Just Another Job

Making Plans

That is the picture of Ian's car on the side.....or at least, what Ian's car used to look like. I need feedback on this chapter, so tell me what you thought! 

I sat next to the mangled mustang, my body aching. I had my hand up to my face, palming my new black eye. When Ian got angry, really angry, it wasn't anything to joke about. No matter that I was forced to total the car to avoid hitting Ian with it. I had killed his baby, and he wasn't about to let that go. All things considered, I was lucky to get off with the beating I had sustained. I looked over my shoulder and saw Ian trying to pry the mangled hood of the mustang up. 

"Do you need any help?" I offered, getting painfully to my feet. 

"Don't get near her," he snarled at me, stopping me in my tracks. He grunted as he put all of his effort into raising the hood. With a shriek of grinding metal, the entire hood popped off. 

"Shit!" Ian bellowed, throwing it down in frustration. I tried to stifle my laughter, turning away when Ian's furious glare landed on me. 

"I will beat your ass again," he threatened. 

"I didn't say anything!" I protested. Something akin to a growl was Ian's only answer as he bent over the engine. 

"Is he going to be okay?" Jo asked, sitting down next to me. She had dragged our bags out of the wreck and changed into one of the last sets of my clothes. They kept getting destroyed somehow. 

"He'll be fine," I said in a low voice so Ian wouldn't hear me. He was cursing a mile a minute as he wrestled with something in the engine. "Just give him some space to be safe." 

"Well, I'll give him all the space he needs. I'm leaving now," she announced, standing up. 

"What??" I scrambled to my feet and stumbled after her. "You can't run away." 

"Oh yeah? Why not?" she challenged, not stopping. 

"Because I've just had the shit beat out of me and you're wearing my clothes," I grunted, trying to limp along as quickly as possible. 

She sighed and stopped, turning reluctantly to face me. "I'm sorry if my 'Pity for Cobalt' mechanism is out of order. Suck it up." She turned and made to walk away again.

"Jo," I pleaded. "Seriously. You can't leave now. You can't leave me." 

She spun around, furious. "Sounds very similar to what you said last night in the hotel, and we both know what a pack of lies that was." 

"I'm not lying, I told you!" I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. 

"I said I don't believe you." 

"And I said I would show you, and I damn well intend to do that." I took several long strides forward, ending up a foot in front of her. I heard her sharp intake of breath at my close proximity, and I felt the same way. Leaning down for a kiss flashed through my mind, but that reminded me of her venom issues, which had yet to be addressed. I would save that discussion for after I convinced her to stay. I needed the opportunity to prove myself to her, to prove that I was serious, and that I was sorry. 

"Jo, I am not lying to you. Why would I? At this point, it wouldn't benefit me at all. I need you to stay with me. I need to be able to show you that I'm serious." I held her gaze anxiously, willing her to stay. 

"Serious about what?" she whispered. 

"I'm serious about you, Jo. It's not that I don't want to let you go, but I can't. I couldn't live with myself after what I've done to you." 

"So it's a guilt thing. You have to help me because you feel guilty." Her face was so disappointed and weary. She looked like this sort of thing happened regularly, and she should have been expecting it. No one really cared for her, they only cared about themselves. It cut me to the quick, because that was exactly right. I was one of the most selfish people she could ever meet, but I was willing to change in this instance. I was willing to change for her.