JACKSON
“I don’t need the help of some stripper to find Ana,” I told Chase on the drive back to the hotel.
I really couldn’t understand why they had bothered to offer her so much money. I could certainly find out everything she knew on my own with a couple of days of research. And I cost much less than $250,000. It was like a slap in the face to hire someone like her and ask me to work with her.
“I’m right here, I can hear you,” Roxanne said from the back seat.
“Did we really need to bring her with us?”
“Again, I’m right here, you don’t need to talk about me like I’m not here.”
I looked into the rearview mirror and saw Roxanne and Jordan sitting in the backseat with Roxanne’s giant Rottweiler sitting in between them. I wasn’t in the kind of mood to take care of a woman and I certainly didn’t want to take care of her hyped-up mutt. I couldn’t see any good reason that Chase should pay this scam artist a quarter of a million dollars when we really had no idea how she could help.
“Can you just be quiet while Chase and I talk? Is that too much to ask?” I said as I turned around in my seat and looked back at Roxanne.
“Is he always such a giant asshole?” I heard Roxanne ask Jordan.
“I just met him a week ago. He seems nice.”
“If this is him being nice, I’d hate to see him being rude.”
“Where can we drop that mutt of yours off at? You can’t bring him with us to the hotel.”
“Wait. What? I’m not helping if I can’t bring Bull. He’s the only reason I’m still alive.”
I had had enough at that point and pulled the SUV over to the side of the road. This woman thought that she was the best thing to happen since sliced bread and I wasn’t about to let her go around determining how my investigation was going to turn out.
I took a deep breath and then turned around in my seat. I kept my voice steady but stern as I said what I needed to say.
“Your dog is not coming with us. Either tell me where you would like me to drive so we can drop it off or I’ll drive to the Humane Society and we can leave it there.”
I had never raised my voice to a woman my entire life and I wasn’t about to start just because this particular woman was getting under my skin. She obviously didn’t understand the true gravity of her situation or she would have been willing to leave the damn dog and come with us.
I kept my eyes locked on hers and saw the anger and defiance that built up the longer we sat there. I was done, I didn’t need to deal with that kind of attitude for a woman we were going out of our way to help and get away from a dangerous man.
“Fine,” I said as I pulled out my phone. “Siri, directions to the nearest animal shelter.”
As my phone brought up the route to the nearest shelter, I saw Roxanne start to cry in the rearview mirror. I was sorry that giving up her dog was so sad to her, but a human life was just worth much more than the animal. Plus, at a shelter, he could find a new home if someone wanted him.
It only took about fifteen minutes and we were in the parking lot to the Miami Humane Society. I didn’t say a thing and just sat there and waited for her to get the dog and bring it in.
“I can’t do it. He’s the only friend I have,” Roxanne cried as she slumped over the dog.
It was an outright fake cry and I knew it. There was no emotion in it, but her attempt was enough to get Jordan and Chase on her side and that was all that mattered. It was clear to me that Roxanne was an excellent manipulator and I was going to have to keep a close eye on her.
“It’s all right. He’ll find a nice home,” Jordan said as she tried to comfort her.
“He’s a Rottweiler. No one wants big defense dogs. Or if they do take him, they’ll put him into underground fights or something.”
“I’ll go in with you. Will that help?” Jordan asked.
I watched as Jordan got out of the car and held onto the collar of the dog. Roxanne quickly got out as well, and the two women made their way into the building.
“Is your wife always a bleeding heart for people she doesn’t know?” I asked Chase.
“She does have a big heart.”
“Why the fuck do I have to bring this stripper with me? She’s just going to slow me down.”