The Roommate Rulebook

Rule 26

Rule 26 - Not proofread, please ignore any mistakes, I'll fix them in the final edit. 

            "What are you doing here?" Dev demanded, following Jackson into the living room. Jackson was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking over my shoulder at the door.

            "Is Ash here?" he asked, ignoring my cousin.

            "No," I said simply and folded my arms over my chest. If he had showed up to deliver another threat, I was almost certain that Dev would punch him.

            "Where is he?" he asked. Dev grunted.

           

            "None of your business. What do you want?" Jackson groaned and shrugged, looking straight at me.

           

            "This shit is serious. I am not getting involved with murder, sabotage or man slaughter. I don't want anything to do with it," Jackson explained and I felt my stomach hit my feet. We knew this guy was serious, but hearing it come from his mouth made it all seem real.

            "Then tell us who you're working for," I pushed, but he shook his head.

            "Bullshit. You don't come in here and say you're not having anything to do with it, when you're all but sealing his fate," Dev spat and moved aside, pointing to the door. "Just get out."

            Jackson stood his ground, meeting my eyes with his piercing blue ones.

            "If he races, there will be absolute mayhem," he warned. I shrugged helplessly.

            "You're preaching to the choir. We don't want him to race, but he's going to. The only way you can help us is by telling us who you work for," I said.

            "I can't, because I don't know," he argued, scratching the nape of his neck. I frowned and Dev met my eyes with the same incredulous look I was giving him.

            "You don't know?" I echoed.

            "No. I provide a service where I do dirty work for other people. I don't meet the client, they don't meet me, so we don't get each other in trouble." I raised both of my eyebrows and narrowed my eyes.

            "Then you deserve to get in trouble if something goes down. How many other lives have you helped wreck?" I spat.

            "And to think I came here to help you out," he retorted, folding his arms over his chest. One of my eyebrows quirked, while Dev just huffed.

            "You came here to save your own skin," he corrected. "But if you have information, don't keep it to yourself." Jackson looked at us both, seemingly contemplating before nodding.