedroom with the messenger bag.
I should’ve gone home. I wish I had. But I was distracted. How was Jake even awake? He was passed out when I left for the parking garage. And I made sure not to let the door slam shut when I let myself back in. Then I spotted the bottle of acetaminophen on the counter and the empty glass in the sink. He must’ve gotten up for aspirin while I was downstairs. He was probably in the bathroom when I snuck back in.
Jake reappeared without his messenger bag and headed straight to the refrigerator. He pulled out a can of Coke and split it between two glasses. He shoved one of the glasses into my hand and held up the other. “Salud!” he said and gulped down his soda. I took a sip from mine then said, “I should leave.”
“No. You came here for answers, and you deserve them. Drink up.”
I swigged my Coke and followed him into the living room.
He sat down on the couch and motioned for me to join him. I took a seat on the opposite end and waited for him to speak.
“Tell me everything you know,” he said.
“How about you tell me everything you know?”
He sighed. “Grace, I’ll tell you what I can, but when I keep things from you it’s to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
He didn’t answer.
“The Russian mob?”
His eyebrows shot up, but he still said nothing.
“Does it have something to do with the flash drive?” I finally asked.
“What flash drive?”
“Isn’t that what you were looking for at my house that day?”
And that’s the last thing I remember.
Chapter 34
I opened my eyes and stared down at the weird stripes of light on the carpet, but my head ached so bad I shut them again. The next time I opened my eyes I realized those weird stripes of light were coming from the venetian blinds in Jake’s living room. I rolled over onto my back and covered my eyes with my forearm. I had the worst hangover of my life. My entire head was pounding, and I thought I might vomit. I waited for the wave of nausea to pass before I opened my eyes again. I was fully clothed with a blanket covering me.
I forced myself upright and another wave of nausea hit. While I waited for it to pass, I heard someone moving around in the kitchen. I called out Jake’s name and the effort forced me to lie down and close my eyes again.
“Sleep okay?” Jake asked.
I rolled over and was greeted by a pair of hairy legs. I looked up and saw the legs belonged to Jake. He was wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt and his hair was damp as if he’d just taken a shower.
Sleep okay? I could barely process the thought. “What happened?” I croaked.
“Don’t you remember? We met for drinks, then came back to my place.”
I sat up again. I remembered that part of the evening. It was after he found me with his messenger bag that was a blur. “Why do I have a hangover when I didn’t drink?”
“You drank,” he said. “We both did.”
I shook my head and another wave of nausea crashed over me. “No. I only had a couple sips of beer.”
“Let me get you some coffee,” he said and returned to the kitchen.
I pushed myself upright and stumbled after him. The smell of the eggs he was frying smacked me in the face, and I barely made it to the kitchen sink before I started retching. Jake grabbed me, one arm around my ribcage and the other holding my hair back, while I vomited up everything left in my stomach. When I finished, I rinsed my mouth and splashed cold water on my face before I turned around.
“What did you do to me?” I asked, tears streaming down my face. I always cry when I vomit. I have since I was a kid.
